curious. are we buyers or sellers? arrangers. and you know, we don't know. we're sort of in middle. >> i'll tell you what. >> i'd be a seller, but i'd be a buyer of fast money live on june 5th. >> totally. >> sign up. get your tickets. >> we didn't even. >> rehearse that. >> bristol-myers. >> thank you. thank you for watching fast money. see you tomorrow. mad money with jim cramer starts right now. >> 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. other people make friends. i'm just trying to save you a little money. my job is to put it in context, but also explain and entertain. so call me at one 800 743 cnbc or tweet me jimcramer. look this clubber lang thing. it ain't working. don't know clubber lang. go watch rocky three. best of the rockies. when clubber lang played with panache by mr. t is asked his prediction

for the big fight against rocky. he infamously says. prediction pain. ladies and gentlemen, president trump has put himself in the awkward position of predicting pain, and he's delivering it to owners of stocks in a way that doesn't have to happen. we don't need to have days like today where the dow drops 428 points, s&p plunges 1.78% and the nasdaq plummets 2.61%, putting that index down 10% from its 52 week high. now let's get worsham. first, let me say i'm not going to quibble with the president's ultimate goals. he ran on cracking down on illegal immigration and fentanyl traffickers. he ran on closing our trade deficits. now he's in office. he gets to set the agenda. he's doing exactly what he said he would do, what people voted for. but man, i think there are much better ways to go about doing what he's doing. he can implement his agenda without destroying investor confidence and causing the stock market to roll over. so i'd rather offer my plan now rather than wait until all the averages are done 10% like the nasdaq, at which point it'll already be too late. well, any of my ideas be cogent. actually adopted, i don't know.

i've only advised one president and he loved my idea over diet coke, but nothing ever happened. as a rule, people in the white house only care about what i have to say when things get real, real bad. like when covid shut down the entire economy in 2020. but that doesn't matter. in rocky three, mr. t, aka clubber lang, ultimately ended up flat on the canvas. his prediction didn't come true yet. the pain's already coming through here for anyone who owns stock. today was horrendous and again, unnecessary. we do not need to end up on the canvas every day like this. first pub. we have zero clarity and maximum uncertainty. this is going to slow down. hiring the usa will get crushed if we don't get some clarity here tomorrow. i think we have a weak nonfarm payroll report, the first of many soft numbers, and we don't get rich unless we get rid of this surprise factor stuff. remember, most businesses hate the tariffs, but they're really terrifies them. is what they have that they have no idea what's coming next. second, the president is threatening to roll out more tariffs. the stage

tariff schedule is creating a huge amount of uncertainty. if the president already knows what country he's going to hit and what products will be made more expensive, perhaps german, japanese, korean cars, there will be more pain, but it can be planned for. tell us now. this is a mess. the president should go on truth social though and do this. so all the tariffs that these target countries have against us, they do not have clean hands. we need our citizens to know what our trading partners are really up to. they have systematically discriminated against us. they protect and subsidize their own industries, but we just have to sit there and take it. so show it to us. tell us. don't make us try to figure out who's next. explain why we're simply going to tit for tat. because people don't understand why this is necessary. third, the president has sowed enough fear that almost every company that reports during this period is giving a cautious forecast, and it's totally out of keeping with how well they're doing. nobody wants to come out and say, hey, it's too crazy out there. the president's seen the problem. trump has said there will be pain. so now you think, why should you stick your neck out

if you run, say, a major retailer like macy's and predict you could have a great spring? so even though macy's did have a terrific winter, they got it so negatively. people sold the stock. negativity is pervasive throughout this entire economy and it comes from the top. again, this is unnecessary. trump can accomplish his agenda without doing this much damage. remember, investing is a good thing for our country. our stock market is now falling way behind spain, italy, france, germany. more on that later. these foreign markets seem like more certain and welcoming places to put money in. no mandated negativity, no sense of every day lower prices for stocks, the walmart style of governing. they're taking our investing dollars for certain, and i can't blame anyone for moving their money forth. if we want the consumer who has enough money to keep spending, we need to maintain some degree of wealth effect. it's not a subsidy, it's capitalism. i think the consumer is baffled by the president's tariff policy. people are confused about why, for example, the president is treating canada as a scofflaw on fentanyl when it's obviously a mexican problem. if chinese steel is coming through canada and punish them equally with mexico. but

mexico and canada have very different problems, and that's insane. they're being treated the same people. no, that's not right. fifth, nobody wants to be a sucker. the president knows that. we don't want to feel like doofuses for putting money into the stock market. savings are a good thing. we want people to save, but right now it's not worth it. the real winners at this red hot minute are all short sellers. no one will want to come to come public in this kind of environment. ipos. no, no, we want to merge. everything's frozen because everyone's too scared. suboptimal. sixth and final. when we get the employment number tomorrow and it shows a lot of layoffs, we do not fear a plethora of job losses stemming from the federal layoffs. we get that part of the president. that's his plan. you don't have chainsaw musk in there for nothing, although it might be for nothing. if we get that more supreme court rulings rolling back these firings. but confidence gets sapped on days like today. anyone who hires right now feels like a dope. if their stock keeps going down, there's not enough confidence to hire. that's in large part because we don't know what's

