Disney, WBD and Amazon among stocks taking a thumping as Trump rolls out tariffs

American media stocks sank on Thursday following US president Donald Trump’s announcement of sweeping tariffs globally, with Hollywood studios including Disney and Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) among those taking a major hit.

WBD stock fell by around 13% to US$9.16 per share at end of trading, while Disney shares dropped more than 9% to US$88.84 as investors digested the fallout from Trump’s escalating international trade war.

Paramount Global shares fell 3.5% to US$11.48 per share, with Netflix stock being the least impacted, with its shares falling by less than 2% to US$917.

Meanwhile, tech players including Amazon and Apple – whose TV and film operations account for a minor part of their overall businesses – also saw significant declines. Amazon stock was down 9% to US$178.40 per share and Apple’s also fell 9% to US$203. Roku stock was down by over 15% to US$60 per share.

At this stage, the precise impact of Trump’s trade war on the international television business is hard to measure.

Nothing announced on Wednesday as part of Trump’s “Liberation Day” specifically mentioned the TV and film business, although his administration has previously indicated that the European Union’s Audiovisual Media Services Directive, which gives countries the ability to place spending obligations on digital platforms to support the production of local content, is in its crosshairs.

It does not appear that selling shows into the US will be subject to any kind of tariff, as TV and film content is deemed as services rather than goods.

Trump has previously signalled that he intends to usher in “The Golden Age of Hollywood” with the appointment of Jon Voight, Mel Gibson and Sylvester Stallone as special ambassadors.

The trio is acting as the administration’s “eyes and ears,” with the “purpose of bringing Hollywood, which has lost much business over the last four years to Foreign Countries, BACK – BIGGER, BETTER, AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE!,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in January. However, it is still unclear what work the three actors are undertaking.