Apple just had its best day since 1998; shares soar 15%

Apple's shares soared by 15% on Wednesday following President Donald Trump's announcement of a 90-day pause on his administration's "reciprocal tariffs," which would have impacted the company's production facilities located in Vietnam, India, and Thailand.

Apple’s stock notched its biggest gain in 27 years

This surge in stock value added over $400 billion to Apple's market capitalization, bringing it just shy of the $3 trillion mark. It marked Apple’s most significant one-day gain since January 1998, a period when late founder Steve Jobs was serving as interim CEO—three years prior to the launch of the first iPod. Back then, Apple’s market cap was approximately $3 billion.

Trump's tariffs had particularly affected Apple, which was experiencing its worst four-day trading period since 2000 leading up to this announcement. Investors had been concerned about Apple's future, given that the company generates the majority of its revenue from selling physical devices that are imported into the United States.

A substantial portion of Apple's iPhones and other hardware is still manufactured in China, which did not benefit from the tariff pause. In fact, Trump escalated tariffs on Chinese goods to 125%, an increase from the previous 54%. Meanwhile, China retaliated by implementing an 84% tariff on U.S. products this week, raising concerns that Apple might be caught in a trade war and potentially lose market share in China, its third-largest sales market.

In response to these challenges, Apple has been making efforts to diversify its supply chain away from China in recent years. On Wednesday, tariffs on goods imported from Vietnam were reduced from 46% to 10%, and those on imports from India were cut from 26% to 10%. This shift enhances the likelihood that Apple will be able to meet a significant portion of U.S. customer demand from overseas factories with lower tariffs.

The announcement prompted a significant rally in the stock market overall, with the Nasdaq Composite surging over 12%, marking its second-best trading day ever. While Apple has yet to publicly comment on Trump’s tariffs, it is expected that CEO Tim Cook will discuss the issue during an earnings call scheduled for May 1.