The Tariff Divide: Corporate Messaging, Media Narratives, & Consumer Reactions

President Trump’s tariffs have reshaped trade policies, increased operational costs, and disrupted global supply chains. But understanding their full impact requires more than surface-level analysis—it demands a data-driven approach that synthesizes multiple perspectives. 

Quid’s AI-powered analytics help businesses navigate market shifts by delivering a comprehensive view of the market landscape, by integrating insights from social media, earnings call transcripts, news coverage, and consumer discourse. Our outcome-driven intelligence doesn’t just track conversations—it uncovers the underlying narratives shaping markets. In the analysis that follows, we break down the key themes emerging from the data, revealing how businesses are adapting to these changes—and what it means for the future of trade. 

Big Business is Staying Quiet 

Despite the significant impact tariffs could have on various industries, only 10% of Fortune 100 companies have addressed tariffs or trade on their social media channels; even though this percentage seems small, these social analytics provide invaluable insight into the conversation. Companies that have engaged in these discussions, such as Stone X, Goldman Sachs, and Citi, have taken an informational approach:  

• Stone X focused on sharing trade and tariff news and sharing their takes on pressing economic questions 

• Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley leveraged their in-house experts to forecast how tariffs could affect the U.S. dollar and global markets 

• CHS Inc. was the sole company to shed light on their strategic adaptations, sharing how they planned to protect American farmers' market access 

Engagement with tariff-related content has been notably low. Posts discussing tariffs had an average engagement rate of just 0.007%, which is 28.5 times lower than the baseline engagement rate of Fortune 100 companies. This indicates that the public, particularly corporate audiences, show little interest in consuming tariff-related news or commentary from major corporations. 

Corporate giants across technology, retail, and pharmaceutical (i.e., Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Walmart, Target, Costco, Pfizer, AbbVie, Merck) have all largely refrained from proactive messaging on tariffs, despite the possibilities for large disruptions.  

Even companies that work in import and export logistics, for instance FedEx and UPS, have remained tight lipped, each only made a single post on the subject calling themselves facilitators of global trade, suggesting a reluctance to engage in proactive, public debate. 

Earnings Calls Reveal a Different Story  

While corporate social media posts remain largely silent on tariffs, earnings call transcripts tell a different story. Using Quid’s data visualization and clustering technology, we identified the most common themes in earnings call discussions, revealing which industries are most concerned about tariffs and how companies are framing discussions. 

The Quid Discover conversation topic map above shows the top discussion themes within earnings calls, and the relationship between these themes. A significant portion of these conversations, about 16%, focuses on ‘Impact on Business Sectors’. The ‘Impact on Business Sectors’ topic is central to the entire conversation, indicating businesses are highly attuned to which sectors are most vulnerable to tariffs and potential ripple effects through their business operations and financials.  

Key Industries Vocal about Tariffs 

The Manufacturing & Industrial (20%), Energy (12%), and Automotive (8%) industries have been the most vocal about tariffs in corporate earnings discussions. Given these industries' reliance on global supply chains, tariffs pose a direct threat to their operations. 

As trade policies evolve, companies will likely continue to focus on behind-the-scenes adaptations and earnings call discussions rather than public messaging. For now, the corporate world’s response to tariffs is one of careful observation, strategic shifts, and limited public engagement.  

Media’s Narrative on Tariffs 

While corporations adopt a cautious approach, the media has actively covered tariffs. By using Quid’s access to news sources, we can understand the dominant narratives shaping public perceptions and identify which industries, commodities, and countries are at the center of the tariff discussion.  

The Quid Discover cluster map above summarizes the news media discourse on tariffs. The more disparate array of topic “clusters” indicate that media is largely focused on discussing singular tariff impacts at a time, rather than deep diving or covering the nuances of the conversation all at once. ‘Impact on Business Sectors’  once again showed up as a common theme, in 12% of the discussion, and is one of the more connected clusters of the group, with connections to ‘Global Economic Impact of U.S. Policies’ and ‘Global Trade Talks Triggered by Tariffs’, as media speculates how US actions will impact global economic relationships.  

