Inflation Is Dominating the Conversation On Earnings Calls. Here’s What Execs Are Saying

• One thing’s clear at the start of the corporate earnings season: Inflation is still a hot topic for companies.
• About two-thirds of companies in the S&P 500 that reported earnings in the first two weeks of the season (Oct. 10-21) had representatives mention inflation, according to a conference call transcript search run on FactSet. Among those companies are PepsiCo, Citigroup and Abbott Laboratories.
• “The environment clearly is still inflation-ridden with a lot of supply chain challenges across the industry,” said Ramon Laguarta, chief executive of PepsiCo. The snack and drink maker beat analyst expectations for both revenue and earnings per share as its price hikes buoyed its bottom line, even as some units saw volume declines.
• Recent economic data shows little sign of inflation letting up. The consumer price index increased 0.4% in September, which was a hotter reading than the 0.3% expected by Dow Jones, according to the Bureau of Labour Statistics. It was at 0.6% without food and energy factored in, which was also above Dow Jones’ estimate of 0.4%. The producer price index, which gauges wholesale prices, also rose 0.4% in September. That was similarly above the Dow Jones expectation of 0.2%.

(Source: CNBC)