
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>India launched missile strikes in Pakistan early on Wednesday, two weeks after it accused Pakistan of being involved in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/04/30/pakistan-claims-credible-evidence-india-is-planning-military-action-soon-as-tensions-rise-between-neighbors/">terrorist attack</a>&nbsp;on the tourist town of Pahalgam that killed over two dozen people.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Facts</h2>



<p>The Indian Ministry of Defense said in a&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/SpokespersonMoD/status/1919857186655944825" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">statement</a>&nbsp;said the strikes targeted “nine terrorist infrastructure sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir,” and added that they were “focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature.”</p>



<p>India claimed no Pakistani military facilities were hit by the strike and said the military operation, which it has dubbed “Operation Sindoor,” underscores India’s “resolve to hold perpetrators accountable while avoiding unnecessary provocation.”</p>



<p>Pakistani officials&nbsp;<a href="https://mofa.gov.pk/press-releases/pakistan-strongly-condemns-indias-blatant-aggression" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">denounced</a>&nbsp;the strikes, calling them “an unprovoked and blatant act of war” that had “violated Pakistan’s sovereignty.”</p>



<p>In a Wednesday morning press conference, India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gni7uALDpb0" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">claimed</a>&nbsp;the government’s intelligence assessment indicated further attacks were being planned against India and with the strikes New Delhi “exercised its right to respond and pre-empt as well as deter such more cross-border attacks.”</p>



<p>Lieutenant Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, the head of the Pakistani military’s public relations arm,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dawn.com/live/pakistan-india-tensions#1909022" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">told reporters</a>&nbsp;that the Indian strikes had killed 26 civilians and left 46 others injured as of Wednesday morning.</p>



<p>Sharif also restated an earlier claim by the Pakistan military that neither countries jets trespassed each other’s territories and the Indian airstrikes were conducted from their own airspace and struck multiple cities including Bahawalpur, Kotli and Muzaffarabad.</p>



<p>The Pakistan military also claimed without sharing evidence that it had shot down five Indian fighter jets—a claim Indian authorities have not commented on but Associated Press&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/india-pakistan-attack-pahalgam-kashmir#00000196-a939-da24-adf6-edff0dec0000" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">reported</a>&nbsp;that two planes fell onto villages in India-controlled Kashmir.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">How Have World Leaders Reacted To The India Strikes?</h2>



<p>Shortly after India announced the strikes, President Donald Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1919863923961962905" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">told reporters</a>&nbsp;at the Oval Office that he had just been informed about it and said: “It&#8217;s a shame…I guess people knew something was going to happen based on a little bit of the past. They&#8217;ve been fighting for a long time…I hope it ends very quickly.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/SecRubio/status/1919902403999965441" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">tweeted</a>&nbsp;that he was monitoring the situation closely and said: “I echo @POTUS&#8217;s comments earlier today that this hopefully ends quickly and will continue to engage both Indian and Pakistani leadership towards a peaceful resolution.” China’s foreign ministry said India’s military operation was “regrettable” and added: “We urge both sides to act in the larger interest of peace and stability, remain calm, exercise restraint and refrain from taking actions that may further complicate the situation.” Israel’s ambassador to India, Reuven Azar,&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/ReuvenAzar/status/1919936131866513678" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">tweeted</a>: “Israel supports India’s right for self defense. Terrorists should know there’s no place to hide from their heinous crimes against the innocent.” A spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/un-chief-raises-concern-about-indian-military-actions-pakistan-2025-05-06/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">said he is very concerned</a>&nbsp;about the Indian military operation and is calling for “maximum military restraint” from both sides. He then added: “The world cannot afford a military confrontation between India and Pakistan.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">News Peg</h2>



<p>Tensions between India and Pakistan, nuclear-armed nations, have risen in recent weeks following the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/04/30/pakistan-claims-credible-evidence-india-is-planning-military-action-soon-as-tensions-rise-between-neighbors/">attack on Pahalgam</a>&nbsp;in April that killed 26 people, all of one of whom were Indian nationals. The attack on the city, which is located in an Indian-controlled part of Kashmir, was carried out after the neighboring countries had been exchanging gunfire along their border the week prior. India accused Pakistan of involvement in the Pahalgam attack, with Pakistan calling the allegations “baseless and concocted.” India later vowed to retaliate and Tarar said military action from India would be “responded to assuredly and decisively.” The U.S. has aligned itself with India in the growing conflict, with Trump saying India has “our full support and deepest sympathies.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Background</h2>



<p>India and Pakistan have been&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/05/world/asia/india-pakistan-kashmir-history.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">at odds for several decades</a>, with the contested border region of Kashmir becoming a flashpoint in several conflicts between the two countries. Three wars have been fought over the area, with the most recent violent outburst between India and Pakistan happening in 2019, when India launched airstrikes against Pakistan after blaming the country for a suicide bombing that killed 40 Indian paramilitary personnel in Kashmir.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Further Reading</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/04/30/pakistan-claims-credible-evidence-india-is-planning-military-action-soon-as-tensions-rise-between-neighbors/">Pakistan Claims ‘Credible Evidence’ India Is Planning ‘Military Action’ Soon—As Tensions Rise Between Neighbors</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/05/world/asia/india-pakistan-kashmir-history.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">A Timeline of Tensions Between India and Pakistan Over Kashmir</a>&nbsp;(New York Times)</p>


India Launches Military Strikes Against Pakistan

India Launches Missile Strikes Into Pakistan—Islamabad Calls It ‘Act Of War’ (Live Updates)


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>Ferrari on Tuesday said tariffs imposed by the U.S. pose a potential risk to the luxury car maker’s profitability, becoming the latest company to warn about a hit to earnings or cut financial forecasts as many cite market uncertainty aggravated by President Donald Trump’s levies.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-timeline">Timeline</h2>



<p>May 6 <strong>Ferrari </strong><a href="https://www.ferrari.com/en-BY/corporate/articles/2025-ferrari-first-quarter-results?amp=truehttps://www.ferrari.com/en-BY/corporate/articles/2025-ferrari-first-quarter-results?amp=truehttps://www.ferrari.com/en-BY/corporate/articles/2025-ferrari-first-quarter-results?amp=truehttps://www.ferrari.com/en-BY/corporate/articles/2025-ferrari-first-quarter-results?amp=truehttps://www.ferrari.com/en-BY/corporate/articles/2025-ferrari-first-quarter-results?amp=truehttps://www.ferrari.com/en-BY/corporate/articles/2025-ferrari-first-quarter-results?amp=truehttps://www.ferrari.com/en-BY/corporate/articles/2025-ferrari-first-quarter-results?amp=truehttps://www.ferrari.com/en-BY/corporate/articles/2025-ferrari-first-quarter-results?amp=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">noted</a> in its first-quarter financial report the company was subject to a “potential risk” of a 50 basis points reduction to earnings in 2025, as the luxury car maker cited the “introduction of import tariffs on [European] cars” into the U.S.</p>



<p>May 5 <strong>Mattel</strong>’s CEO Ynon Kreiz <a href="https://www.wsj.com/business/retail/mattel-earnings-q1-2025-mat-stock-2148c5a7" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reportedly</a> said “it’s hard to tell where things will land and how the tariff situation will evolve,” and the toy company announced it is pausing its full-year guidance until it “has sufficient visibility, given the volatile macro-economic environment and evolving U.S. tariff situation,” and may raise prices of its toys “where necessary.”</p>



<p>May 5 <strong>Ford</strong> <a href="https://s205.q4cdn.com/882619693/files/doc_financials/2025/q1/Ford-Q1-2025-Earnings-Press-Release.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced</a> it expects tariffs to reduce its earnings before interest and taxes by about $1.5 billion in 2025, and said it is suspending its full-year guidance, citing “the potential for industrywide supply chain disruption impacting production” along with “the potential for future or increased tariffs in the U.S.,” potential retaliatory tariffs by other countries and more.</p>



<p>May 5 <strong>Cummins </strong><a href="https://investor.cummins.com/news/detail/680/cummins-reports-first-quarter-2025-results" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">withdrew</a> its forecast for 2025, as CEO Jennifer Rumsey said the truck engine maker faced “growing economic uncertainty driven by tariffs” and as customers endured an “increasingly challenging environment.”</p>



<p>May 1 <strong>Apple </strong>CEO Tim Cook <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/05/01/apple-earnings-better-iphone-sales-and-profit-than-expected-as-it-steps-through-tariff-minefields/">said</a> the company expects Trump’s tariffs will cause a $900 million hit to the company’s bottom line during its second quarter, saying it will be “very difficult” to predict beyond June “because I’m not sure what will happen with tariffs,” as Apple’s sales in China dropped below projections.</p>



<p>May 1 <strong>Amazon</strong> said in its first quarter earnings <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/05/01/amazon-tops-q1-earnings-estimates-but-stock-slides-on-soft-guidance/">report</a> Thursday that its future results are “inherently unpredictable” because of factors including “changes in global economic and geopolitical conditions” and “tariff and trade policies,” the latter of which was a not a reason included in its last quarter report.</p>



<p>May 1 <strong>General Motors</strong>, which <a href="https://investor.gm.com/static-files/78278d1e-0f28-46cd-8fe2-5438fc43d374" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">earlier</a> said it would reassess its financial guidance for 2025 to include the “potential impact of tariffs,” <a href="https://investor.gm.com/static-files/644a15dc-b57c-4e91-821d-b81baa99246b" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">lowered</a> its forecast for earnings to between $10 billion and $12.5 billion, down from $13.7 billion to $15.7 billion, as CEO Mary Barra <a href="https://investor.gm.com/news-releases/news-release-details/q1-2025-letter-shareholders" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a> the company was adjusting to “the new trade policy environment.”</p>



<p>May 1 <strong>McDonald’s</strong> <a href="https://corporate.mcdonalds.com/content/dam/sites/corp/nfl/pdf/Q1_25_Earnings_Release.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a> a 3.6% decline in U.S. same-store sales through its first quarter in 2025, the largest decrease since an 8.7% dip in 2020, as the fast food giant said consumers were “grappling with uncertainty.”</p>



<p>April 30 <strong>Stellantis</strong> <a href="https://www.stellantis.com/content/dam/stellantis-corporate/news/press-releases/2025/april/30-04-25/en/EN-20250430-Stellantis-Q12025-Results.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">suspended</a> its full-year financial guidance for the 2025 fiscal year because of “tariff-related uncertainties,” and noted the company was “highly engaged with policymakers” about tariffs and has “[taken] action to reduce impacts.”</p>



<p>April 30 <strong>Mercedes</strong> <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250429364723/en/Mercedes-Benz-Group-Delivers-Solid-Q1-Results-in-a-Dynamic-Market-Environment" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pulled</a> its full-year outlook for the 2025 fiscal year because the “volatility with regard to tariff policies” had become “too high to reliably assess” the automaker’s business development for the remainder of the year, adding estimates could not be made “with the necessary level of certainty.”</p>



