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.
[Sign up for stock news with our Invested newsletter.]
“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 2026? Here’s a snapshot of six stocks tied to companies viewed by Trump’s critics as ripe for blacklisting and boycotting by vocal protesters:
— Tesla Inc. (TSLA)
— Spotify Technology S.A. (SPOT)
— GEO Group Inc. (GEO)
— Apple Inc. (AAPL)
— Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN)
— Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR)
Tesla Inc. (TSLA)
One-year return: 51.8%
Tesla’s stock came under fire in early 2025 when the electric vehicle 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.
Musk is back in the saddle, as Tesla’s shares have skyrocketed after Musk’s DOGE days ended, but the stock has faced continued pressure in 2026. Shares are down 11.4% year to date, in part due to slowing EV demand in Europe and an underwhelming response from regulators regarding the company’s robotaxi service. Analysts are largely split between “buy” and “hold,” with a few considering the stock a “sell.” According to FactSet data, they give TSLA a price target of $426.61, on average. TSLA closed at $398.68 on March 9.
Tesla has been testing its robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, but hasn’t been able to expand into California. That said, recent data from Grand View Research pegged the autonomous taxi market at over $68 billion in 2024 and estimates it will soar to $214.3 billion by 2030. So if Tesla does manage to expand its offering, there could be huge potential there.
Spotify Technology S.A. (SPOT)
One-year return: 2.4%
Spotify raised the ire of some political advocates by broadcasting ads for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 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 tumbling from September 2025 to February 2026, the stock has largely stabilized and is up over 31% in the past month. Some analysts still give the stock a “buy” rating, with a few others considering it an “overweight” or “hold,” and an average price target of $543.53. SPOT closed at $544.88 on March 9.
GEO Group Inc. (GEO)
One-year return: -42.7%
GEO Group, one of the nation’s largest operators of ICE detention facilities, has become a central target of 2026 boycott campaigns tied to Trump?aligned immigration policies. Activists zeroed in on the company’s deep reliance on ICE, which awarded GEO approximately $1 billion in new detention and monitoring contracts in 2025. Critics argue that these contracts directly support the administration’s stepped?up detention and deportation efforts, prompting calls to divest from or boycott the company.
The stock was hit hard in February 2026 following a report suggesting ICE would reduce its use of privately operated detention facilities. The news triggered a massive sell-off, causing the price to drop 14.4% in the past month. The stock is down 43% over the past year.
Even so, analysts remain optimistic. The stock gets a “buy” consensus with an average price target of $27.20, a premium to its March 9 closing price of $13.76. But the political risk is real. ICE’s evolving detention strategy and the public pressure surrounding it continue to cast a long shadow over GEO’s future.
[How Much Would $10,000 Invested in Nvidia Stock 20 Years Ago Be Worth Today?]
Apple Inc. (AAPL)
One-year return: 9.1%
Apple has drawn mounting criticism from political advocates in 2025 and 2026 for a series of decisions that opponents argue align the company with Trump?era immigration enforcement. The backlash began in January 2025, when Apple CEO Tim Cook donated $1 million to help fund Trump’s inauguration, and continued with help funding the controversial demolition of the historic East Wing of the People’s House.
The controversy escalated in October 2025 when Apple removed ICEBlock, an app designed to help users share real?time information about ICE activity. Apple said the app was pulled due to “safety risks,” but multiple outlets reported that the removal came after direct pressure from Trump administration officials, including Attorney General Pam Bondi, who publicly stated that the government reached out to Apple “demanding they remove the ICEBlock app from their App Store — and Apple did so.”
Despite the political heat, Apple’s stock has remained fairly resilient. Shares are up 9.1% over the past year, but down about 4% year to date. Analysts are largely split between “buy” and “hold” ratings, with an average price target of $298.90 per share. AAPL closed at $259.88 on March 9.
Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN)
One-year return: 7.2%
Amazon, like Apple, has been targeted by protesters for reportedly donating $1 million to the White House’s inauguration last year, and for being on a list of donors to Team Trump’s recent East Wing ballroom construction project.
The company is also taking heat for its AWS GovCloud platform being used to host databases and systems used by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and its agencies, including ICE, to track, monitor and deport immigrants.
Boycotts seem to have had minimal impact on Amazon’s stock, which has remained fairly stable. The stock is up 7% over the past 12 months, but is down 7.5% year to date. Analysts remain optimistic, with the vast majority giving it a “buy” rating. The stock has a $280.56 price target, on average. AMZN closed at $213.49 on March 9.
Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR)
One-year return: 84.2%
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 and company co-founder Peter Thiel, who was influential in Trump’s choice of JD Vance as vice president.
Boycotters cite multiple issues, including using AI and data mining to help ICE identify, track and deport suspected noncitizens. The company’s systems have also been used in workplace raids and investigations involving asylum seekers.
“Palantir’s pattern-finding capabilities have long been central to ICE’s most aggressive tactics and raising concerns that ImmigrationOS could enable similar or expanded practices,” according to the nonprofit the American Immigration Council.
Despite this, the company’s share price has more than doubled in the past year. But it’s showing signs of struggle in the first quarter of 2026 with shares down about 12% year to date. Analysts are largely split between “buy” and “hold,” giving the stock a price target of $187.90 per share, on average. PLTR closed at $156.43 on March 9.
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.”
More from U.S. News
10 Best Growth Stocks to Buy for 2026
7 Best Defense Stocks to Buy Now
7 Best Semiconductor Stocks to Buy for 2026
These 6 Companies Are Being Boycotted Over Trump Policies originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 03/10/26: This story was previously published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.