The Post-Tech Earnings Rotation: Your Next Move 8/3/26

Summary

Halftime Report: The Post-Tech Earnings Rotation—Your Next Move (August 3, 2026)

Episode Overview

In this episode, Scott Wapner leads a lively discussion with top investors including Joe Terranova, Jim Lebenthal, Sarat Sethi, and Steve Weiss on the fallout from the latest tech earnings. The crew delves deep into the dynamics of the post-report rotation: what’s working, what’s not, and how rules-based ETF strategies are both helping and hindering investor decisions. Sidebars include in-depth debate on Oracle’s high-risk/high-reward prospects, shifting momentum toward energy and small caps, and a breakdown of SpaceX’s much-anticipated earnings and lockup expirations.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Tech Earnings Recap & ETF Rebalancing

• Microsoft and Amazon declared the biggest winners from tech earnings, especially for their cloud growth. Meta and Apple labeled “disappointments” as judged by market reaction.

  “It's clear that Microsoft and Amazon come out the biggest winners. Their cloud growth was amazing. Meta and Apple were, I guess, the disappointments…"
  —Scott Wapner (01:43)

• Joe Terranova discussed selling Meta and Microsoft as part of a momentum ETF quarterly rebalance, not personal conviction.

  "It's momentum... Meta and Microsoft, these are not momentum names... But what clearly we witnessed in the case of Microsoft was something that is fundamental strength, and a lot of times when you're looking at momentum there is a disregard for good fundamentals."
  —Joe Terranova (02:22)

  • Joe notes the pivot away from MegaCap tech, and the limitations of rules-based ETF strategies:

    “...sometimes [rules-based strategies are] going to work in your favor and sometimes the way it is today doesn't work.”
    —Joe Terranova (04:00)

• ETF Rebalancing Frustration:

  • Joe admits personal regret for being forced to sell Microsoft despite strong fundamentals:

    “Of course, personally when I look at Microsoft today, I didn’t like seeing that the strategy was selling Microsoft the other day. I didn't like that at all. But I'm beholden to the strategy and the rules that were written nearly five or six years ago."
    —Joe Terranova (04:44)

---

Post-Earnings Fundamental Takeaways

• Jim Lebenthal says he's sticking with Microsoft and Amazon (“will even add to those on weakness”) but is cautious and “watch-listing” Meta:

  "I think that's where I'm going to be adding more money to, because I think the margins that they have are the ones that I want to own more of.”
  —Jim Lebenthal on Microsoft (06:22)

• On Meta:

  “Meta is now on the kind of the watch list… we're going to do much more work on because they don't have the cloud issue, they don't have the cloud piece to grow yet…”
  —Jim Lebenthal (07:10)

• Microsoft’s Momentum Issue

  • Joe and Scott debate whether Microsoft is regaining “momentum” status as a stock:

  “No disputing and debating the fact that the momentum in this name was gone.”
  —Scott Wapner (08:10) “Gone.”
  —Joe Terranova (08:17)

---

Apple: To Hold or Not To Hold?

• Sarat Sethi explains why he trimmed Apple before earnings, citing overvaluation and the classic “priced for perfection” setup:

  “I sold it before the earnings because it was priced for perfection, because it had the run and because I'm discretionary. … Always trying to go where I can buy low and sell high. And that's exactly what I did with Apple last week.”
  —Sarat Sethi (09:40)

• Dissent on Apple’s near-term prospects:

  “Will it get to 400 as some people say, Scott? Yes, of course it will. Not in the next quarter. It's in the penalty box.”
  —Sarat Sethi (10:11)

---

Meta, Microsoft, and the Nature of Momentum

• Steve Weiss shares his active approach and why he sized up both Meta and Microsoft after their recent weakness:

  “I took the opportunity to decline in Meta to size it up considerably. I took the opportunity after Microsoft reported—bought it. I wish I bought it before but bought it on the top to size that up considerably because I see opportunity in both; with the valuations, they're still very, very inexpensive … So that's why I add to Meta, because it's very cheap.”
  —Steve Weiss (10:29)

• Steve is wary of calling all questions answered:

  "I don't think all the questions are answered by any means whatsoever. But what I do know, my view has been on cloud ... is that cloud is going to—the need for cloud is going to continue to grow. It's exponential…"
  —Steve Weiss (11:16)

---

Oracle: High Risk, Potential Reward (Risk vs. Value Debate)

• The group debates if Oracle is a value or risky play, as debate on its sky-high backlog and exposure to OpenAI continues:

  "Oracle is a value stock. We sold half our position. ... It's a small size and I think the opportunity there could be a lot larger. When A +B = C works."
  —Jim Lebenthal (18:22)

  “Oracle is risky. Obviously it's risky. That's from whence comes return.”
  —Sarat Sethi (19:45)

  • Oracle’s potential: if AI/funding headwinds clear, “this could be a lot larger.”
  • But the group concedes: debt usage and OpenAI concentration are real risks.

• Steve Weiss challenges whether Oracle truly offers ‘value’:

  "I see a PE that is higher than, than Meta. That's right around where Microsoft is... So just because the stock is down so meaningfully, I don't think that defines, defines value. I think the valuation defines value in conjunction with the balance sheet."
  —Steve Weiss (21:34)

---

Small-Caps & Factor Rotation

• ETF Edge segment (38:36):

  • Small caps outperforming large caps by “over a thousand basis points” (39:11)

  • Todd Rosenbluth highlights “free cash flow” as a factor for small cap outperformance:

    “The higher quality companies in the small cap space [have] performed quite well this year and in July in particular.”
    —Todd Rosenbluth (39:49)

---

Energy: From Afterthought to Outperformer

• Joe Terranova has boosted energy weighting to 10% (double the S&P's), citing a strong “momentum factor shift” into the sector’s “hard assets.”

  “I clearly see right now the momentum factor is shifting. It's shifting a little bit away from AI and it's going to more of the hard assets…Energy clearly fits in that description for sure.”
  —Joe Terranova (42:25)

• Debate: Should you trim now, or stick with energy?

  • Jim Lebenthal is trimming, saying energy is now “oversized.”
  • Sarat Sethi counters with reasons inventories will keep demand high (SPR refill, global demand, unappreciated risks):

    “We got to fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, not just here in the US but everywhere ... that's number one. Number two, your Valero call and your refining calls have been genius. And you know who's one of the biggest refiners out there? Jimmy ExxonMobil.”
    —Sarat Sethi (43:41)

---

SpaceX: Stock Lockup, Earnings, and Volatility

• Morgan Brennan breaks down SpaceX’s “stock lockup” expiration and upcoming earnings, warning that an immense supply of unlocked stock will keep the shares volatile:

  "Through the end of September. The public float is poised to triple. Supply will continue to swell until next June ... SpaceX shares have tumbled about 20%... more than 50% from the intraday high..."
  —Morgan Brennan (30:43)

  • Key focus: How Starlink and cloud deals will help offset the AI cash burn.

