Latest Sectors News

Home Depot beat fiscal fourth-quarter earnings expectations after missing estimates the prior three quarters. View More

In this articleHDFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT watch nowVIDEO4:3204:32Home Depot beats Wall Street’s expectations, even as sales declineSquawk Box Home Depot on Tuesday posted a roughly 4% quarterly sales decline, as a sluggish real estate market and selective spending by homeowners continued to weigh on home improvement demand.The company also stuck by the current fiscal year forecast that it shared in December at an investor day. It said it expects full-year total sales growth to range between about 2.5% and 4.5% and adjusted earnings per share to be between roughly flat and up 4% from $14.69 in the prior fiscal year. It expects full-year comparable sales growth, which takes out one-time factors like store openings and closures, to range from flat to up 2%.Despite the fiscal fourth-quarter sales decline, Home Depot topped Wall Street's revenue and earnings expectations for that period.In an interview with CNBC, Chief Financial Officer Richard McPhail said U.S. consumers and the company have "been in a frozen housing environment for three years" – and there hasn't been a meaningful thaw. "What we've seen as an added pressure during the last year has been this increase in consumer uncertainty, a gradual decline in consumer confidence," he said. "And so those are signs we're watching."He said customers have told the company that they are concerned about housing affordability and job losses, dynamics that colored Home Depot's outlook for the year.Here's what Home Depot reported for the fiscal fourth quarter of 2025 compared with Wall Street's estimates, according to a survey of analysts by LSEG:Earnings per share: $2.72 adjusted vs. $2.54 expectedRevenue: $38.20 billion vs.  $38.12 billion expectedShares of Home Depot rose about 2% on Tuesday, as the company beat earnings expectations after missing estimates three quarters in a row. Its stock closed at $384.48, bringing its market cap to $382.75 billion.Higher interest rates, lower housing turnover and economic uncertainty have challenged the company, as homeowners delay the pricier projects typically spurred by buying or selling a home. In the three-month period that ended Feb. 1, Home Depot's net income fell to $2.57 billion, or $2.58 per share, from $3.0 billion, or $3.02 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding accounting-related expenses related to the value of SRS Distribution and its subsidiaries, Home Depot posted adjusted earnings per share of $2.72.Revenue dropped from $39.70 billion in the year-ago period. The company said some decline was due to the most recent fiscal year 2025 having one fewer week. The additional week in the 2024 fiscal year contributed $2.5 billion in sales. As the Atlanta-based retailer waits for business to pick up, it laid off 800 employees and announced a five-day a week return-to-office policy in late January.Yet some investors anticipate an inflection point could be coming for Home Depot, as mortgage rates moderate slightly. The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 5.99% on Monday, matching its lowest level since 2022, according to Mortgage News Daily. Home Depot's biggest selling season, springtime, is also ahead.McPhail said Home Depot's business was relatively stable throughout the year, including in the fourth quarter, when adjusting for storms. He said the company is gaining market share, even as the sector lags.Comparable sales, an industry metric also called same-store sales, increased 0.4% in the fiscal fourth quarter across the business and 0.3% in the U.S. Store transactions in the quarter across Home Depot's website and stores dropped by 1.6% year over year, but average ticket rose 2.4% year over year. Pricing and tariff trends The growth in average ticket "primarily reflects some price increases," Billy Bastek, executive vice president of merchandising, said on the company's earnings call. McPhail told CNBC that Home Depot has had "modest" price increases, though he declined to say which items and categories now cost customers more.Half of Home Depot's 16 merchandising departments posted positive comparable sales from the year-ago period, Bastek said. Those were power, electrical, storage, indoor garden, hardware, plumbing, bath and kitchen.Big-ticket purchases, which the company defines as those over $1,000, were 1.3% higher than the year-ago period, because of customers trading up for new and innovative items and buying higher-priced products, Bastek said.Even with those pricier purchases, there are signs that some customers are value-conscious. Bastek said some customers are trading down to lower-priced countertops and appliances, though that behavior hasn't been widespread.As U.S. consumers put off selling and buying homes, CEO Ted Decker said "there's maybe a bit more repair than replace.""We're certainly bouncing along what we hope would be a bottom in things like [housing] turnover," he said.Higher tariffs have been one of the forces driving price hikes at retailers, including Home Depot. Companies now face a new landscape for import duties after the Supreme Court on Friday ruled that some of the Trump administration's tariffs were illegal. Soon after the ruling, President Donald Trump said at a news conference that he would pursue alternative tariffs and proposed an across-the-board global tariff that he has since set at 15%. Decker said Home Depot is "still in the middle of our analysis" after the Supreme Court ruling and latest proposed tariffs."Not all the information is out right now. Not all the language is final around what was announced," he said. He added that Home Depot is "as well positioned as anyone to understand any impacts and manage through them." More than half of what Home Depot sells comes from the U.S., according to the company. It's diversifying its imports, so that no single country outside of the U.S. represents more than 10% of the company's purchases, McPhail said.Though do-it-yourself buyers have cut back, the company still has a more stable business segment.A growing business from home professionals, such as contractors and roofers, has boosted Home Depot's overall business. It acquired SRS Distribution, a company that sells supplies to roofing, landscaping and pool professionals, for $18.25 billion in 2024 and bought GMS, a specialty building products distributor, for about $4.3 billion last year.  Pro business is strong, but still pressured Pro sales were stronger than do-it-yourself sales during the fourth quarter, McPhail told CNBC, though he declined to share specific figures. Even the pro side of the business has been pressured. McPhail said on the company's earnings call that SRS' sales declined by a low single-digit percentage in the fourth quarter compared with the year-ago period.Yet he added the company — which sells supplies to roofers and other pros — fared better than others. He referred to market research data for the industry, which showed that total shipments of shingles fell 28% year over year to the lowest industry volume since 2019. For the full fiscal year, SRS' organic sales grew by a low single-digit percentage, despite slower demand in the home improvement industry and a lack of storms, Decker said. He said Home Depot expects the company's organic sales to increase by a mid-single digit percentage in fiscal 2026.Home Depot opened 12 stores in fiscal 2025 and plans to open 15 additional stores this fiscal year.The company also announced on Tuesday that its board of directors increased its quarterly dividend by 1.3%, or 3 cents, to $2.33 per share. It will be payable next month.Correction: Home Depot acquired SRS Distribution for $18.25 billion in 2024. An earlier version misstated the time element.

