⚡️BYD Outsells Tesla

+ Trump Threatens Apple With 25% iPhone Tariff

May 23, 2025

Good afternoon! After more than two centuries in circulation, the penny’s days are finally numbered. The Treasury Department placed its final order for penny blanks this month and plans to halt minting by early 2026, citing the coin’s ballooning production cost — each one costs nearly four cents to make. That added up to an $85 million loss for the government last year.

Existing pennies will remain legal tender, but they’ll start disappearing from circulation as stores begin rounding cash purchases to the nearest nickel. The Trump administration fast-tracked the move, calling the penny “wasteful,” and the Treasury expects to save $56 million annually by cutting it. After 233 years and outliving the half-cent by more than 150, the penny’s long goodbye is finally here.

MARKETS

*Stock data as of market close*

  • Markets limped into the long weekend after Trump reignited trade war fears with fresh tariff threats on Apple and the EU. Stocks tumbled early but pared back losses after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hinted at upcoming deals.

  • The S&P 500 dipped 0.7%, while the Dow lost 0.6% and the Nasdaq fell 1%. It was a rough end to the week, with all three indexes closing lower for the first time in weeks.

STOCKS
Winners & Losers

What’s up 📈

  • Intuit jumped 8.12% after posting strong quarterly results, with fiscal Q3 revenue rising 15% to $7.8 billion. ($INTU)

  • Oklo and NuScale popped 23.00% and 19.43%, respectively, after reports that President Trump will soon sign orders to boost nuclear power. ($OKLO, $SMR)

  • Cameco rose 11.13% as nuclear stocks rallied on the same news. ($CCJ)

  • Constellation Energy added 2.07% amid the nuclear energy momentum. ($CEG)

  • StepStone Group gained 3.54% after topping EPS and revenue estimates for the fiscal first quarter. ($STEP)

What’s down 📉

  • Booz Allen Hamilton sank 16.53% after announcing plans to cut 2,500 jobs due to reduced government spending. ($BAH)

  • Deckers Outdoor fell 19.86% after the company declined to issue fiscal 2026 guidance, citing macro uncertainty. ($DECK)

  • Ross Stores dropped 9.85% following weaker guidance and the withdrawal of its full-year forecast. ($ROST)

  • Wolfspeed plunged 15.20% on reports that the semiconductor firm may file for bankruptcy soon. ($WOLF)

  • Workday declined 12.52% after its subscription revenue forecast merely matched expectations. ($WDAY)

  • Apple slipped 3.02% after President Trump threatened a 25% tariff on iPhones made outside the U.S. ($AAPL)

EV
China’s BYD Outsells Tesla in Europe for First Time

China’s BYD just did what no one’s done before—beat Tesla at its own game in Europe. In April, BYD registered 7,231 new battery-electric vehicles across the region, a 169% year-over-year surge that narrowly pushed it past Tesla’s 7,165 units. It’s a symbolic flip, but one that marks a significant shift in the European EV pecking order.

Tesla’s 49% drop wasn’t just a one-off. The company’s registrations have been falling for months as European consumers cool on the brand amid rising competition and blowback from Elon Musk’s political ties. Meanwhile, BYD is gaining traction fast—even in a region that slapped Chinese EVs with steep tariffs last year.

How BYD Pulled It Off

The company’s expanding European lineup and ultra-aggressive pricing are winning over cost-conscious buyers. Its latest launch, the Dolphin Surf, is a fully electric hatchback priced under €23,000 and includes premium features like a rotating touchscreen and adaptive cruise control. That undercuts rivals like Renault’s R5 and Stellantis’s ë-C3, and BYD is backing it with a full-scale regional push, including a new factory in Hungary.

Add in plug-in hybrids, and BYD’s lead over Tesla widens even further. Including those models, BYD’s April sales jumped 359% versus last year. Chinese automakers like BYD are increasingly leaning on hybrids to dodge tariffs and meet European buyers where they are, especially as EV incentives become more fragmented.

