What Happened?
A number of stocks jumped in the afternoon session after the major indices rebounded (Nasdaq +2.0%, S&P 500 +1.5%) as President Trump postponed the planned 50% tariff on European Union imports, shifting the start date to July 9, 2025.
Companies with substantial business ties to Europe likely had some relief as the delay reduced near-term cost pressures and preserved cross-border demand.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.
Among others, the following stocks were impacted:
- Business Process Outsourcing & Consulting company CBIZ (NYSE: CBZ) jumped 5%. Is now the time to buy CBIZ? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- IT Distribution & Solutions company ePlus (NASDAQ: PLUS) jumped 5.5%. Is now the time to buy ePlus? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
Zooming In On ePlus (PLUS)
ePlus’s shares are somewhat volatile and have had 10 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 4 days ago when the stock gained 7% on the news that the company reported decent first quarter 2025 earnings. EPS beat handily while revenue missed. Notably, margins improved, thanks to a shift toward higher-margin services like software subscriptions and managed support.
But looking ahead, the company initiated full-year fiscal 2026 guidance (since fiscal year 2025 ended in March), guiding to "net sales growth of low single digits, and gross profit and adjusted EBITDA in the mid single digits". This was below expectations of mid single digit revenue growth and double digit EBITDA growth. Overall, this was a mixed yet decent quarter.
ePlus is down 5.8% since the beginning of the year, and at $69.70 per share, it is trading 31.4% below its 52-week high of $101.67 from October 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of ePlus’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,874.
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