Number of S&P 500 Earnings Calls Citing “Tariffs” Declined for 3rd Straight Quarter

Given the recent Supreme Court decision and subsequent tariffs implemented by the Trump administration, did more S&P 500 companies comment on tariffs during their earnings conference calls for the fourth quarter compared to the third quarter?

The answer is no. FactSet searched for the term “tariff” or “tariffs” in the conference call transcripts of all the S&P 500 companies that conducted earnings conference calls from December 15 through March 5.

Overall, the term “tariff” or “tariffs” was cited on 220 earnings calls conducted by S&P 500 companies during this period. This number reflects a quarter-over-quarter decline of 18% compared to Q3 2025, when the term “tariff” or “tariffs” was cited on 267 earnings calls (from September 15 through December 14). This also marks the third straight quarter where the number of earnings calls citing the term “tariff” or “tariffs” has decreased.

However, it is important to note that this number still reflects the 5th highest number of S&P 500 earnings calls where the term “tariff” or “tariffs” was cited over the past 10 years (using current index constituents going back in time). The current record for the highest number of earnings calls where the term “tariff” or “tariffs” was cited over this period is 455 in Q1 2025.

At the sector level, the Industrials (51) sector has the highest number of earnings calls where the term “tariff” or “tariffs” was cited, while the Materials (73%) and Consumer Staples (68%) sectors have the highest percentages of earning calls where the term “tariff” or “tariffs” was cited.

On a quarter-over-quarter basis, 10 of the 11 sectors have recorded a decline in the number of earnings calls where the term “tariff” or “tariffs” was cited, led by the Information Technology (-12) and Consumer Staples (-9) sectors.

 The FactSet Earnings Insight report will be published one day early next week on March 12. The next edition of the report will also be published one day early on March 19. 

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