Today Kyriba released its Q1/2020 "Currency Impact Report." This latest iterationof the quarterly report is the first to reflect the effects of theCovid-19 economic crisis. It reports that NorthAmerican companies' earnings per share fell by $10.77 billion, inaggregate, as a result of currency volatility last quarter. That's35 percent higher than in the fourth quarter of last year but stilllower than in Q3/2019.

FiREapps (a Kyriba company) determines the degree to whichcurrency headwinds are affecting corporate earnings by analyzingthe frequency with which corporate leaders mention foreign exchange(FX) during quarterly earnings calls, along with the size of the FXimpact—if the executives address the size of impact during theirearnings call.

For the first quarter of this year, FiREapps studied 1,200 largepublicly traded North American and European companies, all of whichdo business in more than one currency and earn at least 15 percentof their revenue overseas. Of those, 267 North American companiesand 18 European companies reported a negative currency impactduring their Q1/2020 earnings calls.

For companies based in North America, the currency most commonlyreferenced as suppressing earnings was the Brazilian real, with theeuro following close behind. The Mexican peso was third mostfrequently mentioned, which isn't shocking, as it was the secondmost volatile G-20 currency in Q1. The Chinese yuan and Australiandollar round out the top five.

The industries most impacted by currency volatility werehealthcare equipment and supplies; professional services;machinery, trading, and distribution; chemicals; and biotech andpharmaceuticals.