Apple and Blackstone: You'll Never Look at These Two Companies the Same Again

This week, Brad and Nick tackle Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Blackstone (NYSE: BX), two of the market’s most-requested tickers. With Moody’s fresh U.S. credit-rating downgrade in the headlines, we explain why the macro noise hasn’t derailed the S&P 500 rally and how both companies still flash “sleep-well-at-night” fundamentals.

🔑 Key takeaways

Apple = today’s consumer-staple king. We compare the iPhone ecosystem to Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble and Walmart—and show why a 30× P/E isn’t crazy when the company returns nearly $1 trillion in buybacks & dividends, sports a AA+ balance sheet, and controls its own custom silicon.

Blackstone = the ultimate alternative-asset aggregator. With $180 billion in dry powder and an A-rated balance sheet, BX keeps scooping up real estate, private credit and infrastructure at scale. We flag four REITs—CenterSpace (CSR), Lexington Industrial (LXP), Kite Realty (KRG) and EastGroup (EGP)—that fit Blackstone’s takeover playbook.

How variable dividends work at BX, why AAPL’s services margin offsets slower hardware growth, and what both firms’ capital-return policies mean for income investors in 2025.

Quick-fire portfolio tips: spot rating-agency “noise,” respect balance-sheet leverage, dollar-cost average, and keep single-position size under 5 %.

Whether you’re after dividend safety, passive income, wide-moat stocks, alternative assets or portfolio risk management, this episode delivers a data-driven deep dive without the Wall Street jargon.

👉 Like, subscribe, and post your stock requests in the comments—Brad gives away one signed copy of REITs for Dummies every week.

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00:00 Intro
03:40 Apple (AAPL)
12:10 Blackstone (BX)

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