In what represents Apple (AAPL)’s largest ever domestic spending commitment, the iPhone maker announced yesterday (Feb. 24) it will invest $500 billion over the next five years to create at least 20,000 jobs in the U.S. The investment will focus on tech manufacturing but will not affect Apple’s flagship consumer products like the iPhone, iPad and iMac, which are primarily assembled in Asia.
The announcement came days after Apple CEO Tim Cook met with President Donald Trump, who has pushed for a return to domestic manufacturing. Shortly after the meeting, which took place on Feb. 20, Trump hinted at Apple’s plans by declaring that the company would invest “hundreds of billions of dollars” into the U.S. The President thanked Cook and Apple in a post on his Truth Social platform yesterday, where he noted that Apple’s announcement represents “faith in what we are doing.”
This isn’t the first time Apple has committed large domestic investments. It made similar pledges in 2018 under the first Trump administration and in 2021 under the Biden administration. The timing of the latest announcement, however, coincides with tariff threats from President Trump that could affect key aspects of Apple’s business, such as the iPhone.
While the bulk of Apple’s products will continue to be manufactured overseas, the $500 billion investments will see a 250,000-square-foot manufacturing facility opened in Houston by 2026 to make servers for the company’s “Apple Intelligence” A.I. system. The company also plans on doubling the value of a fund dedicated to U.S. manufacturing to $10 billion, in addition to setting up a new manufacturing academy in Detroit to help companies learn A.I. implementation and advanced manufacturing techniques.
“10 percent politician and 90 percent CEO”
Apple’s splashy investment isn’t necessarily about which party is in the White House. During Trump’s first term in 2018, the company pledged $350 billion to the U.S. economy over the following five years. Like today’s announcement, the investment planned to create 20,000 jobs and inject capital into Apple’s U.S. manufacturing fund. In 2021, under the Biden administration, Apple ramped up its commitment by 20 percent to $430 billion, again promising to create 20,000 new jobs in the U.S.
However, not all of Apple’s lofty goals have been met. Its 2021 pledge, for example, included plans to establish a new Apple campus and engineering hub in North Carolina’s Research Triangle area. Construction for this site was paused last summer, as reported by the Raleigh News & Observer, which noted that Apple suspended the project to push back on construction timelines.
Apple’s new domestic spend will largely act as an extension of former commitments. But it came at a consequential time as the company looks to circumvent new tariffs on Chinese goods. The commitment is a “strategic move,” one that showcases Cook as “10 percent politician and 90 percent CEO,” said Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities in an analyst note. The announcement could ensure “smoother waters” for Apple amid tariff threats, added Ives.
“We are bullish on the future of American innovation, and we’re proud to build on our long-standing U.S. investments with this $500 billion commitment to our country’s future,” said Cook in a statement. “We’ll keep working with people and companies across this country to help write an extraordinary new chapter in the history of American innovation.”
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