In recent days, the Trump administration has proposed additional tariffs, causing further uncertainty for many public companies. As companies approach their current quarterly guidance, we took a data-driven approach to see how large public companies provided guidance in light of tariffs and to see if any patterns emerged.
For this survey, we reviewed earnings releases of 100 S&P 500 companies who issued their releases primarily during April and May 2025. After reviewing, several patterns emerged about how companies took tariffs into account.
Survey Summary: The Five Disclosure Approaches
Further Notes on the Survey Data and Other Observations
- Many companies that did not specifically reference, mention, or otherwise incorporate tariffs into their guidance disclosed in their forward-looking statements legend that tariffs could impact their operations and results. As a result, specifically mentioning tariffs in an earnings release is widespread.
- Out of the 30 companies disclosing mitigating actions, 12 companies specifically noted that pricing actions may help mitigate the impact of tariffs. We have observed some political pushback on companies discussing pricing decisions, but it was a more widespread practice than previously imagined.
- We observed six companies either pull guidance or move from annual to quarter-to-quarter guidance.
More questions about how to approach tariffs as a public company? See Jenner & Block’s Public Company Advisory Group’s CLE program on “Navigating 2025 Public Company Legal and Regulatory Risks in a Shifting Economic Landscape” available at https://www.jenner.com/en/cle-relay-2025.
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