Apple is expanding a facility in Houston as part of a $600 billion commitment to U.S. manufacturing. View More

In this articleAAPLFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT Apple CEO Tim Cook (R) speaks as U.S. President Donald Trump looks on during an event in the Oval Office of the White House on August 6, 2025 in Washington, DC. Win Mcnamee | Getty Images Apple said it's moving production of some of its Mac Mini computers to the U.S. later this year as the company seeks to bolster domestic manufacturing. The iPhone maker last year unveiled plans to invest $600 billion in the U.S., with CEO Tim Cook appearing at the White House with President Donald Trump in August for the announcement of a $100 billion outlay. The company also has said it will purchase parts and expand its relationship with U.S. suppliers. "As part of our $600B commitment, Mac mini will be produced in the US for the first time later this year!" Cook wrote in a post on X on Tuesday. "We're accelerating our progress even further — producing more AI servers and opening an all-new Apple Advanced Manufacturing Center for hands-on training."The Mac Mini is Apple's compact, more affordable desktop computer, which start at about $600, according to the company's website. Later this year, production will begin at a new factory in Houston, where Apple started producing AI servers last year, the company said in a statement. "We began shipping advanced AI servers from Houston ahead of schedule, and we're excited to accelerate that work even further," Cook said in the release.Apple has been hit hard by tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, paying about $3.3 billion since the president initiated the levies last year. Apple is sourcing half of its iPhones for the U.S. from India and most of its other U.S.-bound products like Macs, AirPods and watches from Vietnam. The Supreme Court on Friday struck down a large chunk of President Trump's far-reaching tariff agenda, but uncertainty remains after Trump rebuked the decision. Apple said its 20,000-square-foot advanced manufacturing center in Houston will open its doors later this year. The company said it will provide training in advanced manufacturing techniques to students, supplier employees, and American businesses, teaching them "the same innovative processes that are used to make Apple products."WATCH: How the Supreme Court's tariff ruling could shift Apple's supply chain watch nowVIDEO1:4501:45How the Supreme Court's tariff ruling could shift Apple's supply chainSquawk on the Street

