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Netflix, Disney, and other media giants slide as Trump claims he’ll slap 100% tariff on foreign-made films

The president says the move will save the US film industry from a “very fast death.”

5/5/25 9:17AM

Shares of Netflix, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Paramount dipped Monday morning after President Trump posted on Truth that he was imposing a 100% tariff on all films produced abroad and imported into the US.

The White House framed the move as a drastic but necessary step to revive domestic production, which has increasingly shifted overseas to take advantage of foreign tax incentives. Even recent blockbusters like “Wicked” were filmed in the UK, not California.

The US remains the world’s largest film producer, followed by the UK and China, accoring to The-Numbers.com. But even in California, home of Hollywood, productions have steadily drifted abroad, lured by deeper tax breaks and lower costs. Industry groups have pressed Governor Gavin Newsom to step up local incentives. Last fall, the governor proposed expanding California’s Film & Television Tax Credit program from the current $330 million annual allocation to $750 million annually.

The industry is already under pressure: Disney, which made up a quarter of domestic box office sales in 2024, has already had a tough start to the year. “Captain America: Brave New World” pulled in an impressive $414 million, but that’s still a far cry from Marvel’s billion-dollar highs. March’s “Snow White” live-action release only deepened the slump. Meanwhile, Netflix could be hit the hardest: last year, the No. 1 streaming company allocated over half of its $15.5 billion content budget (about $8 billion) toward international productions.

At the same time, other countries are stepping up. Governments from Europe to Australia have expanded credits and cash rebates to attract production and capture a greater share of the $248 billion that's projected to be spent globally on content this year. Experts say tariffs aren’t likely to stop that trend and if the goal is to bring production stateside, tax credits, not trade barriers, could be a more effective tool.

Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Paramount are set to report earnings this week.

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Rocket lab soars to new record close amid rally for retail faves

Rocket Lab ripped by roughly 10% Friday to close at a new all-time high, riding an upturn of retail enthusiasm for a coterie of tech-themed favorites, even as the broader market was more or less flat on the day.

Goldman Sachs’ basket of “retail favorites” — its heaviest weights are Reddit, AppLovin, and Tempus AI — was the second-biggest gainer among the company’s flagship US equity baskets on Friday, rising about 1.6%. The S&P was almost dead flat.

It’s not Rocket Lab’s first retail rodeo, as the money-losing company has more than doubled this year and is up nearly 700% over the last 12 months.

Oracle Wall Street Revisions

Analysts revise up anything and everything they thought about Oracle

After the company’s bombshell earnings this week, Wall Street thinks Oracle’s trajectory has changed.

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Six Flags pops after reiterating its guidance as theme park attendance rebounds

Six Flags shares rose more than 7% today after the company reported a rebound in attendance and early season pass sales heading into the fall. The nine-week period ended August 31 saw 17.8 million guests, up about 2% from the same stretch last year, with stronger momentum in the final four weeks. 

More importantly, Six Flags reaffirmed its full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance of $860 million to $910 million, showing confidence that its cost and operations strategy can stay strong for the duration of the year. Riding that wave, Six Flags also said early 2026 season pass unit sales are pacing ahead of last year, and average season pass prices are up about 3%.

The good vibes come despite a drop in in-park per-capita spending, especially from admissions, where promotions and changes to attendance mix (which parks or days guests visit) have weighed. Earlier this week, the amusement giant signed a new agreement that extended its position as the exclusive amusement park partner for Peanuts™ in North America through 2030.

Despite the rally, Six Flags shares are down about 52% year to date.

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Rivian turns red on the year, squeezed by a recall and the looming end of the EV tax credit

Shares of EV maker Rivian are down more than 5% on Friday following the company’s recall of 24,214 vehicles due to a software issue. The stock move erases Rivian’s year-to-date gain and turns the company negative on the year.

Rivian’s 2025 model year R1S and R1T are affected by the defect, which was identified after a vehicle’s hands-free highway assist software failed to identify another vehicle on the road, causing a low-speed collision. Rivian said it’s released an over-the-air update to fix the issue.

The recall marks Rivian’s fifth this year, affecting nearly 70,000 of its vehicles.

Rivian’s shares are down more than 20% from their 2025 high, which came prior to the passage of President Trump’sbig, beautiful bill.” Through the legislation, the $7,500 EV tax credit is set to expire at the end of the month.

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