Mad Money w/ Jim Cramer 12/30/25

Summary

Mad Money w/ Jim Cramer 12/30/25 — Episode Summary

Date: December 31, 2025
Host: Jim Cramer (CNBC)
Guests: Tim Cook (Apple CEO), Wendell Weeks (Corning CEO)

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Overview: American Innovation and Rebuilding Domestic Manufacturing

This episode centers on Apple's unprecedented $600 billion commitment to U.S. manufacturing over the next four years, highlighted by a deep dive into Apple’s partnership with Corning in Harrodsburg, Kentucky. Host Jim Cramer features interviews with Apple CEO Tim Cook and Corning CEO Wendell Weeks, exploring the economic, technological, and social ripple effects of investing in American small towns, fortifying domestic supply chains, and catalyzing innovation in both glass manufacturing and semiconductors.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Ripple Effect of Apple’s U.S. Investments

• Apple’s $600 Billion U.S. Commitment

  • Tim Cook describes Apple’s broad U.S. manufacturing expansion, up from a $1 billion pledge in 2017 to $600 billion now, impacting 79 factories and supporting 450,000 jobs across all 50 states. (03:29, 28:03)
  • Cook's emphasis: “We are putting $600 billion to work in the next four years. And so it is an extraordinary commitment.” (03:29–03:56)

• Harrodsburg, KY as a Case Study

  • Corning’s plant, now 100% dedicated to Apple, produces all the ceramic shield glass for iPhones and Apple Watches globally.
  • Wendell Weeks: “We’re going to triple production, we’re going to increase our workforce by 50%.” (15:09)
  • The partnership is framed as a model for reviving small-town America through advanced manufacturing jobs and innovation.

• The Domino Effect & Supply Chain Strategy

  • Cook notes the “ripple effect” of Apple’s presence attracting domestic and foreign suppliers, fueling a local economic boom.
  • Quote: “If we come, there will be more companies coming. It's a domino effect kind of thing.” (04:45)

2. Collaboration: Innovation at the Heart

• Corning’s Unique Role

  • Only Apple receives Corning’s most advanced glass, a result of two decades of R&D collaboration.
  • Wendell Weeks: “Everything we do for Apple is 100% only for Apple. [...] This high integration makes it almost impossible to replicate.” (17:44, 17:43)

• Ceramic Shield & Future Technologies

  • The new ceramic shield for iPhones/Apple Watches is “about 50% stronger than the first.”
  • Ongoing joint engineering teams are working on “three new generations of manufacturing processes.” (15:09–15:29)

3. The National and Global Context

• “Enterprise vs. Government” Investment

  • Cramer asks if private sector investment “is better than anything the government can do.”
  • Cook: “I think [...] the government has a role in terms of regulation and setting leadership...I think there’s a role for each party.” (04:54–05:23)

• Balancing International Relationships

  • Cook reassures that despite tensions (China, India), Apple maintains “very open line[s] of communication.” Engagement and diplomacy are part of the modern CEO’s role. (07:40–08:11)
  • “Engagement is so important in all of these countries...that’s what we try to do, is bring the best of ourselves to those countries.” (08:11)

• Tariffs, Policy, and Competition

  • Cramer queries if tariffs truly bring jobs back. Cook: “They're a motivating factor for many businesses,” but innovation and competitiveness are crucial. (35:13–35:23)

4. Social Responsibility & The Future of Work

• “Social Compact” and Community Impact

  • Weeks describes Corning’s philosophy of staying committed to towns for generations: “We view that as a social contract...when we dedicate a plant in a community.”
  • Corning adapts, reinventing facilities as industries change, ensuring longevity and multigenerational employment. (26:25–27:37)

• Education, Workforce, and Manufacturing Academies

  • Cramer raises the necessity of education to match new manufacturing demands.
  • Cook mentions Apple's “manufacturing academy in Detroit...to train small and medium businesses.” (05:36, 38:48)
  • He notes the importance of developing curriculum and collaborating with community colleges.

• AI and Young Workers’ Fears

  • On job loss fears: “My advice is to follow your passion and find something that helps other people...you can earn a great living.” (39:40–39:52)

5. The Glass and Semiconductor Supply Chain

• Repatriating Key Components

  • Apple is working with partners (TSMC, Global Wafers, Amcor, Applied Materials) to build semiconductors and related chip components in the U.S. (16:11, 20:35–21:36)
  • “We are beginning the process this year of building system on a chips in Arizona with TSMC.” (16:11)

• Integration and Exclusivity

  • Strict separation between what Corning provides Apple (exclusive innovation) and what it offers other clients like Samsung.
  • “If you want to work with us to innovate...we’ll be happy to work with you...But Apple’s materials are Apple’s materials.” (18:43–19:00)

6. Health, Technology, and Broader Vision

• Apple Watch as a Health Platform

  • With new FDA approval, Apple Watch can now measure hypertension, possibly notifying “1 million people in the first year alone...” (25:15)
  • Cook regularly receives stories from users whose lives were saved by health features. (25:34)

