Latest news with #TsaiCapital
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Jim Cramer on QXO: 'I am Going With Brad Jacobs'
QXO, Inc. (NYSE:QXO) is one of the 11 stocks that Jim Cramer recently commented on. A caller asked if it was a good time to start a position in the stock or if they should hold off. Cramer replied: 'I am going with Brad Jacobs. He's the Houdini of people. He's a billion… how to make a billion. Makes a billion when he walks down the street. He makes a billion when he looks out the window. I want to be in his billionaire train.' A construction site with workers wearing hard hats and safety vests, installing roofing materials. QXO (NYSE:QXO) supplies a variety of building materials, including roofing systems, siding, waterproofing solutions, insulation, and construction tools. The company provides asphalt, metal, wood, and tile roofing, as well as exterior and interior building components. Tsai Capital stated the following regarding QXO, Inc. (NYSE:QXO) in its Q4 2024 investor letter: 'We initiated a position in QXO, Inc. (NYSE:QXO) at approximately $11 per share. Under the leadership of Brad Jacobs, the company is in the early stages of executing a bold plan to consolidate and disrupt the $800 billion building products distribution industry. Having previously invested in two of Brad's highly successful ventures, United Rentals and XPO Logistics, Tsai Capital is excited to support his latest endeavor. While we acknowledge the potential of QXO as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: The Best and Worst Dow Stocks for the Next 12 Months and 10 Unstoppable Stocks That Could Double Your Money. Disclosure: None.
Business Insider
30-04-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Trump says voters unhappy about the economy and his China trade war should deal with it because 'they did sign up for it actually'
President Donald Trump said voters should have expected him to impose reciprocal tariffs on the world when they chose to back him in last year's presidential election. "Well, they did sign up for it, actually. And this is what I campaigned on," Trump said of the tariffs during an interview with ABC News which aired Tuesday. "We've been abused by other countries at levels that nobody's ever seen before," Trump said. On April 2, Trump announced sweeping tariffs on more than 180 countries. A 10% baseline rate took effect on April 5. A higher set of tariffs which varied by country went into effect on April 9 before Trump announced a 90-day pause on the same day. Trump's on-and-off again tariff announcements sparked a massive market sell-off, and was also criticized by economists and business leaders. Trump, however, said his tariffs on America's trading partners are a necessary measure. "I could have left it that way, and at some point there would have been an implosion like nobody's ever seen. But I said, 'No, we have to fix it,'" Trump told ABC News. "I have wanted to do this for many years." Trump has defended his tariff policy on multiple occasions. On April 20, Trump wrote in a Truth Social post that business leaders who are against his tariffs do not appreciate what he is doing for them. "THE BUSINESSMEN WHO CRITICIZE TARIFFS ARE BAD AT BUSINESS, BUT REALLY BAD AT POLITICS," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Easter Sunday. "THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND OR REALIZE THAT I AM THE GREATEST FRIEND THAT AMERICAN CAPITALISM HAS EVER HAD!" Trump continued. Christopher Tsai, the president and and chief investment officer of the investment management firm Tsai Capital, told Business Insider that businesses will likely not have enough time to adjust to Trump's tariffs, even with the announced 90-day pause. Tsai said the tariffs could hurt America's small and medium-sized businesses, and tip the country into a recession. Small and medium-sized businesses make up around 44% of the US GDP, per the US Chamber of Commerce. "This is a lot more than numbers. People's jobs are at stake and businesses that have been thriving and contributing to the economy for years are all of a sudden in an extremely different situation. That's worrisome to me," Tsai said. The White House did not respond to a request for comment from BI.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
A Tesla investor and fund manager explains why the volatility from Trump's tariffs hasn't changed his stock picks
Christopher Tsai's investment firm, Tsai Capital, manages a $137 million portfolio. Tsai told BI that President Donald Trump's tariff announcements have not altered his investments. Tsai said businesses won't have enough time to adjust even with Trump's 90-day pause on tariffs. President Donald Trump's on-and-off again tariff announcements have sent the market whipsawing in the past week. But investor Christopher Tsai says the current market volatility has not spurred him to alter his investment strategy. "So the current market volatility does not impact how we are thinking about holding these businesses over the long term. In fact, market volatility has often proven to be beneficial for us because volatility can come with opportunity," Tsai told Business Insider on Monday. Tsai, 50, is the president and chief investment officer of the investment management firm Tsai Capital. He manages a $137 million portfolio that includes holdings in companies like Tesla