Trade Tensions and National Identity 

One global relationship that has seen significant coverage is the relationship between the US and Canada. Canada was the top discussed country in news coverage about tariffs, mentioned in 1 in every 5 articles, and is an example of how tariffs are not only tied to political and economic impacts, but to public sentiment and national identity.  The ‘Canada-U.S. Trade Tensions Escalate’ topic focus is directly tied to discussion on ‘Canadian Sports Fan Protest Tariffs’ and ‘Politically Fueled U.S.-Canada Hockey Clash.’ As tariffs started to disrupt the Canadian economy, Canadian sports fans expressed their frustration by booing the National Anthem at the 4-Nations Hockey Final, and athletes broke out into three fights in the first nine seconds of the Team USA vs. Team Canada match, reflecting all-time high tensions between the two countries. Trade tensions have spilled over into national identity and are no longer just an economic or policy debate, but a source of national pride and contention.  

Countries and Commodities at the Center of Tariff Discussions   

Canada isn’t the only country with high media coverage; the following shows the countries most discussed in media coverage of tariffs: 

While the U.S.-China trade war was a major headline in previous years, North American trade (39%) has taken center stage.  

When looking at commodities most discussed in media coverage of tariffs, we see several topics highly influencing the current market. Energy (6%) receives the highest share of voice, highlighting its central role in global trade and economic stability. Gold (4%) is a key topic, reflecting concerns about economic uncertainty and market volatility. Industrial commodities like steel (7%) and aluminum (5%) are also key topics, emphasizing the impact of tariffs on manufacturing and trade disputes. The mention of Cars (1%) suggests some attention to the auto industry, though consumer goods received less coverage overall. The media is primarily focused on the broader economic and industrial effects of tariffs rather than direct consumer impacts, a key piece of market intelligence that can help businesses strategize a path forward and through the uncertainty . 

Consumer Sentiment 

When analyzing consumer discussions across X, Reddit, and Bluesky, a common trend emerges: negative sentiment, high impressions. Reddit is driving the largest audience, with 3 trillion impressions, indicating that discussions on the platform are widely viewed and engaged with. X serves as the most active discussion hub, generating the highest post volume, though its overall reach is lower compared to Reddit, suggesting more voices are contributing but conversation isn’t engaged with nearly as much. Bluesky, while having the smallest post volume, still sees meaningful engagement, as impressions remain high relative to the number of posts, indicating that discussions there are gaining traction among its user base. Across all platforms, sentiment is overwhelmingly negative, particularly on Reddit and Bluesky, as consumers express strong concerns about the issue. 

 The image above shows the top sentiment drivers in tariff discussions across four platforms, X, Bluesky, and Reddit. While consumers acknowledge the impact of tariffs on the global economy, with words like “threat,” and “destroy economy,” concerns on rising costs and affordability for the everyday consumer is prominent, with words like “inflation,” and “raise price.” While “raise price” was the third largest drive of sentiment for X, positive words appeared in the list as well, such as  
“help," "fair," "secure border," and "viable country," indicating there is significant presence from those who see tariffs as beneficial on X. Bluesky and Reddit have the most extreme negative economic concerns, with terms such as “destroy economy,” “expensive,” and “issue.”  

The Power of a Holistic Approach with Quid 

The conversation around tariffs is far more complex than any single dataset can reveal. If we had only analyzed corporate social media activity, we might have concluded that businesses simply don’t care about tariffs. If we had only examined earnings call transcripts, we might have assumed that companies are actively preparing for tariff impacts but would be unaware of any influential media narratives. And if we had only looked at media coverage and consumer sentiment, we might have overestimated public engagement while missing the behind-the-scenes corporate strategies. 

This is why Quid’s AI-powered analytics are so valuable, we provide a 360-degree view of any topic by integrating insights across multiple sources. We can map corporate messaging, uncover hidden narratives in financial discussions, analyze media sentiment, and track real-time consumer reactions, all in one place, for access to deeper consumer and market intelligence. 

For a complex and evolving issue, like tariffs, relying on just one lens leads to incomplete or misleading conclusions. With Quid, you get a holistic, data-driven understanding of not only what’s being said, but also who is saying it, where, and why it matters. 

Whether you’re tracking global trade policies, consumer trends, competitive intelligence, or emerging market risks, Quid helps you see the full picture, not just part of the story. Work with us today to see how Quid can help you propel your business forward!