Top 3 Stocks Powering Through Trump’s Tariff Policies

Key Points

• After cratering on Trump's "Liberation Day" announcement, the S&P 500 has recovered by more than 30%.
• General Motors, Apple, and Intuitive Surgical have rebounded by 20% to 65%. Their tariff outlooks have improved drastically in the second half of the year.
• Mitigation, appeasement, and de-escalation have been key to these names gaining significantly from April lows.

Since President Trump entered office, tariffs have become among the most discussed topics in financial markets. April 2, which became known as “Liberation Day." President Trump unveiled massive tariffs that his administration planned to implement in many countries.

This led the S&P 500 to plummet more than 12% in two days. However, the market has roared back as Trump softened his dramatic proposals. Since hitting April lows, the S&P 500 has provided a total return of over 37% through the Oct. 24 close.

The index has also returned just under 17% for the year. Clearly, the U.S. stock market has been able to withstand tariffs much better than many thought.

The same is true for three individual stocks that are among the biggest names in the market. These firms have seen their tariff outlooks improve substantially throughout 2025. This has helped lead to a big rebound in their share prices since April, putting them in the green this year.

Below, we will examine how the tariff environment has shifted considerably for these stocks, leading to positive shareholder results.

GM Up +60% Since April as Tariff Forecasts Fall and Mitigation Rises

First up is one of the key players in the U.S. auto industry, General Motors NYSE: GM. GM produces many vehicles in Mexico and Canada, a big negative after Trump imposed 25% tariffs on cars imported to the U.S. GM estimated in May that the adverse effect of tariffs on its business for 2025 would be $4 billion to $5 billion. In Q2, the company’s operating income took a $1.1 billion gross impact from tariffs. The gross impact was the same in Q3.

However, this time around, GM was able to offset 30% of this impact, using go-to-market, footprint, and cost initiatives. The tariff environment continues to improve for the company. It now expects $500 million less in gross tariff impact, lowering its forecast to between $3.5 billion and $4.5 billion. It also now believes it can offset 35% of this.

This was partly why GM shares soared 15% on Oct. 21. Ultimately, shares have now returned approximately 65% versus April lows, and 32% in 2025.

Apple Hits New Highs, With Tariff Avoidance Efforts Playing a Key Role

Next on the list is Magnificent Seven stalwart Apple NASDAQ: AAPL. Tariff threats weighed mightily on Apple through the first several months of 2025. At one point, Trump proposed 145% tariffs on China, where Apple traditionally assembles most of its products. However, Apple made several smart moves to get around this issue, including preemptively announcing that it would invest $500 billion in the United States.

This and similar investments from other tech companies likely influenced President Trump to eventually exempt phones, computers, and chips from Chinese tariffs.

Apple also relocated much of its iPhone production to India to avoid getting entangled in the U.S.-China trade war. However, Trump then slapped a 50% tariff on India in August. But, he again exempted smartphones from the duties. This exemption came just one day after Apple announced an additional $100 billion U.S. investment.

Through these announcements, Apple has avoided arduous tariffs, appeasing the President. On Oct. 24, shares closed at a new all-time high of just under $263. They are up 5% annually and up 53% from April lows.

Tariffs Take a Smaller Bite Out of ISRG’s Gross Margins

Last up is robotics-assisted surgery company Intuitive Surgical NASDAQ: ISRG. The company makes 98% of its robotic systems in the United States. However, it makes 70% of its endoscopes in Europe, and 80% of its instruments and accessories in Mexico.

It also imports subassemblies from China. Overall, the emergence of various tariffs caused the company to estimate a 1.4% to 2% negative impact on its gross margin for 2025 in April.

However, the firm has steadily seen that forecast come down. In July, it lowered its expected gross margin impact to 0.8% to 1.2%. In October, it again lowered its expected impact to just 0.6% to 0.8%. Overall, Intuitive has lowered the midpoint of its expected gross margin impact due to tariffs from 1.7% to 0.7%.

This reduction has primarily come from the de-escalation of some tariffs and Intuitive’s better-than-expected sales in Q3. Overall, shares are up around 21% from their April lows and 4.7% on the year.