tv Power Lunch CNBC December 10, 2024 2:00pm-3:00pm EST
2:00 pm
because you kind of have to take a step back. getting some help would be a great relief. from companions to helpers to caregivers. find all the senior care you need at care.com welcome to "power lunch" alongside courtney reagan, i'm jon fortt and stocks about flat this hour, not much moving in the major averages but we're seeing big swings in individual names. alphabet is up about 5% having best day since april. oracle down big after earnings, does that make now the time to buy? >> well we've only got two more weeks until christmas. steve liesman is standing by with retail and we'll talk to the ceo of a major mall
2:01 pm
operator. >> and it is the story everybody is talking about. an ivy league educate the man in his 20s is a prime suspect in the murder of a health care executive. what does it say about the reputation of corporate america that so many people online while rejecting his actions, at least understand his anger. but let's begin with retail. because as courtney mentioned, we're getting down to crunch time for the holiday season and this year the holiday season itself is crunched because thanksgiving was so late and that is having an impact on the numbers. steve liesman has the latest on the retail monitor. steve? >> yeah, john, too late to be counted. i'll go through that in a second. but the cnbc national retail federation monitor showing weak month to month gains in november that could still mean solid consumer spending because of the calendar. using real credit card data from affinity solutions, the monitor shows sales rising 0.2% month on month taking out autos and grass down from a big 07 rise in
2:02 pm
october. the big october number suggested an early and strong start to the holiday shopping season as you suggested but year-over-year gains were a healthier it 2-.4% in october compared to 4.1 in october. we see the same at core retail which takes our restaurants too. so why does that tell us it might be strong. thanksgiving fell on the the latest possible day, the 28th, pushing half of the black friday weekend into december. last year all four days from black friday through cyber monday were in november. so november was not too bad even when missing two big shopping days. let's look at the breakdown year-over-year. retail sales up 21.5%. year-over-year restaurants and bars did well. but clothing and accessories and general merchandise also doing okay. up 4% to 2%. it is electronics and appliances in november comparison year-over-year and sparting goods and hobbies look like it
2:03 pm
took it on the chin down more than 7%. but overall 7 of the 12 categories were up year-over-year. this holiday season comes with lower gas prices down 6% in our gas station data with deflation in good prices overall. so consumers have more discretionary spending in their pockets. that could have helped november and maybe we'll see, courtney, december as well. >> steve, i mean, we've talked about this before, you and i, about how could account for some of the retailers trying to pull forward some of the early holiday sale news october and maybe it started with amazon's prime day event that is annual and and the retailers doingely black friday sales. what have you seen about october and november talking about the cadence of the calendar. with consumers bulking when they have the sales, whether they fall in november, which didn't happen this year so much, or december or october. >> the october numbers were
2:04 pm
pretty decent. jen nifin said it started earlier and it started with back to school shopping in september. which he said he's only exaggerating a little bit. i don't know. these days, it feels like i see halloween stuff in the stores in august. and i see thanksgiving stuff in september and kplas christmas i starting in october. what was the year we saw the strong crazy january? where it spilled over, it was like a crazy january year where it looked like they didn't shop in december but in january. we want consumers to follow the calendar. so that we could count the beans. but when they don't follow the calendar, it is hard to count the beans. >> there is quirks, january could move faster but at a lower margin and the gift cards you don't get to count those until their cashed in because it is an accounting rule. so that is tricky too. so count that as a true holiday
2:05 pm
number. >> not to mention the weather. the weather could also have an influence. on whether people say if they feel that cold, they feel like they need hat sweater, they go out and buy the sweater and your clothing does well. if it is not there, well then you might have a pop in january when the retail -- when they are discounting all of the sweaters. >> it's true. i realized my son didn't have a coat that fit him until last week and he didn't have one that he needed until now. and let's talk about a great read. connor flynn operates over 560 shopping certificate centers in the area. kroger and home depot and ross stores are just a few. high school great to hear with you. you went through some of the data that we got from affinity solutions, online continues to be strong. but retailers are always telling us that consumers are using the stores and online together. they're ordering online and picking up in stores. for people that live in and
2:06 pm