and Apple. "I think it's too soon to tell if the tariffs will lead the world into a recession," Tsai said. "It primarily depends upon how long and to what extent the tariffs remain in place." On April 2, Trump announced reciprocal tariffs for over 180 countries on what he called "Liberation Day." A baseline rate of 10% went into effect on April 5. A higher set of tariff rates that varied by country took effect on Wednesday before Trump announced a 90-day pause on the same day. The pause, however, does not apply to China. Trump had already imposed a 20% tariff on China last month. He initially announced a 34% reciprocal tariff on China on April 2 before hiking it up to 145% last week. China has retaliated with a 125% tariff on US imports. "I don't agree with the approach of starting an all-out economic war, but I do give him credit for following through on the threat of tariffs," Tsai said of Trump's recent tariff announcements. Tariffs have long been a fixation of Trump's. Besides waging a trade war with China in his first term, Trump often talked about placing tariffs on foreign countries and companies while on the campaign trail last year. "By doing so, Trump showed the world he was not bluffing and that he was willing to inflict some degree of domestic pain in order to demonstrate how serious the impact of the tariff would be on other countries," Tsai said, adding that countries like Japan and South Korea are now eager to start negotiating with the US. Last week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said almost 70 countries had approached the Trump administration on starting trade talks. "Trump's use of credible threats and a tit-for-tat retaliation on China is consistent with game theory. A back-and-forth negotiating style might appear inconsistent, but is not necessarily inconsistent with a strong position," Tsai said. Tsai told BI that he was more concerned about Trump's 90-day pause on tariffs and whether it will be extended. "I think that Trump is fully aware of the difficulties companies will have if they are not given enough time to adjust their operations to a new cost structure, and that's why he has paused some reciprocal tariffs and exempted certain goods," Tsai said. "It's unclear, and intentionally unclear, whether 90 days will wind up being 180 days. But I want to stress that, unfortunately for many businesses, that's just not enough time to adjust," Tsai added. Tsai said he had spoken to several business owners. Some told him that they are adopting a wait-and-see approach to their investments, while others are proactively shifting their supply chains to other countries. The impact of Trump's tariffs on small and medium-sized businesses that aren't able to adjust could be what tips the US into recession, Tsai said. Small and medium-sized businesses represent about 44% of America's GDP, per the US Chamber of Commerce. "This is a lot more than numbers. People's jobs are at stake and businesses that have been thriving and contributing to the economy for years are all of a sudden in an extremely different situation. That's worrisome to me," Tsai said. Trump's tariffs have drawn criticism from business leaders and experts, including one of Trump's biggest backers, Elon Musk. Musk recently called for a "zero-tariff situation" and a "free trade zone" between the US and Europe. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO also criticized Trump's top trade advisor, Peter Navarro. Musk said Navarro was "dumber than a sack of bricks" after he called Musk a "car assembler." But Tsai believes Tesla is in an "even better position" than before Trump's tariff announcement. "We think that tariffs are a relative positive for Tesla as Tesla vehicles become relatively cheaper than competing vehicles. That's because Tesla has a 100% US production footprint, and almost all of its component parts come from within the United States," Tsai said. Tesla shares make up a large part of Tsai's portfolio. In an SEC filing on February 12, Tsai Capital said it owned 69,700 shares, or about one-fifth of its portfolio. Tesla shares have slid by nearly 50% from their record highs. The automaker's shares closed at about $252 on Monday, down from a peak closing price of $479 in mid-December. The company initially enjoyed a postelection boost after Trump's November election victory, but it has since seen a drop in sales in Europe and China. Musk's work with the White House DOGE office has also hurt Tesla, as the company's showrooms and vehicles have become targets for protesters and vandals. Tsai told BI last month that Tsai Capital had started buying Tesla stock again. He said Musk's involvement with the US government was a "significantly positive event" for Tesla and "negative market sentiment will disappear at some point." "There's always been issues with any company, including Tesla. The way we look at it is that Tesla has a very small share of a growing pie that will eventually result in a pie almost entirely composed of electric vehicles," Tsai said on Monday. "So we don't get too caught up with what might be happening in any given month and miss the forest for the trees," he added. Read the original article on Business Insider Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
I'm a Tesla investor and I've got millions in the company. I think Elon Musk is key to Tesla's success, but it can endure without him.
