By Janet H. Cho

Tariffs are something the general public has been hearing a lot about this year, and they certainly have become more of a topic on company earnings conference calls.

In fact, the number of S&P 500 companies where the word came up at least once during a quarterly conference call has soared since President Donald Trump took office.

In the second quarter, the terms "tariff" or "tariffs" have been mentioned at least once on 355 earnings calls conducted by S&P 500 companies through Sept. 2, according to John Butters, senior earnings analyst at FactSet.

While that's down from the 455 companies where tariffs were mentioned during first-quarter earnings calls, its more than seven times the 50 companies that mentioned "tariffs" in the second quarter of 2024, Butters tells Barron's.

Trump has repeatedly said that "tariff" is his favorite word, and credits tariffs for helping to reduce the nation's debt and helping to resolve conflicts. But public companies are talking about them for another reason.

Case in point: Condensed-soup maker Campbell's said Wednesday that it expects its fiscal 2026 earnings to decline 18% to 21%, largely because of the 50% steel tariffs that have raised the cost of its soup cans.

The Consumer Brands Association has said that steel tariffs could increase the prices of products in steel cans by 9% to 15%. Campbell's said that about two-thirds of its projected 9% to 13% drop in full-year adjusted earnings per share is attributable to tariffs.

Campbell's CEO Mick Beekhuizen said the company is aiming to reduce 60% of the impact of tariffs by increasing productivity and accelerating cost-savings initiatives. It also said that the share of consumers cooking at home has risen to its highest levels since the pandemic.

Last week, J.M. Smucker Co., maker of Folgers, Café Bustelo, and Dunkin' coffee sold in stores, said tariffs forced it to raise prices for the second time this year in August, and that those increases are starting to show up on grocery shelves.

The Federal Reserve said in its Beige Book of regional economic conditions, released on Wednesday, that many of the contacts in its 12 districts reported "flat to declining consumer spending because, for many households, wages were failing to keep up with rising prices," adding that "contacts frequently cited economic uncertainty and tariffs as negative factors."

Tariffs were specifically mentioned as hurting consumer spending in Boston, household budgets in Philadelphia, prices in St. Louis, and the economic outlook in Dallas.

Ten of the Fed's 12 districts said price growth was "moderate or modest, " while the other two said it was "strong," the Fed said. "Nearly all Districts noted tariff-related price increases, with contacts from many Districts reporting that tariffs were especially impactful on the prices of inputs." Multiple districts reported that prices for insurance, utilities, and technology services had risen.

"While some firms reported passing through their entire cost increases to customers, some firms in nearly all Districts described at least some hesitancy in raising prices, citing customer price sensitivity, lack of pricing power, and fear of losing business," the Fed report said. Contacts in Cleveland and Minneapolis districts said they were "under pressure to lower prices because of competition, despite facing increased input costs."

Moreover, most districts said that companies expected price increases to continue in coming months, and three districts said they expect the pace of price increases to accelerate further.

Write to Janet H. Cho at janet.cho@dowjones.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 03, 2025 17:17 ET (21:17 GMT)

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