• Options markets are pricing in a huge, 14-15% swing post-earnings, with strong but volatile bullish and bearish flows (45:54).

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On ETF strategies and regret:

  “Of course, personally when I look at Microsoft today, I didn’t like seeing that the strategy was selling Microsoft the other day.... But I'm beholden to the strategy and the rules that were written nearly five or six years ago.”
  —Joe Terranova (04:44)

• On risk and return (Oracle):

  "That's just not how it works. Okay? This is big risk, this is big volume. This could not work out. I suspect it will."
  —Sarat Sethi (18:43)

• On discretionary vs. rules-based investing:

  “You have a much easier temperament around taking some off the table of winners rather than cutting bait on losers and moving on.”
  —Scott Wapner (16:46)

• On market knowledge and opportunity:

  “If the market knew everything, there'd be no opportunity for any of us to be on the show. There'd be no opportunity for us to generate alpha. The market does not know everything.”
  —Sarat Sethi (21:17)

---

Important Timestamps & Segments

• 01:43 — Market snapshot and first tech earnings recap
• 02:22–05:45 — Joe Terranova on ETF rules and Microsoft's momentum
• 06:00–07:40 — Jim Lebenthal on Amazon/Microsoft post-earnings; Meta on watch-list
• 08:09–09:21 — Is Microsoft regaining momentum? Microsoft-Apple analogies
• 09:40–10:11 — Sarat Sethi on selling Apple ("penalty box")
• 10:29–12:56 — Steve Weiss on sizing up Meta and Microsoft
• 13:17–15:12 — Debating whether software rebound is real or a head fake
• 16:12–24:44 — Oracle/AI value debate (risk, multiples, potential upside)
• 38:36–40:39 — ETF Edge: Small Cap ETF outperformance & free cash flow focus
• 41:35–44:39 — Energy sector resurgence, portfolio allocation debate
• 30:43–35:53 — SpaceX lockup/earnings preview, why it's hard to value
• 45:56 — Oliver Renick summarizes SpaceX options activity and expectations for post-earnings moves

---

Flow & Tone

This episode is full of quick-fire debate, grounded in both quantitative and discretionary approaches, and punctuated by frank admissions of doubt, uncertainty, and changing tides in the market. The banter is sharp but collegial, with key players defending their methods and philosophies in light of uncertain fundamentals and fast-shifting narratives post-earnings.

---

Summary Takeaways: What Should Investors Watch Next?

• Tech’s post-earnings fate may be splintering the “Mag 7” narrative. Microsoft and Amazon are seen as durable; Meta and Apple face near-term “penalty box” or “watch-list” status.
• Rules-based strategies (especially momentum ETFs) are being tested: the limits of automation vs. the value of discretion are front-and-center.
• Risk/reward in Oracle is high: it could be an “alpha” trough or a value trap depending on AI/funding execution.
• Energy is the breakout sector, with some arguing up to a 10% portfolio weighting is justified—though profit-taking is happening, too, after a big run.
• Small-cap stocks, especially those with strong free cash flow, remain an intriguing 2026 theme.
• SpaceX’s market debut is dominated by supply/demand mechanics (lockups), with valuation debates and options volatility signaling choppy waters ahead.
• Across the board, the lesson is humility: “the market does not know everything,” and flexibility, whether via rules or discretion, is key.

---

This episode delivers a real-time playbook for navigating the rotation out of mega-cap tech, grappling with ETFs vs. stock-picking, and emphasizing risk assessment in an environment where narratives and fundamentals are shifting quickly.

Transcript

[Edward Jones Financial Advisor]

At Edward Jones, we believe rich isn't about having life all figured out. It's opening yourself to all the possibilities. That's why your dedicated financial advisor provides long term planning built around you, meeting you where you are and helping you get closer to where you want to be. So no matter where you're starting from, you can move forward with confidence. The key to being rich is knowing what counts. Let's find your rich Edward Jones member sipc.

[EY Parthenon Representative]

Are you as confident as you should be when it comes to growing your business? Is your strategy ready to execute today? If cash flows aren't where they need to be, growth could be at risk, especially in the eyes of your investors, board members and the business press. But when your business is operating in top shape, you've earned the right to grow. EY Parthenon can help you reimagine your business and execute a game plan for long term growth. EY Parthenon solutions that work in practice, not just on paper.

[Scott Wapner]

I'm Scott Wapner and you're listening to CNBC's Halftime Report, the podcast the most profitable hour of the trading day. We record this live weekdays at 12 Eastern. Listen in. All right, Sarah, thanks so much. Welcome to the Halftime Report. I'm Scott Woepner, front and center this hour rallying stocks as August trading gets underway. We are of course trading the markets. We'll hit some of Joe Terranova's ETF rebalancing moves as well. Joining me for the hour along with Joe is Jim Lebenthal, Sarat Sethi, Steve Weiss, take you to the markets. I said we are up to start trading in August and there is your picture. NASDAQ is leading the way today up near 2%. So it's a nice move. Higher as oil and yields are lower. We got through tech earnings.

[Jim Lebenthal]

Okay.

[Scott Wapner]

It's clear that Microsoft and Amazon come out the biggest winners. It would at least seem that way. Their cloud growth was amazing. Meta and Apple were I guess, the disappointments if you want to take the stock movement as whatever judgment you want to make. And I mentioned at the top that you've had some rebalancing moves and that's where we begin because it plays into the story, interestingly so and debatable as such, you sold Meta and Microsoft. Okay. So people out there are going to say, well, maybe I see Meta. And before the earnings report, I guess I could see Microsoft. But why now? Take me through both.

[Joe Terranova]

I mean it's momentum. And I think I said to you before earnings last week, I said, scott, Meta and Microsoft, these are not momentum names. Your reply was you think and you were right, they are not. You can't define them as momentum holdings. But what clearly we witnessed in the case of Microsoft was something that is fundamental strength. And a lot of times when you're looking at moment momentum rather there is a disregard for good fundamental fundamentals. And that's in fact what happens. So if you were to ask me today if I had the ability to look at the ETF holdings and say, would I like to put Microsoft in it? The answer is obviously, of course, yes. The best cloud growth in the last four years, there's the ability to monetize the hyperscaler spending. But you're relying on a strategy, a factor that has worked relatively well so far in 2026. And that factor is making a pivot. It's making an internal pivot in the market. It's making a pivot away from some of the Mag 7 which were underperforming. It's making a pivot away from some of the software names into other areas of the market.

[Dominic Chu]

Now.

[Scott Wapner]

Okay, so I understand the rules of the etf.

