
The S&P 500 climbing to a fresh record high after this morning’s CPI report. Why it could give the Fed a green light to start cutting rates, and the sectors seeing the biggest moves. Plus Coreweave and Cava report results, the Gold space sees a mining divergence, and what the Perplexity bid to buy Google’s Chrome browser could mean for the AI wars. Fast Money Disclaimer
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Melissa Lee
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Melissa Lee
Live in the NASDAQ markets in the heart of New York City's Times Square. This is fast money. Here's what's on tap tonight. Off to the races. The NASDAQ and S and P hitting new highs today. The Dow jumping 483 points on the back of the latest inflation data. Does the new CPI print all but guarantee a cut? At the Fed's next meeting we'll debate that and AI moves. Perplexity making a big bid for Google, Google Chrome, what's it mean for Alphabet and does it take Apple off the table as a potential buyer? Plus we dig into the latest results from Core, Weave and Kava why the Chartmaster is changing his tune on gold miners versus Gold bullion and sneaker maker on holdings running higher and taking a bunch of names along with it. The trades behind all the moves coming up. I'm Melissa Lee, come to you live from Studio B at the nasdaq. On the desk tonight, Tim Seymour, Karen Feiderman, Dan Nathan and Guy Adami. We start off with The S&P's first record close of the month. The benchmark index rising more than a percent today, closing above the 6400 mark for the first time ever. The Nasdaq also set intraday and closing records, while the Dow's 480 point gain got it within 1.3% from its all time high. Today's gains come after a softer than expected CPI print for July, consumer prices rising 2.7% from a year ago versus estimates for 3% growth. That news sending short term treasury yields sharply lower and the probability of a Fed rate cut next month markedly higher. So did today's data give the all clear for the central bank and for the markets to give the all clear on the economy in terms of the impact from tariffs. Guy, what do you think?
Guy Adami
I'm not convinced to give the all clear to the central bank. I don't think anything changed. I mean there was something in that inflation number for everybody, the headline number people got very excited about. Then they looked at super core and said well wait a second, maybe it's a little hotter than expected. For me it's, I think it sort of reinforces what Jerome Powell has been saying all along. Inflation is still a problem. Now I get the markets are now pricing in a near certainty. I get it. JP Morgan I think talked about four rate cuts for the remainder of this year. That's all priced in. So as much as people want to say it created this certainty and all systems ago, it's not like anything necessarily changed on the ground.
Melissa Lee
I think you overlay also the reaction in the bond market and you try and figure this whole thing out and it's, it's, it's a puzzle a little bit. We saw the pullback in the 10 year immediately on this report and then it bounced higher, finishing the day almost unchanged.
Dan Nathan
I think equities love this for obvious as you said, first of all. But, but the obvious reasons are while the core inflation that the Fed seemingly should be more focused on was, was actually the highest since the start of the year. So let's be clear, this wasn't a, a perfect number. This was a number that had some heat to it. But if you think about the good side of it, they actually showed that they were given ground. When you combine that with the labor market that we learned, you know, just last week has maybe some, some cracks in it like, like your fountain guy. Apparently we' okay guys got a fountain with a crack and he's trying to fix. But anyway, the point is it leaves the Fed in a position where they can focus on the labor market, they can actually cut rates and they don't have to worry as much about inflation. That's what the markets did today. And the reason why you saw small caps outperform everything is because people sense that the places that are most interest rate sensitive and small caps are, which are up 3% today, almost three times the move of the market. That's the expectation. You have Scott Besson out there pushing the central bank as well. And I think this is something that people feel the Fed can move.
Karen Feiderman
So I think maybe in a different administration where there was no pressure on the Fed at all. I think there's cover there to stay the course if they want to stay the course, which is do nothing. But that's not where we are. And I do think, as Tim said, you know, there's a little bit of COVID there in the labor market. So I do think they will cut. I think they should cut. I think they will. There's still a lot of room though between, you know, a 25 basis point cut doesn't really do any much of anything and maybe, I don't know, cools the rhetoric but. And I do think there's some cover for it. So that's what the market wanted to see. And if this is the beginning of a significant rate cutting cycle, not one or two, then that is very good for the market.
Tim Seymour
Yeah, it's, I would say, I don't know, a mystery wrapped in a riddle inside of enigma. I mean like when you look at the rally today, we're Russia according to Churchill. Yeah, I think I got the order closer for government work as guys that used to say, I just say it's like what are we. We're applauding the stock market 1.25% GDP growth, 4.2%, unemployment growth 2.7%. You know, on the inflation front and we still have a fed funds at four and a half percent, which actually seems just fair. You know why? Because the stock market is trading at all time, highs trading about 22 and a half times, maybe 24 times forward. So you know, cutting rates. We saw what happened last fall, not.
Melissa Lee
A whole heck of a lot.
Tim Seymour
I mean like the economy was able to kind of deal with four and a half percent, you know, fed funds rate over the last year or so. So I just find today's behavior really odd that you have. And Tim just mentioned what went on in the small caps. It just kind of suggests that the economy is starting to flex and then the market participants have to chase that right here. And we're going to go over a bunch of stories today. We're going to all of them speak to, in my opinion, a bit of overexuberance or the unwind of exuberance. So looking at a Kava down 20%, that stock has lost 75% of its value from high. I know we're going to do it, whatever, but I'm just jumping. No, I mean, but, but I think.
Dan Nathan
These things are important for the last block of the show.
Tim Seymour
What I mean.
Karen Feiderman
All right, we'll get to it.
Tim Seymour
Right. Anyway, but my point is it just this seems like today's price Action in particular when you have the 10 year going nowhere, you know, all that sort of. It just seems really odd to me. Really odd.
