Less than two months ago, the tech industry’s top leaders flocked to Washington, D.C., for the presidential inauguration, part of an effort to strike a friendly tone with President Donald Trump after a contentious first go-round in the White House.
Thus far, they’ve avoided any nasty social media posts from the president. But their treatment by investors has been anything but warm.
Over the last three weeks, since the Nasdaq touched its high for the year, the seven most valuable U.S. tech companies — often called “the Magnificent Seven” — have lost a combined $2.7 trillion in market value. The sell-off has pushed the Nasdaq to its lowest level since September.
As of Thursday, the tech-heavy index was down 4.9% for the week, heading for its worst weekly performance in six months. If it ends up down more than 5.8%, it would be the steepest weekly drop since January 2022.
Sparking the downdraft was Trump’s promise to slap high tariffs on top trading partners, including China, Mexico and Canada, along with mass firings of government workers. The combination of a potential trade war and rising unemployment is particularly troubling news for consumer and business spending and has raised fears of a recession.
Additionally, many technology companies import key parts from abroad, and rely on trade partners for manufacturing.
This isn’t what Wall Street was expecting.
Following Trump’s election victory in November, the market jumped on prospects of diminished regulation and favorable tax policies. The Nasdaq climbed to a record close on Dec. 16, capping a more than 9% rally over about six weeks after the election.
Since then, electric car maker Tesla has lost close to half its value, despite — or perhaps because of — the central role that CEO Elon Musk is playing in the Trump administration.
The Nasdaq’s high point for the year came on Feb. 19, about a month into Trump’s second term. But it finished that week lower and has continued its precipitous decline.
Here’s how the seven megacaps have fared over that stretch:
Apple, the world’s most valuable company and the only remaining member of the $3 trillion club, has lost $529 billion in market cap since the close on Feb. 19. The iPhone maker is down 14%.
Microsoft, which was previously worth more than $3 trillion, has fallen by $267 billion in the past three weeks, a drop of close to 9% for the software giant.
Nvidia, the chipmaker that’s been the biggest beneficiary of the artificial intelligence boom, also slid below $3 trillion over the course of losing $577 billion in value, the biggest dollar decline in the group. The stock is down 17% since the Nasdaq peaked.
Amazon is down by $347 billion, falling by 14%, while Alphabet is off by $275 billion after a 12% decline. Meta has shed $286 billion in market cap, a 16% drop.
Tesla has seen by far the biggest percentage decline at 33%, equaling $386 billion in value.
Goldman Sachs on Wednesday referred to the group as the “Maleficent 7.” David Kostin, the firm’s chief U.S. equity strategist, noted that the basket now trades at its lowest valuation premium relative to the S&P 500 since 2017. Goldman cut its price target on the benchmark index to 6,200 from 6,500. The S&P 500 closed on Thursday at 5,521.52.
“We believe investors will require either a catalyst that improves the economic growth outlook or clear asymmetry to the upside before they try to ‘catch the falling knife’ and reverse the recent market momentum,” Kostin wrote.