[Steve Weiss]

Yep.

[Scott Wapner]

They are what they are.

[Sarat Sethi]

They are what they are and there's

[Scott Wapner]

no way around it.

[Dominic Chu]

However,

[Scott Wapner]

when you see a name that has lost its momentum, but then you feel as though it's potentially on the cusp of restarting it. Yes. You're still beholden to whatever rules you have for this ETF to get rid

[Joe Terranova]

of a Microsoft, it's a quarterly rebalance. So the answer to your question is yes. Do you wait until the next quarter? Now, one of the things that you can do is you could look at the positive catalyst from earnings and say to yourself, okay, let's pull back the rebalance calendar. And I will tell you that's something that I am currently looking at. Maybe instead of rebalancing on the last business day of July, where you're teetering on having still Apple earnings and Microsoft earnings, maybe you push that into the third week of August so you collect all of the S and P earnings data. That's something you could do. But to succinctly answer your question, unfortunately that's what rules based strategies are. And sometimes they're going to work in your favor and sometimes the way it is today doesn't work.

[Scott Wapner]

Are you regretful of having to personally do it now?

[Joe Terranova]

Of course, personally when I look at Microsoft today, I didn't like seeing that the strategy was selling Microsoft the other day. I didn't like that at all. But I'm beholden to the strategy and the rules that were written nearly five or six years ago. And if I don't like the rules, there's a process in which you rewrite the rules, you submit them to the sec, you notify shareholders and you get approval.

[Scott Wapner]

I got it, I got it. I just look at something like this, I'm like, man, it's got to be.

[Todd Rosenbluth]

But that.

[Joe Terranova]

Isn't that the complexity of the market? You know, you're living.

[Scott Wapner]

Well, that's the complexity of an ETF business that has the kind of rules that you have set around your own thing.

[Joe Terranova]

But you could make. Look, you could make an argument that if you are purely fundamental and in a market structure that's changed and now pays a little bit more of a premium towards the quantitative approach, you could make the argument that that leaning in that direction doesn't work. So there's no absolute answer in terms of what the right strategy is to implement in the market. That's why we sit here every day. There's complexity to it.

[Scott Wapner]

You have both of these names. So what's your takeaway coming out of earnings season, irrespective of the moves that Joe found himself having to make based on the rules that he has to live by?

[Jim Lebenthal]

Well, let's go to Amazon and Microsoft, which had outstanding earnings.

[Steve Weiss]

Right.

[Jim Lebenthal]

And I want to keep those and I'll even add to those on weakness.

[Scott Wapner]

You have every name in this group?

[Sarat Sethi]

I do.

[Scott Wapner]

By the way.

[Jim Lebenthal]

I have 66. And so I'm diversified across the board. I think the one that is most interesting now is Microsoft.

[Scott Wapner]

Yeah, that's of course, the why I ask the questions. I do.

[Jim Lebenthal]

So to me, Microsoft was the classic show me stock.

[Todd Rosenbluth]

Right.

[Jim Lebenthal]

Because the question was, you're spending all this money, where is it going? And you don't. You have other businesses, but not as much as the others. And I think that's where I'm going to be adding more money to, because I think the margins that they have are the ones that I want to own more of.

[Scott Wapner]

So you think they showed you enough in one quarterly earnings report to answer all of the questions that seem to be swirling around this name?

[Jim Lebenthal]

I think the execution that they did, the margins growth that they did, and the future growth that they have answered my questions to the software issue that we were having on a lot of these stocks as to is that going to actually grow and is cloud going to grow? And where I find Microsoft embedded is going to be very hard to displace.

[Scott Wapner]

Where are you left with Metta, which Stephanie Link was driven to get out of completely.

[Jim Lebenthal]

So Meta is now on the kind of the watch list and I think it's something that we're going to do much more work on because they don't have the cloud issue, they don't have the cloud piece to grow yet and it's yet. And they also are the ones that, you know, can pull the lever back at any time, which they've done again and said, hey, we're not going to spend as money because they do have a ton of cash flow. It's not free now because they're spending it, but there is cash flow. So kind of looking at that one, that one's going to be a lot of favor for a while. But again, I'm not selling it now, but it's kind of on the watch list.

[Scott Wapner]

I mean we come out of. Well, first of all, Wolf says Microsoft's going to 500.

[Joe Terranova]

Yeah, let me just make one quick point if I could just in terms of Microsoft, I am not alone in looking at Microsoft as not being in a momentum name. If you look at other Momentum ETFs, take your pick. MTM, SP Moore Momentum is not found in Microsoft. It's not a holding there. So over the last 12 months, Microsoft is down 9% against an S&P that's up 19%.

[Sarat Sethi]

That's a pure fact.

[Scott Wapner]

No disputing and debating the fact that the momentum in this name was gone.

[Joe Terranova]

Gone.

[Scott Wapner]

It was done.

[Joe Terranova]

Dead and buried, by the way. Still gone today, but with a 25% rally.

[Scott Wapner]

Because it's because the period of of uptick isn't long enough to declare that it's back.

[Joe Terranova]

Correct. You need to roll through the course of time.

[Sarat Sethi]

The analogy here to me is where Apple was two months ago, three months ago. And I want to point out that if you go back a year ago, we were talking about Apple in a very different tone than we were two months ago. We were talking about the worldwide developer conferences in which there were basically duds coming out in terms of Apple intelligence and its AI embrace race. And yet since that time a year ago, over the last two or three months, it's had one heck of a bit. I think that's a very similar analog to a fundamental discretionary manager to what's gone on with Microsoft over the last 12 months. It was looked at as a dud for many, many times. There are many reasons for it. Copilot wasn't enough. They didn't have their own model, Azure wasn't growing enough. But now it's broken out. And I think where we are with Microsoft now not in a rules based strategy but in a fundamental discretionary strategy is where people like me want to own.

[Scott Wapner]

So Apple's broken out. Why the world would you sell half of your.

[Sarat Sethi]

Because it's done. Because it's done.

[Scott Wapner]

No sign.

[Sarat Sethi]

It's done.

[Joe Terranova]

No sign.

[Sarat Sethi]

Yes.

[Scott Wapner]

How you declare it done? They have 1 earnings this quarter. But this is, this is a traditional, this, this happens almost every time with Apple. The stock ramps into the print that and the stock sells a little bit

[Sarat Sethi]

off and then this isn't a little bit of 10%. And first off, I sold it before the earnings because it was priced for perfection, because it had the run and because I'm discretionary. And I look at the valuation of Apple at mid-30s and I look at the, the valuation of Microsoft mid-20s which I doubled up on back in February. And I'm always trying to go where I can buy low and sell high. And that's exactly what I did with Apple last week. I'm not going to take any heat for that. Will it get to 400 as some people say, Scott? Yes, of course it will. Not in the next quarter. It's in the penalty box.

