Good morning investors!

If this is your first time reading, welcome to The Investor’s Edge — a thriving community of over 23,000 subscribers striving to be better investors with an edge in the market.

Every Wednesday we publish “The Mid-Week Wrap-Up” — your ticket to being well informed and staying ahead in the investment game!

This report is designed to help investors of all skill levels break down important stories/topics within the stock market. And best of all, we cut through all of the BS and give you exactly what you need to know in easy to digest, bite sized pieces of content.

This article is designed to truly give you that EDGE in the day ahead!

Grab your afternoon pick me up and let’s dive in.

Market Talk

The major indexes are higher to start the week on the heels of Trump’s comments Tuesday.

3 Stories Moving the Market

These are some of the biggest stories so far this week that are having an influence on market action.

Trump hints at softening China tariffs and says no plan to fire Powell

President Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signaled a possible thaw in U.S.-China trade tensions, offering markets hope for a deescalation after weeks of tariff escalation. Trump also walked back threats against Fed Chair Jerome Powell, calming investor nerves.

🔑 Key Points

• Trump suggested current tariffs on Chinese imports—peaking at 145%—"will come down substantially" and said he planned to be “very nice” to China to strike a deal

• Treasury Secretary Bessent privately told investors a deescalation is likely, calling the current tit-for-tat tariff war "unsustainable"

• Trump reversed his tone on Fed Chair Jerome Powell, saying he has "no intention" of firing him despite recent harsh criticism

• Trump’s dovish pivot sparked a sharp rally in U.S. stock futures across major indexes

👀 What You Need to Know

Trump’s comments point to potential tariff policy softening, boosting risk appetite. For investors, any clarity or reversal in tariff policy could be a near-term tailwind for global equities, especially for multinationals and trade-sensitive sectors. Meanwhile, Trump’s reversal on Powell eases fears of Fed independence being compromised—another relief for bond markets and institutional investors navigating a volatile macro environment.

Tesla reports 20% drop in auto revenue as first-quarter results miss Wall Street estimates

Tesla reported disappointing Q1 results, missing both revenue and earnings expectations as automotive sales tumbled 20% YoY. The stock initially treaded water but bounced nearly 5% after Trump’s comments on tariffs and Powell—a signal investors interpreted as near-term market stability.

🔑 Key Points

• EPS Miss: $0.27 adj. vs. $0.39 est.

• Revenue Miss: $19.34B vs. $21.11B est.

• Automotive Revenue: Down 20% YoY to $14B

• Net Income: Down 71% YoY to $409M

• Operating Margin: Fell to 2.1%, from 5.5% last year

• Energy Revenue: Surged 67% YoY to $2.73B

• Regulatory Credits: Jumped to $595M, cushioning losses

• Q1 Deliveries: Fell 13% to 336,681 vehicles

• No 2025 Growth Commitment: Guidance to be revisited in Q2

• Stock Performance: Down 41% YTD, worst Q since 2022

👀 What You Need to Know

Tesla's Q1 print confirms what many feared—this isn't just a demand blip, it’s a structural slowdown compounded by macro shocks and internal distractions. With Elon Musk entangled in Trump’s administration/politics, and tariffs ratcheting up cost pressures, investor confidence is hanging by a thread. Until Tesla delivers a clear roadmap forward, especially on pricing, robotaxis, and global competitiveness, this remains a "show me" story.

Amazon hits pause on data center leases amid macro uncertainty

Amazon Web Services has reportedly paused portions of its global data center leasing activity, joining Microsoft in signaling a slowdown in early-stage infrastructure buildouts. The move raises fresh concerns about how economic and political volatility is impacting even the most entrenched players in the AI and cloud boom.

🔑 Key Points

• AWS is pausing some colocation lease discussions, especially internationally

• Microsoft echoed similar delays last week in its own early-stage build-outs

• New tariffs from the Trump administration are raising costs across cloud infrastructure

• Tech stocks under pressure this year:

  • AMZN -25% YTD

  • MSFT -15% YTD

• AWS VP says no change in core expansion plans—calls it “routine capacity management”

👀 What You Need to Know

The AI-driven cloud buildout isn't over but it is starting to slow. AWS and Microsoft are both blinking in the face of higher costs, shifting macro conditions, and political volatility. While no projects are being scrapped (yet), the fact that both cloud leaders are tapping the brakes should serve as a caution flag for investors betting on uninterrupted AI capex. Until visibility improves—on trade policy, inflation, and global demand—tech’s capital-intensive arms race may start looking a lot more selective.

In Other News

In this section we'll be curating a selection of news headlines we think you'll find interesting. If a topic catches your eye, click the provided links to read more about it.

• EU hits Apple and Meta with nearly $800 million in fines amid U.S. trade tensions

• Tesla CEO Musk says time he spends on DOGE will drop ‘significantly’ next month

• FTC sues Uber, says company charged for Uber One without consent

• Boeing tackles US-China trade threat, shares rise on smaller-than-expected loss

• Lockheed Martin’s quarterly profit rises on resilient defense demand

• RTX cautions $850 million hit from Trump's tariffs over 2025, shares fall

• Northrop Grumman cuts 2025 profit forecast on B-21 headwinds, shares slump

• GE Aerospace Shares Climb After Q1 Profit Crushes Estimates

• GE Vernova's quarterly revenue beats on strength in power, electrification units

• Intel to lay off more than 20% of workforce

• Vertiv Reports Strong Q1, Stock Jumps 18.5%

• Verizon Earnings Top Views But Reports Wider Post-Paid Phones Losses

• AT&T Tops Revenue, Phone Subscriber Addition Estimates

• BP shares whipsaw as activist investor Elliott discloses stake build

• 3M’s Strong Q1: Beats On Revenue, Lays Out Plan for Tariffs

The Second Half

Markets are closed on Friday so all news will be packed into tomorrow. We get several major earnings as well as a few key economic reports.

Earnings Reports

Earnings season is ramping up and we will be busy to end the week. Here are the names we will be watching to end the week:

• Wednesday 4/23: IBM, Lam Research, and Chipotle

• Thursday 4/24: Alphabet, Procter & Gamble, Pepsico, Merck, and Intel

• Friday 4/25: AbbVie

Here is the calendar of earnings releases scheduled for the rest of the week:

Economic Reports

It’s been a quiet week for economic reports and that continues into the end of the week. We get initial jobless claims, existing home sales and consumer sentiment.

Here is the full calendar of events scheduled for the remainder of the week:

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Thank you for reading this edition of the Mid-Week Wrap-Up.

Until next time investors!

Mark & Chris

The Investor’s Edge

Disclosure

This is not investing advice. It is very important that you do your own research and make investments based on your own personal circumstances, preferences, goals and risk tolerance.