Move artificial intelligence. There is a new hot topic on corporate profit calls in 2025: prices. The word “tariffs” arose on more than 350 calls for results from companies eliminated by S&P 500 declaring the results of the first quarter, according to a CNBC analysis of call transcriptions compiled by AlphaSense. On the other hand, the term “AI” was mentioned on less than 200 calls during the same period. The price mentions have soaked in recent weeks, President Donald Trump’s plan for steep samples announced last month put both C-Suites and Wall Street on alert. This bites in time on calls with analysts and investors that business management has once used to discuss AI, which has been a fashionable word since the introduction of Chatgpt at the end of 2022. Import taxes aroused anxiety in part because of the fears that they can increase prices, mitigate expenses and lead to the economy in a recession. More than 60% of CEOs in a survey in April said they expect a sort of economic slowdown over the next six months, and almost three -quarters said the prices would affect their business. “We are entering an undeniable territory while the commercial prices are starting to have a more significant impact from the second quarter,” said Christopher Clulow, head of investors’ relations at Cummins, during the call of the Indiana engines manufacturer with analysts earlier this week. “The extent and the changing nature of the prices have introduced a great degree of uncertainty.” The increase in cummin “uncertainty” was one of the many companies that said the prices scrambled the ability to make precise forecasts for future performance. Many companies have declared that they simply left unchanged financial prospects given the evolution of the nature of the samples. Others have adjusted the figures to reflect how current plans could affect companies. This was due to the suspension of many reciprocal prices of Trump for three months, until early July, after the president unveiled his original price policy on April 2. For the manufacturer of medical equipment Solventum, a 3M spin-off in Ealry 2024, the Surhang de Prices managed the management to maintain its annual profits by unchanged action. It was despite the stronger activities of the company which, according to managers, would have led them to increase their perspectives. “To be clear, prices will be a headwind for us this year,” Solventum CEO said Bryan Hanson on Thursday. “Without them, we increase our advice on the EPS proportional to the underlying momentum that we see in the company.” Part of the hesitation expressed by business is to understand how prices will affect consumers’ point of view on the economy. The feeling of feelings of consumers of the University of Michigan in April fell to one of the lowest levels ever recorded since its beginning of the 1950s. The prices “have created an important uncertainty for small businesses, while the concerns concerning the climbing of the prices of imported goods have weighed on consumer confidence,” said Ebay CEO, Jamie Iannone, of the online resale platform at the end of last month. Some leaders have directed their criticism against Trump’s policy while speaking with analysts. “We support US government’s objectives to increase interior investments,” Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks said last week. “However, we do not think that prices are the right mechanism.” – Nick Wells of CNBC contributed to this report.
The number of “price” mentions has climbed beyond “AI” on income calls
