Trump’s AI-fueled boom hides strain on small businesses as tariffs and costs rise

The $350 billion AI splurge by America’s biggest tech companies is giving Donald Trump’s economy a shiny look, but beneath the surface, small businesses and workers are dealing with higher prices, weaker spending, and fewer jobs.

The boom that started in Silicon Valley is helping Wall Street hit record highs, yet in places like Birmingham, Alabama, flower shop owners like Cameron Pappas are cutting stems just to keep customers from walking away. The story, reported by CNBC, shows a country where trillion-dollar tech firms are fueling growth numbers while the rest of the economy tries to breathe.

Cameron’s Norton’s Florist, a family business founded in 1921, made $4 million last year selling flowers and gifts. But with Trump’s sweeping tariffs raising import costs, Cameron said he’s been forced to “keep an eagle eye on all of our costs.” He explained that instead of raising prices, he’s trimming his flower arrangements. “If a bouquet has 25 stems in it, if you reduce that by three to four stems, then you’re able to keep the price the same,” he said. “It’s really forced us to focus on that and to make sure that we’re pricing things the best that we possibly can.”

AI spending lifts the markets but not everyone else

The AI mania has become a statistical miracle. A JPMorgan Chase report showed that in the first half of 2025, AI-related investments alone added 1.1% to U.S. GDP growth, beating out consumer spending as the country’s main growth driver. The Commerce Department said GDP grew 3.8% in the second quarter after falling 0.5% in the first.

Yet in real terms, manufacturing has been shrinking for seven straight months, and construction is flat because of high interest rates and the rising cost of materials. Cushman & Wakefield expects total construction costs to climb 4.6% this quarter compared to last year due to tariff-driven expenses.

On the surface, markets look unbeatable. Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Tesla, and Broadcom (the eight mega-caps linked to AI) now make up 37% of the S&P 500, with Nvidia alone worth $4.5 trillion, about 7% of the entire index.

Retailers tied to consumers are barely moving, with their stocks rising less than 5% this year. Target recently announced 1,800 corporate layoffs, its first major cuts in ten years, and its shares are down 30%. “I think the message that the AI economy is sort of driving up the GDP numbers is a correct one,” said Arun Sundararajan, a professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business. “There may be weakness in the rest of the economy, or not weakness, but there may be more modest growth.”

Tech investment surge fuels trillion-dollar ambitions

Investors are waiting for new AI spending updates as Meta, Microsoft, and Alphabet prepare to report earnings mid-week, followed by Apple and Amazon. Last month, Nvidia announced a $100 billion deal with OpenAI, which is now valued at $500 billion. The funding will let OpenAI run 10 gigawatts of Nvidia systems, roughly equal to the yearly electricity use of 8 million U.S. homes. Advanced Micro Devices has doubled its stock value this year after landing its own deal with OpenAI, while Oracle is riding the same AI-infrastructure wave.

“Are we sort of inflating the economy now, thereby setting ourselves up for a crash in the future?” Sundararajan asked. He added that he hasn’t seen any slowdown in demand for AI systems. The tech buildout may be helping market valuations, but it’s also deepening the gap between corporate giants and the rest of the workforce.

Tariffs squeeze small businesses and consumers

A KeyBank survey in September found that one in four owners are stuck in “survival mode.” This group accounts for about 40% of the nation’s GDP. Cameron’s business has seen plenty—the Great Depression, World War II, and the pandemic—but he said tariffs have created a new kind of pressure. About 80% of all cut flowers sold in the U.S. come from Colombia and Ecuador, and higher import costs have made it impossible to keep margins stable.

To fight back, Cameron said he’s been sourcing flowers directly from growers in South America to avoid distributor fees. He calls it “tariff price management.” The broader cost of Trump’s tariffs is staggering. S&P Global estimates they will cost global businesses $1.2 trillion this year, with most of those costs passed straight to consumers.

Consumer confidence looks bleak heading into the holidays. A Deloitte survey showed that 57% of Americans think the economy will weaken next year, compared to 30% a year ago—the most pessimistic outlook since 1997. Gen Z respondents said they plan to spend 34% less this holiday season, while millennials expect to cut spending by 13%. Seasonal hiring in retail is expected to drop to its lowest level since the 2009 recession, and new U.S. hires overall are down 58% from last year, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Corporate America is also cutting back. Starbucks rolled out a $1 billion restructuring plan in September, closing stores and eliminating 900 non-retail jobs, plus another 1,100 corporate positions earlier this year. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts blamed a “challenging macro backdrop” for weaker third-quarter results, with its stock down 25%. Even AI leaders are trimming staff. Microsoft said in July it would cut 9,000 jobs to simplify management layers. Salesforce also announced layoffs, saying AI now handles tasks once done by employees.

The smartest crypto minds already read our newsletter. Want in? Join them.