The pain from tariffs, trade wars and expectations of a sudden recession has been undeniable. Interest rates have come sharply lower as stock prices have been gutted. Significantly higher prices from tariffs means that there will be less money to spend on fewer things. That’s what most of us expect at any rate.
The one group of stocks that have been hit the worst in the last week have been the big giant industrial companies that actually do still export goods to China, Asia, Europe and other regions and countries.
There are two dominant airplane manufacturers in the world. Airbus is European, and Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) is the U.S. leader. Boeing has lost about 17% in the last week alone with its shares approaching the $140 mark. Boeing is now down 20% so far in 2025.
Moving earth and building infrastructure requires massive machines. Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) is now close to $285, down about 12% in the last week alone. Caterpillar is also down 20% so far in 2025.
Farming also requires massive equipment, and leader Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) sells its farming equipment all over the world. At $427 now, Deere’s stock is down 11% from earlier this week alone. Deere is somehow still flat year-to-date but it’s down 15% from mid-February.
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The move to make more factories in the U.S. may ultimately help the ones who help make the factories, but it’s going to take a lot of time and be a bumpy ride. Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE: ROK) was down 5% at $227.00 on Friday morning, but that’s down 15% from just the start of the week — and down 25% from mid-February.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is not exactly an industrial stock on the surface, but its entire manufacturing epicenter revolves around China and elsewhere in Asia where the tariffs are going to be the worst. A 2% drop to $199 in a day might not be the end of the world, but the mighty Apple is down 10% since the start of this week and is now down almost 20% from mid-February.
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) is taking the world over in AI chips, but it relies on foreign sources of manufacturing in Asia. Semiconductors were given an exemption but the market isn’t offering any reprieve. At $98, NVIDIA is now basically down almost at the lowest levels in a year. It is down 11% from earlier this week and down 28% year-to-date.
