CNBC’s “Fast Money” – Detailed Summary

Episode: The Latest AI Investments From Tech Giants… And A Bull Case Still In Place
Date: February 2, 2026
Host: Melissa Lee
Panel: Tim Seymour, Dan Nathan, Guy Adami, Mike Kohler
Special Guest: Dan Ives (Wedbush Managing Director)

Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the latest AI investment moves by tech giants, the bullish and bearish arguments for the sector, and the broader implications for equity markets. Discussion spans red-hot transportation stocks (and what that says about the economy), breaking news on the White House’s new strategic minerals reserve, high-stakes financing in AI infrastructure, and big-picture views from one of Wall Street's most prominent tech analysts. Additional themes include Palantir's breakout earnings, Disney’s succession saga, and market sentiment across software, commodities, and crypto.

1. Transportation Stocks on Fire: Economic Signal or Fluke?

[00:47–06:37]

• Key facts: The Dow Transports hit a record, up 3% in one day.

  • Old Dominion Freight: +7.5%
  • Ryder, Landstar: +6%
  • FedEx: +4% (all-time highs)
  • Matson: New multi-year highs

• Economic context:

  • Panel largely agrees this broad strength signals resilience in the U.S. economy.
  • Dan Nathan [02:39]: “It speaks to the robust consumer and still spending … FedEx finally growing into a valuation.”
  • UPS noted as “catch-up” play and “compelling on valuation,” says Nathan.

• Macro Analysis: ISM Manufacturing Index showed expansion for the first time since Feb 2025.

  • Tim Seymour [03:24]: “If this is truly an inflection, it’s time to buy airlines and it’s time to buy shippers … these are the sectors that tend to really outperform in the 12 months after an inflection.”
  • Airlines (Delta, United) identified as poised for gains.

• Uber as a curiosity:

  • Despite being the biggest holding in IYT (transports ETF), Uber is down 20% YTD.
  • Guy Adami [04:29]: “Uber to me looks more interesting than some of those more industrial sort of names.”

2. BREAKING: White House Launches “Operation Vault” Strategic Minerals Reserve

[06:37–09:30]

• Announcement recap: President Trump announces a $10B federal fund + $2B private investment for a strategic minerals reserve, joined by GM’s Mary Barra.

  • “Operation Vault” key to onshoring supply of rare earths and other critical minerals.

• Crypto subplot:

  • President Trump distances himself from Abu Dhabi’s investment in his family's crypto company—says his sons manage it.

• Market impact:

  • Dan Nathan [08:18]: “Don’t run too far from these [rare earths]. There are a lot of chapters left.”
  • U.S.-listed rare earth stocks (MP Materials) tick higher on news, but panel stresses the trade is not straightforward.

3. Oracle’s $50B Raise & Nvidia’s Wavering Commitment to OpenAI

[09:30–12:47]

• Oracle: Announced plans to raise up to $50B for cloud infrastructure.
• Nvidia: Reportedly pulling back from its (up to) $100B investment in OpenAI—Jensen Huang is showing fiscal discipline and concerns over competition (Anthropic, Google).

Panel analysis:

• Guy Adami [10:10]: “OpenAI ... this all has to work at OpenAI. It doesn’t work for anybody, in my opinion.”
• Dan Nathan [12:18]: “I actually thought that Nvidia stock could be higher ... fiscal discipline ... but maybe the sanctity of capex isn’t written in stone.”

4. Tech Sector Under the Microscope: Analyst Dan Ives Joins

[12:47–19:49]

The “Circular” AI Trade

• Melissa Lee [12:56]: “If Nvidia doesn’t invest ... OpenAI doesn’t necessarily have the money ... these things are all connected.”
• Dan Ives [13:13]: “Oracle needed to get this out there ... it’s a huge step in the right direction.”
  • OpenAI's investment matters—this is the “cloud that’s overhanging tech.”

Big Tech Competition & Investment Stability

• Ives [14:25]: “With Google, Anthropic—there’s more stability there ... you’re building an entirely new consumer and enterprise economy.”
• Importance of showing credible financing, not just "CDS spread" rumors.

Bull vs Bear—How Does the AI Trade Pause?

