Shares of
Tesla,
Apple,
and
Caterpillar
—all of which derive sizable sales from China—were falling on the heels of disappointing economic data.
Earlier on Wednesday, figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics said China’s gross domestic product expanded 5.2% in the fourth quarter and for 2023 overall. While that was ahead of the Chinese government’s official target of around 5% growth, it was still one of its lowest levels in decades, Barron’s reported.
Tesla, Apple, and Caterpillar shares were down 2.9%, 1.2%, and 2.3%, respectively in recent trading. The trio of powerhouse companies each have a significant sales footprint in China, based on securities filings, which suggests weak economic data would indeed send the stocks lower.
In 2022, Tesla recorded $81.46 billion in total revenue, and $18.15 billion, or about 22%, of that came from China.
In 2023, Apple reported total net sales of about $383 billon, and the Greater China region—which includes mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan—brought in $72.56 billion, or about 19% of total sales.
And finally, in 2022, Caterpillar posted total sales and revenue of $59.43 billion, while the Asia/Pacific region—which includes Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, and India—turned in $11.89 billion, or about 20% of sales.
These weren’t the only affected shares. Chinese stocks also took a tumble, with American depositary receipts of internet company
Alibaba
Group Holding fell 1.8%, while ADRs of
JD.com
and
PDD Holdings
—parent of
Pinduoduo
and Temu—dropped 5% and 2.8%, respectively.
Write to Emily Dattilo at [email protected]
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