‘Unprecedented’ Has Become Corporate America’s Go-To Descriptor
- Almost 75% of S&P 500 earnings calls have employed this term
- Usage is more prevalent now than in October 2008 earnings
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The use of the word unprecedented has become, well, unprecedented.
At a loss to describe the scale of disruption caused by the novel coronavirus, corporate America is falling back on the adjective to describe everything from supply chain stress to the severity of the health crisis. As of Tuesday, nearly three-quarters of the 52 S&P 500 Index companies that have reported since April 14 used “unprecedented” on earnings calls, according to a Bloomberg analysis of transcripts.