• Guy Adami [15:02]: “How do we get into a digestion phase ... pushback is, what if earnings or capex gets wobbly?”
• Ives [15:46]: “The biggest worry is energy shortages … and US-China tensions. The question is not about the use cases ... it’s about these other issues and the financing.”

Oracle Dilution and Sector Impact

• Tim Seymour & Dan Ives [16:36–17:52]: Equity-linked issuance is less dilutive than feared—investors are betting Oracle can execute, but valuation multiples must reflect that risk.

Addressing the “Biggest Showman” Critique

• Melissa Lee [17:52]: Brings up Barron’s skeptical article about Ives.
• Ives [18:27]: “I live and breathe the AI revolution ... everything’s vetted ... I get the scrutiny ... the passion and opportunities are what’s in front of me.”
• Dan Nathan [19:18]: “He is extraordinarily rigorous in his work … when Dan’s wrong, he talks about it …”

5. Waymo’s Monster Funding Round – Robotaxi Race Heats Up

[21:43–25:09]

• Waymo: Raises $16B at $126B post-money; round 3x oversubscribed.

  • Led by Dragoneer, DST Global, Sequoia; Mubadala (Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth) also joins.

• Growth pipeline: Funds expansion to 20+ new cities globally, accelerates fleet growth.

• Panel reaction:

  • Guy Adami [23:57]: “It’s interesting. Three times oversubscribed ... this is no longer a moonshot, but a scaled commercial platform.”
  • Tim Seymour [24:25]: “YouTube is probably the bigger mispricing [within Google], especially when you start to look at that against Netflix ...”

6. Palantir Earnings: “Escape Velocity” and AI Upskilling

[25:09–28:31]

• Results: Palantir posts beats on revenue and earnings, raises guidance.

  • U.S. government revenue up 66%, U.S. commercial up 137%
  • CEO Alex Karp: “Numbers are reaching escape velocity ... We are very focused on Palantir.” [25:09]

• AI upskilling: Palantir claims its commercial AI drives jobs, especially in manufacturing/factory floors.

• Panel take:

  • Dan Nathan [26:38]: “The quarter was fine … It’s the valuation. Let’s see how it trades.”
  • Tim Seymour [26:58]: “38% of the software sector is oversold … but Palantir’s valuation is hard for me to stomach these days.”
  • Mike Kohler [27:33]: “We do own this despite the valuation. Needs to break $160 for significant technical upside.”

7. Disney Earnings & Succession Overhang

[30:10–32:34]

• Results: Shares drop 7% after weak guidance.

  • Street awaits successor to CEO Bob Iger; board meeting this week.
  • Josh D’Amaro (parks chief) seen as frontrunner.

• Panel:

  • Tim Seymour [31:10]: “Succession is a big overhang ... Streaming business growth, but the company feels like two different businesses not aligned.”
  • Dan Nathan [31:59]: “No compelling reason to be in or out of this name right now.”

8. Macro Sentiment: Bull Case Endures Despite Hiccups in Tech, Commodities, and Crypto

[34:09–36:45]

• Guest: Julian Emanuel (Evercore ISI)

  • Predicts tech will continue to lead; market shrugs off negative headlines.
  • “The economy is really strong.”
  • Drop in gold/silver/crypto seen as temporary—market’s resilience is notable.

• Panel:

  • Tim Seymour [36:12]: “Frankly, I never expected to be a contrarian by saying tech leads the bull market higher …”
  • Gold/oil take:
    • Dan Nathan [37:47]: “If the market is right about lower rates coming, then gold's drop is hugely overdone on the downside.”
    • Mike Kohler [38:07]: “Silver needed to fall back … some bullish call buying now, but it takes time to wash out.”

• Software sector battered:

  • Guy Adami [38:43]: “These things are uninvestable unless they join the next leg up.”
  • Tim Seymour [39:13]: “If you were long Microsoft, you better be a buyer here—the stock has done nothing for 2.5 years.”

9. Options Market Expects Volatility in Chipotle’s Results

[39:29–42:14]

• Chipotle (CMG) earnings on deck:

  • Options market pricing in a 10% move (larger than historic average).
  • Mike Kohler [40:02]: “Puts traded more than double their average volume … options traders think pressure will continue.”

