ai and gemini. and more on the platform android and possibly a new pixel phone and on wednesday, economists expect an increase of more than 3% versus last year. you will see ppi the day before. that retail sales as well. there will be a lot to digest. markets did finish today higher, with the exception of the nasdaq, which was down fractionally and the russell 2000, all of the major averages finished the week higher that does it here for us at "overtime. happy mother's day "fast money" begins now. live from the nasdaq market site and in the heart of new york city, times square, this is "fast money" here is what is on tap running on empty consumers losing that loving feeling about the economy as companies are trying to get price-weary shoppers to start spending again china rising from being called uninvestable last summer to a major rebound this year. behind the big bounceback in

beijing. we will take you there coming up. later, not just for boomer, the new generation that is getting the gold bug a big week for a semiconductor not named nvidia have a coke and a smile. more on the giant. we have tim seymour, and karen finerman here with us. >> and the penny pinching consumer, news today that the fast food giant mcdonald's is getting ready to introduce a $5 menu to help pull diners back into the stores after the company posted the first earnings miss since 2022 in the first quarter. 2 cents below estimates. the revenue growth the lowest in a year mcdonald's shares have been struggling since the report but got a boost after today's news as investors seemed to welcome any relief for consumers after all, sentiment falling to the lowest level of the year, according to the university of michigan first reading for may and next week's cpi report, if it comes in hotter than expected for the fourth month in a row, that adds to the pressure.

so is there any relief in sight for the consumer or will spending really start to weigh on the economy and the markets from here? it seems like we've been forecasting the demise of the consumer for a very long time. it has not come. and then we are getting data points now that we are seeing the stress. >> and in fast food, we heard from these folks earliest, and mcdonald's is fighting back, and so the question is, do you translate this into promotional activity which weighs on margins? it has been pretty solid in terms of the margin growth they had a huge lift from their loyalty, their digital, and transformation that really over the last five years has been nothing short of extraordinary so the question is, what do you want to pay for the company in this environment their consumer is under pressure, but their business is not is my view and i think you're still a little early coming back into a multiple on mcdonald's that says there is all kinds of value in the stock, and it is not a $5 buy here, and in fact, it is still trading kind of 22, 23 times, and i don't think that that is crazy cheap, even though we know it was up in the high

20s. >> if you look at the other competition, it is not that consumers are not spending money. they're just not spending it at mcdonald's sweet green's, kava and shake shack, and wingstop, domino's, those stocks are killing it. so it is a mcdonald's problem, not a fast food problems >> a lot of the competitors are not truly competitors in that it is a higher price point. they are much more akin to a chipotle, for instance. >> we talk about consumers, a monolithic consumer and a very, very stratified group that consumers who, are you know, at the low end of the dollar stores, and i don't know if mcdonald's is the low end, but certainly relative to the chipotle's and the others it is much lower end so people who have assets, who have been in the market, are feeling pretty good, their jobs feel pretty good, some even lower end consumers do feel like they're getting raises, so they feel good, but so i guess there's a sort of a tale of two, or many more consumers, and if

you're doing okay, and you're you know, reasonably high category, then you're doing well, and the places you shop are doing well. >> domino's is low end right? you would agree that's low end i would assume that's, i don't know if it is the same as mcdonald's, but it's sort of in the same ballpark. >> and sweetgreens, i would put up very close. >> i think it is the growth story, where it is the smaller players that maybe have international carrot on the stick, if you will, where they can expand their growth, and maybe it is the more exhausted ones, but domino's is sort of a more mature story, so it doesn't really cover all that, but it's -- mcdonald's is in short. >> to pull back a pit bit here, i guess we're asking the question, are we going to start get concerned about the consumer and asking this on the precipice of ppi next week and a slew of earnings, walmart, home depot, lowe's, you name it reporting notice next couple of weeks and it seems like increasingly so