• Expanding Impact Beyond Electronics

  • Corning’s advancements aren’t limited to mobile—they’re rapidly growing in the datacenter business and solar manufacturing (largest ingot wafer plant in Michigan).
  • Wendell Weeks: “If...scale up [glass in data centers] happens, we’ll be two to three times as big [in enterprise business].” (44:34)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Tim Cook on Scale of Investment:
  “It's quantum. It's quantum. And we're so proud of it. We're proud to be making a difference in people's lives.” (10:29)

• Wendell Weeks on Innovation & Partnership:
  “We have Apple people here all the time, they're in our labs...this type of high integration makes it almost impossible to replicate.” (17:44)

• Cook on Tariffs & Policy:
  “They're a motivating factor for many businesses and I hope that there are other factors as well...It's not just one thing. It's innovation plus cost, competitiveness plus quality.” (35:23)

• Cook on Modern CEO Responsibilities:
  “Did you ever think...the role of a CEO would be a global ambassador...make peace with India, with China, with the White House? ... It's a privilege of a lifetime.” (32:18)

• Cook on International Manufacturing:
  “It's not really bringing it back because that manufacturing was not here to begin with...A lot of advanced manufacturing can be done in this country and be done competitively in this country now.” (33:01)

• Cook’s Advice to Young People:
  “My advice is to follow your passion and find something that helps other people. And if you can find the intersection of those two things...you can earn a great living.” (39:52–40:47)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Ripple Effect: Main Street and Apple’s Investment (02:12–04:54)
• Corning-Apple Partnership & Products (12:24–15:54)
• Supply Chain, Semiconductors & American Jobs (16:11–21:36)
• Health Tech Feature: Apple Watch & Hypertension (24:30–25:34)
• The Social Compact & Multi-Generational Impact (26:25–27:37)
• The $600 Billion Question—Implementation & Scale (27:37–29:30)
• CEO as Global Ambassador & Policy Elements (32:18–34:49)
• Education, Manufacturing Academy, & AI Future (38:32–40:47)
• Corning’s Broad Innovation: Datacenters & Solar (41:33–47:45)

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Flow, Tone, and Closing Thoughts

Jim Cramer’s signature enthusiasm and direct questioning set a tone of investigative excitement: “It’s better than anything the government can do, isn’t it?” (04:54) The conversations are open, with both Cook and Weeks sharing pride in American innovation and their companies’ leadership roles in reshoring advanced industry. Stories of multigenerational workers and the integration of manufacturing, education, and technology underpin a hopeful, ambitious message about the future of U.S. manufacturing, the resilience of small towns, and the opportunities available for the next generation.

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Summary prepared for those who want an in-depth but approachable overview of the episode’s core themes, memorable dialogue, and actionable insights regarding Apple and Corning’s transformative role in American industry.

Transcript

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[Jim Cramer]

True Crate Americans know that our team loves nothing more than getting off this set and out into the wild to find and tell powerful stories. You'd be amazed at what you can learn when you get out of New York and put boots on the ground. With Whether it be in Silicon Valley, the middle of the Gulf of Mexico, or the heartland, the goal is to celebrate American innovation. Tonight we look back on a very special trip we took to Bluegrass country, an inspiring way to invest in America. For years, America's small towns have watched manufacturing innovation depart. Now, though, Apple and CEO Tim Cook are committing big money to bring them back. And and there's no Better place to start our program today on Main street itself. Here it is. Well, Tim, we're in downtown Harrodsburg. You talked about the ripple effect. Is this it?

[Tim Cook]

This is it. It really makes my heart sing to see a town that is doing so well, that's thriving off of Corning, and our relationship with Corning is at the root of that, and so it feels fantastic.

[Jim Cramer]

Now, there are other towns, of course, that didn't get blessed by two companies that care as much as you and Corning. The atmosphere is very different, isn't it?

[Tim Cook]

Well, we can't, you know, we can't be everywhere. I wish we could, but we are putting 600 billion to work in the next four years. And so it is an extraordinary commitment. And there are 79 factories across the US that will benefit from.

[Jim Cramer]

But don't you think you'd have to put up 10 times that if you're just to be able to say, look, you got to put the money to work. You promised the President you're going to put it to work?

[Tim Cook]

Yes, we are putting it to work.

[Jim Cramer]

But two and a half billion is a drop in the bucket of what you have to do.

[Tim Cook]

Two and a half is just one of those 79. And so one of the 79. And so it's a great start and a very important one because the glass is something you interface with all the time right on your phone. And we couldn't be prouder of the relationship that we built up over what is now since the first iPhone in 2007.

[Jim Cramer]

Now, when we speak about the ripple effect, it's not just what it does with towns. I imagine that there will be companies, foreign companies that will say, okay, I now have to put a factory there because Apple's there and they're building a supply chain and I can be part of it.

[Tim Cook]

That's right. That's the ripple effect. If we come, there will be more companies coming. It's a domino effect kind of thing.

[Jim Cramer]

It's better than anything the government can do, isn't it?

