Houston, April 4, 2025 – Liberty Energy, the oilfield services company once led by U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, saw its stock nosedive nearly 20% on Thursday, erasing over $600 million in market value, as President Donald Trump’s escalating tariff war sent shockwaves through the energy sector. The Denver-based firm, where Wright served as CEO from 2012 until his 2024 cabinet appointment, became a high-profile casualty of the market chaos following Trump’s April 2 “Liberation Day” tariffs—a 10% baseline on all imports, with 54% on China and 25% on Canada and Mexico—prompting fears of a global economic slowdown that could kneecap oil demand.
A Tariff Hit to Energy Hopes
Liberty Energy’s stock (LBRT) closed at $17.25, down 19.5% from Wednesday’s $21.44, as the S&P 500 shed 4.8% in its worst day since June 2020. The plunge reflects broader energy sector woes: Occidental Petroleum fell 5%, Chevron 4%, and the SPDR S&P Oil & Gas ETF (XOP) dropped 6.8%. Trump’s tariffs, cheered by Wright for their “energy dominance” potential, have instead spooked investors, with West Texas Intermediate crude tumbling 5.8% to $70.61 a barrel amid recession jitters. “The market’s saying tariffs might kill demand faster than they boost production,” analyst Paul Sankey of Sankey Research told Reuters.
Wright, a vocal fossil fuel advocate who joined Trump’s cabinet in January, had touted the administration’s “drill, baby, drill” ethos as a boon for firms like Liberty, which provides fracking services across U.S. shale basins. At CERAWeek in March, he’d predicted lower oil prices from increased U.S. output—a win for consumers. Yet, Thursday’s rout flipped that narrative. Liberty, with no direct foreign exposure (99% of its $4.7 billion 2024 revenue is domestic, per SEC filings), still got hammered as traders bet on a tariff-driven economic stall slashing oil needs.
From Boardroom to Cabinet
Wright’s exit from Liberty last year—he stepped down as CEO in November 2024, per BNN Bloomberg, retaining a board seat—left him insulated from personal financial fallout, though his net worth, once tied to Liberty’s $2 billion-plus valuation, isn’t publicly detailed. His successor, CEO Ron Gusek, didn’t comment Thursday, but Liberty’s investor relations flagged “macro uncertainty” in a brief X post, hinting at tariff fallout without naming Trump. Wright, meanwhile, doubled down in a Fox Business interview, calling the sell-off “short-term noise” and insisting tariffs would “rebuild American energy strength.”
Critics aren’t buying it. “Wright’s old firm is bleeding out because his boss’s tariffs are choking the very growth he promised,” energy consultant David Goldwyn told POLITICO. Liberty’s reliance on U.S. shale—where 2025 production was pegged at 13.61 million barrels daily by the EIA—faces a double whammy: higher steel costs from tariffs (25% on Canada, a key supplier) inflate drilling expenses, while slumping crude prices squeeze margins. Posts on X piled on: “Energy Secretary’s legacy firm tanks—Trump’s tariffs backfiring already?”
A Sector in the Crosshairs
Liberty’s not alone. The tariff escalation—China’s 34% counter-duties loom April 10—threatens a supply chain crunch for energy equipment, much of it steel-heavy and sourced from tariff-hit nations. Chevron’s Mike Wirth, speaking at CERAWeek, had warned of policy “swaying” hurting investment; Thursday’s drop validated that fear. Smaller shale players, like those Liberty serves, need oil above $60-$70 to drill profitably, per a Dallas Fed survey—below Thursday’s close, signaling potential cutbacks.
As markets brace for next week’s CPI data and Fed signals—traders now bet on four rate cuts in 2025 to offset tariff damage—Wright’s former firm stands as a stark symbol of the disconnect between Trump’s energy rhetoric and economic reality. For Liberty and its 5,600 workers, the tariff escalation Wright champions may prove less a liberation than a reckoning.
