Chip Cutter
Appearances
WSJ What’s News
Trump’s Economic Messaging Spooks CEOs. Why Are They Keeping Quiet?
CEOs are saying the stock market would have to fall by a lot for them to really say anything. And there was still a group of CEOs in those respondents who said they didn't feel like there was any sort of room for them to speak out right now.
WSJ What’s News
Trump’s Economic Messaging Spooks CEOs. Why Are They Keeping Quiet?
They're scared. They're worried they're going to be targeted. They're worried their businesses are going to suffer. They really just want to be very careful in this moment in terms of how they interact with the Trump administration. So you have a number of CEOs in private really just expressing so much frustration over tariff policies, over national security issues, whatever it might be.
WSJ What’s News
Trump’s Economic Messaging Spooks CEOs. Why Are They Keeping Quiet?
But then in public, CEOs oftentimes say something else or don't say anything at all.
WSJ What’s News
Trump’s Economic Messaging Spooks CEOs. Why Are They Keeping Quiet?
They just feel like there's very limited upside right now and actually speaking out, and there's a lot of downside. So when you have these forums of executives, what's interesting is many feel like they can be a little more comfortable and they can share with their peers. I was at a meeting of the Yale CEO caucus, and there it was interesting.
WSJ What’s News
Trump’s Economic Messaging Spooks CEOs. Why Are They Keeping Quiet?
You know, you had frustration there with CEOs just saying that they wanted more certainty. They felt like this was an environment that was really tough for them to do business in. But then later in the day, when President Trump appeared in front of the business roundtable, The environment was a little more polite. There wasn't as much pushing back, according to those familiar with the meeting.
WSJ What’s News
Trump’s Economic Messaging Spooks CEOs. Why Are They Keeping Quiet?
People were mostly just asking questions, but it wasn't necessarily a contentious meeting.
WSJ What’s News
Trump’s Economic Messaging Spooks CEOs. Why Are They Keeping Quiet?
Well, so it's interesting. There was a survey question at the Shiel meeting, and the people there in the audience, the CEOs, were asked how much the stock market would need to decline for them to speak out collectively. And 44% of those in the room said it would have to fall 20%, and another 20%. 22% of people said the stocks would need to fall 30% before they take a stand.
WSJ What’s News
Trump’s Economic Messaging Spooks CEOs. Why Are They Keeping Quiet?
So put that all together, CEOs are saying the stock market would have to fall by a lot for them to really say anything. And there was still a group of CEOs in those respondents who said they didn't feel like there was any sort of room for them to speak out right now. So we'll see what happens here.
WSJ What’s News
Trump’s Economic Messaging Spooks CEOs. Why Are They Keeping Quiet?
It's the early days of this administration still, and I think a lot of companies are trying to figure out how to navigate this. But unlike the first Trump administration, when a number of CEOs were very vocal, we're just not seeing that this time.
WSJ What’s News
Trump’s Economic Messaging Spooks CEOs. Why Are They Keeping Quiet?
Thanks for having me.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Earnings: Big Retailers Start to Worry
How doable is it for companies trying to avoid these?
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Earnings: Big Retailers Start to Worry
Target this week warned that its profit would come under pressure this quarter and its sales could be flat this year because of consumer uncertainty and escalating tariffs. Its net sales shrank by 0.8% for the full year to around $107 billion. What stood out to you in its results?
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Earnings: Big Retailers Start to Worry
Walmart had been on a tear until fairly recently. Walmart enjoyed a post-pandemic streak that had pushed the company's stock price near all-time highs. This quarter, it reported $180.6 billion in total revenue and $7.9 billion in operating income, meeting Wall Street's expectations. Even so, is it still worried about some of these same issues as Target?
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Earnings: Big Retailers Start to Worry
But now the industry is grappling with a growing list of issues, tariffs, cautious consumers, and still high inflation. Some big companies like Best Buy are already warning of challenges ahead and possibly higher prices for shoppers. Sarah Nassauer covers the biggest retailers for The Journal and is here to explain all that's happening across the industry. Sarah, so good to see you.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Earnings: Big Retailers Start to Worry
Is there any evidence that shoppers are just changing what they're buying yet? Like, do these companies tell us like, oh, we're seeing just a totally different sort of mix of what consumers are spending on?
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Earnings: Big Retailers Start to Worry
So our colleague Suzanne Kappner recently wrote that the internet had made in-store shopping kind of miserable right now. So in addition to all the big themes that we're talking about, she had written that physical stores don't have enough staff. They also now don't have enough stuff. I just wonder for someone just going into stores right now, like what are they experiencing?
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Earnings: Big Retailers Start to Worry
Hey, listeners, it's March 6th. I'm Chip Cutter for The Wall Street Journal, and this is What's News in Earnings, our look at the broad themes that stood out in the latest earnings season. Today, we're talking about retailers. For years, consumers have gravitated towards companies such as Walmart, Amazon, and Costco that are known for low prices and fast shipping on lots of items.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Earnings: Big Retailers Start to Worry
Finally, Sarah, lots of companies are trying to understand just how consumers are feeling right now. This goes beyond retail, of course. But what do the reports from big retailers tell us about just the state of the economy? And what signs will you be watching in the weeks ahead to sort of understand how consumers feel about all this?
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Earnings: Big Retailers Start to Worry
Sarah Nassauer, retail reporter for The Journal. Thanks for being here.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Earnings: Big Retailers Start to Worry
And that was What's News in Earnings. Today's show was produced by Zoe Kokun and Pierre Bien-Aimé with supervising producer Michael Cosmides. Later today, we'll have the PM edition of What's News out for you as usual. And we'll be back with you in the next earnings season with a look at the earnings reports of major U.S. companies. Until then, I'm Chip Cutter. Have a great day.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Earnings: Big Retailers Start to Worry
So let's start with what happened this week. The Trump administration's long-awaited, long-feared tariffs on Mexico and Canada took effect, adding to those already in place for goods from China. These, of course, could still be retracted. But what did retailers have to say about them, and what will it mean for consumers?
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Earnings: Big Retailers Start to Worry
And so Best Buy chief executive Corey Berry said U.S. consumers are likely to face higher prices as a result of this. A lot of electronics come from places like China and Mexico. What can companies do to negotiate with suppliers and to try to avoid some of these tariffs? Obviously, they would like to try to negotiate around them. How likely is that?