SAN FRANCISCO — As the quarterly earnings season for major technology companies begins, the industry finds itself navigating through unforeseen uncertainty and turmoil following Donald Trump’s unexpected return to the presidency nearly 100 days ago.
Since Trump took office on January 20, stocks in the tech sector have experienced volatile fluctuations resulting in a significant loss in shareholder wealth, wiping out trillions of dollars amid the introduction of tariffs and other disruptive policies.
This is in stark contrast to the expectations of key tech leaders such as Apple CEO Tim Cook, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. They had shown support for Trump, anticipating his leadership to foster a more business-friendly environment compared to the regulatory approaches of the previous Biden administration, particularly in areas like artificial intelligence and economic growth through deals.
However, the current trajectory of the Trump administration has primarily frustrated major tech companies. This group, which includes Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, Tesla, Google’s parent company Alphabet, and Facebook’s parent Meta Platforms, has seen its collective market valuation decrease by $4.2 trillion or 24% since Trump’s inauguration.
The worst of this decline followed Trump’s announcement on April 2 of extensive reciprocal tariffs that threatened to severely disrupt Big Tech’s supply chains, particularly those tied to China and other significant international markets. Temporary relief emerged from a freeze on some of the harshest tariffs and exemptions on electronics imported from China; however, Trump has hinted that these are potentially temporary solutions.
The looming trade war casts a long shadow over the tech industry, whose global reach is undeniable. “The ongoing confusion from unpredictable announcements by the White House is overwhelming for both industry leaders and investors, creating chaos for companies attempting to manage their supply chains, inventories, and market demand,” noted Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities.
In addition to tariff-related upheavals, the Trump administration is actively addressing regulatory challenges, including allegations that Meta maintains an illegal monopoly in the social networking space, and efforts to convince a federal judge to dismantle Google following findings of anticompetitive behavior by its search engine. Meanwhile, antitrust litigation initiated by the previous administration threatens to impact Apple and Amazon, with no indication of retreat from the current administration.
Nvidia faced a significant blow last week when a ban was announced on selling one of its popular AI chips to China, leading the company to account for a $5.5 billion charge over its stockpiled chips intended for export.
As these tech companies report their financial results for the first quarter of the year, their CEOs will have opportunities to address these hurdles and discuss the implications of ongoing trade disputes and other challenges during earnings calls with industry analysts.
The sequence of financial disclosures commences with Tesla’s report, scheduled after its disclosure that first-quarter car sales dropped by 13% year-over-year, amidst unrest involving vandalism, protests, and calls for a boycott in response to Musk’s visibility in the White House as he undertakes significant budget cuts in government agencies.
Following Musk’s detailing of measures to reverse Tesla’s notable 47% decrease in market value during his tenure under Trump, Google’s parent company Alphabet Inc. is set to release their results on Thursday. Other prominent tech firms in the Magnificent Seven, including Meta and Microsoft, will present on April 30, while Amazon and Apple will share their earnings on May 1.
Nvidia, operating on a fiscal timeline that ends in January, will conclude this earnings period with its report on May 28.
This article updates the schedule for Amazon’s earnings report, noting it will be released on May 1.