Melissa Lee
Well, I think also there's a question as to, you know, I get the Fed control is a short and not the long end, but it's long and that the administration would really like to see lower. And the reaction today's session doesn't indicate necessarily that that's going to happen. And the fact that the German, what is it, the 30 year yield reach its highest level since 2011. There's the rest of the world to consider in terms of where yields are heading.
Karen Feiderman
Yes, agree, totally. Like they don't have any control over that part at the moment. But I do think to the ext extent that they fund the government with, you know, shorter paper that that, that does, that does actually help. So I think there's something to that and I think that the market really thinks that this is the beginning of a cycle, of a cutting cycle of some significance.
Melissa Lee
How do you position then if you believe that, if you believe that it's the beginning of a cutting cycle and that the impact will really be seen in rates.
Guy Adami
I think that's what the market's been short and it was this time last year maybe a little bit, maybe it was September of last year when the market was pricing in six rate cuts for this year. We've clearly backed off of that. The market was significantly lower back then and now here we are pricing in maybe three or four for the balance of the year. So you tell me what the market is pricing and I think that we've already sort of jumped that. I think we've crossed that river.
Dan Nathan
Yeah, the market's definitely pricing a lot in. The market's pricing in a more than September 25 basis points. I think there's even a sense they can do 50 again. Treasury Secretary Besson out there saying, hey, they, they should have gone to June or July, so what would you know? Why not adding an extra 25 and calling September 50? The stock market has done that. And if you think that the labor market isn't really falling out of bed and that actually we haven't really felt major impact from tariffs, I'm not saying we won't. And in fact I think companies are at some point going to absorb that impact and it will hurt margins. Maybe we haven't seen that yet. If you're an equity market that's trying to discount at least lower interest rates without the bad side of it, it makes sense. And just from market leadership, be clear You've got the NASDAQ leading and leading by, you know, with authority. You're getting Apple in the picture, you have Microsoft in the picture. Nvidia is unstopped. They are now really the next target because we do have Nvidia earnings coming up. So I just think that markets are absolutely pricing on an interest rate dynamic and they're not thinking about the long end.
Melissa Lee
Besson was even saying that he hopes to get Myron in and confirmed by the next meeting, which would really change the dynamic a little bit in terms of, of that rate cut, maybe the size of it.
Tim Seymour
Right. And you guys all sound a little pessimistic as a silver lining guy. Yes. I would just say that there's, you know, you got that dollar coming off here. It doesn't actually seem to budge. If you are pricing in now 100 basis points, 150 basis points, and you think that inflation is going to embed, you think that 4.2% might be the higher print that you see in the. I get it. But you actually need to see now S and P earnings start to inflect also. And if you look at like the rest of the, of the s and P500X these top 25 names, you're getting low single digits earnings growth right now. So a lot of things have to happen in the regular economy, outside the economy for that to make a whole heck of a lot of sense. So to me, you know what's being priced in here. I just, again I go back to that mystery insider. It seems like a very confusing time, at least for the economy, definitely for the markets, but investors, actually there's just no caution at all right now. And I think that's probably a bigger problem.
Melissa Lee
All right, for more today, CPI Print, Societe General, head of US Rate strategy, Subadra Japa is here on set. Subadra, great to see you. What did you make of today's action? I know you're, you're not on the equity side of it, but to see markets rally to record highs and to see not too much happening in the bond market in terms of by the end of the day, what did you make of it all?
Subhadra Japa
So to me, you know, if you came into this report thinking that goods inflation is going to show up, tariffs are going to show up in goods inflation, you just didn't see it. I mean, you saw a modest increase in goods inflation. Services inflation was, you know, broad based gains. So to me that is a bit of a concern. And I know you were talking earlier about whether the Fed should be cutting 50 basis points or whether they should be cutting three times this year. My view is that they should cut maybe once, maybe twice this year, given the fact that inflation is a concern. So this is just the beginning of the feed through from tariffs into into inflation and it's only going to start ramping up in the second half of the year. So this idea that you should be front loading cuts in this environment doesn't make a lot of sense. And to your point earlier, I mean, financial conditions are extraordinarily easy. Today's price action shows exactly that. Is that the market's still looking at aggressive path of cuts and equities are responding.
Melissa Lee
You speak very rationally and that is in the rational Fed world, the rational Fed dynamic. But we have the political overlay, the possibility that Steven Myron may be appointed and confirmed, I should say, to join the Fed. We have the possibility that we've got a bunch of governors who are basically auditioning for the part of Fed chair as well, who will probably want to flex their very dovish views at this point. So how do you overlay that with what you think the Fed should actually do if it is bound by the dual mandate?
Subhadra Japa
So I think ultimately reason will prevail. You're looking at a committee that's making a decision. Yes, you're going to have more dovish leaning members in the committee going forward, but that doesn't really change the dynamic that you're going to need to have to build consensus across, you know, a variety of, not just governors, but also Fed presidents who are going to be voting. So I think ultimately reason will prevail and they will probably cut rates. But again, a 25 basis point rate cut is not a lot for the market. And my concern is that if they do cut rates by 25 basis points and let's say the 10 year actually moves higher, that's not going to do a whole lot of good for the mortgage market or other markets that are interest rate sensitive. So they're going to have to weigh the pros and cons of being aggressive on policy.
Karen Feiderman
Let's just go back to tariffs for a second. So how much or how little it sounds like of tariffs do you think we've seen already? And given that some of the tariffs have been sort of delayed and so the start time hasn't really worked through the economy yet, one could argue, and that would be a very reasonable argument. Where are you thinking that pressure will be ultimately when it's fully felt?
Subhadra Japa
So it's actually a very confusing picture on Tariffs you are seeing some components of you know, showing higher prices. For instance electronics, you know, apparel is of course a bit volatile. Food, footwear, those prices went up. So that could be related to tariffs but really a lot of that could be absorbed by the corporations. So to get a picture on what's happening you need a few more months earlier on. I think corporations are going to absorb the costs over time they're going to push back, they're going to pass those costs on. For instance groceries. I mean there's very little margin there. They're going to, you know, your tomato prices are going to go up because of, because they can't really absorb those prices. It's just a matter of time that this, that the tariff related inflation starts to show up in the data. I think it's still a little too early because we just don't know how much the tariff rate is going to be ultimately when the dust settles.
