Apple expands U.S. manufacturing pledge, pulling in a third portfolio name
Apple is widening its push to expand manufacturing in the United States, adding several new partners, including Qnity Electronics , to the mix. It is a win-win for both Club companies and their investors. Apple on Thursday announced that chip-materials maker Qnity — along with Face ID component supplier Cirrus Logic , and sensor makers Bosch and TDK — have joined its American Manufacturing Program, bringing more of its supply chain onto U.S. soil. The iPhone maker said it’s planning to spend $400 million as part of these new programs through 2030. “At Apple, we believe in the power of American innovation and manufacturing, and we’re proud to partner with even more companies to produce critical components and cutting-edge materials for our products right here in the U.S.,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a press release. Apple unveiled its American Manufacturing Program back in August 2025 with a splashy announcement in the Oval Office alongside President Donald Trump — a politically savvy move from Cook to give the company breathing room in Trump’s tariff and domestic manufacturing crusade. At the time, Apple also tacked on an additional $100 billion to its $500 billion American investment pledge made in February 2025, which had failed to keep the company in Trump’s good graces throughout the spring and early summer. Qnity is now the third Club name to participate in Apple’s manufacturing initiative, joining Broadcom and Corning . In fact, it was the creation of the American Manufacturing Program that sparked our interest in Corning’s stock. Apple invested $2.5 billion into Corning to help the upstate New York-based company expand manufacturing capacity for the glass used in iPhone and Apple Watch covers. With the spotlight on Corning, we learned more about its booming opportunity to supply fiber optic cables to data centers amid the AI buildout, which ultimately led us to pull the trigger and start a position in October 2025. Broadcom, which re-entered the portfolio in August 2023, makes crucial radio frequency components for 5G communications on Apple devices. Qnity’s involvement with Apple underscores its importance in the semiconductor supply chain, and we couldn’t be happier about the closer ties between the two companies. Chips cannot be made without Qnity’s specialized chemicals and materials, which it supplies to the likes of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). Apple is a key customer of TSMC’s new Arizona chip factories. Apple is about as good a partner as any company could hope for, thanks to its strong customer loyalty and deep pockets. This move increases our confidence in Qnity’s ability to grow earnings. As Jim Cramer and Director of Portfolio Analysis Jeff Marks discussed on Thursday’s Morning Meeting, Qnity remains cheap versus its main rival, Entegris , despite its strong year-to-date performance. Qnity trades at less than 32 times this year’s earnings estimates, according to FactSet data, versus roughly 36 for Entegris. As much as we prefer talking business fundamentals to politics, there is no denying that the Trump administration likes to help those who work with the White House. As a result, any company that can demonstrate a commitment to U.S. manufacturing is at less risk of tough talk coming its way from Washington. With Thursday’s Qnity news, one more company in our portfolio appears to be a bit safer from ending up in hot political water, and Apple looks to have an even stronger, more secure, more American supply chain. (Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is long AAPL, Q, AVGO, and GLW. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
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