Apple opened a new advanced manufacturing center in Houston, with CEO Tim Cook and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick present. The facility is already producing AI servers and plans to start manufacturing Mac Mini computers later this year. Apple put hundreds of millions of dollars into the site, which will also provide manufacturing training and education for local businesses. The Houston site is part of Apple's broader push to expand U.S. manufacturing. Cook mentioned that Apple sourced more than 20 billion U.S.-made chips last year, including 100 million chips from TSMC's Arizona facility. Apple has also committed $600 billion to its American Manufacturing Program, supporting suppliers and semiconductor production in the U.S. The opening comes shortly before Cook transitions from CEO to
$Microsoft(MSFT)$ Goldman on tech: One thing that stood out from this reporting period was the growth rate of cloud revenues for the hyperscalers. MSFT and AMZN drew a clearer link between AI capex and ROIC. As long as that linkage exists — and the market keeps rewarding it — it's hard to see any slowdown in spending.
$Microsoft(MSFT)$ MSFT ran from $381 to $501 within a month. Some people spent too much time jumping in and out and missed most of that historic move. A few dollars of pullback isn't worth the noise. MSFT still has a long way to go, and staying with it over the long run will likely leave you far better off than trying to short-term trade it. It would be interesting to hear which other stocks supposedly outperformed MSFT in the same stretch. There's a reason people still look at the Buffett approach: pick valuable companies and stick with them. That style kept Berkshire Hathaway at the front, and plenty of traders who followed that thinking have done well.
$Microsoft(MSFT)$ Microsoft is a solid company with a strong future ahead. It feels like it's just catching its breath right now, and should continue higher from here. Not a single analyst is calling for a sale. With a quality name like this, patience seems like the better approach rather than trading it short term.
$Apple(AAPL)$ I was traveling this weekend and not trading, and I stopped by an Apple Store on Sunday. It was packed. The prices are astronomical compared to a year ago, but it doesn't seem to matter to the buyers. They have money, whether it's given to them or earned in the stock market or elsewhere. Apple stock fell, but it's going back up — the sell-off was immaterial. And when their memory costs come down, they make more, since they certainly won't reduce prices. The best example is candy. Sugar prices go up, a Milky Way either gets more expensive or smaller. Sugar prices come down, Milky Way prices stay the same. Same logic applies to restaurant stocks.
$Apple(AAPL)$ Apple's ex-dividend date is just these two days, so there's not much time left. It does make me wonder how much Buffett pulls in from the AAPL dividend. Seeing the stock in the green all week has been a nice run.
2026 Growth Portfolio — (Part 1) These are the names I’m watching for long-term growth potential: $NVIDIA(NVDA)$ — 207 → 270 (+30.4%) $Microsoft(MSFT)$ — 520 → 600 (+15.4%) $Amazon.com(AMZN)$ — 230 → 320 (+39.1%) $Meta Platforms, Inc.(META)$ — 600 → 950 (+58.3%) $Broadcom(AVGO)$ — 390 → 520 (+33.3%) The common theme here is AI, cloud infrastructure, advertising strength, and the continued buildout of next-generation technology. I’m not focused on short-term noise. The bigger question is whether these companies can continue expanding earnings, margin
$Apple(AAPL)$ Apple tends to recover near the close, especially around the ex-dividend date. I've always bought Apple after a dip for the dividend, and since more people want shares for the dividend, the shares tend to move up. Nice owning day.