Refunds for Thee, Not for Me: CEOs Reveal How Businesses Are Cashing Refund Checks for Tariffs Paid by Consumers

Refunds for Thee, Not for Me: CEOs Reveal How Businesses Are Cashing Refund Checks for Tariffs Paid by Consumers

Consumers paid Trump’s tariff costs, but the $166 billion in court-ordered refunds is padding corporate profits as the Iran war drives up the cost of everyday essentials

2026 has been defined by the economic whiplash of Trump’s chaotic tariff agenda and war with Iran, driving up the cost of everything from groceries to gas. But after courts struck down Trump’s illegal tariffs, corporations – not consumers – received a $166 billion windfall in tariff refunds. New analysis of recent corporate earnings calls reveals that instead of passing those savings on to consumers, companies are using the refunds to shield their profit margins from the rising costs of Trump’s war.

American households should have received nearly $1,500 each in tariff refunds. Had that money reached consumers rather than corporations, however, it would continue to be consumed by Trump’s war in Iran. Since February, households have spent nearly $540 on higher gas prices, and direct military spending has cost every household nearly $300. Even worse, the president wants even more taxpayer dollars to prolong the conflict – sticking American families with another $650 bill.

For American families, it’s the same story three times over: they paid for Trump’s tariffs, they’re paying for his war, and now they’ll pay again for a new round of tariffs imposed this week on 99% of imports.

Groundwork Collaborative’s President and CEO, Lindsay Owens, shared the following statement:

“Rather than refunding American families for tariffs they should never have had to pay, corporate executives are openly bragging about using them to hedge their bottom lines against Trump’s war. While working families struggle with higher prices for energy and essentials, corporations should not get to shield themselves with money siphoned straight from Americans.”

BACKGROUND

Corporate earnings calls reveal why tariff refunds are not translating into lower prices for consumers – as Trump’s war with Iran continues to raise costs, companies are choosing to pad their margins rather than lower prices:

• “These are real impacts to the cost of goods sold for us and our suppliers. If the current elevated cost environment persists, we’d expect somewhat higher retail price inflation in Q2 and the second half of the year.” – John David Rainey, CFO, Walmart
•  “Any industry has to pass along the price increases. … There was another fare increase this week as fuel started to go back up, and there were no fare decreases when fuel went down.” – Scott Kirby, CEO, United Airlines
• “I think it’s important to note that the Middle East conflict is really driving more inflation that we had not contemplated before. If you think about our guide, which is mid-single digit cost inflation, we’re tracking towards the high end of that number, which is about 6% right now. We are going to use the majority of the tax refund to offset these higher costs.” – Marcos Gabriel, CFO, McCormick & Company
• “We do expect, like you said, about approximately 1 point of [earnings per share] benefit from tariff refund claims likely in the quarter. We expect a gradual improvement in North America, and we will be using the tariff… refunds to help offset some commodity inflation that we’re seeing and allow us to continue to play offense in the business.” – Steve Schmitt, CFO, PepsiCo
• “Turning to our full year outlook, we are increasing our guidance for the year… Relative to our initial guidance, the [consumer products] margin range reflects the benefit of lower tariff expense offset by higher oil-related input costs, with continued productivity and pricing mix providing further support.” – Gina Goetter, CFO and COO, Hasbro
• “While we have $50 million or so of incremental commodity cost headwind from resins and transportation costs primarily. We think that about half of that is gonna be offset from tariff benefit.” – Chris Peterson, President and CEO, Newell Brands (parent company of Rubbermaid, Yankee Candle, and Sharpie)
• “We’ll fast-forward as much as we can to offset some of those cost pressures [from the war in Iran]. Obviously, net price realization as needed, as required. We’re going to look really hard at our trade ROIs, if we need to take some pricing, that’s kind of a last resort, but obviously, we’ll need to do that.” – Todd Cunfer, CFO, Campbell’s Company 
• “Operational margins expanded at both the gross profit and EBITDA levels, even after excluding the tariff refunds. Higher shipments, favorable mix, and positive net pricing more than offset higher commodity costs and the $32 million of ongoing tariff headwind.”  – Mike Speetzen, CEO, Polaris