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Ulta Beauty and Target said Thursday that they have decided to end a deal that opened makeup and beauty shops in hundreds of Target’s stores.
Shares of Target fell about 2% in early trading, while Ulta’s stock slid about 1%.
In a news release, the companies said the partnership — which also added some of Ulta’s merchandise to Target’s website — will end in August 2026. Target had added more than 600 Ulta Beauty shops to its stores since 2021, according to a company spokesperson. That’s nearly a third of Target’s 1,981 U.S. stores.
Ulta Beauty at Target shops carried a smaller and rotating assortment of the merchandise at the beauty retailer’s own stores. They were staffed by Target’s employees.
The loss of the popular beauty retailer’s products could be another blow to Target as it tries to woo back both shoppers and investors. Target’s annual sales have been roughly flat for four years and it expects sales to decline this fiscal year. Shares of the company are worth less than half of what the were back in 2021, when they hit an all-time closing high of $266.39. It also has faced backlash over both its Pride collection and its rollback of key diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
Store traffic for Target has declined year over year nearly every week from the week of Jan. 27, days after the company’s DEI announcement, through the week of Aug. 4, according to Placer.ai, an analytics firm that uses anonymized data from mobile devices to estimate overall visits to locations. Target traffic had been up weekly year over year in the four weeks before Jan. 27.
The only exceptions to that trend were the two weeks on either side of Easter, when traffic rose less than 1% year over year, the firm’s data showed.
On earnings calls and in investor presentations, leaders of the Minneapolis-based company had touted Ulta’s shops and its trendy beauty brands as a way to drive store traffic.
At a investor presentation in New York City in March, CEO Brian Cornell highlighted beauty as a growth category for Target and cited it as reason for confidence in Target’s long-term business. He said the company had gained market share in beauty and its sales in the category rose by nearly 7% in the fiscal year that ended in early February.
Target’s CEO Brian Cornell, 66, is expected to depart the company soon. The longtime Target leader renewed his contract for approximately three years in September 2022 after the board scrapped its retirement age of 65.
David Bellinger, an analyst for Mizuho Securities who covers retailers, said in an equity research note on Thursday that Target’s “messy in-store operations” as well as issues with retail theft and insufficient staffing at stores likely contributed to the companies ending their partnership.
“Overall, we see losing the Ulta shop-in-shop relationship as a negative development and something else Target’s next CEO will have to grapple with,” he wrote.
In a statement on Thursday, Target Chief Commercial Officer Rick Gomez said the discounter is “proud of our shared success with Ulta Beauty and the experience we’ve delivered together.”
“We look forward to what’s ahead and remain committed to offering the beauty experience consumers have come to expect from Target — one centered on an exciting mix of beauty brands with continuous newness, all at an unbeatable value,” he said.
In a statement, Ulta’s Chief Retail Officer Amiee Bayer-Thomas described the Target deal as “one of many unique ways we have brought the power of beauty to guests nationwide.”
“As we continue to execute our Ulta Beauty Unleashed plans, we’re confident our wide-ranging assortment, expert services and inspiring in-store experiences will reinforce our leadership in beauty and define the next chapter of our brand,” she said.
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The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan brushed off any threat of backlash from neighboring powers Iran and Russia following a U.S.-brokered peace accord – an agreement hailed as the start of a new era, ending more than three decades of war and hostility in the South Caucasus.
In exclusive Fox News Digital interviews, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev both praised President Donald Trump and his envoy for their role in brokering the framework agreement. They emphasized that the deal, which promised increased regional economic integration and political cooperation, is not directed at any third party – and may actually provide strategic advantages to Moscow and Tehran.
‘This is not a zero-sum game,’ Pashinyan said. The agreement ‘contains quite tangible benefits for Iran and for Russia as well.’
‘Iran would have access through railway from the Persian Gulf to the Black Sea and Russia and Iran will have opportunity to have a railway connection between the two countries.’