around the city, i think some people have a hard time believing that is true because we're so dependent on the delivery. are you seeing the true integration of stores and online at your shop centers. >> i think it is winning the day for the consumer because it is all about value and convenience. and so what we've seen is sort of the on set of buy online and pick up in store, curbside pickup, things people were using through covid and post covid and now that retailers are showcasing it benefits bringing them to the store but by online returns in store impulse buys as well. >> absolutely. >> that is the model of the future. every single tenant, including amazon with the whole foods stores, when you walk into the store, you see a lot of click and collect items in the front of the store and it continues to evolve the merchandising mix of the shopping center. >> and i'm going to give you a jump ball here, but you kohl's
2:07 pm
stores because they accept amazon returns and have hope to capitalize on that. >> kim coowns grossy shopping centers and major metropolitan markets. kohl's is in shopping centers. they're less than 1% of our total rents but they're trying to offer more, you saw what they did with beauty integrating sephora. you see that as a store within a store because they have some of the larger size square footage boxes. you'll probably see them evolve into incorporating more of what drives traffic and sephora is a phenomenal tenant to do that. >> how are holidays different since covid. and you touched on it with omni channel. but especially with this consumer and behavior of shifting and shopping patterns earlier, which has been so crucial so far this season. >> it is really amazing to think. so what wee focus on is traffic. because that is where consumers spend their time. so our traffic was up
2:08 pm
year-over-year even during black friday. and so what we find is that the consumer is really focused on understanding where they could find best value, and in a convenience type of environment. so we try to capture the shopper driving to work, or driving to school, and so that daily commute and what we offer is really essential goods and services. so it is typically the grocer anchor shop and we try to have merchandising mix like a t.j. maxx and a lot of medical uses had coming into the shopping center. the all-time low vacancy rate is right now. retail has not had any new supply in 13 years and so the demand and supply balance right now in retail is phenomenal and you're starting to see more investors start to peel the onion back and getting more, i would say capital curious, on shopping centers spes civically. >> how are retailers pulling them in?
2:09 pm
is it through email or where they are. >> you give all of your information without a second thought. you load up where you live and where you work and you click submit and you become a loyal customer. well brick and mortar retailers now have that online presence, they have all of the consumer data and they try, i'm sure your email is filled with them, figuring out what they gravitate toward and offering them coupons to get them into the store and they offer pickup discounts because when you're using your own car, your own time, your own gas, that margin continues to be enhanced when you pick it up in the store and we're all impulse buyers. as soon as we walk in the store, we're buying something else. >> if i would wrap up two of your thoughts, about how traffic is up on your locations in black friday year-over-year which is not what we saw from the traffic aggravators and so what was the difference for you and number two, is that traffic leading to higher or lower conversion with the idea that people are doing preshopping on their phones? >> so, i think a lot has to do
2:10 pm
with what kimco offers the consumer. if you think about market share and you look at the old school department store and just the market caps of those old school department stores that are mall anchors and what kimco owns, target and walmart driving traffic every day, that is really what is capturing the customer, because it is a quick trip. it is an easy, convenient run from your school or from where you work. and then what you do is you jump into a t.j. maxx or a home goods and go treasure hunting and find the one-off items and that is resonating. there is more stores opening in grocery anchored centers. sephora was focused on malls and now they're going into grocery anchor centers because their customer is shopping whole foods so why wouldn't you want to capture that eyeball going by the grocery store more frequently than a destination trip. >> connor flynn, thank you for
2:11 pm
joining us today. the ceo of kimco. >> well after the break, we'll dive into what the state of retail and the consumer means for the economy and markets. but first, as we head to break, a quick power check on the poszive side of the s&p, walgreens higher on the report that they are in for a private equity buyout. on the negative side, oracle falling on weaker than expected sales. more on that name later in three stock lunch. that is your power check. we'll be right back. amazing new iphone 16 pro at t-mobile! it's the first iphone built for apple intelligence. that's like peanut butter on jelly...on gold. get four iphone 16 pro on us, plus four lines for $25 bucks. and save on every plan versus the other big guys. what a deal. that's a lot if you ask me. ya'll giving away too fast t-mobile, slow down.
