What Happened?
A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after the White House announced plans to raise global tariffs to 15%. The major stock indexes, including the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, also sank amid the uncertainty.
The downturn came after President Trump announced the tariff increase in a post on Truth Social, stating the new rate would be effective immediately on countries that had been, in his words, "'ripping' the U.S. off for decades." The move sparked concern among trade partners, with Europe warning that such tariffs could put U.S. trade deals at risk. The market-wide slide reflected investor worries about the potential impact of these new global trade policies Additionally, investor concerns about disruption in the software industry from advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) continued to cause a sector-wide sell-off. The market started the week with a more cautious tone, reflecting this unease. The current wave of AI development was seen as having similar traits to previous tech cycles, marked by genuine innovation but also by exuberant expectations and sharp market reactions to new developments.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.
Among others, the following stocks were impacted:
- Data Analytics company Samsara (NYSE: IOT) fell 8.6%. Is now the time to buy Samsara? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Automation Software company Pegasystems (NASDAQ: PEGA) fell 8.4%. Is now the time to buy Pegasystems? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
Zooming In On Samsara (IOT)
Samsara’s shares are very volatile and have had 26 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 6 days ago when the stock dropped 4.7% on the news that investor fears over artificial intelligence disrupting the software industry sparked a broad sell-off. The anxiety stemmed from the rapid adoption of new 'agentic AI' tools, which some investors believed could dismantle traditional Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) business models. This 'AI Panic' led to indiscriminate selling across the sector. The market move reflected growing concerns about the downside of the AI boom for established software companies.
Samsara is down 27.5% since the beginning of the year, and at $24.60 per share, it is trading 51.4% below its 52-week high of $50.63 from February 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Samsara’s shares at the IPO in December 2021 would now be looking at an investment worth $995.59.
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