The impact of tariffs on power-equipment and landscape industry companies
While politicians in America and across the world argue about the impact of the Trump administration’s recent imposition of tariffs, we could report on a wide range of indicators signaling negative economic impact. But it’s changing too fast and the global and U.S. impacts vary. We’ll cover the OPE view.
From declining shipping activity as U.S. ports in late April and early May, to specific price increases and surcharges added by some power-equipment manufacturers, the economic weight of these taxes is real. “It’s a precipitous drop in volume with a number of major American retailers stopping all shipments from China based on the tariffs,” said Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles.
Below, we present reports from the recent financial statements made by several publicly traded companies in power equipment and landscape industries. “Tariffs are nothing else but taxes and that at the end of the day consumers will pay them,” said Michael Traub, chairman and CEO of Stihl.
Manufacturers, power equipment
As a result of higher tariff levels, uncertain government policy actions, and a potentially softer global macroeconomic environment, the range of forecasted outcomes for Generac’s business has expanded relative to our prior guidance. Due to these factors, the company is widening its guidance ranges for key financial metrics for the full year 2025. This updated outlook assumes that current tariff levels remain in place for the remainder of the year.
Generac now expects full-year 2025 net sales growth to be between 0 to 7% compared to the prior year, which includes an approximate 1% favorable impact from foreign currency and acquisitions. This compares to our previous guidance range of 3 to 7% net sales growth compared to the prior year as price increases have the potential to be more than offset by lower shipment volumes.
“We know there’s a lot of uncertainty at the moment around tariffs; it’s a highly uncertain world at the moment and we are continuously working to assess and improve our position within this difficult environment,” said Husqvarna CFO Terry Burke. “As it stands at the moment, we do believe there will be an influence on consumer demand; I think that’s inevitable. Also with the tariffs, there will be a direct impact to our financial results. To put it into some kind of context, approximately 2/3 of our sales in the U.S. come from imported product and that can be from China, Europe and Brazil. There is clearly impact from tariffs. Those products segments include professional handheld for Construction and also for Forest & Garden division. We are implementing a number of price increases; we’re reviewing our supply chain flows to understand how we can really mitigate the impact of the tariffs. We have already started to implement some price increases as we try to mitigate the pressure.”
“As I said, there is quite some headwind from the tariffs. It’s a moving target, but as the current tariff situation stands there would be a net exposure [to Husqvarna] of some -300 to 500 million SEK for the rest of 2025.
In the future, the Makita expects that the prospect for the global economy will continue to be uncertain. Meanwhile, the group believes that demand for environmental and human friendly tools that contribute to the solution of social issues, such as the labor shortage and environment conservation by increased efficiency of works, will continue to increase further both in emerging and developed countries.
Amid ongoing geopolitical tensions, the impact of mutual tariffs and trade friction on the global economy is extremely uncertain. Particularly, in the U.S., Makita expects a significant decline in sales due to tariffs against China. In terms of costs, Makita expects to see a rise in labor costs.
In response to the United States’ recent policy actions and to safeguard gross margins, Stanley, Black & Decker has implemented a high-single digit U.S. Tools & Outdoor price increase in April, with plans to introduce a second price increase effective the beginning of the third quarter. The Company is also accelerating strategic adjustments to its supply chain with the objective of leveraging Mexico and reducing China tariff costs over the next 12-24 months. The Company expects to leverage its industry leading North American footprint as a competitive advantage (~60% of U.S. cost of sales). Management also intends to continue proactively engaging with the U.S. administration. The 2025 EPS impact from tariffs net of price and supply chain adjustments is currently estimated to be roughly negative $0.75 reflecting the timing required to implement mitigation countermeasures.
“This [tariff impact] is obviously something that’s on our mind every morning, and it kind of changes every day,” said Stihl Chairman Michael Traub. “There’s not even a strategy to be defined and some of the things seem to be evolving. Sometimes it’s obviously better not to react to daily things are happening. One third of our business is in North America, and we have had our factory in Virginia Beach since 1974. What the current administration wants is more investment in the United States. We did that in 1974 and not because of administrative pressure but because we believe that it’s the right thing, to be local. Already, 61% of our components are sourced in the United States.”
“On the other hand, you obviously have a lot of components and batteries that come from Europe or Brazilian factories. Stihl strongly believes in global trade; we strongly believe in free trade. Tariffs are nothing else but taxes and that at the end of the day consumers will pay them. While we do everything to avoid increases in market prices, I’ve fear that if escalation continues, we have no choice but to pass on costs to the marketplace which drives inflation.”
Manufacturers, vehicles and tractors
“Short term, we’re taking some actions as we can to mitigate the cost of tariffs,” said Caterpillar CFO Andrew Bonfield. “If those tariffs become permanent, we will obviously have to take more action. It’s a bit more challenging because obviously our supply chain is very established and it’s not something we can just change quickly and overnight. There are things we’ve got to do but we’ve been around for 100 years we’ve managed these situations. We’re a global company we have a global supply chain and we are very resilient.”
Looking ahead, Caterpillar warned of tariff-related cost headwinds of $250 million to $350 million in Q2, which could compress margins. The company also anticipates lower adjusted operating profit margins compared to the same quarter last year, citing pricing pressures and the ongoing impact of tariffs.
In addition to the lower cyclical industry sales, CNH has been evaluating multiple potential global trade scenarios. The uncertainty of those scenarios, including the amount and duration of tariffs levied, the policy reactions of U.S. trading partners, and the impact to our end customers, may affect our forecast for the year. CNH has therefore evaluated a wider set of possible outcomes, including tariffs remaining at their current levels through the remainder of the year and, as of July 9, 2025, tariffs increasing to the levels announced by the U.S. government on April 2, 2025.
