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Could Apple's China Play Be the Answer to Its Memory Pressure Problem?

Author: Sam Quirke. First Published: 7/1/2026.

Shares of Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) are trading around $285 this week, down almost 10% from the all-time highs they reached earlier this month. A string of unhelpful headlines has weighed on sentiment, from the underwhelming Siri AI reveal at WWDC to last week's price hikes on MacBooks and iPads.

The latest update is more interesting than the market has so far given it credit for. It was reported last week that Apple has launched a lobbying campaign to secure clearance from the U.S. administration to procure memory chips from CXMT, a Chinese company currently on the Pentagon's 1260H list. For context, that is the U.S. government's official register of businesses operating in the country that are believed to have ties to the Chinese military.

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While the headline reads like another piece of complicated news for a stock that's had plenty of it, the underlying signal is potentially more constructive.

Apple is clearly moving quickly to address the cost pressure that has been weighing on it, even if the path is far from straightforward.

Why Apple Is Lobbying for Chinese Memory

The broader context here is important. Memory chip prices have been surging globally, driven by the same AI-related demand that has been powering rallies in stocks across the market. For Apple, the impact is direct, with CEO Tim Cook publicly admitting last week that the cost pressure had become "unsustainable" and that "price increases are unavoidable." That admission was followed quickly by price hikes across many of its core products, including its MacBook and iPad ranges, and the stock suffered its worst day in more than a year as a result.

The lobbying campaign now reported is an attempt to ease that exact pressure. CXMT is one of the largest memory chipmakers in China, and securing access to its output could go a long way toward offsetting some of the supply-side bottleneck Apple is facing.

The complication is that CXMT was added to the Pentagon's 1260H list this month because of its alleged links to the Chinese military. While Apple isn’t explicitly barred from buying from these firms, dealing with companies on that list carries reputational risks and has the whiff of desperation about it.

What Wedbush Is Saying

From that perspective, it’s understandable that Wedbush has cautioned that any benefit from this lobbying effort may be limited, at least in the short term. Apple tried something similar with a Chinese competitor of CXMT, YMTC, back in 2022 and faced significant pushback from Congress. There’s every chance the same resistance could repeat itself this time around.

The bigger problem, according to Wedbush, is that the underlying issue isn't really about access. It's about capacity. As the firm pointed out in a note to clients on the news, "there is simply not enough production capability to support current memory demand."

In other words, even if Apple succeeds in unlocking access to CXMT's output, it won’t fundamentally change the tightening supply-and-demand dynamic that has been driving prices higher. That is a fair caution, and it’s worth weighing carefully before getting carried away with the bullish framing.

Why the Market May Still Be Missing the Bigger Picture

That said, focusing purely on the near-term economics may mean missing the more important strategic signal. Apple is one of the most capable supply chain operators on earth, and the fact that it's actively lobbying the administration to expand its options speaks to a company that isn't simply sitting back and absorbing this cost squeeze. It's moving aggressively on multiple fronts to find a way through.

This needs to be viewed in the broader context of the strategic moves Apple has been making in recent weeks. The partnership with Intel Corp (NASDAQ: INTC) on domestic chip production, the deeper push into U.S. manufacturing, and now the lobbying effort on Chinese memory all point to the same underlying story.

Apple is acting to diversify its supply chain in every direction it can, and strategic agility has historically been one of its biggest competitive advantages. For investors, the path to success from this China play may not be smooth, but the direction of travel is reassuring.

A Stock Setup That's Becoming Hard to Ignore

The combination of all this and Apple's recent pullback makes the current setup interesting. The stock is now meaningfully cheaper than it was at the start of the month. Still, the long-term story, anchored by AI agentic potential, ecosystem stickiness, and a deepening Services revenue mix, hasn't actually changed.

For investors looking through the noise and asking whether Apple’s trajectory is meaningfully different today than it was a few weeks ago, the answer is, increasingly, that it isn't. The recent headlines might be telling investors to be careful, but the underlying picture is quietly telling them something rather different.

Ouster Is Breaking Out as a Physical AI Leader: Here's What's Driving the Move

Author: Ryan Hasson. First Published: 7/1/2026.

