Tesla stock pops after Trump comments on China tariffs and Powell, despite weak earnings
US President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, alongside Musk’s son X Æ A-Xii, speak to the press as they stand next to a Tesla vehicle on the South Portico of the White House on March 11, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images
Tesla shares popped 5% after CEO Elon Musk suggested that he will spend more time at the company and tariff optimism from the White House lifted broader investor sentiment.
Shares were initially flat postmarket, jumping on tariff optimism after President Donald Trump signaled that duties on China won’t be as high as 145% and said he has “no intention” of firing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell ahead of Tesla’s earnings call.
The president had previously intensified pressure on the central bank chair, declining to rule out firing Powell before the end of his term.
The electric vehicle maker reported lackluster first-quarter results, which included a 20% year-over-year drop in automotive revenue and a 71% decline in net income. Tesla also said it would “revisit” 2025 guidance when it provides a second-quarter update.
Top and bottom line figures also fell short of estimates, with the company posting adjusted earnings of 27 cents per share adjusted on revenues of $19.34 billion. Analysts projected adjusted EPS of 39 cents on $21.11 billion in revenue.
During the company’s earnings call, Musk also said he will spend “significantly” less time at The Department of Government Efficiency starting next month.
The jump in shares comes on the heels of an oversold stretch for Tesla, with shares down about 40% since the start of 2025. Trade war fears and market volatility have further added to the losses. Tesla also reported its worst quarterly drop since 2022 in the period ending in March.
Piper Sandler called the report the “best result that TSLA bulls could’ve reasonably hoped for” adding that “management said enough to keep the dream alive. While questions linger, the report helped ease some concerns, the firm said.
Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs analyst Mark Delaney said he expects higher software revenue from Tesla’s full self-driving longer term can counteract some medium-term headwinds. The firm, however, kept its neutral rating and cut its price target on the stock.
But the report wasn’t enough to sway some Wall Street bears, with UBS and Wells Fargo retaining their sell and underweight ratings. Wells Fargo analyst Colin Langan trimmed the firm’s price target to $120 from $130.
“Sentiment may drive the stock temporarily higher into a June robo-taxi launch, but we believe this may be a sell the news event for some investors. The potential catalyst of the low-cost vehicle launch may be removed as well,” UBS said.
WATCH: Tesla jumps after Q1 results
A cartoon image of US President-elect Donald Trump with cryptocurrency tokens, depicted in front of the White House to mark his inauguration, displayed at a Coinhero store in Hong Kong, China, on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025.
Paul Yeung | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The $TRUMP meme coin jumped more than 50% on Wednesday after the top 220 holders of the token were promised dinner with the president.
“Have Dinner in Washington, D.C. With President Trump,” reads a message on the front page of the Trump coin’s website. The dinner — black tie optional — is scheduled for May 22, with a reception for the top 25 wallets. A “VIP White House Tour” will take place the following day, the site says.
The price spike gives the $TRUMP coins in circulation a total value of $2.7 billion. It had by far the biggest move of any cryptocurrency, outpacing Sui, which is up 23%, according to CoinMarketCap.
The Trump coin debuted in January, just ahead of the inauguration, offering an early indication of the president’s willingness to embrace crypto and the wealth creation it offers him and his family. The project’s market cap soared to $15 billion almost instantly, fueled by Trump’s posts on Truth Social and X declaring, “It’s time to celebrate everything we stand for: WINNING!” Within days it had lost most of its value.
First Lady Melania Trump launched her own coin — $MELANIA — as well. It briefly topped $2 billion in market value before crashing alongside $TRUMP.
Shortly after the launch of the $TRUMP and $MELANIA coins, the SEC issued guidance stating that meme tokens don’t qualify as securities, effectively shielding the projects from immediate regulatory scrutiny.
So far, just 20% of $TRUMP’s supply has been available to trade. The remaining 80% — held by insiders — remains locked under a three-year vesting schedule. The first tranche is scheduled to unlock soon, freeing up millions of dollars worth of tokens for sale and potentially allowing President Trump and project insiders to cash in on Wednesday’s pop.
As with most meme coins, there is no underlying product or service. The project’s website claims that 80% of the token supply is held by the Trump Organization and affiliated entities.
WATCH: Digital Assets Council Director Bo Hines on the priorities for Trump’s crypto working group
IBM CEO Arvind Krishna speaks at the SXSW conference in Austin, Texas, on March 11, 2025.
Andy Wenstrand | Sxsw Conference & Festivals | Getty Images
IBM reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the first quarter on Wednesday.
Here’s how the company performed:
- Earnings per share: $1.60 adjusted vs. $1.40 expected
- Revenue: $14.54 billion vs. $14.4 billion expected
Revenue increased 0.6% in the quarter from $14.5 billion a year earlier, according to a statement. Net income slid to $1.06 billion, or $1.12 per share, from $1.61 billion, or $1.72 per share, in the same quarter a year ago.
For 2025, IBM reiterated its expectation for $13.5 billion in free cash flow and 5% revenue growth at constant currency. At current exchange rates, currency will provide 150 basis points of benefit for 2025 growth, down from the company’s forecast of 200 basis points in January.
Management called for $16.4 billion to $16.75 billion in second-quarter revenue. The middle of the range, $16.58 billion, is ahead of the LSEG consensus of $16.33 billion.
“We remain bullish on the long-term growth opportunities for technology and the global economy,” IBM CEO Arvind Krishna said in the statement. “While the macroeconomic environment is fluid, based on what we know today, we are maintaining our full-year expectations for revenue growth and free cash flow.”
In the first quarter, software revenue rose 7% to $6.34 billion, in line with the consensus among analysts polled by StreetAccount. The hybrid cloud software category that includes Red Hat grew 12%, compared with 16% in the fourth quarter.
IBM’s consulting unit contributed $5.07 billion in revenue, which was down 2% and slightly above StreetAccount’s $5.05 billion consensus.
The company’s infrastructure division, which includes mainframe computers, posted a 6% decline in revenue to $2.89 billion, higher than the $2.76 billion consensus. Earlier this month, IBM introduced its z17 mainframe. Infrastructure revenue growth generally picks up as customers adopt the next generation and then drifts down late in the cycle.
During the first quarter, IBM said it had settled its lawsuits with chip manufacturer GlobalFoundries. IBM also closed its $6.4 billion acquisition of cloud software maker HashiCorp and announced plans to buy data storage software startup DataStax for undisclosed terms.
IBM has been an outperformer this year as the broader market has sold off due largely to concerns around President Donald Trump’s tariffs and their potential impact on the economy. As of Wednesday’s close, IBM shares were up 11%, while the Nasdaq was down almost 14%.
The stock slipped 6% in extended trading.
No one is immune from fallout from President Trump’s tariffs on imported goods, the company’s finance chief, Jim Kavanaugh, said in an interview with CNBC’s Jon Fortt.
IBM’s customers are prioritizing efficient spending and the preservation of cash, Kavanaugh told the Wall Street Journal. The U.S. Department of Governmental Efficiency had delayed or nixed 15 federal contracts, he told Bloomberg.
Executives will discuss the results with analysts on a conference call starting at 5 p.m. ET.
This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.
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