<p>April 29 <strong>UPS</strong> <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2025/04/29/ups-to-cut-20000-jobs-in-2025-after-slashing-amazon-shipments/">pulled</a> its full-year guidance after previously forecasting revenue of $89 billion for 2025, citing the “current macro-economic uncertainty” as the shipping giant also announced it would lay off 20,000 workers by the end of the year.</p>



<p>April 29 <strong>Kraft Heinz</strong> CEO Abrams-Rivera said the company had <a href="https://ir.kraftheinzcompany.com/news/kraft-heinz-reports-first-quarter-2025-results/4e5e664b-9b79-4a92-8553-0a5ef4db87ad" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">lowered</a> its full-year outlook as the “operating environment remains volatile,” and they would monitor the “potential impacts from macro-economic pressures such as tariffs and inflation.”</p>



<p>April 29<strong> JetBlue</strong> CEO Joanna Geraghty <a href="https://news.jetblue.com/latest-news/press-release-details/2025/JetBlue-Announces-First-Quarter-2025-Results/default.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced</a> the company had pulled its full-year outlook for 2025 because of “macroeconomic uncertainty,” while JetBlue president Marty St. George said the airline expected “softened demand” to continue.</p>



<p>April 29 <strong>Snap</strong> <a href="https://investor.snap.com/news/news-details/2025/Snap-Inc--Announces-First-Quarter-2025-Financial-Results/default.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">declined</a> to issue guidance for its second quarter, as the company behind Snapchat said “uncertainty with respect to how macro economic conditions may evolve in the months ahead” could impact advertising demand.</p>



<p>April 29 <strong>Volvo </strong><a href="https://www.media.volvocars.com/global/en-gb/media/pressreleases/348799/volvo-cars-reports-q1-2025-results-launches-sek-18-billion-cost-and-cash-action-plan" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">warned</a> 2025 would be a “challenging and transition year” as a result of “macroeconomic, geopolitical and market developments,” including the effects of tariffs on profits, while pulling its guidance for the year and 2026.</p>



<p>April 24 <strong>PepsiCo</strong> <a href="https://investors.pepsico.com/docs/default-source/investors/q1-2025/q1-2025-earnings-release_qrwd2bctzikuphl4.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">lowered</a> its earnings forecast for 2025 as the company expects “more volatility and uncertainty,” CEO Ramon Laguarta said, as PepsiCo said it faces higher supply chain costs because of tariffs, “elevated macroeconomic volatility and a subdued consumer backdrop.”</p>



<p>April 24 <strong>Procter &amp; Gamble</strong>, the owner of Tide and Charmin, among others, <a href="https://pginvestor.com/financial-reporting/press-releases/news-details/2025/PG-Announces-Fiscal-Year-2025-Third-Quarter-Results/default.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">lowered</a> its sales growth projections for the year despite previously expecting growth up to 4% in 2025, while CEO Jon Moeller warned of a “challenging and volatile consumer and geopolitical environment.”</p>



<p>April 24 <strong>American Airlines</strong> CEO Robert Isom <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher/2025/04/24/negative-bias-american-airlines-pulls-2025-guidance-citing-significant-weakness-in-domestic-travel-demand/">told</a> investors the airline was “taking a very cautious, even a negative approach to growth” after pulling its full-year guidance, while CFO Devon May said economic uncertainty worsened by Trump’s tariffs brought “significant weakness in our main cabin demand.”</p>



<p>April 24 <strong>Skechers </strong><a href="https://investors.skechers.com/press-releases/detail/663/skechers-announces-first-quarter-2025-financial-results-and" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pulled</a> its full-year outlook while citing “macroeconmic uncertainty stemming from global trade policies,” as CFO John Vandemore likened the economic environment to the pandemic.</p>



<p>April 23 <strong>Thermo Fisher Scientific</strong> <a href="https://ir.thermofisher.com/investors/news-events/news/news-details/2025/Thermo-Fisher-Scientific-Reports-First-Quarter-2025-Results/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">withdrew</a> its full-year profit forecast while the medical equipment maker expects to take a $400 million hit in sales to China, as Trump’s tariffs would likely raise the cost of parts the company sources in China.</p>



<p>April 23 <strong>Chipotle</strong>, which reported same-store sales well below analyst expectations, according to FactSet, lowered its full-year same-store sales growth for the year because the company expects customers to spend less as concerns about the economy became “overwhelming,” CEO Scott Boatwright <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/article/4777419-chipotle-mexican-grill-inc-cmg-q1-2025-earnings-call-transcript" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told</a> investors.</p>



<p>April 23 <strong>Alaska Airlines</strong> <a href="https://news.alaskaair.com/company/alaska-air-group-reports-first-quarter-2025-results/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pulled</a> its full-year 2025 guidance because of “recent economic uncertainty and volatility.”</p>



<p>April 23 <strong>Southwest Airlines</strong>, while maintaining some of its projections for its second quarter, <a href="https://www.southwestairlinesinvestorrelations.com/news-and-events/news-releases/2025/04-23-2025-213818530" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">withdrew</a> guidance for 2025 in its first-quarter report while citing “macroeconomic uncertainty” that makes it “difficult to forecast given recent and short-lived booking trends.”</p>



<p>April 15 <strong>United Airlines</strong> <a href="https://www.united.com/en/us/newsroom/announcements/cision-125378" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">held</a> its full-year forecast, though the company also issued a second guidance featuring far lower earnings in 2025 because United believes the economy is “impossible to predict this year with any degree of confidence.”</p>



<p>April 11 <strong>Logitech </strong><a href="https://ir.logitech.com/press-releases/press-release-details/2025/Logitech-Announces-Q4-and-Full-Fiscal-Year-2025-Results/default.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">withdrew</a> its outlook for its 2026 fiscal year because of the “continuing uncertainty surrounding the tariff environment.”</p>



<p>April 9<strong> Walmart </strong><a href="https://corporate.walmart.com/news/2025/04/09/walmart-showcases-business-strategy-focused-on-driving-growth-and-shareholder-value" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced</a> it would pull forecasts for operating income in its upcoming first-quarter report on May 15, as the “range of outcomes” grew as Trump’s tariffs were implemented in trade.</p>



<p>April 9 <strong>Delta</strong>, after previously cutting first-quarter earnings projections by 40 to 50 cents a share, pulled its full-year guidance “given the broad macro uncertainty,” as it was “premature to project the full year,” the airline and CEO Ed Bastian <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher/2025/04/09/delta-pulls-full-year-guidance-economic-uncertainty/">said</a>.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-have-trump-s-tariffs-resulted-in-layoffs">Have Trump’s Tariffs Resulted In Layoffs?</h2>



<p>Several companies have announced&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2025/04/22/tariff-layoff-tracker-mack-trucks-volvo-cut-hundreds-of-jobs-as-trumps-levies-pose-market-uncertainty/">layoffs</a>&nbsp;while citing the impact of Trump’s tariffs. Mack Trucks and Volvo Group told Forbes earlier this month that a combined 800 employees were laid off at facilities on the East Coast, with both automakers citing “market uncertainty,” the likelihood of “possible regulatory changes” and the “impact of tariffs.” Stellantis and Estée Lauder also announced layoffs. Goldman Sachs wrote in a note on April 15 that about 100,000 manufacturing jobs would be created because of Trump’s tariffs, though they would also likely remove up to 500,000 jobs across all industries.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">Key Background</h2>



<p>Trump levied tariffs across U.S. trade partners during his so-called “Liberation Day” earlier this month. A 90-day pause on the tariffs was announced on April 9, though a baseline 10% would remain, except for China, whose imports face 145% tariffs. The White House&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2025/04/29/trump-offers-automakers-tariff-reprieve-latest-big-tariff-flip-flop-since-liberation-day/">said</a>&nbsp;Tuesday that Trump would also offer a reprieve to automakers by exempting them from paying additional tariffs, like those on steel and aluminum. Some industry leaders have said Trump’s tariffs would raise consumer prices and create market volatility, including Ford CEO Jim Farley, who&nbsp;<a href="https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/ford/2025/02/11/ford-ceo-jim-farley-tariffs-auto-industry/78414492007/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">warned</a>&nbsp;Trump’s 25% tariffs on imported cars and car parts would “blow a hole in the U.S. industry that we’ve never seen.” Vice President JD Vance&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2025/04/22/will-trump-negotiate-tariffs-jd-vance-says-president-wants-to-rebalance-global-trade-but-no-deals-reached-yet/">said</a>&nbsp;the Trump administration is trying to “rebalance global trade” as the U.S. carries out tariff negotiations. Vance suggested the U.S. “want[s] to partner with people and countries” to create “a system of global trade that is balanced, one that is open, and one that is stable and fair.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">Further Reading</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2025/04/22/tariff-layoff-tracker-mack-trucks-volvo-cut-hundreds-of-jobs-as-trumps-levies-pose-market-uncertainty/">Tariff Layoff Tracker: Mack Truck, Volvo Cut Hundreds Of Jobs As Trump’s Levies Pose ‘Market Uncertainty’</a>&nbsp;(<em>Forbes</em>)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2025/04/29/trump-offers-automakers-tariff-reprieve-latest-big-tariff-flip-flop-since-liberation-day/">Trump Offers Automakers Tariff Reprieve—Latest Big Tariff Flip-Flop Since ‘Liberation Day’</a>&nbsp;(<em>Forbes</em>)</p>


Lewis Hamilton Tests For Ferrari

Ferrari Says Tariffs May Reduce Profits—Joining These Companies Warning Of Tariff Impacts


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>The Met Gala, an arts fundraiser more commonly known to fans as an extravagant, star-studded night for fashion, will honor fashion pioneered by Black men throughout history Monday night, with celebrities including A$AP Rocky and Colman Domingo set to host.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Facts</h2>



<p>The Met Gala will take place May 5 in New York as a fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, celebrating the opening of the museum’s spring exhibition: “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.”</p>



<p>The dress code for the evening is “Tailored for You,” which the Met said in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/press-releases/ci-2025-exhibition-gala-details" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">press release</a>&nbsp;is a “nod to the exhibition’s focus on suiting and menswear.”</p>



<p>Co-chairs for this year’s event include Oscar-nominated actor Colman Domingo, rapper A$AP Rocky, Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton and producer Pharrell Williams, alongside Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour.</p>



