Companies Are Bracing Themselves For El Niño’s Ripple Effects

People wade through a flooded road caused by monsoon rains, in Apalit, Pampanga, Philippines, on Aug. 20.People wade through a flooded road caused by monsoon rains, in Apalit, Pampanga, Philippines, on Aug. 20.Daniel Ceng/Anadolu—Getty ImagesThe warnings from meteorologists have been growing slowly but steadily in recent months: the most severe El Niño on record may be coming soon. Record-breaking temperatures and a slew of extreme weather events are likely to follow.For companies and investors, alarm bells are already sounding. Hundreds of publicly traded companies—particularly in the food and chemicals sectors—have used earnings calls in recent months to outline their contingency planning. And banks have warned about the possibility of a supply shock that drives up prices as extreme weat