Russia – a long-standing ally of Armenia and a presence in the region through its border guards – welcomed peace but sent a warning about U.S. involvement. Its foreign ministry described the accord as ‘positive,’ expressing hope for stability in the Caucasus, but warned that foreign involvement should complement, not complicate, the peace process.
The ministry emphasized that regional solutions should include neighbors like Russia, Iran and Turkey, and cautioned against repeating the pitfalls of Western-led interventions in the Middle East.
Aliyev echoed Pashinyan’s remarks and declined to see U.S. diplomatic involvement as a provocation toward Moscow.
‘It will be very difficult for any country – whether far away or in our region – to say something bad about today’s agreement,’ he told Fox News Digital.’We’ve taken the final step toward peace.’
He added: ‘It’s not against anyone. It’s a connectivity project which will be one of the most important parts of international transportation.’
At the heart of the pact is the planned Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) – a roughly 27-mile transit route linking mainland Azerbaijan with its Nakhchivan exclave, passing through Armenian territory. Armenia has granted the U.S. exclusive development rights via a 99‑year lease, allowing for infrastructure projects such as roads, rail lines, pipelines, fiber optics and possibly power transmission, aimed at opening new trade and transit paths in the region.
This bold move shifts regional dynamics, offering Washington a powerful strategic foothold while bypassing traditional Russian and Iranian routes.
Iran, in contrast, has responded with hostility.
Ali Akbar Velayati, a key advisor to Iran’s supreme leader, warned of serious consequences if the ‘Zangezur Corridor’ – as Iran calls the route – is enacted, asserting that it ‘will not become a passage owned by Trump, but rather a graveyard for Trump’s mercenaries,’ according to the semi-official news agency Tasnim.
Iran has even signaled readiness to use military means to block the route.
Domestically, Pashinyan faces opposition. Armenian nationalists, already fierce critics of any deal with Azerbaijan, view the agreement as a betrayal. The Republican Party of Armenia has declared that Pashinyan lacks the mandate to sign such a treaty, demanding full transparency and an end to concessions made under external pressure.
Pashinyan, however, is undeterred. He said the accord could transform Armenia’s investment climate and attract foreign capital.
‘We expect to have some criticism, and that’s part of democracy,’ he told Fox News Digital. ‘But we are confident we made the right decision.’
Once the dominant power in the South Caucasus, Russia is losing its grip. The war in Ukraine, mounting sanctions and resource strains have depleted its regional influence, enabling the U.S., Turkey and the European Union to expand their diplomatic reach.
Relations with Azerbaijan particularly soured following the December 2024 downing of Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243. Aliyev accused Moscow of accidentally shooting the passenger jet with Russian air defenses during operations against Ukrainian drones, killing 38 people.
Aliyev told Fox News Digital he didn’t believe the incident was an intentional attack by Russian leadership, but demanded a formal admission of guilt, punishment for those responsible and full compensation – moves Russia has resisted, apologizing only vaguely for what they called a’tragic incident.’
And amid political divisions, Pashinyan finds himself in a conflict with one of the country’s most respected institutions – the Armenian Apostolic Church, where figures like Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan have led public protests against Pashinyan’s decision to return border villages to Azerbaijan.
On June 25, authorities arrested Galstanyan, a leading figure in the church and of the ‘Sacred Struggle’ opposition movement, accusing him of orchestrating a terrorist plot to overthrow the government. Armenia’s Investigative Committee alleged he had recruited more than 1,000 former police and military personnel to stage bombings, disrupt power grids and paralyze transportation networks.
Pashinyan assured that the judiciary system acted independently of his government and ‘in full accordance with the law of Armenia, respecting all the rights of all people.’
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England’s most severe drought in decades has led the UK government to urge citizens to delete old emails and unused digital files in a bid to conserve water.
The appeal is part of a broader effort to address what the Environment Agency has declared a “nationally significant incident”, with multiple regions under hosepipe bans and rivers drying up.