[Tim Cook]

I think what the enterprise versus government. I think the government has a role in terms of the regulation kind of role in setting the leadership, which the President has clearly done. He's really stated his objective to get more and more manufacturing into the United States. And so I think there's a role for each party.

[Jim Cramer]

I wanted to say that the one thing that seems to be left out, the President wants to be able to have everything built here, but you have to have great education. A town like this is going to have to up its game. But that's not being. You're not responsible for that.

[Tim Cook]

Well, what we can do is bring the manufacturing academy in Detroit to small and medium sized businesses. Corning obviously has enough statue to train their own employees, but we can help that significantly with small and medium business. And we can help with community colleges and these sort of things in getting some of our curriculum out into those schools. And so we do have a role, we do run a university as well, but we do that for internal to Apple only.

[Jim Cramer]

Tim, you talk to shareholders all your time, part of your job. Do any of them say, you know what, look, 500 billion? I mean, I wish you would just buy back stock with the 500 billion. Why are you wasting shareholder money?

[Tim Cook]

You know, I think most of our shareholders believe that we're in the best position to make these type of decisions. And so I have to honestly say I haven't gotten a single complaint about.

[Jim Cramer]

The 600 billion when it went from 500 to 600.

[Tim Cook]

Not 100. I have not seen one.

[Jim Cramer]

Not one.

[Tim Cook]

Not one.

[Jim Cramer]

That's kind of remarkable.

[Tim Cook]

Yes, it is.

[Jim Cramer]

I would think there are people who could be enraged and say, you know what? I think that's he's just doing it so he can sell in China or to appease the president.

[Tim Cook]

I'm sure there's somebody out there like that, but they haven't contacted me.

[Jim Cramer]

I'm astonished. Yes, I really am. I mean, maybe I'm too cynical on Wall Street. I figured that there would be some people who would say, listen, you could give us a better dividend. Instead, you're helping Harrisburg.

[Tim Cook]

Yeah. I think most people look at it and say, it's great that you're investing in America. And so I think they look at it through that lens and depend on us making decisions in their best interests for the shareholders.

[Jim Cramer]

Now, are you in contact with people in China who say, look, we want those jobs too? What do we have to do? Or has things gotten so adversarial, China, India, that discussions can't occur anymore?

[Tim Cook]

No, we have good relationships in both of those countries and have a very open line of communication and also bring jobs to those countries.

[Jim Cramer]

See, I think there's a lot of people who think that we're in some sort of vicious cold war. I know that there are obviously issues because we do have. You have Taiwan, that has to be protected. You have a government that at times has been jingoistic there and we got jingoistic here, but you're able to navigate that kind of thing.

[Tim Cook]

I think, you know, My view has always been, is that engagement is so important in all of these countries around the world and with all the governments of the world. And so that's what we try to do, is bring the best of ourselves to those countries. And I have to say, I have great relationships in, in many countries around the world and want to keep that up. I think it's important in your interactions.

[Jim Cramer]

With the president, you apprise him of these kinds of events and what's going on.

[Tim Cook]

Oh, of course. You know, we had the event in the Oval just a few weeks ago. Right. And so he's well versed on what's going on in Haroldsburg.

[Jim Cramer]

And that must mean to some degree that I know that it isn't. It's no quid pro quo with the President. It's not like, listen, I'll take the 25% tariff off, but obviously the more you do here, the less likely there will be a 15% take of what he's doing, of what you're doing in China.

[Tim Cook]

I think it'll be heavily considered.

[Jim Cramer]

Okay. Yeah, right. Well, you're doing what he wants, but.

[Tim Cook]

I think that we're doing what he wants, which is to bring more manufacturing into.

[Jim Cramer]

But is it metaphorical to say that I want the iPhone built here? Meaning in other words, if you, if you, if you spend 100 billion here versus making it here and you'd only make 20 billion, I mean, obviously the commitment is huge.

[Tim Cook]

Enough commitment is huge. And, and it will definitely be felt in, in many communities across the country.

[Jim Cramer]

Who's monitoring it internally for you? Kevin, the cfo.

[Tim Cook]

Of course. Kevin is all over it. And I'm personally monitoring to make sure that we're living up to our commitments.

[Jim Cramer]

Are there towns that don't know it yet that are about to be blessed with a lot of business?

[Tim Cook]

There are, there are, of course, because these things take some amount of time. And so there will be some surprises in there, I would think.

[Jim Cramer]

Now why was in 2017, it was a billion dollar commitment and a lot of people were shocked at a billion. I mean, 600 billion is a lot more than you announced when you announced the. On our show in May of 2017. I mean, it's quantum.

[Tim Cook]

It's quantum. It's quantum. And we're so proud of it. We're proud to be making a difference in people's lives.

[Jim Cramer]

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[Tim Cook]

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[Wendell Weeks]

Well, a, you gotta love a great manufacturing plant. But the news today really is about Apple. What we're doing here is we're dedicating 100% of this facility to Apple to produce 100% of the COVID glass for all the iPhones and all the I watches made in the world will now be made in Harrodsburg, Kentucky.

