Washington Stocks React to Trade War Shock: Winners, Losers, and Market Mayhem

Washington companies received a rude awakening Tuesday morning as the Trump Administration announced 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico.

If you're anything like me, you checked your stock portfolio this morning and wondered, "what the heck is going on?" Well, it's a trade war!

This comes a month after the administration announced it would implement tariffs because of unchecked immigration and drug trafficking.

In the state, Amazon, Boeing, Microsoft, and more all had varying impacts to its stock price, where the overall markets fell somewhere in the range of one to two percent into correction territory after reaching all-time highs in December 2024.

Here's a list of the way Washington's big companies reacted to the trade war news today.

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Amazon
The online retail mega-giant took a tumble at the start of the day but recovered nicely by close. Amazon also announced some artificial intelligence news largely silencing the tariff noise Tuesday.

At close, Amazon fell six-thenths of a percent to $203.80 from Monday's close of $205.

Microsoft
After a tough start to the day, Microsoft shares rallied to finish in the green by 12 points.

This comes in the middle of some of the lowest levels of Microsoft shares have been in over a year.

Some say it might drop more, others say it's a buy. You should do your own research on that. I'm not a financial advisor!

Boeing
Boeing got hit the hardest on this list. They're an exporter. They make planes and export them to other countries. It's what they do.

Needless to say they did not fare well on the stock market today, as shares fell over six-and-a-half percent.

They are the largest capital goods exporter in the U.S. and they could lose a lot of orders because of a trade war.

It has been a tough five years for the airplane manufacturer amid many reports of planes failing. After reaching its all-time high of $422.54 a share in 2019, shares closed today at $158.90.

Costco
The Issaquah-based company has had a good year, with shares jumping over 36 percent since March 2024.

Today was just not the day for the company known for selling in bulk and its cheaper than average gas.

Shares dropped more than a percent at open but finished down just under a percent at $1,036.87.

Starbucks
The coffee giant may have had its worst day in months, but that's not really on the trade war today.

Sure, that probably did not help matters. However, the bigger news from Starbucks today revolves around its Chief Financial Officer stepping down and replacing them with the Nordstrom CFO. Traders don't like uncertainty, so they sold off today - down just under three percent.

For a company up over 20 percent from January, this will probably just be a blip on the radar.

Nordstrom
Speaking of Nordstrom, they seemed largely unaffected by trade war news today. That comes after their CFO left for Starbucks, but the company beat expectations for its earnings and the share price went up a penny.

Sell clothes. Increase value for shareholders.

Conclusion
Mostly a tough day across the board for companies, especially exporters. Don't worry too much about the stock market - it's out of your control anyways and it goes in waves.
If recent history is any indication, this bad day on the market will likely result in a green day in the future where stockholders and traders alike rejoice.

Again - not a financial advisor. Just my opinion.