tv Mad Money CNBC April 3, 2024 6:00pm-7:00pm EDT
6:00 pm
>> you want to protect your citigroup, xlf puts. >> guy? >> we do have time. >> yeah, we do. >> ranger game with his daughter, that's beautiful. >> we're going to have fun. >> all dressed up. >> alcoa, aa. >> thank you for my mission is simple, to make you money. i'm here to level the playing field for all investors. there's always a bull market somewhere and i promise to help you find it. mad money starts now. hey, i'm cramer. welcome to mad money. welcome to cramerica. my job is not just to educate but to teach. call me, 1-800-743-cnbc or tweet me. everybody wants to play the silly game of trying to figure
6:01 pm
out what inning it is in. what inning are we with the weight loss drugs or electric vehicles? we are clearing the final inning of the nelson proxy fight for board seat. it is dizzy because he did not get the votes but he could pick up a full million in profit. that inning game that bothers me the most is, what inning are we in the artificial intelligence whom? for the last few days we've seen everybody coming down in the ai space. people arguing because the declining stock prices we are in the late innings of the story and perhaps it was all done to begin with. fortunately it was not enough to do that much damage today. the nasdaq gained .23% today. still with the bellwether of ai, nvidia, now down from its high of 974 to 889, down another $4.88 today we are being told that nvidia conference and
6:02 pm
supercomputers are just old hat. it's been replaced by the golden age of refining sending stocks like marathon and he. it's the golden age of the dollar stores with dollar general and dollar tree both on fire. they've got a great candy i'll. the chipotle robots are in the seventh-inning stretch. move over, in video. it's all about the oil in the gold. they have the mojo. i say, hold it. enough already. when you hear all this inning talk and bubble chatter it's clear that a lot of investors have no idea what ai is, generative ai or what it will be used for or that the adoption is a revolution. they have no idea because we have not seen anything transform from the ai camp just yet or at
6:03 pm
least nothing that visible. it's true artificial intelligence has changed tactics for salesforce, if there is no doubt that inference has influenced you to purchase certain products from amazon you may have otherwise not known about. you may be with instagram for reals for ultrafast speed for video. dell make money connecting you to the nvidia world. people remember it is doing very well. in terms of innings, i don't think the ai game has even started yet. the tech is still too slow to matter. the big gun computers that jensen wong rolled out, they won't be in the data center until the fall. let me tell you something that i see that are off the beaten track. ai is still in the batting practice stage only for those that feel they need warming up. first, one of the best uses for ai is replacing humans doing repetitive jobs that we used to call dead-end jobs. i sought an autonomous forklift that never breaks down and will
6:04 pm
one day be able to replace any human, actually replacing multiple humans because it can operate 24/7. it can see around the corner and won't stumble. i saw a machine trying to pick up a box that was too close to an invisible wall. it new not to go near it. the next iteration could pretty much pick up anything. i saw a robot bartender that could make one of just three drinks and they were mock tales . it's a machine that can be programmed yet to do everything a real bartender would because the current nvidia chip that powers it can't process all that but the next one might be able to. i want to know if they can program the bartender to make a drink shaken or stirred in homage to james bond and they said it's just a matter of time especially if you can show it the right videos. anything i can do it can do better. how about a robot playing sports? the new ones that are not out yet will be able to pitch a
6:05 pm
perfect game every time. watching perfect games and matching those against the efficiencies that hitters have. so does that mean a robot will be able to do anything physical a person can do? which allows the person to do anything else. i do not think ai will crush jobs in the aggregate. it may replace a lot of undesirable jobs. we are coming from a world where the few who can code have an edge over everybody else. ai can level the playing field. these computers understand the spoken word and not just hard to learn code that you need a computer science degree to do. sure we won't need as many forkliftoperators but right now we don't have enough people to do these jobs in the first place. we still have a labor shortage in the country and wages are more expensive than most businesses can even afford. many other countries have low birth rates and they also need these machines. i experience this at restaurants. nobody wanted to do the jobs that meet the restaurants operate at a loss.
