Earnings calls, loved by some CFOs and dreaded by others, allow finance leaders and their fellow executives to verbalize their organization’s progress. Each month, CFO.com compiles interesting insights shared by CFOs during these calls for The CFO Earnings Dispatch series. These insights include statements about their company, analysis of financial data and answers to analysts’ questions.
For the month of March, we highlight CFO takes on tariff preparation from Lululemon, Nike, Five Below, Volkswagen, Traeger, Costco, Macy’s and Target.
1. Lululemon
Market cap: $33.85 billion
Date of call: March 27
Lululemon CFO Meghan Frank was asked about the impact of tariffs on the company’s business during the retailer’s latest earnings call. The company only sources about 3% of its products from the U.S. but says tariffs minimally impact it. Frank said her team has the flexibility to tweak internal costs or prices should tariffs exceed the impact she forecasted they would have on the business.
“In terms of tariffs, we’ve got approximately 20 basis points of a headwind embedded in our guidance, which is reflective of current actions on China and Mexico imports,” Frank said. “We’re closely monitoring the environment. We’ll continue to look across our cost structure, as well as to pricing, you know, should the environment change. So, [we’re] definitely keeping a close eye on that.”
2. Nike
Market cap: $94 billion
Date of call: March 20
In a tough call, Nike CFO Matthew Friend provided a candid take on company performance. For reasons that have been widely speculated on, the global retailer continues to struggle as competitors grow. The company’s leadership is pushing its “Win Now” strategy and taking steps to reduce reliance on revenues from sneakers into other product lines.
When it comes to tariffs, Friend wasn’t asked about their impact by analysts and only mentioned them in his opening remarks. He said they’ve already been factored into planning and current investor guidance.
“We have included the estimated impact from newly implemented tariffs on imports from China and Mexico. We expect Q4 SG&A dollars to be up low to mid-single digits, including restructuring charges in the prior year,” Friend said. “We will continue to tightly manage expenses while we increase investment to fuel our Win Now priorities, most notably demand creation.”
“We are focused on what we can control. And for Nike at this moment, serving athletes with new product innovation and reigniting brand momentum is what matters most. Our collective experience, as well as the early signals we are seeing with consumers, gives us confidence in the path ahead,” he said.
3. Five Below
Market cap: $4.15 billion
Date of call: March 19
As a large importer of goods from China, Five Below and its CFO, Kristy Chipman, are navigating uncertainty due to tariffs. However, she identified the retailer’s 3% same-store sales growth as a potential offset to tariff-induced costs by Q1 2026, which could improve margins by spreading fixed costs over more revenue. If they achieve this, along with continued improvement in shrinkage, it could help absorb rising costs on Chinese goods, which account for 60% of their total inventory.
“As we get into next year, if the tariffs remain the same and we get through the first quarter, sure. At that 3% comp, which is still our leverage point, we should start to improve [in Q1 2026],” Chipman said. “[One of ]the areas really that we’re looking for [is] positive shrink. We’re seeing improvement in our shrink rate right now. If we see that again when we count in August, there should be some benefit that we can see that will create leverage both in the back half of this year and into 2026… So, certainly tariffs make it complex right now.”
4. Volkswagen
Market cap: $54.42 billion
Date of call: March 11
Volkswagen, which is facing a range of challenges to its business, had CFO Arno Antlitz avoid going into detail on tariffs and their impacts during the company’s most recent earnings call. While the auto industry is expected to be one of the hardest hit by potential tariffs, Antlitz said it is too early to comment.
“[For our] 2025 guidance, we don’t really [want to] guide on the potential impact of tariffs, much too early to say,” said Antlitz. “It’s also too early to expect what our competitors will react, whether tariffs will come at all. So, this is really too early.”
5. Traeger
Market cap: $216.88 million
Date of call: March 6
CFO Dominic Blosil gave his final earnings call for Traeger as he is set to leave the grill-maker after more than a decade with the company. As both he and CEO Jeremy Andrus noted, most of the company’s components and accessories are manufactured in the United States, so they are unaffected by tariffs from a supply chain and cost standpoint. Blosil said the company’s domestic sourcing strategy should give their leaders confidence in both the integrity of their balance sheet and forecasts moving forward.
“In Q1, we’ve been focused on bringing in as much inventory as possible ahead of anticipatory tariffs. The increase in inventory at the end of the year is tied more to the Woodridge launch and the fact that there’s continued load-in taking place ahead of peak season, which is just [our] normal seasonal inventory moves within this business as [we] think about launching new innovation, Blosil said. “I think the overarching theme here is inventory levels on our balance sheet and channel continue to be well balanced, and we feel confident in those levels.”
6. Costco
Market cap: $423.03 billion
Date of call: March 6
Costco CFO Gary Millerchip told analysts the company’s supply chain costs were slightly up due to their broader strategy on inventory and supply chain management in light of potential tariffs. The company’s strong margins also factored into this strategy. Millerchip noted that Costco’s core margin improved slightly despite rising supply chain costs. As a result, leadership is implementing a strategy of keeping inventory high to maintain competitive pricing.
“One of the things that was an increased cost during the quarter was higher supply chain costs as we have been continuing to buy more inventory, which we think will be helpful as you think about some of the unpredictability that we’ve seen in supply chain timing and also with the potential risk around tariffs,” Millerchip said. “And really, when we looked at the overall results for the quarter and saw that the core margin overall was going to be up slightly, we have that ability to be able to invest and ensure that we’re continuing to take care of the members. So, we were quite deliberate on that this quarter.”
7. Macy’s
Market cap: $3.56 billion
Date of call: March 6
As the legacy retailer moves past accounting issues and widespread store closures, Macy’s CFO Adrian Mitchell — who will be replaced by Capri Holdings’ Thomas J. Edwards in June — spoke about inflationary pressures driven by tariffs. While CEO Tony Spring told analysts there are no pending impacts from tariffs yet, Mitchell said they are reinforcing the company’s focus on controlling internal variables.
“You know, there’s a lot of changes that we’re seeing day to day happening with tariffs,” said Mitchell. “We recognize the inflationary pressure. And obviously, there were some unexpected factors in the early part of the quarter with the fires and cold weather that impacted results for the business. But for the first quarter, you know, we expect that pressure to continue, and we’re really focused on what we can control. The good news is that the investments that we’re making in the customer experience are working, and what we’re doing now is scaling those initiatives to a larger portion of our business.”
8. Target
Market cap: $47.79 billion
Date of call: March 4
Target CFO Jim Lee said he is taking a multifaceted approach to navigating tariff uncertainty. While he acknowledged the company’s historical experience sourcing at scale in volatile markets, he is also maintaining a “larger than normal” balance sheet to manage risk. Additionally, Target will no longer offer quarterly guidance to allow more flexibility if tariff-related changes arise.
“We plan to make some extra flexibility in the near term to help us navigate uncertainty regarding tariffs,” said Lee. “With a sourcing organization that’s decades old, our team has a lot of experience in navigating this type of volatility. They’re monitoring the situation carefully, and we expect to successfully navigate through any changes, just like we have in the past.”
“However, given near-term uncertainty, we’ll be looking to maintain a larger-than-normal cushion on the balance sheet. As always, our team will focus first on minimizing any impact on our guests as we manage our business to deliver on our financial goals,” he said.