[Jim Cramer]

Well, it's kind of amazing because I think people might have thought at one time or another, you can't make this stuff in America. This is the kind of thing that I think we got away from. Tim. Didn't people just say, you know what, let's just outsource this to some place it costs a lot less and it all be the same quality anyway.

[Tim Cook]

You know, what we do is we look at a lot of things when we decide who to work with. And one of the most important one is innovation. Corning brings so much innovation to the table. The phone that you're holding obviously is so thin and so light, but we want it to be the most durable phone ever. And so the ceramic shield that Wendell really brings to the table here with our help, allows that it's one of the enablers of that. And so we look at a lot of things when we decide who to.

[Jim Cramer]

Partner with right now. Partnering with. I mean, you're talking about putting a $2.5 billion commitment.

[Homes.com Narrator]

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[Jim Cramer]

What are these the kind of things, Tim, where we have no idea right now in our brains we can't comprehend what could come from here. But because the ingenuity of this place and your innovation center, we're going to see things that we just can't even dream of right now.

[Tim Cook]

That's absolutely true. I mean, we have our engineering teams work together and they're already working on future generations. But today we're talking about the ceramic shield too. And we couldn't be prouder of the accomplishment from the team.

[Jim Cramer]

Well, we thought gorilla glass was the most powerful, strongest thing in the world. Tell us, Wendell, why we want this? Because it's small, first of all. I mean, I can tell you it's like that doesn't take a genius, but there's something about this that is, I guess you could say, almost indestructible.

[Wendell Weeks]

Yes. Well, it's about 50% stronger than the first ceramic shield. And then Apple wanted that so that they could do this creative and stunning design. Because when you're trying to make something that basically is a glass shell and at the same time super light, but people's use case is the same. They want. They came to us to ask us for something more durable.

[Jim Cramer]

So how will it allow you to expand more people, more space? Are we going to think of this as the capital of glass in the world? Maybe we should have been already.

[Wendell Weeks]

No, this is going to become the world leading manufacturing site for production of highly special, specialized glass. We're going to triple production, we're going to increase our workforce by 50%. But back to the innovation point Tim makes is we're going to put in three new generations of manufacturing processes that are now on the drawing board between us that will enable this to create products that are 100 times, 200 times even more durable as we go into the future and be cost competitive. That is the joint innovation between us. We'll be able to have a series of products coming from here for decades because of Apple's investment.

[Jim Cramer]

Well, let's talk about this supply chain issue we often hear. Well, the president is saying, listen, one day I want the iPhone to be made here, not anywhere else. I think, don't you have to start piece by piece? You need to, let's say you need glass end to end and you're doing that here.

[Tim Cook]

Yeah, that's right. The glass is a very key component of the iPhone. You know, it's what you hold, it's what the front has become, is a sheet of glass. It was our vision from the onset to get it to that. And so it's a key component. And of course there are other key components as well. The system on a chip that's in there. We are beginning the process this year of building system on a chips in Arizona with tsmc. And so there's a lot of things that we're doing in the United States and a lot that we can do, frankly.

[Jim Cramer]

Now my channel trust has a position in Apple. It's long standing. I know. I always expect Apple to be doing the best for customers, best for shareholders. Is it right to put $2.5 billion here? Is this the best place? Or is there also another component that you have to do which is you have to say, we also want to help the workforce.

[Tim Cook]

This is the place to put it. And so I feel very confident in that because when you look at innovation, when you look at the cost, when you look at the quality, these are all things that are factoring to our decisions. This is a great place.

[Jim Cramer]

Is it not true that there will be people who try to replicate this? But because of the standards of Corning, which we all know for going back decades and decades, they can't do it. They may even have the specs and they can't, they can't imitate.

[Jim Cramer Disclaimer Narrator]

Why?

[Wendell Weeks]

Well, you have two. And when it comes to Apple products, there's two things that are super hard to replicate. First is our expert expertise that we bring from 175 years of just being our slice of the periodic table. But then on top of that, we work with Apple. We've been doing almost two decades in joint teams where Apple people are here all the time, they're in our labs all the time. And everything we do for Apple is 100% only for Apple. And so this becomes integrated right from the sand to the design. And this type of high integration makes it almost impossible to replicate.

[Jim Cramer]

But you also work with Samsung. They're a valued client. How about if they say, you know what? We want some of that technology, the Apple 2.5 billion technology, what happens? I mean, I know you couldn't be happy if that occurs.

[Wendell Weeks]

So we say no. And what we say to Samsung is, if you want to work with us to innovate and you're going to develop the new to the world material, we'll be happy to work with you on that. But Apple's materials are Apple's materials.

[Jim Cramer]

Now, when you say that everything's going to be made here, was it. I think people would say, oh, come on, it was always made there anyway. That's not true. You are moving and bringing jobs here that used to be elsewhere because you want to make it in America and make it strong.

[Tim Cook]

That's absolutely right. We were building some volume here, but not nearly the volume needed to serve the worldwide community for iPhone and Apple Watch. And so there's an extraordinary amount of increased volume moving here.

