Squeezed by Strong Dollar, Companies Try to Neutralize Currency Swings

Some U.S. companies are stepping up efforts to minimize the pain inflicted by the strong dollar on their earnings after a recent surge in the value of the greenback capped off years of broad, if fitful, gains against other currencies.

The strong dollar has been a continuing nuisance for U.S. companies with global operations, which convert their earnings abroad into dollars when they report results. The strength of the U.S. dollar has made the conversion more expensive, cutting into profit and adding an element of unpredictability into quarterly earnings and forecasts. The WSJ Dollar Index, which tracks the dollar against a basket of other currencies, rose 6% during the fourth quarter of 2024. While the index has come down from its latest peak in mid-January, it remains up 2.4% as of Wednesday from a year earlier.