Guy Adami
Well Subajo, fortunately Tim grows his own tomato so he doesn't worry about that.
Dan Nathan
I do. Why are you joking about.
Tim Seymour
I'm not joking about it.
Guy Adami
You see it happen, you see me smiling.
Melissa Lee
Anyway, your question to my question is.
Guy Adami
Where 10 year yields go because that super core number was hot. The market obviously maybe it was paying attention to it in the form of the bond market. 10 year yields up a little bit. Are they just sort of stuck in the mud here? Are they headed higher or significantly lower?
Subhadra Japa
I hate saying this but I think almost everywhere in the yield curve 10 years and then is kind of stuck in a range. I think the two years probably going to be between 3 and a half and 4% because the market's already very efficiently priced in for a very aggressive policy easing path. Ten year probably between four and four and a half and the third year to me is a little bit more unhinged because that's more dependent on what happens globally. If global bond yields start to rise the 10 year, the third year starts to take off then the third year in the treasury market is also going to rise. So I think the 10 year probably stays in a pretty rangebound for the remainder of the year.
Melissa Lee
Subhadra, great to see you. Thank you. Thank you Subhadra. Japa so if we don't, if we only get 25, what happens to this rally?
Guy Adami
Well as I said I think that the market's been rallying on predicated on 4 or 5, 6 rate cuts this year. That's clearly not happening if we only get 25. I think the market is trading on more than just the federal Reserve right now there are other things that work clearly. There's passive investing which continues to sort of be de rigueur as the French say. And the market is looking past any valuations and more importantly, I think any of the metrics that we looked at back in April where we're at oversold conditions we hadn't seen in a decade. Those conditions now to the upside are equally bad. So the market doesn't care though when things go higher.
Karen Feiderman
I think the rhetoric or whatever Powell says after, you know, is he dovish, is he hawkish? I think that's going to be more of a tell than whether 20 what 25 does or not, right?
Melissa Lee
The next step beyond the 25.
Guy Adami
Tim didn't like my French there.
Dan Nathan
I saw Timothy Mote.
Tim Seymour
So you know, there's one other point I think is really important French person.
Dan Nathan
Here, I guess I think this is.
Tim Seymour
An interesting market where I think that retail investors are kind of in the driver's seat. They didn't get shaken out in April and now it might be an institutional chase. We were remarking at the end of April, in May, how many of these billionaire hedge fund manager was talking about we're going to see a retracement. This is going to last longer. And I think that could be one of the things as you look at a day like today and institutional investors are looking around, it's not, it's not retail chasing the Russell 2000 right here, you know, so they're looking for opportunities in places and once you start seeing if energy takes off, if pharma stocks take off, you know that people are looking for places to play catch up. And that to me would be institutional.
Melissa Lee
Meantime, Goldman Sachs jumping 4%, hitting a fresh record high today. The banking giant up more than 30% this year. But the performance isn't enough to impress President Trump. Taking issue with the firm's analysis of the impact of tariffs on inflation, he posts on Truth Social today. David meaning David Solomon, the CEO of Goldman Sachs should go out and get himself a new economist. Or maybe he ought to just focus on being a deejay and not bother running a major financial institution. The piece was from Jan Hatzius over the weekend. Basically saying what we are saying here in terms of the impact of tariffs have yet to be felt by the consumer. They've been being borne by corporations, by exporters, etc. And eventually that will shift to the consumer. So that impact is yet to come.
Guy Adami
Thoughtful note. They're entitled to their opinion. I'll say this about David Solomon. He can Keep spinning records all he wants because under his leadership since I think 2018, he's. His CEO, stewardship is probably at the best stock performance in the history of Goldman Sachs as a publicly traded company. So he's doing something right.
Melissa Lee
Yeah.
Guy Adami
Also a big fan of the show.
Melissa Lee
Of course. He's probably watching. Right. Right. As we speak. But the question here is, as we've seen CEOs come under scrutiny by the White House and as banks are vying for a piece of potentially one of the biggest IPOs of history, Fannie and Freddie, what do you do? Do you try and avoid these sorts of. I mean, it's not a great position to be in if that is the business that you're trying to get a piece of.
Dan Nathan
Yeah. And I'm sure David Solomon, as he does every single day of his life, he'll probably handle this deftly and will not overreact. I think it's a case of we know the White House, we know President Trump has a view on many things. Ultimately, I don't think Goldman Sachs is going to change what they do. And you're right, the IPO calendar is fascinating and someplace that I think many of the banks will be involved and they should be involved. Get back to the banks as a, as a sector and as a group, they outperform disproportionately today because the sense is that the yield curve is steepening. I think net interest income is, is the most important part of investing in banks, at least right now. Yes, IPOs and yes, that sense that the liquidity we've all just talked about are. And look, look at the outperformance of the weaker players. It's not surprising in a bull market. Bank of America, Citibank are dwarfing over the last three months JP Morgan and it's not because they're higher quality.
Melissa Lee
Coming up, shares of Core Weave and Kava on the move after reporting results. Kava getting crushed after hours. What's behind the falafel fallout? That's next. And Gold's rally Getting outshined by names. Doing the digging. But do the technicals point to a change in the trend? Do not go anywhere. Fast money's back in two.
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Tim Seymour
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Melissa Lee
Welcome back to Fast Money Shares, a core weave dropping after its second earnings report since going public. The cloud company posting a loss of 60 cents a share but beating revenue estimates as it says it is rapidly scaling. The call kicking off kicked off the top of the hour here. CNBC's Christina Parks Nevillis is here. She's been listening in. Christina, what's the latest?