[Scott Wapner]

I'll go to Weiss who is literally taking monochromatic to an entirely new level today. A man who has managed to pick a shirt that matches the art, that matches the wall. Weiss. That is a skill. Congratulations to you.

[Steve Weiss]

Thank you. Well, this is the East Hampton vibe, so that's all I can say about that. Look, I took a different approach which is as I said to you and Kevin, our executive producer on Thursday, I took the opportunity to decline in Meta to size it up considerably. I took the opportunity after Microsoft reported I bought it. I wish I bought it before but bought it on the top to size that up considerably because I see opportunity in both take with the valuations. They're still very, very inexpensive. I mean you've got meta trading at 11 times EBITDA cash flow and 17 P E. Both are at pretty good discounts to the market for these kind of stocks market overall. So why not take that opportunity? It's the same bet I made when my when Metta was trading and I've owned it for a very long time when Mike when matter was trading above 600 close to 800. Is that mark Zuckerberg? You know he's going to be able to navigate this and he's not a prisoner to any prior moves that he's made. In other words, if he doesn't think that it's working after giving It a reasonable time he's going to get out of it. He's got the safety net of lots of cash flow generation. So that's why I add to Matt because it's very cheap Microsoft. Look, I don't think all the questions are answered by any means whatsoever. But what I do know, my view has been on cloud which informed my adding to Google on their earnings, is that cloud is going to the need for cloud is going to continue to grow. It's exponential in terms of the need versus non AI. So you're still lagging what demands are for cloud. So both should do well. We still don't know what's going to happen. Microsoft SOFTWARE BUSINESS I also bought a small trading position in Apple which is ill timed right now. But as we always see, you see some infused enthusiasm with the new Siri and with the new phones coming out the 18th in September. So I think there's opportunities to be had. So I like being an active manager at this point. But to Joe's point, why I'm investing in Joe is because his screens will catch momentum before I catch it. So that's the benefit of it. So on any given day after earnings, you may win, you may lose. If you take even an intermediate term approach, you'll do okay.

[Scott Wapner]

Yeah, but part of the issue is that now Joe can't do anything in Microsoft for the next three months. So what do you mean he's going to catch momentum before you will? There's a possibility that you're going to have a renewed momentum that could literally last for the entire period that you can't do anything.

[Joe Terranova]

Allow me to take the other side of that. Allow me to take the side of it that says, wait a second, Joe, what you've expressed in the first five minutes where you seem to have personal regrets that the ETF sold Microsoft and you wish that it did. No, you have to follow your rules. We sold Oracle, we sold Palantir, we sold Synopsys, we sold Microsoft. What do we do? Scott, we basically said the bounce in software to Steve's point, we don't believe it. So maybe we are selling nothing more than a recovery rebound in software. When you pull back the larger trend of software, it's been a very punitive one and a lot of people have been punished in that we did identify in the case of palantir, January of 25. We're in a 16. Okay. We're out now at 125.

[Scott Wapner]

Earnings tonight.

[Joe Terranova]

Earnings tonight. And it has been a stock that over the last several quarters has had remarkable earnings, but yet the reaction to earnings has not been favorable. So look, I don't know the answer, okay? But maybe the possibility does exist that we are getting in front of what is nothing more than, than a rebound recovery bounce software.

[Scott Wapner]

I'll come back to this in a moment because I want to get a little more on Palantir and I want to get a little more on Oracle, as you said. But I think the next thing that I want to do is what I would call an A plus B equals C. Okay, in terms of the takeaways from hyperscaler earnings that we've gotten so far, the A is that Wells Fargo says hyperscalers are showing roi. Okay, that they alleviated monetization fears. So if you, if you put that together with B, which is B of A saying that the appetite to invest remains strong. Okay, that's A plus B. So you got the roi, you got the commitment to keep spending. The C is that investors are rewarding the hyperscalers. Okay? Bank of America's flow Show techs off 15.7 billion in inflows last week. Deutsche bank talks about a rotation back into tech having rebounded sharply after, after slowing.

[Sarat Sethi]

I like the equation. I'm going to add a variable to it in a second. But I want to go a little bit more into A, B and C. First off, you got on a roi, you are getting things from like Amazon saying that when they invest in a data center, they recoup all that investment in less than three years. That's a very strong roi. Then B, in terms of continuing the build out, the four top hyperscalers are going to do roughly 750 billion of CapEx this year. That's going to 1.2 billion next year. Nobody's blinking, period. Nobody's blinking. And yes, that is leading to the hyperscalers outperforming point C. Now there's a little variable that we do have to consider as we go forward. We're not going to answer this today, but the financing. Okay, this is a question that still looms. I know we've been talking about it a lot, but free cash flows being used up, the debt markets are heavy with all the issuance out there. And look, we've had some good issuances of secondary equity from the likes of Google. We do have to just keep an eye on where are the funding for all of these projects coming from. It's not a worry today, it's just something to keep an eye on.

[Scott Wapner]

Well, I mean you are you. We might as well Bring up Oracle right there. Okay, Right. Because the overhang has been sort of prolific now for, for many months as Joe sells it, you know, maybe, maybe he's thankful he had rules to get him out. Yeah, you have.

[Sarat Sethi]

You know what, I like where you're going and I'm sorry to cut you off, but it's something I wanted to say earlier. How many times, Joe, have you, your rules looked at something that I'm in and said, jimmy, you don't, you know, I wouldn't be there.

[Steve Weiss]

Okay.

[Sarat Sethi]

And so as much as I think we've given you just a little bit of grief about Microsoft, that's okay. It's okay. It's okay. There's times that your rules do extremely well.

[Scott Wapner]

You have a much easier, by the way, you have a much easier temperament around taking some off the table of winners rather than cutting bait on losers and moving on.

[Sarat Sethi]

I think that's absolutely true. And I said it earlier, I'm trying to buy low and sell high. Let me be clear. And everybody who has watched me for a long time knows this. I don't always get it right. Nobody always gets it right. I get it right enough that the strategy works. I'm not sure that Oracle is going to work, but I think it is, Scott. I think it is, Joel, because if

[Scott Wapner]

you take Joe's rules as a sort of guidepost, this isn't a matter of opinion, these are a matter of fact.

[Sarat Sethi]

That's exactly the point. He's got his strategy, I've got my strategy.

[Scott Wapner]

But a strategy based on fact.