many names are indicating that consumers are pushing back on price, and even if you go to, you know, starbucks, as a recent example, the occasional customer is not going as frequently and that occasional customer is probably employed still and probably still has some money in the markets or is feeling okay, but has decided to, you know what, i'm not going to spend that $4 on a coffee. >> yes, i think that's exactly right. and i think the way karen phrased it is the way, right asset owners are feeling fine because they've benefitted from stimulus spending, and everything that has happened in the market, and also from higher rates. and people who have more debts than assets, they're feeling much more of the pinch and inflation has really, really made it much harder for them to divvy up that paycheck in ways that they feel a lot of control over it's true that they have had the most wage growth but they also have a much higher share of very exposed inflationary items, including gas and everything that is happening at the grocery store. and i think next week, it is

absolutely critical for more understanding of the lower end consumer, because once that starts to falter, i think that starts to really ripple. and if you think about recessions, right, recessions, the declines that you see in demands, they're not from people who lose their jobs. they're from people who are afraid they are going to lose their jobs and are pulling back on their spending and that is what really equipments demand meaningfully. >> it goes back to the jobs. hardfully ever do we focus on jobless claims but the pop to eight month highs is notable despite the seasonal factors involved. >> at 22,000 uptick, and again a police of consensus on jobless claims is what you talk about, because hey, what was this, even though it is a volatile series, and we're still at historically low joblessness. so it is a week where people who want to believe that the consumer is falling apart, believe it is just a matter of time before you start to see this pull back the other side of this is what we heard from the fed and different fed speakers is ultimately you've got an environment where they don't necessarily see inflation coming

down any time soon, they're actually worried about -- there were some comments out of the dallas fed saying we're not sure that there is a sense -- i don't know, the risk-free rate, the restrictive policy is a better way to say it and they don't think it is overly restrictive so it gets back to in different places, we have been hearing about the consumer, i would go back to mcdonald's, because mcdonald's also has an opportunity to play up, and in other words, part of what they were talking about is they're actually going to be getting into growth segments and getting into a little bit more of a fast casual, they have an international initiative, steve talks about the international side of it, a lot of these companies, that is where you get it, i think that's where you are getting it from domino's so i think this is -- mcdonald's comments is about as much how they're trying to position their business and warning people, hey, look, we are going to do what we have to do in our core, but we're actually excited about other parts of the demographic consumer chain. >> and walmart, you're thinking about the consumer, and the

lower end, but households of $100,000 or more increasingly shopping at walmart. if that trend continues, that is an interesting data point in terms of the psyche and the better-off consumer out there. >> yes, you could look at it that way that makes sense i do also think that there is something like, you could see also very high end consumers or high-ish end consumers at a costco or somewhere like that, because they love it, right? and they just think this is incredible value, and it is sort of fun, and so they can shop there. and they can shop anywhere. >> do you find costco fun? >> i would guess no, am i right? >> well, i was going to say. >> making sure i understand. >> i don't know, i think that target will be a little more interesting to me, because we think, i have been concerned, i don't know anymore, i have been concerned about taking share from them, and that higher margin with temu, and can't compete as well on walmart at

the groceries which is huge for the target consumers. >> and walmart's chart looks okay but i think you're right i think now, they are really catering to every income bracket. but we saw studies this week, we saw data out, every income bracket is doing better off than they were pre-pandemic every one. >> based on -- >> based on net worth. based on net worth and the amount of debt they're carrying. >> we're not there yet. >> is that home and stock portfolios >> lower end doesn't -- they don't own homes. they do not own homes. it is about a paycheck wages increased. karen brought that up earlier. so they're richer quote-unquote than they were pre-pandemic and they still have savings. >> all right which report would be most key to you >> i'm really interested, i think housing is so critical to understanding the overall outlook. so many americans, that's really where their store of net worth is and their sense of confidence, so i'm really curious about how home depot is

going to be talking about the diy and the professional, and i'm really kind of curious to see, are people still out there shopping, and trying to buttress the asset that they have, and a lot of people are kind of stuck in their homes with their ultra low mortgages and can't move either way and that's the place i'm most curious about. >> seasonally, it is a good time for home depot and lowe's. planting season, right >> i will be there over the weekend. but we what we also heard from home depot is their pro business remains strong, a high margin driver for the business, a real support valve for the business, the mix of some of the durables and some of the consumables that were very, very high demand items during covid, whether it's grills and outdoor furniture and this kind of stuff, and i don't think they have the same demand cycle. so it will be interesting. i think home depot is very defensive. i love the pullback, i think the valuation is interesting, it trades at a premium. karen is maybe a more of a lowe's's person, maybe >> more lowe's than home depot on the valuation spread, but i'm