2:13 pm
2:14 pm
exclusively on netflix, and you don't want to miss a moment. gather round the game because nothing says holidays like family and football. now xfinity customers can add streamsaver including netflix, peacock, and apple tv+ for just $15 a month. stuff your stockings with tons of entertainment and tons of savings. bring on the good stuff. xfinity. welcome back to "power lunch." markets are flat in a choppy session as investors await fresh inflation data out tomorrow morning, could influence the fed interest rate move next week. computer prices expected to rise slightly to 2.7% from 2.6 in october according to consensus forecast showing inflation remains sticky as it is near the fed's target of 2%.
2:15 pm
marks are still pricing in a 25 basis point cut, though. but as economic growth remains solid, partly thanks to a strong consumer, our next guest said there is fewer rate cuts than the markets anticipate. joining us now for more is joann feeney, from advisers capital management. joann, great to have you. i'm confused, you could clear this up for me, what happened? we went through this scare period where the working class consumer was getting stretched by higher housing cost and a heavy debt load and wealthier consumers would have to carry things through the rest of the year. but right now, doesn't it seem like everybody is a bit stronger? >> yeah. john, the consumer has been remarkably strong. countered to some people's expectations and the reason for that largely is because they've gotten jobs. they've gotten jobs and wages have been rising so they have more to spend. now, to your point, the lower and of the income distribution is still struggling with the
2:16 pm
cumulative effect of all of the inflation that we had. they're being extremely budget conscience so we see companies like dollar general suffering. they just don't have room to get any cheaper. while companies like t.j. maxx are beneficiaries as some folks in the middle part of the income distribution try to find some bargains. >> so to that point, and you said that dollar general is one of the names where you're seeing pressure and the ceo was talking about how they're seeing slowing sales patterns toward the end of the month when consumers are running out of money until the paychecks or forms of payment come in at the beginning of the month. so i'm wondering, when we keep getting the reads on inflation, yes, the rate of inflation is getting lower but prices are still elevated. you still know if you're a consumering that you're paying 20% more than you were in 2019. so how do you really sort of grease those wheels again to get them spending without large price cuts, frankly.
2:17 pm
>> yeah, no, courtney, you can't get blood out of a stone. and they have suffered. a lot of folks particularly, you know, paycheck to paycheck folks have had to trim what they put in their basket to bring home. but that doesn't tell the aggregate story. and it really means that to select places to invest in the consumer space, one has to be really careful. because some stores are simply going to face those real budget constraint consumers while others are going to benefit from it. so the cumulative effect has been devastating for some households but that doesn't mean that the aggregate story is a negative one. it is been surprisingly robust. >> so you like amazon as one of your retail picks. i'm wondering at this point, what is special about amazon and in omni channel environment? we're talking to kimco's ceo talking about how having the
2:18 pm
physical presence, lower some of the costs, has amazon just built such a moat with its unique logistics network that it could manage all of those different issues and still do what investors expect? >> yeah, john, you know, logistics certainly help amazon a lot. but also just the scale they have in buying. you know, not only internally sourced stuff, the more amazon brands but the third party relationships that they've built up gives them a real cost advantage. and they also have those subscription fees that help bring in more income on that. so, you know, for a consumer, the convenience is unbeatable. but other companies, traditional brick and mortar are also playing the online game and using that store front to help sell more online. like a williams sonoma. they cited this early on in the pandemic. that their store fronts were being used as a have a look around and see what you like, touch and feel the merchandise and then people would go home
2:19 pm
and they know the quality they're going to get. so i think the brick and mortar also are taking advantage of delivering convenience to the consumer. and those that do it well, like williams sonoma are benefiting also. >> joann, before we go, if we could zoom back out to where we introduced you. you don't agree with where the market is pricing in the amount of rate cuts that we will or won't see. what are your expectations and why? >> it is more likely than not that we'll see fewer rate cuts than the market is expected. there is a lot of uncertainty. we do expect a cut next week. but next year there is variables that have yet to become clear in particular tariffs and income supply. if immigration is curtails that is putting upward pressure in agriculture and construction, travel and leisure. and that kind of impetuous to higher inflation will require a response from the fed. and then on the tariff front, maybe these conversations that we're hearing about are being
2:20 pm
used as a negotiating tactic, but if we see any significant tariff increase, that is passed to consumers and not only is that a short-term increase in inflation, and that could help the labor market but it is going to constrain consumer budgets going back to what else we talked about. >> exactly. so many moving parts to try to figure out but thank you for having us try to get there. sticking with the consumer space, we'll look at one direct onsumer play benefitting from a recent fda decision. market navigator is coming up next.