going to happen next, other than it could be real bad. look, if the market's going to going to go down, so be it. if a company reports a series of bad numbers, ones that are well below forecasts, it should get the clever line treatment. if the vast majority of important companies, large vital companies perform poorly, then their stock should go down. the market should go down. however, that's not the case. instead, companies are reporting terrific sales and earnings. but then they've given all these downbeat forecasts and pain because why? well, they they're confused. they're doing it because they think it's only going to get worse before it gets better. because that's what the president's telling us. that's what he's telling us. he's why not give us an upbeat forecast. consumer confidence is so negative we can't you'll get crushed because what's really happening is your price earnings multiples are shrinking because we sense a mandate for lower prices. so why not just sell. and the mandate does not come from wall street. it's come from the white house. i say let poorly performing companies see their stocks go justifiably down. let the prediction for them be pain. but the good ones. here's the bottom line. i'm not saying there should only be

pleasure. that's wrong. i'm saying that the shareholders of great companies shouldn't have to play the fool, and people need to know it's still worth investing. there's no reason it has to be. you have to be stupid to buy stocks, but you sure feel like a dope if you bought today, don't you? you feel like a dope if you bought any day since the inauguration. wall street hates uncertainty, and until we get some clarity from this administration, it's going to be tough to advise people to buy anything, even the best companies, because pessimism and pessimism is the only path investors seem to know. robert. in new jersey. robert. >> yes. >> how are you? jim? first time caller. >> all right. >> robert. jim. >> thank you. >> love the show. >> my question. >> is u.s. steel, with. everything that's going on. >> what do you think about. >> investing in. >> u.s. steel? >> now, if you're going to own a steel company, you have done the best. we're best or best people in this. we are best of breed people in this. and that is nucor at 131. i think it's a great buy. that's the one i want you to buy. and i will always

want you to buy john in north carolina. john. >> good afternoon. >> how are you? >> i am good. how about you, sir? >> just fine. >> got a question? >> all right. >> i've taken your. >> advice with. >> a little bit of cash. >> side to play with in case something. >> comes. up in a couple of weeks. >> ago, i bought some eli lilly. >> and it's taken a pretty good jump. >> do i. >> cash it out or do. >> i let it ride? >> you don't sell lilly. lilly's got the solution. that may be good for everything from alzheimer's to heart disease to kidney failure, to liver problems. and right now, weight and diabetes. and that gop one. and lewis got the big lead. david ricks is a visionary. we stay long that stock right. wall street hates unknowns. and until we get some certainty from the administration, even if ultimately they're doing the right thing, we ain't going anywhere here. and my prediction would be. >> the house of pain. >> mad money tonight. it's a volatile market. tonight i'm sitting down with one of the top investing minds. top minds. ken langone, you got to listen to him. that cracker barrel story after earnings up a whopping

7.5% after its report. could the company's turnaround continue to look appetizing in this market? i'm talking to the ceo and the parent company by gap, banana republic and old navy just reported after the bell and it looks spectacular. and we got the ceo exclusively. so stay with cramer. >> don't miss a second of mad money follow jimcramer on x. have a question. tweet cramer hashtag mad mentions. send jim an email to madmoney.cnbc.com. or give us a call at one 800 743 cnbc. miss something. head to madmoney.cnbc.com. cnbc live. >> ambitiously. totalenergies. >> has been hunting for the best entrepreneurs across africa to tackle energy poverty. >> farmers are highly dependent

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seasoned investor who's seen it all someone like ken langone, the founder, chairman and ceo of invest associates, as well as being co-founder of home depot. now, if you're from new york, you know him as the chief beneficiary of nyu's langone hospital system. thank you ken, i was there today. now he's a true titan of industry. i know him as the most loving, wise and charitable person i have ever met, and i've been around for a long time too. so let's get some perspective on this choppy start to 20 2025 with the legendary ken lingo. ken, welcome back to mad money. >> jimmy, thanks for. >> having me. i'm honored to be asked and. >> i look forward. >> to spending some time with you. >> well, i have to tell you, i need your help, ken, i worry i worry that things have gotten a little rancorous. i worry that things might be going off the rails. or maybe i just need to be a little more open minded and adjust. but maybe you can help me and help our viewers. >> well, jimmy, i have a. very strong fundamental. belief that

