Apple Inc. ended the week under pressure, with its shares tumbling 4.3% on Friday after two high-profile downgrades followed the company’s latest earnings report.

While the quarterly results were largely in line with Wall Street’s expectations, analysts flagged deepening worries over escalating tariffs, muted revenue forecasts, and the absence of a breakthrough growth catalyst. These concerns are shifting investor sentiment toward caution, even as Apple attempts to reassure markets.

Jefferies and Rosenblatt Securities both issued downgrades, citing tariff-related headwinds and the need for a new product cycle to reignite excitement around the stock. The downgrades came on the heels of Apple’s disclosure that it expects President Donald Trump’s China-era tariffs to add $900 million in costs to the company’s fiscal third quarter, a figure that highlights the mounting drag of geopolitical trade policies on Apple’s bottom line.

“Tariff impact will expand over time to create more earnings downside,” Jefferies analyst Edison Lee warned in a note that cut Apple to underperform—a rare bearish stance on one of the world’s most closely watched companies.

The $900 million in projected tariff-related costs marks one of the highest quarterly burdens Apple has attributed to import duties since the U.S.-China trade war escalated. Apple’s global supply chain, designed to maximize efficiency across China, India, and Vietnam—is now exposed to increased tariff-orchestrated uncertainty under Trump.

Jefferies noted that Apple’s guidance assumes existing tariffs remain static and do not broaden to cover imports from India and Vietnam, where Apple has been moving part of its assembly operations in recent years to hedge its exposure to China.

“These assumptions are unlikely to hold longer term, especially if there will be sectoral tariffs that are non-negotiable,” Lee added, pointing to the political risk looming over Apple’s manufacturing diversification strategy.

Weak China Sales and Tepid Outlook Deepen Worries

The earnings report also showed that sales in China fell short of expectations, reinforcing concerns that Apple is struggling in a market where local competitors like Huawei are surging and nationalistic sentiment is growing. Despite aggressive discounting and promotional campaigns in the region, Apple’s performance underscored its vulnerability to local market dynamics and geopolitical pushback.

More broadly, Apple told investors it expects revenue in the current quarter to grow in the “low- to mid-single-digit” range year over year. While modestly positive, the projection is notably cautious for a company that once routinely delivered double-digit revenue expansion. That forecast has led to renewed calls for Apple to deliver a new product that can re-energize growth and justify its premium stock valuation.

“Muted Growth” in an Unforgiving Market

Barton Crockett of Rosenblatt Securities also downgraded the stock, moving from buy to neutral, citing what he called “OK-muted growth” in a volatile regulatory and geopolitical environment.

“We’re left with a well-run company, with a need for an exciting new product to reinvigorate growth, trading at a premium multiple in a choppy tariff and regulatory environment,” Crockett wrote.

Crockett praised Apple’s resilience in iPhone sales, which outperformed some of the more pessimistic forecasts, and highlighted the company’s deep operational skill, particularly in its supply chain. But he emphasized that without a breakthrough, particularly one leveraging artificial intelligence, Apple risks being outshone by peers who are making more visible progress in AI-driven consumer applications.

“There needs to be an AI-driven sharp acceleration in iPhone sales for the stock to really outperform from here,” he said. “And as time has gone on, the argument for that seems to be fading.”

However, not all analysts are turning bearish. Citigroup’s Atif Malik viewed the results as decent given the broader trade environment, noting that Apple’s fundamentals “remain intact.” Malik described the guidance as conservative, suggesting that Apple could outperform if trade tensions ease or demand proves more resilient.

Even with some supportive voices, Wall Street is clearly more cautious about Apple than its mega-cap peers. Less than 60% of analysts tracked by Bloomberg now rate Apple as a buy, a stark contrast with names like Microsoft, Nvidia, or Alphabet, where bullish sentiment remains elevated. The downgrade from Jefferies brings the total number of “sell” ratings on Apple to four—a small but symbolically significant number for a company long seen as a market darling.

Apple’s declining analyst support also comes at a moment when Microsoft Corp. has surged ahead in both performance and perception. The software giant’s quarterly earnings were described as “blowout,” driving a rally that allowed Microsoft to surpass Apple in market value as of Friday’s open.

