Every weekday, Jim Cramer’s CNBC Investment Club releases the Homestretch, a practical afternoon update to coincide with the last hour of trading on Wall Street. Stocks hit another all-time high on Friday, capping a week in which the S&P 500 rose more than 2%. AI-related technology stocks are once again dominating the conversation. In a session when the Dow Jones Industrial Average was weak, tech stocks soared more than 2.2% thanks to another big rally in semiconductors, particularly those related to memory chips. Intel was one of the biggest gainers after the Wall Street Journal reported that it had reached a tentative agreement with Apple to make chips for some devices. The move will help diversify Apple’s supply chain and ease constraints on future advanced nodes as production of AI data center chips increases at major semiconductor factories such as Taiwan Semiconductor. During Apple’s earnings call last week, outgoing CEO Tim Cook explained that the primary supply constraint at this point is not memory, as many believed, but the availability of advanced nodes on which the company’s SOCs (systems-on-chips) are manufactured. Separately, Bloomberg reported that Broadcom was in talks with private credit lenders including Apollo Global Management and Blackstone over a roughly $35 billion loan deal. The latest funding will help fund Broadcom’s AI chip development, according to the article. It’s a bit unusual for a company like Broadcom to seek private credit. The company has a strong financial profile and is a free cash flow machine with low leverage. If it needs cash to fund its fast-growing semiconductor business, it may turn to the bond market. It’s unclear why Broadcom would need to negotiate with private credit, but we do know that CEO Hock Tan is a tough negotiator, and he’s probably shopping around to get the most attractive terms. We’re also seeing top-tier cybersecurity stocks continue to understandably move away from the theory of enterprise software being replaced by AI. Palo Alto Networks and CrowdStrike both hit new highs in 2026, but both are still below their highest levels from the past 12 months. Next week is a slow week with only nine S&P 500 companies scheduled to report. Kuniti Electronics will make the announcement before the opening bell on Tuesday, but to justify the roughly 80% year-to-date rise in its stock price, it would need to see materials suppliers to the semiconductor industry outpace its gains. Other notable reports on the AI theme include Cisco Systems and Applied Materials. On the data side, it’s a key inflation week with April’s CPI and PPI released. Both indexes are expected to rise from March due to rising energy prices. After Friday’s strong jobs report, the Fed’s near-term focus could shift to inflation data, and a higher CPI would put a higher bar on rate cuts this year. Another notable report is April retail sales. (See here for a complete list of Jim Cramer Charitable Trust stocks.) As a subscriber to Jim Cramer’s CNBC Investment Club, you will receive trade alerts before Jim makes a trade. After Jim sends a trade alert, he waits 45 minutes before buying or selling stocks in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim talks about a stock on CNBC TV, he will issue a trade alert and then wait 72 hours before executing the trade. The above investment club information is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, along with our disclaimer. No fiduciary duties or obligations exist or arise from your receipt of information provided in connection with the Investment Club. No specific results or benefits are guaranteed.