america is the greatest place on earth, and. >> from time to. >> time. we tend to mess. >> with it too much. >> but overall. >> jimmy. >> we're going to be fine. >> we've got we've got. >> a wonderful country. we've got resources. i must tell you, i'm mighty impressed with the president's first 50 days. >> in office. >> i think he's. >> tackled some. >> pretty challenging situations. >> his style is different than mine would be. >> but guess what? >> his style got. >> him elected. >> i mean, the. >> thing i marvel at about. this man, the energy level he's. >> got and what. >> he went through for the past four years. >> i don't. >> know who could have. >> done it. >> i've been known to have a high level of energy. i don't think i could have lasted a month. so and i think, jimmy, the thing that i. think he should get more credit for, he's big hearted. that little boy the other night. what a wonderful gesture. what a wonderful. >> thing to do. the families,

you know, i can go. >> on and on and on. however, however, our politics in america. >> today. >> in my. >> opinion, are much. >> much too. centered without regard to the other side's argument, there's too much gotcha. >> mentality. and because i am. >> an enrolled republican and a loyal republican and an enthusiastic. >> republican, i. >> must tell you, i found the. behavior of the democratic party at the presidential state of the union speech. i found it tragic. >> wow. >> and i think it doesn't represent the best of america. and i'm sure most of those people who were there that night are nothing like they projected. but to the rest of the world, when they look in and see us, this is america. this is a leader. this is a country that's a leader in the world. so we didn't do ourselves any good. so, you know. you're i don't

know how we end that. >> but so you're. >> saying but i do believe. go ahead. >> but you sound pretty sanguine. now, we have a lot of investors watching who think that. wait a second. he says there's going to be pain. we have to do the tariff thing. why can't it be a little more like president reagan? which, you know, i thought president reagan had an unbelievable attitude toward economics. i don't see that. but maybe you can't do that. be like president reagan these days. >> i love reagan, i love. >> no, but i'm saying what reagan did not like tariffs, ken. he did not like tariffs. >> well, jimmy, let me say this to you about the tariffs okay. america. thank god bless our heart. right after world war two we started something called the marshall plan. and we purposely gave japan and germany, who were on their butts, the edge to get them on their feet. why is it today? and by the way, the irony of it. >> is the. >> germans sell a lot more cars in america than america sells in

germany. are cars relative to their cars less fuel efficient? they're bigger. they don't lend themselves. if you've been through any part of europe, you know how narrow some of the streets can be. you notice the cars are all on the smaller side. but here we are. i think tariffs that we charge on german cars into america, 2.5%. and the tariff they charge on our cars is 10%. now i tell you why i think it's foolish, right? the germans sell so many more cars in america than the americans sell in germany. if i was germany, i'd say, wait a minute. if i make the playing field level in terms of the tariff, i still have this tremendous economic edge, right? every car i've got right now downstairs, in my in my garage here in florida, every car with the exception of this antique cadillac, i have a foreign made every one. >> well, i mean, they do. it is

not fair. both japan and germany rip us off. and i wish that i hope when the president goes after them. >> i wouldn't, i. >> wouldn't go, i wouldn't go far to say, rip us off. i say, we've allowed that to happen, right? >> that's right, that's right. >> over time, over time, this thing will tend to level out and normalize. right now, i'll give you an example of what trump's negotiating skills are. we should go into gaza and take over gaza. that got the whole middle east riled up. so guess what happened? they're now throwing chips on the table and saying, we'll do this. he's out of the picture now because you know what? he got the game started. and now he's saying to them, well, if you don't like what i suggest, then what are you going to do? and now they're doing it. they're talking about doing something whether they do it or not. i don't know, but. >> but let me go full circle. let me go full circle with you, ken, because, you know, it sounds like to me, let's say there's short term pain in the stock market. it sounds like to me that you would say, just stick with it, that things are

things are going to be fine and things could actually be better than fine. >> jimmy rogers could not make a living if they had my account. why? i own my eli lilly for 47 years. i own my i own my home depot 48 years. i own my j.p. morgan stock, effectively 17 years. i own my parker hannifin 15 years. the magic for me is if you don't have stocks on margin and you've got solid companies with great managements with good balance sheets, you ride the storm. it may be stormy. i don't like to see jp morgan at 280 a month, two weeks ago, and now down to 245. i don't like it. but on the other hand, how about jp morgan at 42 when i got in and where it is today? better

than that is eli lilly. >> you told us it would double. you told us it would double. it's more than doubled. you told us it's going to be $1 trillion stock. that's unbelievable. >> and guess what jimmy? i think it's going to double again. what they've got. what they have got that drug bongiorno and jimmy. they're miracle drugs. they're looking at opportunities away from obesity, away from diabetes. what. and the pipeline they've got of other drugs away from these drugs. but you know, jimmy, you probably know this and i'm not sure it's right, but i bet it is. if you own a stock and you're out of that stock eight certain days in a year, missing those eight days, you've lost 90% of the play in the stock that year. now, frankly, i'm not smart enough to know which eight days there are. so i stay for the whole ride. >> that's peter lynch, peter lynch said. it's ten days, he

