One chart shows how much tariffs are living rent-free in Corporate America’s heads

We thought this earnings season would be about tariffs more than earnings.

But even we wouldn’t have guessed that tariffs would dominate corporate consciousness this much.

So far, mentions of “tariffs” on S&P 500 companies’ earnings calls have even slightly outstripped references to “demand,” per data from transcripts compiled by Bloomberg.

Demand is, to put it mildly, kind of important. Consistently important. Demand informs sales and pricing power; management’s color on demand often serves to affirm or cast doubt on guidance in the absence of any formal changes to the outlook.

This goes a long way in explaining why markets have reacted so violently (both up and down!) to tariff-related headlines: the subject has been living rent-free in executives’ and analysts’ heads, leaving little oxygen for anything else.