Kathua Police have attached approximately 7.5 marlas of land belonging to Pakistan-based terror handler Swar Din in Lohai Malhar tehsil. The action was ordered by the Jammu additional sessions court after Din, declared a proclaimed offender, evaded arrest. This move aims to dismantle terror financing and logistical support. View More

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has secured a major order from India’s Department of Atomic Energy to construct a Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) in Aundha, Hingoli, Maharashtra. The project, valued between ?1,000-2,500 crore, includes high-precision civil infrastructure, an 8 km ultra-high vacuum beam tube, and critical vacuum equipment. Scheduled for completion in 48 months, this initiative is set to be one of India’s flagship ‘Mega Science’ projects. View More

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) on Tuesday said it has won a significant order from India's Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) to build a Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory ( LIGO ) at Aundha in Hingoli district, Maharashtra. LIGO is used to detect gravitational waves caused by cosmic events the company said. It describes significant orders in the range of ₹1,000 to ₹2,500 crore. The order includes engineering, procurement and construction of vibration sensitive specialised high-precision civil infrastructure. L&T will manufacture and install an ultra-high vacuum compatible 8 km beam tube and critical equipment for vacuum infrastructure. The project, L&T said, will be completed in 48 months. The initiative will be one of India's flagship ' Mega Science ' projects. .Pbanner{display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;background-color:#ec1c40;margin-top:20px;padding:5px 10px;border-radius:4px;color:#fff;line-height:10px;} .Pbannertext{display:flex;align-items:center;font-size:16px;font-weight:600;font-family:'Montserrat';} .Pbannertext img{height:20px;margin:0 6px} .Pbannerbutton a{display:flex;align-items:center;background-color:#fff;color:#ec1c40;text-decoration:none;font-weight:600;padding:4px 8px;border-radius:6px;font-size:15px;font-family:'Montserrat';} .Pbannerbutton img{height:20px;margin-right:6px} .Pbannerbutton a:hover{background-color:#f7f7f7} Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now! (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel) (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)

Global equity markets were muted as Trump’s latest tariffs came into effect at 10%, a lower-than-expected rate. View More