2:21 pm
♪ (animatronic santa) ho, ho, ho! (vo) time to move? make it easy with opendoor. sell your home in any season, for any reason. (animatronic santa) look at me! i am festive! ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (vo) whether your phone's broken or old, we've got you. with verizon, trade in any phone, any condition. it's your last chance to get iphone 16 pro with apple intelligence. get four, on us. on any unlimited plan. only on verizon. to go further,
2:22 pm
you need to be ready for what's down the road. as energy demand continues to rise, we're harnessing breakthrough innovations to increase production in the u.s. gulf of mexico. our latest deepwater development, anchor, produces previously inaccessible oil and natural gas, allowing us to deliver the energy we all need today so everyone can follow their own road. that's energy in progress. ♪ (alarm sound) ♪ amelia, turn off alarm. amelia, weather. 70 degrees and sunny today. amelia, unlock the door. i'm afraid i can't do that, jen. ♪ (suspenseful music) ♪ why not? did you forget something? ♪ (suspenseful music) ♪ my protein shake. the future isn't scary. not investing in it is. you're so dramatic amelia. bye jen. nasdaq-100 innovators. one etf. before investing, carefully read and consider fund investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses and more in prospectus at invesco.com.
2:23 pm
welcome back to "power lunch." let's give you a quick check on the markets with 90 minutes left to go. pretty flat session but there is some chop. north nasdaq is up. but hymns and hers has been on a tear up 250%. and my next guest likes the stock but it is facing negative head wints in the space of weight loss drugs. so joining me now is todd gordon and said there is more than meets the eye when it comes to
2:24 pm
this company. what do you like first about hymns him and hers. >> what i like, as a trade, there is three major headwinds facing this company but it is at all-time highs. the three things at top, we could go where you like, there is a lot of confusion at the fda with the two biggest competitor, nova nordisk and the shortage status. i've looked up and down this and it is hard to make kind of make headway through the fda. but as of now, novo glp 1 is still on the list which makes the compounders like hims able to be seen over-the-counter. it is 10% of the revenue and amazon is moving in and then making the incoming administration is not viewed to be friendly toward these with the health care kick.
2:25 pm
so the stock is acting well. >> so some undercurrents but you still like what you see. what is the trade on this one? >> i hold it, courtney. it is been volatile. 25 was the big breakout level. i have a 1% allocation, i'd like to see this thing move back up to new highs to add my other 1% on to get up to 2%. as you said, the company swung into ofitability this year. there is only about 7%, 8% of the revenues coming from the glp 1s, there is a whole other line. it is a huge total adjustable market. just because amazon is coming into the space, look at spotify. they took on the bigs and i like this adjustable market. >> fair enough. we'll check back with you and see how things are going. thank you for being with us. ahead on "power lunch," we've seen consumer discontent
2:26 pm
with corporate america on the rise. whether it is over social issues or simply over price inflation. but now the assassination of united health care ceo is bringing that frustration to the forefront. where you could expect to find sympathy for the victim of the meeeg ng, instead you're sin so online empathizing with the shooter. we'll discuss this complex issue when "power lunch" returns.
2:27 pm
2:28 pm
craig here pays too much for verizon wireless. so he sublet half his real estate office... as a leader in the digital economy. [ bird squawks loudly ] to a pet shop. meg's moving company uses t-mobile. so she scaled down her fleet to save money. and don's paying so much for at&t, he's been waiting to update his equipment! there's a smarter way to save. comcast business mobile. you could save up to an incredible 70% on your wireless bill. so you don't have to compromise. powering smarter savings. powering possibilities.