said. it's ten days. you trade in and out. you know what i'm saying? if you trade in and out, how wrong is that, ken? we have to keep people in. our job is to say home depot. ted dekker is doing as good as frank blake. you got to be in the stock. it's fabulous. right? >> yes. and more importantly, the economics of home depot. 70% of home depot's business is mro maintenance, repair and operations. the other 30% is a new dormer, a new room or a new home. the thing i love about home depot is you become more sensitive to things around your home in bad times, because if you got a leaky window and you pay more for energy because the hot air is going out the window. what i'm saying, jimmy, is i'm not smart enough to know timing. i know people, there are people i'll give you, for instance, stan druckenmiller has a nose

for timing. like nothing i've ever seen in my life. and i've invested with stan now for more than 40 years. but stan is a good example. i met stan stan when he was in his late 20s, and i knew, i knew then this kid had it right, and i've invested with him. he's now 71, i don't know, 71. my god, the record he's accomplished is unbelievable. stan has a knack for avoiding loss. he's very, very averse to loss. and when you think about the math, jimmy, i buy a stock at 100. i sell it at 50. to get back to my 100, i got to find a stock that doubles. there aren't many stocks that double, so if you can take the risk of loss away or minimize it, you got a much better chance to do what stands. it's one of a kind. >> but. but he would still say that great american companies can be owned through this period, correct? >> yeah. but but but i get a lot

of credit. stan is. >> well, he's never had a loss year. he's never had a loss year. he's amazing. >> no, no, i've been investing with him for over 40 years. i can tell you he's never lost money in one year. at least if he lost it, he didn't lose it all. it's unbelievable. >> but i want to bring it back to you, ken. i want to bring it back to you. you sound as optimistic as always. i wanted you on the show for many reasons. not just because i love you and you know that, but because we need you. you know, we need your perspective. and the perspective is be calm. it's good. is that is that a fair analysis? >> yeah. yeah. not only that, jimmy. we live in the greatest country on earth. we have enormous needs in america that generate significant economic activity. my opening, my sole focus after i decide that the, the, the industry in which the companies participating has a positive future, i spend all my time getting to know the

management example. kmart was a behemoth right when walmart had four stores in bentonville, arkansas. kmart is gone. walmart is the biggest corporation by sales in the world today. sears, roebuck. hell, that was a big thing for me to go to sears roebuck on a saturday afternoon. sears roebuck was king of the mountain zero again. sam, what was the difference? the people? >> well, the lesson there is, is that we want to be with great companies run by great people who have a vision. and now i'm going to have to leave you, ken. i hope i see you in person soon, i miss. >> you, i'd love to see you. and by the way, jimmy, tell your wife i'm grateful for all the work she's doing for bucknell. and i'm especially grateful to you, jimmy, for showing up every once in a while and talking to the kids. it means a lot to them, and it means a lot. >> to me. well, everything. >> have a nice day, everybody. don't sell america short. jimmy, please. >> thank you for coming on, kenny. it's so meaningful to

everybody, including my wife. i'm going to call right now. thank you. ken. that's ken langone, chairman of infinite associates, and he's so much more. and he's just an amazing person. mad money is back in. >> coming up, an old country chain going after a new look. can cracker barrel serve hungry investors? stick with cramer. >> brian sullivan joins kelly evans power lunch weekdays at two eastern. cnbc. >> i started the club to help you feel confident to invest yourself. >> free market. >> morning meetings. >> afternoon meetings. >> and his show, mad money. jim cramer gives you. >> much more. >> than. >> you would ever get. >> from any advisor. >> jim cramer is an excellent teacher for someone that wants to learn how to. >> manage. >> their own money. he teaches how. >> to invest versus just what. >> traits to make. >> we teach club members how to invest the right way. invest the right way. >> get invested. join the ♪♪ well would you look at that?

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of cracker barrel run. even on a tough day, i've been recommending this stock as a turnaround play since last summer. and after a volatile stretch, the company just reported a tremendous quarter. the clean top and bottom line beat, with management raising their full year forecast. not cutting like so many others, hence why the stock jumped 7.57 today. that's a huge gain in a bad day. that said, the stock is still down over 33% from its january highs. so could this be the buying opportunity now? the turnaround has arrived. let's check in with julie messina. she's the president and ceo of cracker barrel old country stores to find out. welcome back to mad money. >> thanks for having me, jim. >> it's great to be here. >> well, it's happening, julie, the turnaround is happening as you predicted. and i want to give you the floor to ask you how you got these unbelievable numbers. >> oh. >> gosh, you're so kind. >> but honestly. >> it's all the great hard work. >> by the team. >> they are working. >> so hard every day.