6:06 pm
they could do things you could not otherwise start. think about things like that. yes, we will lose some jobs but we will also get more business formation spurring new hiring that will supersede those jobs. the biggest things has to do with the inability to grasp what can be changed. other than some imaginative people that can think about what superspeed might be doing. people like jensen wong can comprehend what they can do. we can ask questions we can even think of now. we just aren't there yet. to see this you need to be a visionary. jensen can see the future up 10 years. that's all we talk about when i'm out there. most of us have a hard time seeing things out 10 minutes which brings me back to the stock market. we heard that legendary student -- hedge fund manager steve cohen believes that people will purchase dell. we decided to go back to supermicro. we go back to micron but not
6:07 pm
until because it blew up again estimating losses from the strategy that it has. this sector artificial intelligence is similar to the trajectory of the pc when intel went from 386 to 486 we thought it's over. needs anything more powerful than that? turns out we all did but we just didn't know it yet. when the 286 is out and we are scoffing at the 386 and 46 down the road. art we already going fast enough? no. we aren't going fast enough because we just learned how to crawl. could be a real riot when we stand up and learn how to walk to the ballpark to catch batting practice or maybe the national anthem. let's go to tyler in california. >> booyah from california. how are you doing, jim? >> what you have for me. >> based on the tech bubble numbers what is your price target for arm?
6:08 pm
>> my partner and i talk a lot about that. we do not have one for arm. i do think that over time, i think renie is just fabulous as the ceo and i would get that stock easily up 25 to 30 points without a problem. that's where i think it could head. it can go up some more. michael and virginia. michael? >> booyah, jim. i have been watching you for years. >> thank you. >> last month, march 4, i started to purchase shares of zoetis around 187. i am down 13% for my initial position i took. i have in building a position as we go along over the last month. i'm trying to figure out why the stock continues to pullback and should i get more? >> i think it is because of merck animal health. mark animal health is doing incredibly well. i believe that merck has a lot
6:09 pm
of competitive products and that does matter. i also think that labs is doing better. i don't think it is a sale here but understand that merck is a very powerful company doing a lot of things right particularly in animal health. let's go to trey in texas. >> i got a ford ranger pickup truck and this is perfect for delivering pizza and picking up grocery. that said, i will probably get a chevy truck if i need a real payload. speaking of payload, is gm a buy? >> i like it very much. i think the buyback has made it so it's become a very good stock. any weakness, i have to tell you i have the ford maverick and i absolutely love it. i had the super duty and i absolutely love the. i think that stock will go higher also. it is all ford's time. when it comes to advancing ai, some might say we are going
6:10 pm
fast enough. in my view we are just learning how to crawl and there could be a real riot when we stand up and learn how to walk. tonight, csx , holy cow. setting up a special route from baltimore to nyc after the francis scott key bridge collapse. i'm learning more about that and safety for the rails. then the small-cap stuff has been on fire as of late. i'll tell you the details. from blenders to vacuums, shark ninja has a place in your home. should have a place in your portfolio? i will talk to the ceo.
6:12 pm
6:13 pm
plus, buy one unlimited line and get one free. that's like getting two unlimited lines for twenty dollars a month each for a year. so, ditch the other guys and switch today. buy one line of unlimited, get one free for a year with xfinity mobile! plus, save even more and get an eligible 5g phone on us! visit xfinitymobile.com today. not all caitlin clarks are the same. caitlin clark. city planner. just like not all internet providers are the same. don't settle. you want fast. get fast. you want reliable. get reliable. you want powerful. get powerful. get real deal speed, reliability and power with xfinity. she shoots from here? that's kinda my thing.
6:14 pm
with the port of baltimore potentially closed for month in the wake of the francis scott key bridge collapse what does that mean for railroads? csx services several states in the area . for now they have rerouted baltimore cargo to new york or new jersey but it is less efficient. is the market not taking this disruption seriously or have cooler heads prevailed? let's check in with the president and ceo of sx.