[Sarat Sethi]

I gotcha. Mine is based on analysis. And I'm going to use this word, discretion as opposed to rules. Now, in my discretion, I'm sticking with Oracle. If we believe the equation A plus B equals C. If we believe that, and I just said that I do, Oracle's kind of hyper, hyper scalar here. Now I look at the credit default swaps, I see those five year credit default swaps at 200. Yes. That has my attention that this is a pretty risky name. I've sized it appropriately in the portfolio. I've not added to it right now or really for the last six months. We'll see if it catches a bit here. But they do need to show the ROI that was part of B in your equation. They're not going to report for, I don't think, another month, Scott. But every earnings report here is an opportunity for them to show that they are getting an roi, like Microsoft, like Amazon on the substantial investments they're making.

[Scott Wapner]

You have that too, Oracle.

[Jim Lebenthal]

I Do and look, you know, just so you get Oracle, you get Microsoft, right? Rules base says get out of Microsoft. But fundamentally Microsoft's improving. Oracle is a value stock. We sold half our position. We said let's just see where it goes. It's a small size and I think the opportunity there could be a lot larger. When A +B equals C works and

[Sarat Sethi]

you don't, you don't get big opportunity without big risk. That's just not how it works. Okay? This is big risk, this is big volume. This could not work out. I suspect it will. If Microsoft's going to work out, if Amazon's going to work out, if Alphabet Web Services.

[Scott Wapner]

Why, why are you putting them together

[Sarat Sethi]

as if they're in the same business?

[Scott Wapner]

Well then why aren't they? Why are they trading differently?

[Sarat Sethi]

Because a couple of reasons. One, for instance, let's compare it to

[Scott Wapner]

Google, their balance sheets the same size.

[Sarat Sethi]

Hang on a second, I'm answering your question. I mean if you're looking at say a Google, they have a large language model, models, plural. They also are designing their own trips chips. We've talked about that, that triple threat that's not present in Oracle. In Oracle we're all talking about just data center and they ROI on data center. Obviously Amazon's got a number of businesses, not just chips, but also the retail. Microsoft's got a software business that as much as it's been pilloried over the last few months, I think that's been wrong. So look, bottom line, Oracle is risky. Obviously it's risky. That's from whence comes return.

[Joe Terranova]

So I heard you say before, for the next quarter Apple is dead money.

[Steve Weiss]

Yeah.

[Joe Terranova]

You're expressing this enthusiasm and confidence that Oracle presents a great opportunity here. Can you put a time frame on it? Because here's what I see in Oracle. I see a stock that over the last year is down 45% down 28% year to date. The 12 month price target is ridiculously higher at 253. We know what the condition is as it relates to its usage of debt and participants punishing it for that. So put a time frame, if you could on. Do you think this is a stock that's troughing? It's going to make a new all time high over the next 12 months.

[Sarat Sethi]

Yes, but how about before the next all time high? Let's just look at the last three months, right? This stock was above 200 for a few weeks back in June. What's happened since then? It's that extra variable that I'm talking about, concerns about funding and particularly with regards to open air to get the funding. That is roughly half of the $636 billion of backlog at Oracle. Now, I'm not going to minimize that. That's a real risk. Again, risk is what generates return. However, OpenAI is not the only part of the backlog there. 636 billion. There's another 300 plus billion. That's a lot of other large language models and cloud clients. Clients. So the market is trading this as if this is all on open Air and will they get the funding, etc. Etc. That's what's produced the value that a discretionary manager like myself or I'll dare to say Surat can come in and buy.

[Joe Terranova]

Doesn't the market know that though?

[Sarat Sethi]

The market know the value. Market knew everything. If the market knew everything, there'd be no opportunity for any of us to be on the show. There'd be no opportunity for us to generate alpha. The market does not know everything.

[Scott Wapner]

Go ahead, Vice.

[Steve Weiss]

Yeah, I think there, I don't know how you look at value here, Jim, but I see a P E that is higher than, than Metta. That's right around where Microsoft is. Yeah, ebitda, you know, their EBITDA is okay on a valuation basis, but still higher than where Metta is. So just because the stock is down so meaningfully, I don't think that defines, defines value. I think the valuation defines value in conjunction with the balance sheet. So I don't see where there's such a great opportunity there because in order for them to, to drive, you know, a higher P E, you're already going to get there with Microsoft and Metta and Google and others that present a much more compelling valuation proposition. Hey, where's the value that you're identifying?

[Sarat Sethi]

100% Respect what you're saying and it's just a difference of opinion that you and I will have and you've chosen to go with the horse. That is better. Absolutely. Fine.

[Steve Weiss]

But numbers and numbers, Jim, is my point.

[Sarat Sethi]

Yeah, so let me, let me. Numbers and they're up on the screen here. It's trading at a 17 time. Oracle trading at a 17.5 times forward price to earnings multiple. And if. Here's the big if, Steve. You know, it's a big if if the funding for Open Air and all these other large language models come through that PE in the coming years goes down to like 13. I'm not sure if it's possibly that you're looking at the trailing multiple. If you're comparing this To Microsoft.

[Steve Weiss]

I'm looking at 26. I'm looking at 26.

[Sarat Sethi]

Just saying what's on the screen here? What is it right there? 17.3. I don't know. You know what, we don't have to argue about the multiple. The two of us have made our bets on basically the same thing, which is that the AI trade and the infrastructure buildout is going to be positive free cash flow. Both of these companies, Meta and Oracle, are having negative free cash flow right now. They're both being painted with the same brush. I respect your choice and I've made mine.

[Jim Lebenthal]

Just, just to add to Jeff. Look, you're looking at a P E, but in our view, my view, I'm going to speak for you. The E is lower than what we think it is. So the E is the one that's going to go higher and that will then compress the multiple, which will then give you a higher multiple down the road.

[Scott Wapner]

The other thing.

[Steve Weiss]

So do you think, do you think. Just one more sense if I could, Scott. So do you think I'm looking at better Microsoft? Because I don't think the E is

[Sarat Sethi]

going to go higher.

[Steve Weiss]

That's what you look at in every company. So I don't understand the validity of that statement.

[Jim Lebenthal]

It applies depressed, Steve?

[Steve Weiss]

Well, I'm saying the. Is going to grow in the others. So when I've got better balance sheets.

[Scott Wapner]

No, but that's the rub. You say the earnings are depressed and they're not going to recover. They say the earnings are depressed and have a lot of upside, which is why they're staying in the name and why you have no interest.

[Sarat Sethi]

But I would say.

[Steve Weiss]

I'm not saying they wouldn't make cover. I'm saying it's, I'm saying it's a much bigger bet on to recover because there are things that are out of their control dealing with open AI and they made the bet on open air that they're going to be the winner. And I'm not so sure that's the case. So I'm not only betting on the company, I'm betting on another company that's had somewhat of jaded history, despite how relatively new it is to the, to the investing public.

[Scott Wapner]

The other thing I wanted to do is, is you've upped your. No, because I mean, you've sold it.

[Joe Terranova]

Sold it.