a little worried i'm worried about, when we saw, was it masco, with black and decker. >> black and decker. >> black and decker with weaker numbers. there was some commentary i think it was out of home depot about builder supplies and what is the door maker, jensen weld, also week and a lot of these, i don't know, i don't think it is idiosyncratic but i see a lot of components of what would be good business for the home depot and lowe's of the world is a little lighter than i would have liked. >> and it is not the components specifically for professionals for contractors. >> yes >> that's true. >> and if rates come down, home equity loans will be more prevalent. people take out a home equity loan, maybe they're sitting as julie said, they're trapped married to that mortgage but they're more apt to spend that money with a home equity loan at a lowe's or home depot and do some renovations versus having to move. >> meantime, the treasury released new data on the incoming spending and the numbers are staggering, particularly when you look at how much we are paying in

interest we have more from dc with megan. >> the u.s. government spent $102 billion on interest on the debt last month setting a record for the month of april that's a 35% increase from the same month a year ago as the deficit grows and interest rates remain high. fiscal year to date interest payments are up a similar 36% and for five straight months they've been rising faster than any other line item in the treasury budget. a couple of other increases, social spending was up an adjusted 6% from last year because of the cost of living adjustment spending at the department of health and human services was up 64% as spending rose for medicare and medicaid, although after adjustments due to deferred calendar, spending at dhhs was up 7% for the fiscal year so far, treasury is running an 855 billion dollars deficit. but it is not all bad news that's actually 8% smaller from this time a year ago melissa? >> yeah. thank you, megan. staggering, i mean, you

know, no surprise though, right? we've been getting at there for aling time in terms of how muc more it is going to cost for the bet. >> all of a sudden, we are in this situation. >> 35%. >> and both parties actually neither one wants to be the one to rein things in and i think it will happen until something breaks they won't fix it before that. and i don't know what that will be, if that is a failed -- social security, the other day talking about 2034, social security would be -- >> we've been hearing that for our whole lives. >> for seven years here. and they keep pushing it off flying cars, we didn't see that. insolvent by a certain time. >> it's scary, that's the number one fear, i think. >> we hope to break this down, the government spending data next week, cpi data and more our chief economy, joe we have more on what we can expect, and great to have you with us. >> thank you >> we're talking about the consumer and where the cracks

are and certain consumers are under more pressure and that's your take on overall consumer spending, as it relates to the component of the economy >> it's a big piece, obviously the% of gdp and consumers will keep spending as long as they have jobs. and at the moment they still have jobs which is good. however, where i do foresee a problem is on the good side, because looking at the pre-pandemic trends, we're about 8% above the pre-pandemic trends with generally credit conditions starting to tighten a bit more from where they were a couple of years ago. and interest rates for a lot of durable borrowing for homes certainly, asplinss, furniture, those rates are high at some point that will slow but the first thing, melissa, is the labor market really has to weaken the consumer always, even when the next recession comes, always generally looks pretty good until all of a sudden the consumer doesn't in other words consumer spending is a measure of current activity, as much as we try to look at various company reports, and what the guidance says, consumer spending never tells us

about where we're going, and it is the confidence numbers you were talking about at the top of the show >> they're lousy. >> and more forward looking. >> of course they were lousy, that's right. >> they were terrible. >> that's right. >> it was terrible >> well, it tells me, here is the thing, it comes full circle. what it tells me, melissa, is that the inflation data is likely, and i'm not sure exactly why, i've got some theories but the inflation data is all of a sudden now looks really poor next week is going to be four months in a row likely and if the economy doesn't slow, this low-landing scenario continues to play out, then the fed has to keep rates high and maybe even hike rates, so as to slow the economy and moderate inflation. the only way out would be if you got a big increase in productivity growth, and with a potential gdp higher and all of a sudden inflation starts moving lower again. that could happen but that to me is a low -- that is sort of a little bit of a fairytale. it doesn't sound like it is likely to happen it will rest on the fed. and then you do get the downturn but when that is, is very hard