US President Donald Trump speaks during the Angel Families Remembrance Ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 23, 2026. Saul Loeb | Afp | Getty Images U.S. President Donald Trump's new blanket tariffs came into force on Tuesday — but investors appear to be shrugging the changes off, with one analyst telling CNBC they were "bigger issues."Trump announced over the weekend a new, blanket 15% global levy on imports to the U.S. The president initially announced plans to impose a 10% duty on global imports, before saying that the rate would rise "to the fully allowed, and legally tested, 15% level."The announcement came after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Trump's country-specific tariffs — a source of major market volatility when they were first unveiled by the White House last April.Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act empowers the president to implement tariffs of up to 15% for up to 150 days. Trump said in a Truth Social post that any country that wants to "play games" with the Supreme Court decision "will be met with a much higher tariff." Read moreSupreme Court strikes down Trump tariffs, rebuking president's signature economic policySome U.S. allies see higher duties under new tariffs, rivals see relief, trade body saysU.S. has breached trade deal and Europe is ready to retaliate, top trade lawmaker tells CNBC Despite Trump saying there would 15% tariffs, the new levies came into effect at 10% on Tuesday. A customs notice from U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the temporary Section 122 duties meant "an additional 10% ad valorem duty on imported articles of every country for a period of 150 days, unless specifically exempt."In Europe, equity markets were muted, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 rising above the flatline after initially notching losses at the open. Stocks reacted negatively on Monday to Trump's fresh tariff talk over the weekend, but the moves were a far cry from the Continent's deep sell-off after the president's first "liberation day" tariff announcements in April. Stock Chart IconStock chart iconStoxx 600 "I think people are now used to his little explosions," Paul Skinner, investment director in the London office of Wellington Management, told CNBC on a call, saying the market reaction was an example of the "TACO" or "Trump Always Chickens Out" trade.The phrase refers to the president's history of threatening levies, only to ease, delay or cancel them. After Trump backed down on his "liberation day announcements, markets were more muted in response to later U.S. trade policy announcements.Wellington has long held the view that U.S. tariffs will drift lower over time — and Skinner said Tuesday that this view had not changed in light of the latest announcements. The global asset manager sees the general tariff rate falling to around 9% by year's end. "I don't think there's anything really market moving in what's happened … there's no surprises," he said. Skinner added that tensions over Iran were capturing more attention than "the path of tariffs, which I think is heading very much the way people were assuming." Stocks in the Asia-Pacific region also lacked direction on Tuesday as investors digested tariffs. U.S. stocks were slightly up shortly after Tuesday's opening bell.Toni Meadows, head of investment at U.K.-based BRI Wealth Management, said the Trump administration was "temporary." He said the president's new tariffs "yield more tariff revenue to the U.S., but that is ultimately a tax on the U.S. consumer that chips away at growth and increases inflation — but not enough to change a view.""There are regional winners and losers if the regime sticks but let's not forget that there is a limited time horizon of a few months on this legislation, so the picture is likely to change. For now, countries like the U.K. lose out and China benefits but it is not an investable move," he added.Meadows also told CNBC that investors have "bigger issues to grapple with," such as artificial intelligence. "The move to a global tariff regime does nothing to end the uncertainty of U.S. trade policy, so the market will largely ignore it for now and the total sums are not a game changer," he added. "For now, some might try to 'day trade' Trump's policy changes, but not long-term investors." watch nowVIDEO6:3406:34U.S. Chamber of Commerce CEO: Tariffs should be a congressionally mandated toolSquawk Box Paul Surguy, managing director and head of investment management and proposition at Kingswood Group, told CNBC the wealth management firm was keeping a holding pattern on tariff news. "There is simply no clarity on which one can make an informed decision," he said. "In terms of tariff politics, history would suggest that where we are today is not where we might be tomorrow."Carsten Brzeski, global head of macro at Dutch bank ING, said that although tariffs came into force at the 10% rate, Trump's avowed rise to 15% was thought to be imminent. He said the temporary Section 122 tariffs had come in at 10% because "probably someone must have told Trump" shortly afterward that the law actually allowed a tariff of up to 15%, "which is why he mentioned it on Saturday. But the services hadn't prepared any official executive order.""Rumor has it that the folks at the White House are now working on a new order for the 15%. Consequently, we are now at 10%, but 15% should be coming shortly," Brzeski added.Brzeski argued that the rate itself was no longer what mattered to investors, as it did in April. "It is currently not so much the absolute level of tariffs [that counts] but rather the new uncertainty, both regarding what's next from Trump but also regarding whether the larger trading partners, particularly the EU, will try to renegotiate the bilateral deals from last year," he said.

Art loans are typically used by the wealthy to provide ready cash, leverage financial investments and avoid hefty tax bills. View More