>> to. execute in the moment. take care of the guests who are in our store, as well. >> as execute the turnaround. >> so q2 is a really. >> important quarter for us. >> it's seasonally high volumes and they. >> just did a great job. >> so huge, huge thank you to them. >> and we're so pleased. two quarters. behind us into the into this year. and we're able to raise guidance. so it feels good. >> it is amazing. now you are a very rigorous person. you have this transformation framework in your deck. and i just want to check some of these off because i think they're really relevant. you're refining the brand and enhancing the menu without alienating the people who've always loved cracker barrel, but you're bringing new people in. how have you been able to make that change? >> yeah. >> you know, it's so important you and i have talked about this. i think when we first launched the transformation agenda. it's so important to us at cracker. >> barrel that we continue. >> to love on the guests who love us. and all we're trying to do is really open that aperture a little bit wider. >> and invite even more people. >> into this wonderful brand. so it's really. >> taking care of the people who already love us and inviting a few more people. >> in at the same time. you have

kept that price point. it's very reasonable. and what i love, by the way, you sell a lot of eggs, you have a lot of eggs in your dishes, but you didn't raise price because you figured out how to handle the supply chain. how did you do that when everyone else is screwed up? >> well. >> huge shout out to our supply chain and our vendor partners because they've done a great job. we're contracted through the end of. >> our fiscal. >> year and even into next. and so we said, gosh, let's let's take care of our guests during. >> this time as well. >> let's let them know that we've. got them. >> we know value is. >> so important to our guests. it's a really important tenet of. >> what we do here. >> at cracker barrel. and to be able to. >> give double. >> pegs on eggs to our loyalty members for two weeks was really just something fun to let our guests know that we've got them. >> let's talk about that loyalty program. i mean, there are situations where people are saving so much more than i've heard on a typical loyalty program. you've been giving away some stuff. i mean, big. >> yeah. >> i mean, look. >> we are about. >> value here at cracker barrel.

>> we want to. >> make sure that. >> people know that. >> we've got them. you and i've talked about every day dinner deals. we've talked about sunrise pancake. >> but loyalty. >> is an. >> amazing way that we deliver value to our guests. we let them earn on both sides of the business. they can earn pegs on both retail and restaurant, and they can redeem them on either side. and we're really having fun learning what motivates them, really digging in and seeing if it's retail items that motivate them more in restaurant or vice versa. is it discounts? is it, you know, more pegs? and so we're just really continuing to test. >> and learn. >> our way. >> through what's. motivating to these loyal guests. and we love them for it. and it's just been a really fun way to reward them and grow the business. >> okay. with this forecast, i'm going to bounce something off. you can tell me if it doesn't work, but i'm thinking you will go very big into the idea that people are worried they have confidence issues. things are a little crazy out there somehow. cracker barrel may be the refuge from the craziness.

>> i love it, sure, i'll take it. but really, we started. >> off with a rough february. like everybody, the weather. >> was not kind. i mean, jim, we had stores closed in louisiana where it never snows. so it, you know, we experienced what everybody else did. but the last two weeks, you know, we're five weeks into this quarter for us, the last two weeks have seen really positive improvement and we're excited about that. so the improvement that we're seeing coupled with our strong plans, you know, we are we've said this is an investment year. we've got a lot of things coming together. we have a great q4. so we believe even with what's happening out there right now, that we're able to really raise our guidance and deliver a great year for our shareholders. >> i don't mean to be too narrow, but you talked about how people might like pot roast. when i saw you last time it worked. how did you know that they love pot roast? >> you know, that's really what we're doing with our menu innovation pipeline. jim, we talked about finding things that are uniquely cracker barrel and that are comforting and

delicious. and our guests really love abundant, delicious home cooked food at a great price point. and that's what we're continuing to do. you've got to check out our new menu items that we just launched a couple of weeks ago. we've got a louisiana shrimp skillet. we've got a shrimp and grits skillet. we've got pancake innovation. just things that people love that are executed so well by our great team and served with our wonderful country hospitality. so we've got lots more coming. i'm so excited about the innovation pipeline. the team continues to do a great job there. >> let's see what else. you had some places that you thought that you really got drilling down trying to do new stuff. how is that going? some of the new, you know, the kind of like things that you never see anymore where you're actually experimenting with, with particular stores. is it working? >> yeah. i mean, not only is it working, but we're learning, right? so not everything is going to be a home run. but that's okay, because what i keep telling the team is we've got a test, we've got to learn, we've got to keep improving and keep raising the bar. and that's really what this test and learn is all about. so thinking about

our remodels, trying to figure out what really makes people excited to come into a cracker barrel, is it the lighting? is it the seating, is it the food? is it the paint? and so we keep really just testing and learning our way into all of these things. we've got a new format that we're playing with right now that we're excited to launch in a couple of weeks. so lots of lots of fun stuff. >> well, you are exciting to listen to and i'm so proud of you. you came in and i was worried because the brand is storied but was a little rundown and you're fixing it one day at a time. i got to tell you, julie, you're terrific. that's julie masino, president ceo of cracker barrel. congratulations. >> it's really the team. jim, thanks so much for having us on. >> it's really. >> hard to take care of our guests and take. care of each other. >> it's the team. but you're the captain, and we salute the captain. thank you so much. everybody's back in. >> tomorrow. treasury secretary scott bessent crucial insights on the economy, inflation and tariff impact. his message to investors. now stay ahead of the

