Podcast Summary: CNBC's "Fast Money" — Trading the Holidays Live Event

Episode: Fast Money Live! The Desk Trades the Holidays as the S&P and Dow Close at Records
Date: December 11, 2025
Host: Melissa Lee
Panel: Steve Grasso, Tim Seymour, Karen Feinerman, Dan Nathan, Guy Adami
Special Guest: Rebecca Patterson, President of Jamestown Michael Phillips

Overview

This special live edition of "Fast Money" was broadcast from the NASDAQ MarketSite in Times Square, celebrating record closes for the S&P, Dow, and Russell 2000 indices. The festive episode brought together the full “irregulars” panel in front of an enthusiastic studio audience to break down hot holiday trades, analyze after-hours earnings in AI and consumer stocks, and take burning questions from fans—covering everything from pharma to small caps, crypto to nuclear power.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Market Recap & Holiday Trading Mood

• The market hit all-time highs: S&P, Dow, and Russell 2000 all closed at records.
• Mood in the studio: Festive, light-hearted, audience-driven, and focused on major earnings-triggered moves and 2025-26 outlooks.
• “Great sweaters, everybody!” – Tim Seymour (02:09) highlighting the lighter holiday tone.

2. Broadcom Earnings and the State of AI Chips

[03:12–11:35]

Broadcom’s Blowout Quarter

• Earnings beat: Revenue and earnings surpassed expectations.
• Forward guidance: Q1 revenue guide of $19.1B—$700M higher than expected. AI chip revenue guidance up to $8.2B (growing by $1B+ sequentially per quarter).
• Investor perks: Dividend increased by 10%.
• Broadcom’s CEO’s pay is directly tied to hitting AI revenue marks.

“Chip sales are set to double in the current quarter... So it's hard to kind of shake a stick at it. But... I'm not sure there's much more for this thing to go higher right now.” — Tim Seymour (03:12)

Custom Chips & Competitive Landscape

• The desk debated whether custom chip growth ("TPUs" for Google, Metta, ByteDance) will start to eat away at Nvidia’s dominance.
• Valuation concerns: Broadcom trading at ~44 times next year’s earnings, raising questions about sustainability.
• The forthcoming fourth big custom chip customer (OpenAI or Anthropic) and its implications were hot topics:
  • “A lot of this is tied to OpenAI’s demand. If... this Stargate thing doesn't happen the way we all expect it to, I mean demand's going to come in.” — Dan Nathan (08:28)

Nvidia’s Growth Risks

• Broadcom’s custom chip wins seen as a threat to Nvidia’s formerly “all theirs” AI pie.
• Comment that as custom chips become mainstream, Nvidia’s market share and margins could get pressured.
  • “Nvidia has pulled a lot of rabbits out of a hat. I think they might be out of rabbits.” — Tim Seymour (07:44)

AI Trade Rotation

• Despite AI being in demand, the panel warned of narrow leadership and the risk if “the Jenga block” supporting earnings and sentiment is pulled (see Rebecca Patterson, below).

3. Lululemon Earnings, CEO Exit, and Retail Challenges

[11:35–17:07]

Key News

• Lulu stock surged on an earnings beat, but Q4 outlook was weak.
• CEO Calvin McDonald stepping down after seven years amid company pressures and activist tension.

Panel Takeaways

• Competition (e.g. Alo, Vuori) and internal missteps have hurt market share and gross margins.
  • “Gross margin is really falling apart. This newness dynamic... is ruining the esthetic of the brand.” — Tim Seymour referencing analyst Randy Konik (14:47)
• Inventory challenges: Inventory up 11% YoY, signaling more margin pressure ahead.
• Despite a rally, most panelists would be cautious and look for a kitchen-sink reset from the next CEO.

“You get a great CEO, you wait for them to kitchen-sink the quarter... Cheap to itself.” — Melissa Lee & Tim Seymour (16:12–16:14)

4. Disney’s $1 Billion OpenAI Deal

[19:28–22:02]

• Disney invests $1B in OpenAI, allowing Disney characters to appear on the Sora video generator.
• Deal seen as a step to unlock IP value and reach younger audiences, but details and structure seemed curious to the panel.
  • “It’s just weird. I don’t know why they have to invest in it... If you’re Disney, you license their API, you build on top of it.” — Dan Nathan (20:25)
• Parallel drawn to vendor-financing-esque tech deals.
• Disney shares responded positively; could be setting up for a long-awaited reversal if stock gets above 120, per Carter Worth (21:38).

5. Burning Audience Questions: Pharma, Crypto, Power, Quantum, More

[24:10–46:19]

Eli Lilly & Obesity Drug Explosion

• Retatrutide delivered record weight loss and arthritis pain relief.
• Investors asked who can compete—panel suggested smaller stocks may be worth a look for high risk/reward.

