What Happened?
Shares of iPhone and iPad maker Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) fell 9.1% in the morning session after President Trump announced "reciprocal tariffs" on all US imports, set at a minimum rate of 10%.
Apple, in particular, stood out as especially vulnerable due to its entrenched reliance on production in Asia, especially its China operations. The reciprocal tariffs pushed effective rates on all Chinese imports above 50%.
With many of its manufacturing hubs now subject to elevated tariff burdens, Apple faces fresh challenges. Shifting production isn't something you do over the weekend. It takes years and a ton of cash, and even then, there could be more unexpected challenges. This could include factory buildouts, retraining workers, and moving equipment, which could quickly become a logistical headache. So, in the short term, this could hit Apple's margins, mess up delivery timelines, and create significant earnings uncertainty.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks. Is now the time to buy Apple? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
What The Market Is Telling Us
Apple’s shares are very volatile and have had 23 moves greater than 2.5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 24 days ago when the stock dropped 5.6% on the news that markets tumbled, extending the weakness from the previous week as concerns over the ongoing trade war continued to spread. Over the weekend, President Trump fielded questions regarding recession worries on FOX News, calling the market struggle "a period of transition," but that didn't do much to calm investors. The sell-off was particularly pronounced in the tech sector, with the Nasdaq falling 3% into correction territory, while the S&P 500 also posted a 2% decline.
Separately, Citi analyst Atif Malik removed the stock from the "Positive Catalyst Watch," citing the delay in the "much-anticipated" Siri upgrade. The analyst believed an early update would have boosted the iPhone upgrade cycle in 2025.
Apple is down 16% since the beginning of the year, and at $204.88 per share, it is trading 20.9% below its 52-week high of $259.02 from December 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Apple’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $3,395.
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