<p>LeBron James will participate as the gala’s honorary chair this year.</p>



<p>This year’s gala is funded by a few billionaire celebrities—Tyler Perry’s Perry Foundation and George Lucas’s Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation—as well as Instagram and Africa Fashion International.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What Is This Year’s Met Gala Theme?</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/press-releases/ci-2025-exhibition-gala-details" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">The Met</a>&nbsp;has defined this year’s theme, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” as an “exploration of the concept of dandyism,” a term that originally referred to aristocratic style as far back as the 18th century, which Vogue now defines as an “exuberant attention to dress.” The showcase and this year’s gala are based on the 2009 book “Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity,” by Monica Miller, chair of the Barnard College Africana Studies department. Miller told&nbsp;<a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/superfine-tailoring-black-style-costume-institute-spring-2025-exhibition" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Vogue</a>&nbsp;this year’s exhibition will “illustrate how Black people transformed from being enslaved and stylized as luxury items, acquired like any other signifier of wealth and status, to autonomous self-fashioning individuals who are global trendsetters.” The Met’s exhibition is divided into twelve sections, each representing a characteristic defining the Black dandy style: Ownership, Presence, Distinction, Disguise, Freedom, Champion, Respectability, Jook, Heritage, Beauty, Cool, and Cosmopolitanism, according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/press-releases/ci-2025-exhibition-gala-details" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Met’s website</a>. Miller told&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2025/apr/30/an-incredibly-political-moment-why-fashion-and-the-met-gala-are-celebrating-black-dandyism" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">the Guardian</a>&nbsp;the exhibition examines the idea of “ownership,” particularly the contrast between “being owned and ‘owning it.’’ This year’s exhibition was designed by artist Torkwase Dyson, and artist Iké Udé served as a special consultant.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Who’s Attending This Year’s Met Gala?</h2>



<p>This year’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/press-releases/ci-2025-exhibition-gala-details" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">host committee</a>&nbsp;members are André 3000, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Simone Biles and Jonathan Owens, Grace Wales Bonner, Jordan Casteel, Dapper Dan, Doechii, Ayo Edebiri, Edward Enninful, Jeremy O. Harris, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Rashid Johnson, Regina King, Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee, Audra McDonald, Janelle Monáe, Jeremy Pope, Angel Reese, Sha&#8217;Carri Richardson, Olivier Rousteing, Tyla, Usher and Kara Walker, according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/press-releases/ci-2025-exhibition-gala-details" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Met</a>. Zendaya, a Met Gala favorite for her extravagant looks conceived of by her stylist, Law Roach, will attend, Roach told&nbsp;<a href="https://www.eonline.com/news/1415897/zendaya-will-attend-met-gala-2025-law-roach-confirms" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">E! News</a>&nbsp;earlier this month. Rihanna, another Met Gala regular, has not confirmed whether she will attend, though speculation has grown since her longtime partner, A$AP Rocky, is a co-chair. Actress Blake Lively, also known a regular attendee, has not confirmed whether she will attend amid her&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2025/01/13/the-entire-justin-baldoni-vs-blake-lively-feud-explained-former-publicist-reportedly-subpoenaing-tech-companies/">legal battle</a>&nbsp;with “It Ends With Us” director Justin Baldoni, though&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tmz.com/2025/03/21/blake-lively-ryan-reynolds-skipping-met-gala/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">TMZ</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://people.com/blake-lively-ryan-reynolds-will-not-attend-2025-met-gala-exclusive-source-11701488" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">People</a>&nbsp;both cited sources claiming she and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, will skip this year’s gala. The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/05/style/met-gala-2025-black-dandy-politics.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">New York Times</a>&nbsp;reported various billionaires will skip this year’s event, including Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Bernard Arnault and Elon Musk, while billionaire Michael Bloomberg will attend.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Big Number</h2>



<p>$75,000. That’s how much a single Met Gala ticket costs, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/met-gala-2025-theme-hosts-watch.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">New York Times</a>&nbsp;reported, while tables of 10 sell for $350,000. Celebrities are typically sponsored by brands who purchase tickets for them.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Surprising Fact</h2>



<p>LeBron James, this year’s honorary co-chair, is playing in the NBA playoffs for the Los Angeles Lakers against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Timberwolves lead the series 3-1, though if the Lakers keep winning, James could have a game the night before the gala, according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nba.com/news/2025-nba-playoffs-schedule" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">NBA’s schedule</a>—and if the Lakers win, it’s unclear whether James will attend.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">How Can Viewers Watch The Met Gala?</h2>



<p>The Met Gala will be broadcast on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/where-to-watch-the-2025-met-gala-livestream" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Vogue’s</a>&nbsp;digital platforms and on its YouTube channel beginning May 5 at 6 p.m. EST. Singer and actress Teyana Taylor, actress La La Anthony, and comedian Ego Nwodim will host the broadcast, and social media star Emma Chamberlain will return as Vogue’s special correspondent.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Background</h2>



<p>The Met Gala has had a decades-long&nbsp;<a href="https://time.com/6972918/met-gala-history/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">history</a>&nbsp;as a fundraiser for the Met’s Costume Institute before transforming into an extravagant fashion showcase. The first gala was held in 1948 as a midnight dinner party, though it did not begin to transform until then-Vogue editor-in-chief Diana Vreeland joined as a consultant in the 1970s. Last year’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2024/05/06/what-we-know-about-tonights-met-gala-backed-by-tiktok-with-zendaya-and-more-co-chairing-garden-of-time-themed-event/">exhibition</a>&nbsp;was titled “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion,” and the dress code for attendees was “Garden of Time.” Other recent themes include “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty” in 2023 and “In America: An Anthology of Fashion” in 2022.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Further Reading</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/superfine-suiting-portfolio-may-2025" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">“Superfine” and Dandy: Iconic Creatives Celebrate the Costume Institute’s New Exhibition</a>&nbsp;(Vogue)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/where-to-watch-the-2025-met-gala-livestream" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Where to Watch the 2025 Met Gala Livestream</a>&nbsp;(Vogue)</p>


The 2024 Met Gala Celebrating “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” – Street Sightings

What To Know About Tonight’s Met Gala: Who’s Attending And The ‘Tailoring Black Style’ Theme Explained


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>The most valuable<strong>&nbsp;</strong>pure entertainment company in the world got a little less valuable Monday, as shares of California-based streaming giant Netflix fell following President Donald Trump’s announcement he’d slap a high penalty on films produced abroad.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Facts</h2>



<p>Netflix stock fell 4% to $1,113, tracking toward its worst daily loss since April 4.</p>



<p>The slide followed Trump’s Sunday evening&nbsp;<a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114452117143235155" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">proclamation</a>&nbsp;he’d slap a 100% tariff on “any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands,” declaring films produced outside the U.S. are a “National Security threat.”</p>



<p>Also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/05/05/trump-says-films-shot-outside-us-will-face-100-tariff-hollywood-stocks-drop-in-premarket/">struggling</a>&nbsp;were shares of Disney (-2%), Max parent Warner Bros. Discovery (-3%), Paramount Global (-2%) and Universal Pictures parent Comcast (-1%), all outpacing the less than 1% loss for the S&amp;P 500 baseline stock index.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Big Number</h2>



<p>$20.4 billion. That’s how much market capitalization Netflix lost Monday. That’s almost exactly the same as Warner Bros. Discovery’s $20.5 billion total valuation.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What We Don’t Know: How Trump’s Movie Tariffs Would Work</h2>



<p>Unlike goods on which officials collect duties when entering U.S. ports, movies are services with a more complicated tariff structure. “Is it just movies, or also streaming series? Is it visual effects, co-productions, international film financing? There’s a huge degree of uncertainty,” Henning Molfenter, the former head of the German Babelsberg Studio with producer credits on “The Pianist” and “Captain America: Civil War,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/can-trumps-movie-tariff-actually-work-1236207053/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">told</a>&nbsp;The Hollywood Reporter.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Background</h2>



<p>Just more than half, or 51%, of Netflix’s 2024 content spending went to content from outside of North America,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ampereanalysis.com/insight/more-than-half-of-netflixs-content-spending-now-outside-of-north-america#:~:text=More%20than%20half%20of%20Netflix's%20content%20budget%20is%20now%20allocated,directed%20towards%20internationally%2Dsourced%20content." rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">according</a>&nbsp;to market research firm Ampere Analysis. About 70% of the streamers’ paid subscriptions come from outside the U.S. and Canada. Some of Netflix’s most popular recent programs among American audiences include shows filmed outside the U.S., including the British period series “Bridgerton” and the South Korean “Squid Game.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Contra</h2>



<p>Prior to Trump’s Sunday announcement, Netflix stock was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/04/17/netflix-earnings-record-profits-and-sales-send-stock-to-nearly-1000/">hailed</a>&nbsp;by many as a relative safe haven compared to other stocks in the crosshairs of tariff choppiness. Bank of America analysts’ note following Netflix’s earnings report was titled “Predictable in an unpredictable world.” Through Friday trading, Netflix stock returned 30% in 2025, far outperforming the returns of Facebook parent Meta (2%), Amazon (-13%), Apple (-18%) and Google parent Alphabet (-13%), the other members of the “FAANG” grouping of high-growth technology stocks.</p>



<p></p>


Netflix Shares Jump On Strong Subscriber Report

Netflix Suffers $20 Billion Loss As Trump Wields 100% Movie Tariffs


<p><strong>In a world where there are 25 minutes of previews before every movie, here&#8217;s why studios pay millions to secure a spot in front of summer&#8217;s biggest blockbusters.</strong></p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



<p><strong><abbr>A</abbr>nyone going to see&nbsp;</strong>Marvel Studios’&nbsp;<em>Thunderbolts*</em>&nbsp;this weekend can expect to watch eight—perhaps even 10—movie trailers before the feature begins. Throw in an ad for popcorn and Nicole Kidman waxing poetic about the power of cinema, and the pre-show lineup can stretch to nearly a half-hour.</p>



<p>Even if that can seem like a drag to an audience, those are highly valuable minutes to both the movie studios and the theater chains. In an era when theatrical attendance continues to decline—the domestic box office grossed $8.7 billion last year, a dip of more than 3% from 2023, and ticket sales dropped 7%—trailers remain the top driver of awareness and decision-making for most moviegoers. According to National Research Group’s biannual survey, 36% of those between the ages 12-74 say they first heard about the most recent movie they saw in theaters through a trailer, more than any other source.</p>



<p>Because&nbsp;<em>Thunderbolts*&nbsp;</em>is the first anticipated blockbuster of the summer movie season—the 18-week period between the first of May and Labor Day that accounts for 40% of the annual box office total in the U.S. and Canada—its preview space is one of the most important marketing opportunities for the biggest releases, including Paramount’s&nbsp;<em>Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning</em>, Universal’s&nbsp;<em>Jurassic World: Rebirth</em>, and Warner Bros.’&nbsp;<em>Superman</em>.</p>



<p>With fierce competition for these theoretically finite slots, there’s another reason for the increased number of trailers—theater chains are selling preview time to the highest bidder. “The most valuable real estate this industry has is trailer play. That&#8217;s where we cross-pollinate success,” Neon CEO Tom Quinn said last month at Cinemacon in Las Vegas. “But I, as an independent, don&#8217;t always get trailer play. I have to go buy that trailer play with every other studio. And we play a big game, but it&#8217;s very expensive.”</p>



