A lot of the companies in the S&P 500 have their eyes on President Donald Trump, and one of his policy promises has caught their eyes more than anything else.
Of the 317 S&P 500 companies that reported their earnings through February 8, roughly 52%, or 162, of those firms have mentioned Trump or the new administration in some wa,y according to analysis by FactSet's John Butters.
During their quarterly earnings calls, the favorite topic of conversation for these massive firms was the new administration's call to cut corporate taxes.
"In terms of government policies in conjunction with the new administration, tax policy was cited or discussed by the highest number of S&P 500 companies at 85," said the note from Butters.
Tax policy has long been cited by analysts and economists as one of the most beneficial policies for corporations that the Trump team has suggested. In a meeting with manufacturing CEOs during the first week of his presidency, Trump promised to cut the federal tax rate to 15-20% from its current statutory 35%.
Concerns grew, however, over the first three weeks of the Trump presidency that tax reform had taken a back seat as Trump focused his first slew of executive orders on immigration and trade.
On Thursday, however, Trump said during a meeting with airline CEOs that he will announce a plan in the "next two or three weeks" that will be "phenomenal in terms of tax."
The second-highest topic of conversation was regulation, which was discussed by 63 companies. Trade policy came in third with 58 companies talking about the topic.