As earnings season comes to a close, corporate America’s financial outlook is only getting worse as President Donald Trump’s policies ramp up unpredictability.

FedEx Corp. and Nike Inc., two giant companies with broad views into the global economy, served as the latest warning signs that tariff confusion, currency swings, inflation and other macroeconomic forces are making it harder to come to business decisions, plan for the future and communicate financial expectations with investors.

Nike signaled further revenue declines and said Trump’s tariffs on China and Mexico would contribute to a sharp decline in profitability. Nike imports 18% of its Nike-branded footwear from China, which Trump has levied an additional 20% tariffs on. The company also makes products in Mexico and other countries expecting more tariffs in April. FedEx cited higher-than-expected inflation and softening demand in lowering profit guidance for a third consecutive quarter. 

Nike sank as much 9.3% on March 21, falling below $100 billion market value for the first time since the pandemic. FedEx’s drop hit nearly 12%. The S&P 500 Index was on its way to another down trading day, with the measure on pace for a fifth straight weekly decline.

It’s “a warning signal,” Citi analysts said of the FedEx report, highlighting “the depth of concern over the economic outlook.”

Weakening Demand

Some analysts covering Nike said the company was on the right track under new CEO Elliott Hill, but that the brewing trade war would make a comeback harder. 

Two of the biggest U.S. airlines, American Airlines Group Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc., last week slashed their forecasts, stoking worries of a bigger consumer pullback. Major retailers, including Walmart Inc. and Target Corp., have also warned of weakening demand. 

That’s coincided with economists increasing the chances of a U.S. recession as the U.S. barrels toward an April 2 promise by Trump to impose so-called reciprocal tariffs on countries that export more to the U.S. than they import from it. 

Many companies were initially reticent earlier this earnings season to pin cloudy outlooks specifically on Trump’s tariffs, preferring to speak more obliquely about economic uncertainty. But the sentiment has shifted in recent weeks, with more executives specifically calling out the levies.

There were roughly 2,000 mentions of tariffs on earnings calls and other financial disclosures among companies in the S&P 500 in the most recent quarter, up from more than 600 in the previous quarter.

“The update extends the recent streak of cautious commentary that have become commonplace during the month of March,” wrote JPMorgan Chase & Co. analyst Brian Ossenbeck about FedEx’s guidance cut. “Management had expected a stronger industrial economy in its original guidance, which has clearly not played out as anticipated and merits a weaker outlook.”

It’s not just U.S. companies. 

Beneteau SA, a French maker of sailing yachts and powerboats that generates about 20% of its sales in the U.S., said it wouldn’t provide an annual profit forecast because of the uncertainty. chief executive officer Bruno Thivoyon referred to “trade risks” and “talks that may go one way one day and the other way the next day.” Shares in the company dropped 10% following the financial release.

Kevin McCarthy, a portfolio manager for the Neuberger Berman Connected Consumer ETF who holds Nike shares, said the tariff situation is “a moving target.” He said his team is sticking to “quality assets” they think will “weather the storm a little bit better.” 

“The currency headwind we can quantify,” he added. But with tariffs, “it’s not something that you can really point to specifically what the impact is because I don’t think they know, and a lot of people that have a much higher pay grade than I have don’t know the answer to that question either.”