Leon Black, then-CEO of Apollo Global Management, at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, May 1, 2018.Patrick T. Fallon | Bloomberg | Getty Images A version of this article first appeared in CNBC's Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank, a weekly guide to the high-net-worth investor and consumer. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.A $484 million art loan secured by billionaire Leon Black and disclosed in the latest Epstein files highlights one of the fastest-growing and most lucrative corners of the art world.According to a March 2015 document released as part of the Epstein files, Black secured the loan from Bank of America backed by works of art. While not unusual for top private banking clients, the loan made headlines for its size and the exotic collateral, which included blue-chip works by Picasso, Giacometti, Titian, Matisse and others.Art lending, however, has become an increasingly valuable tool for both wealthy collectors and the wealth management firms vying to manage their fortunes. The global market for art loans is estimated at between $38 billion and $45 billion today, according to a report from Deloitte and ArtTactic. The market is expected to top $50 billion by 2028, growing at about 12% a year.Adam Chinn, managing partner of International Art Finance and longtime art-finance expert, said art loans are a way for collectors to pull cash from paintings that they can also continue to enjoy on their walls. Get Inside Wealth directly to your inboxThe Inside Wealth newsletter by Robert Frank is your weekly guide to high-net-worth investors and the industries that serve them.Subscribe here to get access today. "It's the best of both worlds," Chinn said. "You can monetize an otherwise non-income-producing asset. And it's still great to look at."Far from signaling a lack of funds, art loans are typically used by the wealthy to provide ready cash, leverage financial investments and avoid hefty tax bills. Private banks often grant art loans to top clients at low interest rates, knowing the client has hundreds of millions or even billions in other assets in case the loans default. The interest rate on Black's loan in 2015 was 1.43%, according to the document.The bulk of the art lending market is dominated by the auction houses — especially Sotheby's Financial Services — as well as specialty lenders like International Art Finance.Scott Milleisen, global head of lending at Sotheby's Financial Services, said collectors use the proceeds for a wide variety of purposes. The company now lends against classic cars as well as art."Many of our clients borrow against their fine art collections to invest in businesses, pursue new art acquisitions or release cash without selling works they love," Milleisen said.Chinn said many of today's collectors are top leaders in private equity and hedge funds. Since they're used to using leverage to turbocharge their wealth in their investments and businesses, they view leveraging their art collections as a natural extension. Chinn estimates that the total value of art held in private hands is between $1 trillion and $2 trillion. With art loans representing a tiny fraction of the total — well under $50 billion — he said the industry has plenty of room to grow."Art is the most underleveraged asset on the planet," he said.Art loans also generate lucrative tax benefits. Selling a work of art triggers a capital gains rate of 28% — a higher rate for collectibles than other categories — along with the 3.8% net investment income tax, bringing the top rate to 31.8%. Selling in certain states also triggers state taxes.An art loan even at today's elevated lending rates, typically around 8% to 9%, is still far more efficient than paying a tax. Plus, borrowers can usually keep the art on their walls.The art lending business has also benefitted from a 2017 tax change that eliminated the use of so-called 1031 exchanges in the art market. The practice allowed art collectors to avoid capital gains taxes by swapping one work for another. Without the benefit, many collectors have turned to loans to provide liquidity without the tax penalties.Chinn said that given the art market's recent rebound, and falling interest rates, art lending is poised to continue its strong growth."The art market is a strange market," he said. "But if you look at every other asset class, eventually it gets fractionalized, securitized and leveraged. It's just the nature of the universe."

The Chicago Fed president said Tuesday that cuts aren't appropriate until there's more evidence that inflation is on its way down. View More

