Hey Snackers,
Did you hear? Elon Musk is back at Tesla and done with DOGE (the government agency, not the meme coin). He’s letting us all know in real time from SpaceX that he is “physically here. This is the focus, and especially around launch,” and that generally he is “back to spending 24/7 at work and sleeping in conference/server/factory rooms.” For many Tesla investors, Musk is Tesla, so his return is perceived as good news, though Tesla’s stock price is more disconnected from fundamentals than ever.
Yesterday was a microcosm of the year, with everyone’s heads spinning from extremely volatile changes to US trade policy. This time, though, it was the judicial branch rather than the executive branch that created the whipsaw.
US stocks opened well in the green after a court order Wednesday evening saw many of President Trump’s tariffs blocked. Then that court order was overruled by another court before Thursday’s market close. Stocks ended well off their highs, with the S&P 500 up 0.4%, the Nasdaq 100 rising 0.2%, and the Russell 2000 gaining 0.3%.
❓Pop quiz: Despite the fact that one of every eight clothing items bought in America comes from Amazon, its CEO isn’t exactly a style icon…
What fashion faux pas was Jeff Bezos roasted for?
Check your answer.
Liberation Day 2: Liberation from Liberation Day
In the weeks since the “Liberation Day” announcements of across-the-board reciprocal tariffs, the market has been rattled.
Imports have, variously, surged and plunged depending on whether the tariff hit was tomorrow or yesterday, companies have kvetched all quarter about how it’s going to be downright impossible to forecast the future with any degree of sincerity, and through it all, Americans paid out the nose for their precious stuff.
Late Wednesday, the US Court of International Trade struck down a major chunk of Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, ruling that the president misapplied the International Emergency Economic Powers Act for much of his sweeping package. This led to a bit of a bonanza for import-dependent stocks on Thursday, only for a late-breaking ruling from an appeals court to allow the tariffs to stay in place — for now.
Getting an instant sugar rush after the bell were tariff-exposed companies like Nike, but it didn’t last. The Magnificent 7 jumped even if some eventually lost it, and some automakers that weren’t covered by the court’s decision popped on general enthusiasm.
An economics research team from Goldman Sachs estimated that the decision would block a 6.7 percentage point increase in the effective US tariff rate since early 2025 — including the 10% universal baseline tariff, a 20% hike on Chinese goods, and a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico — and with it, nearly $200 billion in annual revenue.
What’s wilder? The $22 billion collected through the tariffs so far might even need to be forked over back to the importers.
So, it’s over? Not so fast. Even setting aside the ruling, Goldman expects the White House to “find other ways to impose tariffs,” likely by reimposing a temporary 15% tariff (under Section 122) and laying the groundwork for longer-term tariffs (under Section 301).
The Takeaway
Liberation from Liberation Day came as a bit of a surprise, but if anything, it’s a sign that the main pathway out of the tariff situation may not be by going through the White House, but by going through the court system.
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Nvidia is still the Bo Jackson of stocks
Like Bo Jackson, the only professional athlete in history to be named an All-Star in two major North American sports, Nvidia continues to pull off an equally impressive feat: to simultaneously offer growth and profitability. While the “Rule of 40” is often used to judge fast-growing companies, we believe our new metric, the Bo Jackson Index, is a better screener.
While Nvidia reigns supreme, see which other companies rank high in the Bo Jackson Index.
Yesterday’s Big Daily Movers
Boeing flew to a 52-week high with China deliveries back on and a plan to boost 737 production
Build-A-Bear hit an all-time high after dropping record Q1 earnings results
e.l.f. Beauty soared 24% after Wednesday’s announcement that it will buy Hailey Bieber’s skin care brand, rhode, for a balmy billion dollars
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Crypto Catch-Up
Bitcoin ETFs saw a whopping $9 billion in inflows in the past five weeks, with BlackRock leading the charge
Bad news for Trump Media and GameStop: the power of the “pivot to bitcoin” might be wearing off
Good news for Steak ’n Shake: accepting bitcoin payments saved it 50% in processing fees
Meanwhile in Canada, SOL Strategies is raising $1 billion for solana opportunities
VivoPower is joining the crypto treasury trend and plans to raise $121 million to buy XRP
Type BTC wherever you invest to find Grayscale’s Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF. It’s the lowest cost5 Bitcoin exchange-traded product (no crypto wallet required). Investing involves risk and possible loss of principal.6
Snack Fact
May 30 is International Day of the Potato.
Friday
April Personal Consumption Expenditures (the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge)\
Earnings expected from Canopy Growth
¹ See Food Stars feature here
² See Forbes feature here
³ Preorder indications are non-binding expressions of interest and do not represent guaranteed sales. Actual conversion to revenue may vary based on fulfillment, customer demand, and other factors. Past performance is not indicative of future performance.
⁴ Please read the Offering Circular and Risks (on page 5) related to this offering before investing. This is a paid advertisement for Kara Water’s Regulation CF Offering.This Reg CF offering is made available through StartEngine Primary, LLC, member FINRA/SIPC. In addition, as described in the Offering Circular, the Company retains the right to continue the offering beyond the Termination Date, in its sole discretion.
This was a paid for ad. Sherwood Media has been compensated for this ad by the Kara Water Reg CF Campaign hosted on StartEngine.
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Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF ("BTC" or the “Fund”), an exchange traded product, is not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (or the ’40 Act) and therefore is not subject to the same regulations and protections as 1940 Act registered ETFs and mutual funds.
⁶ Please read the BTC prospectus carefully before investing in the Fund. Foreside Fund Services, LLC is the Marketing Agent for the Fund.
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