Tokenization (per Larry Fink/BlackRock)

• “Tokenization of every asset” is seen as inevitable, with BlackRock and NASDAQ likely to be central actors (24:53).

Nuclear Power: Constellation vs. GE Vernova

• Powering AI data centers is a nuclear/nat gas story. Tim Seymour prefers Constellation for “Texas, real power, better valuation” (26:03).

Next Nvidia?

• Quantum technology cited as a potential future Nvidia-type trade. Steve Grasso recommends a basket approach for speculative upside; Dan Nathan flags SpaceX IPO as a possible generational buy (27:03).

Food Retail: Costco/Kroger/Pepsi/Walmart/Chipotle

• Karen Feinerman: “Costco... too expensive.” Would rather Walmart. As for Chipotle, Tim Seymour skeptical that growth will continue at its prior pace (29:14, 29:56).

Meta Metaverse Spend Cuts

• “Very happy to see [Zuckerberg] rein it in on Metaverse spend.” — Karen Feinerman (43:39)
• Positive for the stock, and if AI spend is moderated, could be further beneficial.

Small Cap Prospects

• Tim Seymour: Small caps require commitment, are cyclical, and best held as a modest portion of portfolios. “You should absolutely own some small caps. And I would prefer you do some stock picking there.” (44:12)

Experiential Stocks: Cruises, Casinos, Concerts

• “Experiential stocks will always serve you well... but you need a strong economy. If we can fend off a recession, these stocks will perform well.” — Steve Grasso (46:19)

6. 2026 Market Playbook with Rebecca Patterson

[31:23–36:34]

Sentiment and Positioning

• Bullish consensus building for continued economic strength and market gains.
• Patterson is a “tempered bull”: worried the market has priced in perfection, so diversifies with gold (“third year in a row, I’m a gold bull”), overseas exposure, defense stocks, and banks.

“If there is anything that pulls this Jenga block out of the tower, we're at risk of something falling over because AI has helped create the wealth that's led to consumption which supports earnings.” — Rebecca Patterson (35:29)

Fed, Dollar, & Capex

• Fed’s recent actions raising talk of renewed QE; effect on rates, dollar, and risk of excessive bullishness if anything misses.
• Emphasized importance of diversification and caution due to potential for shocks if capex or AI spending falters.

7. Times Square Festivities & Audience Surprises

[37:57–41:18]

• The team welcomed Michael Phillips (President of Jamestown, owner of 1 Times Square).
• Every audience member received a genuine Waterford crystal piece from the New Year’s Eve Ball, plus a “confetti wish kit.”

8. Final Trades

[46:35–48:08]

• Tim Seymour: Delta Airlines (“planes, trains, automobiles... part of the other 493”)
• Karen Feinerman: Uber (CEO can’t be counted out after pullback)—likes the company despite negative headlines.
• Dan Nathan: Zoom (cheapest it’s ever been, 52-week highs, sees reversal potential for 2026).
• Steve Grasso: Churchill Capital—merging with Inflection, a quantum computing company.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On AI Chips:
  “Nvidia has pulled a lot of rabbits out of a hat. I think they might be out of rabbits.”
  — Tim Seymour (07:44)

• On Meta’s Metaverse Spend:
  “Very happy to see him [Zuckerberg] rein it in... If he ends up reining it in on AI spend next year, I think that will actually be a positive for the stock as well.”
  — Karen Feinerman (43:39)

• On Market Euphoria:
  “Tempered optimism... If there is anything that pulls this Jenga block out of the tower, we're at risk.”
  — Rebecca Patterson (35:29)

• On Audience Engagement:
  “We have the best fans in cable TV, in any TV and certainly in the financial TV world!”
  — Tim Seymour (46:35)

• On Festive Surprises:
  “You get a crystal, and you get a crystal... Everybody's getting a crystal!”
  — Guy Adami (40:33, channeling an Oprah moment)

Timestamps for Major Segments

• [03:12] Broadcom earnings; AI & chip sector outlook
• [11:35] Lululemon earnings and CEO transition
• [19:28] Disney’s AI partnership with OpenAI
• [24:10] Live audience Q&A: pharma, crypto, energy, “next Nvidia,” retail, Meta, small caps
• [31:23] 2026 outlook with Rebecca Patterson
• [37:57] Times Square/Waterford Crystal surprise
• [46:35] Final trades

Conclusion

This lively episode captured the closing momentum of 2025, bringing both sharp investing insights and holiday spirit. The panel dissected key earnings, new front lines in AI and chips, and tackled real-world questions from devoted listeners, all while keeping an eye on risks and opportunities for the year ahead—underscoring the power of diversification, the need to watch valuation, and above all, the value of community and knowledge-sharing in markets.