Liberation Day Twelve Months On: AAPL, FIVE, DLTR Confound the Doubters and Prove Tariffs Resilient

It’s a year since President Trump hailed America’s ‘Liberation Day’, when he imposed reciprocal tariffs on countries that he believed were “ripping off” the United States and put some stocks at risk from a serious financial hit.

He brought in a baseline tariff of 10% across the board. He imposed a 20% tariff on goods being imported from the EU (European Union) and a 10% tariff on goods imported from the UK. The Trump administration also imposed a 24% tariff on Japan and slapped a 34% reciprocal tariff on China on top of the existing 20% duties.

At the time TipRanks put together a list of the stocks most likely to be at risk from Trump’s tariffs. Let’s see how three of those stocks have confounded our expectations over the last 12 months.

Five Below (FIVE)

It operates as a specialty value retailer in the United States. The company offers range of accessories, which includes novelty socks, sunglasses, jewelry, scarves, gloves, hair accessories, athletic tops and bottoms, and t-shirts, as well as nail polish, lip gloss, fragrance, and branded cosmetics.

The risk to the stock was its exposure to imported goods, particularly from China. However, the stock has seen a huge 193% lift in its share price in the last 12 months.

Indeed, its fiscal 2025 net sales increased around 23% to $4.8 billion driven by a comparable sales increase near 12.8%. However, it wasn’t all plain sailing. It said transitory tariff costs pressured gross margin throughout the year.

Dollar Tree (DLTR)

It operates discount variety retail stores through Dollar Tree and Family Dollar. Again it faced the risk of higher import costs and subsequent price rises hitting its core value-seeking customer base.

However, it has seen its share price soar 40.86% over the last 12 months. It recently reported that Q4 net sales increased 9% year-over-year to $5.5 billion and comparable store sales grew 5%. In addition, it said that U.S. household penetration reached a record 102 million households, adding 6.5 million net new households in Q4.

But it did state that tariff expense increased substantially year-over-year and remains volatile. Its management cautioned that tariffs and related freight/fuel costs could offset near-term benefits.

Apple (AAPL)

Given its reliance on supplies from and manufacturing in China, the expectation was that Apple would have to hike prices, hitting demand and sales.

Even though the tech giant has reportedly taken a $3.3 billion tariff hit, the stock is up 13% over the last 12 months. Its swift action to move manufacturing to other countries such as Vietnam has lessened the impact. Its continued brand appeal has also helped outweigh tariff concerns.

Indeed, it recently reported Q1 total revenue of $143.8B, up 16% year over year, marking its best-ever quarter. Its iPhone led the way with revenue of $85.3 billion up 23% YoY — an all-time record driven by the iPhone 17 family. Strong global demand with record upgraders and market share gains in multiple regions such as Greater China and India were also noted.