to say. >> joe, great to have you. let's get to another fairy tale that the balance will plans their budget sometime soon for 50 years, we went 2% of deficit on the budget. or budget had a 2% deficit the last one i saw was over 6. this matters and it probably also makes gdp higher so at what point do you put your kind of credit hat on, we kind of scoff at the credit agencies when they downgrade but this is real >> yes. >> and it is not going to go away any time soon. >> if you look at the numbers, the 10-year note at roughly 4%, 4.2, 4.3 for the next 30-odd years, no recession, unemployment low, and the deficit goes to 9%, close to 9%, so clearly, there's going to be an issue now, fast forward to next year let's assume we can make whatever assumptions we want to make about who is in office, but the deficit numbers certainly going into next year will remain terrible we are running 5, 6% budget deficits with unemployment 4%,

slightly below that's unheard of. the rating agencies when they downgraded in 2011 and when they warned in the past, because of the debt ceiling, it was politics and if politics don't get better, as karen was saying, there is going toing some fragility there. so the rubber may meet the road next year but there is certainly no way to keep this spending going. and part of it is the treasury's own mistake by basically 80% of all of the net issuance in the last year has been, it has been one year, and the yield curve inverted is the reason why, as we were saying before the segment began about interest rates, they're high because the curve is inverted and the treasury is financing everything at the front end. >> it's karen. let me push back for a seconds on the productivity thought that you had. is it possible that there is greater productivity than we think? how else do we explain the gdp numbers that are so strong, the last one napg, but the 3s, is that not due to some significant productivity gain?

>> it is due to some significant productivity and productivity growth has improved we've seen labor force participation. although it is still below where it was in 2020, beginning of 2020 it's come back so that is part of it. but if that's the case though, karen, we should start to see the inflation numbers quickly move lower because if there's more slack in the economy, because the economy's potential is higher, because productivity is higher, then inflation is supposed to move downward. and consumers, you talk about mcdonald's, the numbers today out of michigan were very surprising i was surprised to see those inflation numbers, especially with gas prices kind of okay at the moment they're not really spiking much. so to me, there is a lot of angst and stress out there on the consumer side because the living standards have fallen because inflation is so high, and that likely is a function of the fact that the government has been spending way too much money, we have avoided recession, but we are paying for, on the price side >> so joe, i will take it in a different angle. shelter costs are over 30% of cpi. so is the fed sort of backing

themselves in a corner where they have to cut rates because that's the only way shelter costs are coming in. and if shelter costs are tied to cpi, that's the only way cpi is coming in. so if they don't cut rates, you're actually not getting lower inflation. >> i heard that, and i don't know if i believe that argument. the easiest way to answer it is that the fed focuses on the core pca and the rental piece and the core pc is about a third of the size if we picked the core pc and break it between the cyclical and the structural, or the noncyclical pieces, we need about a 2.5% drop in the core -- the cyclical part of the core pc and that doesn't happen outside a recession. so what i think winds up happen is cpi might come down because of the fed cut some day and the rental come down and what the fed focuses on is not heavily rental-driven, it's health care-driven, and health care costs are not coming down. >> joe, thanks for coming on we appreciate it

nice to see you. >> thank you, everybody. so he said no, basically >> he said no, a lot of people say no, and then a lot of people, you know, i don't want to be part of a consensus, but i think that when you look at that, it's the holy grail for me so cost does come down, and if interest rates come down, i think costs come down, both health care, insurance costs, and rent costs - >> or if unemployment goes up, housing costs come down. people can't afford. it it is a natural press on the market there. >> i think that's right. but right now, the fact that housing costs are as high as they are, with people, with the joblessness as low it is, i think it is more of a function of housing, structural housing dynamics but there's no question. the consumer needs to waken up and we need to look at other analysis that is speculation the consumer is fine. coming up, looking at a strong start to the quarter for taiwan semi. we will look at the numbers and other moves in the semi space. plus a whole new generation

of gold bug, the commodity's record run haz young investors grabbing up as such of the precious metal as they can what that means for the markets after this shion moves fast. setting trends is our business. we need to scale with customer demand... in real time. (jen) so we partner with verizon. their solution for us? a private 5g network. (ella) we now get more control of production, efficiencies, and greater agility. (marquis) with a custom private 5g network. our customers get what they want, when they want it. (jen) now we're even smarter and ready for what's next. (vo) achieve enterprise intelligence. it's your vision, it's your verizon. what is cirkul? cirkul is the fuel you need to take flight. cirkul is the energy that gets you to the next level. cirkul is what you hope for when life tosses lemons your way. cirkul, available at walmart and drinkcirkul.com.

