CEOs’ Tariff Predictions Are Already Wrong: Industrial Strength

“We do not know the scope and breadth of the tariffs issue at the moment and will not for a while” so to pretend otherwise is “sheer speculation,” Phebe Novakovic, chief executive officer of General Dynamics Corp., the company behind Gulfstream private jets and military tanks, said this week. “Anything I say on that subject, given our lack of firm knowledge, will almost certainly be wrong.”

It was one of the more accurate comments anyone has made about tariffs so far this earnings season, if not the most helpful for investors.

The tariff elephant in the room has made vibes ...