Tariff refunds: the ten biggest in the S&P 500
After the Supreme Court struck down the IEEPA tariffs, the money is coming back. The ten biggest refunds in the S&P 500 add up to about $12 billion, led by Apple, Walmart and Ford.
In February the Supreme Court ruled that the tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) were not authorised. US Customs then opened a system for refund claims, and the money has started to come back. CFO Dive counted mentions on 72 S&P 500 earnings calls in the third quarter alone.
We read the results releases and the news archive for every S&P 500 company and ranked the refunds each one put a figure on. The ten largest add up to about $12 billion.
In this chart: Apple · Walmart · Ford · Target · Nike · Tesla · Home Depot · Caterpillar · Dollar Tree · Deere
How each figure was stated
- Apple, about $3.3 billion: our estimate. Apple gave the refunds as about 2 points of gross margin in the June quarter and 1 point in September (11 and 5 cents a share), not in dollars.
- Walmart, about $2.9 billion in its second quarter, as reported; it is putting the money into lower prices.
- Ford, $1.3 billion booked in the first quarter; it expects about $500 million of the cash this year.
- Target, $994 million in the second quarter.
- Nike, $986 million, booked as an expected recovery in its May quarter.
- Tesla, $786 million in the third quarter, less $339 million it owes some storage customers.
- Home Depot, $685 million in its second quarter.
- Caterpillar, $520 million: $392 million in the second quarter and $128 million in the third.
- Dollar Tree, $383 million in the second quarter, interest included.
- Deere, $382 million in the first nine months of its year.
Next in line: TJX $331 million, Ross $253 million, RTX about $250 million, Williams-Sonoma $244 million, Costco $184 million, PepsiCo $178 million.
What it is, and is not
A one-off. The refunds lift a quarter’s margin and cash once; several companies leave them out of their adjusted figures, and some, Walmart and Costco among them, are passing them on as lower prices. Tariffs under other laws still apply. Companies state the amounts differently (gross or net, booked or received), so the ranking is a guide, not an exact league table.