welcome back to "fast money. two chip makers on the tape. arm holdings jumping 5%, recouping losses from wednesday, warning on guidance. taiwan semi gaining almost 5%. revenues in april were up 60% from last year the ai business playing a big role there they are also up with the increase in the dividend you pointed this out this is a very good sign for demand i mean that jump month on month was extraordinary. >> it was great insight into the recent sales numbers and they pointed where they're upgrading their dividend to a place where you will have, you know, it's going to be something along, you know, 30 a share, they have increased this, they will have almost doubled it by 2027, which tells you a lot about demand this is a company that to me really is a platform machine, we know they're investing at the same time and we know they're working, they have a strategic

partner tonot just the u.s. government but the japanese and many other governments, along with the choice sort of, kind of, we'll see. but it's a stock that has also had a lot of volatility. and along with the cyclicality of the semis if you bought this stock in november of '22, you're up 2.5 times. this is a stock i think you want to be buying on any weakness in general. >> and plus they pointed out their ai angle is still in low teams growth so there is a lot of growth there left for them. but i thought the recovery in cell phones, and smartphones was interesting. so arm has a 90% share in cell phones this is positive for them. and apple. >> i mean i mentioned the month on month jump, with the revenues, 21%, month on month. it really tells you that there is something that happened with the change in the calendar, that really boosted it for tsm. >> i think that's the tricky thing with a lot of these businesses is they all have these anomalies in terms of how they record revenue, and how their business ramps cyclically

and seasonally, it is a little bit tricky to keep track of. but what i think is important, and kind of distinguishing between these two businesses is the capital intensive nature of tsmc to me, it makes it a less attractive business than arm, right? arm is the blueprint maker and as such, it is much lower capital intensiveness. and they have such high levels of market share. so i think between these two, that's the more compelling case right now. >> and of course, we're all waiting for nvidia that's really the thing. >> waiting for nvidia. but it is interesting, you know, we keep waiting for, it and as soon as it comes up with the quarter, it will be irrelevant what's the next quarter and the trajectory of the growth and supply/demand dynamic is, there still overwhelming demand, and so i mean is it expensive? yes, it is but i do really believe that we are, as we talked about two days

ago, cambrian -- >> pre-cambrian. >> it is hard to not look at being in the period with the fastest expansion. >> i have been thinking about, early on, i was looking at trading around nvidia and interesting things to do with options, but it was interesting, listening to druckenmiller, incredibly skilled at investing and took some off and he believes in the ultimate promise but not the near-term valuation. and i just think if one believed in the ultimate promise, you have to kind of have to stay with it, and to figure out how to get out and when to get in -- >> and it may be getting too big. >> that's a different thing, if it gets too big, and you could put spreads on it or something like that, but if it isn't too big, then i think you just kind of have to stay with it, because it is just too hard to get in and out, and then when, that's

the question >> there's a lot more "fast money" to come shear what is coming up next. generation gold bug. the commodities run to record highs in 2024 has young investors rushing to grab up all of the precious metal they can why millennials love the metal and what it means for the markets next. plus, a huge rebound across the pacific. china's recent resurgence is making waves across u.s. markets. is now the time to go all-out for gains in china we'll debate the best place for your money, right after this you're watching "fast money" live from the nasdaq market site in times square. we're back right after this.