<p>The particulars of this pay-to-play system are whispered about with a level of secrecy that Ethan Hunt’s Impossible Missions Force would appreciate. Despite the symbiotic relationship between studios and theaters—or mutually assured destruction, depending on who you ask—the two sides often operate on a need-to-know, no-paper-trail basis. For fear of upsetting the delicate system, neither side is eager to speak on the record.</p>



<p>According to Hollywood lore, it was Sony executive&nbsp;<a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-may-24-fi-1822-story.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Jeff Blake who first began paying for trailer placement</a>&nbsp;in 2001. Back then, theaters averaged four previews per movie. The two slots closest to the actual feature were guaranteed to the company distributing the movie, and the others were chosen by the theater operator. That is until Blake shelled out an estimated $100,000, split among four theater chains, to ensure that a 60-second preview for the Rob Schneider comedy&nbsp;<em>The Animal</em>&nbsp;played in front of that summer’s big May release,&nbsp;<em>The Mummy Returns.</em></p>



<p>Today, Hollywood’s major studios routinely strike year-long marketing agreements with major theater chains including AMC, Regal and Cinemark to guarantee trailer play in front of the biggest releases. Those deals range from $2 million to $5 million each, proportionate to the size of the chain, and can include other in-theater marketing opportunities such as ads on concession stands or theater marquees.</p>



<p>What exactly that money buys, however, is not always clear. Most moviegoers would assume the trailer system would be similar to any other advertising expenditure, but in practice studio executives say it can often feel closer to a bribe. Studios typically select “target” preferences for which trailers to put with which movies, and exhibitors reply with a certain percentage of screenings it can offer for each title, usually between 50% and 100%.</p>



<p>The tradition of reserving the two final previews for free for the studio that produced the movie continues to hold, but the value of the other four to six slots is constantly in flux. Six-figure transactions for additional trailer play can often materialize at a moment’s notice. This dynamic marketplace is driven by a movie’s predicted popularity, the amount of money paid, and above all, the fear of competition.</p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



<p>Further complicating the marketplace, each studio has no idea what the others are paying a particular chain, and chains don’t know what each studio is paying the competition. Beyond that, studios don’t know whether the preview screenings they receive will be in the best auditoriums or the best showtimes.</p>



<p>To help strategize, some studios have hired third-party trailer auditing companies, who send people to physically sit in theaters across the country and write down the order of all the trailers played before a given movie.</p>



<p>“It’s always been sensitive and back room,” says one distribution executive, who believes there should be more transparency but declines to be identified by name. “It’s coming from this place of we’re going to maximize our leverage against you. A lot of theatrical distribution is rooted in that tradition.”</p>



<p>Until the pandemic, Disney was known for never having to pay for trailer placement because of its dominant position in the marketplace. The mere threat of withholding a film or increasing its rental fee (the percentage split of box office gross) was enough to ensure good trailer placement from theater chains. Rival studios also relied on Disney’s new releases so they could advertise their biggest movies ahead of them.</p>



<p>However, Disney has only held the largest market share of the domestic box office once in the five years since the pandemic, and in recent years Hollywood insiders believe the company has started to participate in the pay-for-play trailer system like everyone else. (Disney declined to comment for this story.)</p>



<p>The trailer strategy gets even more complicated after that. Any preview slots not reserved by these annual guarantees are sold on a one-off basis or in mini-packages to independent distributors such as A24 and Neon, who in some cases pay up to $1 million across all the chains to secure a percentage of trailer play in front of a particular movie.</p>



<p>The irony of this high-pressure environment is that it is relatively low stakes. A presumed blockbuster like&nbsp;<em>Thunderbolts*</em>&nbsp;has a marketing budget of well over $100 million, and the amount of money spent on TV advertisements for one movie alone can be more than a studio might spend on trailer placement for the entire year.</p>



<p>Still, studio executives say that reaching people who have already bought movie tickets and then getting their undivided attention for a trailer can often the moment when they decide whether they want to see an upcoming movie. Meanwhile, TV commercials, digital ads and billboards serve primarily to remind viewers of a movie’s release date.</p>



<p>That’s why studios can spend as much as $200,000 to produce a two-and-a-half minute trailer—or, in the case of&nbsp;<em>Thunderbolts*,&nbsp;</em>even three full-length trailers across a seven-month marketing campaign.</p>



<p>This combination of the increased length of trailers and the increased inventory over the years has seemingly pushed some moviegoers to the edge of their patience. In Connecticut, a state senator introduced a bill in January that would require theaters to post the movie’s actual start time as opposed to the time when the previews begin.. And at CinemaCon, the national gathering of theater owners, there were multiple conversations around reviving the effort to cap trailers at two minutes (a&nbsp;<a href="https://theatreowners.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/NATO-In-Theater-Marketing-Guidelines-1.7.14.pdf" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">guideline</a>&nbsp;sent out in 2014 by the National Association of Theater Owners was mostly ignored by studios).</p>



<p>“People love trailers,” says Paul Dergarabedian, a senior media analyst at ComScore, a leading box office data provider. “But [theaters] have to walk that fine line—you don&#8217;t want to overdo it because then you burn people out before the curtains even open on the feature.&#8221;</p>



<p>For studios, a good trailer often doubles as the most impactful piece of digital marketing in a movie’s campaign, once it is posted on YouTube and other social media platforms. According to the same NRG survey, Gen-Z moviegoers said that social media and word of mouth outrank trailers in influence, but when asked what type of social media content drives their choices, trailers once again reigned supreme.</p>



<p>Daniel Loria, a senior vice president of content strategy at Los Angeles-based Boxoffice Pro, says that online trailer views are a strong indicator of box office performance. “That’s a big data point that we use here internally in our forecasting,” Loria says. “Having trailers available online is a real game changer for movie marketing.”</p>



<p>There is, however, one other marketing force that in recent years has proven even more powerful and unpredictable—online virality. When a movie catches on organically—whether it’s an army of teen “Gentleminions” in suits going to see&nbsp;<em>Minions: The Rise of Gru</em>, the&nbsp;<em>M3gan&nbsp;</em>dance trend, or the recent “chicken jockey” mania around&nbsp;<em>A Minecraft Movie</em>—it can cause a movie to vastly overperform the predicted box office results.</p>



<p>But attempts by distributors to create those viral moments have proven largely futile, so for now, the focus remains on trailers.</p>



<p>“I think what everyone in this industry has learned is that viral moments of the movies have to be organic. You can’t will a <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2023/07/23/barbie-living-up-to-box-office-hype-with-155-million-us-opening-weekend-biggest-of-the-year/">Barbenheimer</a> into existence,” says Loria. “But in a theater, you know you&#8217;ve got their attention. And you&#8217;ve got two to three minutes to sell the movie. That is so valuable.”</p>


cinema

Inside The Secretive, Pay-For-Play World Of Movie Trailers


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>Earnings for two of the U.S.’ handful of trillion-dollar companies came out Wednesday afternoon as Meta and Microsoft will update investors, kicking off a crucial week for on-edge big technology stocks as tariffs complicated investor appetite for artificial intelligence-driven growth.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



<p>Microsoft generated $70.1 billion in revenue and $3.46 EPS ($25.8 billion net income), compared to consensus forecasts calling for $68.4 billion in revenue and $3.22 earnings per share ($24.1 billion net income) for Microsoft, according to FactSet data, scoring a 13% year-over-year increase in sales and 18% jump in profit.</p>



<p>Those are the best-ever quarterly revenue and profit totals in Microsoft’s history.</p>



<p>Shares of Microsoft shot up 6% following the earnings release, trading at about $420 after hours.</p>



<p>Fellow big tech firm Meta, the parent of Facebook, also exceeded Wall Street expectations, as its $42.3 billion in revenue and $6.43 EPS smashed forecasts of $41.4 billion in revenue and $5.23 EPS.</p>



<p>Meta said it expects second-quarter revenue to come in between $42.5 billion and $45.5 billion, well above consensus projections of $41.3 billion.</p>



<p>Meta stock gained about 5% to more than $570.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">Key Background</h2>



<p>Microsoft is the U.S.’ second most valuable company with a $2.9 trillion market capitalization, and Meta is the sixth-largest firm with a $1.4 trillion market cap. Meta and Microsoft are two of the so-called “magnificent seven” big tech companies, joining Google parent Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Nvidia and Tesla. The septet comprises a third of the S&amp;P 500’s total market capitalization thanks to their outsized influence in the artificial intelligence bonanza. Microsoft makes its AI hay via its Azure enterprise cloud computing unit and its stake in ChatGPT parent OpenAI, while Meta just launched a competitor app to the generative AI dominator ChatGPT,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2025/04/29/heres-what-to-know-about-metas-standalone-ai-app-to-rival-chatgpt/">Meta AI</a>. Meta and Microsoft shares have both slumped this year amid the broader stock market pullback as investors’ risk profile weakened. Meta and Microsoft stocks declined 5% year-to-date apiece through Wednesday, excluding dividends, though that’s stronger than the 15% or more losses from Amazon, Apple and Nvidia, all of which have far heavier exposure to China than Meta and Microsoft.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">Tangent</h2>



<p>Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer were among the 10 billionaires whose net worth fell the most during President Donald Trump’s first 100 days, losing a combined $30 billion,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/chasewithorn/2025/04/29/the-biggest-billionaire-winners-and-losers-of-trumps-first-100-days/">according</a>&nbsp;to Forbes’ calculations.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-to-watch-for">What To Watch For</h2>



<p>Thursday will be another magnificent seven earnings doubleheader, as retail titan Amazon and iPhone maker Apple will share quarterly results.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">Crucial Quote</h2>



<p>“This is a key few days ahead for the markets and tech world,” remarked Wedbush analyst Dan Ives. The trade war is a “key X variable for tech stocks,” noted Ives, adding<strong> </strong>this week’s reports should provide a glimpse into how demand has held up among businesses and consumers amid the economic uncertainty.</p>


Views Of London England’s Capital City

Meta And Microsoft Stocks Soar On Robust Earnings Reports


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>President Donald Trump discussed his first 100 days in office in an interview with ABC News on Tuesday that at times became tense, where he defended his handling of the economy, high tariffs on China and his administration’s immigration crackdown.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



<p>Trump had several tense exchanges with ABC News anchor Terry Moran during&nbsp;<a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-defends-100-days-historic-presidency-exclusive-abc/story?id=121295023" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">the interview</a>, where he described the network as “one of the worst.”</p>



<p>The president defended his decision to hit China with steep tariffs, but said he expected this to have no impact on U.S. consumers, as he believes China will “eat those tariffs.”</p>



<p>The president claimed China was “ripping us off like nobody has ever ripped us off,” and while he acknowledged a 145% tariff amounted to a trade embargo, he thought it was “good” and “they deserve it.”</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2211443596.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-65400" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2211443596.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2211443596-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2211443596-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"><strong><em> Ukraine&#8217;s President Volodymyr Zelensky (R) meets with U.S. President Donald Trump (L) during Pope Francis&#8217;s funeral at St. Peter&#8217;s Basilica at the Vatican. (Photo by Office of the President of Ukraine via Getty Images)</em></strong></figcaption></figure></div>


