MW Campbell's joins list of consumer companies baffled over specific tariff impacts

By Steve Gelsi

Soup maker joins Best Buy, Target and others with mixed guidance with unknown tariff impact baked in

Campbell's Co. is joining the list of other big consumer-facing names to shy away from providing specific earnings or revenue forecasts that include the estimated impact of tariffs.

Wall Street investors, who typically don't like uncertainty, are bidding down shares of Campbell's and other retailers and consumer-product makers on Wednesday.

Campbell's Co.'s stock $(CPB)$ fell 3.7% to $38.85 in early trading on Wednesday.

Even without the impact of tariffs factored in, Campbell's lowered its 2025 forecast for adjusted earnings to a range of $2.95 a share to $3.05 a share, below the analyst estimate of $3.13 a share. Its earlier forecast was for adjusted 2025 earnings of $3.12 to $3.22 a share.

The kicker, though, is that Campbell's said it's currently too difficult to estimate how tariffs will affect prices and sales.

"The company's guidance does not reflect any impact from potential import tariffs by the U.S. government and potential retaliatory actions taken by other countries, given the tariff and trade environments are uncertain and rapidly evolving," Campbell's said.

For its fiscal third quarter, Campbell's reported adjusted profit of 74 cents a share, ahead of the FactSet consensus estimate of 72 cents a share. Revenue rose 9% to $2.69 billion, below the analyst estimate of 2.74 billion.

Meanwhile, Abercrombie & Fitch's stock $(ANF)$ fell after the retailer issued a conservative outlook that included the impact of U.S. tariffs, but not the unknown costs of retaliatory action by other countries.

Earlier this week, Best Buy Co. Inc. $(BBY)$ Chief Executive Corie Barry said tariffs imposed by the administration of President Donald Trump "make price increases for American consumers highly likely" but he provided no specific estimates.

Meanwhile, Target Corp. $(TGT)$ warned that tariffs will hurt both earnings and the consumer even sooner than Wall Street may have been expecting, especially on fruits and vegetables. The company didn't provide any specific price increase estimates.

The situation in Washington remains fluid as the Trump administration continues trade negotiations with Mexico and Canada. The outlook will also be shaped by any retaliatory actions by the U.S.'s trading partners.

-Steve Gelsi

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March 05, 2025 09:41 ET (14:41 GMT)

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