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Mid-Week Wrap-Up - April 2nd, 2025

Mid-Week Wrap-Up - April 2nd, 2025

Tariff day is here - markets on edge

CMG Venture & Mark Roussin
April 02, 2025

In partnership with

Good morning investors!

If this is your first time reading, welcome to The Investor’s Edge — a thriving community of over 22,000 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 all positive as we await the latest tariff announcement from the current administration.

3 Stories Moving the Market

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

Markets on high alert ahead of Trump's tariff plan reveal

Global investors are anxiously awaiting clarity on President Trump’s April 2 tariff announcement, dubbed “Liberation Day,” which could significantly impact global trade, corporate earnings, inflation, and Fed policy.

The lack of specifics—such as whether tariffs will be broad or targeted—has made it difficult to understand their economic impact. A 25% tariff on auto imports is set to take effect April 3, but broader measures remain unclear.

As a result, markets remain volatile and uncertain. U.S. stocks opened lower but have since turned positive, gold hovered near record highs, European markets fell as anxiety mounted, and volatility spiked, with the VIX rising and traders bracing for sharp swings in major indices.

Investors worry that vague or open-ended tariff details could prolong market uncertainty, especially after the S&P 500 confirmed a correction in March.

👉 EDGE ALERT: We keep reiterating that until this tariff storm settles, uncertainty and volatility are here to stay—because the announcement is only the first domino. Yes, Trump is set to unveil new tariffs at 4pm today, but…upgrade to Edge+ to read the full Edge Alert.

Tesla reports 336,000 vehicle deliveries in first quarter, 13% drop from a year ago

Tesla $TSLA ( ▲ 1.94% ) reported 336,681 vehicle deliveries in Q1 2025, down 13% from a year ago and well below expectations of 390,343. Production totaled 362,615 vehicles.

The miss caps a brutal quarter in which the stock plunged 36%, erasing $460 billion in market value—its worst since 2022.

Deliveries included 323,800 Model 3 and Y vehicles and 12,881 of other models, including the Cybertruck. Factory upgrades and soft global demand contributed to the shortfall.

In Europe, Tesla’s market share fell from 17.9% to 9.3%, with Germany dropping to 4%. March sales in China slid 11.5% year-over-year, and a Canadian subsidy probe raised further questions.

📚 EDGE-UCATION: What do vehicle deliveries tell investors?

Vehicle deliveries are one of the most closely watched metrics for Tesla and other automakers because they provide the best real-time gauge of demand and sales performance. Here's what they tell investors:

Revenue Indicator: Deliveries are a proxy for actual sales and directly influence quarterly revenue. More deliveries typically mean higher revenue.
Production-Demand Balance: Comparing deliveries to production shows whether demand is keeping up. If production exceeds deliveries, it could signal weakening demand or inventory buildup.
Market Share Trends: Delivery numbers help investors track how Tesla is performing in different regions and against competitors.
Execution & Supply Chain Health: Smooth deliveries suggest good operational execution. Major misses can signal logistical, supply chain, or demand issues.
Investor Sentiment: Delivery beats or misses versus expectations often trigger sharp stock moves, as they set the tone for quarterly earnings and forward guidance.

For Tesla, which doesn't break out regional or model-specific sales in detail, deliveries are even more critical as a window into business health.

US judge rejects J&J's $10 billion baby powder settlement

A U.S. bankruptcy judge has rejected Johnson & Johnson’s $JNJ ( ▲ 1.38% ) $10 billion plan to settle over 60,000 lawsuits alleging its talc products cause ovarian cancer, marking the company’s third failed attempt to resolve the claims through bankruptcy.

Judge Christopher Lopez ruled that J&J did not qualify for bankruptcy protection and criticized the proposal for lacking sufficient support from plaintiffs and for overreaching by shielding entities not in bankruptcy, including retailers and J&J spinoff Kenvue.

The court found flaws in how J&J rushed to collect plaintiff votes—many of which lacked proper client consent—and emphasized that a financially strong company like J&J should not use bankruptcy to sidestep jury trials.

J&J will now return to the tort system to fight the claims individually, maintaining its stance that its talc products are safe and do not cause cancer.

📊 EDGE SCORE: Here’s a look at Johnson & Johnson’s Edge Score - the numbers aren’t terrible but unfortunately the settlement still provides a risk to owning the stock:

Want access to your own Edge Scores? Upgrade to Edge+ today!

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.

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The Second Half

Tariffs are the main focus to end the week, though Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report will also be a major catalyst.

Earnings Reports

There are no major earnings reports to watch this week.

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

Source: Earnings Whisper

Economic Reports

Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report will be closely watched by the market for clues into the state of the labor markets. We also get initial jobless claims, the unemployment rate, and a speech from Jerome Powell to end the week.

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.

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