Christina Parks Nevillis
So there was three main points that I've heard just so far. The first one is that they spoke about just the fact that even financial institutions are getting in on wanting to get some of their infrastructure. They named Jane street, Goldman Sachs, etc. So they're talking about just everybody trying to invest in that. The second point was that he did bring up access to capital. They have raised a lot of debt. Most recently the end of July. He said that they're going to continue or the access to capital remains robust and they will continue to access less expensive capital, which I think was important that he used. He added the word less in there. He also just spoke about Capex just Moments ago for Q2, it was at 2.9 billion doll up, a billion dollars quarter over quarter. But he's saying that's because there's so much demand, therefore they have to keep spending. So that is could be a concern for cash flow for this company. We also know that it's operating at a loss. And then the one other point, they did bring up Core Scientific. So for our audience that doesn't know it's a $9 billion deal to buy Core Scientific so that they could actually be the landlords of said infrastructure. They would take hold of about 10 data centers. However, there's been some opposition over this deal, especially the $9 billion valuation on the call CEO saying that they believe it'll add value for both shareholders and owning the infrastructure will allow them to scale. So there's a lot going on right there. But it means they're saying that debts, that growth is continuing but they're going to have to continue with the level of debt that they're accumulating and that they believe Core Scientific should be part of their portfolio even though there's some opposition.
Tim Seymour
Yeah so and Karen might be able to speak to this like cheaper debt might be something that converts and that sort of thing. If there's demand right now you might as well and you know do that sort of thing. We've seen like some zero coupon sort of stuff like way out of the money but anything and I know this more Q and A but I know there's something you've been tracking pretty closely customer concentration.
Christina Parks Nevillis
Anything they didn't get to that they were still the cfo still talking about just the capex numbers and so maybe.
Tim Seymour
Them talking about these different verticals like financial services helps that.
Christina Parks Nevillis
Well they'll probably point to the fact that OpenAI during this quarter signed a $4 billion deal but that that still leaves concentration within Microsoft. OpenAI presumably Google Alphabet is another customer as well but they haven't openly said that. But that is the presumption especially because Google's logo was on their website at one point on the homepage. But yes that is possibly a big concern.
Karen Feiderman
So what do you think is disappointing? Because if you look at what the expectations were it looks like they had pretty good sizable beats on revenue and.
Christina Parks Nevillis
Yeah and I saw some headlines saying that was larger than expected but we're not comparing loss because they use GAAP numbers are the analysts are comparing to use non gaap. So then that comparison is a little bit off. So maybe that headline is misleading. Perhaps the other overhang is more of the technical timing. Here you have the IPO lockup that expires on Thursday and that's almost 83% of Class A shares that could potentially you know they're not going to go all out and flush their sales but some people are definitely going to exit so that would dilute current shareholders on Friday morning. And then the other overhang was just that core scientific deal so an M and A that the uncertainty is is confusing and people say the valuation of $9 billion might be too high given you had core we've tried to buy it just last year at $1 billion so that's a huge increase in just one year's time.
Melissa Lee
Christina thanks Christina Parsonnevolis what do you make of this of how it's trading.
Dan Nathan
Well and again core weave with a currency that's also appreciated rapidly since last year. It's still it's probably cheaper for them to buy it on a relative basis to when it was last year. I'm not surprised at this move. We'll see where it settles. In fact if it was a down 8% that wouldn't surprise me and that wouldn't be indicative of any anything in the numbers. That was awful. In fact, I think the biggest issue is what we've addressed here is the lumpiness. It's the infrastructure buildout. That quarter to quarter is very unclear and that's part of the story here. And so yes, are there concentration dynamics with clients? The valuation is far from cheap. But there's nothing that we've heard not only here but from anybody that these themes around networking and AI and sovereign build out and all the places where they would have more clients is abating. So I don't want to chase it, but I'm not surprised.
Melissa Lee
All right, down more than 9% right now. Got another earnings alert here on Kava. The stock nosediving after the fast casual restaurant chain missed revenue estimates in Q2. CBC's Kate Rogers has got the details here. Kate?
Subhadra Japa
Hi Melissa.
Melissa Lee
You said it.
Subhadra Japa
This is a tough quarter for Kava. The stock down 21%. EPS beat revenues amiss. The stock really falling though on same story sales, a big miss there. They were up 2.1% lower than estimates of up 6.1% sales sales growth rather this quarter coming primarily from menu price and product mix with guest traffic being approximately flat. On the earnings call which is ongoing. CEO Brett Schulman saying quote, strong prior year results including the launch of steak, our most significant protein launch in a number of years impacted the quarterly same store sales restaurant comparison. We remain deeply confident in the long term trajectory and the structural strength of our business. Reminder here it was lapping those very tough comparisons of up 14% same store sales year on year. Now on guidance, the company cutting its full year same store sales forecast now to a new range of between 4 and 6% down from between 6 to 8%. The stock down around 25% year to date. They did mention though chicken, shawarma, salmon and cinnamon pita chips all being tested and are in the pipeline as menu innovations in the future. So they could be future catalysts there for the the stock to move again. But right now, tough quarter for Kava. Melissa, back over to you Kate.
Melissa Lee
Thank you. Kate Rogers. When the stock's down 21%, you blame the steak. Everybody knew it's going to be tough comparisons here and you got to wonder if when you string together sweetgreen Chipotle, if there was something bigger going on with sort of the higher price, higher ticket, fast casual.
Guy Adami
You've definitely heard that from a lot of different restaurants. Without question I would have used it peted out in terms of the stock.
Melissa Lee
Another good one.
Guy Adami
Another good one.
Melissa Lee
Yes.
Karen Feiderman
You like it out?
Guy Adami
Yeah. Peter it out.
