AAPL - Apple Inc.

Apple held ground and popped 3.5% despite a red market, confirming its prior uptrend after volatility around the iPhone launch event. Hosts see it as a potential tech outlier into the CPI reaction and expect the uptrend to continue.

Factual mention: Tom cites Tim Cook saying Apple goes to China not for cheap labor but for 'some of the best engineering on planet Earth,' used to illustrate China's manufacturing know-how and its growing role as the world's engineering hub rather than a stock thesis.

Apple's hardware event is tomorrow. Historically the stock falls on event day but often bounces the following day. A negative reaction could accelerate the downtrend, while a positive reaction could push shares back toward all-time highs.

Upcoming product launch event (iPhone 18, folding iPhone) could drive buy-the-rumor momentum; stock closed up 2.6% despite market drop.

Suggested as a starting point: if you use a MacBook, look at Apple and dig deeper.

Mentioned as one of the mega-cap tech stocks moved into value indexes during the June rebalance, meaning value funds now hold AI-adjacent tech names investors may have bought them to avoid.

Mentioned as a major company that 'isn't going anywhere' and that investors should become owners in for long-term wealth.

Cited as a strong example of pricing power: Apple can raise iPhone prices without customers leaving due to high switching costs, a desirable trait in an inflationary environment.

Mentioned as an example: Warren Buffett bought 300 million shares, but Apple is not immune to stage four declines; leading stocks can fall 50-80%.

Mentioned as one of the stocks in the kids' Fidelity investment accounts. Sam comments they 'sound like great buys', but no formal investment thesis is provided.