Officials warn that digital clutter is quietly consuming millions of litres of water annually through the operation of data centres, which rely heavily on water for cooling.
The move highlights an unexpected link between the country’s water crisis, technological growth, and the expanding demands of the digital economy.
Digital data storage and water use
Data centres that store emails, photos, and other online files require constant cooling to function effectively.
According to figures cited in The Verge, a 1-megawatt data centre can use up to 26 million litres of water each year, with older evaporative cooling systems consuming even more.
Although companies are experimenting with alternatives such as liquid-cooled servers, renewable-powered facilities, and undersea storage infrastructure, these methods are far from becoming standard practice.
UK authorities are now encouraging the public to reduce unnecessary digital storage as one way to lower this hidden water consumption and ease pressure on already strained resources.
Regions under drought restrictions
Several areas, including Yorkshire, Cumbria, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Cheshire, the East Midlands, and the West Midlands, have been officially declared in drought.
Other regions such as the Northeast, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, East Anglia, Thames, Wessex, Solent, and the South Downs are experiencing “prolonged dry weather”, a stage just before formal drought classification.
The National Drought Group has advised citizens to adopt water-saving measures, from repairing leaking taps to limiting outdoor water use.
In Yorkshire, a full hosepipe ban is in effect, with Thames Water, South East Water, and Southern Water enforcing postcode-specific restrictions to manage dwindling supplies.
Climate impacts and visible changes
The drought has exposed historical structures such as long-submerged bridges, while farmers face lower crop yields due to parched soil and reduced irrigation capacity.
Chief Meteorologist Dr. Will Lang of the Met Office has warned that temperatures could reach the mid-30s in parts of southern England, with hot and dry conditions expected to persist through late August.
These weather patterns are intensifying pressure on water supplies, raising concerns about ecosystem damage, and prompting urgent discussions about climate adaptation measures across the UK.
Government and agency action
The Environment Agency is urging immediate behavioural changes alongside infrastructure planning to address future climate challenges. The focus includes both physical conservation measures and less obvious steps like reducing digital storage.
Authorities stress that even small actions taken collectively could help lower the overall demand on water systems, safeguarding river health and wildlife during extended dry periods while building resilience for future drought events.
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Here’s a quick recap of the crypto landscape for Wednesday (August 13) as of 9:00 p.m. UTC.
Get the latest insights on Bitcoin, Ethereum and altcoins, along with a round-up of key cryptocurrency market news.
Bitcoin and Ethereum price update
Bitcoin (BTC) was priced at US$122,444, up by 2.6 percent over the last 24 hours, and its highest valuation of the day. It briefly dropped to its lowest valuation of $120,414 shortly after the opening bell.
Bitcoin has found itself at the crossroads of macroeconomic data, political influence and shifting capital flows. Inflation statistics and central bank dynamics have introduced caution, while stablecoin activity and institutional appetite are hinting at a redistribution into altcoins.
Bitcoin price performance, August 13, 2025.
Chart via TradingView.
Meanwhile, Ethereum (ETH) continued to rally, up by 4.5 percent to US$4,716.60. The cryptocurrency’s lowest valuation on Wednesday was US$4,638.43, and its highest was US$4,738.59.
Glassnode notes that ETH is a bellwether for altcoins, and its current move as capital continues to flow into exchange-traded funds suggests further upside. In an X post on Wednesday, Charles Edwards, founder of crypto quantitative digital asset fund Capriole Investments, shared data showing that 75 percent of Coinbase Global’s (NASDAQ:COIN) volume came from institutional players on Tuesday (August 12).
He pointed to the outlook for interest rates following the release of July inflation data.
Altcoin price update
- Solana (SOL) was priced at US$200.74, up by 6.1 percent over 24 hours, and its highest valuation of the day. Its lowest valuation was US$195.81.
