Filtronic and Computacenter shares jump as UK tech shrugs off tariff concerns
Investor appetite is shifting toward UK tech stocks as recent trade tensions, aggressive US tariffs, and mounting concerns over stretched valuations in American tech giants have upended the global investment landscape.
With Trump’s sweeping tariffs triggering volatility across US markets, many investors are now looking to UK-listed firms for value, growth, and relative geopolitical stability.
Tariff turmoil
The US’s new wave of import tariffs, which hit countries across the globe with duties as high as 34 per cent, has sent shock waves through the tech sector. Heavyweights like Nvidia and Tesla, which rely heavily on international supply chains, have been hit the hardest.
Chief economist at Apollo Global Management, Torsten Sløk, posted in a blog on Monday that the group was hit hard due to the fact that “roughly 50 per cent of earnings in the mag 7 come from abroad.”
“That is higher than for the S&P 500, where the share is 41 per cent,” Sløk wrote. “With trade making up a bigger share of GDP in the rest of the world than in the US, the trade war will have a disproportionately more negative impact on the rest of the world.”
A boost for UK tech
British tech firms, on the other hand, are reaping the benefits of this shift.
While the UK market has long been overshadowed by the scale and hype surrounding Silicon Valley, investors are rediscovering businesses offering solid fundamentals and strong recent performance.
Shares in UK tech firms Computacenter and Softcat have risen 2.2 per cent and 0.8 per cent respectively year-to-date, outperforming Apple, Nvidia and Tesla by 28 per cent, 27 per cent and 42 per cent respectively so far this year.
Meanwhile, Filtronic, a radio frequency tech manufacturer, has jumped over 15 per cent, bolstered by a strong order pipeline and growing links to major players such as SpaceX.
Cybersecurity specialist NCC Group has lost 10 per cent by has still outperformed most of the US tech giants.
Smaller, innovative firms like Cerillon, item, and Tern have also enjoyed an uptick in attention, especially from institutional investors looking for sector-specific innovation without the overheated US price tags.
A local advantage to global headwinds
This rebalancing reflects deeper anxieties around the direction of US policy and its long term ramifications.
Trump’s new tariffs are seen as both a direct cost burden, and a symbolic blow to global tech collaboration.
The 32 per cent duty that has been slapped on Taiwan, for example, will deeply affect the manufacturing pipeline for key US players like chip giant Nvidia.
With firms like Tesla and Apple also equally caught in the crosshairs of Washington’s shifting trades, UK firms are increasingly looking like more stable, less politicised bets.
The reshuffling of investor priorities comes as broader questions loom over the sustainability of the US tech rally.
Despite its industry dominance, Nvidia, for example, has seen its stock tumble amid fears of higher imports eating into its margins, even as AI demand continues to soar.
While long term investors may still see upsides in these titans, the near term trade war may prompt portfolio managers to look elsewhere – and Britain may offer a shelter from Trump’s storm.