Good morning, CFOs. What are some CFOs doing since Trump’s tariff announcements?; Amazon scraps tariff pricing plan; plus, Robby Starbuck sues Meta.

While many companies are waiting to see how the ongoing trade uncertainty plays out, some finance departments are already preparing for cost-cutting ahead of a possible economic slowdown.

The WSJ Leadership Institute recently polled its CEO Council and CFO Council members about whether their investment plans have changed since President Trump’s tariff announcements on April 2.

One-third (35%) of respondents said they have made plans to decrease capital expenses since then, while 61% of respondents’ capital expenditure plans haven’t changed. A small number, just 4%, actually plan to increase capital spending.

For operating expenses, respondents were almost split down the middle: 49% plan to maintain the same level of investment, while 47% have made plans to decrease spending. Again, 4% plan to increase operating expenses.

Almost three-quarters (71%) of the CEOs and CFOs who responded to last week’s survey think that a U.S. recession is very or somewhat likely in 2025. Only 15% say they think it would be very or somewhat unlikely.

Speaking during a WSJ CFO Council virtual event yesterday, Michael Leskinen, CFO of United Airlines, said that the company has moved away from providing granular data, like unit costs, unit revenue and capacity by market, which the company felt was contributing to stock price volatility, in favor of longer-term metrics.

But the company had a decision to make on how to present guidance when faced with the market volatility since President Trump began unveiling his tariff plans.

“Well, the easy button is you just pull guidance, that's what everybody has always done,” Leskinen said. “But I did not believe that was consistent with the brand of United Airlines as we're trying to talk about long-term targets, or my brand of trying to be communicative and transparent with the investor base.”

Instead, United Airlines provided two EPS estimates on its earnings call on April 15. The first set of guidance said the company still sees a path to the original guidance it had announced—holding to its earnings per share estimate of $11.50-$13.50. The second set of guidance focused on what would happen to the business in the event of a recession—and communicated an estimated earnings per share range of $7-9.

Leskinen said the company wanted to be “transparent, so that investors can have an informed view about the long-term trajectory of our business.”

—Reporting by Ben Ashwell

📆 Earnings

Aflac, Allstate, Caterpillar, Cognizant Technology Solutions, eBay, Equinix, Garmin, GE HealthCare Technologies, Hess, Humana, Illinois Tool Works, International Paper, Meta, MetLife, MGM Resorts International, Microsoft, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, PPL, Prudential Financial, Public Storage, Qualcomm, Robinhood Markets, Stanley Black & Decker, Stellantis, UBS Group, Vulcan Materials, Western Digital and Yum! Brands

📈 Economic Indicators

ADP releases its National Employment Report for April.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis releases its advance estimate of first-quarter gross domestic product growth.

The Institute for Supply Management releases the Chicago Business Barometer for April.

The National Association of Realtors releases its Pending Home Sales Index for March.

The BEA releases the personal consumption expenditures price index for March.

Amazon.com was forced to play down a report that it was considering displaying the impact of tariffs during its online checkout process after President Trump called company founder Jeff Bezos and the White House said such a move would be “a hostile and political act.”

The e-commerce giant said Tuesday it had considered displaying how much import charges would increase prices on its ultracheap shopping website Haul, but said the idea “was never approved and is not going to happen.”

Amazon also said it hadn’t considered the idea for the main Amazon site, and no changes had been implemented on any Amazon properties.

Yet the company’s response was too late to avoid White House involvement. Trump called Bezos to raise concerns after Punchbowl News reported that Amazon was planning to display the impact of tariffs during its online checkout process, according to people familiar with the matter.

***

Exclusive: Accounting and consulting giant Deloitte has agreed to lease nearly three-quarters of a planned New York City office skyscraper, one of the most prominent signs yet that the upper-end of the office market is heating up.

The details: Deloitte has committed to move its North American headquarters to Hudson Yards, the sprawling master-planned development on Manhattan’s West Side, according to people familiar with the matter. The firm will occupy 800,000 square feet of the 1.1 million-square-foot tower known as 70 Hudson Yards.

📰 Other headlines

• Dow Rises After Commerce Secretary Hints at Trade Progress
• Here’s What Is Driving the Rapid Reversal of the Historic Market Selloff
• Market Turmoil Tempers Continuation Fund Boom
• UPS to Cut 20,000 Jobs After Amazon Breakup
• Trump to Soften Blow of Automotive Tariffs
• GM Pulls Profit Guidance, Citing ‘Significant’ Tariff Impact
• Coca-Cola Sales Dented by Hispanic Boycott, Lower Demand
• Exclusive: Starbucks Says It’s Making Progress on Quest to Fulfill Orders Faster
• Brinker Sales Momentum Continues as Chili’s Value Play Resonates
• Pfizer Expands Cost-Cutting Measures, Reaffirms Outlook
• Drugmakers Have Spent Millions Targeting ‘Middlemen’—and It’s Paying Off
• 110-Hour Workweeks Drove Young Bankers at a Boutique Firm to the Brink

DuPont, the Wilmington, Del.-based chemical and materials maker, continues to line up officers to run the electronics business it is spinning off, choosing Matthew Harbaugh to take on the role of CFO. The company is also back on the hunt for someone to lead the new company's board after Michael Stubblefield opted not to assume the position of chairman. On Tuesday, DuPont said the pure-play electronics materials company will be named Qnity Electronics, inspired by Q, the symbol for electrical charge, and unity. Harbaugh will join the company as CFO effective May 1. He was most recently finance chief of Vantive, which was spun off from Baxter and is now backed by Carlyle. Harbaugh also previously served as CFO at NuVasive and Mallinckrodt.

—Robb M. Stewart contributed to today’s Ledger.

The Wall Street Journal's CFO Journal offers corporate leaders and professionals CFO analysis, advice and commentary to make informed decisions. We cover topics including corporate tax accounting, regulation, capital markets, management and strategy.

Follow us on X @WSJCFO. The WSJ CFO Journal Team comprises reporters Kristin Broughton, Mark Maurer and Jennifer Williams, and Bureau Chief Walden Siew.

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