[Jim Cramer]

Now, I haven't talked enough about the watch. I mean, look, the watch, always my biggest watch worry is it is so out there that I am going to scratch it. I've had every generation that hasn't occurred. Is that him?

[Tim Cook]

Yes, that's him.

[Jim Cramer]

Well, I don't know. I don't know how you do it, but it also, I have to believe with $2.5 billion, you'll be doing things that we haven't dreamed of. But they're in your head, they're in your engineers. And give us a little picture of. Give us some 20, 30.

[Wendell Weeks]

So first rule of dealing with Apple, it's a little like Fight Club. First rule of Fight Club is you don't talk about Fight Club. You don't talk about Fight Club. So we're not going to talk about the next generation of products we're doing for my friend here. Thank you.

[Jim Cramer]

Well, that is. That is absolutely fair. I sometimes feel that when you made your commitment to $600 billion, that it seems like that you could replicate what you're doing with glass in a lot of different verticals. You're doing it with semiconductors. I don't think people even know that you're doing it.

[Tim Cook]

Yeah, I think it will be understood over time, but what we're doing at semiconductors is we've taken a look at the entire supply chain. And so starting with the wafer, or actually pre wafer, because Wendell is involved in this as well.

[Jim Cramer]

These are made of sand. This is.

[Wendell Weeks]

Is actually made of polysilicon.

[Jim Cramer]

Okay.

[Wendell Weeks]

One of the purest materials in the world of which we actually source to Apple supply chain.

[Tim Cook]

And then, you know, it goes to Global Wafers, a company that's in Texas, and they will serve companies like tsmc, which will do the. Provide the fab for the. For the product, for the chips. And then Amcor, another company that's located in Arizona will do packaging. And of course, Applied Materials is very key to the semiconductor equipment. And so we're looking at the end to end bringing that to America.

[Jim Cramer]

Now we know that there is a component of glass that you use for your beautiful mops. When can that be made here? Or is that just something that. I mean, they're the best glass makers in the world.

[Wendell Weeks]

Why?

[Jim Cramer]

I know they make a lot of plants overseas or is it just not convenient or simple to have the glass made here?

[Tim Cook]

Well, today we're focusing on iPhone and Apple Watch, which has substantial volume.

[Jim Cramer]

Okay, I do got to get there.

[Wendell Weeks]

And part of it's us. We're moving so much production here that we're starting with the highest price priority and the most innovative product sets. Okay, so that's we're starting here because of it.

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[Jim Cramer]

It can go. It can go. We'll be back in a moment for what I think is a pretty amazing discussion. The heaviest metal credit card of all time, rumored to be one of only.

[Wendell Weeks]

18 in existence, plated with the very.

[Jim Cramer]

Same tungsten that forged the International Space.

[Wendell Weeks]

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[Jim Cramer]

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[Jim Cramer]

Where we're celebrating American innovation tonight by highlighting the partnership between Corning and Apple and to make all iPhone and Apple Watch glass right here in the usa. Here's some more of my conversation with the company CEO Wendell Weeks and Tim Cook. Gentlemen, got some good news from the fda. Our Apple watches will be the way we can measure hypertension, the leading killer of people in the world. Now, I don't know, Wendell. I know that's your glass. That's my wife, that's your glass. But you've got to be proud of what, what you guys have created with the Apple Watch.

[Wendell Weeks]

We're so excited about being able to participate in something that is actually going to help people's health as well.

[Jim Cramer]

Well, that has been your mission.

[Tim Cook]

That's absolutely right. You know, we think we're going to notify 1 million people in the first year alone that they have hypertension and to get them to reach out to their doctors to come up with a regimen.

[Jim Cramer]

Do people do it? Do people use a lot of the different health care things? You've got involved with this right now.

[Tim Cook]

It's unbelievable, Jim. I get notes every day from people who maybe they fell and was incapacitated and the watch called out emergency services for them. Maybe they were in a crash and the same thing transpired. Maybe they have afib and didn't know it and the doctor told them that they would have died if not having reached out. And so all the time I'm getting.

[Jim Cramer]

Notes, well, let's just go back to Harrodsburg and just touch on kind of like the our town perception here. There are a lot of towns that had factories in them. We all know them, some of us grew up in them. And then the factories left because it was a bargain. We had cheap goods, but they got the jobs. Asia got, China got the jobs. Why did Corning stay?

[Wendell Weeks]

So we view it as our responsibility as, as an American company and as management that when we dedicate a plant in a community that we view that as a social contract. Like for instance, we opened this plant in 1950 to actually to do some Cold War products. But then we shifted it to ophthalmic, a new invention from ourselves to do photochromics. But then that product had its inevitable maturity and cycle. So Then we brought another of our inventions here, lcd. And then when Steve came to us and Apple came to us for the very first Gorilla Glass, we brought that innovation here. So for us, what we have to be able to do is view communities and our people as we'll do whatever products here that we innovate. And we're committed to it. So that's why when you walk around the factory, you'll meet people who they're third generation Corning employees in this factory. But what the people today are doing has nothing to do with what their grandfather did.

