Microsoft take the crown from Apple

Five charts to start your day

Not long ago, Apple stood tall as the world’s most valuable company. Now Microsoft has edged ahead, and the culprit is a sweeping tariff plan from President Trump. After the latest trade rumblings, Apple’s stock price sank by 5 percent in a single day and has fallen 23 percent since the new levies were announced. Meanwhile, Microsoft held fairly steady, slipping just 7 percent in that same window.

This rollercoaster ride is not unprecedented. Apple and Microsoft have traded top spots before, but the scale of Apple’s drop is striking. Apple relies heavily on products made outside the US, so rising costs bite deeper into its margins. Simply put, the tariff route has left Apple under pressure to rethink the very structure of its supply chain.