Neelay Patel
Peted out.
Dan Nathan
Yeah.
Guy Adami
I can talk in the commercial. I can explain it. We're trading right now. I mean, we're basically down to the April low. Valuation is absolutely concerned. But now if you can hold those levels we saw in April, which is right here, it could actually be interesting for a trade to the upside.
Melissa Lee
All right.
Tim Seymour
Well, as our chief salad correspondent here, I would just say you can just see if they're kind of trying to lower prices. We've seen that from Chipotle. It's not a good place to be, especially at that price point. But I also think it's something if you want to extend it out to consumers, Consumer discretionary. We talk about this for a while. I mean, if you start seeing folks cutting at this sort of price point, there's got to be other things to extrapolate. And I just think it was interesting in retail today, some of the things like Tim Sticks was trading higher and it was like why we keep.
Dan Nathan
Wouldn't it.
Tim Seymour
No, but we keep hearing things like consumer electronics are going to be some of the hardest spots as far as, you know, the tariff and trade and that sort of thing. So I just think there's again, there's a lot of chase. But I brought this up in the beginning of the show. You're seeing an unwind of some of these, these prior bubble trades and they're going into other things. I just don't think that's a great place to be.
Melissa Lee
Coming up, dig this divergence. The miners outshining gold's glittering rally this year. But the charmaster says things could be about to change. You're watching Fast Money live from the Nasdaq MarketSite in times Square. Back right after this.
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Melissa Lee
Welcome back to Fast Money. The Gold Miners ETF has been far outperforming the underlying commodity this year, soaring more than 71, while the Gold Trust GLD ETF is up just 27% in 2025. But the Chartmaster says things are about to change. He points to the relative performance of miners to bullion which is just broken out of a long term trend. He says it's now time to exit the GDX and go long gld. Would you agree? Would you concur?
Guy Adami
I'm looking, I see what he sees. So if you look at the gdx which has been on a breakout, we've talked about it here, you're approaching levels we last saw 14 years ago. So I think what Carter is saying, time to sort of harvest. I think it's a word that he uses from time to time. My pushback would be, I don't think this is over at all. And I think the markets finally embrace the fact that gold is here to stay and the miners still have significant catch up to do.
Dan Nathan
I think miners have just gotten started outperforming and it makes sense to me. They have a lot of leverage to the gold price and there was a time when inflation was running high. Their costs were high. Their costs. They were not even keeping up with the inflation in the gold price. So I actually think the outperformance here we know miners should trade at some type of a beta to the underlying gold. I don't think gold's going lower. So over time I want to own the miners.
Melissa Lee
Oh, so did yourself. Would you rather.
Guy Adami
No, no.
Dan Nathan
I think you asked me what I thought about the miners. I might throw, I might throw a.
Melissa Lee
Flag on that because I own the miners. So I just thought maybe I implied that you prefer them.
Dan Nathan
I prefer the minors and that's it. I was asked about minors.
Guy Adami
I rarely align myself with Tim in these arguments yet in this case he's right because the question was would you rather. So he just sort of addressed.
Dan Nathan
I threw my red, my red flag on the field because I wanted a replay on that ruling. Because I don't, I don't, I don't feel it was justified but. But because wasn't the segment about gold versus gold miners. It started out as a. Melissa's never wrong.
Melissa Lee
Moving on. I'm right. Period. Coming up, a perplexing offer. The details behind an AI startup's unsolicited bid for Google's Chrome browser. What it would mean for the race Fast Money's back into. Welcome back to Fast Money. Stocks jumping after this morning's inflation data. The dow jumping nearly 500 points. Points. The S and P NASDAQ both jumping more than 1% and closing at record highs. Shares a circle falling after hours as the company announced a public stock offering of 10 million shares. The stock and the stablecoin insurer had been up nearly 18% during the regular session after posting a 53% increase in revenue before the Bell, its first earnings report since going public. Shares up more than 390% since its debut in early June, even with the after hours drop. Meanwhile, Boeing climbing nearly 3% after saying it delivered 48 planes last month, its best July since 2017, but that is down from 60 deliveries in June. And speaking of planes, airlines flying high after this morning's inflation data showed ticket prices rising while gasoline costs fell. American Delta United helping to lead this group higher. Well, Perplexity making an unsolicited offer for Google Chrome as the AI startup looks to make a breakthrough in web search. The 34 and a half billion dollar bid is nearly double Perplexity's own $18 billion valuation. It also puts Apple's AI strategy back in the spotlight, with earlier reports saying the iPhone maker explored an acquisition of Perplexity itself. For more of the potential deal, let's bring in Neelay Patel, editor in chief of the Verge and host of the Decoder podcast. Neelie, great to have you with us.
Neelay Patel
Thanks for being here. Thanks.
Melissa Lee
So how, how long, how long of a long shot do you think this is?
Neelay Patel
Oh, this is a stunt. I mean, can we just be honest? It's a stunt. Google does not want to sell Chrome. They might be forced to sell Chrome at the end of a long legal process, which they are currently appealing that legal process, the counterparty is the United States government, which is currently led by Donald Trump in the Department of Justice, led by Pam Bondi. And I think that administration would much rather use this lawsuit to force Google into concessions to make a deal than actually run the process to identify. I think Perplexity needs attention. They need to drive app installs. They need investor interest. Saying they're going to buy Chrome for slightly more than Google paid for Wix, which was their biggest acquisition, is an incredible stunt. Good for them that they actually wanted to buy Chrome. They would do whatever other tech CEO is doing and they would show up in the Oval Office with the gold bars and ask Donald Trump for a favor.
Melissa Lee
So this is all just a PR stunt? I mean that, that's all there is to it. What do they, what do they get out of this, besides us talking about Perplexity? It doesn't. Does it make actually people go and use it?