The Bigger Picture

Tesla’s European struggles come as the company deals with weak global earnings, political backlash, and increasing doubts about Musk’s focus. Its net income dropped 71% in Q1, and its EU sales have slumped every month this year. BYD, by contrast, doubled its Q1 net profit and continues gaining market share abroad.

Analysts see Europe as the next major battleground between the two EV giants, with both companies racing to localize production and win favor with regulators. The gap in April was slim, but the trend is clear—Tesla’s hold on Europe’s EV crown is slipping, and BYD is wasting no time making itself at home.

NEWS
Market Movements

MANUFACTURING
Trump Threatens Apple With 25% iPhone Tariff

President Trump is once again pushing Apple to manufacture iPhones in the United States and this time, he’s putting a 25% tariff on the line. In a post on Truth Social, Trump warned that any iPhones sold in the U.S. but built overseas, including in India or China, would be hit with a steep import tax. The threat came just days after a meeting between Trump and Apple CEO Tim Cook at the White House.

Apple’s stock fell nearly 4% on the news, dragging tech shares down with it. Analysts warn that the move, if enacted, could slash Apple’s gross margins by over 3 percentage points in 2026. The company has spent years shifting some production to India, but bringing full iPhone assembly stateside would be a massive and costly undertaking.

Rebuilding iPhone City in America? Not Likely

Apple’s supply chain is one of the most complex in the world. Its biggest final assembly sites, like Foxconn’s “iPhone City” in China, operate at a scale and speed that the U.S. simply can’t match right now. Shifting production would require building entirely new facilities, retraining workers, and revamping relationships with hundreds of suppliers - many of whom are still based in Asia.

The idea of an all-American iPhone might sound patriotic, but analysts believe it’s far more realistic for Apple to absorb the 25% tariff than to restructure its global manufacturing system. U.S.-built iPhones would likely cost consumers hundreds if not thousands more.

The Trade War Expands

Trump also floated a 50% tariff on European imports, citing stalled trade negotiations with the EU. Combined with the Apple threat, the announcements mark a sharp reversal in what had recently looked like easing tensions. The administration is also pressuring Apple to build more semiconductor components domestically to shore up supply chains.

For now, Wall Street is treating the tariff talk as another Trump negotiation tactic. But the uncertainty is a growing concern. One analyst warned that the unpredictability of trade policy makes Apple a risky target, even as it ramps up U.S. investment. Apple has pledged $500 billion in U.S. spending over four years, but that may not be enough to satisfy Trump’s demand for full-scale domestic manufacturing.

What Comes Next: Despite the heated rhetoric, it’s unclear if Trump will follow through. The administration has not released details about enforcement or timing. And while Apple has remained silent, most analysts expect the company to wait it out and hope the tariffs remain a bargaining chip, not a reality. Investors are watching closely—but they’ve seen this movie before.

Calendar
On The Horizon

Next Week

Markets will be taking a breather on Monday for Memorial Day, but don’t mistake this for a slow week—it’s a five-day sprint condensed into four.

Tuesday fires the starting gun with new data on durable goods, home prices, and consumer confidence. Wednesday keeps things mellow with a peek at the Fed’s most recent meeting minutes, then Thursday hits hard with jobless claims, pending home sales, and a revised Q1 GDP report. It all builds up to Friday’s main event: the PCE report, aka the inflation metric Jerome Powell watches like it’s a season finale.

Earnings:

  • Tuesday:AutoZone, Okta, Box, and Semtech

  • Wednesday:Nvidia, Salesforce, Synopsys, HP, Macy’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Abercrombie & Fitch, c3. ai, Capri Holdings, and U-Haul

  • Thursday:Costco, Dell, Best Buy, Marvell Technology, Zscaler, Ulta Beauty, Li Auto, Bath & Body Works, Burlington Stores, The Gap, and Cracker Barrel

  • Friday:PDD Holdings, Diageo, Target, Zoom, Ralph Lauren, Urban Outfitters, e.l.f. Beauty, and Trump Media & Technology Group

NEWS
The Daily Rundown

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