Bengaluru - The US-Israeli war with Iran has already cost companies around the world at least US$25 billion (S$32 billion) - and the bill is climbing, according to a Reuters analysis.A review of corporate statements since the start of the conflict by companies listed in the United States, Europe and Asia offers a sobering look at the fallout. Businesses are grappling with soaring energy prices, fractured supply chains and trade routes severed by Iran’s chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz.At least 279 companies have cited the war as a trigger for defensive actions to blunt the financial hit, including price increases and production cuts, the analysis shows. Others have suspended dividends or buybacks, furloughed staff, added fuel surcharges, or sought emergency government assistance.The upheaval - the latest in a series of discombobulating global events for business following the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine - is tempering expectations for the rest of 2026 with little sense that an agreement to end the conflict is forthcoming.“This level of industry decline is similar to what we have observed during the global financial crisis and even higher than during other recessionary periods,” Whirlpool chief executive officer Marc Bitzer told analysts after it slashed its full-year forecast in half and suspended its dividend.As growth slows, pricing power will weaken and fixed costs will become harder to absorb, analysts say, threatening profit margins in the second quarter and beyond. Sustained price hikes are likely to fuel inflation, hurting already-fragile consumer confidence.“Consumers are holding back on replacing products and rather repairing them,” Mr Bitzer said.The appliance maker is not alone. Companies including Procter & Gamble, Malaysian condom maker Karex and Toyota have warned of the mounting toll as the conflict enters its third month.Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz - the world’s most critical energy chokepoint - has pushed oil prices above US$100 a barrel, more than 50 per cent higher than before the war. The closure has driven up shipping costs, squeezed supplies of raw materials and cut off trade routes vital to the flow of goods. Supplies of fertilisers, helium, aluminium, polyethylene and other key inputs have been hit.One-fifth of companies in the review - which make everything from cosmetics to tyres and detergent, to cruise operators and airlines - have flagged a financial hit due to the war.A majority were based in the UK and Europe, where energy costs were already elevated, while almost a third were from Asia, reflecting those regions’ deep reliance on Middle Eastern oil and fuel products.To put the tally into context, hundreds of companies by October 2025 had flagged more than US$35 billion in costs from US President Donald Trump’s 2025 tariffs.Airlines account for the biggest share of quantified war-related costs, representing nearly US$15 billion, with jet fuel prices having nearly doubled. But as the bottleneck drags on, more companies from other industries are sounding the alarm. Japan’s Toyota warned of a US$4.3 billion hit while P&G estimated a US$1 billion post-tax profit blow. Fast-food giant McDonald’s said earlier in May it expected higher long-term cost inflation from ongoing supply-chain disruptions, the kind of assessment that until recently had been confined to industrial earnings calls.Corporate profits have been buoyant through the first quarter, part of why major indexes like the S&P 500 have managed to scale new highs even as energy costs bite.Since March 31, second-quarter net profit margin forecasts have been cut by 0.38 percentage points for S&P 500 industrials, 0.14 percentage points for consumer discretionary companies and 0.08 percentage points for consumer staples, FactSet data show.European STOXX 600-listed companies will face margin pressure beginning in the second quarter, as it will become harder to pass through extra costs and as protection from hedging expires, Goldman Sachs analysts said.In Japan, analysts have halved estimates for second-quarter earnings growth to 11.8 per cent since the end of March.“The true earnings hit has not yet materialised in most companies’ results,” said Rami Sarafa, CEO of Cordoba Advisory Partners.German tyremaker Continental expects a hit of at least 100 million euros (S$149 million) from the second quarter due to surging oil prices making raw materials more expensive. Continental executive Roland Welzbacher said in May it would take three to four months before affecting the company’s profit-and-loss statement. “It probably hits us late in Q2, and then it will come in full-blown in the second half,” he said. REUTERS