Neelay Patel
There's an element of that for sure. Perplexity fashions itself as a competitor to Google Search, Right. They want to be an answer engine, and they need distribution. They need attention. They need people downloading the app. One of the most common stats I hear in the entire app business is that the average number of apps the average person downloads every Single day is zero. You need to drive attention. TikTok, which is a wonderful product that lots of people love, spent billions upon billions of dollars on meta platforms to drive app installs. So if you want to compete with Google, you need distribution as wide as Google has in order to get the Google search box in front of people or a search box in front of people. The two most powerful search boxes on the Internet are in the Chrome browser and in the Safari browser on mobile, which is why Google pays to be the default there and why Elon is threatening to sue Apple over the App Store rankings for Grok as opposed to ChatGPT. So the race to become the default search box for all of these models is on. Any amount of attention you can, you can drive, any amount of pressure you can put on Google and its legal troubles is good for perplexity.
Tim Seymour
Neal, you know, the rumors about Apple Perplexity might have made sense a year ago when the thing was, you know, at a 4 or $5 billion valuation, and maybe you paid like 8 or 9 or something like that, but at the end of the day, it's not something that would be integrated into the os. I think that's something we could probably agree on right now. What sort of acquisition do you think Apple should make if they're trying to play a little catch up, you know, in the air race? Because again, there's not a company that's been particularly acquisitive. The last one was a bomb. That was, I think, beats for like $3 billion 10 years ago. Thoughts on what Apple should do?
Neelay Patel
Yeah, you know, Apple's issue with acquisitions is not identifying technology or having the capital to buy whatever it is they want. It is culture fit, right? If you want to sell your company Apple, you are going to end up as an Apple employee. The Beats acquisition is particularly money because Jimmy Iovine, Dr. Dre and Trent Reznor ended up as just some more Apple employees. And they were miserable and they left. And that's what happened with Beats. That is a pretty incredible thing to put upon Dr. Dre and Trent Reznor. By the way, you're just another Apple employee. If you buy Perplexity, you get a pretty wild west startup culture. A pretty wild west founder who's willing to do stunts like offering to buy Chrome for you. Know which is not for sale and that is not part of Apple's culture. I think what Apple is trying to say is, look, the capabilities of the frontier models are important for Apple intelligence. We will put them in various places as we see fit there. It is just more commodity technology to us. They've talked for a long time about how Google might be integrated alongside OpenAI in some of the Apple intelligence products. You can see how they might want to do that with something like perplexity as well. But the actual kind of acquisition, like the big dollar culture reset acquisition, they're pretty hesitant to do that. Even though I think Tim Cook and last year and Call said they would acquire if they need to. You, the thing you're really talking about with Apple in particular is its ability to integrate culture and historically they have been extremely hesitant to do that.
Melissa Lee
Neelie, great to speak with you. Thank you.
Neelay Patel
Thank you.
Melissa Lee
Eli Patel of the Decoder podcast. All right. A couple of things I think that were really interesting. That is Apple, if it doesn't buy something big because it's just not very good at integrating culture wise shareholders. Is that okay? Apple shareholder Apple bull on this desk. Is that all right?
Dan Nathan
It's fine. And there certainly could be some awful, really expensive acquisitions. So relative. It's tough to think of an acquisition for Apple that would be something that really would. Would move the needle. But, but I just get back to. So I don't need to see Apple do that. I also don't expect that not only is Google not a seller, but Google will go to the mat in any legal process because Chrome is critical to their AI aspirations. So there's no way that this is going to happen anytime soon. And there's no way that Google, even in the current environment has to cave into the kind of pressure that they seem to be under. They're going to expect a long legal battle.
Melissa Lee
They could do. They could do what Tim Cook did. Go to the White House with some gold or whatever else replacement could do that.
Tim Seymour
No St Apple, Apple or Google Alphabet.
Karen Feiderman
Alphabet.
Melissa Lee
To get out of its legal problems.
Karen Feiderman
Oh, to get out of its legal problems. Maybe. I mean Sundar, he's been there, right. So that wouldn't be surprising. But this, this is. I didn't call it a stunt, but it is equivalent.
Dan Nathan
They did this with Tock.
Karen Feiderman
With what?
Dan Nathan
They did this with Tick Tock to.
Christina Parks Nevillis
Bid for Tick Tock.
Dan Nathan
Yes, they said they're going to bid for Tick Tock.
Melissa Lee
Coming up, the latest read on investor sentiment as stocks hit record highs. Betterment CEO said Sarah Levy joins us next to lay out whether her company, what her company is seeing and how investors are navigating the volatility. Stay tuned. Welcome back to Fast money. Market anxiety is manifesting among investors, but there is a stark divide between younger and older generations. That's according to the latest investor survey from Betterment and Investing and Financial Planning Platform. A full two thirds of Gen Z investors and more than half of millennials are confident about the market's future. Betterment CEO Sarah Levy joins us now to break down the data. Sarah, great to see you.
Sarah Levy
Thanks for having me.
Melissa Lee
Is this just that younger people have more time to make up for any losses so they are more confident or is there something about their investing style that makes them different from older investors?
Sarah Levy
I think I would say yes and yes. So I think time horizon, clearly when you think about volatility, time horizon plays a huge role, which is you don't have to be as nervous. But I also think, actually I was talking to you guys about my media days. I grew up at Nickelodeon and Gen Z was my demographic, right. And they came out of the womb in control, to be honest. Like they, they came out of the womb, you know, picking the car for their family and now they want to do the same with their investing. And so I think that's a huge part of who they are as a generation.
Guy Adami
We're doing a lot of talk about inflation, interest rates, how does that manifest investing itself with your customer base?
Sarah Levy
So I think interest rates, what we've seen is that folks have kept money in cash longer and part of that is a great high yield rate. We actually have our highest rate right now on the platform at 4.65%. So you can't really beat that. But we expect that even as rates start to come down that all of the sort of kangaroo markets will lead, I think will lead a lot of folks to keep their money in cash.
