In an increasingly divisive atmosphere, some advocacy groups are looking to knee-cap companies they don’t see eye-to-eye with politically. That affects multiple publicly traded stocks that are linked to conservative policies favored by President Donald Trump’s administration.
Typically, investors wouldn’t make a big deal over company boycotts. After all, there’s an old saying on Wall Street: Traders don’t back red or blue; it’s the color green that gets them out of bed in the morning. Yet Trump’s political opponents are looking to change that equation, albeit with mixed results. Whether that comes at the expense of shareholders has been on a case-by-case basis.
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“Boycotts happen every day because businesses project values that are often associated with their founders (even if the business was founded 50 years ago), and those values, as liberal or conservative, may or may not align with their markets,” says Chris Peterson, founder of Lifemind.ai, a customer marketing services company, and the author of the book “Red & Blue Customers.” He adds, “If they don’t, then a business will have a much harder time growing.”
For example, Target Corp. (ticker: TGT) faces issues because its retail footprint is substantially composed of both groups, while its founding and brand are decidedly liberal. “The family that founded Target is quite liberal, and one was even the Democratic governor of Minnesota,” Peterson says. “Walmart encounters fewer issues because its footprint is quite conservative, as are the values it projects.”
Another example is Ikea, which has a mostly liberal retail footprint. “So they can project liberal values, talk about DEI and other favored policies without having repercussions,” Peterson says. “It all boils down to the alignment between the brand’s values and its market.”
Is that the case in early 2026? Here’s a snapshot of seven stocks tied to companies viewed by Trump’s critics as ripe for blacklisting and boycotting by vocal protesters:
— American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (AEO)
— Tesla Inc. (TSLA)
— Spotify Technology S.A. (SPOT)
— Walmart Inc. (WMT)
— Home Depot Inc. (HD)
— Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN)
— Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR)
American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (AEO)
One-year return: 75.5%
Political advocates railed against American Eagle Outfitters’ ad campaign featuring actress Sydney Sweeney last summer after the term “great jeans,” a play on words with “great genes,” became a tagline for the campaign. Some accused the brand of promoting eugenics, and fanning the flames were reports that Sweeney registered to vote as a Republican in Florida just before Trump’s second election victory. Still, investors have shrugged their shoulders and moved on, and from a financial point of view, they have reason to do so.
AEO shares are up 75% in the past three months alone. Wall Street analysts have adjusted their political blinders, with many now backing the stock. Telsey Advisory Group’s Dana Telsey recently maintained its “market perform” rating while boosting AEO’s price target to $28 from $25. Meanwhile, UBS analyst Jay Sole held a “buy” rating on the stock, with a $35-per-share price target. AEO shares are currently trading around $26.
Tesla Inc. (TSLA)
One-year return: 10.9%
Tesla’s stock came under fire in early 2025 when the electric vehicle (EV) giant’s CEO, Elon Musk, joined Team Trump to oversee the Department of Government Efficiency. DOGE’s mission involved slashing government budgets, which went over well at the White House, if not the rest of the country. Political advocates took to TV, radio and social media asking consumers to boycott Tesla, which at first had a measurable impact, with the stock down as much as 50% in the immediate aftermath. But Musk is back in the saddle, as Tesla’s shares have skyrocketed since Musk’s DOGE days ended, with shares up 10.9% year to date; they’ve backtracked 2.6% in the past month based on sales data and market competition.
Tesla is testing its robotaxi service in Texas, California and New York, a sign of confidence for an emerging industry leader in autonomous vehicle manufacturing. Recent data from Grand View Research pegs the autonomous taxi market at $2 billion in 2024 and estimates it will soar to $43.8 billion by 2030.
Spotify Technology S.A. (SPOT)
One-year return: 16.6%
Spotify raised the ire of some political advocates by broadcasting ads for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a federal agency. Critics bristled at advertising messages encouraging consumers to “join the mission to protect America” and visit an ICE recruitment platform. A coalition of progressive advocacy organizations, including The Indivisible Project, rolled out media ads of its own, asking Spotify customers to cancel their subscriptions and stop sharing Spotify Wrapped until the ICE ads were removed.
While Spotify took a hit from the mostly negative media attention, with its share price sliding by 23% in the past three months, the stock has largely stabilized and is up nearly 17% in the past year. Big Wall Street analysts like Mizuho and Morgan Stanley are bullish “buys” on SPOT shares, with both companies pegging a price target of $775 per share. SPOT shares are currently trading around $521.
[Read: Best Marijuana Stocks to Buy.]
Walmart Inc. (WMT)
One-year return: 32.5%
Walmart boycotts gained steam in Los Angeles earlier this year, as immigrant-rights groups called for action against high-profile ICE enforcement activity that they said was happening in multiple Walmart parking lots in and around the city.
Walmart may have been dinged by moderate reputational risk and regional store revenue losses, but the stock has held up well, with a 32.5% one-year return. Walmart helped its public relations case with the announcement of new CEO John Furner (effective Feb. 1), giving the retailer the veneer of change.
