AAPL: Apple Stock Parties Like It's 1998 to Reclaim First Spot, Elbowing Out Microsoft

Trump’s tariff reprieve didn’t solve the China issue — in fact, it made it worse. The iPhone could triple in price if it’s made in the US.

📈 Apple Stock Posts Best Gain in 27 Years

• Maybe it was investors hoping that Trump will blink first in the standoff with China. Or maybe it was just the euphoria effect from all the stocks fired up. Apple stock AAPL soared 15% on Wednesday for its best day since 1998. It added some $450 billion in the span of less than eight hours as the broad market rallied to the brink of bursting.
• The man of the hour, Donald Trump, waved off his lofty tariffs on most countries with a post on his Truth Social platform. “I have authorized a 90 day PAUSE, and a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff during this period, of 10%, also effective immediately,” Trump said.

🏆 Apple Back at $3 Trillion

• The feat helped Apple kick Microsoft out of the top seat of the world’s biggest companies. Apple is now back at the $3 trillion mark with its shares closing the day at $198.55. Microsoft (ticker: MSFT) was also a big winner in the session, closing up 10% to $390.49 a share.
• But was there really a fundamental change in Apple’s outlook? There was, and it wasn’t positive. But investors didn’t let this spoil the good opportunity of buying low.

📣 Tariffs for You, Not for Them

• Trump didn’t just drop the high tariffs on most countries. He increased those slapped on China by an additional 21% to a total of 125%. The White House had previously said that those who dare to retaliate will be punished more severely. And that’s what China did earlier in the day — it introduced more tariffs to a total of 84%. Needless to say, the US didn’t like it.
• “Based on the lack of respect that China has shown to the World’s Markets, I am hereby raising the Tariff charged to China by the United States of America to 125%, effective immediately,” he wrote.
• “At some point, hopefully in the near future, China will realize that the days of ripping off the U.S.A., and other Countries, is no longer sustainable or acceptable.”

🚦 The Tough Road Ahead for Apple

• Here’s the deal — nine out of ten iPhones are made in China and that’s not sitting well with the sitting President. In previous comments, he’s said that he “absolutely” wants the iPhone to be made in the US. But that would be costly and take years to arrange.
• Estimates point that if Apple were to set up US factories to manufacture its flagship product, this would result in prices skyrocketing. The iPhone that now costs $1,000 could more than triple in price to $3,500. Not to mention the opportunity cost due to years of logistics, moving, building up the facilities, hiring and training the staff. Maybe it was actually investors hoping that Trump would drop the boxing gloves in the sparring with China.