Christopher Tsai is the president and chief investment officer of Tsai Capital. One-fifth of Tsai's $137 million portfolio is in Tesla stock and he told BI he's buying more. Tsai said Musk's ties to the Trump administration are a "significantly positive event" for Tesla. For most investors, Tesla's fortunes are inextricably tied to its CEO, Elon Musk. But Tsai Capital's Christopher Tsai says the EV giant can endure even if Musk is no longer at its helm. "Elon is clearly a key piece of the story, but Steve Jobs was also a very key piece of the Apple story. Steve Jobs could do things that Tim Cook could not do, and Tim Cook does things that Steve Jobs couldn't do," Tsai told Business Insider. "Just because a visionary might no longer be with the company doesn't necessarily mean we would exit. We would need to look at the fundamentals and the situation at the time," Tsai added. Tesla figures prominently in Tsai's $137 million investment portfolio. The 50-year-old is the president and chief investment officer of his eponymous investment management firm. In an SEC filing on February 12, Tsai Capital said it owned 69,700 shares, or about one-fifth of Tsai's portfolio. But Tsai Capital held even more Tesla shares just a few months ago. In an SEC filing on August 13, Tsai Capital said it owned 131,300 shares of Tesla. Tsai told BI he decided to scale down on his Tesla investments last year because it was becoming "an outsized portion" of his portfolio. "We first invested in Tesla in February 2020, paying an average of $41.66 a share. Tesla has increased significantly since our initial investment," Tsai said. Tsai Capital, however, has started buying Tesla stock again, Tsai said. This is despite the turmoil and uncertainty plaguing the company in recent weeks. Tesla shares have slid by more than 50% since recent highs. The company's shares closed at around $225 on Tuesday, down from a record high of $448 in mid-December. The automaker, which initially enjoyed a postelection boost after President Donald Trump's November election victory, has seen its sales decline in Europe and China. Musk's work with the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has also caused problems for Tesla. Protesters have been descending upon Tesla showrooms nationwide to protest against Musk. In an interview with the Guardian published on Saturday, Tsai said he hoped Musk's DOGE run would be "short-lived" so Musk could focus on Tesla. Tsai told BI that while Musk's work with DOGE weighs on Tesla, Musk's involvement with the US government is a "significantly positive event" for the car company. "Elon being involved in the government is allowing him to shape policy," Tsai said, adding that he thinks the "negative market sentiment will disappear at some point." Tesla has been facing increased competition from rivals like Chinese automaker BYD. In January, BYD said it sold 1.76 million battery electric vehicles in 2024, putting it in range of the 1.79 million vehicles that Tesla sold in the same year. Like Tesla, BYD has set its sights on autonomous vehicles as well. Last month, BYD said it would give customers its self-driving software for free. Tesla owners in China must pay about $8,800 to use the vehicles' self-driving features. On Tuesday, Hong Kong-listed shares of BYD went up by as much as 6% after the company announced a charging system that could provide a nearly 250-mile range on a single, five-minute charge. Tsai told BI that he didn't think BYD would displace Tesla because the EV market is huge. "We're talking about almost a hundred million vehicles a year, and there's room for more than one player,' Tsai continued, adding that Tesla will not be priced out by BYD. "History shows that people will pay for something that is superior, even if there is a competing option that is free," Tsai said. Tsai attributed Tesla's declining sales to the refresh of the Model Y. The new Model Y launched in China in January and was made available for order in the US and Europe weeks later. "When you stop selling vehicles because of a refresh, there will be a temporary slowdown in sales," Tsai said. "These things don't go in straight lines." Tsai's bullishness on Tesla sets him apart from other investors like Ross Gerber. Gerber told BI's Matthew Fox last week that he doesn't expect Tesla's stock to rebound this year. "We're long-term investors. We don't try to time the market. We focus on the fundamentals, and we think that Tesla's revenue and earnings will continue to grow substantially in the years to come," Tsai said. Musk and Tesla did not respond to requests for comment from BI. Read the original article on Business Insider Sign in to access your portfolio
The Guardian
15-03-2025
- Automotive
- The Guardian
Notable Tesla investor says he hopes Musk's government role is ‘short-lived'