Consequently, CNH is providing the following updated 2025 outlook:
- Agriculture segment net sales down between 12% and 20% year-over-year, including currency translation effects (from down 13% to 18% previously)
- Construction segment net sales down between 4% and 15% year-over-year, including currency translation effects (from down 5% to 10% previously)
AGCO’s net sales for 2025 are expected to be approximately $9.6 billion, reflecting lower sales volumes and assumed actions to mitigate tariff impacts. These full-year estimates reflect the projected impact of tariffs in place as of May 1, 2025 across the company’s various jurisdictions along with our planned mitigation actions. Changes to the tariffs or other actions in response to them could result in changes to these estimates.
In its financial presentation, Polaris highlighted what it sees as unfair conditions from tariffs. The company said it is U.S. headquartered and assembled but has large tariff exposure due to sourcing parts and components from overseas. It said new rules have created environment where competition has less tariff impact, largest impact due to inputs for U.S. assembly.
The reduce the negative impact of tariffs, Polaris said it will address supply chain and manufacturing, by “taking actions to reduce China sourcing by 30% by year-end.” And it will work “to increase percentage of USMCA qualified shipments. It also plans increased government affairs efforts, meeting with congressional and administration members.
Polaris CEO Michael Speetzen explained that pricing will remain unchanged through May despite bearing higher costs than competitors. The focus is on internal cost management and supply chain adjustments, with significant progress in reducing Chinese content. The company is not relying on price increases as a relief measure and is exploring other avenues, including ongoing negotiations with the administration. Polaris is withdrawing full year 2025 guidance due to trade and economic uncertainty.
Retailers and landscape industry
“While the direct impact of tariffs is relatively small and manageable, the potential impact of ongoing uncertainty related to tariffs, inflation, and interest rates on consumer confidence and end market demand remains to be seen. Against this backdrop, we expect commodity price deflation to continue moderating in 2025 with declines in products like PVC pipe mitigated by increases across our other products. Overall, with the impact of tariffs, we currently expect pricing, which was down 1% in the first quarter, to be flat to slightly up for the full year 2025,” said SiteOne Chairman and CEO Doug Black.
“As the year unfolds amid increasing volatility, our conviction in Tractor Supply’s resilient and durable business model remains strong. We have a long track record of navigating uncertain environments, and we believe we are well-positioned to do so once again,” said Hal Lawton, president and CEO of Tractor Supply.
Tractor Supply is updating its financial guidance for fiscal year 2025. Tractor Supply is actively working with its vendor and supply chain partners to navigate the impact of recently announced tariffs, while also monitoring the broader macroeconomic factors impacting its customers. For fiscal 2025, it expects net sales to grow by 4% to 8%, a change from its previous outlook of 5% to 7% growth.
Price Increase messaging
Husqvarna
Husqvarna will increase pricing on components and materials affected by cost increases. This will go into effect April 21st 2025 and will include all new orders from this day moving forward. As a courtesy, we will uphold the original price for existing credit approved orders in the system.
Husqvarna is working diligently to mitigate these rising costs for our customers. We will continue to monitor the developing circumstances and inform you of any changes as they arise. We are doing everything possible to reduce the impact to our mutual businesses caused by current and future changes.”
Stens
“In our continued effort to be transparent and responsive to shifting global market conditions, we’re sharing an important pricing update effective April 18, 2025, as we respond to recent trade policy changes that are now directly affecting the outdoor power equipment industry and our business at Stens.”
“These combined trade actions are creating broad cost increases across our entire catalog. To continue providing the level of product availability, quality, and service you count on, we’ve made the decision to adjust overall pricing accordingly. New pricing is effective April 18, 2025.”
Spartan
“Last month, we [Spartan mowers] provided advance notification of a surcharge that we intended to implement on April 19. The guidance that we provided was based on the information we had at that time. Since then, we have received additional clarity on both the direct and indirect impacts associated with multiple tariffs. While some of the planned reciprocal tariffs were postponed for a period of time, others remained and/or were increased, including the baseline 10% tariff on imports from all countries, Section 301 and other tariffs on Chinese goods, Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum, and tariffs on non-USMCA qualifying goods.”
“We will implement a 6% price increase on Spartan, Intimidator, and eNVy parts shipped after May 2, 2025. We appreciate your continued partnership as we navigate this situation together. Please continue to reach out to your sales representative with any questions.”
Stanley Black & Decker
Donald Allan, Jr., Stanley Black & Decker’s President & CEO, “In light of the current environment, we are accelerating adjustments to our supply chain and exploring all options as we seek to minimize the impact of tariffs on end users while balancing the need to protect our business and our ability to innovate for years to come. With that in mind, we implemented an initial price increase in April and notified our customers that further price action is required. We are also continuing to closely monitor shifting tariff policies as well as their potential effects on the operating and demand environments with an aim of being agile and responsive. Against this backdrop, our top priorities remain clear: accelerating our growth culture to serve our end users and customers, generating cash and strengthening our balance sheet, and progressing the transformation to support our long-term margin journey.”
One dealer shared:
Toro company recently instituted a 4 to 4.5% depending on parts or whole goods, and it goes into effect April 15 – April 30 depending on brand and distributor. How should dealers handle any price increases due to tariffs? If my cost goes up in any way, I must pass along the increase to my customer to protect my margins and my profitability.