2:29 pm
welcome back to "power lunch." apple planning to include new features for the apple watch including according to bloomberg, steveco vac has the details for us. >> take a look at global star, the satellite company, they're up about 14.5% on this bloomberg report that apple plans to add the satellite texting fetures that are on some of the more recent recent iphones to the apple
2:30 pm
watch, high end version that costs $700. if you're stuck without cell service you could use your airplane watch to text people. this is the s.o.s. feature we've become used to using on the iphone since the '14. apple took a 20% equity stake in global star just last month with a commitment to investigate $1.5 billion in the company to keep this partnership going. you see shares up now better than 15%, john. >> thank you very much, steve. we'll continue to watch that and that is an interesting pop there on that stock. let's get over to take a hard turn and talk about the latest in the murder of united health care ceo brian thompson. we're learning more about the suspect today. bertha coombs has the latest details for us. >> well 26-year-old lee eejy mangion speaking out of the courthouse where he faced an extradition hearing. as authorities look to move him to new york where he now faces
2:31 pm
murder charges in that fatal shooting of united health care ceo thompson. spotting the cameras as he was taken out of the sheriff's van he shouted out at reporters present. >> it is an insult. tell the people -- [ inaudible ]. >> ty-t might be hard to make out. it is completely unjust and out of touch and insult to the intelligence of the american people and their lived experience. and nypd commissioner jessica tish said among the evidence investigators are looking at is a manifesto that lashed out at the health care industry. he had a three-page document with him according to senior law enforcement officials when he was arrested. it reads in part, i do apologize for any traumas but it had to be done. frankly, these parasites simply had it coming. he criticized the broader health care industry in the u.s., large corporations and specifically united health care.
2:32 pm
now police have not discussed whether the writings specifically targeted uhc ceo brian thompson but this continues to be what one police official calls a very polarized case. the deputy chief of altoona said there were threats against the officers that arrested him at the mcdonald's and the department as well. back over to you. >> bertha, thank you. well, members of the public have been vocalizing issues with the u.s. health care system in the aftermath of this the ceo killing. so some going as far as to criticize the mcdonald's employee for alerting the police of the alleged killer's whereabouts and joining us to help analyze what this means is wharton school professor of marketing america read. is this really about health care and an issue that people have some strong feelings about.
2:33 pm
>> it is great to be with you. john, i appreciate the opportunity. i think it is a little bit of both. to a certain extent we're seeing sort of the fed up every day man, every day woman and person that is looking at corporate greed and having an understanding now in the sort of year of social media, that there is a corporate entity out there that is putting potentially profits over health and things like that. so we're seeing that as a general context. i think we're also kind of seeing this idea more specifically around consumers sort of taking it up to sort of say, hey, you know, we don't want to be the victim in these narratives around p.r. crisis that happened to companies making a lot of money. so these ceo's could be the villain that represents all of this corporate greed and so consumers now have something to rage against. so we're seeing more and more of this stuff in terms of the wake-up call more generally there corporate america. but think specifically in the health care space, because it is
2:34 pm
quite well documented as to claim denials and other sort of things that consumers look at and say why are we being treated this way and corporate individuals are making millions ever dollars. >> at the same time, there seem to be some companies that people just love. and the ceos founders as well, i mean, elon musk is riding very high right now on the success ever his products, technology, vision, and so there is a bit of a bifurcation here, no? >> i love that point. the by ifurcation comes from authenticity. so people look at elon musk and they say love him or hate him, he speaks his mind, he doesn't care what critics think. he's going to say what he believes and perceived at least as being this very authentic individual. if you contrast that with other ceos that may not have a lot of air time in terms of presenting
2:35 pm