- XRP was trading for US$3.27, up 0.1 percent in the past 24 hours and at its highest valuation of the day. Its lowest was US$3.24.
- Sui (SUI) was trading at US$3.99, up by 2.3 percent over the past 24 hours, and its highest valuation of the day. Its lowest level was US$3.93.
- Cardano (ADA) was trading at US$0.8827, up by 4.6 percent over 24 hours, and its highest valuation on Wednesday. Its lowest was US$0.8660.
Today’s crypto news to know
World Liberty Financial sets up US$1.5 billion crypto treasury
World Liberty Financial, a digital asset venture backed by US President Donald Trump and his sons, has announced plans to establish a US$1.5 billion “crypto treasury” in partnership with ALT5 Sigma (NASDAQ:ALTS).
Under the deal, ALT5 will raise US$1.5 billion through the sale of its own shares. The funds will go toward the purchase of World Liberty’s in-house token, $WLFI, and will also be used to set up a crypto treasury, settle litigation, pay down debt and for other corporate uses. It will ultimately hold about 7.5 percent of $WLFI tokens.
Unnamed institutional investors and venture capital firms participated in the share sale. Crypto treasury models have grown in popularity this year amid a friendlier US regulatory stance under the Trump administration.
The project’s leadership is heavily tied to the Trump family, with Trump himself listed as “co-founder emeritus,” and Eric, Donald Jr. and Barron Trump holding co-founder titles.
As part of the arrangement, Eric Trump will join ALT5’s board and Zach Witkoff will serve as its chair.
Bullish shares surge on NYSE debut
Bullish (NYSE:BLSH), the parent company of Bullish Exchange and CoinDesk, began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday. Shares were priced at US$37 each, an increase from an earlier target of US$33, with 30 million on offer to raise US$1.1 billion and value the company at nearly US$5.4 billion.
Shares surged as much as 218 percent to reach US$118 on trading volume of roughly 38 million shares, before pulling back to close at US$70.65. The initial public offering pushed the company’s market cap above US$10 billion.
Banking groups push for stablecoin loophole closure
US banking groups, led by the Bank Policy Institute (BPI), are urging Congress to close a loophole that allows stablecoin issuers to indirectly offer yields through affiliates. They argue that while new stablecoin laws prevent issuers from directly offering yield, they don’t prohibit crypto exchanges or affiliated businesses from doing so.
The groups contend that this circumvents the law and could lead to a US$6.6 trillion outflow of deposits from traditional banks, potentially disrupting credit flow to American businesses and families.
Banks are concerned that yield-bearing stablecoins undermine their ability to attract deposits, which are crucial for backing loans. The offering of yield is a significant marketing draw for stablecoins, with some, like USDC, already rewarding holders on exchanges such as Kraken and Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN).
Safe harbor programs proposed for DeFi
In a Wednesday letter, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and the DeFi Education Fund asked the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Hester Peirce, head of the commission’s Crypto Task Force, to set up a safe harbor program from broker-dealer registration requirements for non-fungible token (NFT) and DeFi applications.
The group said the letter was a follow up to Trump’s Working Group on Digital Assets, which called on the SEC to give certain DeFi service providers relief from registration provisions under the Exchange Act, specifically those related to broker-dealers, exchanges and clearing agencies. SEC Chair Paul Atkins also directed staff to update “antiquated agency rules and regulations” for certain crypto and blockchain applications in July.
To avoid enforcement actions, a safe harbor provision would exempt some companies that offer crypto-related products and services from enforcement actions. a16z has sent two previous letters to the commission this year recommending safe harbors for NFTs, airdrops and network tokens.
Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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Disney’s ESPN and Fox Corp. are teaming up to offer their upcoming direct-to-consumer streaming services as a bundle, the companies said Monday.
The move comes as media companies look to nab more consumers for their streaming alternatives, and draw them in with sports, in particular.