Austan Goolsbee, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, speaks during the National Association of Business Economics (NABE) economic policy conference in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026.Graeme Sloane | Bloomberg | Getty Images Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee said Tuesday that interest rate cuts aren't appropriate until there's more evidence that inflation is on its way down.With recent indicators showing that inflation is well off its highs but still above the Fed's 2% target, Goolsbee noted that policymakers "have been burned by assuming transitory inflation" in the past and shouldn't make the same mistake again."I feel that front-loading too many rate cuts is not prudent in that circumstance," he said in remarks before the National Association for Business Economics at its annual gathering in Washington, D.C. "People express that prices are one of their most pressing concerns. Let's pay attention. Before we cut rates more to stimulate the economy, let's be sure inflation is heading back to 2%."The most recent inflation data, for December, showed core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, running at 3%, as measured by the consumption expenditures price index, the Fed's primary forecasting gauge. That was up 0.2 percentage point from November and came somewhat due to tariffs, which are viewed as temporary, but also from underlying pressures in the service sector and areas not directly impacted by the duties.Specifically, Goolsbee said stubbornly high housing inflation isn't tariff driven, emphasizing the need for the Fed to be "vigilant."Goolsbee noted that a 3% inflation rate "is not good enough — and it's not what we promised when the Federal Reserve committed to the 2% target. Stalling out at 3% is not a safe place to be for a myriad of reasons we know all too well." He has said previously that he thinks the Fed will be able to cut later in the year.The remarks come with markets expecting the Federal Open Market Committee, of which Goolsbee is a voter this year, to stay on hold until at least June and probably July. Futures traders are placing about a 50-50 chance of a cut in June and about a 71% probability of a July reduction, according to the CME Group's FedWatch gauge. The Fed enacted three quarter percentage point cuts in the latter part of 2025.Fed Governor Christopher Waller, who has been an advocate for lower rates, took a more measured approach Monday while also speaking to the NABE conference.Though Waller said he thinks policymakers should "look through" tariff impacts, he said recent data shows the labor market may be in better shape than previously indicated, mitigating the need for further cuts. If the jobs picture continues to improve, that would further lessen the case for cuts, though he said he isn't convinced that the January nonfarm payrolls data wasn't "more noise than signal."Tuesday will be an active day for Fed speakers, with Governor Lisa Cook also due to present to the NABE later in the morning. watch nowVIDEO4:0904:09Fed Gov. Waller: Supreme Court ruling on tariffs may have positive impact on spending, investmentSquawk Box

Tariff costs are becoming unsustainable for automakers, and they are going to have to raise prices or cut features, said the president of Sonic Automotive. View More

In this article7203.T-JPSAHGMFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT watch nowVIDEO3:1703:17Why auto tariffs 'cannot be sustained' without 'higher prices'Autos Tariff costs are becoming unsustainable for automakers, the president of one of the largest public dealership groups said last week. Like many in the auto industry, Sonic Automotive is warning that sooner or later, prices will rise or automakers will start cutting features to stabilize costs. "The tariffs are too high on some of these brands, and they're going to pass pricing on," Sonic Automotive president Jeff Dyke said on the company's fourth-quarter earnings call on Wednesday. "It's already happening."It is unclear whether the auto industry will see any relief after the Supreme Court struck down some of the Trump administration's so-called "reciprocal tariffs" on Friday. Some sector-specific tariffs are still in place, which means the auto industry will continue to face billions of dollars in tariff costs, depending on where an imported auto part or vehicle originates.Toyota Motor told CNBC in an email that automakers are not affected by the tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, which the court struck down Friday. "The Supreme Court's ruling on IEEPA-related tariffs does not affect existing tariffs imposed under Section 232," Toyota wrote. "We are eager to see a renegotiated USMCA [United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement] that strengthens North American competitiveness and delivers greater certainty for the industry." Prices A drone view shows new vehicles at the Kansas City Southern de Mexico rail yard in Santa Ana Tlapaltitlan, Mexico, July 29, 2025. Raquel Cunha | Reuters So far, prices have not risen dramatically since the Trump administration began levying tariffs on imports from North American trading partners Mexico and Canada, and on vehicles and parts imported from other countries, industry experts said. Vehicle prices across the board have only risen about 1% or so, nothing like the price spikes seen a few years ago during and after the pandemic, said Jessica Caldwell, an analyst for Edmunds."The evidence that we have seen is relatively minimal compared to what we thought in the beginning when tariffs were announced," Caldwell said. Shoppers have reacted though, she said. "We saw a massive spike on our side on Edmunds for new shoppers looking at used [vehicles], because I think the assumption was that all of a sudden now new vehicles are going to become super expensive," she said. "And that has stayed elevated through today."She said she has seen evidence of some higher pricing on certain models — such as higher-end vehicles, which are sold to buyers that might be less price sensitive. She added that she can't be sure those increases are due to tariffs, but that might be one way automakers blunt the effects without raising prices across the board. "It doesn't really look like incentives are necessarily taking a big hit either," she said. "I thought that would be the first one to go."Caldwell added that there has been some price flexibility in the market, and that across a large automakers, there can be a lot of relatively inexpensive vehicles. But Dyke's comments indicated broader price hikes could be on the horizon. "The affordability issue, while maybe not being felt in 2025, we believe as you get into May, June, July, August, you're going to start feeling it as new car prices have nowhere to go but up," he said on the call."They're not going to sit back and lose billions and billions of dollars," he added. "They can't. It's just not going to happen." Toyota Tariffs have hit major automakers across the board. American ones, such as Ford and General Motors paid out billions in 2025, and have said they expect to again this year. Toyota, the world's largest automaker by volume, saw net income fall 25% in the first nine months of its fiscal year 2026, according to a filing. Tariffs were a major driver — costing the company about 1.2 trillion yen, or roughly $8 billion.Toyota told CNBC in an email that the tariffs are "highly disruptive" and "cannot be sustained." The company has 11 U.S. factories — one co-owned with Mazda — where it built about 55% of the vehicles it sold in the country in 2025.But many of the company's popular and profitable models are made elsewhere. Its Tacoma midsize pickup truck is made in Mexico. Every Lexus model, except the TX SUV, is made either in Canada or Japan. Both the Lexus brand and the Tacoma sold in record numbers in the U.S. in 2025. Toyota also told CNBC that its U.S. factories, which made nearly 1.4 million cars last year, are running at full capacity. Tacoma is Toyota's "weak spot" said Sam Fiorani, vice president of forecasting for AutoForecast Solutions. "If they wanted to limit some more exposure, they would relocate some of that production to the U.S.," he said. "The problem is they just don't have the space to do it."Moving other vehicle production back to the U.S. is possible, he added. Lexus, for example, shares some underpinnings with Toyota brand vehicles made in Kentucky and Indiana. But the company is likely waiting for the outcome of trade talks between the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, Fiorani said. The deadline for a decision on a trade agreement between the three countries is set for July. "Once they see what the landscape is after July, then they can make a decision to say, 'It's worth our time to build a new plant in Texas, to build Tacomas or expand the output in Kentucky or Indiana to build Lexus,'" he said. Read more CNBC auto newsNew Jeep Cherokee set to lead Stellantis' U.S. sales turnaroundTax season presents a boom-or-bust test for U.S. auto salesFord to follow Tesla Cybertruck with electrical tech in new EV pickupHow America's EV retreat is increasing China's control of global markets

