Apple experienced a staggering loss of $300 billion during intraday trading on Thursday amid concerns that President Trump’s mutual tariffs could impact the market, with worries about disruptions to the supply chain.
Shares of the device manufacturer plummeted nearly 9% following Trump’s announcement of increased taxes on its international trade partners.
This includes a 54% tariff on imports from China, where Apple produces the majority of its hardware, 26% on goods from India, and 46% from Vietnam.
Apple is headed for its largest single-day loss since September 2020. As reported by CNBC, it ranks as the most valuable company globally, valued at over $3 trillion.
This decline comes despite CEO Tim Cook’s ongoing efforts to build a strong rapport with Trump, including attending the inauguration ceremony in January.
In February, Apple committed $500 billion to the US economy and announced plans to create 20,000 jobs to improve relations with Trump.
Some government officials have proposed that Apple may receive tariff exemptions, but Trump has yet to make a public announcement regarding the matter.
Other major “epic 7” companies also faced widespread market losses, with Amazon’s stock declining nearly 8%, wiping out more than $163 billion in market value.
AI chip manufacturer Nvidia dropped approximately 5%, equating to about $140 billion off its valuation.
Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta fell over 7%, Google parent company Alphabet saw a 3% decline, and Microsoft dropped 2%. Elon Musk’s Tesla continued its downward trend with a 5% decrease.
Trump and his supporters argue that mutual tariffs are necessary to correct unfair international trade conditions and to incentivize more manufacturing within the US.
However, the tariffs announced this week have been described as “worse than the worst-case scenario for tariffs” and “confusing for the tech sector,” according to Wedbush analyst Dan Ives.
“Tech stocks are clearly under significant pressure following this announcement due to fears about disruptions in demand, supply chains, and especially the tariffs affecting China/Taiwan,” Ives noted in a statement to clients.
“Apple primarily manufactures all iPhones in China, and the key issue is regarding exceptions or exemptions concerning these tariff regulations,” he continued.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq index plummeted over 800 points, nearly 5%, in early Thursday trading. The broader S&P 500 dropped more than 200 points, close to 4%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 1,565 points or nearly 4%.