Shareholders aren’t necessarily sweating the boycott, as Walmart continues to shine as a value stock that’s expanding in 2026. More customers are visiting the store aisles and e-commerce channels, and the company still holds the discount-retailer crown, likely for the long haul.
Home Depot Inc. (HD)
One-year return: -0.1%
Day-laborer immigrants and their employers have long favored the retailer’s adjacent lots as a pickup spot on the way to job sites. ICE agents, however, have shown up in Home Depot parking lots to detain immigrants, leading activists to call for a boycott.
The People’s Union called for a boycott this past summer over the company’s dismantling of its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) program in early 2025. That boycott largely fizzled, as HD’s share price rose 8% in the ensuing six weeks. However, the stock is roughly flat for the year, primarily due to low consumer sentiment, with homeowners postponing remodeling projects.
Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN)
One-year return: 11.1%
The Trump administration’s decision to sideline federal government DEI programs via executive order has come at a time when high-profile companies like Amazon have been winding down their own DEI policies. That’s led organizations like Black Voters Matter and The People’s Union to issue boycott calls for Amazon as well as Target and Home Depot.
Amazon, in particular, has been targeted by protesters for reportedly donating $1 million to the White House’s inauguration fund a year ago, and also for being on a list of donors to Team Trump’s recent East Wing ballroom construction project. Those boycotts seemed to have little impact on Amazon’s stock, which has remained stable, if underperforming, compared to its historical norm. The stock is only up 11.1% over the past 12 months, but it has suffered no severe financial outcomes tied directly to the multiple boycotts launched in 2025.
There is evidence that some Amazon boycotts have been more successful than others, in particular an effort in 2018. “When a friend’s son lived through the Parkland school shooting, we targeted Amazon for their partnership with the NRA to promote gun content on video game platforms,” says Brad Chase, founder of Chase Global, a global strategic communications services firm. That effort led to the largest petition on gun violence in Change.org history, driving 250,000-plus signatures, with Amazon eventually relenting, cutting ties with NRA TV.
“The problem is that most well-meaning activists aim way too high as they don’t strive for incremental change,” Chase says. “No one is going to get Amazon or Walmart to stop selling gun accessories, but pushing the specific button of ‘actively promoting NRA content on a platform designed for children’ was an achievable goal.”
Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR)
One-year return: 175.4%
Palantir, an artificial intelligence software provider with government clients, may be the poster child for boycott-immune publicly traded companies. Trump’s critics were reportedly vexed over Palantir’s close ties to GOP funding supernova Peter Thiel, who was influential in Trump’s choice of JD Vance as vice president.
Boycotters cite multiple issues, including ethical and human rights concerns tied to how Palantir’s technology is used and who the company backs politically. The backlash intensified in 2025, with activists, investors and community groups publicly opposing the company. Despite calls for an early-2025 boycott of Palantir, the Denver-based data software giant is treating boycott efforts like pebbles hitting a battleship. The company is raking in cash, with its share price up 175% in the past year. The second quarter of 2025 saw Palantir cross the $1 billion-in-revenue mark for the first time, up 48% from Q2 2024.
What could bring Palantir’s share price down is high valuations, with eye-popping price-to-earnings and price-to-sales numbers that make PLTR shares look expensive.
Palantir’s C-suite doesn’t seem too upset over boycott threats. In an early-2025 speech to the Economic Club of New York, company CEO Alex Karp told the audience, “The single best thing to help my company is meritocracy,” which runs counter to the credo of DEI programs. Karp also described Trump as “brilliant” in a CNBC interview. Palantir is a big contractor for the Defense Department and counts the U.S. Army among its clients.
So, Does Boycotting Actually Work With Publicly Traded Companies?
Business experts say the effectiveness of boycotting depends on many factors.
“From a reputational perspective, boycotting tends to hurt firm image and can even generate a long-term detrimental influence on brand loyalty,” says Lin Zhao, assistant professor of marketing at Virginia Commonwealth University. “From a financial perspective, it can hurt sales and revenues in the short term, but it is sometimes uncertain how long stakeholders hold a grudge, whether they will one day forget or forgive what a company did in the past, or whether they will eventually give in due to a lack of alternative options.”
Whether or not a boycott is successful can depend on whether the reason for the boycott plays a central role in consumers’ worldview. “For example, consumers today are highly belief-driven, leading them to make decisions based on whether a firm shares the same sociopolitical values,” Zhao says. “Many people are willing to travel a bit farther or spend a bit more to support a business that doesn’t conflict with their ideology and values.”
Yet investors, many of whom are focused on making money, may wonder whether it’s worth backing a boycott. “The smart move is to buy good companies that produce things that people need or provide products or services that people desire, and hold those stocks,” says Matt Klink, owner and president at Klink Campaigns, a political strategy firm. “Trying to ‘game’ the political system is fool’s gold for even experienced political consultants … that is, unless you’re a member of Congress.”
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These Companies Are Being Boycotted Over Trump Policies originally appeared on usnews.com
