S&P 500 companies are talking about the presidential election a lot

Big companies like Apple, Meta, and Google are just like us: worrying about how the election will impact them. And it appears they’re more worried than last time. The number of S&P 500 companies talking about the election on earnings calls during third-quarter earnings jumped from 102 in 2020 to 116 this year, according to FactSet data. This year, that represents 36% of the companies that held earnings calls from September 15 to October 31. Election mentions were most concentrated in the industrial and financial sectors, and centered on tariffs, housing, regulations, and energy policy.