themselves as a public face, you could see where this could come from, because those ceos that aren't prepared to be in the spotlight to put their own personal brands out there as part of the company brands, can suffer this kind of thing where they're not seen as authentic and seen as more greedy individuals in the back office making profits an money over the careful lives of individuals and the safety of consumers. >> and you make an interesting point about social media being some of the fuel behind this. but i'm wondering, too, if it is not also the political division that we've been living with in this country for a number of years now and to have leaders that also like elon musk decide to speak their mind, love them or hate them. sort of potentially open up the door to behavior that before was not deemed socially acceptable. do you believe that that is also the case and, if so, if you are corporate america, health care or other company, what do you do about it? >> that is a great point, courtney. i think that is it indeed the
2:36 pm
case. we're seeing it in the literature, in the sense that there is a more of a openness to come out and say sorts of things, even if their provocative or potentially macabre, to criticize and go after corporate america. and there is this additional context that you point to that has to do with the rule of law and what is the role that laws and enforcement play with respect to individuals and street justice that might be going on with respect to this issue and it is a moment where companies could rise to the level to deal with the crisis to say to themselves, this is an opportunity to go out there and rebrand what it is that we do, to validate the concerns of what consumers are saying in terms of reaction to this entire event and come out and show a plan of action to sort of control our own narrative so we could get out front if you're a company like united health and discuss the issues and begin to recraft
2:37 pm
what it is that we do so consumers aren't walking around with all of this kind of latent pentup anger. >> and united health care took down some of their executive photos worried this was not an isolated incident. do you think there are other -- i don't want to call them simple measures but things that companies should be doing until they could get their hands on what is going on and what the sentiment is really happening and bubbling below the surface of some of this consumer -- i don't even know what word -- upset is not the right word. >> yeah. it is a great point, courtney. consumer vigilanteism, street justice is what we're talking about here and it is amazing to see the sympathy given to the individual that committed this heinous act. so i think you're point is a great point, if companies have to sort of walk that fine line of keeping their employees safe but there is also an opportunity to sort of also come out and make sure that they're getting ahead of the story and explain
2:38 pm
to people, here is what is actually going on that may be different from what you perceive us as the villain in the story and there is the opportunity to tell that narrative that could perhaps turn the tables jut a little bit. let me make one more point and that is the idea, we have to be very careful with social media, because in social media, what gets shares in social media are the negative things, the macabre things, the provocative sort of things so oftentimes when there is outrage, it is amplified because there is so much of disproportionate extreme reactions that happen in social media that don't represent the broad swath of typical views that folks in this country might have. >> that is a very good point. i think there have been a lot of instances in much less serious circumstances but i'm thinking of bud light and target with other social media amplifications that angered a large group of people. americas reid, thank you for
2:39 pm
joining us on this sensitive issue. >> thank you. let's get over to julia boorstin with a cnbc news update. >> letitia james respected donald trump's request to walk away from his $486 million civil fraud judgment. trump's attorney asked james office last month to voluntarily dismace the case arguing it could interfere with liz duty as president. she said president's do not have immunity from civil lawsuits arising from unofficial conduct. mike jeffries made a motion for a competence hearing and the reason behind the request was not discussed by the judge set several deadlines. jeffries facing allegations he offered young men fake modelling opportunities in order to sleep with them. the bitcoin steam roller might have come up against an obstacle it can't move. microsoft shareholders, they rejected a plan from michael
2:40 pm
sailor to use some of the massive cash pile to buy bitcoin. his proposal failed to garner majority support after microsoft recommended shareholders reject it. courtney, back over to you. >> julia, thank you. one quick programming note. pippa stevens will be live from the uranium mine. that is live all day tomorrow only on cnbc. it is going to be cinating. be sure to tune in. but don't turn the channel yet. we're coming right back, too.
