Apple Inc. AAPL CEO Tim Cook's approach to building a relationship with Donald Trump during his presidency reportedly gave Cupertino unique advantages over competitors. Other tech leaders may now be taking notes.
What Happened: A report by The Wall Street Journal highlights how Cook navigated Trump's administration with a direct, focused strategy.
Cook often bypassed lobbyists and government relations executives, opting instead for one-on-one meetings and phone calls with Trump.
He would focus on singular, data-driven points in discussions to influence policy in Apple's favor.
This approach reportedly helped Apple avoid some of the harsher impacts of Trump's trade tariffs in 2019 and positioned the company to benefit from the administration's 2017 tax reforms.
Cook also strategically aligned Apple's interests with Trump's agenda, ensuring mutual benefits. For instance, he didn't refute Trump's claim of credit for an Austin manufacturing plant that was neither new nor owned by Apple.
The report noted that doing so allowed Trump to appear successful while maintaining Apple's goodwill.
Leaders of other major companies, including Alphabet Inc. GOOG GOOGL CEO Sundar Pichai and Meta Platforms, Inc.'s META Mark Zuckerberg are reportedly employing similar strategies.
According to the report, executives from Boeing Co. BA and FedEx Corp. FDX have also attempted direct communication with Trump.
Meanwhile, some have reportedly explored leveraging connections through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a role Trump assigned to Elon Musk after the Tesla Inc. CEO’s vocal support for his campaign.
Why It Matters: Trump previously said that Pichai updated him on trending Google searches and Zuckerberg praised his response to an assassination attempt, showing their efforts to establish rapport.
Since Trump’s victory in the 2024 U.S. Presidential election, both the stock market and the cryptocurrency sector have experienced significant growth.
The S&P 500 has increased by 3.22%, rising from 5,782 on Nov. 5 to 5,969 as of Friday’s close. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF SPY which tracks the S&P 500 Index has had a similar momentum since Trump’s victory, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
During the same period, NASDAQ has risen 2.71% to reach 20,776.23. The Invesco QQQ Trust QQQ which tracks the performance of the Nasdaq-100 Index gained 2.75%.
On the other hand, the overall market cap of the cryptocurrency sector has risen to $3.37 trillion, up 44.63% from $2.33 trillion on Nov. 5.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Photos courtesy: Wikimedia and WEF on Flickr
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