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welcome back to "fast money. gold's run to record highs this year is having a human being effect on younger investors who are scrambling to snatch up as much as of the precious meltle as they can. pippa stevens has more on the gold bug. >> this is far from a boomers only trade millennials actually have the largest allocation of gold, 17%, relative to baby boomers 10%, according to state street. now, part of this is interest, in the physical asset, and that retains value. 27-year-old diba ahmed who was

outside toronto, bought her first gold bar two years ago at cd bank and she has been buying ever since, as part of a balanced portfolio >> there needs to be a way to secure the value of funds and that's why i was like, let me go buy gold, because i know for sure, it is not a short-term game, it is a long-term way of storing value. i don't get emotional about my purchases. again as long as it is 10% of my portfolio, i'm okay with it. >> 37-year-old mark meyer is a precious metals reseller and dea dealer with a warehouse to store what he buys and the general concern of millennials is the distrust with the dollar meyer buys coins and more. and it makes up a quarter of his investment dollar. 52-week highs today, 69% of millennials saying the best way to invest in gold is through etfs melissa? >> the two people you

highlighted in your report, they have the actual physical gold but it is okay for this generation to just buy gld, which is not actually, having it in your hand >> yes, so that is the majority of the younger investors say that the etfs are the most attractive and the easiest way to buy gold, you don't have to think where you're actually going to store it. but there has been this new surge prompted in part by costco and a lot of videos on social media showing people going to their bank, and adis ahmed said when she first bought her bar two years ago, it took over an hour and no one came to buy them and now when she goes, they're running ards for the gold bars, so definitely a little bit of a shift there. >> let me ask you, karen one of the promises of sort of bitcoin, it is digital gold for the younger generation are you finding that some of that younger generation is actually not interested in bitcoin but rather gold, either gld, or physical gold? >> well, the people i spoke with also owned cryptocurrency as another way to diversify but as one person pointed out, it doesn't have nearly as much

history as gold. we're talking about 5,000 a year here so bitcoin doesn't have nearly that same longevity. and that use case is being a safe haven asset which of course is being called into question. but i think that it also is an exploration for other ways to invest, particularly with equities, at, you know, making so much money these days, younger investors are saying where can i find returns, and so they're interested in diversifying >> pippa, thanks pippa stevens, fascinating report. would you rather, bitcoin or gold >> great question. because i think they're both doing a lot of the same heavy lifting right now. and in terms of the dynamics with the budget deficit and what not and i would say gold because i trust in 5,000 years and i heard long term mentioned by one of the millennial investors, and that's exactly what the gold investment is. and if you look at that gold chart, i've said it before, that's the best 20-year chart you will find out there. and not necessarily what you

will see from gold miners. gvg, and others have been a ball and chain. and others have been up 60% in six months >> there is so much in east clam >> i really hope these people who have the physical gold increase their insurance to cover the value of that gold and that policy, because if they're just putting it under their bed, somebody comes in and breaks in, you know, all bets are off. >> is that where you're storing yours? >> we don't want to give it away >> julie biel, i think in the past you said you're not really into gold, but correct me if i'm wrong, and what do you think of younger people getting into gold >> i think younger people getting into gold makes sense, because this is a really digitally enabled group of people that are tired of digital nally enabled things they love kind of artisanal hand crafted things and suspicious of a lot of the digital economy and makes sense in a throw back way

that they're interested in that. for me personally, i like assets with cash flow and that's why bitcoin or gold is a very appealing thing to me except if i can take the gold and make it into jewelry, i have a phenomenal jeweler in that case, it is fine. >> the younger buyer is probably looking at digital bitcoin and if bitcoin is digital gold, then they are looking at it as the reverse and when you look at where to store, it they store it in safety deposit boxes and go to a physical bank which they have never done before but the miners have caught up to the metal. and now, we'll see where it goes from now we started off the show with reckless spending and this is why gold runs. coming up, a u.s. debut chinese stock zeekr. we will break down the winners and losers coming up. and pot with a pivotal movement it is this year's election that could be a cannabis catalyst

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welcome back to "fast money. the major averages closing 0 on a positive week.

the dow on a eight-day winning streak the last since last december of the s&p 500 up 2% and the nasdaq just in the red but up 1% on the week. coca-cola pulling out an eight-day winning streeks and mcdonald's stock is up about 2.5% in that time. and check out dutch brothers, another 10% today. the stock is now up six days in a row. today, td talent upgrading the stock. and is it winning from starbucks? >> i think first of all, the growth that they're able to show, blows starbucks out of the water at this point. and you know, they've definitely proven to have a margin story that is improving. starbucks has their own issues that i think are really what we focused on this week >> meantime, chinese stocks rebounding after a rough go last year the fx up nearly 14% in last month, far outpacing the s&p 500 which is basically flat. among the winners, names like jd.com and tencent up 20%.

