How Will Trump’s Tariff Hikes Impact Q2 Earnings?
The earnings season is just around the corner in the US and companies have already started putting out warnings to expect misses in the Q2 earnings over the tariff war with China. 77% of 113 companies that issued EPS guidance have cautioned that their earnings will come in lower than analyst expectations.
According to data released by FactSet, 87 companies, mostly from IT and healthcare sectors, have offered negative pre-announcements. The technology sector has been one of the most affected in the US-China trade war, over Trump’s decision to not only hike tariffs on Chinese goods, but also ban business with Huawei.
In addition, Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports have wreaked havoc in the healthcare industry, affecting over $1.8 billion worth of medical imports. The overall impact of Trump’s recent tariff hikes has been pegged at nearly $400 million so far.
According to estimates by FactSet, multinational US-based companies with more than half their sales outside of the US could experience a decline of around 9% in their earnings YoY. So far, the US economy has managed to grow at a faster pace than the rest of the developed world, but ongoing trade tensions with China could hamper the rally in stocks and push investors into safe havens instead.