Christopher Peterson on investment strategy
From Newell Brands' Christopher Peterson, Hellman & Friedman's Patrick Healy at Semafor World Economy · · Semafor Events
“We absolutely have [tolerated lower returns]. I mean, I think we learned a lot coming out of COVID as the unwind and we got you know, stuck stuck up with supply chains etc.”
On , Christopher Peterson, President, Chief Executive Officer & Director at NEWELL BRANDS INC, spoke about investment strategy during Newell Brands' Christopher Peterson, Hellman & Friedman's Patrick Healy at Semafor World Economy on Semafor Events.
About Christopher Peterson
Christopher Peterson, president and CEO of Newell Brands, spoke at the Semafor World Economy event on May 14, 2026. He said the company reduced its manufacturing exposure to China from 35 percent to 10 percent over five years and brought manufacturing back to the U.S., investing $2 billion in U.S. manufacturing since 2017. Peterson stated that automated U.S. plants can compete globally on cost and productivity, citing that nearly all Sharpie pens are now made in Tennessee. He attributed the shift to bipartisan support for tariffs on China under both the Trump and Biden administrations. Peterson noted that tariffs in 2026 are a "significant help" compared to the prior year due to lower tariff rates, but said this is offset by rising commodity and transportation costs. He described U.S. consumer spending as holding up but diverging by income group: the bottom quintile is pulling back on durable and discretionary purchases due to inflation, while mid- and upper-income consumers continue spending. Peterson added that 18-to-24-year-olds are buying less general merchandise, which he linked to higher unemployment in that age group, and said these trends are not seen in Europe, where consumers are more uniformly trading down.