References to inflation in Russell 3000 company transcripts rose 185% year over year on a three-month moving average, with technology-related sectors recording some of the sharpest increases.
Technology hardware and equipment companies posted a 1,309% increase in inflation mentions. Semiconductor and semiconductor-equipment companies recorded a 760% rise, while materials companies saw mentions climb 553%.
The increase extended beyond technology. Pharmaceutical, biotechnology and life-sciences companies recorded a 493% increase, followed by household and personal-products companies at 393%. Capital-goods companies rose 230%, transportation companies 290%, commercial and professional services 127%, and energy companies 175%.
Industrials and consumer companies continued to discuss inflation most frequently in absolute terms, even as the largest year-over-year increases came from smaller sector groupings.
Industrials had the most calls containing the term, while materials and consumer staples had the highest shares of calls with an inflation reference. Information technology was among the sectors where mentions increased quarter over quarter.
The differing results reflect different universes and measures: the Russell 3000 analysis tracks the year-over-year change in mention frequency using a three-month moving average, while the S&P 500 review counts calls containing the term over a single quarter.