<p>The comments on the China tariffs are a shift in tone from last week, where Trump suggested that trade negotiations with Beijing were around the corner and the 145% tariff rate would soon “come down substantially.”</p>



<p>The president also dismissed a question about voters feeling economic anxiety, saying that prices had come down under him: “Since I came in, gasoline is down, groceries are down, egg prices are down — many things are down, just about everything.”</p>



<p>Trump also suggested tourism to the U.S. was “way up,” despite&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher/2025/04/29/us-travel-boycott-60-of-canadians-staying-away-because-of-trump-survey-says/">data showing</a>&nbsp;otherwise, and told Moran, “Wait till you see the numbers.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-did-trump-say-about-his-administration-s-deportation-actions">What Did Trump Say About His Administration’s Deportation Actions?</h2>



<p>Moran asked Trump about his administration’s sweeping deportation efforts and whether proper due process was being followed. The president said: “If people come into our country illegally, there&#8217;s a different standard. These are illegal. They came in illegally.” When pressed again about due process, Trump said: “Well, they get a process where we have to get &#8217;em out, yeah.” Trump said his administration has to “act fast” in removing undocumented migrants and claimed there were “21 million people” in the U.S. illegally—a number Trump has repeatedly used despite the actual&nbsp;<a href="https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2024/how-many-million-immigrants-america-illegal/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">estimated number</a>&nbsp;being lower. The president then asked, “Do you think we can give 21 million trials?”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-did-trump-say-about-kilmar-abrego-garcia">What Did Trump Say About Kilmar Abrego Garcia?</h2>



<p>The president was also asked about Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident who was mistakenly deported to a prison in El Salvador. Despite earlier denials by his administration, Trump acknowledged he “could” secure the deported man’s return to the U.S., but indicated he will not do so, despite a Supreme Court order instructing the government to facilitate his return. Trump said the Justice Department lawyer who said Abrego Garcia’s deportation was carried out erroneously was “not appointed by us” and “should not have said that.” Trump also claimed Abrego Garcia was a member of the MS-13 gang, despite his lawyers repeatedly denying this accusation. Trump even showed Moran an image of the text “MS-13” tattooed on his hands, but when the ABC anchor pointed out the image was “photoshopped,” the president appeared agitated and told Moran: “Terry, you can’t do that. They’ve given you the big break of a lifetime. You know, you’re doing the interview.” Trump then insisted that Moran should: “go look at his hand,” and the photo claiming “He had MS-13.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-did-trump-say-about-putin-and-the-ukraine-peace-talks">What Did Trump Say About Putin And The Ukraine Peace Talks?</h2>



<p>Trump said he believes Putin wanted to annex the whole of Ukraine and: “If I didn&#8217;t win the election, he would have gotten all of Ukraine.” When asked if he thought that the Russian president may not actually want to stop the war and was simply “tapping” him along, Trump acknowledged that this was possible: “He could be tapping me along a little bit.” However, Trump said he believes Putin would “like to stop the war.” When asked if he trusted Putin, Trump shot back: “ I don’t trust you, I don’t trust – I don’t trust a lot of people.” After another testy exchange with the interviewer, Trump said, “I think that he — let&#8217;s say he respects me.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">Further Reading</h2>



<p><a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-defends-100-days-historic-presidency-exclusive-abc/story?id=121295023" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Trump discusses first 100 days of historic presidency in exclusive ABC interview</a>&nbsp;(ABC News)</p>


President Trump Delivers Speech In Michigan To Mark 100 Days Of His Presidency

What Trump Said In 100 Days Interview: China Tariffs, Deportations And Putin


<p><strong>Elon Musk is dialing down his DOGE role that triggered protests and vandalism at Tesla stores. But its EV business needs a hit product and none is on the horizon. And the company’s booming battery business, a Q1 bright spot, will suffer from Trump’s tariffs.</strong></p>



<p>T<strong>his week</strong>, Tesla posted its worst quarterly results in four years. Sales were down 9%. Income plummeted 71%—hurt by a 20% drop in automotive revenues. And given tariffs and rocky market headaches, the company didn’t bother giving sales targets for the rest of the year.</p>



<p>But the stock rallied, jumping 9% since Tuesday as investors cheered one thing: Elon Musk says he&#8217;ll soon step back from his duties gutting the federal government through DOGE, and return to running the show at Tesla in a more full-time capacity (excepting his other responsibilities at SpaceX, xAI and Neuralink).</p>



<p>That&#8217;s not the cure-all investors seem to think it is. The problems Tesla now faces have been exacerbated by Musk joining the Trump Administration as a &#8220;special government employee&#8221; — declining profit margins, intensifying competition and a tarnished brand image. And they show no signs of disappearing any time soon, even if Musk becomes a more active CEO again. Worse, it&#8217;s becoming clear Musk has run out of ideas for how to fix them, instead fixating on an uncertain future focused on robotaxis and humanoid robots.</p>



<p>For now, Tesla profits from selling cars and battery storage systems and both businesses are in trouble. It has no successor to monster sellers like the Model Y and Model 3 (Cybertruck, its latest release,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2025/04/03/elons-edsel-tesla-cybertruck-is-the-auto-industrys-biggest-flop-in-decades/">has been one of the biggest flops in automotive history</a>). At the same time, it’s about to get hit by President Trump’s tariffs, which are expected to chill auto sales across the industry. Worse for Tesla though, a coming 145% tariff on imported Chinese battery cells is set to hammer the company’s battery pack business, one of the only bright spots last quarter.</p>



<p>Musk downplayed these problems on the April 22 results call. “We’re not on the ragged edge of death, not even close,” he said. “There are some challenges, and I expect that … there will probably be some unexpected bumps this year.”</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p>“This time, it’s not about the product. It’s about the person. It’s too late to separate man and brand. And in the meantime, it’s lost its EV advantage.”Sue Benson, The Behaviours Agency</p>
</blockquote>



<p>Some, though, are entirely expected. Though Musk’s political activities have been more time-consuming since Trump returned to office on Jan. 20–aided by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/05/us/politics/elon-musk-trump-rbg-election.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">$250 million</a>&nbsp;from the world’s richest person–his&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/musk-rallies-far-right-europe-tesla-is-paying-price-2025-03-04/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">embrace of rightwing politics</a>&nbsp;and<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/04/elon-musk-x-trump-far-right" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">&nbsp;inflammatory social media comments</a>&nbsp;have tarnished Tesla’s brand image for well over a year, particularly in important markets like California and Europe. Multiple polls, including one by&nbsp;<a href="https://law.marquette.edu/poll/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Marquette University Law School</a>&nbsp;this month, found that 60% of people surveyed had an unfavorable view of Musk and 58% disapproved of his DOGE work. A YouGov/Yahoo News survey last month found that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/two-thirds-of-americans-now-say-they-wouldnt-drive-a-tesla--and-most-of-them-cite-elon-musk-as-the-reason-why-according-to-a-new-poll-152619516.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">67% of Americans</a>&nbsp;would not consider buying or leasing a Tesla, with most saying Musk was the reason.</p>



<p>“Remember VW’s emissions scandal? One regulatory crisis cost it tens of billions and its reputation. That’s where Tesla is now,” said Sue Benson, CEO and founder of The Behaviours Agency, a U.K.-based marketing firm. “Except this time, it’s not about the product. It’s about the person. It’s too late to separate man and brand. And in the meantime, it’s lost its EV advantage.”</p>



<p>And while Musk may be spending more time at the Austin-based auto company, he also still oversees SpaceX, X, the Boring Company and Neuralink (in addition to fathering his “legion” of more than a dozen children). Long before DOGE, his bandwidth was already limited.</p>



<p>“He said what he thought people wanted to hear,” said Ross Gerber, CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management, who holds the company’s shares but has advocated for Musk to resign. “But he’s still going to go run xAI, he’s still going to keep doing what he’s doing at Tesla, SpaceX and X and still be involved with DOGE. What’s changed?”</p>



<p>The most pressing challenge for Tesla is reversing the decline in its EV sales, down 13% in the first quarter. More alarming is that automotive revenue dropped 20%, meaning it sold fewer vehicles and charged less for them. The entirety of its $409 million profit came from regulatory credits — free money it gets from other automakers to comply with pollution rules in the U.S., California and the EU. Without the $595 million in credits Tesla sold in the quarter––it would have posted a net loss.</p>



<p>The simplest, most obvious fix for ailing sales is a new model. Rather than doing that, however, Musk and his engineers are readying refreshed, and cheaper, versions of the Y and 3, which went on sale in 2020 and 2017, respectively. Rather than doing what traditional automakers call a “full” model change, where the body shape and interior are dramatically altered, the 2025 Model Y is more of a refresh of the 2024 version, with a new light bar running across the front hood and rear sections, sleeker headlights and more aerodynamic wheels.</p>



<p>That could provide a jolt to sales, but it’s not a winning long-term strategy. There’s a reason why car companies regularly release new models. Dramatic styling changes typically produce better results, according to industry researcher Glenn Mercer, who leads Cleveland-based advisory firm GM Automotive. “Just leaving these models in the market forever, with no significant sheet metal changes, means they are–to overstate things–zombies,” Mercer told&nbsp;<em>Forbes</em>.</p>



<p>Neither Musk nor Lars Moravy, Tesla’s head of vehicle engineering, shared details of how the company planned to offer the cheaper variants on the earnings call. Industry analysts expect Tesla to do this by using a smaller, cheaper battery pack with less driving range and eliminating tech features.</p>



<p>“If instead of restyling, Tesla just lowers prices by removing things–like they already removed ultrasonic parking sensors, for example–that&#8217;s even worse,” Mercer said. “Usually at this point in a decaying model&#8217;s lifecycle, you start adding stuff to divert people from seeing the ancient underlying appearance.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ev-competition"><strong>EV Competition</strong></h2>



<p>You know who does have newer models? Fast-growing Chinese EV makers, particularly BYD, as well as domestic competitors like General Motors, Hyundai, Kia, Honda and Rivian. It’s no wonder Tesla’s share of EV sales has dropped to 43% in the first quarter, down from 75% three years earlier.</p>



<p>Until a few years ago, Musk claimed Tesla would sell 20 million EVs a year by the end of the 2020s. Now, he’s quietly dropped that goal, pivoting to a new business model built on selling robotaxi rides, AI services and worker robots.</p>



<p>“The future of the company is fundamentally based on large-scale autonomous cars and large-scale, large volume, vast numbers of autonomous humanoid robots,” Musk said this week. “So the value of a company that makes truly useful autonomous humanoid robots and autonomous useful vehicles at scale at low cost, which is what Tesla is going to do, is staggering.”</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p>“It makes no sense. Cybercab should have just been a two-door, small $25,000 Tesla.”Ross Gerber</p>
</blockquote>