[Scott Wapner]

It speaks for itself as to why you've sold it. Now we'll see what happens with the earnings tonight. The cyber exposure, which you've upped, stocks that have gone through various forms of Momentum gains and losses. There was a moment where it seemed it was gone.

[Joe Terranova]

Yes.

[Scott Wapner]

And then it came back. And not only came back, came back in a big way.

[Joe Terranova]

Came back, which is now you upped

[Scott Wapner]

your exposure to Octa, Palo Alto and fortnet.

[Edward Jones Financial Advisor]

Yeah.

[Joe Terranova]

And it came back really fast. If we, if we remember, it was that month of April through May where you had that staggering rally kind of out of nowhere. So you get your first opportunity. Personally, I reestablished a position in CrowdStrike. And it's interesting because, you know, this entire conversation that we're having, there is validity to recognizing where there is fundamental momentum in the market. And I think we all have to be very careful with one earnings report reversing what the appearance of fundamental momentum might be. So in the case of the cybersecurity names, they very clearly have very strong fundamental momentum and they've carried that forward. But think for a second about the last week. You said Apple next quarter goes nowhere. Not disagreeing with your price direction, Paul, but has the fundamental momentum changed that much from where it was previously? Now we're talking also about Microsoft. Microsoft came in with awful fundamental momentum and one earnings report. We've changed that. So price has a way of very quickly, in a very short time frame, changing sentiment. And I just caution everyone, be a little bit careful.

[Scott Wapner]

Okay? So speaking of AI, we are getting more details of a White House meeting with AI executives this week. Kate Rooney has those details for us. What are we learning here, Kate?

[Kate Rooney]

Hey, Scott. So we are just hearing from a source familiar with this meeting that AI giant Anthropic will be in the room. Representatives for that company plan to be there at this White House meeting that they're planning to hold with industry partners. The White House separately confirmed that they are hosting this meeting. It's to go over this framework and this executive order, if you remember, that was signed back in June. A lot has changed since then and we do expect some of the biggest names in AI to be there to talk about this and to go over the framework from what we're hearing. We do also know OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was there last week to talk about a bit of this. Jensen Huang as well. We are hearing there could be others. We haven't heard specifically on OpenAI, but Metta, Google, also some of the big industry names that could be in this meeting. But we do know for sure anthropic representatives. SpaceX will be there tomorrow. Scott, we do plan to get more details about kind of what goes into this executive order was signed in June. It's been thin on details. We'll get a lot more tomorrow.

[Scott Wapner]

All right, Good stuff, Kate. Thanks for that. That's Kate Rooney. Coming up, the big stakes for Space X this week. Lockups expiring, earnings looming. We're going to get you set up for all of it when we come back.

[Julia Boorstin]

Planning for the future State Farm Life insurance can help protect those you love. With flexible coverage options for your budget and the ability to adjust your policy as needs change, State Farm can help you live more confidently like a good neighbor. State Farm is there.

[CDW Representative]

When you partner with cdw, you get more from your devices with solutions that take modern work to the next level. CDW experts are delivering powerful productivity with Lenovo AI PCs, helping users block out distractions, access virtual support anytime, anywhere, and share content seamlessly between devices. Make amazing happen. Learn [e-mail] Lenovo for moi, Claude, you can talk.

[Scott Wapner]

I've always had the gift of gab, Nancy, but now you can understand with Pretty Litter the odor neutralizing long lasting health indicating kitty litter. That's simply the most luxurious way to bury my poopies and my peepees.

[Julia Boorstin]

Pretty Litter was developed with veterinarians. It helps me monitor potential health problems just by changing color.

[Scott Wapner]

Go to prettylitter.com today. Pretty litter, not just a pretty Litter.

[Christina Parts Navalos]

Welcome back to Halftime Report. I'm Christina Parts Navalos and I'm here with your CNBC news update. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche now appears headed towards Senate confirmation after two Republican holdouts backed his nomination. Senator John Cornyn and Thom Tillis changed course after the Justice Department ended a decision, disputed settlement fund and narrowed tax audit protections involving President Trump. A Judiciary Committee vote is expected on Tuesday. Former Texas Congresswoman Kay Granger has died at 83 years old. She was the first Republican woman from Texas elected to Congress and represented the Fort Worth area for 14 terms. Granger previously served as Fort Worth's first female mayor and later chaired the powerful House Appropriations Committee. And Ariana Grande has pulled out of a 2027 London production of Sunday in the park with George, where she was set to star alongside Jonathan Bailey. Her representative says the wicked star will step back from public facing work after her eternal sunshine tour because of intense public scrutiny of her physical appearance and overall health.

[Scott Wapner]

Scott all right, Christina, thank you, Christina. Parts of Space X shares around their lowest level since going public. And some big events are looming this week. The much talked about lockup expirations earnings Tomorrow we'll focus on the lockups first. That's where the biggest drag on the stock has clearly been. Morgan Brennan joins us now with the details as we look ahead to that.

[Dominic Chu]

Hi there.

[Morgan Brennan]

Hey, Scott. That's right, stratospheric milestones for Space X. Well, let's start here. It's a supply story. So when the first stock lockup expires on Thursday, you've got 911 million shares owned by about 20% of insiders and early investors become eligible to sell. Just to put that in perspective, SpaceX sold 629 million shares or less than 5% of shares outstanding in the IPO. That's just the first wave. Through the end of September. The public float is poised to triple. Supply will continue to swell until next June. And in total, according to Morningstar, share total could climb to at least in theory, more than 6.4 billion shares. Now this is one reason that SpaceX shares have tumbled about 20%. We bounce back a little bit from that today here in trading from the IPO, price down more than 50% from the intraday high. Wall street is betting that this continues. S3 Partners says short sellers now hold 32% of the company's current publicly tradable float. We got more on that on CNBC Pro. But the meantime, First Earnings is a public company. That happens tomorrow after the bell. And here is what to watch with that report. Starlink results, Capex plans and guidance for Starship after a successful 13th test flight. Starship is really key to the future growth plans, including those data centers in space. How much do Starlink subscriber growth, Neo cloud deals with the likes of Anthropic and Google and multibillion dollar government contracts offset the cash burn associated with the AI build out. That will be the key question that investors are looking to have answered by Elon Musk and co. Tomorrow night.

[Scott Wapner]

Scott, Going to be a big week. Morgan, thanks so much for that. That is Morgan Brennan setting the table for us. Almost feel like it's like oh yeah, the earnings. Because all the talk has been about the lockup. And if you look at the stock activity from the day it went public until today day, all I keep hearing about is lock up, lock up, lockup. And that's why the stock has been weak. Anticipating that for sure.

