Tariffs, recession fears & agentic AI dominate US CEO calls
IoT Analytics has released its analysis of the second quarter of 2025, providing data on what topics dominated earnings calls among US-listed companies.
Rising focus on tariffs
The analysis, which examined more than 8,000 earnings calls from over 4,000 companies between the first and second quarters of 2025, identified tariffs as one of the key topics raised by senior executives. According to the findings, three out of every four earnings calls in Q2 2025 included discussion of tariffs, the highest since the research series began.
Executives frequently raised concerns over tariff-related uncertainty, adjustments to supply chain strategies, and the financial impact of new or increased tariffs. The US's ongoing trade disputes with multiple trading partners were cited as a substantial factor.
Tariffs are clearly top of mind for CEOs right now, with 3 out of 4 companies discussing them in Q2—often in the context of rising costs, localization of supply chains, and heightened uncertainty. Meanwhile, the AI narrative is shifting: Mentions of infrastructure and general AI are declining, while emerging topics like agentic AI and AI agents are gaining traction in boardroom discussions.
Recession concerns growing
IoT Analytics noted a dramatic increase in mentions of the possibility of recession, with references to economic contraction jumping 343% from Q1 to Q2 2025. This increase aligns with periods of negative economic growth in the United States, as measured by GDP data for the same period.
In many calls, company leadership teams discussed the implications of a potential recession on hiring, investment, and procurement. Some leaders referenced contingency planning and stress-testing business models against a backdrop of economic uncertainty.
Agentic AI in the spotlight
In the realm of artificial intelligence, the focus among CEOs became more specialised in the second quarter. References to agentic AI—a term referring to systems capable of autonomous decision-making—and AI agents rose by 39% and 41% respectively compared to the previous quarter.
This marks a departure from more generalised discussions of AI's role or the infrastructure behind it. Mentions of broader AI topics, such as data centres, declined by 16% quarter-over-quarter, indicating a shift in attention from foundational capabilities to specific AI-driven applications and tools.
Sustainability takes a back seat
The report also found that the topic of sustainability continued its downward trend. Mentions in earnings calls dropped by 18% versus the previous quarter. Such a change comes amid an apparent pivot in CEO priorities from longer-term environmental and social themes to immediate operational and strategic concerns.
The summary of Q2 2025 discussions reinforces earlier observations regarding shifts in executive-level discourse. According to the What CEOs Talked About report, the three most significant areas of discussion in Q2 2025 were tariffs, the possibility of a recession, and agentic AI. General AI topics, including infrastructure, and sustainability considerations, both saw reduced prominence.
Context for the data
Researchers at IoT Analytics gather and review transcripts of earnings calls on a quarterly basis to monitor changes in CEO priorities and concerns. The second-quarter release draws on a substantial data set, providing a broad snapshot of sentiment across major sectors. This approach provides a longitudinal view of trends, highlighting the adoption and abandonment of topics within corporate circles over time.