Last week, both companies announced additional details about the new streaming options. ESPN’s streaming service — which has the same name as the TV network — and Fox’s Fox One will each launch on Aug. 21, ahead of the college football and NFL seasons.
The bundled apps, however, will be available beginning Oct. 2 for $39.99 per month. Separately, ESPN and Fox One will cost $29.99 and $19.99 a month, respectively.
While the bundle will offer sports fans a bigger offering at a discounted rate, the streaming services are not exactly the same.
ESPN’s flagship service will be an all-in-one app that includes all of its live sports and programming from its TV networks, including ESPN2 and the SEC Network, as well as ESPN on Disney-owned ABC. The app will also have fantasy products, new betting tie-ins, studio programming and documentaries.
ESPN will also offer its app as a bundle with Disney’s other streaming services, Disney+ and Hulu, for $35.99 a month. That Disney bundle will cost a discounted $29.99 a month for the first 12 months — the same price as the stand-alone app.
Last week, ESPN further beefed up the content on its streaming app when it inked a deal with the WWE for the U.S. rights to the wrestling league’s biggest live events, including WrestleMania, the Royal Rumble and SummerSlam, beginning in 2026. The sports media giant also reached an agreement with the NFL that will see ESPN acquire the NFL Network and other media assets from the league.
The Fox One service, however, will be a bit different. Fox had been on the sidelines of direct-to-consumer streaming for years after its competitors launched their platforms. Just this year, it said it would offer all of its content — including news and entertainment — from its broadcast and pay TV networks in a streaming offering. Fox One won’t have any exclusive or original content.
Fox’s move into the direct-to-consumer streaming game — outside of its Fox Nation app and the free, ad-supported streamer Tubi — came after it abandoned its efforts to launch Venu, a joint sports streaming venture with Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery.
Both Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch and Disney CEO Bob Iger said during separate earnings calls last week that they were exploring bundling options with other services. Since Fox announced the Fox One app, Murdoch has said the company would lean into bundles with other streaming services.
“Announcing ESPN as our first bundle partner is evidence of our desire to deliver the best possible value and viewing experience to our shared customers,” said Tony Billetter, SVP of strategy and business development for FOX’s direct to consumer segment, in a release on Monday.
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President Donald Trump indicated Wednesday that he would meet with the top congressional Democrats ahead of the looming government funding deadline, but said he didn’t believe it would go well.
Lawmakers in the House and Senate are currently away from Washington, D.C., in their respective districts and states, but the Sept. 30 deadline to prevent a partial government shutdown will be just a handful of weeks away when they return after Labor Day.
And there is a brewing tension between Republicans and Democrats over just how the looming government funding fight will shake out.
Trump, during a press conference where he announced a slate of Kennedy Center honorees, said he would meet with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., before the deadline.
‘But it’s almost a waste of time to meet, because they never approve anything,’ Trump added.
‘I don’t believe anybody is capable of making a deal with these people,’ he continued. ‘They have gone crazy.’
Fox News Digital reached out to Schumer and Jeffries for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Lawmakers must pass the dozen spending bills needed to fund the government to avert a partial shutdown, but that process, known as regular order, has not happened in decades.
While Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has made clear he wants to pass spending bills, and the Senate did indeed pass a trio of funding measures before leaving town, Congress will likely again turn to a short-term government funding extension, known as a continuing resolution (CR).
However, any CR must pass muster with Senate Democrats, given that the legislation has to pass through the upper chamber’s 60-vote threshold.
And congressional Democrats have a bitter taste left in their mouths after Republicans rammed through Trump’s $9 billion clawback package, which included deep cuts to NPR, PBS and foreign aid. They warned that any more attempts to claw back congressionally approved funding on a partisan basis could doom government funding negotiations.
Ahead of the vote to pass three spending bills in the Senate, which included funding for military construction and Veterans Affairs, agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the legislative branch, congressional Democrats vowed that they would play ball – as long as the appropriations process was bipartisan.