6:15 pm
how are you doing? >> hey, jim. we have our leadership team and the network right here in the buckeye state, ohio. i can give you a little bit of a horn there for a shout out. >> i used to put pennies on the line on the csx train line. >> that is not a good thing. don't do that. >> i stopped doing that about 62 years ago but i understand the sentiment. obviously you are involved in every aspect of the railroad. before i get through the questions, i want to ask you is this a typical guy -- job for the guy that is the ceo or do you feel like you should be there frontline? >> our operation team takes a lot of time out on the road as you can imagine. i try to get out with them once in a while and see the employees and the network and of course i'm 18 months and so i'm still learning. it's
6:16 pm
teaching me a lot about the railroads. you have to be out here to see it. >> you know the customers well. you know the port of baltimore which you are doing everything to try to help. it's the largest auto area. you are from that particular customer base. what are you doing to help the customers in the autos? >> we are praying for the families. i spoke to the governor this morning about the federal, state, and local. we are finding other ramps to go to. we are doing a lot of creative things. cole is one f the challenges that we have. we work with our customers to reroute and target the areas. the reason why people are responding favorably as we are finding solutions customers to
6:17 pm
find new solutions. >> cole is a conundrum. if we will industrialize we will need it particularly when the total eclipse of the sun is coming up april 8. solar does not have the juice on the day. is coal making a bizarre come back? >> the world used more coal last year than it has. the world especially india needs it for construction but also thermal capacity. as he said, coal is a supplemental resource been used to help utilities make that power for the near-term. it will decline over time on the thermal side, but on the export side it is growing. we export a lot of coal from the united states. it really helps the people in kentucky and west virginia. >> are these other countries
6:18 pm
scrambling to get another source of coal? are people going to lose it? >> there is enough in the pipeline for now as long as we find new solutions. we are working really hard for employees to transfer to a new location to be able to help with the resources to move the coal. we had a lot of people sign up to do that and that is a tribute to our employees on the csx team. there may be a little bit of an effect in april but we will find solutions. >> just to give a little granularity here, you just switch tracks. i think it was well advised given the fact there was another train coming the other way. it's good that that is working obviously. is is the kind of thing you are inspecting to be sure that the off ramps are good and checking for your safety. you can look
6:19 pm
for anything that has to do with safety first. obviously looking for inventory. looking for everything that you can. when you are on a train for 24 hours and you sleep on the train you get a chance. >> you have two people on the front now. with the technological leader we don't know if you need what they have been able to do. people feel it is necessary for safety. >> they come out and say there's no direct correlation that actually associate with safety. is the drivetrain -- we
6:20 pm
think that is a good set up for now. this is by the administrators and regulators. for now we are very clear staying with two person cruise. over time technology may allow for new opportunities but that is out there in the future. >> last question. you are able to see more than anyone whether there is every industrialization or it is something temporary. what is your take with the southeast about the country coming back in terms of industrialization? >> it is happening. we have over 500 projects happening right now. going to the new projects and not out of the south we spent a little bit of the lower midwest as well. we have steel, aluminum, batteries, electric vehicles, aggregates, forest products, it
6:21 pm
is fortunate to be in the south where this is happening. between this year and the next couple of years you will see a lot of that come to fruition. >> i know a lot of people were concerned it would take years in baltimore but it is just a couple of days. so joe, great to see a. >> to see you, jim. >> be safe. we will be back after the break. coming up, sweat the small stuff. our sluggish small-cap stew for a big turnaround? cramer has more next.
6:22 pm
6:23 pm
constant contact delivers all the tools you need to help your business grow. if billy can do it so can you. get started today at constantcontact.com. helping the small stand tall. you founded your kayak company because you love the ocean- not spreadsheets. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates matching your job description. visit indeed.com/hire
6:24 pm
6:25 pm
it's been nearly 18 months since the market bottomed in october 2022. the dow has rallied nearly 37%. s&p is 49%, nasdaq shot up 61%. there is one really good group that has had a different trajectory. i'm talking about small-cap. when you look at the best proxy it did not actually bottom until october of last year. since then it caught fire climbing a quick 27% but while that is roughly in line with the major average the russell
6:26 pm
2000 still has a lot of room to play catch-up given how much the dow or s&p or nasdaq already gained. the small-cap index remains down more than 15% from its all- time high in november 2021. the market is still in love with ultra speculative stocks. the benchmarks hitting new all- time highs repeatedly. they go where the excitement is not the small caps. so why are small-cap stocks lagged and could some of them be worth buying now that they are beginning to rebound? let's start with the latest one. first there was the composition of russell 2000. we know this market has been let by tech stocks. russell 2000 is much less tech exposure. the s&p is almost 30% tech right now. the tech has shot up. it is just 13%. the reality is it is even more tech heavy than that. it is part of the communication services sector and not tech.
