Apple's stock falls again after 'gut punch' from Trump's new tariff plan
Shares of Apple Inc. fell 0.9% in premarket trading Friday, adding to the previous session's 2.2% drop, in the wake of President Trump announce plans to place a 10% tariff on an additional $300 billion worth of Chinese goods. Analyst Dan Ives at Wedbush said the tariffs are a potential "gut punch" for Apple, as they could cut fiscal 2020 earnings per share by 4% if Apple decides to absorb the tariff-related price increases, or cut iPhone demand by 6 million to 8 million iPhones if Apple passes the price increases on to consumers. "After Cook & Co. have navigated significant noise and headwinds the last thing the bulls wanted to see [Wednesday] was this news from the Trump administration as Apple is clearly caught in the crossfires between D.C. and Beijing," Ives wrote in a note to clients. "While many U.S. companies are impacted by this latest trade tension, the 'poster child' for the U.S.-China UFC trade battle continues to be Apple in the eyes of the Street with fears running rampant that these latest tariffs could significantly increase the cost of iPhones globally and have a major negative impact on Street numbers across the board." Apple's stock has lost 0.3% over the past three months while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 1.1%.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.