What Apple’s deal to buy Intel chips could mean for the iPhone maker

Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer releases the Homestretch - an afternoon update that can work, during the last hour of trading on Wall Street. Stocks rallied to another new record high on Friday, ending a week in which the S&P 500 gained more than 2%. Once again, AI-related technology stocks dominate the discussion. At a time when the Dow Jones Industrial Average is low, the technology rose more than 2.2% due to another round of big gains in semiconductors, especially those tied to memory chips. Intel was one of the biggest gainers after The Wall Street Journal reported that it had reached an initial deal with Apple to make chips for some of its devices. The move will diversify Apple's supply chain and help mitigate future issues that may arise as the production of AI data center chips expands to larger semiconductors, such as Taiwan Semiconductor. In Apple's earnings call last week, the outgoing CEO, Tim Cook, explained that its main supply constraint is the presence of advanced facilities where SOCs (system-on-chip) are produced, not memory, as many believed. Separately, Bloomberg reported that Broadcom is in talks with private equity lenders, including Apollo Global Management and Blackstone, about a $35 billion financing deal. The story said the funding will help Broadcom fund the development of its AI chips. It is unusual for a company like Broadcom to seek a private debt settlement. It has a strong financial profile: a free cash flow machine with a low ratio. It could tap the bond market if it needs cash to fund its fast-growing chip business. It's not clear why Broadcom would need to talk to private credit, but we know CEO Hock Tan as a strong negotiator, and he's probably shopping around for more attractive terms. We're also seeing the best cybersecurity stocks continue to — and should — break out of the AI-replace-enterprise-software thesis. Palo Alto Networks and CrowdStrike both made new 2026 highs, though both are still off their best levels of the past 12 months. Next week is a week of low earnings, with only 9 S&P 500 companies scheduled to report. Qnity Electronics reports ahead of the bell on Tuesday, and we'll need to see a supplier of materials to the semiconductor industry beat and lift to justify the stock's nearly 80% year-to-date advance. A few other notable reports on the AI theme are Cisco Systems and Appliances. On the data side, it's an important inflation week, with the April CPI and PPI reports. Both indices are expected to decline from March due to rising electricity prices. After strong jobs numbers are reported on Friday, the Federal Reserve's immediate focus may shift to inflation data, and the higher CPI reading sets the bar for rate cuts this year higher. Another report to keep an eye on is the April retail sale. (See here for a full list of stocks from Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust.) 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 stock in his charity portfolio. When Jim talks about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing a trade warning before making a trade. THE PRIVATE INFORMATION OF THE BURNING CLUB IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY, AND OUR PRIVACY POLICY. NO LEGAL LIABILITY OR OBLIGATION EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED BY CONTACTING THE INVESTMENT CLUB. NO PARTICULAR RESULT OR INTEREST IS GUARANTEED.