Apple (AAPL) saw its market value plunge by more than $300bn on Thursday, making it one of Wall Street’s biggest casualties following Donald Trump’s latest tariff offensive.
Shares in the iPhone maker fell more than 9% by the close of trading in New York on Thursday, wiping out its market capitalisation, which dropped from $3.36tn to $3.05tn (£2.59tn to £2.35tn)— marking its largest one-day valuation loss on record. The stock rebounded slightly in pre-market trading, and it is currently hovering just above the flatline.
Trump's tariff push targeted Apple’s (AAPL) key suppliers and manufacturing hubs across Asia, including China, Taiwan, India, and Vietnam, imposing hefty new tariffs on goods imported to the US. This move threatens to disrupt the production of nearly every Apple product, from iPhones to iPads, Macs, and accessories.
The bulk of Apple’s (AAPL) iPhones are manufactured in China, which has been slapped with a 54% tariff. If these tariffs remain in place, Apple faces a difficult decision: absorb the extra costs or pass them on to consumers.
The launch price of the cheapest iPhone 16 model in the US was set at $799. However, according to calculations from analysts at Rosenblatt Securities, the price could surge by up to 43%, potentially driving the cost of the phone to $1,142 if Apple is able to shift the burden onto customers.
For the higher-end iPhone 16 Pro Max, which boasts a 6.9-inch display and 1 terabyte of storage, the price could jump from its current retail price of $1,599 to as much as $2,300, should a 43% increase be passed down to consumers.
Shares of footwear and sports apparel giant Nike (NKE) plunged more than 14% on Thursday following Trump’s announcement of sweeping tariffs on trading partners, erasing $13.9bn in market value.
Starting 5 April, all imports will face a baseline tariff of 10%. On 9 April, an additional rate will be applied to goods from about 60 countries. China, in particular, will see a 34% reciprocal tariff on top of the existing 20% tariff, bringing the total to 54%. Vietnam will face a 46% tariff, while Indonesia will see a 32% duty.
Nike’s (NKE) supply chain is heavily dependent on these countries. Factories in Vietnam, Indonesia and China produce approximately 50%, 27%, and 18% of Nike Brand footwear, respectively. Additionally, about 28%, 16%, and 15% of Nike Brand apparel is manufactured in Vietnam, China, and Cambodia, respectively.
"What president Trump presented ... was a little bit more aggressive than what I think many people were hoping," Telsey Advisory Group's Joe Feldman told Yahoo Finance. Many retail companies "thought they were off the hook for a while because they didn't have a lot of exposure to China, or not a lot to Canada, Mexico ... [they're] clearly rethinking everything right now."
Shares in the coffeehouse chain fell 11% in the last session and were muted in pre-market trading, as markets reacted negatively to Trump’s tariffs blitz.
The US announced on Wednesday its first tariffs on coffee imports since colonial times, with sweeping duties that are expected to increase costs and add complexity for importers and roasters already grappling with near-record prices.
The tariffs include a 46% duty on coffee imports from Vietnam, the world’s second-largest coffee producer, and a 32% tariff on imports from Indonesia, the fourth-largest grower. Coffee from Central and South American countries, including Brazil and Colombia, will face a 10% tariff.
Vietnam is the third-largest supplier of coffee to the US, the world’s largest coffee consumer, and primarily exports robusta coffee, which is commonly used in instant coffee and ready-to-drink cold beverages.
Despite the steep declines, Starbucks (SBUX) managed to limit losses by announcing a quarterly cash dividend of $0.61 per share of outstanding common stock. The dividend is scheduled to be paid on 30 May to shareholders of record as of May 16, 2025.
Shares in Best Buy (BBY) plummeted over 17% during the last trading session and remained just below the flatline in pre-market trading after Citi (C) downgraded the stock to neutral from buy, citing the growing risks posed by tariffs to the company’s sales.
The downgrade follows Trump’s announcement of reciprocal tariffs, which Citi (C) analysts described as worse than anticipated. The firm warned that these tariffs could weigh on both demand and supply chains, further impacting the retailer’s bottom line.
Citi (C) also flagged broader concerns, including rising recession risks, a slowdown in consumer spending, and the impact of higher tariffs on goods imported from China, Vietnam, Indonesia and India.
According to projections from 20 analysts, the one-year price target for Best Buy (BBY) is currently set at an average of $89.53. The estimates range from a high of $110 to a low of $75, suggesting a potential upside of 42.54% from the current stock price of $62.81.
Among 29 brokerage firms, Best Buy’s (BBY) consensus recommendation stands at 2.6, which indicates a "hold" status. This rating scale ranges from 1 to 5, where 1 is a strong buy, and 5 denotes a sell.
California-based luxury home goods retailer RH (RH) plummeted over 40% in the last session, as investors factored in the impact of Trump's latest tariff announcement and weighed disappointing fourth-quarter earnings.
RH’s (RH) chief executive, Gary Friedman, was unusually candid during the company’s earnings call on Thursday. A transcript from the call captured the moment he first saw the sharp decline in stock price:
“I guess the stock was down based on some of the numbers we reported and then it got killed because of — really, [Oh sh*t], Okay, I just looked at the screen. I hadn’t looked at it,” Friedman said, acknowledging that he believed the tariffs had taken a heavy toll on the company’s stock. “It got hit when I think the tariffs came out,” he added, noting that many of RH’s (RH) products come from Asia, which has been significantly impacted by the new tariffs.
The company’s earnings report also didn’t help matters. RH (RH) reported adjusted earnings of $1.58 per share, falling short of analysts’ expectations of $1.92 per share, according to FactSet.
In addition, the company’s full-year 2025 guidance forecasted revenue growth of 10% to 13%, which was below the consensus estimate of 14.6%. The annual adjusted operating margin outlook ranged from 14% to 15%, missing the expected 14.9%.
Analysts at Morgan Stanley (MS) flagged RH’s struggles with “slowing revenue” in a note to clients, attributing the downturn to cautious consumer sentiment amid concerns over the potential fallout from Trump’s trade policies.
