On a Wednesday evening, as markets closed, Apple and Corning deepened a partnership that stretches back to the first iPhone in 2007, committing $2.5 billion so that every piece of cover glass for iPhones and Apple Watches will be made in a single Kentucky facility. The move sits within a broader pledge that lifts Apple's American investment to $600 billion, a reminder that the making of everyday objects is increasingly being rooted again in particular soil. Whether the promise of American-made glass and chips will take the shape its architects describe remains a question the coming years will
Corning Shares Rise After Apple Commits $2.5B to Make All iPhone and Apple Watch Cover Glass in Kentucky
Precision glass made right here in Kentucky
Mark
Why does a glass supplier's stock jump on this?
Mimi
Because Apple is putting $2.5 billion behind making all iPhone and Apple Watch cover glass at Corning's Kentucky facility. That ties a huge volume of demand to one plant.
Mark
Corning and Apple aren't new partners, are they?
Mimi
No, they've worked together since the first iPhone in 2007. This deepens something long-standing.
Luke
Worth noting the $2.5 billion is Apple's announced figure. We don't have a timeline or job counts from the reporting.
Mark
And the bigger number, $600 billion?
Mimi
That's Apple's total U.S. commitment, after adding $100 billion on Wednesday.
Luke
Right, but it's a pledge. Nothing here says how much has been spent or over what period.
Mark
What about the wafers?
Mimi
GlobalWafers will use Corning silicon to make bare wafers in the U.S. for the first time, under the American Manufacturing Program.
Luke
That one is a plan. Whether it happens, and when, is still unknown. The stock move, 5.31% after hours, is also just an after-hours reading.
Le Pouls
- Corning's shares jumped more than five percent after hours, climbing toward a 52-week high on news of the Kentucky deal.
- Apple is staking $2.5 billion on a single American facility to supply all iPhone and Apple Watch cover glass, concentrating a critical supply line in one place.
- Apple's total U.S. commitment has swelled to $600 billion, with a new American Manufacturing Program recruiting suppliers to speed production at home.
- The timeline, job count, and production schedule remain unannounced, leaving the scale of the change still to be proven.
- Attention now turns to whether GlobalWafers can begin making bare silicon wafers in the U.S. using Corning materials as the program expands.
On a Wednesday evening, as markets closed, Apple and Corning deepened a partnership that stretches back to the first iPhone in 2007, committing $2.5 billion so that every piece of cover glass for iPhones and Apple Watches will be made in a single Kentucky facility. The move sits within a broader pledge that lifts Apple's American investment to $600 billion, a reminder that the making of everyday objects is increasingly being rooted again in particular soil. Whether the promise of American-made glass and chips will take the shape its architects describe remains a question the coming years will answer.
Corning's stock was rising in Wednesday's after-hours trading, up 5.31% to $67.38, as news spread that Apple would invest $2.5 billion to make every piece of iPhone and Apple Watch cover glass at Corning's plant in Kentucky. The shares were hovering near their 52-week high, a sign that investors saw the commitment as meaningful.
The Kentucky investment is part of a larger pledge. Apple is adding $100 billion to its American investments, bringing its total U.S. commitment to $600 billion. The company describes the glass deal as a guarantee: all cover glass for iPhones and Apple Watches will be made in the United States.
Tim Cook called Corning a storied American company and said the two are building the largest and most advanced smartphone glass production line ever created. The partnership itself is not new, having begun with the first iPhone in 2007. What is new is the scale, and the fact that supply for two product lines now rests on one American facility.
Apple also launched an American Manufacturing Program, working with suppliers to speed up domestic production. Corning is among the first partners, and under the program GlobalWafers plans to use Corning silicon to produce bare wafers in the U.S. for the first time.
The reporting does not yet say when the Kentucky line will be finished, how many jobs it will create, or when the wafer work will begin. What remains to be seen is whether that wafer production actually takes shape as the program grows.
Corning's stock was climbing in Wednesday's after-hours session, up 5.31% to $67.38 according to Benzinga Pro, after Apple announced it would put $2.5 billion into making every piece of iPhone and Apple Watch cover glass at Corning's manufacturing facility in Kentucky. The shares were trading near their 52-week high.
The Corning commitment sits inside a larger announcement. Apple said it is adding $100 billion to its investments in the United States, which brings its total U.S. commitment to $600 billion. The company framed the Kentucky investment as a guarantee: 100% of cover glass for iPhones and Apple Watches will be made in the U.S.
Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, called Corning a storied American company and said the two are working to build the largest and most advanced production line ever created for smartphone glass. He added that any customer anywhere in the world who buys a new iPhone or Apple Watch will be holding precision glass made in Kentucky.
The relationship is not new. Apple and Corning have been partners since the launch of the first iPhone in 2007. What changes now is the scale and the geography of the commitment, with the full supply of cover glass for two product lines tied to one American facility.
The glass is only one part of the announcement. Apple also introduced a new American Manufacturing Program, in which it will work with suppliers to speed up manufacturing in the U.S. Corning is listed among the first partners. Under the program, GlobalWafers will use silicon from Corning to make bare wafers in the U.S. for the first time.
Apple said that role makes Corning a key player in its supply chain for producing advanced silicon chips in America, extending the company's importance beyond the glass on the front of a phone.
The source reporting does not say when the Kentucky production line will be complete, how many jobs it will involve, or how the wafer work will be scheduled. The thing to watch is whether GlobalWafers' planned U.S. bare-wafer production, using Corning silicon, actually materializes as the manufacturing program grows.
Citations marquantes
Any customer anywhere in the world who buys a new iPhone or Apple Watch will be holding precision glass made right here in Kentucky.— Tim Cook, Apple CEO
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