The weather excuse is still in season on Wall Street.
As of Wednesday, a whopping 93 out of 154 companies reporting first-quarter earnings mentioned the weather during their earnings calls with investors, according to FactSet Research.
Talk of the elements dominated at FedEx, whose call was littered with 41 mentions of the weather, according to the firm. Railroads Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern tied for second place at 39 apiece.
That extends the trend seen a quarter earlier, when companies blamed the weather for disappointing fourth-quarter results twice as much as they did a year earlier, according to FactSet.
This past winter was among the longest and harshest in memory, with the Northeast hit particularly hard by a slew of snowstorms that snarled rail lines and highways.
UPS said the rain, snow and wind hampered its ability to deliver packages to holiday shoppers on time. McDonald’s said unruly weather kept customers from venturing out for Big Macs.
“We’ve seen times in the past where it seemed little more than an excuse,” FactSet analyst John Butters told The Post. “This time around, I think it’s pretty legitimate.”
On Friday, Ford Motor said it got slapped with $100 million in weather-related costs, including increased expenses for parts shipments.
In some cases, however, the weather excuse seemed doubtful. While Dunkin’ Donuts said it was “significantly impacted” by the harsh winter, Starbucks wasn’t.
And even though customers were stuck inside their homes during the cold months, Verizon FiOS blamed disappointing growth on people who didn’t wanted TV service installed in inclement weather.
As the sun finally emerges, not all companies will benefit. Restaurants, for example, aren’t likely to make up business lost to storms in recent months, Butters says. For retailers of clothing, auto parts and home-improvement suppliers, however, it could be a different story.
“If people had damage and couldn’t get into the stores because of the storms, they’ll come back,” he said.