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Trump’s tariffs have created significant uncertainty in the market. According to CNBC, investors are closely watching how tariff-related risks may impact their operation and capex. The following highlights key points to watch ahead of upcoming earnings calls from Tesla, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, and NVIDIA.
Tesla
Tesla’s earnings report on Tuesday comes amid a challenging backdrop for the EV market, as noted in the report. Tariffs add to the challenges, with Tesla relying heavily on Chinese suppliers for components such as automotive glass, printed circuit boards, and battery cells. The report also highlights that Tesla’s business was already facing headwinds before tariff concerns intensified. In early April, Tesla reported 337,000 vehicle deliveries for the first quarter, down 13% from a year earlier.
Meta
Costs could become a concern for Meta in its data center operations, as CEO Mark Zuckerberg indicated earlier this year that the company plans to spend between USD 60 billion and USD 65 billion on capital expenditures in 2025. As the report highlights, much of the necessary infrastructure must be imported from Asia, raising questions about how much additional spending may be required to sustain Meta’s AI ambitions.
Microsoft
As the report notes, Microsoft announced in early January that it plans to spend over USD 80 billion this fiscal year on data centers. The company purchases substantial hardware to support its cloud services, making it vulnerable to higher costs from tariffs.
Reuters recently reported that Microsoft has canceled data center projects in the U.S. and Europe over the past six months, citing an oversupply relative to its current demand forecast. Yet, Microsoft emphasized that it is merely making strategic adjustments to its infrastructure investments in certain areas, as Reuters highlights.
Regarding its products, Microsoft manufactures PCs and video game consoles but generates most of its revenue from software — a segment that could be impacted if Trump’s trade policies prompt clients to scale back spending, according to the report.
Amazon
Amazon, like other hyperscalers, could face higher costs due to tariffs on advanced chips and other data center equipment. As noted by another CNBC report, the company has reportedly delayed some commitments for new data center leases, particularly in overseas markets.
However, according to TrendForce, there have been no significant changes in AWS’s order momentum across its supply chain, indicating that the company remains committed to expanding its AI ASIC deployments. As such, recent fluctuations in colocation leasing activity are viewed as a strategic reallocation of internal resources rather than a signal of reduced investment.
Apple
For Cupertino, the report notes that the company faces major risks from Trump’s tariffs, given that about three-quarters of its revenue comes from devices largely manufactured in Asia. Apple has sought to mitigate its China risk by expanding manufacturing in countries like Vietnam and India, as highlighted in the report. Meanwhile, according to MacMagazine, Apple is reportedly also producing the iPhone 16e at Foxconn’s factory in Brazil.
NVIDIA
According to CNBC, although semiconductors are exempt from tariffs, many AI servers are shipped to the U.S. as mostly finished computers, making them vulnerable to tariffs. Given that an AI server can cost upwards of USD 50,000, even small tariffs could significantly drive up costs for NVIDIA.
Shortly after announcing a massive USD 500 billion AI investment in the U.S., NVIDIA disclosed it would take a USD 5.5 billion charge following U.S. restrictions on exports of its H20 AI chip to China, according to Reuters and Bloomberg. Bloomberg indicates that the USD 5.5 billion writedown signals NVIDIA could lose an estimated USD 14–18 billion in annual revenue.
Adding to the challenges, if U.S. restrictions remain in place, NVIDIA’s data center sales in China could fall back to early 2024 levels—just low to mid-single digits—before H20 production had a chance to ramp up, as Bloomberg notes.
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(Photo credit: NVIDIA)