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to better odor control everywhere. >> can you believe this incredible, stunning quarter from the gap? when the parent company of gap banana republic old navy reported after the close, it delivered a gigantic earnings beat higher than expected revenue. huge same store sales growth, much better than what wall street was looking for, plus an impressive full year forecast. no wonder the stock soared in after hours trading. can it keep climbing? well, it was a ridiculous fall to begin with, but let's dig deeper with richard dickson. he's the turnaround artist, president and ceo of the gap to learn more about the quarter and what's next. mr. dickson, welcome back to mad money. >> jim. >> good to see you. >> thank you. >> for. >> having me. what can i say? you came on the show, you predicted it. you could do certain things. not only are you way ahead in terms of schedule, but the fact is these numbers are just outstanding. how were you able to deliver comp store sales? 7% gap. we were looking for nothing like that. old navy, three looking half of that bad.

and our republic, as you predicted, banana republic has turned already. how did you do this? >> well, first of all, it is not. >> a one. >> man show. as you. >> know, we have. >> an. >> extraordinary team. >> that perseveres. every day to drive results. >> the quarter. >> was. >> as you're. >> acknowledging. >> it. >> was an. >> exceptional quarter. i mean, we. >> we delivered. >> another quarter. >> that. >> exceeded financial expectations. >> sales comp up 3% for the quarter. >> this is the fourth. >> consecutive quarter. >> of. >> positive comps. >> we also gained market. >> share for the. eighth consecutive quarter. and this. >> is really. >> indicating that our. >> brands are resonating. we're gaining traction. >> the progress. is real. and jim, as. >> you know. >> this. >> this. >> year has been a difficult year. >> but all. >> four brands. >> every one of our brands. >> gaining market. >> share, i mean that's demonstrating strength. >> in the industry. >> and this is against. >> a backdrop. >> of. >> a. >> declining apparel industry. so even more encouragement. >> that our teams are executing with excellence, and.

>> we. >> are on. >> our way to continuous improvement. >> at the same time, because we've got great shareholders out there, amazing dividend and a balance sheet that you started with that is now in rock solid, probably the best in the industry. i mean, i don't know how that happened, but you must have very few problems with, say even even tariffs. >> hey look. >> it's not a magic. >> trip trick. >> obviously we've. >> been working. >> really hard. >> $2.6 billion. >> in cash. >> we've got. >> obviously free cash. >> flow now at $1 billion for the year. i mean it was. >> really a successful year. >> we're well. >> positioned for. >> the future. and look, as. >> we look at tariffs, it is. >> you know. >> something that we're monitoring. developments around. >> very closely. >> as we. >> all are. it is important. >> to note. >> you know, we source less than 10%. >> of our product. >> from china. we have less than 1% of our product from canada and mexico. and that's by the way, combined. and as we've, you know, shared our guidance today, it contemplates what we know

today regarding tariffs. over the last several years we've been strengthening our supply chain will continue to diversify and ultimately just really stay focused on creating the right. >> product at. >> the right time, at the right place. and no matter what, minimize the impact to the consumer. so we're going to be working hard to continue the momentum that we have. tariffs cost inputs. these are all the day to day of doing business. and it's our job to just deliver the best product at the best time, at the best quality, at the best price. >> i want to tell you that people before you, there was never a sense that gap had immediacy. all we're talking about in our office is white lotus, and then suddenly we see you're tied in with white lotus, and apparently it's doing great. >> yeah. >> no. the white lotus collaboration with banana republic is phenomenal. we just dropped a 20ft, 24 piece collection in partnership with white lotus, which is such a good collaboration for banana republic. i mean, it really speaks to the modern explorer

position. it's great product. and as you know, jim, i mean, you've been you've been in our stores, we've been leaning into classes, leaning into more precise assortments. we've been focusing on fit, we've been rebuilding trust. and how exciting was it to see that all start to take hold with fourth quarter comps in banana up 4% and market share gains, we are really excited with the future potential of that brand. >> a lot of people talk about their team and i it kind of eyes glaze over. it can't hear because you talk about getting your team there, getting out of their comfort zone. what does that mean for the brand and for your numbers? well, first of all, you know. >> i've talked about that a lot with our team and we are getting comfortable being uncomfortable. you know, today what's certain is uncertainty. and so a resilient organization is driven by the motivation to solve problems on a daily basis, to focus on the consumer