• Customer pressure:

  • CMG’s demos (younger, value-focused) challenged; comp growth slower; still “an expensive stock.”
  • Tim Seymour [41:19]: “Prove me story. You don’t pay up for growth if you don’t have it.”

10. Nvidia-OpenAI Tensions & Twitter Diplomacy

[42:14–45:25]

• News Alert: Sam Altman publicly reassures Nvidia relations, calls chipmaker “the best in the world,” rebuffing rumors of dissatisfaction.

• Reuters: OpenAI seeking alternatives due to Nvidia hardware limitations.

• Christina Partsinevelos [43:08]: “OpenAI is still closing a funding round that includes Nvidia … potential for their biggest investment ever, but clarity is lacking.”

• Panel:

  • Guy Adami [44:19]: “OpenAI is scrambling for capacity wherever they can get it … but they know where their bread is buttered.”
  • Tim Seymour [44:50]: “You can’t undermine your key partner in public when trying to close a massive raise. Damage control 101.”

11. Final Trades

[45:25–46:10]

• Mike Kohler: UPS—“Starting to thaw after a long, cold winter.”
• Tim Seymour: Delta—“New CEO, right for the job. Discount to target is insane.”
• Guy Adami: Snowflake—“If you like Palantir, consider SNOW; better valuation in some aspects.”
• Dan Nathan: McDonald’s—Bullish chart formation.

Notable Quotes

• Dan Nathan [02:39]: “It speaks to the robust consumer and still spending ...”
• Tim Seymour [03:24]: “If this [manufacturing data] is truly an inflection, it’s time to buy airlines and shippers.”
• Guy Adami [04:29]: “Uber to me looks more interesting than some of those more industrial sort of names.”
• Dan Ives [13:13]: “Oracle needed to get this out there ... a huge step in the right direction.”
• Dan Ives [14:25]: “You’re building essentially a new consumer and enterprise economy.”
• Dan Nathan [19:18]: “Showman aside, [Ives] happens to be extraordinarily rigorous in his work ...”
• Morgan Brennan [25:09]: (Palantir CEO) “Numbers are reaching escape velocity in the US ... more jobs being created because of AI upskilling ...”
• Tim Seymour [36:12]: “I love being a contrarian here … tech will continue to lead the bull market higher.”
• Sam Altman (via Christina Partsinevelos) [43:08]: “We love working with Nvidia and they make the best AI chips in the world.”
• Guy Adami [44:19]: “OpenAI has been scrambling for capacity … but they know where their bread is buttered.”

Key Timestamps by Segment

• 00:47 – Stocks & Transports Discussion Starts
• 03:24 – ISM Manufacturing/Inflection Point
• 06:37 – White House “Operation Vault” Strategic Minerals
• 09:30 – Oracle $50B Raise/Nvidia-OpenAI Investment
• 12:47 – Dan Ives Interview Begins
• 21:43 – Waymo Funding News & Reaction
• 25:09 – Palantir Earnings Recap
• 30:10 – Disney Results & Successor Discussion
• 34:09 – Market Sentiment: Tech, Macro, Commodities
• 39:29 – Chipotle Options Preview
• 42:14 – Nvidia-OpenAI Twitter Diplomacy & Funding
• 45:25 – Final Trades

Episode Takeaways

• Transports’ strength signals a robust economy, possibly at an inflection point.
• AI infrastructure investments (Oracle, Nvidia, OpenAI) are shifting fast; financing, competition, and business models under scrutiny.
• Dan Ives remains bullish but acknowledges real risks for AI and tech.
• Waymo’s oversubscribed funding cements the scaling of Robotaxi/AUTONOMY as a serious part of the future.
• Palantir’s AI-driven growth is notable but valuation concerns persist.
• Disney’s uncertain succession clouds stock outlook.
• Macro sentiment: Despite recent market dips, leading strategists see no downturn thesis; tech may still lead.
• Options action signals big volatility brewing for Chipotle; software sector battered but possibly washed out.

Overall: Actionable analysis, pointed debate, and a real-time look at how Wall Street’s tech bull case is standing up to new financing, competitive, and macro tests.