Second Quarter Sales, Profits Decelerate on Trade Tension
Aggregate industry results slowed in the second quarter, with profits increasing 4% to $2,722 million from $2,627 million against a 5% gain last year and revenues that climbed just 4% to $43,012 million from $41,551 million, lapping a 9% improvement last year. And return on sales was flat at 6.3% with small improvements from the apparel, diversified, footwear and retail segments but a decline in equipment. The big story during Q2 was the developing trade tensions with China. While few of the public companies on our list reported any significant bottom line impact from List 1-3 tariffs imposed by the ... Log in to view full article.