Trump Made 327 Stock Trades in Apple, Nvidia, and Other Tech Giants Before His Tariff Pause

Source The Motley Fool

Key Points

  • Trump bought between $100,000 and $250,000 in five major tech stocks before rolling back some tariffs.

  • The White House maintains that Trump's accounts are managed by professionals who are not in regular communication with the president.

  • 10 stocks we like better than Nvidia ›

President Donald Trump is in the news for what may be an unexpected reason. A CNBC analysis of the president's most recent financial disclosures shows that Trump made 327 stock purchases on April 8, 2025.

If that date doesn't ring a bell, here's a refresher -- the very next day, Trump posted on his Truth Social account that it was a "GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!" and then announced a partial rollback in his "Liberation Day" tariffs that caused the market to jump 9.5% in a day.

Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »

There's a lot of discussion among experts about the ethics of Trump's trades, and the White House maintains that the president's investment accounts are managed by professionals who are not in regular communication with Trump. I'm not going to try to parse the legalities that are being debated on public airwaves and in Washington. However, I do think it's worthwhile to look at five megacap tech stocks that were central to Trump's April 2025 buying spree -- Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), and Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) -- and see how they've performed since that date.

The White House.

Image source: Getty Images.

What do these stocks have in common?

Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft, and Nvidia are all part of the "Magnificent Seven" group of stocks that have been primary drivers in the market for the last several years. The five companies have been closely followed as the appetite for artificial intelligence and AI-powered platforms remakes the market.

AAPL Chart

AAPL data by YCharts

Nvidia, which makes the most popular semiconductor chips used in AI training and inference, has had the most success in the last three years, gaining more than 360% over that period. Nvidia now has a market cap of more than $4.5 trillion, making it the biggest company in the world by market capitalization.

Amazon, Microsoft, and Alphabet are hyperscalers, meaning they operate large cloud computing operations that offer cloud, networking, and storage services. Cloud operators have become even more necessary in the age of AI because it's extremely expensive for companies to build their own AI-capable networking and storage systems in-house. Amazon has the largest share in the global market, at 28%, while Microsoft is No. 2 at 21%, and Alphabet's Google Cloud is third with 14% share.

Apple is more of an outlier -- it doesn't make chips, and it hasn't shown any interest in being a hyperscaler. Instead, it focuses on incorporating AI technology -- which it calls Apple Intelligence -- directly into its products. It recently announced a revamped version of its Siri personal assistant, Siri AI, which is being rolled out this year. Siri AI will be able to answer questions about content on users' screens, conduct searches, and get real-time information from websites.

How are these stocks performing?

While we don't know how much Trump bought in Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft, and Nvidia stocks, we do know all the purchases were between $100,000 and $250,000. So let's split the difference for the sake of comparison and say he spent $175,000 on each stock on April 8, 2025, and held his positions through today.

AAPL Chart

AAPL data by YCharts

Alphabet, which has seen a resurgence over the last year, is the biggest winner, turning a hypothetical $175,000 investment into $438,410. But all five investments come out in the black -- even Microsoft stock, which gained only 8% in the last 15 months.

In all, Trump's hypothetical $875,000 investment would have turned into $1.58 million, a gain of 76% on those five trades.

Should you buy stock in Nvidia right now?

Before you buy stock in Nvidia, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Nvidia wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $407,651!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,252,823!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 922% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 208% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of July 10, 2026.