6:27 pm
amazon is consumer discretionary and not tech. the s&p is closer to 40% tech. meanwhile the russell 2000 is some groups that have struggled . how about the regional banks which had a very tough time after the silicon valley bank collapse and the many bank crisis that followed. there was also a lot of biotech companies and those struggled for most of 2022 and much of 2023. they were losing too much money on regional banks and speculative. small caps tend to underperform in a high interest rate environment. the small companies are the ones that most need to raise money. for over a decade after the great recession they were pretty much in heaven because they could borrow for next to nothing. as the fed started raising rates aggressively at the highest rate in 15 years it became much more expensive for the small caps to borrow money and much more difficult to lock up alternative sources of funding. that is why the russell 2000
6:28 pm
finally bottomed once interest rates peaked last october. it is also why the index is stalled year to date and started the climb again. we'll talk about that a lot in the morning. the rates are going up so why picking up some small-cap stocks? they are hostage to interest rates and i think the ultimate direction for rates this year will be lower. i am betting we will get some rate cuts. one or maybe two. i'm in the at camp that says the economy is humming strongly. then we will be able to look at the small caps again in a very favorable way. some market strategists already believe the small caps are ready to make a nice move. tom lee head of grove -- global research has been very bullish. about two weeks ago he came onto last call and predicted that russell 2000 could climb 50% this year. he said the small-cap index should go from around 2000
6:29 pm
where it is now to about 3000. we argued that the long-term underperformance might mean they are due for a mean reversal playing up the small caps in the aggregate basis are now valued as cheap as they were in 1999 which was before they had an extended performance about performance. as long as they are not raising interest rates he expects more mergers. once the fed starts cutting the regional banks could get a good boost. we have another small-cap vote of confidence from the chief investment strategist at bmo capital markets. he's another expert even as he got a little bit more cautious. last week he published a note where he presented a very bullish case for small caps and mid caps. he said they are oversold and urges -- earnings are turning a corner here. they are also extremely attractive and much cheaper.
6:30 pm
i think that this is pretty sound. looking back at this bull market, it's fair to say that some of the best names pushing us higher have gotten beat up a little bit too much. it would not surprise me of some other groups that have not done as well like small caps pick up the mantle and have some outperformance. i keep telling you the bull market has been broadened. the magnificent seven is a donor to the russell 2000 in particular the small caps could work if there interest rates stay lower this year. it feels less certain than a few months ago or even a couple weeks ago. lower rates are less likely if inflation continues to stay stubborn in certain areas like housing, insurance and some commodities. i think the federal reserve is done raising rates. the question is when will they start cutting rates and how many will they have. what's there are rate cuts the small-cap should catch fire. you need some exposure or you will miss it. starting tonight we will be
6:31 pm
running a series on the best small caps. tomorrow i will get specific. i will give you more pitch for the next few days. after that the plan is to go sector by sector looking at the groups that are most heavily weighted like industrial, healthcare, financial. bottom line, stay tuned throughout the end of the week and into next week because i will be doling out some of my best ideas in the undervalued small-cap space over the next several shows. hopefully at the end you will have a really nice shopping list to choose from. let's go two miles in louisiana. >> hey, jim. a big booyah from new orleans. my question on domino's pizza. given the popularity of the weight loss drugs, is domino still appetizing? >> dominoes i regard as being almost like beer. social food. it is also very inexpensive and you can also have tomato pie which is what i do with my kids.
