Good morning. As earnings season continues, new data from S&P Global Market Intelligence takes a look at the dialogue around tariffs and their impact on forecasts.
Tariffs have dominated investor discourse since April 2 when President Trump announced sweeping tariff reform. Trump announced on April 9 a 90-day pause on certain tariffs. Meanwhile, a 10% tariff on nearly all global imports, a 25% levy on imported cars and certain auto parts, and a 145% tariff on goods imported from China are still in effect.
S&P Global Market Intelligence finds that, out of 423 earnings calls, 42% have included a discussion of tariffs, with 22% citing material risks. The analysis from April 1-16 is based on the S&P Total Market Index for U.S. companies. And data from the S&P Global Broad Market Indexes for the U.K., Canada, Europe, Australia, China, India, Japan, Mexico, and emerging countries.
According to the findings shared with CFO Daily, analysts are lowering earnings forecasts to account for tariffs. Consensus full-year revenue estimates for 40% of companies worldwide have now been revised lower. This is most notable in the U.S., Europe, and the U.K.
For U.S. firms, analysts are downgrading earnings projections the most for those in the energy sector (61%), consumer discretionary (59%), materials (59%), and financials (57%), according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Fueled by growing economic worry due to the trade war, oil prices are falling to the lowest levels since 2021. And economic uncertainty is pressuring consumer discretionary spending.
This week, Big Tech kicks off its quarterly earnings season. Tech analysts are focused on Tesla today as it’s scheduled to report Q1 earnings after the closing bell.
Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
Leaderboard
Chen Franco-Yehuda was appointed CFO, treasurer, and secretary of DarioHealth Corp. (Nasdaq: DRIO) a global digital health company. Current CFO, Zvi Ben-David, will retire from his role, effective May 15. Ben-David will remain with the company until the end of June as an advisor. Franco-Yehuda most recently served as CFO, treasurer, and secretary at Pluri Inc., a global biotech company.
Serge Tanjga was appointed CFO of Appian (Nasdaq: APPN), a software company, effective May 27. Tanjga brings more than 20 years of financial experience. He was the SVP of finance at MongoDB, and most recently, served as interim CFO. Before MongoDB, he was a managing director at Emerging Sovereign Group, a subsidiary of The Carlyle Group.
Big Deal
Broadridge recently released its 2025 Digital Transformation Next-Gen Technology Study based on a global survey of 500 financial services technology and operations leaders. Overall, 72% of respondents are making moderate to large investments in generative AI this year, up from 40% in 2024. And 68% believe generative AI will improve productivity.
On average, respondents expect to allocate 29% of their total IT spend to technology innovation over the next two years, an increase of seven percentage points from last year’s study, according to Broadridge. Another finding is that 89% of firms surveyed plan to increase their investment in cybersecurity technology.
Going deeper
“Battered by tariffs and boycotts, Tesla really needs a successful robotaxi launch—and it needs to be on time” is a new Fortune report by Jessica Mathews and Jeremy Kahn.
From the report: “For some Tesla bulls, there’s only one issue that really matters right now: autonomous driving. The nearer-term innovation in focus is autonomy—and if Tesla can win the race to develop self-driving car technology for the mass market, the thinking goes, none of the company’s other troubles, or Musk’s antics, will matter so much. ”
Overheard
“In light of the U.S. tariff announcements and rising economic uncertainty, I believe companies will instinctively turn to efficiency measures to weather potential disruption. And while efficiency is critical, it’s empathy—together with operational rigor—that will determine who thrives.”
—Tony Bates, chairman and CEO of Genesys, writes in a new Fortune opinion piece. Bates is the coauthor of the recent book Empathy in Action.
