Fitch Sees Worsening Outlook for North American Companies

Fitch Ratings revised its 2025 outlook on North American non-financial firms to “deteriorating” from “neutral,” expecting high tariffs to stoke inflation and dampen consumers’ ability to spend.

The ratings firm also recently did the same on a multitude of consumer-facing sectors in US including retail, alcoholic beverages, restaurants as well as global autos and the global oil and gas sector.

Price increases helped corporate profit margins and cash flows during a period of inflation between 2022 to 2023, when the health of the consumer was supported by a “robust job market and Covid-related fiscal stimulus,” according to Fitch. However, in ...