‘We all want to pursue a bipartisan, bicameral appropriations process,’ Schumer said at the time. ‘That’s how it’s always been done, successfully, and we believe that, however, the Republicans are making it extremely difficult to do that.’
Earlier this year, Schumer briefly flirted with a government shutdown. However, he eventually relented and voted with Republicans to keep the lights on in Washington, and in the process ignited a firestorm within his own party over his ability as leader of the Senate Democratic caucus.
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A powerful wave of optimism continued to wash over global markets on Wednesday, propelling European equities higher as investors extended a record-setting rally built on fervent hopes of a major US interest rate cut.
The positive sentiment was palpable across the continent, though a closer look at London’s market revealed a more complex and divergent story.
Twenty minutes into the session, the pan-European Stoxx 600 was up a solid 0.45%, with Germany’s DAX leading the charge with a 0.7% gain. France’s CAC 40 followed with a 0.4% rise.
In London, the FTSE 100 also perked up, hitting another record level as it climbed 0.3%.
This continental upswing is helping to push global stocks into uncharted territory, with the MSCI All Country World Index building on gains from Tuesday’s post-inflation rally in the US and a strong session in Asia.
The great divide in London
Despite hitting a fresh peak, the FTSE 100’s advance was noticeably more subdued than its European peers, painting a picture of a market being pulled in two different directions.
Providing the biggest boost were healthcare and defense heavyweights, with drugmakers like AstraZeneca and GSK and contractor BAE Systems lifting the index.
However, this upward momentum was being actively fought by powerful headwinds.
The biggest drags on the UK benchmark were oil giants Shell and BP, whose shares fell in tandem with slipping crude prices ahead of talks between US and Russian leaders.
The pain was compounded by company-specific news, as insurer Beazley plunged as much as 7% to its lowest level since July after it slashed its growth guidance, while homebuilder Persimmon also slipped following its latest results.
A tale of tech and energy
The FTSE’s relative underperformance highlights a key structural difference between the UK index and its continental counterparts.
The energy sector, where BP and Shell are dominant forces, was the worst-performing group across the entire Stoxx 600 this morning.
At the same time, the day’s best-performing group in Europe was technology—a sector in which the UK’s benchmark is notoriously lacking.
This divergence explains why, even on a record-setting day, London struggled to keep pace with the more tech-heavy indices in Frankfurt and Paris.
Still, the underlying bullish sentiment was undeniable. The British pound found a bit of wind in its sails, rising past the $1.35 mark, while government bonds, or gilts, bounced back with yields falling.
The global mood, ignited by speculation that the Federal Reserve might opt for an outsized 50-basis-point rate cut, continues to suggest that for now, the only way is up.
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Keith Weiner, founder and CEO of Monetary Metals, discusses gold and silver’s performance so far this year and shares his outlook for the rest of 2025.
He also explains what makes today’s gold bull market different than those seen in prior years.
Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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Nvidia and AMD have agreed to share 15% of their revenue from sales to China with the U.S. government, the White House confirmed Monday, sparking debate about whether the move could affect the chip giants’ business and whether Washington might seek similar deals.
In exchange for the revenue cut, the two semiconductor companies will receive export licenses to sell Nvidia’s H20 and AMD’s MI308 chips in China, according to the Financial Times.
“We follow rules the U.S. government sets for our participation in worldwide markets. While we haven’t shipped H20 to China for months, we hope export control rules will let America compete in China and worldwide,” Nvidia said in a statement to NBC News. “America cannot repeat 5G and lose telecommunication leadership. America’s AI tech stack can be the world’s standard if we race.”
AMD said in a statement that its initial license applications to export MI308 chips to China have been approved.
The arrangement crafted by President Donald Trump’s administration is “unusual,” analysts told CNBC, but underscores his transactional nature. Meanwhile, investors see the move as broadly positive for both Nvidia and AMD, which once more secure access to the Chinese market.
