*By Michael Teich*
Though iPhones and Mac computers made in China have been spared U.S. tariffs, the brewing trade war between Washington and Beijing could finally catch up with Apple, the world's most valuable publicly traded company.
None of the tariffs considered by the Trump administration so far have materially affected Apple's business, but in his third-quarter earnings call with analysts on Tuesday, Apple's CEO Tim Cook said it was too early to predict if other policies under consideration could affect the company's bottom line.
"Our view on tariffs is that they show up as a tax on the consumer and wind up resulting in lower economic growth," Cook said in Tuesday's call.
Mike Murphy of Quartz told Cheddar that consumers' willingness to pay for Apple's most expensive productーthe iPhone Xーis a good sign that even a trade-war inspired bump in prices for its other devices won't deter loyal iPhone users.
"If we have no problem buying a $1,000 phone, we'll probably have no problem buying a $1,100 phone," Murphy said in an interview Wednesday. The iPhone represents Apple's biggest source of revenue.
If tariffs were to hit Apple, they would likely affect the company's fastest-growing division, "Other Products," which includes Apple Watch, AirPods, and the HomePod.
Revenue from other products reached $3.74 billion in the third quarter, up 36 percent from a year earlier. Apple doesn't disclose exact numbers for the Apple Watch, but Cook said sales grew in the "mid-40 percent range."
Apple does not appear worried about the prospect of tariffs dampening its business. The Cupertino-based company delivered fiscal fourth quarter revenue guidance of between $60 billion and $62 billion, topping Wall Street's estimate of $59.47 billion, according to StreetAccount.
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/apple-spared-trumps-tariffs-for-now).
The Food and Drug Administration has issued an emergency use authorization for what it says is the first device that can detect COVID-19 in breath samples.
Catching you up on what you need to know on April 15, 2022, with four of the victims from the Brooklyn subway shooting still hospitalized as the suspect is held without bail, Russia resumes attacks on Kyiv, teachers across the country receive their largest pay raises in decades, and more.
The major U.S. indexes closed Tuesday off of session lows as investors digest the latest read on inflation, showing it remains hot. Wall Street is also preparing for earnings from big banks and monitoring potential policy moves from the Federal Reserve. Peter Tuchman, a stock trader at TradeMas, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell and highlighted tech stocks in particular. 'The tech sector, which led us to record highs before the 1st of this year, are now the ones that are leading us lower,' he said.
Billionaire Elon Musk made waves after revealing he's making an attempt at a hostile takeover of the social media platform Twitter. The Tesla CEO is offering $43 billion to buy the social media platform outright with "freedom of speech" allegedly at the forefront of his agenda. Dan Ives, managing director of equity research at Wedbush Securities, is taking the tech entrepreneur seriously. "I think through many twists and turns over the coming months, he ultimately ends up owning Twitter because Twitter's board, their back is going to be against the wall," he said.
Ann Mukherjee, the chairman and CEO of Pernod Ricard North America, joined Cheddar News to talk about Absolut Vodka’s decade-long partnership with the music festival Coachella. Perno Ricard's vodka brand has built the virtual world Absolutland in the Decentraland metaverse for users to explore. "We actually have a vending machine where you can actually purchase the cocktails that will be delivered right to your home," she said. The brand will also be featuring festival headliner Swedish House Mafia.
