As it turns out, President Donald Trump wasn't bluffing about imposing tariffs on imported cars. On Wednesday the White House announced any carmaker looking to bring a new vehicle into the United States would be forking over an additional 25% of that automobile's value. This newest tariff is added to an already-lengthy list that includes several categories of industrial and consumer goods, and goods coming from key trade partner China in particular. Economists and consumers alike are entertaining the possibility of economic weakness as a result, if not a full-blown recession.
Not every company is subject to the impact of tariffs, though, or for that matter, their subsequent economic fallout. Here's a rundown of three stocks that will not only survive the growing number of tariffs, but may even thrive because of them.
Carvana
It remains to be seen just how much President Trump's new tariffs on imported automobiles will raise car prices. But estimates put the additional cost at anywhere between $5,000 and $15,000 per vehicle, depending on the car. With the average price of a new automobile already at a hefty $48,000 (according to Cox Automotive's Kelley Blue Book), the additional cost is simply going to push new car prices out of reach for most people.
Yet, with the Bureau of Transportation reporting that the age of the average car driven on U.S. roads now stands at nearly 13 years, many owners are nearing the point at which their vehicle must be replaced.
Enter Carvana (CVNA +2.87%).
Carvana is one of the best-known names of the country's highly fragmented used car market. But the description doesn't do the company justice. It dramatically modernized the used car buying process, allowing consumers to shop its nationwide inventory online, and then delivering those vehicles to their buyers' doors. Global Market Insights expects North America's used car market to grow at an annualized rate of 9% through 2032 -- if that's anywhere near being on target, Carvana's market-leading growth rate is likely to persist well into the future.
NYSE: CVNA
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That won't be straight-line growth, mind you. There will be ebbs and flows. Making its results even more erratic is the ebb and flow of the auto lending market, which accounts for a sizable chunk of the company's revenue and per-car gross profit. The slight uptick in used car loan delinquencies and defaults hasn't yet prevented Carvana from being able to sell the loans it's making. But never say never.
Any such slowdown would only be temporary, though, and would be unlikely to rival the sort of prolonged demand for used cars that the newly enacted tariffs will likely create.
Dollar Tree
Discount retailer Dollar Tree (DLTR 3.08%) is seemingly vulnerable to the impact of recent tariffs. As a means of keeping its prices low, an estimated 40% of its inventory is sourced from overseas, and China in particular. If its own costs rise, CEO Michael Creedon has suggested Dollar Tree's prices could be raised as a result.
Dollar Tree's tailwind, however, may be stronger than its headwind.
But first things first.
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Consumers can live with the occasional, short-lived bout of inflation. The sort of persistently rising prices we've seen since 2022, however, are a different story. Consumers are changing. Even the affluent ones. As Creedon commented during Dollar Tree's recent Q4 conference call (and echoing something Walmart has also touted for several quarters now), "we are seeing stronger demand from higher-income customers who increasingly see Dollar Tree as a cost-effective source for an expanding range of products," adding "this trade-in has helped to offset other headwinds."
Indeed, even if higher price points are in the cards, Dollar Tree is uniquely positioned -- especially now that its Family Dollar arm is being divested -- to continue offering discretionary splurges to consumers of all income levels. Assuming every retailer is going to be forced to ratchet up their prices, this company will still deliver the most apparent value per dollar spent.
MercadoLibre
Finally, add MercadoLibre (MELI 1.07%) to your list of tariff-resistant tickers to buy.
OK, it's not as much of a tariff-proof pick as it is a way of investing outside of the United States' ecosystem of international trade. That's because MercadoLibre operates in and for Latin American markets. While it's frequently referred to as the Amazon of Latin America, that description is somewhat incomplete. It's also comparable to eBay and PayPal, by virtue of matching online shoppers with online sellers in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and a handful of neighboring countries. It did nearly $21 billion worth of business last year, up from 2023's top line of $15.1 billion, and turning $2.6 billion of that into net income.
NASDAQ: MELI
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Investors keeping their finger on the pulse of what's happening overseas likely know there's turbulence in and around these markets -- political as well as economic -- making it tough to get excited about owning a stake in MercadoLibre.
Take a closer look at what's happening there now, though. Things are settling down, with some participants of these economies capitalizing on the soft trade wars that are taking shape elsewhere in the world. The International Monetary Fund expects South America's GDP to grow a healthy 2.7% this year, helping drive the 21% e-commerce market growth that Americas Market Intelligence expects of the region. Being a leader of the online selling platform and payments business, the analyst community is looking for MercadoLibre's revenue to swell by another 25% in 2025, followed by another 23% improvement next year. Per-share profits are projected to climb accordingly.
MercadoLibre stock has performed well recently, overcoming weakness dished out by most stocks of U.S companies largely because of this bullish thesis. Even so, there's still plenty of room for upside. The vast majority of the analyst community still rates this stock as a strong buy, with a consensus price target of $2,573.09 that's more than 20% above the ticker's present price. That's not a bad way to start out a new trade.