Patrick Sanders has positions in Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Disclaimer: For information purposes only. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
placeholder
Bitcoin CME gaps at $35,000, $27,000 and $21,000, which one gets filled first?Prioritize filling the $27,000 gap and even try higher.
Author  FXStreet
Aug 22, 2023
Prioritize filling the $27,000 gap and even try higher.
placeholder
Pinduoduo Earnings Incoming: Morgan Stanley Sees Long-Term Profit Potential​Insights – On November 21, Chinese e-commerce giant Pinduoduo (PDD) will release its Q3 2024 earnings.
Author  Mitrade
Nov 20, 2024
​Insights – On November 21, Chinese e-commerce giant Pinduoduo (PDD) will release its Q3 2024 earnings.
placeholder
Elon Musk’s xAI and Neuralink Launch New Funding Rounds​Billionaire Elon Musk recently raised funds for his two high-profile tech companies, xAI and Neuralink.
Author  Insights
Jun 03, 2025
​Billionaire Elon Musk recently raised funds for his two high-profile tech companies, xAI and Neuralink.
placeholder
Bitcoin briefly loses 2025 gains as crypto plunges over the weekend.Bitcoin experienced a sharp decline this weekend, briefly erasing its 2025 gains and dipping below its year-opening value of $93,507. The cryptocurrency fell to a low of $93,029 on Sunday, representing a 25% drop from its all-time high in October. Although it has rebounded slightly to around $94,209, the pressures on the market remain significant. The downturn occurred despite the reopening of the U.S. government on Thursday, which many had hoped would provide essential support for crypto markets. This year initially appeared promising for cryptocurrencies, particularly after the inauguration of President Donald Trump, who has established the most pro-crypto administration thus far. However, ongoing political tensions—including Trump's tariff strategies and the recent government shutdown, lasting a historic 43 days—have contributed to several rapid price pullbacks for Bitcoin throughout the year. Market dynamics are also being influenced by Bitcoin whales—investors holding large amounts of Bitcoin—who have been offloading portions of their assets, consequently stalling price rallies even as positive regulatory developments emerge. Despite these sell-offs, analysts from Glassnode argue that this behavior aligns with typical patterns seen among long-term investors during the concluding stages of bull markets, suggesting it is not indicative of a mass exodus. Notably, Bitcoin is not alone in its struggles, as Ethereum and Solana have also recorded declines of 7.95% and 28.3%, respectively, since the start of the year, while numerous altcoins have faced even steeper losses. Looking ahead, questions linger regarding the viability of the four-year cycle thesis, particularly given the increasing institutional support and regulatory frameworks now in place in the crypto landscape. Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitwise, remains optimistic, suggesting a potential Bitcoin resurgence in 2026 driven by the “debasement trade” thesis and a broader trend toward increased adoption of stablecoins, tokenization, and decentralized finance. Hougan emphasized the soundness of the underlying fundamentals, pointing to a positive outlook for the sector in the longer term.
Author  Mitrade
Nov 17, 2025
Bitcoin experienced a sharp decline this weekend, briefly erasing its 2025 gains and dipping below its year-opening value of $93,507. The cryptocurrency fell to a low of $93,029 on Sunday, representing a 25% drop from its all-time high in October. Although it has rebounded slightly to around $94,209, the pressures on the market remain significant. The downturn occurred despite the reopening of the U.S. government on Thursday, which many had hoped would provide essential support for crypto markets. This year initially appeared promising for cryptocurrencies, particularly after the inauguration of President Donald Trump, who has established the most pro-crypto administration thus far. However, ongoing political tensions—including Trump's tariff strategies and the recent government shutdown, lasting a historic 43 days—have contributed to several rapid price pullbacks for Bitcoin throughout the year. Market dynamics are also being influenced by Bitcoin whales—investors holding large amounts of Bitcoin—who have been offloading portions of their assets, consequently stalling price rallies even as positive regulatory developments emerge. Despite these sell-offs, analysts from Glassnode argue that this behavior aligns with typical patterns seen among long-term investors during the concluding stages of bull markets, suggesting it is not indicative of a mass exodus. Notably, Bitcoin is not alone in its struggles, as Ethereum and Solana have also recorded declines of 7.95% and 28.3%, respectively, since the start of the year, while numerous altcoins have faced even steeper losses. Looking ahead, questions linger regarding the viability of the four-year cycle thesis, particularly given the increasing institutional support and regulatory frameworks now in place in the crypto landscape. Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitwise, remains optimistic, suggesting a potential Bitcoin resurgence in 2026 driven by the “debasement trade” thesis and a broader trend toward increased adoption of stablecoins, tokenization, and decentralized finance. Hougan emphasized the soundness of the underlying fundamentals, pointing to a positive outlook for the sector in the longer term.
placeholder
Gold declines as Trump scraps Iran memorandum, markets await Fed minutesGold (XAU/USD) trades around $4,050 on Wednesday, down 1.40% on the day at the time of writing, as investors favor the US Dollar (USD) following a fresh deterioration in tensions between the United States (US) and Iran.
Author  FXStreet
Jul 08, Wed
Gold (XAU/USD) trades around $4,050 on Wednesday, down 1.40% on the day at the time of writing, as investors favor the US Dollar (USD) following a fresh deterioration in tensions between the United States (US) and Iran.
goTop
quote