Apple, Meta, Google CEOs Dined With Trump. Where AI Trade Goes From Here.

White House “AI and Crypto Czar” David Sacks, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Tech bros worth billions don’t typically sing for their supper. But breaking bread at the White House is an exception. President Donald Trump’s hosting of U.S. technology leaders shows just how vital the artificial-intelligence boom is to the political and economic landscape.

Meta Platforms boss Mark Zuckerberg and OpenAI’s Sam Altman were prominent among those praising Trump’s leadership at Thursday’s event. Their rival Elon Musk— Tesla and xAI head—was conspicuous by his absence, despite being invited.

While keeping in with the president has become a requisite survival skill for CEOs, there are also concrete benefits to such meetings. Trump talked of ensuring the attendees would be able to get enough energy for increasingly larger data centers, as well as signaling who might escape tariffs on semiconductors—with Apple CEO Tim Cook singled out for praise due to U.S. investment pledges.

It’s not as simple as picking stocks based on the guest list. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang wasn’t there either. Neither was Broadcom’s Hock Tan—who might have been otherwise occupied as the semiconductor giant reported upbeat earnings on Thursday. Still, both chip companies will benefit from a government-backed wave of AI investment.

The main takeaway from both the dinner and recent earnings is that infrastructure and hardware stocks continue to be the safest plays on AI, and could receive another boost from Friday’s jobs report, which has a direct read across to interest-rate cuts, easing the costs of capital expenditure. Meanwhile, software plays such as Salesforce are struggling to convince the market they will be able to resist the rise of AI-native competitors.

The question is whether the AI trade is still a tempting appetizer on the investment menu or whether traders should skip to the coffee and head for the exit. Trump’s dinner suggests there’s plenty left to feast on.

— Adam Clark

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Trump’s Legal Team Responds as Fed Dispute Heats Up

President Donald Trump’s lawyers are pushing back on Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook’s bid to temporarily block her firing, urging a federal judge to deny Cook’s request for an emergency temporary restraining order, calling the legal grounds behind the procedural challenge “misguided and futile.”

• Cook has sued to keep her job amid administration officials’ claims of mortgage fraud. The Justice Department investigation into the allegations is ongoing, and Cook hasn’t been convicted of any wrongdoing. She says her firing violated her right to due process and her statutory right to notice and a hearing.
• But now Trump’s legal team says he didn’t have to wait until Cook was proved guilty before moving forward with her removal, and even if she had been given an opportunity to be heard, there’s no evidence it might have changed Trump’s mind.
• Stephen Miran, Trump’s nominee to fill a vacancy on the Fed board, wouldn’t talk about the Cook matter during a Senate hearing. Asked if it were appropriate for Trump to threaten to fire Fed policymakers, Miran said, “It’s not my prerogative to have views on such and such a question.”
• Lawmakers grilled Miran on his views of Fed independence. Miran said independence is of “paramount” importance for the economy, and for financial markets. He said if confirmed to the role of Fed governor he would act independently.

What’s Next: Both the Trump administration and Cook are seeking a quick ruling. Trump’s legal team specifically asked that Federal Judge Jia Cobb issue her ruling by Sept. 9 so that, if needed, they can seek appellate relief before the Fed’s Sept. 16-17 policy meeting, when it is expected to decide on interest rates.

—Megan Leonhardt

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Broadcom Reveals New $10 Billion AI Customer

Chip maker Broadcom said it scored $10 billion in artificial intelligence chip orders from a new qualified customer, something CEO Hock Tan says will “significantly” improve the AI revenue outlook for fiscal 2026. This comes as it beat expectations for the third quarter and issued higher-than-expected guidance.

