The world’s biggest companies have started sounding the alarm.
From Apple Inc. to Microsoft Corp., Danone and Diageo Plc, the U.K. maker of Johnnie Walker whiskey, the corporate world has seen a sharp increase in profit warnings about a financial hit from the coronavirus in the past two weeks.
But that may be just the tip of the iceberg, with the biggest blow to sales and supply chains mainly confined to China so far.
With the epidemic accelerating from South Korea to Iran, Italy and the rest of Europe, more S&P 500 companies are raising concerns about the outbreak going global, according to research by Bloomberg Economics. These include almost 220 firms with a combined market capitalization of more than $10 trillion from Jan. 22 to Feb. 27.
In the last week, as the S&P 500 slumped 11% in its worst week since the start of the 2008-2009 global financial crisis, Bloomberg Economics noted that the tone of comments has become more pessimistic, with more firms providing details on the potential drag.
