Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer says, as shareholder, tariffs are 'not good'
Despite tariff impact, Microsoft's top shareholder said he's a long-term believer in the company, given its opportunity in compute and intelligence.
President Trump's new tariffs on goods that the U.S. imports from over 100 countries will have an effect on consumers, former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told CNBC on Friday. Investors will feel the pain, too.
Microsoft's stock dropped almost 6% in the past two days, as the Nasdaq wrapped up its worst week in five years.
"As a Microsoft shareholder, this kind of thing is not good," Ballmer said, in an interview with Andrew Ross Sorkin that was tied to Microsoft's 50th anniversary celebration. "It creates opportunity to be a serious, long-term player."
Ballmer was sandwiched in between Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and current CEO Satya Nadella for the interview.
"I took just enough economics in college — that tariffs are actually going to bring some turmoil," said Ballmer, who was succeeded by Nadella in 2014. Gates, Microsoft's first CEO, convinced Ballmer to join the company in 1980.
Gates, Ballmer and Nadella attended proceedings at Microsoft's Redmond, Washington, campus on Friday to celebrate its first half-century.
Between the tariffs and weak quarterly revenue guidance announced in January, Microsoft's stock is on track for its fifth straight month of declines, which would be the worst stretch since 2009. But the company remains a leader in the PC operating system and productivity software markets, and its partnership with startup OpenAI has led to gains in cloud computing.