• For its fiscal third quarter, Broadcom reported revenue of $15.95 billion versus the Wall Street consensus of $15.8 billion. Adjusted earnings came in at $1.69 a share. For the current quarter, Broadcom guided to $17.4 billion in revenue.
• Tan attributed the record third-quarter revenue to continued strength in custom AI accelerators, networking, and VMware. Its chips compete in several categories including networking, broadband, server storage, wireless and industrial.
• The company is also a leader in the market for high-end artificial intelligence application-specific integrated circuits, or AI ASICs. It helps large technology companies design custom chips for AI. The identity of the customer wasn’t revealed.
• AI revenue was $5.2 billion in the third quarter, up 63% from a year ago. The CEO said they are aiming for acceleration of growth in the current quarter, projecting AI revenue to hit $6.2 billion. It would be the 11th consecutive quarter of growth for the segment.

What’s Next: Broadcom’s backlog has reached above $110 billion, largely driven by the AI boom, Tan said. Its software segment also has boosted that backlog. Tan told analysts on the conference call that he would continue as CEO of Broadcom until at least 2030.

— Tae Kim and Liz Moyer

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Goldman to Invest In T. Rowe Price In Retirement Push

In an arrangement that highlights Wall Street’s push to offer private assets in retirement products, Goldman Sachs and T. Rowe Price will collaborate on a set of funds that include so-called alternative assets. The move comes amid the Trump administration’s support for allowing alternative investments in 401(k)s.

• Goldman is making a $1 billion investment in T. Rowe Price in the arrangement with a series of purchases of up to 3.5% of the asset manager’s stock. T. Rowe is the largest U.S. manager of active target-date and retirement products.
• The two firms plan to offer co-branded model portfolios and target-date strategies to give investors exposure to private markets and use offerings from Oak Hill Advisors, the $98 billion private credit money manager that T. Rowe bought four years ago.
• T. Rowe CEO Rob Sharps told Barron’s that although the partnership helps T. Rowe accomplish some things it wouldn’t be able to do alone, it isn’t a sign that Goldman will buy T. Rowe. He said they are creating unique solutions for investors accumulating wealth and preparing for retirement.
• T. Rowe and Goldman’s co-branded funds will compete with rival offerings from BlackRock, which is launching target-date funds that include private assets, and Vanguard, Wellington, and Blackstone, which are collaborating to manage multi-asset public and private market strategies.

What’s Next: Marc Nachmann, Goldman’s global head of asset and wealth management, said they think that the retirement channel has more opportunities to broaden the investment products, especially around private and alternative assets.

— Rebecca Ungarino and Janet H. Cho

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Gap Adding Cosmetics, Beauty Products to Its Apparel Stores

Gap is branching out from apparel with plans to offer a broader assortment of beauty products and cosmetics at some Old Navy stores starting this fall. CEO Richard Dickson said Gap is also expanding its accessories offerings across its brands, which now make up only a small portion of current sales.

• The casual clothing retailer’s new offerings will include Old Navy brand hair and body mist and body lotion, as well as skin care, makeup, and hair care products from brands including E.l.f. Beauty, Mario Badescu, and Korean beauty brands TonyMoly and Mixik. Most items will cost under $25.
• Gap is attempting to reach new generations of shoppers and boost its results by selling higher-margin merchandise, according to Dickson. A former beauty buyer at Bloomingdale’s, Dickson co-founded online cosmetics retailer Gloss, purchased by Estée Lauder in 2000.
• The U.S. beauty and personal care market is expected to total $129 billion this year, up nearly 4% from 2024, according to Euromonitor market research. Dickson said that 70% of Old Navy customers surveyed said they would buy its beauty products.
• Rival American Eagle Outfitters showed how viral campaigns can help boost revenue. The company said its partnerships with Sydney Sweeney and Travis Kelce, which together generated 40 billion impressions, are increasing brand awareness, customer acquisition, and sales.

What’s Next: Old Navy this week released a new line of handbags, all priced below $50. It plans to roll out its expanded beauty assortment at roughly 150 stores this fall, including 45 with their own beauty shops and beauty advisors.

— Sabrina Escobar and Janet H. Cho

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—Newsletter edited by Liz Moyer, Rupert Steiner