Made in America

Donald Trump’s sweeping new levies just kicked in hitting over 90 countries with import taxes as high as 50%. It’s the biggest U.S. tariff push in nearly a century, aimed at reshaping global trade, onshoring manufacturing, and punishing countries still trading with Russia. 

China, India, Canada and even Switzerland are on the list while tech firms now face the threat of a 100% tariff on foreign-made semiconductors. 

Markets in Asia held steady, but the ASX dipped on Thursday as local investors absorbed the potential fallout. With global supply chains back under pressure, let’s look at how Apple and Amazon are already adapting.

Apple bets big on America

Apple’s bringing more of its supply chain home and it’s doing it in style.

The iPhone maker just unveiled a US$100 billion manufacturing expansion, lifting its total U.S. commitment to US$600 billion by 2030. 

The new initiative – called the American Manufacturing Program (AMP) – is designed to shift more of Apple’s chipmaking, glass production and silicon supply chain to the U.S. in response to rising tariffs and geopolitical risk.

📍 From Arizona to Kentucky

The push includes major deals with TSMC, Broadcom and Texas Instruments. Apple now expects 19 billion chips to be made in the U.S. next year with the Arizona-based TSMC fab building advanced silicon for upcoming iPhones.

Meanwhile in Kentucky, Apple and Corning are ramping up glass manufacturing so every iPhone and Apple Watch will soon ship with U.S.-made cover glass. 

Not bad for a company once criticised for its Chinese exposure.

📱 iPhone boom lifts the quarter

The “Made in America” news came just after Apple announced Q3 Earnings last week.

Q3 results were strong across the board. Revenue climbed 10% to US$94 billion, while net income jumped to US$24.4 billion, making it Apple’s best June quarter ever.

Here’s the breakdown:

• iPhone revenue: US$44.6B (↑14%)
• Mac: US$8.1B (↑15%)
• Services: US$27.4B (↑13%)
• EPS: US$1.57 (↑12%)

The iPhone 16 did the heavy lifting. Sales were up “strong double digits” compared to the iPhone 15, with upgrades driving a large share of demand. Apple’s 46.5% gross margin and record services revenue were also notable.

However, iPad and wearables dragged. iPad revenue slipped 8% to US$6.6 billion, while Apple Watch and AirPods sales dipped nearly 9%. 

🔮 What’s next?

Apple is bracing for US$1.1 billion in tariff costs next quarter, but it’s already thinking long-term. It spent nearly US$9 billion on R&D last quarter alone and now holds US$133 billion in cash, giving it plenty of firepower as it pushes deeper into AI and chip manufacturing.

With the iPhone 17 coming in September and the U.S. becoming a core part of its supply chain, Apple’s bet on America seems to be more than just politics – it’s strategy.

Amazon’s AI arms race

Last Friday, Amazon dropped a massive US$18.2 billion quarterly profit.

But despite beating on headline numbers, Amazon’s stock slipped 8% the day after its news as results showed its cloud growth lagged rivals like Microsoft and Google. 

Let’s take a look at what the retail giant – or perhaps retail and software conglomerate – plans to do to stay in the competition.

💰 The results

Revenue rose 13% to US$167.7 billion, led by strong online store sales and a 23% jump in advertising revenue. AWS, Amazon’s cloud division, pulled in US$30.9 billion, up 17.5% year-on-year – but that still trailed the 30–40% growth from Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure.

CEO Andy Jassy noted that Amazon’s cloud business is still significantly larger than its competitors’, but analysts wanted more detail on how the company plans to catch up on growth.

🛍️ Retail stays steady

While AWS stole the headlines, Amazon’s core e-commerce and logistics business stayed solid. North American sales rose 11% to US$100.1 billion, while third-party seller services and physical store sales also posted healthy growth.

Amazon also continues to lean on automation: its AI model DeepFleet is now coordinating over 1 million warehouse robots to optimise inventory flow.

🧠 Betting the house on AI

DeepFleet is only the start of it. Amazon is going all-in on AI infrastructure, spending US$31.4 billion in capex last quarter alone. If it maintains that pace, full-year spending could exceed US$118 billion, well above its original guidance.

However that capital is going toward expanding data centre capacity and launching new AI tools. 

Amazon is integrating generative AI into nearly every part of its business – from Alexa+ (its new subscription assistant) to new enterprise developer tools like Bedrock AgentCore and Kiro.

Whether or not it keeps up with the Big Tech AI race, we’ll keep you posted.

🔦  Some other things we’re shining the Spotlight on:

THAT’S THE WRONG TPG: The ASX mixed up TPG Telecom (ASX:TPG) with U.S. private equity firm TPG Capital, triggering a 5% selloff for TPG Telecom and wiping $400 million off the telco’s value. A trading halt followed along with a formal apology from ASX execs. Investors in ASX aren’t amused, with ASX (ASX:ASX) down heavily this week.

BLOCK GOES FULL GOOSE-MODE: Block (ASX:XYZ) has rolled out AI-powered insights to its Square terminals, thanks to an AI Assistant called Goose that helps merchants analyse sales in real time. Afterpay spending rose 17% helping lift quarterly operating income to US$550 million – up 38% YoY. 

MOUSE IN THE HOUSE: Disney’s (NYSE:DIS) Q3 results were mixed, but the real story was ESPN’s blockbuster deal to acquire NFL Network, RedZone and Fantasy in exchange for a 10% equity stake in the NFL. It sets the stage for Super Bowl 2026 to stream on Disney+ for the first time, as Disney reshapes itself around streaming, sports and direct-to-consumer dominance.

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