Consumers were always going to take the brunt of Donald Trump’s bungled “reciprocal tariff” scheme. The trickle-down of increased import costs has resulted in higher-priced gadgets, but the companies that originally hiked prices aren’t about to lower costs even after receiving their own tariff refunds.
Apple seems to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of recent tariff refunds. A February Supreme Court decision nullified many of the White House’s tariffs. Instead of facing even more lawsuits, the federal government created a means for companies to apply for rebates on their extra tariff spending. Apple calculated the tariffs into its latest earnings report. In a press release, Apple said that money was worth “2 percentage points” of its 50.1% gross margin. That number allowed AppleInsider to put the profit at a tidy, approximated $2.2 billion. Apple has not revealed the actual number in its earnings report.
While Apple is celebrating its margins, it won’t stop your next MacBook Air from becoming more expensive and more scarce. Last month, Apple increased prices for practically all its various products, from iPads to Macs to the lowly HomePod. Only iPhones, Apple Watches, and AirPods were spared price hikes caused by the ballooning price of RAM and SSD storage. In an investor Q&A, outgoing CEO Tim Cook said the tech giant has been forced to spend more on memory with each passing quarter.
AppleInsider’s calculation may put Apple at the highest refund on tariffs so far. Still, the company never blamed import taxes for rising prices, though it did push the $1,100 iPhone 17 Pro for $100 more than the iPhone 16 Pro. Cook claimed at the time the hikes were not due to tariffs. And still, due to RAM costs, the iPhone 18 Pro will likely cost even more.
A June report from the U.S. Federal Reserve said 15 to 20% of tariff costs were passed down to consumers. Prices on sites like Amazon were up close to 6%, according to analysis published in November last year. Some people are suing to try and get what they feel they’re owed. There is an ongoing class-action lawsuit against Amazon filed in May this year, arguing that Amazon needs to pass tariff refunds back to consumers. Similarly, beloved console maker Nintendo is currently being sued by some customers who think they deserve a piece of the tariff refund pie.
In a response to that lawsuit, Nintendo’s lawyers made it perfectly clear that when customers purchase an item, they are accepting the current retail price. The company spiked costs for the original Switch consoles last year, and we likely won’t see a discount before the handheld reaches its end of life in the next few years.
Some companies are using the tariff refunds to stay afloat. Sony also brought up the tariff refunds in its latest earnings report. The makers of PlayStation mentioned that the “impact of tariff refunds” was one of the main reasons its year-on-year revenue for its game and network services segment didn’t see a major dip despite declining console sales.
Still, some companies claimed they’ll give customers a taste of these refunds. FedEx reported it’s received $800 million in refunds, and said it will pass that back to consumers. The shipping company is prioritizing people who sign up on an online portal. Walmart has promised similar kickbacks to consumers, though without any specifics on how that would happen.
Amazon claimed in its latest earnings report it made a less significant $600 million from its earnings. In an investor Q&A, Amazon CFO Brian Olsavsky promised Amazon would give some consumers a refund under a “limited set of circumstances where we can trace what we passed specific import charges on to consumers.” The company said it would contact some customers who can claim an automatic refund, though the company declined to offer further explanation in an email to Gizmodo.
“Otherwise, like other large retailers, we’ll utilize refunds to continue to invest in low prices for customers,” Olsavsky said.
The CFO added the money it received from refunds was “limited” in part due to Amazon hoarding products before Trump first initiated his tariffs in early 2025. Olsavsky further claimed Amazon took some tariff prices on the chin rather than passing them to consumers. The fact of the matter, whether it’s due to tariffs, memory hikes, or inflation, nothing is getting any cheaper.
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