A devoted investor in Elon Musk's Tesla – and once a close childhood friend of the US president's eldest son and namesake – says he hopes the world's richest man's role in cutting federal spending for Donald Trump's administration is 'short-lived' and that he returns to managing his businesses. Investment manager Christopher Tsai, whose firm has tens of millions of dollars tied up in Tesla, said the stock market had demonstrated clear signs of displeasure with Musk's activities at the so-called department of government efficiency. And, in an interview with the Guardian, Tsai said: 'I hope his involvement with [Doge] is short-lived so he can spend even more time on his businesses.' The chief investment officer and president of Tsai Capital, which reportedly manages a portfolio of about $137m, made it a point to say that his stated hope does not constitute a loss of faith in Musk or his company's earning potential, despite opinion polls establishing the Tesla boss's unpopularity with the American public and his net worth evidently tumbling about $23bn in recent days. Tsai said the stock markets also reacted negatively when Musk bought Twitter, the social media platform now known as X, in 2022 for $44bn. Yet he said Tsai Capital – which holds about 75,000 shares in Tesla as of its most recent quarterly filings – had made more than six times its money since first investing in the company in February 2020, even with the downturn in performance of late. Tsai recently told his investors in a letter that his firm considers Tesla to be more of a creator of advanced electronics and software that it attaches to cars rather than a traditional automotive manufacturer and he insisted that the EV maker remained 'on a path to become one of the most valuable companies on the planet'. Nonetheless, he said 'the market … reacting unfavorably to Elon Musk's recent involvement in politics' was real. And though he said he thought Musk's self-professed belief that government reforms are needed is genuine, Tsai expressed a hope that the Tesla boss's role in Doge ultimately proved to be like other temporary commitments he had previously taken on. Tsai's comments on what is his firm's largest holding come at a time when Musk – who prominently supported Trump's successful run for a second presidency – has advised the White House on the widespread firings of government employees and the dismantling of various services. Those services include US humanitarian aid and development work, with experts warning that their elimination could have life-threatening consequences. If a CNN poll conducted by the research firm SSRS is any indication, such measures have not gone over well with the public. The survey showed 53% of Americans disapproved of Musk, and 35% approved – leaving him about 18 points underwater. Those results were released on Wednesday, two days after Tesla's stock fell more than 15% amid public protests against the company and vandalism reported at some of the brand's dealerships. Tsai's descent from a lineage of legendary investors sets his voice apart from some of the others who have weighed in on Musk, Doge and Tesla at the two-month mark of the second Trump presidency. His paternal grandmother was Ruth Tsai, who became the first woman to trade on the floor of the stock exchange in Shanghai, China, in 1939 during the second world war. Her earnings helped her send her son – Tsai's late father, Gerald – to college in the US, where he ultimately settled and made a name for himself as a financier and fund manager. Gerald Tsai Jr also eventually became the chief executive officer of the financial services giant Primerica, which – along with its subsidiary Commercial Credit Group – helped build Citigroup, as the New York Times has reported. A notable aspect of Tsai's trajectory was his father's acquaintance with Trump when the latter was primarily a real estate mogul in Manhattan. The families were close enough that, in his youth, Tsai considered Donald Trump Jr his best friend, vacationing with him and once going to a baseball game with his siblings, their mother and their father. Tsai said the younger Trump was one of the first people to whom he came out as a gay man, doing so before he did to Gerald. 'That's cool,' Tsai recalled Trump Jr telling him, while he said Gerald took a longer time to accept it. A registered Democrat, Tsai said he had not had 'a meaningful conversation with any member of' the president's family since a lunch with Donald Jr in January 2014 – more than two years before Trump Sr clinched the Republican White House nomination and won his first presidency. Tsai said they just 'went in different directions' as the Trumps moved into politics, and their family patriarch aligned himself closely with Musk as he clinched the White House a second time in November's election. Meanwhile, the elder Tsai, who married and divorced four times and once survived crashing in a helicopter into New York's Hudson River before his death in 2008, did not pass on much of his larger-than-life personality to Christopher. The younger Tsai for instance has been married to his spouse – with whom he is raising teenaged twins – since 2005. But, as Christopher put it, Gerald Tsai Jr did teach him to learn about – and love – trading stocks in his childhood. He began investing at 12 and started his capital firm in 1997 at age 22. Tsai said some of the principles to which he adheres – whether as a philanthropic donor to artistic as well as environmental causes – were inherited from the first Chinese American to be CEO of a Dow Jones Industrial company. 'My father would say you have to do deep work in order to figure out where value is and to uncover great situations,' Tsai said. 'Our job as investors is to figure out what's real, what's not real, what that's worth, what's priced into the stock and where the company's valuation is going.'