what is driving the names? we have more from beijing. >> reporter: investors a taking a second look at chinese stocks for a few reasons. first, the economy, though fragile, is showing signs of life for example, april exports and imports indicated stronger demand, both overseas and at home second, chinese authorities are taking measures to boost market confidence while messaging a more pro-growth stance in april, the stock regulator published rules to crack down on illegal trading and securities fraud and beijing has signaled new plans to tackle the over-built real estate market, possibly at a key leadership meeting in july. and finally, valuations look cheap. companies like alibaba, jd, tencent and meituan are stepping up buybacks. all of these moves are raising hopes that the market here has reached a floor. melissa? >> eunice thank you. eunice yoon in beijing.

chinese ev maker zeekr debuting on the new york stock exchange exchange at $21 and surging 35% on the recession, the warm reception coming two years after the ride hailing giant adidi was forced to de-list from the new york stock exchange what a change in events here tim, i go to you, the ambassador. >> it is fascinating that we're seeing chinese ipos, and it is fascinating that they are in some of the leading edge technology sectors and these are companies that actually have the ability to bring the financials and the transparency into their business, at least they do now the fact is, after this ipo, a $6 billion market cap, the same size as lucent, and we are starting to hear, and the sure size of the market, there are growth names that people are coming back to for the first time it is fascinating. >> why are we seeing it? it begs the question, why the different between the two?

>> a change in beijing. >> i think it is all political and so maybe it is to that point, that it is just rhetoric right now, because when he put a steel or a aluminum tariff, they don't sell that much steel and aluminum to us and they've been locked out of the ev market in the u.s. forever. so is it just rhetoric from our side and they're softening on their side >> in terms of proposed new tariffs that biden will unveil next week, they seem to be symbolic because chinese evs are not here as any tariff that is prohibitive from doing business. and all that talk on tariffs on chinese ev makers that's all well and good but it is not really impactful at the end of the day. julie, where do you stand on the china trade? >> i think it is a really good example that no asset is so good or so bad that valuation doesn't matter and this is easily the most beaten-down region in the world. part of it is you saw so much of their exports move to different markets like india

it has been a clear beneficiary for near-shoring but i do think as that starts to reverse, you cannot deny that china is the best export market, not just because labor is cheap, that's not really it is, is just they're so well set up for global production. so you kind of can't ignore what a powerhouse it is. >> i was sort of wondering, what does this mean for tesla's china business, right? all the rhetoric maybe it is rhetoric and it doesn't matter at all. but if you're china, and it would be a huge shock for them to be, you know, making it more difficult for tesla. they haven't so far. but that wouldn't so far afield. >> they have that in their back pocket, what they can do for u.s. company force growth, like a tesla or an apple. coming up, a crushing response to the apple ipad ad. >> and how rescheduling cannabis and how it can impact the stocks

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welcome back to "fast money" apple's new ipad pro making announcementsed a headlines and not for the chip and the price tags and quick to call out the company to demonstrate how big tech is crushing the creators. many saying online the ad is in poor taste out of touch and many industries face a prospect of an ai takeover the spot was so poorly referred that apple issued an apology yesterday, with the company executive saying our goal is to always celebrate the myriad of ways users express themselves, and bring their ideas to life through ipad we missed the mark with this video and we're sorry. was the ad really bad enough to warrant an apology and all the social media outrage really, to say i'm sorry >> the social media outrage on almost anything. and by the way the fact of this ad, the ad is getting a lot of attention, it probably worked. >> so much more attention than otherwise. >> and i'm an artist, i'm a musician, whatever, it doesn't bother me at all. >> i didn't like it.

