Good morning, CFOs. Sharp drop in home sales bodes ill for the crucial selling season; AutoNation, Colgate-Palmolive, Phillips 66 earnings; plus, PepsiCo takes a hit from tariff fight.

Sales of existing homes in March posted their biggest monthly decline in more than two years, after mounting economic uncertainty roiled the housing market at the start of the critical spring selling season.

U.S. existing-home sales fell 5.9% in March from the prior month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.02 million, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. That marked the biggest month-over-month decline since November 2022.

The sharp drop in sales dashes early hopes that this spring would offer signs of a turnaround. The season is usually the busiest time for home sales because many buyers with children want to move homes over the summer, and sellers wait until the spring to list their homes to meet that higher demand.

But with home prices near record highs and mortgage rates holding above 6.5%, buyers are being choosy. That is setting the stage for potentially a third straight year of anemic sales activity, after sales fell in 2023 and 2024 to levels not seen since the mid-1990s.

📆 Earnings

• AbbVie
• AutoNation
• Colgate-Palmolive
• Phillips 66
• LyondellBasell

📈 Economic Indicators

The University of Michigan releases its final April reading for the index of consumer sentiment.

PepsiCo relies on soda concentrate from Ireland to make its U.S. drinks. Now, facing tariff costs and plummeting consumer sentiment, the company says it no longer expects its earnings to rise this year.

Unlike rival Coca-Cola, PepsiCo makes the concentrate for nearly all of its U.S. sodas in Ireland. That concentrate is now subject to a 10% tariff. Both companies also could be hurt by a 25% tariff on aluminum imports.

PepsiCo said it lowered its outlook because of tariff-related supply-chain costs and a drop in consumer confidence caused by inflation and the global trade war. The company said demand had fallen for its snacks, which include Doritos, Cheetos and Lay’s potato chips.

• Meanwhile, American Airlines withdrew its full-year guidance after domestic travel demand declined in the first quarter.
• Hasbro recorded first-quarter earnings and sales gains that sailed past analyst expectations and the toymaker said its shift toward higher-margin businesses was offsetting tariff pressures.

📰 Other headlines

• Stocks Gain; China Says Not in Trade Talks With U.S.
• Exclusive: Paramount in Talks With FCC Over Diversity Policy Concessions for Merger
• IBM Is Back. Now It Must Prove Its Mettle in AI.
• A Historic Gold Rush Is Under Way, From Wall Street to Main Street
• Jersey Mike’s Hires New CEO After $8 Billion Sale
• U.S. Needs More Power for AI—but Critical Equipment Is Pricey and Scarce
• Podcast: Quantum Communications Breakthrough Could Improve Online Security
• Susan Tose Spencer, Who Ran the Philadelphia Eagles in the Mid-1980s, Dies at 83

• As financial stress mounts, chains like Dollar Tree and Academy Sports & Outdoors that cater to the budget-conscious are seeing more of a new class of shoppers.
• Businesses need to prepare for the AI-driven rise of a relentless, always-on economy.
• Private-equity firms see opportunity in a sector they once considered too unreliable: advertising.
• As tariff wars raise supply-chain uncertainty and green initiatives see a pushback, some renewables-focused companies are forging new relationships, including in the defense industry.

• Accountants Finally Get the Sequel to Their Favorite Film: ‘The Accountant’
• Column: The Company That Laid You Off Wants You Back. What Do You Say?
• Column: Does a Wine’s Vintage Actually Matter?

Spin Master, the Toronto-based children's entertainment company best known for brands such as Paw Patrol and Rubik's Cube, has hired Jonathan Roiter as the company's next CFO. Roiter, who most recently was finance chief for Canadian software company Softchoice, succeeds Mark Segal, who last July announced he would retire in the first half of 2025 after a decade in the role. Before working at Softchoice, which in late December said it had reached a deal to be acquired by tech company World Wide Technology, Roiter held a number of senior finance roles at companies including GoodFood Market, Gildan Activewear and Ace Bakery.

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

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