Karen Feiderman
So looking at some of the, you know, the Robin Hood's of the world, yours is a very different platform, very different look and feel. But do you think that is there any light that you want to close in between you two where you would look to expand into some other products?
Sarah Levy
That's a great question. I think there's absolutely light between us, which is to say when each of our platforms started, there was a concept of either you're a managed investing person and you like diversification foundation or you're a self directed investor. And I think what we've seen is a real convergence of those two ideas. It's much more of A spectrum than it is one type of investor or another. So we will be introducing self directed investing later this year and we want to offer optionality back to the Gen Z and millennials. They want some control and we want to give them choice and optionality in that control.
Tim Seymour
All right, so talk to us a little bit about advisors because this is something you guys have had a big push on. You just talked about Gen Z. They want control, but they also graduate, I think a bit to like more complex financial products. I think that's maybe what Karen's talking about too. So is that advisor demand? Is it there and do you see it increasing?
Sarah Levy
Well, that's one of the amazing things that, you know, turn back the clock a decade and I think there was this fear that sort of robo advisory and technology would supplant the humans. And we've really not seen that. We've believed since the beginning that the right combination of sort of human for peace of mind and for conversation and then technology as tools was sort of the right mix. And we've seen that really play out more and more, particularly as investors age right. They get married, they buy a house, they want the peace of mind of talking to someone. And so we've built a really nice way for people to sort of grow with us and get that human advice on top of the tools when they want it.
Melissa Lee
Just in terms of where investors are allocated on your pipe, they're fully invested, almost cash. Cash, yeah.
Sarah Levy
Cash and investing. Yes.
Subhadra Japa
Okay.
Melissa Lee
And what's the, what's the divide and has that old has a change at all?
Sarah Levy
It really depends on, I mean it depends on the investor, but overall on the platform I would say we're about 25% in cash.
Melissa Lee
Okay, Sarah, great to see you. Thank you.
Sarah Levy
Thank you.
Melissa Lee
Sarah Levy of betterment. I mean, 25% cash when you're getting 4.65% ain't bad.
Dan Nathan
I think it's a paradigm that we've seen with money markets and cash that are very much here to stay. I also think that Betterment and some of the other newer platforms, there's, there's a fine line, there's a nuance response to what seemed like a totally, you know, just, I guess an innovative way for a Gen Z to invest. I think ultimately what we're hearing from Sarah is this is a giving them the tools but also providing some of the same services, which I think is the perfect combo.
Guy Adami
She's still here, but since her last appearance there was a great Forbes piece on Sara Non traditional finance. They've been very acquisitive over the last five years. Really cool CEO. I know she's sitting to my left.
Subhadra Japa
But.
Melissa Lee
Coming up, ready, set, rally. Why sneaker and sports stocks like On Holdings, Dick's and Nike are all in the green. That's next. More fast money into. Welcome back to Fast Money. Swiss sneaker company on jumping after reporting better than expected revenue in its latest quarter with sales rising 32%. That prompted the company to raise full year revenue guidance and gross margin guidance Americans even as it contends with new tariffs on imports from Vietnam where it sources about 90% of its goods. Shares of Nike, Lululemon and Dick's Sporting Goods all higher today. Karen.
Karen Feiderman
Yes. Well remember when the Dick's announced that footlocker deal that was really met with a just a terrible thud that seemed like way too much of an overreaction. I mean they've been doing. They've been really. They transformed their business business and it wasn't expensive at all. I bought it then. I'm still long now. I'm hanging out with it.
Melissa Lee
Okay.
Dan Nathan
I think it's interesting what's going on in the athleisure and in the footwear space because I am of the view that at some point the macro here is not great. I get where on on is and it was nice to see a growth company actually exceed their growth. So that's where I would not be reaching for the valuations on any of these names. Look at Lulu. And Lulu hasn't even seen the macro yet. So I think this is something to.
Guy Adami
Be cautious on On On. Roger Federer notwithstanding. I know Karen's a huge fan, as am I. But this is still on a downtrend from January broken. Is she.
Karen Feiderman
I know he is.
Tim Seymour
Do you work out?
Dan Nathan
I have a little bit. Isn't it obvious?
Melissa Lee
What? That's not nice.
Tim Seymour
I'm just asking, you know, I heard him mention anything about.
Dan Nathan
Obvious that I.
Melissa Lee
Do work out anyway. You don't like. If you don't like Sweet Green and Kava and those names and people are cutting back at that price point. Does that make you concerned about these sorts of.
Tim Seymour
Well, I mean, listen, the Nike things seem to be very Nike specific in Lulu. Like you said, it wasn't even hit by the macro yet. So there just seems to be some execution issues. And I think that maybe on on is executing really well. But by the same token, I mean we've talked about all these athleisure brands and there's a lot of competition right now. And how many times have we said $100 yoga pants. It seems like that's one of these things that probably gets hit first up.
Melissa Lee
Next, final traits, Final tray time.
Dan Nathan
Timote yeah, guess what Lily? It was never a question.
Karen Feiderman
Karen yes. So Ulta, it's had a very nice run. They're reporting at the end of the month, but I am going to sell some to upside. 550 calls against it.
Tim Seymour
Dan Tim had a great call on Apple last week at $200. I was kind of fading it, but I would actually sell calls against your Apple. Tim I just think it's run too far too fast.
Guy Adami
There was some concern at the top of the show. Tim about my fountain. I picked some stuff up to A.
Melissa Lee
Large fountain or is like a bird pretty?
Guy Adami
Pretty large fountain? Depends.
Dan Nathan
Is this a euphemism?
Melissa Lee
It's an actual gdx all right, thanks for watching. Fast Mad Money starts right now.
