📊 Biggest Winners In U.S. Trade

1) Saudi Aramco's Insane Profits 2) Apple’s Stagnant Empire 3) New S&P 500 Reshuffle and more!

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Happy Monday!

Concerns about an economic slowdown keep creeping up.

On Wednesday, ADP reported that private employers added just 77,000 jobs in February—well below the 148,000 estimate.

  • That’s nearly 50% fewer jobs than expected.

ADP’s Chief Economist noted that their data “…suggests a hiring hesitancy among employers as they assess the economic climate ahead.”

That same uncertainty is reflected at the Fed, with Jerome Powell stating that future policy decisions remain unclear and rate cuts will have to wait until they have greater clarity.

Sentiment Survey: We’re approaching the end of Q1, and I’m curious—how is everyone feeling about the market as we near the first quarter mark of the year?

How are you feeling about the market?

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I’ll share the results in the next issue so you can see how everyone voted.

Some key data bites from this week that you should know:

In today’s newsletter:

  • 🌎 Biggest Winners In U.S. Trade

  • 🛢️ Saudi Aramco’s Insane Profits

  • 🇪🇺 Most Valuable European Companies

  • 🍎 Apple’s Stagnant Empire

  • ↻ New S&P 500 Reshuffle

Let’s jump right in.

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Tariff season is officially here.

On Tuesday, the U.S. imposed 25% tariffs on all imports from Canada and Mexico.

  • Canadian energy got a slight break with a 10% rate, while tariffs on Chinese goods doubled to 20%.

  • In response, Canada, Mexico, and China all implemented retaliatory tariffs.

A few days later, Trump issued exemptions covering roughly half of Mexico’s exports to the U.S. and over a third of Canada’s—specifically for goods that comply with the North American trade deal.

Today, several countries run a trade surplus with the U.S.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2024, the U.S. had a $295B trade deficit with China, followed by $182B with Mexico, and $123B with Vietnam.

Trump’s end goal with tariffs?

  • Shrink the trade deficit, revive U.S. manufacturing, generate a new revenue stream for the government, and use tariffs as a negotiating tool.

There’s big.

Then there’s Saudi Aramco big.

The oil giant posted $106B in net income for 2024 on $437B in revenue.

  • That profit alone is comparable to the combined profits of ExxonMobil, PetroChina, Chevron, Shell, and TotalEnergies.

  • And that’s after a 12.4% YoY decline, driven by muted oil prices and lower production levels.

One key callout from its annual report?

The move aims to ease pressure on its balance sheet, which recently slipped into a net debt position.

But it comes at a cost.

  • Saudi Arabia’s government, heavily reliant on Aramco’s dividends, will have less cash to help reduce its budget deficit.

Tariffs aren’t the only thing dominating headlines this week.

Europe is too.

President Trump recently announced the U.S. would be suspending all military aid to Ukraine, following a feisty conversation with President Zelensky.

The European Union’s response?

Meanwhile, investor demand for Russian-related assets has been increasing. 

  • Bloomberg reported that Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan are offering ruble-linked derivative contracts as a way to profit from the currency’s surge. 

  • The Russian ruble has climbed 26% this year, based on hope that sanctions relief may be a part of the deal with the US.

Taking a look at the largest companies in Europe, the landscape looks very different from the Big Tech-dominated U.S.

  • Obesity drug kingpin Novo Nordisk takes the crown, followed by luxury empire LVMH and ERP software giant SAP.

  • The rest of the top seven span industries from semiconductors to food processing, reflecting Europe’s broader market composition.

Few companies command the brand loyalty, recognition, and sheer admiration of Apple.

  • A cornerstone of the S&P 500, it remains a favorite among investors and fund managers.

  • At a $3.6T market cap, Apple is already a massive giant.

But one has to wonder—how much growth is left?

Over the past three years, revenue has grown at just a 1.5% CAGR, with diluted EPS trailing at 1.4%, per FinChat.

  • Meanwhile, Apple trades at one of its most expensive valuations ever—38x trailing earnings.

Despite the premium, forward estimates project earnings growth of 10.5% over the next two years.

This week, Apple unveiled a slate of new products, including:

Are these releases innovative enough to reignite Apple’s growth?

The quarterly S&P 500 rebalance has arrived.

On Friday after market close, S&P Dow Jones Indices announced new additions to the S&P 500.

Joining the index:
✅ TKO Holdings (parent company of WWE & UFC)
✅ Williams-Sonoma
✅ DoorDash
✅ Expand Energy

They’ll be replacing:
❌ BorgWarner
❌ FMC Corp
❌ Teleflex
❌ Celanese

These changes take effect before the market opens on March 24, 2025.

