President Donald Trump has reportedly excluded smartphones, laptops, and a variety of other tech devices and components from his newly imposed reciprocal tariffs, according to a guidance issued by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) late Friday. According to the White House, the exemptions were granted to allow companies time to move manufacturing to the United States, as quoted on CNBC.

However, Trump later denied reports of full tariff “exception” for electronics, saying on Truth Social that the 20% tariffs still apply (per a Bloomberg article) and the administration is considering broader tariffs on the entire electronics supply chain.

Note that Trump recently announced a sweeping 145% tariff on imports from China. The move raised alarm bells for major tech companies—particularly Apple AAPL, which relies heavily on Chinese manufacturing for products like iPhones, iPads, and Mac computers. As a result, Apple shares suffered a lot. The AAPL stock has lost over 5% over the past month, despite last week gains of over 12% (as of April 11, 2025).

A Likely Win for Tech Behemoths Like Apple

For companies like Apple, any kind of exemption is a massive win. The company manufactures more than 80% of iPads and over half of its Mac computers in China, according to Evercore ISI, as quoted on CNBC.

In the days following Trump’s initial tariff announcement, Apple’s market value dropped by more than $640 billion. Analysts estimated that iPhone prices could have surged to $3,500 under the full tariff scheme.

According to Dan Ives, global head of tech research at Wedbush Securities, “smartphones and chips being excluded is a game-changing development,” as quoted on CNBC.

Time to Take a Bite Out of Apple?

Despite current challenges, Apple’s robust cash flow, strong balance sheet, and aggressive share buyback program have traditionally made it a safe bet for investors. However, those strengths have so far been overshadowed by tariff-related risks.

The CBOE Apple VIX surged to levels not seen since September 2020 in early April, reflecting heightened concern. Still, many analysts remained optimistic. The stock’s 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) has dropped to 43.09, signaling considerable oversold conditions.

The stock’s simple moving average (SMA) 200-day stood at 221.99 while SMA for 50-day period stood at 224.49. The current price of Apple shares was $198.15 as of April 11, 2025.

When the current price of a stock is below both the 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages (SMA), it generally indicates bearish momentum. However, given the last week’s tariff-led chaotic scenario, buyers were probably hesitant to step in.

We can see that the 50-day MA is above the 200-day MA, which indicates a potential for uptrend. With Trump exempting phones, computers, chips from new tariffs, buyers may now use the latest dip as a buying opportunity.

Valuation Looks Decent, But Further Downside Risk Remains

At roughly 23.5 times forward earnings, Apple’s valuation is at its lowest point in over two years. Although this is still slightly above the 10-year average, some investors view it as an entry point.

Apple shares have been trading at a price-to-free-cash-flow ratio of 27.97x, down from a five-year high of 38.60x. The multiple hit a low of 17.59x in 2020.

Apple’s price-to-sales ratio stands at 6.71x, down from a five-year high of 9.44x, while it’s a five-year low is 4.37x.

In a nutshell, Apple shares have priced in a lot of risks and corrected valuation concerns amid the ongoing tariff turmoil.

Apple-Heavy ETFs in Focus

Investors encouraged by Apple’s valuation correction may consider buying the dip in Apple stock. Investors should note that exposure can be gained through Apple-heavy exchange-traded funds (ETFs) like iShares Global Tech ETF IXN, Vanguard Information Technology ETF VGT, Fidelity MSCI Information Technology Index ETF FTEC, iShares U.S. Technology ETF IYW, and Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund XLK. The basket approach minimizes the company-specific concentration risks.

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Apple Inc. (AAPL) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK): ETF Research Reports

Fidelity MSCI Information Technology Index ETF (FTEC): ETF Research Reports

iShares U.S. Technology ETF (IYW): ETF Research Reports

Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT): ETF Research Reports

iShares Global Tech ETF (IXN): ETF Research Reports

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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