Robotics is quickly becoming one of the market’s most talked-about and exciting frontiers. As artificial intelligence moves out of the data center and into the physical world, a new class of companies is emerging to help machines see, navigate, and operate in real environments.

This is the world of physical AI, and one of its most compelling pure plays just staged a remarkable breakout, both on the chart and in the business itself. Ouster (NASDAQ: OUST) surged more than 15% on June 30, 2026, to close at $62.52, capping a run that has taken the stock up almost 189% year to date and to fresh multi-year highs.

Ouster’s Lidar Technology Powers the Physical AI Boom

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The Wall Street Journal is already raising the alarm about a potential market crash, and Weiss Ratings research points to the first half of 2026 as a particularly rough stretch for certain holdings.

Some of America's most popular stocks could take serious damage as a radical market shift plays out. Analysts at Weiss Ratings have identified five names you may want to remove from your portfolio before this unfolds.

If any of these are in your portfolio, now is the time to review your positions.

See the 5 stocks to avoid

For those unfamiliar with the name, Ouster is a San Francisco-based company that designs and manufactures high-resolution digital lidar sensors. Lidar is the technology that allows machines to build a precise, real-time, three-dimensional map of the world around them. It serves as the sense of sight for robots, autonomous vehicles, drones, and smart infrastructure. Without reliable perception, none of these systems can operate safely, which places Ouster’s sensors at the very foundation of the physical AI buildout.

Founded in 2015 and led by co-founder and CEO Angus Pacala, Ouster uses proprietary sensor-on-chip technology to deliver detailed, low-noise 3D data across a wide range of industries. Despite the recent surge, this remains a mid-cap company, with a market capitalization of roughly $3.9 billion. That combination of foundational technology and a still-modest valuation is a big part of what makes the story compelling.

Ouster’s Rev8 Catalyst Opens a Larger Infrastructure Opportunity

A genuine acceleration in the business has driven the most recent leg higher. On June 30, Ouster announced that its new Rev8 family of digital lidar sensors is now compliant with the Build America, Buy America Act. That designation makes the sensors eligible for federally funded U.S. infrastructure projects, including intelligent transportation systems, smart cities, transit networks, and tolling. For a company pursuing high-volume infrastructure deployments, that is a meaningful unlock, opening the door to government funding across a large and growing addressable market.

The latest announcement also did not arrive in isolation. It capped a remarkable stretch of business development. Ouster recently signed a strategic agreement with AIM Intelligent Machines to place its sensors at the core of autonomous heavy machinery fleets across mining, construction, and defense. It expanded a collaboration with FieldAI to integrate its Rev8 lidar into general-purpose industrial robots. And it enlarged its long-term manufacturing partnership with Benchmark Electronics to support production of more than 100,000 Rev8 sensors per year. On the infrastructure side, its BlueCity traffic management platform is now live across more than 40 highway sites near MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, helping build a permanent lidar-powered traffic system ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Ouster Gains Recognition as a Physical AI Leader

Beyond the individual deals, something broader is happening. Ouster is increasingly being recognized as a leading pure-play on the physical AI and robotics theme. As investors search for ways to gain exposure to the coming wave of autonomous machines and intelligent infrastructure, a company that supplies the essential perception layer for both is a natural focal point.

That growing awareness has helped fuel both the fundamental momentum and the powerful move in the share price, with the stock climbing from the mid-$20s just a couple of months ago to over $62. There may be no better sign of rising attention than the stock’s volume, which has surged dramatically since mid-May, often trading at more than twice its average prior daily volume.

Ouster Still Has Long-Term Appeal Despite Near-Term Risk

For all the excitement, investors should approach the stock with clear eyes. Ouster is not yet consistently profitable, reporting a net loss over the trailing 12 months, and it trades at a rich valuation of more than 23 times sales after its enormous run. The consensus rating among the seven analysts covering the name is currently a Hold, with an average price target of $48.17 that now sits well below the current price, reflecting how quickly the stock has moved.

However, none of that changes the story’s core appeal. Ouster sits at the foundation of one of the most promising secular themes in technology, supplying the perception hardware that physical AI depends on. The stock has run hard, and near-term volatility should be expected. But for investors who believe robots, autonomous vehicles, and smart infrastructure represent the next great wave of innovation, Ouster has firmly established itself as a name worth watching.