[Joe Terranova]

It's interesting that the lockup comes 48 hours after the earnings. I'm not sure that I like that set up in the calendar. The estimated move according to the options market is somewhere around 15%. That is a pretty big move for what Space X is going to be trading like in the days after the earnings report. I think obviously we know it's going to be a loss. I think the, the level of the loss is important to understand. I also think this is the first step towards those like myself who have said it's very difficult to fundamentally value this company, to begin to understand what this company is all about. But I don't like the setup, Scott. As you move through the entirety of the year, even as you move into 2027, Elon's own stake in Space X unlocks and he has the ability to sell. I don't like that setup. I don't like the way the stock is traded and I definitely don't like the way the debt market, the secondary debt market, priced the debt.

[Scott Wapner]

My value guys over here are obviously going to say they don't like it because you can't value it. The man who chooses beige is his obvious favorite color. I don't know what your opinion on this might be, but you're the type of person who at some point might take a little action on this name. Maybe

[Steve Weiss]

I would. But you know, the deluge of stock, I don't think it's all been discounted, what's coming on the market. So you're just going to see this being highly volatile. If you're a day trader or even an algorithm alco trader and you could figure out the patterns, well, then you could trade it. But otherwise, this is one of those that fit into my bucket of Life is too short and it's much too difficult. So they are going to show a loss. There will be positive things in there. We saw it in the S1 Starlink is doing amazingly well. I mean, it's unprecedented, the growth that has had that kind of technology. But I just think the stock, you know, the way the stock trades is going to overcome any fundamentals and to your point, just can't value it. I don't even know if you'll be able to value it if it gets down to 60 and say it's sufficiently, you know, disregarded all the negatives, so forth. So I'm out.

[Scott Wapner]

What do you guys think, by the way? It could be tope. Instead of age, I'm. Now I'm contradicting myself. Feeling weird.

[Steve Weiss]

Yeah.

[Jim Lebenthal]

What?

[Scott Wapner]

The whole thing,

[Dominic Chu]

My life.

[Steve Weiss]

My life is, you know, I'm such a. I'm such a Casper milquetoast kind of guy, Scott. Very even keel, never emotional anything. And I think my background proves that out.

[Scott Wapner]

Okay. Okay. Well, the foreground too.

[Jim Lebenthal]

You know, I'm really interested in the conference call to see the vision to get explained now even more, it's a very interesting, intriguing company and obviously on a fundamental basis, hard to invest in. But you know, the space part of it, the Starlink part of it, the growth part of that, the AI there's so much that's of interest to all of us that comes back to your ABC question because it's going to be part of all of that.

[Scott Wapner]

We do have some news crossing on Boeing. Phil LeBeau has it for us, as you would expect. Phil, what's going on?

[Phil LeBeau]

Scott, take a look at shares of Boeing. They've been up all, all day in anticipation of this news. And it's just been announced by the FAA it has certified the Boeing 737 Max Dash 7. That's the smallest variant of the 737 Max family. That means that Boeing is now cleared to begin delivery of Max 7 airplanes. They've got about 20 in their inventory. It is not a huge component of the Max family, but it is an important one. And now it sets up Boeing to, to begin work to finalize the certification for the 737 Max Dash 10. They have said for some time they expect that certification by the end of the year. That is a far more important one than the max dash 7. But make no mistake, Scott, this is an important day for Boeing. This was a plane that was supposed to be certified six years ago. They are finally getting it certified today. Again, the FAA certifying the Max Dash 7. It's been certified and the deliveries will begin. Scott, back to you.

[Scott Wapner]

A whole lot of sideways trading too in that, in that period of time. Phil, thanks very much. That's Phil LaBelle covering that story for us. Up next, ETF Edge with Dom Chu Domino. What do you got coming up?

[Dominic Chu]

All right. So Scott, small cap stocks continue their outperformance over their large and mid cap cousins. But are all small caps created equal? We're going to speak with one ETF expert who's looking at smaller publicly traded companies that are especially good at 1 million metric in particular, and he's using ETFs to express that view. That story's coming up when ETF Edge on the Halftime Report returns after this break.

[CDW Representative]

Something amazing is happening in networking organizations are scaling with less stress. That's because CDW is designing and implementing intelligent HPE Aruba networking solutions that simplify and secure operations. With automation at the center of your data center, growing pains can be a thing of the past. HPE Aruba Networking and CDW make amazing happen. Learn [e-mail] Aruba what made you confident

[Christina Parts Navalos]

that you could do something that hadn't been done before? I have no fear of failure.

[Julia Boorstin]

Trailblazing women, changing the game.

[Morgan Brennan]

One of my favorite pieces of advice, think about what your boss's boss needs.

[Scott Wapner]

Leadership can look in many, many different forms.

[Morgan Brennan]

It really does come down to just trusting yourself.

[CDW Representative]

Life is short and you just gotta

[Scott Wapner]

think big to accomplish big things.

[Julia Boorstin]

Julia Boorstin hosts CNBC Changemakers and Power Players. New episodes every Tuesday, wherever you get your podcasts.

[Dominic Chu]

All right, welcome back to THE Halftime Report. I'm Dominic Chu with your ETF Edge. Now, small caps have been on a mighty run this year, beating out their large cap stock siblings. But not all small cap ETFs are having a strong year. And our next guest is looking at what is setting up some names apart from the rest. Joining me now is Todd Rosenbluth of TMX Verify. He's their head of research and editorial. Todd, let's talk first of all about the small cap outperformance. Mightily outperforming the NASDAQ composite, the S&P 500. Are there places within that trade in small caps overall sector wise that have stood out to you? What's driving the outperformance?

[Todd Rosenbluth]

So what we've seen this year is that there's been a broadening out. So it hasn't just been the technology sector, which has been a leader in the S&P 500. We've seen industrials, we've seen energy companies perform very well. We've seen a broadening of that. And so the S and P small cap index is significantly outperforming the S and P large cap index by over a thousand basis points this year.

[Dominic Chu]

Now it has been in some cases financials and some of those other types of health care stocks that have outperformed. But overall, there's one metric in particular that's setting aside some outperformance versus others. Take us through what part of the small cap market's hottest in your mind.

[Todd Rosenbluth]

So you're right. So free cash flow. So Victory Shares has a small cap free cash flow etf. It's S flow. S fl. Oh, it's been outperforming the broader small cap index. It's been helped this past month by energy, by industrials companies, by technology stocks. So we've seen the higher quality companies in the small cap space perform quite well this year and in July in particular.

[Dominic Chu]

All right. And so that S flow focuses on just small cap stocks with better free cash flow metrics there. Thank you very much, Todd Rosenbluth for that. Now we're going to continue this conversation over at ETF edge.cnbc.com Todd is going to be joined by TCW Global head of distribution Jennifer Grancio. We're going to get into why this could be the prime time and private environment for actively managed ETFs, Scott, both on the equities and fixed income side. I'll send things back over to you guys.