6:32 pm
it has no cheese. most importantly this guy has re-energize the company. it hit an all-time high today. i think it is going to be one of the best stocks for a while. maybe you get some and then wait for it to come down because you don't want to get all that once when it's at its high. ian in north carolina. >> jim, how are you? >> how are you doing. every day is a holiday. >> good attitude. what's going on. i >> i just heard an analyst from morgan stanley state that materials -- is it still a savvy long-term investment? >> i think they have some good robots there and have been able to use them. i would say obviously it's going in the wrong direction and people are concerned about electric vehicles. it has not
6:33 pm
been a good investment but it's a good company. it is hard to rationalize but i will say this. you are certainly not getting in at a high price. we don't know exactly when we will start cutting rates. we just have an idea. when they do i think it is the small caps that will have a nice time. we are trying to get a read on the impact social media has on retail, look no further than sharkninja. the company is meeting the needs for consumers through the use of tiktok and beyond. i will give you my take. then we will have a rapidfire edition of the lightning round so stay with cramer.
6:35 pm
it's payback time. all these years, you've worked hard. you fixed it. you looked after it. maybe it's time for your home to start taking care of you? if you're 62 or older and own your home, a reverse mortgage can put more money in your pocket by eliminating your monthly mortgage payments, paying off higher-interest credit cards, and covering medical costs. you paid down the mortgage, invested in your home. i guess, you could say, your home owes you. just eliminating the mortgage payment freed up a lot of cash for us. the fact that we're still in this home, means so much. i get to go do what i want when i want. our customers' homes are taking care of them, maybe, your home could do the same for you. call aag and get your free info kit. call this number.
6:37 pm
last year consumer product company sharkninja quietly listed. at first it did not get much attention. over the past eight months the stock has more than doubled from its debut climbing from the mid 20 set of flows in early august to the low 60s today. it is moving for good reason. as the underlying company has posted two very strong quarters brought in a lot of new investors. that is a monster move. they do have a chinese former parent company that owns half the business. if they decide to sell a ton of the shares that could hurt but this has been a great untold story. so let's go to straight to the source with mark barrocas who is the ceo of sharkninja.
6:38 pm
welcome to mad money. >> thank you so much. >> i have heard people say that there's not as much excitement as in years for this company. this has taken the country by storm. >> sharkninja is a consumer product innovation powerhouse. we go to market with a shark brand and ninja brand, two multibillion-dollar brands that we delight consumers everyday and solve problems for them. we help them clean faster and cook easier and feel more beautiful and spend more quality time. i started running the business 16 years ago. >> 16? >> in the last 16 years we have grown revenue from $200 million to nearly $4.3 billion last year. we are a highly profitable business. we generated strong, organic growth. the company has grown over the last 15 years with a compounded
6:39 pm
annual growth rate of 20% per year. >> how do you know what people want? are you tinkerers? when i saw everything there's a lot of things i did not know i needed but it turns out i did. >> if you want to come to our office in boston, just out of boston is is the willy wonka product innovation. we are in 31 different product categories. we sell everything from what you see with the ninja creamy ice cream maker to the shark cordless vacuum to the flex style. consumers have multiple products of hours in their home. i think what is exciting now about being publicly listed company is they now understand the company behind the products. >> let's understand that you do some that you have invented. some that are as got my parents generation will call the knockoffs. they offer better value unless somebody does one that is so far superior. it's a mixture of both. howdy of define your own companies product?
6:40 pm
>> it starts with identifying unknown or unknown consumer problem. we take those proprietary insights and turn them into disruptive product innovation that we think we do better than anyone else. we do it with incredible speed. we have 800 engineers around the globe working on the innovation cycle. we have engineers in boston. when they go to sleep it passes to china and they work on it. that it passes to london and they work on it. it helps bring products to market and as fast as 12 months. we have market-leading performance of our products. high-quality products. they have the most five star ratings online. >> i was going to ask you about ratings. this new generation which i regard as being a much smarter and more sophisticated generation has tiktok. that those as well? >> the consumer has so much power today.