[Jim Cramer]

All right, now in 2017, we got together, you had just come up with a billion dollar American manufacturing plan of which you folks were involved. Now it's 600 billion. Of course, the interstate highway system costs 600 billion in real dollars. I mean, these days, dollars, you're making commitment to America. I don't know, Tim, how you can put it all to work. How many Wendell Weeks are there? How many warnings are there?

[Tim Cook]

Well, we do business with about 9,000 different partners across the US to different, you know, small, medium and large kind of companies. We're in all 50 states with these suppliers and there's 450,000 jobs collectively across that footprint. And we are very proud to be expanding that further this year to the 600 billion level. And I do think that over the next four years, which is the time period that we're talking about, we'll be able to put that to work.

[Jim Cramer]

Well, I mean, that would be monumental. Though it was hard for the US government to put 50 billion to work in the Chips Act. They really didn't have it together to do it. Why will Apple be able to do it?

[Tim Cook]

Well, I think there's a couple things. One is we have a global footprint. And so when you're able to divert production from other places to make production for the global environment, all of a sudden it goes up exponentially because the US is about a third of our demand, give or take. And so you can add a lot by making it global and then stitching together the end to end supply chain and semiconductors. I can't stress how important this is and how much that will add to what we're doing.

[Jim Cramer]

And so Tim, you grew up in Mobile, Mobile, Alabama, small town. They had two. You made literal ships, literally the L I T T O R L kind for the Navy, but you had a big international paper plate that was a giant implant that goes away that went, what do you do? What was the compact, the social compact with the people who worked there?

[Tim Cook]

Yeah, I Do come from a very small town called Robertsdale. It's a few thousand people, great salt of the earth people. I come from a blue collar family. My dad was in the shipbuilding business still around. It needs to be revitalized and hopefully that is happening. But I've seen the communities when things go away and it's so important that there be a hub of economic activity in different places. Because if we take this plant as an example, this plant creates so many jobs out in the community as well, because you have more restaurants, more stores, more groceries, all the things that people buy that work here. And so it's a virtuous cycle to create a hub of activity. And we're doing that across the, across America in 79 different factories now.

[Jim Cramer]

And are you putting like Nucor does? They look and see where the workforce had been left behind that was qualified by other, other companies that just went away. Are you right now planning on things in cities that we don't know about that are going to be helped by Apple the way we've never seen a city be helped?

[Tim Cook]

There will definitely be different places that have, have those characteristics. Yes.

[Jim Cramer]

Well, that'll be magic. Yes, that'll be magic.

[Tim Cook]

Yeah.

[Jim Cramer]

Well, look, I want to thank you, Wendell Weeks, the CEO of Corning. Thank you for this, by the way.

[Wendell Weeks]

And Tim Cook made right here in Harrisburg, Kentucky.

[Jim Cramer]

Well, a lot of great things are made here. Thank you, gentlemen. While we've been diving into Apple's investment in Corning tonight, that is just a small part of the company's recent $600 billion commitment to manufacturing in the United States. When I spoke to CEO Tim Cook, it was clear he intends to launch similar projects across the country? Take a look. Did you ever think, Tim, that the role of a CEO would be a global ambassador and also someone who has to try to make peace with India, with China, with the White House? This isn't what you got in this business for.

[Tim Cook]

You know, it's an incredible job and it's a privilege of a lifetime to have it. The people that I get to work with are just unbelievable. We trust each other, we collaborate with each other. And I just, I can't imagine life without it.

[Jim Cramer]

Well, a lot of people I think would say when you hear something like, and we did this, we heard this. In Truth Social, I have long informed Tim Cook of Apple, that I expect the iPhone will be sold in the United States. We manufactured and built in the US Not India. Now that's the kind of thing where you read it, In Truth Social, you say, geez, Maybe I had to reconfigure things. Right.

[Tim Cook]

Definitely a motivator. Definitely a motivator. And, and so, but what we were doing, Jim, since we announced a $500 billion commitment toward the beginning of the year, we were continuing continually working to come up with more ways to bring manufacturing into the United States. It's not really bringing it back because that manufacturing was not here to begin with. Right. And we came up with several things that we could do, do more of. One was the glass that you saw today. And we're thrilled with how this project is to going, going. Another is stitching together the end to end silicon supply chain. I'm really pleased with how that's going. And yet another one that's a little different than both of those is a deal that we did with MP Materials to do rare earth magnets in the United States. And so a lot of advanced manufacturing can be done in this country and be done competitively in this country now.

[Jim Cramer]

So a shareholder should feel that even though these international markets are so huge, it's okay to make these things here and okay to commit 600 billion. It was a big deal to commit 1 billion in 2017 when we first saw 600 billion. That's a huge chunk of any of a country.

[Tim Cook]

It is a huge one. But we're an American company and we're a proud American company and we want to do as much in the United States as we can, not only for product that we sell in this country, but for product that we sell around the world. And so, you know, we do have a global footprint and sell quite a bit of product outside the United States.

[Jim Cramer]

Is the administration keeping track of how much you're spending?