>> i thought it was terrible >> we had a fight, not a fight, a discussion, with andy, our producer, and he was like, it is ridiculous, who the hell cares i actually think it was really it miss the the mark, is exactly what happened and the spirit of ai and i would think how would steve jobs feel about an ad like this that literally crushes creativity i don't think that is it. >> i don't think it is crushing creativity. >> well, crushing the symbols of creativity. >> the handmade look of things that are going to handmade creativity and instead, for this, so i think good for them, they apologized. okay off the mark >> i mean think about how much tech has created so much -- nobody wears a watch anymore unless it is an apple watch. >> it is true this is happening -- >> if you're a graphic artist, now you're a graphic artist and no one complained about. that ford never apologized to horse and buggies. right? >> we don't know that. >> i don't

>> but i think it is part of, you can be very creative with apple, i think that's what it is, and it shouldn't be an apology, it should have been a rephrase what they were trying to get to with the ad. coming up, bud on the ballot we will talk to kim rivers about the earnings report for her company and the implications of this year's presidential election, next

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welcome back to "fast money. truly trulieve had an uptick in consumer traffic before the bell on thursday, the stock sizzling on momentum on upcoming reform on upcoming state ballots and let's bring in the trulieve founder and ceo kim rivers kim, always great to speak with you. first, i want to delve into the quarter, because it was a solid quarter, according to most analyst reports. 30% increase in traffic. an increase in basket size what is driving that and also a beat on margins, we should point out what were the major drivers here >> yes, i mean so we saw a continuing pattern of really strong consumer health, and that really began for us in december, late last quarter, and continued

for us through the first quarter. and i think really interestingly, really march is a critical month for us, as we look at consumer behavior around their tax refunds, and i really was pleased to see the consumer returning to our stores, and leaning in to some of the commercial activity that we were able to run. so stronger responsiveness to bundle-type promotions, buy more, save more type promotions, and overall health and the first quarter is typically a softer quarter for the cannabis issue sequential growth across all marks. really outstanding super proud of the team. >> where is the margin gain coming from. i imagine labor costs are high and input costs are still relatively high. where are you gaining that from? >> so we have a number of initiatives last year that are showing up in our financials, specifically on the production efficiencies, so we have a very large 750,000 square foot fully automated site in our home state of florida, which is a large part of our market, that is showing up in the numbers, and along with again, we pull back on promotions, for quarter over

quarter, from q4 to q1 and then again, we were strategic in how we were approaching the consumer, the basket mix has a bit of an influence there as well, but really, i want to say top to bottom, everything firing on all cylinders that showed up in the quarter. >> kim, thanks for joining us. and i guess, if i'm an investor in trulieve, and i am, it is actually a pretty good sized position in my cannabis etf, but should i be more excited about the margin enhancement, and the gross margins that we're referencing and you're talking about, and the efficiency gains and the sfifrtophistication of e business, or the top line and the excitement of it in florida. and obviously we tracked the exciting news of rescheduling. and what is better for the industry if you're an investor, is that companies like yours becoming more profitable and more efficient or the fact is top market growth >> listen, i think it's both candidly, the fact that we have a core company growth, and that we're slowing solid foundational improvement in the business,

with a huge number of catalysts ahead of us. and really it can't be overstated we think about moving the florida market from a current 2 billion dollars market opportunity to a $6 billion market opportunity, and a company like ours having 40% market share, we opened our 136th location, here in the state of florida, and what that will do, as it relates to incremental growth, i mean it's really, i mean on top of it again, a very sound fundamental profitable business, and i think it's pretty exciting >> kim, great to speak with you. thank you. >> thanks. kim verirs of trulieve. up next, "final trade.

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julie? >> looking at the profitability. >> china, not an internet name, but a casino melco. >> karen >> yes, the whole discussion yesterday, on europe, i missed it, but still, it is good. ewg. >> steve? >> thanks for watching "fast money". happy mother's day. "mad money" with jim cramer starts right now. my mission is simple, to make you money. i am here to level the playing field for all investors. there is always a bull mark somewhere and i promise to help you find it. "mad money" starts now. >> hey, i am creamer! welcome to "mad money". welcome to kramerica, just trying to make a little bit of money. my knob is -- job is not just entertainment, but to teach you. so, call me or tweet me. finally, finally, we have a market that is confusing the heck out of the bears.