The four major indexes will finish in the green this week as investors received fresh economic data, and the Supreme Court announced a ruling on President Trump’s tariffs. The 2025 Q4 GDP figure released late Thursday caused the S&P 500 to open in the red on Friday, but the market reversed upwards on news of the Supreme Court’s tariff ruling. This week also saw a new company emerging as the world’s largest by revenue.
In corporate news, New Balance made headlines this week by reporting very strong annual revenue growth of 19%. While sports apparel companies such as Nike have shrunk over the past two years, New Balance has grown, and much in part to its ‘dad shoes’ being cool again. As fashion styles come and go, New Balance’s 1990 look is back in style, and it’s reflected in its financials, with 180% revenue growth since 2020. In other corporate news, Nissan has made headlines by recalling over 320K vehicles due to a risk of engine failure. These engines are more susceptible to overheating, potentially leading to a loss of drive power and increased risk of crashing. This comes at a time when Nissan has seen a dip in sales and a large drop in quarterly profit.
In economic news, the long-awaited Supreme Court ruling on President Trump’s tariffs arrived Friday morning. The Supreme Court struck down the majority of Trump’s tariff policy under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. This decision halts the “Liberation Day” tariffs and the fentanyl-related tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico. The main question now is whether $175 refunds will be issued, to whom, and how. These questions will most likely take some time to reach a conclusion. In response to the ruling, President Trump has stated he’s imposing a new 10% global tariff on top of the existing levies that remain following the Supreme Court’s ruling.
On Friday, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released its fourth-quarter GDP at 1.4%, falling short of estimates of 3.0%. This figure shows the 2025 annual GDP growth rate at 2.25%. Although this figure casts a shadow on private-sector growth, it was mainly low due to the prolonged government shutdown. Consumer spending contributed to this growth, particularly in services such as health care and travel. Personal spending rose 2.4%, driven primarily by upper-income households. The continued business investment in AI data centers and facilities also helped bolster GDP.
In closing, I turn to an event that, on paper, may not be of great significance, but one that symbolizes significant cultural change in the world today. This past week, Amazon dethroned Walmart as the world's largest company by revenue. Walmart was founded by Sam Walton in 1962 in Rogers, Arkansas. By 1994, it was an icon in American business, with revenue of $67.34 billion. In that same year, Jeff Bezos founded Amazon.com, originally named Cadabra, as an online bookstore. Six years later, at the turn of the century, Amazon was bringing in almost $3 billion per year and growing at roughly 50% annually. In the past few weeks, Walmart reported $713.2 billion in revenue, and Amazon reported $716.9 billion. With both companies continuing to grow at a strong pace, they most likely will retain the top two positions for the foreseeable future.
Ryan Motsinger