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CNBC’s "Fast Money" Podcast Summary: August 12, 2025 Episode – "Stocks Jump After CPI Data… Plus Perplexity’s Bid To Buy Google’s Chrome Browser"
Introduction and Market Overview
In the August 12, 2025 episode of CNBC’s "Fast Money," host Melissa Lee, along with a panel of top traders—Tim Seymour, Karen Feiderman, Dan Nathan, and Guy Adami—delves into the day’s significant financial movements. The episode kicks off with a robust market performance, highlighting the NASDAQ and S&P indices reaching new highs, while the Dow surges by 483 points. This impressive rally follows the release of softer-than-expected Consumer Price Index (CPI) data, which has sparked discussions about potential Federal Reserve (Fed) rate cuts.
Economic Data and Fed Policy
Melissa Lee opens the discussion by addressing the impact of the July CPI report, revealing a 2.7% year-over-year increase in consumer prices, below the anticipated 3% growth. This data has led to a decline in short-term treasury yields and heightened expectations for a Fed rate cut in the upcoming meeting.
Key Quote:
Panel Insights on CPI and Fed's Stance
Guy Adami expresses skepticism about the CPI data signaling an “all clear” to the Fed, noting, “inflation is still a problem” ([02:33]). Dan Nathan elaborates on the CPI’s implications, suggesting that while the headline number was encouraging, the core inflation remains elevated, providing the Fed with room to consider rate cuts ([03:09]). Karen Feiderman echoes this sentiment, anticipating that the Fed will proceed with rate cuts, albeit cautiously ([04:23]).
Tim Seymour brings a nuanced perspective, highlighting the paradox of strong GDP growth and elevated inflation rates amidst a stable Fed funds rate ([05:05]). The panel collectively acknowledges the complexity of the current economic landscape, where mixed signals from various indicators make market predictions challenging.
Stock Market Reactions and Equity Discussions
The panel discusses the market's positive reaction to the CPI data, attributing gains to investor optimism about potential rate cuts and improving labor market conditions. Small-cap stocks, in particular, outperformed, rising nearly three times the broader market, driven by expectations of more accommodative Fed policies ([03:21]).
Key Quote:
Banking Sector Insights
The discussion shifts to the banking sector, with a focus on Goldman Sachs, which has seen its stock jump 4%, marking a 30% increase year-to-date. Despite this performance, President Trump criticized Goldman Sachs’ analysis of tariffs' impact on inflation, indicating potential political pressures on financial institutions ([16:18]).
Corporate Earnings and Stock Movements: Core Weave and Kava
Core Weave: Shares of Core Weave experienced a significant drop after announcing a public stock offering of 10 million shares, despite beating revenue estimates with a 53% increase. The company is also navigating a contentious $9 billion acquisition of Core Scientific, which has raised concerns about valuation and strategic direction ([20:22]).
Kava: Kava’s stock plunged over 21% following its Q2 earnings report, which missed revenue expectations despite beating EPS estimates. The company's revised full-year guidance for same-store sales growth led to investor disappointment. CEO Brett Schulman remains optimistic about future menu innovations as potential catalysts for recovery ([24:52]).
Key Quotes:
Gold vs. Gold Miners Analysis
The panel engages in a debate over the performance of gold bullion versus gold mining stocks. While the Gold Trust GLD ETF has risen 27%, the Gold Miners ETF GDX has surged 71% this year. The Chartmaster suggests a potential shift, advocating for a move from miners to bullion as the recent breakout might indicate overperformance ([28:21]).
Key Quotes:
Perplexity’s Bid for Google Chrome Browser
A highlight of the episode is Perplexity’s unsolicited $34.5 billion bid to acquire Google’s Chrome browser, nearly double its own valuation. This bold move is analyzed as a strategic stunt by Neelay Patel, editor-in-chief of The Verge, who suggests it aims to drive attention and app installs rather than a feasible acquisition ([32:06]). The panel concurs that this bid is unlikely to materialize but acknowledges its role in raising Perplexity’s profile in the competitive AI and web search landscape ([32:00]).
Key Quotes:
Investor Sentiment Analysis: Betterment Survey
Betterment CEO Sarah Levy joins the panel to discuss a recent investor survey revealing a generational divide in market confidence. Two-thirds of Gen Z and over half of millennials remain confident about the market's future, attributing their optimism to longer investment horizons and a proactive approach to investing ([38:24]). Levy emphasizes the importance of a balanced investment strategy, integrating both technology-driven tools and human advisory services to cater to evolving investor needs ([39:10]).
Key Quotes:
Sneaker and Sports Stocks Rally
The episode covers the strong performance of sports and sneaker companies, highlighted by Swiss sneaker company On Holdings’ 32% revenue increase, prompting raised full-year guidance. Other stocks like Nike, Lululemon, and Dick's Sporting Goods also saw gains, fueled by robust sales despite new tariffs on imports from Vietnam ([42:59]). The panel discusses the sustainability of this rally amidst macroeconomic uncertainties and competitive pressures within the athleisure market.
Key Quotes:
Conclusion
The episode of "Fast Money" offers a comprehensive analysis of the current financial landscape, navigating through the nuances of CPI data, Fed policy implications, corporate earnings, and emerging market trends. The discussion underscores the complexity of market reactions in an environment marked by mixed economic indicators and strategic corporate maneuvers. Panelists provide diverse perspectives, offering investors valuable insights into navigating the volatility and identifying potential opportunities in various sectors.
Notable Quotes Summary:
Timestamp Highlights:
Final Thoughts
CNBC’s "Fast Money" delivers an insightful and engaging episode, dissecting pivotal market movements and strategic corporate actions. With expert analysis and real-time reactions, listeners gain a nuanced understanding of the factors influencing today’s financial markets. Whether you're a seasoned investor or new to the scene, this episode offers valuable perspectives to navigate the ever-evolving economic landscape.