Here’s What Executives Are Saying About Trump’s Surprise Victory

(Bloomberg) -- First markets took a dive, then they soared. Still trying to figure out what President-elect Donald Trump means for business? Executives are sharing their own thoughts on earnings calls, and in meetings and conferences. The following commentary was collected from Nov. 9 and Nov. 10 using the DS function.

John Walker, chairman and chief executive officer, EV Energy Partners LP:
“My concern, obviously, is Trump himself. Whether or not he will be presidential and whether he can control his ego. And then my major concern specifically will be Mexico, because it’s such an important ally from a natural gas standpoint.” (Nov. 9)

John McRoberts, chairman and CEO, MedEquities Realty Trust Inc.:
“Our feeling is that there may be efforts to not necessarily repeal the Affordable Care Act, but maybe massage it to create a better product.”
“Just to repeal it would just be a mammoth undertaking, and so, we don’t see that at all. We see some tweaking to it to make it a better product for the people who are using that.” (Nov. 10)

John Stephens, chief financial officer, AT&T Inc.:
“From a company perspective, we really look forward to working with President-elect Trump and his transition team. His policies, his discussions about infrastructure investment, economic development and American innovation, all fit right in with AT&T’s goals.” (Nov. 9)

Kelcy Warren, billionaire founder, chairman and CEO, Energy Transfer Partners LP:
“Having a government that actually backs up what they say, that actually says, ‘we’re going to support infrastructure, we’re going to support job creation, we’re going to support growth in America,’ -- and then actually does it. My God, this is going to be refreshing. So, I think, overall, I’m very, very enthusiastic about what’s going to happen with our country, very enthusiastic and as it supports our industry.” (Nov. 10)

James Barr, president of emerging businesses, Ritchie Bros Auctioneers:
“And Donald Trump, I think, talked about $600 billion to spend on infrastructure. I think that excludes the wall. So, it is very exciting. If he really makes that come true, I think this is going to be amazingly good.” (Nov. 10)

Michel Letellier, CEO, Innergex Renewable Energy Inc.:
“Well, it’s not good news, having him elected, for our industry. But like I said, there is a lot of initiative that lies with the states. So I think that the states are more progressive in many ways and more active. Also if he looks into the free market I think that the coal has not been killed by renewable energy, it has been killed lately by natural gas price. I don’t think that trend will change.” (Nov. 10)

Doug Yearley, CEO, Toll Brothers Inc.:
“We’re all just trying to deal with our hangovers this morning, so it’s hard.”
“I mean if Donald Trump is building a wall, and last time I checked a president can’t just declare that he is building a wall, we do have a system of checks and balances in this country and it’s never quite as easy as any presidential candidate says it may be for anything to get done. Our business is an immigrant-based business; then again, so are his hotels and so are his casinos.” (Nov. 9)

Charlie Ergen, billionaire founder, chairman and CEO, Dish Network Corp.:
“You’re probably going to see a more rational tax code, particularly as it relates to corporate taxes and particularly as it relates to maybe bringing overseas money back which then can pay for infrastructure. So I think those are all potentially big positives for business in general. I think you’re going to see lighter regulation, which I think could help GDP. Any time you have less regulation, you have a better chance for GDP growth. I think you have a chance now for maybe immigration reform and maybe some bipartisan support for immigration reform. That would be a positive for GDP. So you’ve got a lot of potential policy positives for business in general.” (Nov. 9)

Mark DeYoung, chairman and CEO, Vista Outdoor Inc.:
“President-elect Trump has been very supportive of sportsman issues -- hunting, shooting, second amendment rights --so I think the near-term risk that may have concerned some people regarding regulation and restriction should have subsided. and an environment of of more normal growth and long-term buying patterns in shooting sports is beneficial to our business, so we know that we’ve had great increase in the numbers of participants in the Shooting Sports. We know they are consuming a lot of our ammunition and we think that’s good for the company in the long-term.” (Nov. 10)

To contact the reporters on this story: Caleb Melby in New York at cmelby@bloomberg.net, Brandon Kochkodin in New York at bkochkodin@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brandon Kochkodin at bkochkodin@bloomberg.net, Alan Goldstein