[Phil LeBeau]

Okay.

[Scott Wapner]

Domino, thank you very much. Look forward to seeing you in just a bit.

[Steve Weiss]

All right.

[Scott Wapner]

Energy by far, year to date, the best sector. A new move from Joe of a big name in that group. Ownership on the desk. We debated then talk of a big deal in the drug space. Ownership on the group on the desk in that group. We debate it next. Energy best sector year to date, not even close up 32%. Okay. In July, up 12 and a half percent. Now we're still talking about oil prices. I totally get it. And the fact that they have moved significantly lower after going above 100. Joe T. Yes, sir. Bought Exxon.

[Joe Terranova]

Bought Exxon.

[Scott Wapner]

These guys own it.

[Joe Terranova]

And a whole bunch of energy needs.

[Scott Wapner]

Cheniere, Conoco Enterprise Products, Kinder, Oneok, Targa, Texas Pacific Land, Williams.

[Edward Jones Financial Advisor]

Yep.

[Scott Wapner]

Okay. So the momentum's gonna continue, obviously.

[Joe Terranova]

Good one, Scott. Well, we certainly hope so. The momentum has been there. And let's remember something. Before the Middle east conflict, conflict rather, the energy sector was the leading sector year to date. January and February energy came out really strong. People like Jimmy were recognizing the valuation of the sector. The momentum has built. I clearly see right now the momentum factor is shifting. It shifting a little bit away from AI and it's going to more of the hard assets, as Josh Brown likes

[Scott Wapner]

to call them, halos.

[Joe Terranova]

Energy halo stocks. And energy clearly fits in that description for for sure. So through the remainder of the year, look, figuring out what oil prices are going to go, Steve will tell you that's nearly impossible to do. I do think there's an upward bias. I do think as it relates to energy, there's a little bit of disbelief that they could continue to move higher. So I'm comfortable with now taking a 10% weighting in energy. And the one area of energy that I really love and we maintained is the refiner trade.

[Scott Wapner]

10% is probably now double correct of what energy is in part of the

[Jim Lebenthal]

S and P. More than double, about 3% now. See, okay, I thought maybe since the

[Scott Wapner]

move in the stock said it had gotten a higher weight. That's why I said five.

[Jim Lebenthal]

Fundamentally, when I look at a portfolio, I'm taking money off energy now because you are. It's done everything I wanted to do. I still have it in the portfolio. I think it's a great hedge in the portfolio. But I'm looking to say, hey, wow, where do I think oil is going to be? Not really higher in a year. And if it's higher for the year, it's because things are going really wrong geopolitically. Not going up higher because the economy is going really strong.

[Sarat Sethi]

I'm going to disagree with my esteemed value colleague.

[Joe Terranova]

I like that.

[Sarat Sethi]

Yeah. I mean, two reasons that I'll put this out. And it has less to do with where oil is going. We got to fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, not just here in the US but everywhere. And I don't think, you know, we hear all this talk about, well, if the strait opens, we're going to have a surplus. No, we're not. When we add back in that demand of all these inventories that really, really need to be refilled, that's number one. Number two, your Valero call and your refining calls have been genius. And you know who's one of the biggest refiners out there?

[Steve Weiss]

Who's that?

[Sarat Sethi]

Jimmy ExxonMobil. One of the biggest refiners. We don't talk about it because it's buried in a super major integrated oil company that does exploration and production and transportation and distribution and all this other stuff like chemicals. But it's a great big refiner.

[Scott Wapner]

Genius.

[Joe Terranova]

Good news.

[Scott Wapner]

Thank you. Genius.

[Joe Terranova]

Thinking in energy can be a problem sometimes.

[Jim Lebenthal]

I'm not. I never, I never go. I always had a position in energy. It's now become oversized. So when I start looking at my positions, where else am I going to add?

[Scott Wapner]

All right. Until we have no more time, direct quote options axis next. Oliver Renick with options action from CBOE Global Markets in Chicago. What do you see today?

[Oliver Renick]

Hey, Scott. Space X options flows still lean, bullish on the margin, but the put activity is happening closer to the money. And that means that it's accounting for over half the $250 million in premium exchange today. But calls still dominate by volume. 53,000 calls were bought versus just 38,000 puts this morning. Among contracts expiring this week. Bears are targeting the 95 strike put that need needs a 17% sell off. While the most popular for bulls is currently the 130 strike call which needs a 23% rally. Overall, options imply a massive 14% swing in the stock after earnings, which makes sense given SpaceX volatility higher than anything in the S&P 500 except for SanDisk. And finally, I had reported previously the last few weeks on a heavy buyer of 330 strike calls that needed space. SpaceX to triple maybe don't hold your breath on that. More than 800,000 of those were sold today. More than any other contract.

[Dominic Chu]

Scott.

[Scott Wapner]

Good stuff, Oliver. I'll see you this afternoon again. Thanks. Oliver Renick, Finals. We'll do them next. I'll see you at 3 o'.

[Kate Rooney]

Clock.

[Scott Wapner]

Closing bell. Adam Parker, Cameron Dawson, Chris Verone, Jonathan Krinsky, Aswath Dumotoran, Liz Burton, Alex Sherman, baseball trade deadline, salary cap talk, everything else. Steve Weiss. What do you got? Final trade.

[Steve Weiss]

Dick's sporting's good. I'm just going on decline to add some more.

[Scott Wapner]

Man, I thought you were gonna pick like Clay or mud or Sherwin Williams. All right, what do you got real quick?

[Joe Terranova]

Transdime, Apollo, Glow Wool, Steel Dynamics.

[Scott Wapner]

All right, the exchanges. Now you've been listening to CNBC's Halftime Report, the podcast. You can always catch us live weekdays at 12 Eastern only on CNBC.

[Julia Boorstin]

All opinions expressed by the Halftime Report participants are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC or its parent company or affiliates and may have been previously disseminated by them on television, radio, Internet or another medium. You should not treat any opinion expressed on this podcast as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy, but only as an expression of opinion. Such opinions are based upon information the Halftime Report participants consider reliable. But neither CNBC nor its affiliates and or subsidiaries warrant its completeness or accuracy, and it should not be relied upon as such. To view the full Halftime Report disclaimer, please visit cnbc.com halftime reportdisclaimer.

[Lifelock Representative]

You're great at protecting your data, but lots of places could still expose you to identity theft.

[CDW Representative]

I thought it was safe.

[Lifelock Representative]

If that happens, Lifelock gives you a US based restoration agent who will stick by your side from start to finish. Phone calls, filing documentation, preparing insurance claims. Your agent handles it all. In fact, we're so confident restoration is guaranteed. Pour your money back. Isn't it nice to have someone like that on your side? Save up to 30% your first [e-mail] podcast terms apply.