6:41 pm
when we started we opened up consumer reports and they told you the 10 vacuum cleaners. it was a store when i was growing up called sims. the educated consumer was the best customer. the consumer today is more educated than they have ever been. they go online and create organic user generated content. there has been an evolution. it's gone from the online review 10 years ago to the facebook to now today to the tiktok or instagram post. >> so what percentage of these things are made in china? we know the chinese cars are cheaper and better. if it is cheaper and better i am all in? what percentage. >> today we make about two thirds of the product in china and about a third of the product outside of china primarily in southeast asia. >> let's go over pricing. in some cases you will be head-
6:42 pm
to-head against a company called dyson. the cordless vacuum might be 500 from dyson and 280 from you guys. what do you hear about the customer. how do you as a person that has been at this for 16 years think about one price as another? stop versus not snob and price is good. >> we are in the business to create affordable and accessible innovation. we want to sell to everyone in the market. our products are sold from walmart to sophora and everywhere in between. i don't think about it in terms of trying to develop products from and cooper expensive consumer. we want to develop products for everyone. that is what is so excited about the shark and ninja brand. we are the highest price in the market. we are at the lower price. we move the opening price consumer up to the brand and
6:43 pm
are also the brand of choice for the premium consumer. >> that is remarkable. i wish we had more time. the chinese ownership, do they want to sell the position down? i know it's not up to you, but can you give us any insight into what they are thinking? >> they believe in the long- term value of shark ninja. this is a business that has grown organically. we've never acquired a dollar in revenue in the country -- company history. this is all innovation we've developed ourselves expanding into new product categories and geographies. i think there is a lot of white space to continue. >> every month you have something new? or just when it is ready? >> we launch 25 new products a year. we do that year after year after year. 25 new products per year. >> that is an unusual and exciting order way to do it.
6:44 pm
6:45 pm
6:46 pm
[falcon screech] [ominous background sounds] hyah! sheriff! the adversaries are back! [gasps] not again. sheriff, i got this. protecting your business from cyber attacks can be unrelenting. [triumphant adventure music plays] today's adversaries move fast. crowdstrike moves faster. crowdstrike. we stop breaches. it's payback time. all these years, you've worked hard. you fixed it. you looked after it. maybe it's time for your home to start taking care of you? crowdstrike moves faster. if you're 62 or older and own your home, a reverse mortgage can
6:47 pm
put more money in your pocket by eliminating your monthly mortgage payments, paying off higher-interest credit cards, and covering medical costs. you paid down the mortgage, invested in your home. i guess, you could say, your home owes you. just eliminating the mortgage payment freed up a lot of cash for us. the fact that we're still in this home, means so much. i get to go do what i want when i want. our customers' homes are taking care of them, maybe, your home could do the same for you. call aag and get your free info kit. call this number. lightning round is sponsored by charles schwab. trade brilliantly.
6:48 pm
it is time. than the lightning round is over. are you ready? let's start with stephen new jersey. steve. >> how are you doing today? >> i'm doing well. how are you? >> i'm good. thank you. i want to thank you for the tips i've gotten from you over eight years. my question is a recent position that i took in. i noticed it is competitive.. with some of the numbers i've had on there, -- >> i read that downgrade. i think it is good. i think it tells a good story. i would get that stock right here let's go to matt and new
6:49 pm
york. >> jim, big booyah format and upstate new york. >> i'm doing well. thank you for calling. what's happening? >> not much. in regards to a portfolio hold of mine, ticker symbol bpop. >> i'm a wells fargo guy for the trackable trust. i'm not backing away. i think that has more room to run . let's go to deacon pennsylvania. >> booyah, buddy. >> what's happening. >> a lot of rain. just trying to stay dry. i got fiber energy a few years back. it had some good dividend payout and now it is doing nothing. what do you think i should do with that? >> what was the stock? i'm sorry? fiber. it is a good stock. it has good yield. it's got mineral rights. it's an excellent idea given the fact people think we are in
6:50 pm
an inflationary environment. let's go to mike in michigan. >> hey, jim. this is mike in michigan. i wanted to ask about stocks on oil play. this is ip. a smaller company. >> i like them. we did recommend it. it shot up instantly and then came back down. given the fact where oil is i would like to purchase right here. let's go to katie in florida. >> yes. i have two. can i give you two? so what is the line a lgn and the second one is dj t. >> i like a line. i think a line is pretty good. they've come down 100 points. it's not bad. that is the one i would go with. let's go to bob in south carolina. >> jimbo, how are you doing? >> i'm doing good. how about you?
