Raspberry Pi not affected by Trump tariffs yet while China-tied rivals feel the heat

CEO hails 'transformative year' as IPO puts 'puter maker on the big board

Updated Raspberry Pi hasn't felt the sting of US tariffs yet, and having its boards built outside China might give it an edge over rivals, analysts reckon.

According to the financial analyst firm Jefferies Research, Raspberry Pi has now shaken off a channel inventory correction that dented its sales for much of the last year. It says that manufacturers that incorporate Pi devices into their products have now exhausted their stockpiles, and started increasing their orders for more of the hardware.

Jefferies also notes that the low-cost mini-computer maker has not seen any impact so far from the tariffs imposed by Washington. With most other single-board computer makers relying on manufacturing in Asia, particularly China, Raspberry Pi's factory in Pencoed, Wales, could offer a slight edge, provided demand from the US remains steady, it points out.

This could also change at any time, of course, as the Trump administration's stop-start approach to tariffs, and its shifting criteria for selecting nations, plays havoc with tech supply chains as well as purchasers in America.

That channel inventory correction was a key reason Raspberry Pi saw a drop of two percent in its revenue to $260 million (£200 million), plus a fall of 57 percent in pre-tax profits to $16 million (£12 million) for the year ended December 31, 2024.

CEO Eben Upton described 2024 as a "transformative year" for Raspberry Pi, not least because the outfit went public mid-year in an IPO – its initial public offering, or stock-market debut – on the London Stock Exchange.

The IPO in June 2024 has undoubtedly extended awareness of Raspberry Pi's value proposition from the engineering department to the C-suite at major OEMs

"The IPO in June 2024 has undoubtedly extended awareness of Raspberry Pi's value proposition from the engineering department to the C-suite at major OEMs," Upton said in a statement. (OEMs being original equipment manufacturers, the makers of products that incorporate components like Pi devices.)

Going public raised $180 million (£140 million) to support the Raspberry Pi Foundation, and £31 million ($40 million) in funding for the company itself.

"As our platforms and solutions evolve," Upton continued, "we aspire to become the compute partner of choice for these companies, allowing them to outsource the intelligence element at the heart of their products while retaining control of application-specific design and engineering, delivering enhanced performance, functionality and efficiency in their end product."

Jefferies notes that Raspberry Pi launched 22 new products in 2024, including the 2GB Raspberry Pi 5, the Compute Module 5, the RP2350 second-generation microcontroller, the Pico 2, and accessories including the AI Kit and AI camera.

Post-IPO, Raspberry Pi is also finding it easier to get access to decision makers in larger industrial operations, supporting its direct-to-OEM strategy to generate high volume industrial IoT contracts.

This is acknowledged by Upton, who said, "I am confident that we will continue to see gradual improvements in end-demand during the current year and increased traction with direct-to-OEM engagement, effectively complementing our reseller and licensee channels."

Given the longer cycle time involved in the sales, development and ramp-up of products, Jefferies expects new direct-to-OEM contracts to make a limited contribution to revenue this year, but a bigger payoff in 2026 and beyond.

So far this year, Raspberry Pi has launched a 16GB Pi 5, a Pi Compute Module 4 variant with an extended operating temperature range, the Pi RP2350 microcontroller, and a Power-over-Ethernet Injector. ®

Updated to add

The White House has put a base 10 percent tariff on basically everything imported, including presumably those Pis built in the UK. China and others are harder hit.