Nvidia’s H20 is a chip that has been specifically created to meet export requirements to China. It was previously banned under export curbs, but the company last month said it expected to receive licenses to send the product to China.
Also in July, AMD said it would resume exports of its MI308 chips.
At the time, there was no suggestion that the resumption of sales to China would come with conditions or any kind of revenue forfeiture, and the step was celebrated by markets because of the billions of dollars worth of potential sales to China that were back on the table.
On Monday, Nvidia shares rose modestly, while AMD’s stock was up more than 2%, highlighting how investors believe the latest development is not a major negative for the companies.
“From an investor perspective, it’s still a net positive, 85% of the revenue is better than zero,” Ben Barringer, global technology analyst at Quilter Cheviot, told CNBC.
“The question will be whether Nvidia and AMD adjust their prices by 15% to account for the levy, but ultimately it’s better that they can sell into the market rather than hand the market over entirely to Huawei.”
Huawei is Nvidia and AMD’s closest Chinese rival.
Uncertainty, nevertheless, still looms for both U.S. companies over the longer term.
“In the short term, the deal gives both companies some certainties for their exports to China,’ George Chen, partner and co-chair of the digital practice at The Asia Group, told CNBC. ‘For the long term, we don’t know if the U.S. government may want to take a bigger cut from their China business especially if their sales to China keep growing.’
Multiple analysts told CNBC that the deal is “unusual,” but almost par for the course for Trump.
“It’s a good development, albeit a strange one, and feels like the sort of arrangement you might expect from President Trump, who is a deal-maker at heart. He’s willing to yield, but only if he gets something in return, and this certainly sets an unusual precedent,” Barringer said.
Neil Shah, partner at Counterpoint Research, said the revenue cut is equivalent to an “indirect tariff at source.”
Daniel Newman, CEO of The Futurum Group, also posted Sunday on X that the move is a “sort of ‘tax’ for doing business in China.”
But such deals are unlikely to be cut for other companies.
“I don’t anticipate it extending to other sectors that are just as important to the U.S. economy like software and services,” Nick Patience, practice lead for AI at The Futurum Group, told CNBC.
The U.S. sees semiconductors as a strategic technology, given they underpin so many other tools like artificial intelligence, consumer electronics and even military applications. Washington has therefore put chips under an export control regime unlike that of any other product.
“Semiconductor is a very unique business and the pay-to-play tactic may work for Nvidia and AMD because it’s very much about getting export approval from the U.S. gov,” the Asia Group’s Chen said.
“Other business like Apple and Meta can be more complicated when it comes to their business models and services for China.”
Semiconductors have become a highly sensitive geopolitical topic. Over the last two weeks, China has raised concerns about the security of Nvidia’s chips.
Late last month, Chinese regulators asked Nvidia to “clarify” reports about potential security vulnerabilities and “backdoors.” Nvidia rejected the possibility that its chips have any “backdoors” that would allow anyone to access or control them. On Sunday, Nvidia again denied that its H20 semiconductors have backdoors after accusations from a social media account affiliated with Chinese state media.
China’s state-run newspaper Global Times slammed Washington’s tactics, citing an expert.
“This approach means that the US government has repudiated its original security justification to pressure US chip makers to secure export licenses to China through economic leverage,” the Global Times article said.
The Chinese government is yet to comment on the reported revenue agreement.
Trump’s deal with Nvidia and AMD will likely stir mixed feelings in China. On the one hand, China will be unhappy with the arrangement. On the other hand, Chinese firms will likely want to get their hands on these chips to continue to advance their own AI capabilities.
“For China, it is a conundrum as they need those chips to advance their AI ambitions but also the fee to the US government could make it costlier and there is a doubt of US ‘backdoors’ considering US has agreed for chipmakers to supply,” Counterpoint Research’s Shah said.
— CNBC’s Erin Doherty contributed to this report.
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