6:51 pm
>> you look good. $20 a share, should i get out? >> they are doing a good job. people feel maybe the do-it- yourself guys staying away. this, i do not want you to sell lowe's. let's go to bill and new york. >> hill. is he going to talk to me right now? >> you are on. >> jim. i'm going to try to find out some information on a company called gxo logistics. >> we had malcolm on a couple of times. i think it is okay. i think it is x po. when x po is done i say fantastic, hallelujah. it's go to bill in illinois. >> hey, jim. you are looking great. this is
6:52 pm
bill from illinois. i have some question for you on norwegian cruise line. >> i think norwegian cruise is good. i think royal is better. that is the conclusion of the lightning round. >> the lightning round is sponsored by charles schwab. coming up, cosmetics at first blush. retail rival that has an old fave in search of a touchup.
6:54 pm
(sirens) [due at target in 5!] copy that. make a hard left down the alley. network's got you covered. [please confirm requesting back-up.] -changing route. -go. roadblock ahead. ...back up, back up... reverse! reverse! next level moments, we're 30 seconds out. need the next level network. [north corridor, hurry!] -coming through! -or 3, let's go. the network more businesses choose. transplant received. at&t business.
6:56 pm
we are hearing a lot about the consumer of the moment. the consumer is strong, the consumer is weak, the consumer is worried about oil present. enough already. sure we are experiencing a lowlands bending maybe. that's what i see in the stock with starbucks where there's clearly expectation for a better second half which is code for the first half is not good. things have certainly been better at ulta after the stock
6:57 pm
went plummeting nearly $80. dave and busters had a better than expected numbers. signet raised earnings guidance substantially. this tops what they gave two weeks ago but then again they are buying back the equivalent of 4.1 million shares. it's a big deal when you only have 40 million shares outstanding. it gets boosted with the buyback. so why have they shot up 20% in the immediate aftermath. levis reported numbers after the close this evening. a strong performance all the way around which brings a good look at on retail in general. i know that this is the least consequential. are making a judgment about the health of the consumer. they do not correlate. dave kimball, the ceo of ulta lowered the boom on his own stock today. he made cogent points about what he called societal factors when he talked about self --
6:58 pm
sales. he said economically there's a mixed data point around the economic situation for the majority of consumers with healthy employment weight and wage growth and also rising credit card debt and student loan dynamics and of the pressures that we certainly see within i guess. then he goes on, quote, we know what is going on in the world whether it is some of the political challenges, global complex, and then the political environment as we go through election-year. he said that creates a soup of activity. i get all of this but as i read through the call i was struck by an obvious surge of competition from kohl's which has named plated it's sephora store right inside. so this is why i come down. i do not believe anything of consequence is happening with
6:59 pm
the consumer as long as employment remain strong. that is the true tale of spending. we still have good unemployment numbers which is fabulous. this is a noisy moment. there is no fear of losing jobs or big holiday spending slowdown because there are no holidays. it's easy to extrapolate from this information but a lot of this will mislead you because it is not big enough to move the needle. i say make the most important judgments you can, but don't make snap judgments makes to -- based on what is inconsequential. i think that kohl's, i never thought of them as sephora but now that name is right in front of the store but they have great prices with and ulta like collection. it has been a dominant player. wake me up on friday when we get the labor report. if the numbers are strong
7:00 pm
there's no reason to worry about the consumer. if it is weak the fed will cut rates and the consumer will get a boost. good scenarios but for now nothing has changed. people of to make something out of nothing. the soup is the competition. no holidays so no changes. leave it at that. i like to say there is always a bull market somewhere. i like to find it right now on last call, i don't think many people know exactly what will happen. >> rare comments from steve cohen. what is coming next for your money. we will get your reaction. victory for now. brutal board battle ending but an even tougher chapter has begun. janet yellen preparing to meet with top leaders in china. kyle bass joining us on what they need to hear. levi's shares are soaring. you will hear exclusively from
58 Views
IN COLLECTIONS
CNBCUploaded by TV Archive on
![](http://athena.archive.org/0.gif?kind=track_js&track_js_case=control&cache_bust=1703797848)