Trump tariffs send gaming and tech stocks tumbling amid global economic turmoil

Global stock markets have tumbled today as the fallout continues from US president Trump’s tariffs announced last Wednesday.

The US has levied tariffs against countries around the world at a base 10%, rising dependent on what the administration sees as trade imbalances. China was hit with new 34% tariffs, while the US is imposing 46% tariffs on Vietnam.

The impact of the move has hit numerous industries, including games and tech, particuarly for companies that produce their hardware outside of the US.

Apple shares fell by 20% between opening last Wednesday and today’s opening, knocking hundreds of billions of dollars off its market cap. The stock has since risen in the early hours of the day. On Friday Apple was valued at $3 trillion, at the time of writing it is just under $2.7tn.

Microsoft shares have tumbled by more than 7% since the start of last Wednesday, while Zynga owner Take-Two Interactive stock has dropped by approximately 8%.

AppLovin shares fell by 25%, though the company has battled a number of short-seller reports in recent weeks. Its stock has risen in the early hours, amid news it wants to acquire TikTok’s international business. Elsewhere in the US, tech giants Meta and Nvidia has seen shares decline.

In Japan, Nintendo stock fell by 12% during the same period, shortly after it announced a June 5th launch date for the Switch 2 console. While it did see an increase throughout the day, shares were still below Friday’s close. 

Shares across Japan’s top publishers, including Square Enix, DeNA, CyberAgent, Mixi and GungHo Online Entertainment also saw declines.

Meanwhile in China, top publishers such as Tencent and NetEase have seen stocks fall.

Price rise concerns

Despite the global economic turmoil, Trump appears to be sticking to his position in tariffs, according to posts on Truth Social.

We recently spoke to Ampere Analysis senior research manager for games Louise Wooldridge about what impact tariffs could have on the games industry. She said the biggest impact will be on hardware, with the Switch 2 the “immediate concern”.

Nintendo has delayed pre-orders for the console in the US, which were expected to begin on April 9th. The new system was last week announced to have a price of $449.99.

“Most gaming devices are at least assembled in China, if not built there," said Wooldridge.

"Ironically, Nintendo has progressively shifted assembly out of China to avoid tariffs and into Vietnam which has been hit by a 46% rate – likely an unexpected blow. 

“Now that the price is fixed, it probably cannot be adjusted until 2026, so Nintendo – among others – will be hoping for a swift resolution. It is possible that the pricing of $450 included some foresight from Nintendo, though the extent of the tariffs may not have been accounted for.”

Spending power

Wooldridge warned last week there could be a wider impact for the games industry.

“Operational costs for games or games-adjacent companies within the US may also increase,” explains Wooldridge.

“Digital goods still often rely on physical infrastructure, which may become more expensive if components, servers etc. are bought out of China or other markets with high tariffs, and these greater expenses may be passed on to consumers 

“Finally there's the broader economic impact on things like currency values and inflation, which could affect not just prices but also the spending power of consumers/gamers.”