$9.5 Billion in Total Quarterly FX Headwinds for North American and European Multinational Corporations

Published: July 15, 2021

San Diego - Kyriba’s Currency Impact Report (CIR), a comprehensive quarterly report detailing the impacts of foreign exchange (FX) exposures among 1,200 multinational companies based in North America and Europe, revealed a negative impact from currency volatility of $9.54 billion. North American companies experienced greater headwinds than their European counterparts in the first quarter of 2021, reporting $5.87 billion in FX-related negative impact -- a staggering increase of 322% from the last quarter. By comparison, European corporations reported $3.67 billion in negative impact.

“Despite warnings that currency volatility would be on the rise, many companies were unprepared to manage FX exposures, according to the data. As businesses experience a post-pandemic surge in activity, CFOs were unable to keep up with currency movements, unnecessarily risking corporate liquidity,” said Wolfgang Koester, Chief Evangelist for Kyriba. “With nearly $10 billion in preventable losses, CEOs need their finance chiefs to understand the currency exposures within their balance sheet and take action to retain profits and maximise liquidity to sustain growth.”

Highlights from the July 2021 Kyriba Currency Impact Report include:

The Kyriba Currency Impact Report is a comprehensive report detailing the impact of foreign exchange exposures among publicly traded companies. All companies analyzed in the report’s findings conduct business in more than one currency, with at least 15% of their revenue coming from nations that are located outside of their headquarters.

To learn more about specific industries affected and which currencies were most impactful to multinationals, download the full July 2021 Kyriba Currency Impact Report.