Bitcoin tumbled more than 5% to fall below $63,000 on Tuesday as investors continued to grapple with escalating tariff tensions and broader geopolitical risks. View More

In this articleFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT Nastco | Getty Bitcoin tumbled more than 5% on Tuesday to fall below $63,000, as investors continued to grapple with escalating tariff tensions and broader geopolitical risks.The world's largest cryptocurrency fell as low as $62,964.64 amid investor pressure to move away from risk assets. Bitcoin pared some of the losses and was trading 1.5% down at $63,290, as of 5.58 a.m ET."The move lower in bitcoin looks less like a crypto‑specific shock and more like a classic risk‑sentiment reset," said Christopher Hamilton, head of client investment solutions, APAC excluding Japan at Invesco.The plunge is likely a reflection of a "tactical de‑risking" rather than a structural exit, Hamilton added. Stock Chart IconStock chart icon Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would determine "over the next probably 10 days" whether to launch a strike on Iran amid its resistance to a new nuclear agreement.Tensions have since intensified, with Washington continuing to deploy military assets across the Middle East.Bitcoin has seen a sharp sell-off since October last year when it crossed $125,000, with the downturn extending into the new year. The world's largest cryptocurrency is down 27% so far this year and has lost 50% since the October high."The bigger point is that Bitcoin remains highly sensitive to global liquidity conditions. If markets interpret trade policy as tightening financial conditions, crypto will feel that first," said Billy Leung, investment strategist at Global X Australia.Spot gold slid around 1.1% to $5,172 per ounce on Tuesday, while Ether, the second most popular cryptocurrency, lost 1.6% to hit $1,826. watch nowVIDEO6:0506:05Never been a time where more people and institutions are interested in crypto, says STBL Chairman Reeve CollinsFast Money

AMD has secured Meta as a customer for its Helios rack-scale system, as Nvidia's Blackwell faces heightened competition. View More

In this articleNVDAAMDMETAFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT watch nowVIDEO5:1505:15AMD CEO Lisa Su: We want to place bets on who will be AI winners going forwardSquawk on the Street A week after Meta committed to using millions of Nvidia's processors to power its AI expansion, the social media company has inked another mammoth chip deal, this time with Advanced Micro Devices.Meta said on Tuesday that the multiyear deal with AMD involves deploying up to 6 gigawatts of the company's graphics processing units for artificial intelligence data centers and includes use of AI-optimized central processing units, or CPUs. Early shipments of MI450 GPUs in AMD's Helios rack-scale servers will begin later this year."This is about making the right bets at the right time," AMD CEO Lisa Su told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" Tuesday.AMD stock climbed 7% on the news. Meta shares traded slightly lower. Nvidia shares were largely flat.The deal also includes a performance-based warrant for Meta to acquire 160 million AMD shares, about 10% of the company. The first tranche vests when the first 1GW of Instinct GPUs are shipped. Other tranches vest as Meta makes purchases to 6GW.Vesting is also tied to stock price thresholds for AMD and technical and commercial milestones for Meta.Su told CNBC that the warrant structure is a "win-win" for shareholders, underpinning a "very ambitious" plan and financial model. She views the agreement as one of the "most transformational deals" for the chipmaker as it expands its AI capabilities. "We're early in the cycle of seeing what the ultimate payoff can be," she said. "And that's where ... we have to invest ahead of the curve and really point in the direction that is going to have the largest benefit." Stock Chart IconStock chart iconAMD and Meta one-day stock chart. AMD struck a similar deal with OpenAI in October, marking it as a viable second option for AI giants and hyperscalers. That agreement also gave OpenAI warrants to acquire 160 million shares of AMD and was tied to deployment and stock price benchmarks.In its earnings report last month, Meta committed to up to $135 billion in capital expenditures this year as it tries to keep pace with its megacap peers as well as OpenAI and Anthropic in the global AI race. Overall, Meta has plans for 30 data centers, including 26 in the U.S.Tuesday's announcement is a critical development for AMD, which is far behind Nvidia in the AI chip market. Nvidia is now the world's largest publicly traded company, with a $4.66 trillion valuation, and controls roughly 90% of the market, while AMD is valued at $320 billion. "Meta is in a unique position to control the full stack and they can use whoever's compute they want," said chip analyst Ben Bajarin of Creative Strategies. "It's just a punctuation point on the fact that we are compute constrained, and deals will be done across the board." Read more CNBC tech newsWaymo opens robotaxi service to 'select riders' in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and OrlandoMeta strikes AI chip deal with AMD days after committing to deploy millions of Nvidia GPUsUber acquiring parking app SpotHero as it moves beyond ride-hailing and food deliveryTesla sues California DMV to reverse ruling that company engaged in false advertising on FSD Terms of the agreement weren't provided, but Bajarin, who was briefed on the deal, estimates that it's worth tens of billions of dollars over at least four years, because "six gigawatts would take quite some time to deploy," he said.Bajarin said a key piece of the agreement, and how it's different from Meta's pact with Nvidia, is that the first deployment involves customized GPUs. "We don't have any indication Nvidia is doing that," Bajarin said. "It's a good way for them to win some of these deals." AMD's Helios represents the first large-scale competition to Nvidia's Grace Blackwell systems, which have experienced soaring demand since launch in 2024.Nvidia is scheduled to report quarterly earnings on Wednesday, and analysts expect revenue growth of 68% from a year earlier to $66 billion, according to LSEG. Earlier this month, AMD reported sales growth for the fourth quarter of 34% to $10.27 billion. Meta has long been a customer of AMD and Nvidia. Meta also develops in-house processors and, according to a report late last year in The Information, had been in talks with Google about deploying the search company's tensor processing units in Meta data centers in 2027. WATCH: Watch CNBC's full interview with AMD CEO Lisa Su VIDEO12:3712:37Watch CNBC's full interview with AMD CEO Lisa Su