CEOs in the News

In Need of a Share-Price Bump? Time to Visit Donald Trump

Just as the president-elect can take away from a company’s market capitalization with an aggressive tweet, he also can add shareholder value following a publicized face-to-face encounter.

Many of the business leaders who have recently visited Trump Tower in New York or his holiday home in Florida know this all too well. They include Alibaba’s Jack Ma, Boeing’s Dennis Muilenburg, Oracle’s Safra Catz and Softbank’s Masayoshi Son.

All saw their company’s share price outperform the index on the day they paid a visit, according to an analysis conducted by CNBC. In fact, of the 11 corporate luminaries who tangled with Trump, just three saw their share price underperform. The median level of outperformance was 0.94%.

The analysis didn’t include group meetings, such as last month’s tech leaders’ summit, or meetings with former CEOs.

“All saw their company’s share price outperform the index on the day they paid a visit.

Explanations for the Trump bump aren’t easy to pin down because many factors can contribute to a stock’s performance at any given moment. But it appears investors have largely embraced the idea of CEOs getting the opportunity to put their case to Trump in person—and perhaps make a few pledges to keep him off their backs.

Boeing’s Muilenburg, for example, was able to use his meeting with Trump in Florida to cool concerns that the incoming administration would cancel an order for new Air Force One aircraft.

Alibaba’s Ma and Softbank’s Son both won the president’s praises for promising greater investment in the U.S., while BHP Billiton CEO Andrew McKenzie said he and Trump discussed how the mining giant could support the administration’s infrastructure spending plans.

Drug company bosses, meanwhile, currently gathered for an industry conference in San Francisco, are the latest to suffer Trump’s wrath. On Wednesday, during his first press conference as president-elect, he said the industry “was getting away with murder” by not having to bid for certain government supply contracts.

Perhaps it’s time for them to take a trip to New York.


Ross Kelly

Ross Kelly is a London-based business journalist. He has been a staff correspondent or editor at The Wall Street Journal, Yahoo Finance and the Australian Associated Press.

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