Cost Anxieties Are Being Fanned Everywhere in the Stock Market
- Margin pressures rising as more companies warn on expenses
- Fastenal, PPG Industries and Trinseo latest to raise flags
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One bad dream for stock bulls is that something in the economy starts driving up corporate costs, torpedoing the earnings miracle behind the rally. Signs of it are multiplying.
The evidence varies from sector to sector, from rising labor and transportation costs to higher prices for raw materials to expenses associated with tariffs on China-sourced goods. At least three companies warned of weaker profit margins this week: construction suppliers Fastenal Co., PPG Industries Inc., chemical manufacturer Trinseo SA.