2:43 pm
tonight, cnbc cities of success returns highlighting salt lake city remarkable rise in tech, finance and real estate sports, the if youest franchise was brought to utah highlighting how sports are highlighting the economic boom. carl spoke with ryan and his wife and the co-owner about their vision for the city's sports future. >> in just four short years, one uta power couple single-handedly
2:44 pm
transformed salt lake into a major american sports hub. billionaire ryan smith and his wife ashley purchased the utah jazz for $1.6 billion in 2020. and now in a historic move, they brought the nhl to salt lake for the first time. shelling out another $1.2 billion. >> we want to bring a stanley cup to utah, obviously. >> the duo's big bet on sports is paying off. with the valuation of the utah jazz skyrocketing in just a few years. >> this is basket hq. >> ryan, a massive utah based company is now on a mission to reimagine salt lake's downtown with plans for a jaw-dropping $3 billion entertainment and sports district. nearly a billion of that covered by taxpayers. >> it is a huge opportunity. >> as economic development goes,
2:45 pm
this pro-sports is like the welcome mat to the front door. >> it is the largest anchor tenant you could have. malls are struggling and there is not an anchor tenant like sports. it could make a whole city. if we plop a sports team in a vacant lot somewhere where they have never been, it will thrive. that is why it is so important that it stays in the capital city downtown, because that will constantly keep that going, it will always have hope. >> thinking about your motivations, one might think they're looking at what is happening with team valuations or this is a -- an investment play. but it feels like it's more about utah, is it not. >> for sure. it is just an awesome vehicle for helping our state to grow that so that the future of the state is in a good spot. >> this state is different and it is special. >> be sure to catch "cities of success, salt lake city" right here on cnbc. well shares of walgreens up
2:46 pm
nearly 20% on talks it could be sold to a private equity firm. our david faber joins us now. what are you hearing? >> john, it is funny, it is one ever those where i was reporting on it a few years back after heard of sycamore's interest in exploring a walgreens veraged buyout for lack of a better term. but it wasn't clear that they had engaged in a serious way with walgreens. and so i did not report said interest. the journal, of course, reported on talks and that is got the stock up. important to point out, heavily shorted and as you guys well now, courtney follows retail, this is been nothing but down for a long time. given the struggles on the retail front, not to mention some not particularly good acquisitions when it came to the health sort of care side, village m.d. for example and the like from walgreens boots and the alliance company itself created from the acquisition of
2:47 pm
boots a number of years back, a few things for investors to keep in mind here. sycamore has a history of doing retail deals. but this would be by far the largest they've ever contemplated. in fact, if you go to their website, they've raised $10 billion in capital total as a firm. well, this deal at let's call it, it was an $8 billion market cap and you throw a premium on that and you have $8 billion in debt. you're talking about a far, far larger equity raise than they have ever done. and my understanding was they would need to go outside of thur own fund obviously and raise additional funds. significant ones from other investors to get anything like this actually done. something else you would need, is the roll in of -- a roughly 17% owner here, remember, was the chairman and the ceo for some period of time. my understanding again is that sycamore had an expectation if they were to pursue this that mr. pesina would roll in but it is not clear that, that is going
2:48 pm
to the case. so again, something at least for the market to consider. and in addition to the size of the deal, and passina's need to be a participant, there is also the concern about opioid liability in its most recent quarter, they did cite a prior operating year loss reflecting a $6.8 billion tax charge for opioid related claims texas may be done with but i think there are some that concern there is continuing litigation that did represent another gating issue. sycamore may have hoped in some way that there could be a split, that they could do the turnaround on the u.s. retail, but that does not appear to be where their head is t, at walgreens right now. so we'll see where this goes. but certainly did want to add a few of those thoughts given this is been at least around for a little bit. having heard of sycamore's interest a couple ever weeks
2:49 pm
back. >> it sounds like the skepticism that you had -- >> very valuable context. thank you. >> stops me but not others and perhaps again -- would knows. we'll see what the stock is doing. >> and sycamore does often when they make the retail deals, they're smaller and specialty players. this is very big even with the stock price that it is created over the last five years. still very big. great context as always. turning now to the bond market which is anticipating tomorrow's cpi data, let' get to rick. >> tomorrow is going to be a super important day. we know that ppi follows but nothing is quite as important as the inflation air front outside of the pce numbers embedded in personal income and spending, the fed's favorite, next in line is cpi and the issue with cpi that after the last friday job, jobs report, it wasn't that bad. so the deterioration of the
2:50 pm
labor market is a slow one. and the deterioration and sticky inflation is even slower. just consider what we've done over the last couple and a half months. if you look at the year-over-year cpi, the last year was 2.6 and if you look at core it was 3.3. you see the two charts? do they look like it wants to get down to 2% any time soon? no. and that therein lies the rub and even though we made great progress with regard to inflation, the real issue is that certain elements remain sticky and start to move higher and that puts the fed in a quantitiry because rates are a little bit too high but how much lower they could go without a hiccup down the road. that is the real issue. john, back to you. >> rick santoli, thank you. well, coming up, we'll trade some key movers of the day on earnings results. three stock lunch is next.