relentlessly, to drive what we do better. and again, the results that we have delivered represent that effort. it was an exceptional year. all four brands gaining market share. it's really demonstrating strength in the industry and it's showing that this is a winning team and we've just started. it's an exciting moment and we are determined to continuously improve through innovation, better product, better experiences and drive momentum in the years ahead. >> i know you took me through the turning gap, the astounding turn you took through banana republic. when i go in the stores, they look magnificent. i heard you mention athleta, so i got to bring it up. when is that one really going to be an engine? >> first of all, bring it up. i mean, athleta is the number three brand in the women's active space. it's the number three ranking brand. it's an important brand in the industry. it's an important brand in our portfolio. and when you look at the year, athleta delivered a flat comp for the year. so there have been improvements across

key metrics. and also we gained market share. now this is against a previous year of double digit decline. so there is progress. we've made the brand stronger. we're launching new activations. we're reentering the cultural conversation. and it is reinforcing that we've got great long term opportunities with this brand. we just need to continue to do the work to reset the brand and continue to drive our ambitions, which should be high. so we've got more work to do. stay tuned to athleta. it's an important brand in the industry and in our portfolio. >> i will because there's a giant in that industry that is, i think has the prices a little too high. one last question. everyone else is telling me worry about consumer confidence. things are very shaky. i read your reports and i say, you know what? the consumer is pretty confident. well, maybe you offer something that the consumer can't get elsewhere. >> well, first of all, you know, we are always studying the consumer. we are a human centered, consumer centric

business. and we saw growth across all income cohorts in q4. now, again, market share gains were led by lower income cohorts with strength in old navy. and we had outside outsized share gains with strength in both top and middle cohorts, particularly with gap. but what's important is we back up is our portfolio of brands really appeals to a wide range of consumers, which is a distinct advantage. and so, look, there are always winners and there are always losers in any particular industry. against the backdrop of a declining apparel industry, we gained share. the consumer is voting for our brands. we are fundamentally stronger. we're resonating with consumers, and we just have to stay focused on executing with excellence, with style and quality. >> i have no doubt. i have no doubt that you will do just that. that's richard dixon, president-ceo of gap. thank you so much, sir. great to see you.

>> thank you so much. >> back here. >> i started the club to make you a better investor. >> the value. >> you're going to get. >> from making better investments more than outweighs whatever the cost of the membership is. >> get invested. join the club today. go to cnbc.com. slash join jim. >> icyhot pro. massaging balm. easy to grip and massage and the power of two max. >> strength pain relievers. >> ice works fast. heat makes it last. icyhot pro massaging balm. >> introducing the rex. >> fang and. >> innovation equity premium income etf. pepe. pepe invests in leading big tech stocks while. balancing growth. and income. combining tech growth with premium income, pepe offers a unique investment opportunity. for more information, including the fund's standardized performance, sec 30 day yield and current distribution rate, visit rex shares.com/ffi.

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probability. those who manage risk by anticipating each movement. flawless execution, timing and accuracy. identify the goal. match power with precision. reach new heights for any group where risk meets opportunity. >> lightning round is sponsored by charles schwab. trade brilliantly. >> it is time for the white. no. of course you play this out and then the lightning round is over. are you ready, ski daddy? time for the lightning round. let's go to terry in florida. terry. >> hi, jim. >> i'm enjoying being a fairly new member. and last, last christmas eve here, i bought some. stock and not. very good

christmas present. it's down over 28% right now, and i'm wondering if i should just take the loss and dump it or buy more, or hold it forever. >> so it's. >> tetra tech. >> very good company. very good companies come down, but it's a really good company. does consulting management i've done it. i remember as pollution control. i think you've got a winner. please do not sell that. i need to speak to rick in florida. rick. >> good evening, mr. cramer. first time. >> caller and. >> now a new. >> dedicated viewer over the. >> last. >> couple of months. >> thank you. >> for taking my call. hoping to join the club. >> soon. >> which one? >> i said. >> i was hoping to join. >> the club soon. >> oh, i hope so. do it ahead of next week's meeting. you got to join it. we got some good stuff to say. how can i help? >> well. >> i was interested. >> in. >> this tech stock, and i thought this might be a good time to. >> call because this is a. >> company that. >> had a major contract through. >> nvidia a couple. >> of months ago.

>> their stock price rose. >> up real. >> quick, and then it kind of tapered off and just kept going down. >> stopped in there. >> and everybody. >> kept talking about how companies that were getting involved with this. >> you know. >> in the last. >> couple of months would feel the effect of everything going on. so i'm. >> wondering if this is happening with. >> this company. >> also. >> it's. >> he, jc. >> he and. >> i know it because the nvidia connection, i have to tell you they have flat revenues for the last three years. you'd be buying. sounds a little like soundhound. i'm going to take a pass on that one. but thank you for the kind words. let's go to heiko in north carolina. heiko. >> hey. >> jim. >> how. >> are you doing? thank you for taking. >> my call. >> and of. >> course, like. >> you share your knowledge. >> thank you. >> hey. >> thank you. >> when it comes to. >> when it. >> comes to companies. >> after. >> their ipo. >> all right. >> long should. >> you hold them? >> and i'm asking. >> you. specifically about dg and s. >> okay. i need to see profits. i need to see profits. i'm not seeing profits. therefore i'm not going there. and that, ladies and gentlemen, is the conclusion of the lightning round. >> the lightning round is