<p>That may be true, but Tesla hasn’t demonstrated it can do it. Waymo is the de facto leader in robotaxis, using vehicles equipped with far more elaborate sensors and computing capabilities than Musk plans. Meanwhile, Boston Dynamics for years has demonstrated humanoid and animal-style robots that appear to have far greater capabilities than Tesla’s wobbly Optimus. (One near-term problem: Musk said on the earnings call that Tesla can’t get rare-earth magnets the robot’s motors need right now owing to retaliatory restrictions that China, the sole supplier, implemented in response to Trump’s tariffs.)</p>



<p>Investors like Gerber want to see Musk prioritize new products instead. He thinks the Cybercab concept that Tesla showed off last fall, which Musk pitched as a futuristic robotaxi model with no steering wheel, could instead have been sold as a lower-priced EV.</p>



<p>“It makes no sense. Cybercab should have just been a two-door, small $25,000 Tesla,” he said. “Just do the Cybercab with a steering wheel and scale it up. It&#8217;s a cool-looking car and looks different than any other in its lineup and could attract new customers, especially if it’s $25.000. Doing a stripped-down Model Y is kicking themselves in the kneecap.”</p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Tariff Impact</strong></h2>



<p>Tesla is somewhat better insulated against Trump’s tariffs as it doesn’t import vehicles built abroad, or even from Canada and Mexico as most other automakers do. But it still sources steel, aluminum and auto parts from outside the U.S. so will be hurt by higher costs for those products. And tariffs will especially hurt its most successful business beside EVs: energy generation and storage, where it sells battery packs to homeowners, utilities and companies. In Q1, Tesla posted a 67% jump in this business line’s revenue to $2.73 billion.</p>



<p>But for these battery packs, Tesla relies on lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery cells made in China, which will now get stung by Trump’s 145% tax on imported Chinese goods. Tesla had planned to begin making LFP cells this year at its battery gigafactory in Nevada under a new licensing agreement with China’s CATL, the world’s biggest maker of EV batteries. They would be cheaper than the lithium-ion cells that go into Tesla’s EV packs. But that plan has now stalled.</p>



<p>“The impact of tariffs on the energy business will be outsized since we source LFP battery cells from China,” Tesla CFO Vaibhav Taneja said on the call. “We’re in the process of commissioning equipment for the local manufacturing of LFP battery cells in the U.S. However, the equipment which we have can only service a fraction of our total installed capacity of late.”</p>



<p>That means much higher prices for Tesla’s Megapacks and less business, especially from utilities buying them to store solar- and wind-generated electricity.</p>



<p>“Nobody, not even Tesla, makes LFP in the U.S. The 145% tariffs mean prices for those cells go up for everybody,” said a person familiar with Tesla’s battery operations who declined to be identified for fear of reprisal. “The utilities are just not willing to pay that higher price. It&#8217;s not like Tesla will lose out to competition. In this case, the market just disappears as the price goes up.”</p>



<p>Gerber, a long-time Musk fan who’s become an outspoken critic, sees no sign that Elon has any ideas to fix Tesla’s near-term product strategy, even if he’s doing less DOGE work.</p>



<p>“I just don’t see this as any big change for the better at Tesla,” he said. “It’s not going to solve their problems.”</p>


GERMANY-AUTOMOBILE-TESLA-MUSK

Elon Musk Is Running Out Of Ideas To Save Tesla


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>Shein and Temu, major online retailers known for their wildly low prices, said they would raise prices for some products Friday after President Donald Trump imposed hefty tariffs on China, though it’s unclear which products will get more expensive, or by how much.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Facts</h2>



<p><a href="https://us.shein.com/campaigns/sheincustomernotice" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Shein</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.temu.com/common-policy.html?policy=temucustomernotice" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Temu</a>&nbsp;said in nearly identical notices to customers this week they would increase prices on goods, though they did not specify how much more expensive certain items would become.</p>



<p>Both retailers attributed their impending price increases to Trump’s tariffs on U.S. imports, which both companies said have caused their operating costs to rise.</p>



<p>Both Shein and Temu primarily produce goods in China, Trump’s biggest tariff target, which now faces a total tariff rate of 145% and has demanded that Trump drop the steep tariffs.</p>



<p>Sales for both Shein and Temu spiked after Trump announced his tariffs policy,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-16/temu-shein-see-us-sales-surge-ahead-of-small-parcel-tariff" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Bloomberg reported</a>&nbsp;last week.</p>



<p>Forbes has reached out to Shein and Temu for comment.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">How Have Consumers Reacted To Shein And Temu’s Price Increases?</h2>



<p>Consumers have largely flocked to Shein and Temu because of their extremely low prices, prompting some to raise alarms on social media about the price increases. One user posted a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@notchiaraaceto/video/7495482729983659294?is_from_webapp=1&amp;sender_device=pc" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">video</a>&nbsp;suggesting the best deals for consumers to take advantage of before the price increases take effect, including earrings for $2, a reusable water bottle resembling a Stanley cup for $21 and sunglasses for $3. Another&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@maryah781/video/7495013921414303019?is_from_webapp=1&amp;sender_device=pc" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">user</a>, who has 75,000 followers and regularly reviews Shein products, urged her followers to place their orders before Shein raises prices and said in the comment section she wouldn’t be placing any more orders after the price hikes. Some users posted videos joking they were ordering their last “Shein hauls” before the price increases, including&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@ramuleus/video/7491065553679945002?is_from_webapp=1&amp;sender_device=pc" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">one</a>&nbsp;who garnered 1 million likes joking he’d avoid tariffs by crossing the ocean to pick up his Shein packages.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What’s The Latest On Trump’s China Tariffs?</h2>



<p>Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2025/04/10/trumps-tariffs-on-china-are-now-at-least-145-white-house-confirms-higher-than-he-previously-claimed/">hiked his tariffs</a>&nbsp;on China multiple times to a rate of 145%.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/22/business/trump-china-trade-war-reduction-hnk-intl/index.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Trump said</a>, however, those rates would “come down substantially, but it won’t be zero,” at the White House on Tuesday, acknowledging the rate of 145% is “very high.” The shift came after weeks of back-and-forth with China as neither side appeared to back down amid an escalating trade war. Trump claimed Wednesday that China and the United States are “actively” negotiating tariff de-escalation, but Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/tariff-trade-war-china-beijing-trump-washington-us-economy-markets-rcna202535" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Guo Jiakun</a>&nbsp;responded that the sides “have not engaged in any consultations or negotiations regarding tariffs, let alone reached an agreement.” Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesperson&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/04/24/china-demands-rollback-on-all-unilateral-tariffs-as-it-rebuffs-trumps-offer-to-negotiate/">He Yadong</a>&nbsp;said Thursday China is open to negotiations, but they must be fair and mutual, urging the U.S. to “cancel all unilateral tariff measures against China.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Background</h2>



<p>Shein and Temu both emerged in recent years as hugely popular, yet controversial, retailers that have dominated the fast fashion and e-commerce spaces. Shein reported $38 billion in total sales in 2024, up 19% from the year prior, though its profits dropped by more than a third, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/021b5460-76e1-408d-83f6-91b9e05180d7" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Financial Times reported</a>. AB Bernstein and Tech Buzz China analysts told&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wired.com/story/temus-takeover-is-now-complete/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Wired</a>&nbsp;in December Temu was on track to reach $50 billion in sales in 2024. Their dominance has inspired multiple competitors to launch their own low-priced e-commerce storefronts, including Amazon’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2024/11/13/what-to-know-about-amazon-haul-e-commerce-giants-new-temu-and-shein-competitor/">Amazon Haul</a>, which launched in November, and TikTok’s TikTok Shop. But Shein and Temu have both faced criticism for the allegedly poor quality of their products and accusations of poor working conditions. A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/22/business/economy/shein-temu-forced-labor-china.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">congressional inquiry</a>&nbsp;in 2023 found an “extremely high risk that Temu’s supply chains are contaminated with forced labor,” while a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-11-21/shein-s-cotton-clothes-tied-to-xinjiang-china-region-accused-of-forced-labor" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Bloomberg report</a>&nbsp;found some cotton used in Shein’s products came from Xinjiang, a region of China where U.S. officials allege China is committing human rights abuses against the Uyghur people. Both Shein and Temu have also sparked scrutiny for their ties to China, though neither is headquartered there.&nbsp;<a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/curious-case-temu-u-headquarters-154253838.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Temu’s headquarters</a>&nbsp;are located in Boston, though the company is owned by the Chinese e-commerce company PDD.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/exclusive-chinese-fashion-firm-shein-singapore-hiring-spree-it-shifts-key-assets-2022-02-16/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Shein moved</a>&nbsp;its headquarters from China to Singapore in 2022.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Further Reading</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/04/24/china-demands-rollback-on-all-unilateral-tariffs-as-it-rebuffs-trumps-offer-to-negotiate/">China Demands Rollback On All Unilateral Tariffs As It Rebuffs Trump’s Offer To Negotiate</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/tariff-trade-war-china-beijing-trump-washington-us-economy-markets-rcna202535" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Trump says the U.S. and China are &#8216;actively&#8217; discussing tariffs. Beijing says that&#8217;s false.</a>&nbsp;(NBC News)</p>


Trending Apps Photo Illustrations

Shein And Temu Will Raise Prices Amid Trump Tariffs—What To Know


<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/04/24/google-earnings-stock-soars-as-q1-results-shatter-expectations/#open-web-0"></a></p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/04/24/google-earnings-stock-soars-as-q1-results-shatter-expectations/#open-web-0"></a></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>Google parent Alphabet reported first-quarter earnings Thursday afternoon, becoming the first of the trillion-dollar U.S. technology behemoths to report earnings from the first quarter, a period marred by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/04/21/forbes-recession-tracker-recession-odds-spike-as-trumps-tariff-liberation-day-approaches/">elevated</a>&nbsp;economic uncertainty that could weigh on the advertising-heavy Google.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



<p>Alphabet brought in $90.2 billion of revenue in Q1, topping consensus analyst estimates of $89.2 billion, and $2.81 diluted earnings per share ($34.5 billion net income), smashing forecasts of $2.01 EPS ($24.8 billion net income), according to FactSet.</p>



<p>That equates to 12% top line expansion from Q1 2024 and 49% bottom line growth year-over-year.</p>



<p>Alphabet’s bread-and-butter Google search unit generated $50.7 billion in sales, compared to forecasts of $50.5 billion, and its artificial intelligence-heavy Google cloud brought in $12.3 billion, matching projections of $12.3 billion.</p>



<p>Google stock jumped about 5% in after-hours trading immediately following the release, and its $169 afternoon share price has the tech firm on track to open at its highest level in four weeks.</p>



<p>The company also announced Thursday board authorization for a $70 billion&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2024/05/09/what-are-stock-buybacks-the-apple-led-strategy-is-expected-to-swell-to-1-trillion-by-2025/">stock buyback</a>&nbsp;program, and it will increase its quarterly cash dividend by 5% to $0.21.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-google-mum-on-tariffs">Google Mum On Tariffs</h2>



