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Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a speech during a reception at the Great Hall of the People to mark Martyrs Day, September 30, 2025 (Adek Berry/Getty Images)

China steps up customs crackdown on Nvidia chips, launches antitrust investigation into Qualcomm, and plans special port fees on US ships

Beijing is doubling down on protectionism ahead of a planned Xi Jinping and Donald Trump meeting set for later this month.

For months now, China has been getting increasingly defensive over its domestic industries, particularly the all-important AI hardware space. This morning, we got the latest measures from those continued efforts.

First, the Financial Times reported that China has mobilized teams of agents at major ports across the country to “carry out stringent checks on semiconductor shipments.” The initial goal is reportedly to stop local tech companies from buying Nvidia chips, most notably the tech giant’s H20 and RTX Pro 6000D models, which Beijing has become particularly focused on stopping from entering the country. According to the FT, one person familiar with the matter also said that the more rigorous enforcement had been widened to all advanced semiconductor products.

Separately this morning, news broke that chip giant Qualcomm was the subject of a new antitrust investigation from China’s State Administration for Market Regulation over its acquisition of Israels Autotalks. Qualcomm fell 3% in early trading. In September, Nvidia itself fell foul of the same Chinese regulator over a 2020 acquisition.

Outside of AI, China is also planning to impose special import fees on vessels owned by US individuals, companies, or organizations, in a retaliatory move to a similar policy the US revealed back in April.

Per The Wall Street Journal, vessels docking at Chinese ports will be charged 400 yuan per net ton from October 14. That’s equivalent to ~$56. That fee is also set to rise over time, hitting 640 yuan per net ton in April 2026, 880 yuan the year after, and 1,120 yuan from April 2028.

The escalation of trade tensions between the world’s two most important economies comes ahead of a planned meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump, slated to take place at the end of the month at the APEC summit. Yesterday, CNN reported that Beijing had ramped up sweeping restrictions on rare earth exports.

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Lululemon’s stretch getting tested: Stock plunges after after outlook is cut

Lululemon shares are down double digits in premarket trading after the company cut its full-year sales and profit outlook, overshadowing a Q1 beat and raising fresh concerns about the brand’s turnaround efforts.

The company now expects fiscal 2026 revenue to be flat to down 1%, compared with its prior forecast for 2% to 4% growth. Guidance for full-year diluted earnings per share was dragged down to a range of $10.95 to $11.15, below the company’s previous guidance of $12.10 to $12.30 and well below Wall Street’s estimate of $13.26.

Key numbers for Q1:

  • EPS of $1.69 vs. the $1.68 expected.

  • Revenue of $2.47 billion vs. the $2.43 billion expected.

The modest top-line beat masked a widening divergence between Lululemons geographic markets. While international revenue rose 22% overall with a 30% increase in Mainland China, the bigger problem remains North America, where revenue fell 5%.

Interim co-CEO and CFO Meghan Frank acknowledged during the earnings call that recent product rollouts underperformed. A highly anticipated yoga campaign failed to generate its expected halo effect across broader product lines.

Profitability metrics took a major hit, with gross margins contracting by 410 basis points to 54.2% due to mounting tariff costs and promotional markdowns. Operating income consequently fell 37% year over year to $276.9 million.

“We experienced spikes of negative commentary in the media and on social channels with regard to our brand, which had an impact on traffic and overall top-line performance,” Frank said during the earnings call. “And second, not all of our product launches have met our expectations. While we have had several successful launches so far this year, we have seen others as we start Q2 not generate the anticipated guest response.”

Lululemons valuation has already been steadily compressing for years. While it was once one of retails richly valued stocks, investors have been questioning whether the company can return to the double-digit growth era.

The results also arrive during a leadership transition. Lululemon announced back in April that former Nike executive Heidi ONeill is set to take over as CEO in September, with investors looking to her to revive growth in North America and restore the brands growth.

As Lululemon faces both macroeconomic pressure and brand-specific challenges, its stock has dropped around 40% year to date.

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US job growth skyrocketed in May, blasting past expectations

The US economy added 172,000 jobs in the month of May, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday, sending 10-year Treasury yields higher.

The strong May job market surprised economists. Experts had predicted only 85,000 new jobs — just half the reported number. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.3%, as expected.

The job growth story is a hopeful spot for the economy as consumers continue to feel inflationary pressure from the Iran war.

Job gains were buoyed by the leisure and hospitality sector, which added 70,000 jobs, as well as local government, healthcare, and education.

Both the March and April jobs reports were revised upward, making them collectively 93,000 higher than previously reported.

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