Dollar Index: How U.S. companies profit at the dollar declines

On a bigger picture, whenever the U.S. dollar declines investors see it as a bad thing. But looking at its factors, there are various opportunities whenever dollar weakens.

Whenever the dollar declines, its purchasing power globally decreases. That will also mean its purchasing power will come closer to the consumers level. For instance, if the dollar weakens it will increase the value of import oil, bringing oil price up. It also means each dollar buys lesser gas, pinching a lot of customers. This scenario is damaging, but investors could get revenge. They could do so by investing in the stocks of U.S. multinational corporations. There will be a high probability to earn a notable portion of profit overseas.

There will be more emerging markets to acquire American products. As a result, these companies will send more products overseas. That will boost their profit and maybe their shareholder returns.

Multinational Benefits During Dollar Decline

You might be wondering now, how do multinational companies benefit in this scenario? For instance, U.S. companies do a lot of business branches located in Europe. The euro will then be stronger than the dollar. That results in a profit on the branch located in Europe. The product dominates in euros. If these profits convert to a weaker dollar, it will be more dollars for the main company located in the United States. A great win for U.S. companies. Major profit margins often translate better shareholder results.

Quintessential Multinational and The Dollar

McDonald’s and Procter & Gamble (P&G) are two best examples we can discuss on as U.S. multinationals. Both companies are amongst the largest U.S. companies and popular globally. McDonald’s is a known brand in every country, and a significant number of households around the world possibly have at least one P&G product.

Both McDonald’s and P&G gain a significant amount from their international markets annually. It provides them with greater benefits every time the dollar declines. P&G for instance, their manufactures comes with a fair amount of products in the United States. Also, considering its main rivals Unilever and Nestle are foreign firms.

Explaining further, considering Nestle and Unilever are both European companies. When the euro comes strong, it will impact profits on both European companies. But P&G in the contradicting scenario gains profits with a weaker dollar.

Shareholders Benefit During a Weak dollar

Observational outcome supports as proof that the shareholders in U.S. companies also win every time the dollar weakens. Let’s use McDonald’s as an example. Comparing the chart of McDonald’s share to the U.S. dollar index which observes the performance of dollars contradicting a basket of major currencies. The results mostly are alarming. If more Big Macs are consumed in currencies beating the dollar, McDonald’s shareholders will benefit.

As the majority of investors benefit on the capital attraction from the companies during a weak dollar, it could be hard to quantify if the added profits changed towards higher returns for the shareholders. Previous gain from multinationals would benefit them during a weak dollar. It won’t hurt them in case of a dividend hike if the dollar continues to decline it could increase the confidence of the investors.

The Traps During a Weak Dollar

On the shareholder’s point of view, a weak dollar could be a good thing but in moderate portions. There could be a pitfall if a weak dollar prolongs. A weak dollar means a reduction in the purchasing power to the consumers in America. It could bring them to the generic brands preferably than the high-cost premium offers from the multinationals.

A weaker dollar could also impact on currency trading against stronger money. A few companies have plans contracts expecting a specific currency conversion price. Changes will impact on companies performance, keeping conversions on a weaker dollar towards a stronger currency. That leads the companies towards a reduced trade with the United States. Moreover, a prolonged weak dollar would cause a potential loss for jobs plus lower tax profits.