Several well-known names were considered potential candidates for inclusion, but didn’t make the cut.

  • Interactive Brokers, Coinbase, Robinhood, and Blue Owl Capital were among them.

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The smart home market is booming, and RYSE’s public offering is live at $1.90/share. Invest now before their next phase of growth.

Past performance is not indicative of future results. Email may contain forward-looking statements. See US Offering for details. Informational purposes only.

Bitcoin Vault. Trump signed executive order creating a U.S. strategic Bitcoin reserve - WH

📢 Tariff Rebuke. Warren Buffett called tariffs an act of war and refrained from commenting on the state of the economy - CBS

🇨🇳 Silent Stake. Chinese investors are privately taking stakes in Elon Musk’s companies - FT

🪖 War Posture. China says it is ready for any type of war with the US - CNBC

🐷 Retirement Leak. More Americans are doing early withdrawals from their 401(k) accounts - WSJ

📈 Equity Euphoria. Vanguard’s CIO said US equities are priced for perfection and significantly overvalued - BB

🚕 AV Rollout. Uber launched autonomous Waymo rides in Austin - UBER

🍟 Greens & Fries. Sweetgreen has launched fries nationwide - AX

💊 Wegovy Discount. Novo Nordisk is making Wegovy available for less than half its price per month through a new DTC pharmacy - CNBC

Courtesy of our paid partner, EarningsHub.

Notable Companies Reporting Earnings Week of March 10th, 2025:

I use EarningsHub to track earnings, estimates, and receive AI summaries of investor calls.

If you’d like an all-in-one earnings tool and see all other companies reporting, I definitely recommend you check it out!

Major Trades Published 3/3 - 3/7. Trades may be those of family members. [Source: 2iQ]

Buys

  • Josh Gottheimer (D)

    • Company: Microsoft ($MSFT)

      • Amount Purchased: $1M - $5M

      • Description: Call options; Strike price $230; Expires 1/16/2026

    • Company: Microsoft ($MSFT)

      • Amount Purchased: $1M - $5M

      • Description: Call options; Strike price $235; Expires 1/16/2026

    • Company: Microsoft ($MSFT)

      • Amount Purchased: $1M - $5M

      • Description: Call options; Strike price $240; Expires 12/19/2025

    • Company: Microsoft ($MSFT)

      • Amount Purchased: $500K - $1M

      • Description: Call options; Strike price $240; Expires 12/19/2025

  • Mark Green (R)

    • Company: VanEck Gold Trust ETF ($OUNZ)

      • Amount Purchased: $115K - $300K

  • Dave McCormick (R)

    • Company: Bitwise Bitcoin ETF ($BITB)

      • Amount Purchased: $65K - $150K

Sells

  • Josh Gottheimer (D)

    • Company: Microsoft ($MSFT)

      • Amount Sold: $1M - $5M

    • Company: Microsoft ($MSFT)

      • Amount Sold: $1M - $5M

      • Description: Call options; Strike price $320; Expires 6/18/2026

    • Company: Microsoft ($MSFT)

      • Amount Sold: $500K - $1M

      • Description: Call options; Strike price $325; Expires 6/18/2026

    • Company: Microsoft ($MSFT)

      • Amount Sold: $250K - $500K

      • Description: Call options; Strike price $325; Expires 6/18/2026

  • Mark Green (R)

    • Company: NGL Energy Partners ($NGL)

      • Amount Sold: $115K - $300K

Major Trades Published 3/3 - 3/7

Buys

  • Permian Resources Corp ($PR)

    • Insider: William Quinn (Director)

      • # of Shares Purchased: 500,000

      • $ Amount: $6,536,600

      • SEC Forms: [1]

  • Aurinia Pharmaceuticals ($AUPH)

    • Insider: Kevin Tang (Director)

      • # of Shares Purchased: 748,038

      • $ Amount: $5,963,304

      • SEC Forms: [1]

Sells

  • Palo Alto Networks ($PANW)

    • Insider: Nikesh Arora (CEO)

      • # of Shares Sold: 718,449

      • $ Amount: $132,772,054

      • SEC Forms: [1]

  • DoorDash ($DASH)

    • Insider: Stanley Tang (Director)

      • # of Shares Sold: 263,490

      • $ Amount: $52,909,496

      • SEC Forms: [1]

  • Tesla ($TSLA)

    • Insider: Robyn Denholm (Director)

      • # of Shares Sold: 112,390

      • $ Amount: $33,672,976

      • SEC Forms: [1]

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