Companies have a playbook for tariffs under Trump. It includes price increases.

President-elect Donald Trump has talked about a tariff of 60% or more on goods from China and an overall tariff of 10% to 20% on imported goods. Still, his plans for global trade remain uncertain.

Many big companies have a playbook for handling tariffs after navigating Trump’s first term in office, when he targeted imports from China and aluminum and steel imports. U.S. importers are on the hook to pay customs duties. Companies have several options to offset the additional cost: raising prices, cutting costs or taking a hit on their profit margin. Some companies already have diversified their supply chains away from China in recent years to avoid the risk of future trade skirmishes.

Chief financial officers say that while price hikes aren’t their only option to respond to potential tariffs, they’re nonetheless on the table. “We consider all the levers that we have at our disposal, and back in 2019 pricing was one of those," said Mandy Fields, CFO at E.l.f. Beauty.

Oakland, Calif.-based E.l.f. Beauty raised prices by $1 on one-third of its goods in response to tariffs imposed in 2019 on Chinese imports. At the time, E.l.f. Beauty, which is known for its low-cost makeup and skin-care products, produced roughly 99% of its goods in China. Since then, the company has diversified its supply chain to include other parts of Asia, Europe and the U.S. The company now produces about 80% of its items in China, Fields said.

More companies will likely move their operations and contracts with Chinese producers to other countries such as Vietnam, South Korea, Malaysia and Indonesia in a second Trump administration, according to Peter Quinter, a partner who advises companies on trade issues at the law firm Gunster.

“Companies can attempt to lower their cost by producing the same product that’s made in China," but in a different country, Quinter said. Oftentimes companies aim to produce closer to home—for instance, in Mexico or Canada.

Finance chiefs face a thorny challenge when it comes to determining how much to lean on price increases to offset tariffs, versus other options at their disposal. In response to tariffs imposed during the first Trump administration, Tractor Supply, the rural retailer, had to determine whether it could counterbalance the costs by negotiating savings with its vendors, said Kurt Barton, the company’s finance chief.

“And then the remaining portion you balance between how much in retail price can you afford to take, and how much margin can you afford to lose?" Barton said.

Companies in recent years have raised prices in response to other inflationary pressures in their business. Many consumers won’t have the appetite to stomach additional increases, finance chiefs said.

“Our view would be that the consumer really isn’t in a position to be open to pricing increases, and it could potentially put us in a position where it aggravates inflation again," said John Vandemore, CFO at Skechers USA. The Manhattan Beach, Calif.-based shoe maker’s sourcing changes depending on the products being made at any given time. But Skechers tends to produce around 40% of its wares in China and the same amount in Vietnam, with the rest spread across other countries, executives told analysts in July.

In response to tariffs imposed in 2019, Skechers reallocated sourcing more from countries not subject to import taxes, looked for concessions from vendors and weighed raising prices, executives have said. Those same options would be considered if new tariffs are imposed, according to Vandemore.

Higher costs now to bring Skechers goods to the U.S. creates a “high likelihood" of having to pass that along to consumers, Vandemore said. “And we think overall, that would just be a bad outcome for consumers."

Companies, under pressure to meet their own financial targets, have little interest in withstanding higher costs or taking a hit to their margins.

Kontoor Brands, which owns denim brands Wrangler and Lee, this year announced a plan to wring $100 million in savings from its operations, with the bulk of it coming from efficiencies within the company’s supply chain. The company primarily produces goods in Bangladesh and Mexico. Tariffs imposed during Trump’s first term didn’t have a material effect on Kontoor because it sourced less than 2% of its products from China, according to the company.

Kontoor CFO Joe Alkire said raising prices is something the Greensboro, N.C.-based company would consider in the future, if necessary. “Price is always a lever, depending on the severity of the potential tariffs," he said.

Write to Kristin Broughton at Kristin.Broughton@wsj.com, Jennifer Williams at jennifer.williams@wsj.com and Mark Maurer at mark.maurer@wsj.com