[Tim Cook]

We're in constant communication. We have a very good relationship. It's very positive. And to their credit, they are focused on regulation and trying to decrease the amount of regulation that it requires to build a new factory, to build a new data center, etc.

[Jim Cramer]

Did the tariffs work in the sense that they are bringing companies back? And they gave us a level playing field, which I think you and I would always think if us had a level playing playing field, we would win.

[Tim Cook]

I think they're a motivating factor for many businesses and I hope that there are other factors as well. Like for example, in this factory, what you get a sense of here is it's not just one thing. It's innovation plus cost, competitiveness plus quality. It's the sum of all of these things coming together now.

[Jim Cramer]

Do I, when I look at what you're doing Right now, I think that each one of these phones have more AI, but you don't talk about it enough. I don't find out until I own the phone. The AI that you have, there are people, there's someone who downgraded your stock the other day, said there isn't enough AI in it, but they don't even have it yet.

[Tim Cook]

Yeah, it's. I can tell you that it's all over the applications, it's all over things that you use and where you are, from notes to messages to mail, all the things that you normally use.

[Jim Cramer]

Well, I think that I do want to try to figure out what can't be done here. I mean, what. I mean, we're not making liquid crystal display, even though Corning does that. I'm not seeing that made here. There are certain parts of this that involve the camera. I'm not seeing that made here. Do you think, you know what, the President who says he wants everything made here, is he keeping score and saying, you know what, yeah, sure, they got the glass, they got some of the semi, but I want the camera made here. Is that realistic?

[Tim Cook]

There's 19 billion chips made in America already and we're scaling that far. And so there's significant semiconductor presence in the United States. You know, we have relationships with many of the people that you report on. And so that feels like we've planted seeds and it's growing and doing well. We're also, as you know, continuing to ramp with TSMC in Arizona. And this is a very key project now.

[Jim Cramer]

What we're seeing here, can it be replicated? And I say that we see these gentlemen who've been working here for years and we think that we see this plan. It's been, it's been so many iterations. Is this something that one of Apple's legacies? I know you want health care as your legacy. Should it be that you can bring back? I know some places have never even had. But that you can change the landscape of our nation with five. With 600 billion.

[Tim Cook]

With 600 billion, we hope to do exactly that. And so when you think about, we do business with 79 factories across the United States today. Each of these, there's a story behind, there's a story of a community. There's a story of multi generational workers. There's a story of earning enough to earn a good living. Not just earn, not just having a job, but earning a good living. And we're very proud to be a part of that.

[Jim Cramer]

You should be. I would think, though, that we may not have the education system to do that. Can some of that money be used for education? You could endow better endowment than Harvard University of Texas, whatever. I have to believe that you're to going, going to have to do that too.

[Tim Cook]

It's part of what's behind the thinking behind the manufacturing academy that we put in Detroit because we want to train small and medium businesses to be in the manufacturing business in America.

[Jim Cramer]

What's your message to the administration about how urgent what you're doing is and whether the urgency is felt throughout all of business because obviously you're well ahead of everyone else in, in this country?

[Tim Cook]

Well, we feel good about where we are and we feel that we can be the ripple in the pond. And so stitching together the semiconductor supply chain will not only help Apple, it will help other companies do more in the United States. And so the bringing rare earth magnets into the United States, that will also help other companies as well. So I hope to be a ripple in the find here.

[Jim Cramer]

And what's your message to young people who feel that AI is going to take their job? That the opportunities for them are not nearly as good as their parents or their grandparents. What do you say to them, Tim?

[Tim Cook]

You know, I think there's always been these moments over time where fear crept into our psychic we feared, we feared the spreadsheet. Some accountants and different analysts feared the spreadsheet. But there's probably more of those today that exist than were there before that. We feared the word processor. I'm not saying AI is like the spreadsheet in the word processor. It's much more profound than that. But I think that there will be great opportunities for young people. My advice is to follow your passion and find something that helps other people. And if you can find the intersection of those two things, following your passion that helps other people, you can earn a great living.

[Jim Cramer]

Well, let's leave it right there. Thank you to Tim Cook. Thank you for all your time. Thank you. Appreciate it. Welcome back to our special encore of Invest in Harrodsburg, Kentucky Edition. Corny is the sole manufacturer of glass for Apple's iPhones and watches. And that's a big deal. But when I met with Corning CEO Wendell Weeks at his plant in Harrisburg, Kentucky, he explained his company has so much more to offer in terms of American innovation. Check it out, Wendell. We've been talking about glass, and glass is fabulous. And what you do with Apple is amazing. I have been following other aspects to your business. For instance, what you're doing with the data center, not Only is it unrecognized, but it may be the fastest growing component of a data center.

[Wendell Weeks]

Well, it certainly is our fastest growing business right now.

[Jim Cramer]

Now tell me about how much glass is in a data center and how much could be if the new chips of Jensen Wong's in video decide to embrace glass glass. Because right now there's a lot of copper that burns bad.