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changemakers. >> let's say you believe that the stock market is a good proxy for the state of a country. it's not perfect, but it certainly reflects how investors feel about america and its future trajectory. but judging by the averages, maybe we should be embarrassed or even mortified because we're doing so much worse than similar countries, including countries that we've written off years ago. consider these year to date returns in their own currencies. germany up 17. spain up 14. italy up 13.7. france up 11. south korea up seven. how is this possible at a time when we, the engine of the world, are down for the year. down. typically we're down more than 10% from the 52 week high for the nasdaq. how could there be such a disparity? simple. right now they're doing better than we are. and given how we have so many great companies with such amazing prospects, it's worth delving into why there's such a disparity. first, these european countries have a central bank that keeps cutting interest rates to stoke demand.

today, the european central bank delivered a quarter point cut, taking its equivalent of the fed funds rate down to 2.5% six cuts since june of last year. the eu is also committed to spending almost ■k7800 billion for defen, ostensibly to protect ukraine but also to protect our own countries. if ukraine falls. there's a new sense of unease in europe about nato. if the trump administration decides to pull out of the organization, i don't think the worry is misplaced. plus, massive defense spending is good economic stimulus. second, individual countries are taking action to get their economies moving again. the biggest, most important market, the german dax 40, is getting a major boost from the actions of germany's new government, which is loosening the so-called debt brake in order to bulk up on defense. as our country pulls back from defending ukraine. the germans have historically been very reluctant to run big budget deficits. they don't want to provoke inflation because they did not end well the last time that happened. but if your government won't borrow money, it just can't do much to choose the economy. now, though, germany is willing to get its economy moving again by any

means necessary. this move jarred their bond market, saying the yield on the 30 year bond up 25 basis points to slightly over 3%, the biggest jump since 1998. they'll do whatever it takes. they've got no choice. ukraine's very existence is now threatened by the us withdrawal. germany's committed to ukrainian independence. this is an existential issue for them. also, the auto market has been suffering a victim of the slowdown in china. so the german government needs to spend big to turn things around. they've got to lower their tariffs on our cars, though. on top of that, germany needs to watch its back. last year, it exported $160 billion worth of goods to us, only imported 90 billion worth of our stuff. presumably president trump doesn't like that. they need to make sure their economy is healthy in the face of potential trade war. they need to lower their tariffs on our cars at just as ken langone told you earlier in the show. but it's not just germany. while we've been furiously revising our economic forecasts down, some believe we'll have negative gdp growth. spain had a surprising 3.2% growth in just they've been raising, raising the estimates of how fast their economy is growing based on tourism and manufacturing. by the way, the rest of europe is

being boosted by the huge uptick in defense spending. germany is basically the engine of europe, so their strength spills over to everyone else. meanwhile, hong kong, a proxy for china, is flying because of artificial intelligence strength as well as efforts to boost consumer spending. these efforts finally seem to be taking off. how about here? now we all know what's keeping our stock markets down. it's being sacrificed on the altar of uncertainty and confusion about punishing our trading partners for allowing illegal immigration and fentanyl smuggling. in fairness, and also, of course, tariffs. trump ran on border security, not higher stock prices. so he's doing what he said he'd do. but everything seems so jumbled and hard to fathom. many think that unless and until the dow drops 10 to 15%, we're set up for stock market pain. and i've been trying to help you through the travails of that. but at what point does the disparity between our stock market and our ally stock market become too great? i think we'd be in better shape if trump rolled out the tariffs more gradually, with a clear trajectory of where we're headed, rather than these endless intermittent volleys of katyusha rockets, until things start getting a little more measured, we'll remain in the

walmart white house, where we will get every day lower prices for the dow jones, the s&p, and most savagely, the nasdaq 100. to me, it's a shame. it just doesn't have to be this way. i'd like to say there's always a bull market somewhere, and i bull market somewhere, and i promise you i will find it just ignited america's entrepreneur spirit. and we're still blazing a trail for those who take their fate into their own hands by working hard... at doughp, we serve nostalgia by the scoop. -whoo-whoo! -we're here for the big kid inside of all of us. -...by working smart... [ cuban laughs ] it's hardly ideal dipping conditions. but not with saucemoto. narrator: ...by thinking big... bolos: we want your help to bring deskview to every window around the world. narrator: ...and chasing their dreams... where do your envision your business going? world cookie-dough domination. -wow! -you're an amazing operator. o'leary: but i want a little more equity. i'll do it for 50%. -you've got to be careful. kevin is a vampire. -silence, please. -- captions by vitac -- ♪♪