<p>In the earnings call, Google CEO Sundar Pichai&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/TheTranscript_/status/1915512617357238675" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">declined</a>&nbsp;to “speculate about potential impacts” of tariffs, before adding the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2025/04/24/shein-and-temu-will-raise-prices-tomorrow-amid-trump-tariffs-what-to-know/">rollback</a>&nbsp;of the de minimis tariff exemptions will “obviously cause a slight headwind to our ads business in 2025, primarily from” Asian retailers. Google is grappling with a “negative tariff ad spend impact,” according to Bank of America analyst Justin Post, specifically noting declining spending from Chinese discount retailers Temu and Shein as Trump’s more than 100% tariffs on Chinese imports stifle the flow of goods from the country to U.S. consumers. Still, Google has “relatively less” pressure from the choppy operating environment, according to Post. About 4% to 5% of Google’s revenues come from Chinese companies spending on U.S. advertising, according to Bernstein analyst Mark Shmulik, much less than the 7% to 8% exposure from Google’s top digital advertising rival, Facebook parent Meta.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-google-stock-bounced-before-earnings-as-nasdaq-jumped-2">Google Stock Bounced Before Earnings As Nasdaq Jumped 2%</h2>



<p>Shares of Google rose during Thursday’s regular session ahead of the release, gaining more than 2% to $161, the highest level in two weeks. The bounce came as stocks continued to rally on renewed hopes President Donald Trump would&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/04/23/stocks-surge-as-trump-softens-on-china-tariffs/">keep backing down</a>&nbsp;from his most aggressive tariff plans, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq index rose nearly 3% on Thursday, heading to its third consecutive day of an at least 2% rally. That’s the first time the Nasdaq has risen by that much in three straight trading sessions since 2001,&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/bespokeinvest/status/1915450647832416503" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">according</a>&nbsp;to Bespoke Investment Group. Still, Google stock is down 16% year-to-date, slightly worse than the tech-heavy Nasdaq’s 12% decline as fears of an economic slowdown tied to Trump’s trade war&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/04/14/trump-celebrates-last-weeks-largest-gain-in-stock-market-history-but-stocks-are-still-down-during-his-second-term/">broadly</a>&nbsp;ate into investor confidence.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">Crucial Quote</h2>



<p>“If investing in US tech stocks was difficult right now, underwriting Google might be the closest thing to impossible,” Shmulik wrote Wednesday. Among the massive unknowns swirling around Google are recession concerns, tariff exposure, potential for generative AI to disrupt online search, a “library of regulatory overhangs” and a “potential lightning rod for international retaliation” against American entities, explained Shmulik.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">Tangent</h2>



<p>Among the “library” of regulatory hurdles facing Google include high-profile monopoly probes from U.S. prosecutors. A federal judge&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/us-judge-finds-google-holds-illegal-online-ad-tech-monopolies-2025-04-17/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">ruled</a>&nbsp;last week Google maintains an illegal monopoly in advertising technology, and the Justice Department&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/21/technology/google-search-remedies-hearing.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">argued</a>&nbsp;in an ongoing antitrust case the company should be forced to sell its Chrome web browser.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">Key Background</h2>



<p>Google is one of the six West Coast tech companies with market values of at least $1 trillion, joined by Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon and Meta (those companies are often lumped together with Elon Musk’s Tesla to form the “magnificent seven”). Google was a key part of the massive tech stock rally as generative AI’s popularity spiked, as its share price more than doubled from the end of 2022 to 2024. But big tech has stalled on Wall Street as recession fears escalated, as Bloomberg’s magnificent seven index has declined about 20% in 2025.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-to-watch-for">What To Watch For</h2>



<p>Next week, Amazon, Apple, Meta and Microsoft will all report earnings from 2025’s first three months. Tesla, the least valuable member of the magnificent seven, shared its Q1 report Tuesday,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/04/22/tesla-earnings-elon-musks-firm-reports-worst-quarterly-profit-since-2021/">missing</a>&nbsp;on both profit and revenue forecasts.</p>


FRANCE-ECONOMY-TECHNOLOGY-VIVATECH

Google Earnings: Stock Soars As Q1 Results Shatter Expectations


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>Chinese officials on Thursday dismissed talks of any progress in trade negotiations with the U.S. and reiterated their stance that Washington must drop all unilateral tariffs against Beijing, two days after President Donald Trump appeared to soften his stance on levies against China and signaled trade talks between both sides could happen soon.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Facts</h2>



<p>In a press briefing, Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesperson He Yadong addressed&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/04/23/us-futures-and-asian-markets-rise-after-trump-suggests-china-tariffs-will-come-down-substantially/">comments</a>&nbsp;by Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent about lowering tariffs with China through trade negotiations.</p>



<p>The spokesperson said China is open to talks, but any such dialogue must be “conducted on an equal footing and based on mutual respect,” and the U.S. must correct its “wrong practices” before engaging with Beijing.</p>



<p>The spokesperson accused the U.S. of “unilaterally” provoking a trade war and warned that “pressure, threats and blackmail” were not the right approach to deal with China.</p>



<p>On Trump’s comments about “substantially” lowering tariffs on Chinese goods, He said the “unilateral tariff increase” was started by the U.S. and if Washington wants to resolve the issue, it must: “cancel all unilateral tariff measures against China.”</p>



<p>He also noted that any claims of progress in China and U.S. trade talks were “groundless and have no factual basis.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What Else Has Beijing Said About Trump’s Talks Of Lowering Tariffs?</h2>



<p>Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun also addressed the matter during the ministry’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mfa.gov.cn/eng/xw/fyrbt/lxjzh/202504/t20250423_11602511.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">daily press conference</a>, saying the “tariff war” was “launched by the U.S.,” and while China was not looking for a fight, it is not afraid of it. “We will fight if we must,” but Beijing’s “doors are open, if the U.S. wants to talk.” Guo noted Washington must stop “threatening and blackmailing China” and said: “To keep asking for a deal while exerting extreme pressure is not the right way to deal with China and simply will not work.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What Did Trump Say About Lowering Tariffs?</h2>



<p>On Tuesday, Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/04/23/us-futures-and-asian-markets-rise-after-trump-suggests-china-tariffs-will-come-down-substantially/">told reporters</a>&nbsp;at the Oval Office that he expected Chinese President Xi Jinping to negotiate a trade deal with him, as he promised to be “very nice” to China. The president said he was hopeful a deal would happen soon and acknowledged that the current 145% tariff rate against China was “very high.” The President then suggested he was prepared to lower the tariffs, saying: “It won’t be anywhere near that high. It’ll come down substantially. But it won’t be zero.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What Has Scott Bessent Said About Negotiations With China?</h2>



<p>Trump’s remarks were made shortly after Bessent expressed concerns that the high tariffs both the U.S. and China had imposed on each other was effectively halting all trade between the two countries. Speaking at a event on Tuesday, Bessent&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-22/bessent-sees-de-escalation-with-china-situation-unsustainable" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">acknowledged</a>&nbsp;the 145% tariff on China was essentially a “trade embargo” and such high tariffs were “unsustainable.” At the time, Bessent said he believed the trade tensions would cool in the next few months but noted that a full fledged deal could take two to three years. On Wednesday, Bessent&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/23/bessent-china-tariffs-trade-trump.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">addressed the issue</a>&nbsp;again saying “there is an opportunity for a big deal” between China and the U.S. on trade and added, “If they want to rebalance, let’s do it together.” However, the treasury secretary told&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/bessent-says-china-tariffs-are-not-sustainable-us-signals-willingness-de-2025-04-23/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">reporters</a>&nbsp;that Trump was not offering to unilaterally lower tariffs on China.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Further Reading</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/04/23/us-futures-and-asian-markets-rise-after-trump-suggests-china-tariffs-will-come-down-substantially/">U.S. Futures And Asian Markets Rise After Trump Suggests China Tariffs Will ‘Come Down Substantially’</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>


Donald Trump Attends Roundtable Discussion On Threat Of China On U.S. Agriculture

China Demands Rollback On All Unilateral Tariffs As It Rebuffs Trump’s Offer To Negotiate


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>Meta’s oversight board criticized the company’s updated hateful conduct policies, which included a provision allowing users to describe LGBTQ people as mentally ill, among other controversial updates, urging the company to assess the “human rights impact” of the policy on LGBTQ people, minors and immigrants.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



<p>The Meta&nbsp;<a href="https://www.oversightboard.com/news/wide-ranging-decisions-protect-speech-and-address-harms/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">oversight board</a>, which makes company decisions and conducts mediations and is sometimes referred to as Meta’s “Supreme Court,” issued a response to Meta’s hateful conduct policy change Wednesday, criticizing the update as “hastily” made.</p>



<p>Meta’s hateful conduct policy was updated “in a departure from regular procedure, with no public information shared as to what, if any, prior human rights due diligence the company performed,” the oversight board said.</p>



<p>The oversight board called on Meta to assess whether its updated hateful conduct policy would pose a threat to human rights, demanding the company provide a public report.</p>



<p>The oversight board also urged Meta to assess the effectiveness of its “community notes” policy, which it had adopted after abandoning third-party fact checking.</p>



<p>A Meta spokesperson told Forbes the company “respond to their full recommendations within 60 days in accordance with the bylaws.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-did-meta-update-its-hateful-conduct-policy">How Did Meta Update Its Hateful Conduct Policy?</h2>



<p>Meta announced sweeping changes to its hateful conduct policy and other content moderation standards on Jan. 7, which it billed as an attempt to improve free speech and reduce censorship on its social media platforms. The policy changes included renaming the “hate speech” policy to “hateful conduct,” and according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://transparency.meta.com/policies/community-standards/hateful-conduct/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">policy’s change log</a>&nbsp;on the Meta website, many references to specific examples of hateful conduct were erased, while other controversial examples were added. Among the updated policy changes is a provision that clarifies: “We do allow allegations of mental illness or abnormality when based on gender or sexual orientation, given political and religious discourse about transgenderism and homosexuality and common non-serious usage of words like ‘weird.’” Under a section barring dehumanizing speech, Meta erased a previous provision that had prohibited people from evoking offensive stereotypes, including referring to “women as household objects or property or objects in general” and “transgender or non-binary people as ‘it.’” Meta also abandoned its&nbsp;<a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2025/01/meta-more-speech-fewer-mistakes/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">third-party fact-checking</a>&nbsp;program in favor of a community notes program like that on X, stating it would be “less prone to bias.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-were-meta-s-conduct-policy-updates-controversial">Why Were Meta’s Conduct Policy Updates Controversial?</h2>



<p>Meta’s updated policies drew scrutiny and allegations it would lead to increased discrimination against LGBTQ people, women and people of color. The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hrc.org/news/metas-new-policies-how-they-endanger-lgbtq-communities-and-our-tips-for-staying-safe-online" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Human Rights Campaign</a>&nbsp;said these policy changes “create fertile ground for misinformation, identity-based harassment, and abuse, and threaten LGBTQ+ inclusion and safety across Meta,” accusing the company of taking “specific aim at LGBTQ+ people.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-did-mark-zuckerberg-defend-meta-s-policy-updates">How Did Mark Zuckerberg Defend Meta’s Policy Updates?</h2>