[Wendell Weeks]

So almost all of our growth today is built on what's called the scale out of the network. And what scale out is doing is it's just connecting more and more AI clusters together. Which you're referring to is something called scale up. And what that is is within an AI node connecting more and more of the GPUs within that node across server racks. Once you do that, the distance can climb enough that it's more techno economical to use optical fiber than copper.

[Jim Cramer]

I know that could be a couple of years from now, but I think it's important to recognize how the current scale is making a lot of money. And just so before we get to some other enterprises, why don't you tell people how much glass, how many miles of glass there is in the data center.

[Wendell Weeks]

Well, let me give you a great example. Meta's big Louisiana campus that he has posted on X about and the like. So that data center, and it's a big one. Yeah, like if they were to overlay it on Manhattan, it would be like from 2nd up to 86 or 87th.

[Jim Cramer]

Right.

[Wendell Weeks]

And probably from about 2nd, 8th Avenue. So it's large. But what's even more stunning is how much fiber is in there. That's going to need 8 million miles of fiber. So that's enough fiber to go around the equator of the earth 320 times. That's enough fiber to directly connect every home, every single family, family home in the whole state of New York and light it up.

[Jim Cramer]

We have one camp five billion homes. I have to believe that people are not as familiar with that operation yet because I think people don't understand that even just to connect those different nodes is a huge business. People look, I want copper, Alex. Copper burn, it causes pollution because it burns hot. But give me a sense of what could happen in, in order to be able to make it so maybe we could use less energy if it were all glass in there.

[Wendell Weeks]

Well, what the concept is to be able to bring glass to the back plane of the server is that it will be more power efficient. It would make more efficient use of the wafers, which is where a big hunk of the cost is right and that in total, once you have to travel a little more distance, it'll lead to lower cost. So that is the promise of this. Of course there's a lot of innovation to be done to make that happen.

[Jim Cramer]

But won't Corning be the one that does the innovation?

[Wendell Weeks]

We're working hard on it, Jim. It's, it's such a huge opportunity for us. If you take our entire enterprise business today, if, if which is all aimed at scale out, scale up, would be two to three, three times that size.

[Jim Cramer]

Now people should recognize that you have been growing at a pace that far exceeded what we thought. Now some of that is because of things that you have done like the springboard plan, but some of it is just because the business is just moving faster than everybody thought.

[Wendell Weeks]

Without question, we have a combination of both trends that are, they're all secular trends that are technologies that we're behind. We're right on top of. We created it.

[Jim Cramer]

We take them down because people don't.

[Wendell Weeks]

Want which is AI and you have both inside the data center, but also you have to connect those data centers together. So it's really leading to a rebuild of the whole long haul network. That's fiber optics.

[Jim Cramer]

That was the major business for a very long time.

[Wendell Weeks]

Yes. And now, now it's growing again. I can't believe it. Then you go over to what we've been spending our day on today, all mobile consumer electronics. As you get more corning in all of the mobile consumer electronics that you're using today, more and more of our innovations are being adopted at higher and higher value. And you heard a lot about that from Tim today. And then we have businesses that are all entirely new that we're putting on, for instance, our new solar business business which is we're going to do really the largest American made ingot wafer plant right in Michigan. And that's going to about triple our run rate in what today would be about a $200 million or so, a quarter run rate in hemlock. And solar, we're going to triple that rate by as early as the end of next year.

[Jim Cramer]

Solar now one of the cheapest ways of energy.

[Wendell Weeks]

Yes, energy is one of those things. All energy. It's all what government policy is one way or the other and then it's what you count. But solar for sure is an important part of the overall matrix that you need.

[Jim Cramer]

Now I thought that you guys would be hurt and your stock got hurt by tariffs, but the stock got hurt, but not really your business. It really didn't impact you no, tariffs.

[Wendell Weeks]

Really have de minimis impact on us and that's because of our philosophy. You got a sense of that today in the factory we locate close to our customers because the primary way that we win is with innovation. So as a result, let's take the U.S. for example. 90% of our U.S. u.S. Revenue is created by U.S. origin products. Only 1% of what we sell in the United States we make in China. So tariffs, because of our fundamental philosophy and our values, tend not to have a significant impact on us.

[Jim Cramer]

Let me tell you, finding ways to invest in America has been my mission for 20 years and counting. That trip to Kentucky and celebrating the work being done there was the honor of a lifetime. I like to say there's always a bull market somewhere and I promise to try to find it just for you right here on Mad Money. I'm Jim Cramer. See you next time.

[Jim Cramer Disclaimer Narrator]

All opinions expressed by Jim Cramer on this podcast are solely Kramer's opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC or its parent company or affiliates, and may have been previously disseminated by Kramer on television, radio, Internet or another medium. You should not treat any opinion expressed by Kramer as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy, but only as an expression of opinion. Kramer's opinions are based upon information he considers reliable, but neither CNBC nor its affiliates and or subsidiaries warrant its completeness or accuracy, and it should not be relied upon as such. To view the full Mad Money disclaimer, please visit cnbc.com madmoneydisclaimer Drafty windows, sky.

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