2:52 pm
2:53 pm
doors take us places. so you bought a place. to new adventures. -oh. mwah. -planned... -and unplanned. -surprise! -they lead to goals. -for you, mama. and connect us to family. i didn't get the part. your dedicated fidelity advisor can help you open those doors. but i did get waiter number 2. because they know you. they can help you create a comprehensive plan for your full financial picture and personalized money management with the right balance of risk and reward. doors were meant to be opened.
2:54 pm
power e*trade's easy-to-use tools, like dynamic charting and risk-reward analysis, help make trading feel effortless. and its customizable scans with social sentiment help you find and unlock opportunities in the market. e*trade from morgan stanley. ♪♪ with powerful, easy-to-use tools power e*trade makes complex trading easier. react to fast-moving markets with dynamic charting and a futures ladder that lets you place, flatten, or reverse orders so you won't miss an opportunity. e*trade from morgan stanley
2:55 pm
2:56 pm
2:57 pm
welcome back to "power lunch." time now for three stock lunch. we are trading some big earnings moving and here is president of nation's index, first up oracle, sliding about 7% after missing the top and bottom lines but the share is still on pace for best year since 1999, 25 years ago, scott, what do you do with it? >> oracle is a sell. they missed on the top and bottom line so down about 8% today. spent much of the day as the worst performer in the s&p. but it is up 67% year-to-date. so it is time to take some profits. oracle is a second tier a.i.
2:58 pm
name, they're great in the data space base but they were slow to the cloud and that is going to slow them down in a.i. and there are better pure a.i. plays, nvidia and microsoft are slightly more expensive on a forward p.e. basis and google is cheaper so if you're looking or a.i. exposure, focus on one of those three than oracle. >> so oracle is a sell. next up mongo b, what do you make of this one? >> this is a hold. they also raised guidance, but there was some surprising news. the cfo, coo is leaving that was a surprise. he's taking about ten years of experience out the door with him. and there are also questions about the atlas developers platform. the company has not participated on the upside of this year, down 20% year-to-date, half of that from today's drumming. so it is a hold because you paid
2:59 pm
the price and let's wait and see if we could get for clarity on the c suite. and final time, toll brothers, luxury home builder also lower despite posting a strong fourth quarter beat. scott, opportunities or not? >> this is an opportunity. this is a buy. so there is something for everyone today. as you point out, they beat on the top and bottom line, 463 versus 433. they guided higher for next year. they're in the right demographic, that is up scale demo graphic. why is the stock down 6%. concerns about the number of deliveries in 2025. versus what they expect in q1. they're going to have to ramp up in the last three quarters of year. also some concerns about margins declining. so it is getting beaten up and this is a buying opportunity for toll brothers. >> we'll take that under consideration. scott nations, thank you. court, this is what you call a tight range as we go into the
3:00 pm
hour of trade. >> almost flat here. >> the dow was a little bit green a moment ago but now it is just about flat. >> just about flat here. but we got some names certainly moving or the tape there. >> we're talking about a few of them.again. thank you for watching "power lunch." i will see you in an hour in "overtime." >> "closing bell" starts right now. welcome to "closing bell" i'm scott wapner live from post 9 at the new york stock exchange this. make or break hour begins with the race to $4 trillion. apple nearing that market cap milestone after making another major move higher. the stock flaking its eighth straight intraday high. 3. $3.75 trillion. alphabet on the move, too. up 5% today. that's a significant move. we will have a deeper look at mega cap names coming up. in the meantime take a look
0 Views
IN COLLECTIONS
CNBC Television Archive Television Archive News Search ServiceUploaded by TV Archive on