That symbolic shift further reinforces how investors are now looking for clear, AI-driven narratives—something Microsoft, with its heavy investment in OpenAI and integration of generative AI into core products, has leaned into with great effect.

The AI Gap and the Innovation Question

Apple’s next big opportunity likely hinges on its strategy for artificial intelligence. While the company has touted its custom silicon and on-device processing advantages, arguing that this makes AI more secure and private, there has yet to be a tangible, headline-grabbing product that channels those capabilities into consumer appeal. Competitors, meanwhile, have rolled out AI copilots, assistants, and integrations that have captured public and investor attention.

There are expectations that Apple may reveal more AI-forward features at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), but until then, analysts say the lack of a clear growth driver will continue to weigh on sentiment.

Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has projected that his vast business empire is on track to hit $30 billion in annual revenue by 2026. But that forecast, delivered at a venture capital forum in Lagos on Thursday, is already colliding with growing global economic instability—most notably, the disruptive trade policies of U.S. President Donald Trump and the resulting slump in oil prices.

Dangote, whose conglomerate spans cement, fertilizer, sugar, and now oil refining, said the group is expected to hit $25 billion in revenue next year, before adding another $5 billion by 2026, driven primarily by his new 650,000 barrels-per-day refinery in Lagos. That refinery, he stressed, would be a major foreign exchange earner, helping Nigeria reduce reliance on fuel imports and becoming a dominant force in petroleum exports.

But there’s a hitch. Trump’s renewed tariff wars are already rippling through global supply chains, and the oil market has begun to feel the strain. Last month, the international benchmark Brent crude slipped below $60 per barrel, its lowest point in nearly a year, reflecting a sharp drop in global demand amid rising geopolitical tensions and trade friction triggered by Washington’s aggressive economic nationalism.

This drop in oil prices casts a shadow over the very asset Dangote expects to power the group’s next growth chapter.

While the U.S. administration has so far excluded oil and gas from its latest wave of tariffs, the indirect damage is already evident. China, Europe, and other major markets have reduced energy purchases as they brace for a slowdown while manufacturing output has declined in key economies—two symptoms of a contracting global trading environment. All this means fewer buyers, lower prices, and increased competition.

Dangote did not ignore the turbulence entirely. He admitted that his fertilizer business, another crucial export arm, was briefly at risk due to U.S. tariff adjustments.

“I was worried about the U.S. tariff because 37% of our urea goes to the U.S.,” he said. “Luckily for us, Algeria was slapped with 30% tariffs.”

That stroke of fortune gave Nigerian urea a price advantage, but analysts warn that advantage could be fleeting, given how easily Washington’s policy shifts.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s broader trade relationship with the U.S. hangs in the balance. A report by Strategy&, the consulting arm of PwC, warns that Nigeria could soon lose key trade privileges under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which allows duty-free exports to the U.S. The Trump administration has floated a review of AGOA, citing a need to protect American industries and reduce deficits. Nigeria, which exported $1.76 billion worth of goods under AGOA in 2024, mostly crude oil and agricultural produce, would be hard hit by any withdrawal.

Dangote told investors that the group’s cement production would rise to 62 million metric tons by next year, up from the current 53 million, putting his company ahead of Egyptian rivals and making it Africa’s largest cement producer. With total group assets now valued at $27.5 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the business remains formidable in size and scope.

“We will be number one,” he said, referring to the group’s cement expansion. “We are building for the long term.”

However, questions persist about whether that scale is sufficient to weather a global downturn. Analysts are particularly skeptical about revenue targets tied to oil exports at a time when the market is growing more volatile.

The situation is particularly concerning for Nigeria, which is relying on Dangote’s refinery to ease pressure on its currency and reduce its crude-for-fuel swap bills, the stakes are even higher. The refinery is expected to curb the outflow of foreign exchange by replacing imported fuel with locally refined products, while simultaneously earning dollars from exports. But if global oil demand shrinks, or if U.S. protectionism intensifies, the expected gains may not materialize.

Nigeria’s policymakers are watching closely. According to the Strategy& report, titled Global Economic Policy Changes and Implications for Nigeria, the country must now develop contingency plans for a world where U.S. markets are less accessible. That could mean strengthening regional trade within Africa, speeding up refinery product standardization to meet European export requirements, and exploring non-oil exports.