<p>Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg had defended Meta’s content moderation policy updates as a move to improve free speech, particularly during a high-profile appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast, which has more than 9 million views on Rogan’s&nbsp;<a href="https://youtu.be/7k1ehaE0bdU?feature=shared" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">YouTube</a>&nbsp;channel. Zuckerberg said Facebook’s fact-checking policy was like “something out of 1984,” stating people felt the fact-checkers were too biased. “It really is a slippery slope, and it just got to a point where it&#8217;s just, OK, this is destroying so much trust, especially in the United States, to have this program,” praising Elon Musk’s X for adopting a community notes program in place of fact-checking. Zuckerberg said cracking down on hate speech “got to this point where there were things that you couldn’t say which were mainstream discourse,” citing Secretary of Defense&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pete-hegseth-background-defense-secretary-confirmation-hearing-e160e10c86385a8beff110d9190fb34e" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Pete Hegseth’s</a>&nbsp;prior statement that women should not serve in certain combat roles, stating this type of speech should be allowed on social media if Hegseth could say it on the floor of Congress. Zuckerberg also said in the Rogan interview companies should adopt more “masculine” energy and accused former President Joe Biden’s administration of calling Meta to “scream” about monitoring Covid-19-related posts.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">Further Reading</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/08/permitted-hateful-conduct-what-users-can-now-say-on-meta-platforms" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Revisions of ‘hateful conduct’: what users can now say on Meta platforms</a>&nbsp;(The Guardian)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/01/10/mark-zuckerberg-joe-rogan-facebook-censorship-biden" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Zuckerberg on Rogan: Facebook&#8217;s censorship was &#8220;something out of 1984&#8221;</a>&nbsp;(Axios)</p>


Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg Interview On The Circuit

Meta Oversight Board Urges Company To Assess ‘Human Rights Impact’ Of Hateful Conduct Policy


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday said he is open to direct bilateral talks with Ukraine for the first time in three years, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pushed for a moratorium on strikes against civilian targets, just days after Washington expressed displeasure about the lack of progress towards a peace deal between both sides and threatened to walk away from negotiations.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Facts</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zTE84oVLFM" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Speaking to state media reporters</a>&nbsp;in Moscow on Monday, the Russian president said his government has “always looked positively on any peace initiatives,” adding that he hopes officials in Kyiv feel the same way.</p>



<p>Putin also claimed Ukraine agreed to the temporary Easter ceasefire after being pressured to do so by “someone smarter—most likely foreign handlers.”</p>



<p>In a&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1914402951084322862" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">post on X</a>, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy restated Kyiv’s push to extend the Easter ceasefire, saying it shows that peace was possible “when Russia chooses to reduce the killing.”</p>



<p>Zelenskyy said his country “stands by its offer” for an agreement to halt all strikes on civilian infrastructure and the “obvious, simplest, and most reliable way” to do that would be by stopping “missile and long-range drone attacks.”</p>



<p>The Kremlin’s top spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov,&nbsp;<a href="https://tass.com/politics/1946993" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">later clarified</a>&nbsp;Putin’s comments, saying the Russian president’s comments were “about the option of negotiating the issue of not striking civilian infrastructure facilities, [on] a bilateral basis…he was particularly referring to negotiations and discussions with the Ukrainian side.”</p>



<p>Despite Peskov’s comments and Ukraine’s offer, Putin&nbsp;<a href="https://tass.com/politics/1946969" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">ordered</a>&nbsp;Russian forces to resume combat operations after the Easter truce.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What Do We Know About U.s. Threats To ‘walk Away’ From Russia-Ukraine Talks?</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/04/18/us-prepared-to-ditch-russia-ukraine-peace-talks-if-there-is-no-progress-soon-rubio-says/">Last week</a>, Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed frustration about the lack of progress in peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine and said President Donald Trump’s administration is prepared to “walk away” from the negotiation table if significant progress is not made soon. After a meeting with European leaders in Paris, Rubio told reporters: “If it is not possible to end the war in Ukraine, we need to move on.” He added that the Trump administration would not “continue with this endeavor for weeks and months on end…So we need to determine very quickly now, and I&#8217;m talking about a matter of days, whether or not this is doable in the next few weeks.” The secretary of state also added that Trump felt very strongly about ending the conflict and has “dedicated a lot of time and energy to this,” but there were other “really important things” which deserve “just as much, if not more attention.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What Has Trump Said About Russia-Ukraine Talks?</h2>



<p>When asked about Rubio’s comments, Trump told reporters that if one of the two parties made peace negotiations difficult, “we’re just going to say: ‘You’re foolish. You’re fools. You’re horrible people,’ and we’re going to just take a pass…But hopefully we won’t have to do that.” Trump, however, stopped short of giving a specific deadline, saying he did not have “a specific number of days” in mind but wanted it done &#8220;quickly&#8221;. The president later followed those comments up with a&nbsp;<a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114372126396548824" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Truth Social post</a>&nbsp;early on Monday, saying he hoped both sides would “MAKE A DEAL THIS WEEK.” In an apparent bid to incetivize such a move, Trump added: “BOTH WILL THEN START TO DO BIG BUSINESS WITH THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WHICH IS THRIVING, AND MAKE A FORTUNE!”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Further Reading</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/04/18/us-prepared-to-ditch-russia-ukraine-peace-talks-if-there-is-no-progress-soon-rubio-says/">US Prepared To ‘Move On’ From Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks If There Is No Progress Soon, Rubio Says</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>


President Putin Meets Attends Forum By Agency For Strategic Initiatives In Moscow

Putin Says He’s Open To Direct Talks With Kyiv Amid U.S. Threat To Abandon Negotiations


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>Pope Francis has died, the Vatican announced on Monday—after months of severe health ailments, including a bout of severe pneumonia—ending a more than decade-long reign where he pushed to make the Roman Catholic Church a more inclusive institution despite pushback from traditionalists.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Facts</h2>



<p>Francis’ death was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-04/pope-francis-dies-on-easter-monday-aged-88.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">announced</a>&nbsp;by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the top administrator of the office of the Holy See, who said: “At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father.”</p>



<p>Francis, who was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in the Argentinian capital Buenos Aires, was 88-years-old.</p>



<p>Over the past two months the pope had been in the hospital for several days due to severe health ailments including a bout of bilateral pneumonia and bronchitis.</p>



<p>After a 38-day hospital stay in February and March, the pope returned to his official residence and resumed some of his papal duties.</p>



<p>Francis made his last public appearance less than 24 hours before his death, as he greeted cheering crowds at St. Peter&#8217;s Square while seated in his popemobile on Easter Sunday.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What Has The Vatican Said About The Pope’s Death?</h2>



<p>“He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage, and universal love, especially in favor of the poorest and most marginalized,” Farrell said in his announcement mourning the Pope’s death.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">How Have World Leaders Reacted To Francis’ Death?</h2>



<p>Several world leaders have expressed their condolences over the Pope’s passing. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/GiorgiaMeloni/status/1914239044885569647" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">wrote</a>&nbsp;on X: “This is news that grieves us deeply, because he leaves us a great man and a great pastor. I was privileged to enjoy his friendship, advice and teachings, which never failed even in times of trial and suffering&#8230;His magisterium and legacy will not be lost.” French President Emmanuel Macron&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/EmmanuelMacron/status/1914234073406488855" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">said</a>: “From Buenos Aires to Rome, Pope Francis wanted the Church to bring joy and hope to the poorest of the poor. To unite people with one another and with nature. May this hope be resurrected unceasingly beyond him.” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/sanchezcastejon/status/1914235723026231483" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">tweeted</a>&nbsp;Francis’ “commitment to peace, social justice and the most vulnerable leaves a profound legacy.”</p>



<p><em>This is a developing story.</em></p>


Pope Francis Leads Way Of The Cross On Rio’s Copacabana Beach

Pope Francis Has Died At 88, The Vatican Says


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>Netflix had its best quarter ever, according to earnings results announced Thursday afternoon, setting the stakes for Netflix stock moving forward after it emerged as a perhaps surprising stock market safe haven during the recent&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/04/14/trump-celebrates-last-weeks-largest-gain-in-stock-market-history-but-stocks-are-still-down-during-his-second-term/">slump</a>.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



<p>In its Q1 report released shortly after 4 p.m. EDT market close, Netflix reported its best-ever quarterly earnings per share and revenue numbers.</p>



<p>Netflix scored $6.61 EPS ($2.9 billion net income) and $10.54 billion last quarter, besting consensus analyst estimates calling for the entertainment titan to report $5.67 adjusted EPS ($2.5 billion net income) and $10.5 billion in sales, according to FactSet data.</p>



<p>The company said it expects $11 billion in sales and $7.03 EPS during the second quarter, topping top and bottom line forecasts of $10.9 billion and $6.25, respectively.</p>



<p>Shares of Netflix rose 1.2% to $973 on Thursday, surging another 3% in after-hours trading to nearly $1,000 per share.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-netflix-stock-emerges-as-a-potential-recession-winner">Netflix Stock Emerges As A Potential Recession Winner</h2>



<p>Netflix has emerged from the 2025 stock losses stronger, gaining 4% since April 2 and 9% year-to-date. That came as the S&amp;P 500 (down 6% since April 2, 10% year-to-date excluding dividends) and the Nasdaq (-7%, -15%) both pulled back as President Donald Trump’s trade war heightened recession concerns. Many analysts herald Netflix stock as a safe parking spot as economic slowdown fears swirl. “If a recession hits, we would expect Netflix subscribers to be sticky as Netflix is a stay-at-home cheap diversion, of the type that has held up well in past recessions,” Rosenblatt analyst Barton Crockett wrote in a Monday note to clients. “Amid recent market volatility, Netflix&#8217;s strong subscription model with critical entertainment (which historically has performed well in a recession) has made the stock a defensive choice for investors,” Bank of America analysts led by Jessica Reif Ehrlich concurred in a Tuesday note.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-surprising-fact">Surprising Fact</h2>



<p>Netflix has far outperformed other members of the “FAANG” group, smashing returns this year from the other high-growth technology names: Facebook parent Meta (down 14% year-to-date excluding dividends), Amazon (-21%), Apple (-21%) and Google parent Alphabet (-19%). Netflix has also outperformed Disney (-23% year-to-date) and Max parent Warner Bros. Discovery (-23%), though audio streamer Spotify’s 29% gain this year tops Netflix’s.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-to-watch-for">What To Watch For</h2>



<p>Fellow FAANG constituents Alphabet and Amazon will join Netflix in reporting Q1 earnings next week. Both West Coast titans will deliver results next Thursday.</p>


Forbes

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA