Mad Money w/ Jim Cramer 10/31/25

Summary

Mad Money w/ Jim Cramer – October 31, 2025 Episode Summary

Main Theme

This episode of “Mad Money” dives deep into the current state of the stock market as it wraps up a tumultuous October with surprising resilience. Jim Cramer brings his trademark energy and opinionated commentary to highlight key earnings reports, market trends, and strategic investing approaches—especially the value of long-term thinking and diversification. Featured are in-depth interviews with industry leaders, actionable stock analysis, and “Lightning Round” Q&A with listeners.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. October Market Recap & Outlook

(01:09 – 03:00)

• Cramer marvels over the fact that October ended without a major market crisis or collapse.
• Major tech companies Apple and Amazon delivered strong earnings. Amazon’s frugality and results were rewarded with a 10% stock bump; Apple, however, lost its early gains.
• Other big techs (Meta, Microsoft, Alphabet) underwhelmed, with Meta punished for heavy AI-related capital spending.
• Wall Street is growing increasingly skeptical of massive tech investments in AI, but Cramer remains a believer in its long-term revolutionary impact.

Quote:
“Even though I’m a big believer in AI as the fourth Industrial Revolution, Wall Street’s gotten skeptical of all of this capital spending.” — Jim Cramer (02:09)

2. Earning Season Highlights & Stock Picks

(03:00 – 09:00)

• The importance of owning quality tech stocks as part of a diversified portfolio, with a reminder not to “go in and out.”
• Earning season just wrapped one of its biggest weeks with notable results from Palantir (compared to a burgeoning Berkshire Hathaway), Clorox, Pfizer, Shopify, Uber, AMD, Axon, and Caterpillar.
• Cramer teases upcoming earnings from Berkshire Hathaway and notes Warren Buffett’s retirement, urging investors to expect some profit-taking but underscores the company’s long-term strength.

Quote:
“It’s all your call, but we encourage long-term investing in Cramerica, and that’s how you make a real fortune.” — Jim Cramer (03:05)

3. The Consumer’s State – Fast Food & Retail

(14:04 – 20:56)

• Despite the “cash-strapped consumer” narrative, Cramer says only companies like McDonald’s and Burger King (Restaurant Brands International) can truly gauge if tastes or spending habits are changing.
• Restaurant Brands’ (Burger King, Tim Hortons, Popeyes) recent strong earnings stand out against the overall gloomy restaurant-sector sentiment.
• Interview with Patrick Doyle, Executive Chairman of Restaurant Brands International, covers strategies for value, innovation (e.g., Gordon Ramsay’s Wagyu burger in the UK), and the power of scale over inflation pressures.

Notable Exchange:

• Cramer: “How do we get people to distinguish between the guys who are doing well and the guys who aren’t?” (16:22)
• Doyle: “If you’re focused on that, if you’re looking at a restaurant company, the way to think about whether a restaurant is going to be a good investment is are you convinced they are delivering better food in cleaner…better service now than a year ago? That’s ultimately what creates growth.” (17:02)

4. Stock Deep Dives – Hershey & Columbia Sportswear

Hershey

(22:50 – 29:43)

• Hershey stock has become “terrifying” for shareholders, hit hard by GLP-1 weight loss drugs trending against confections and rampant cocoa prices.
• Despite solid quarterly numbers and a new CEO (Kirk Tanner), margin pressures and limited guidance increases have disappointed investors.
• Cramer is cautiously optimistic, appreciating the new management’s “under-promise, over-deliver” approach.

Quote:
“I think management just doesn’t want to stick their collective neck out for something they may not be able to deliver. They repeatedly emphasize that they’re playing for the long term.” — Jim Cramer (28:30)

Columbia Sportswear

(33:32 – 39:36)

• Interview with CEO Tim Boyle highlights struggles in the US (tariffs, margin pressures) but optimism about strong growth in Europe and China.
• Boyle emphasizes innovation, marketing, and product differentiation (focus on humor and rigorous product tests).

Quote:
“Outside the U.S., almost every market…is doing very well. The U.S. is more challenging.” — Tim Boyle (33:52)

5. Q&A: Listener Calls

(09:38 – 10:42, 29:44 – 33:31, 40:06 – 43:26)

• Cramer fields questions about teaching children to invest, specific stock opinions (Target, Costco, Soundtown AI, Next Tracker, AT&T, Rocket Labs).
• Reinforces preference for long-term, diversified investing.
• Costco praised repeatedly as industry’s best retailer despite high valuation.

Memorable Moments:

• “We made four lifetime investors. They call us and ask questions and when they do, I make them do some research.” — Jerry, Illinois (09:46)
• “Costco’s got that. That’s the way to go.” — Jim Cramer (30:27)

6. The Lightning Round

(40:06 – 43:26)

• Classic rapid-fire calls include:
  • Soundtown AI: “It does not make money. It’s gotta make money before I can get seriously behind it.” (40:41)
  • Next Tracker: “Tremendous company…parabolic move. I’d like to have it cool off a little bit.” (41:44)
  • AT&T: “Let’s stay away from that.” (42:02)
  • Rocket Labs: “Good spec, but it loses so much money. You gotta be aware…” (43:11)

7. Meta Platforms Spending – Contrarian Take

(43:43 – 47:20)

• Cramer strongly defends Zuckerberg’s vast Meta investments in data centers/AI—sees it as required to keep dominance versus OpenAI and others.
• Argues Wall Street misses the long-term payoff and is wrong to punish Meta for “spending to stay ahead,” drawing on his own history of backing Zuckerberg.

Quote:
“Meta could easily lose its dominance if it doesn’t continue to innovate and astound and yes, spend…As I see it, it would be irresponsible for Zuckerberg not to invest in his vast network of properties.” — Jim Cramer (44:50, 45:50)

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Notable Quotes

• “The year of magical investing is not yet over. It’s taking a breather. But we did get through the historically tough months.” — Jim Cramer (08:45)
• “Winners win so you continue to buy Constellation and unfortunately losers keep losing, so you gotta avoid Wendy’s.” — Jim Cramer (08:25)
• “We want to build a great business. The way you build a great business is consumers know they can come in, get great value on what they want to eat.” — Patrick Doyle, RBI (18:54)
• “If you go there, you know, I want to thank you. Patrick Doyle…” — Jim Cramer (20:35)

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Segment Timestamps

• 01:09 – Show begins, market/IQ overview
• 03:00 – Big tech earnings analysis
• 07:00 – Berkshire, Palantir, Clorox, Pfizer previews
• 09:38 – Listener investment success story and questions
• 14:04 – Restaurant Brands (Burger King, Tim Hortons, Popeyes) earnings & interview
• 22:50 – Hershey’s earnings deep dive
• 29:44 – Listener calls: Target, Costco
• 33:32 – Columbia Sportswear CEO interview
• 40:06 – Lightning Round (Q&A)
• 43:43 – Meta Platforms analysis – the case for big spending

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Conclusion

Jim Cramer’s October 31st episode delivers a classic mix of level-headed market guidance, pointed commentary on trending stocks, and candid CEO interviews. He emerges as optimistic (but realistic): October’s storm was weathered, diversifying with quality stocks is key, and long-term investors—now more than ever—should focus on resilience, wherever the bull market hides.

Bottom Line:
“Magical investing isn’t over—just taking a breather. Stay diversified, don’t chase hot trends, and remember: there’s always a bull market somewhere.”

Transcript

[Jim Cramer]

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[Jim Cramer]

Hey, I'm Kramer. Welcome to Mad Money. Welcome to Cramerica. Other people and friends. I'm just trying to make a little bit of money. My job is not just to entertain, but to educate you. So call me at 1-800-743-CNBC or tweet me at Jim Cramer. We made it through October without a crisis or a nasty decline and I for one am shocked today. Like so many other days this month, after a higher opening, it looked we were going to get clogged. But then the market found its footing. Strangely, the dow finishing up 41 points as be gaining point to six, the NASDAQ jumping point six one percent. Oh, it was a strange one though. We had not one but two terrific upside surprises from last night, Apple and Amazon. But only one resonated. Amazon stock shot up nearly 10% to an all time high, but Apple opened strong and then gave up all its gains. The gigantic tech nation states that reported this week, which by the way include Meta, Microsoft and Alphabet overall quitted themselves quite poorly. Only only Alphabet really did well, with the worst being Meta, down more than 100 points in two days. Even though Met is doing terrifically, Wall street doesn't like that. Mark Zuckerberg wants to spend a fortune to fend off his AI competitors. More on that later. It's interesting, Amazon actually was quite frugal and people like that. For now, you just need to know that even though I'm a big believer in AI as the fourth Industrial Revolution, Wall Street's gotten skeptical of all of this capital spending. I still think these stocks are worth owning and great stocks are the best defense in any tough market as long as you own them as part of a diversified portfolio. Like I say in how to make money in any market, you should own one or two of these and trust them on them. Long term though, do not try to go in and out. It's all your call but we encourage long term investing in Creamerica and that's how you make a real fortune. Stocks. Now look, I understand it is a tempestuous time. Lots of companies that serve the consumer have gotten very, very weak in part because of inflation, part because of the now endless government shutdown, and in part because of people getting worried about AI taking away their jobs. Still, I think you got to have the long term view here. We're in the middle of earning season, just finished the biggest week and we come out relatively unscathed. More important, we made it out of October without some sort of collapse. Historically we dodged a real bullet. So let's see what the first week of November has in store for us now. We don't have to wait until Monday for some important news. We get Berkshire Hathaway's earnings tomorrow morning and apparently there will no longer be any commentary from the greatest investor of all time, Warren Buffett, who's retiring as CEO. The 95 year old Buffett has agreed to turn the company over to a fabulous exec, Greg Abel, who take the Reinstock year end. The stock's been getting clobber, clobber though I presume that's because of the changeover. Now look, understand I think Berkshire is a terrific company and you have to expect more profit taking as Buffett leaves. But what can I say? He is a repressed, replaceable. But the company's a great one. Monday at the close, we hear from a company that may, may be, and this is a little hyperbole, the next Berkshire Hathaway. I'm talking about Palantir, run by the brilliant Alex Karp. I know presumptuous and heretical me, but I am just reporting on the narrative as I keep hearing from so many people. Palantir is obviously nothing like Berkshire, but people worship Karp. They do and they like. They like to think he is the Buffet of what he does. And he does run an amazing consulting and advisory company. When Palantir Stock was at 50, I said it would go to 100. When it got to 100, I said it would go to 150. And when it got to 200 this week I said it's headed to 250. After this run, I do expect some profit taking on the quarter, but I'm not backing away from this one long term. Why? It is just too good to ignore. And its clients whom I've checked in with, multitudinous, they love. Now we also hear from Clorox, quite different from Palantir, but the stock that is down more than 30% for the year. Clorox is at the heart of this market's conundrum. In the old days when we had worries about the economy, everybody bought the consumer packaged good stocks. Now, perhaps because of inflation, people just won't pay up for the name brands. Let's see what CEO Linda Rendell has to say now. Will Pfizer break out from the $25 level? Oh, it's been a dull run for this former growth drug stock as shareholders seem to be satisfied with a 7% yield. Not much price appreciation. I like growth, but that dividend seems safe and is backed up by cash flow. On Tuesday morning we'll find out if Pfizer could be more of a stock and less of a bond equivalent. Shopify turns in its numbers to this is a good one Canadian. Terrific. It's become a very reliable winner. I think it can duplicate. It's an E Commerce champion that has a great way to work with small medium sized businesses. Hey by the way, I feel the same way about Uber doing well. Another company that's fulfilling its grand ambitions after the close. We have two huge winners so far this year. Well one for many, many years. Well actually both of them really AMD, Ed Exxon. Now we've had their CEOs own CEOs report on repeatedly. These are the kinds of long term outperformers that you simply have to consider owning. Lisa Su at AMD is challenging in video at its own game. Axon's upending the entire law enforcement paradigm with its tasers, its body cameras, its drones and its automatic artificial intelligence drive police reports. You know what, I actually own them both now for the screamers though, Caterpillar has become one of the best performers in the entire market and I think that move is justified given how so much of their equipment is used to make and maintain data centers. Company holds an analyst meeting Tuesday. I want to know if this move is multi year in nature. I have to tell you, spoiler alert. I think it is. Oh and please don't forget to vote. It's your civic duty. Now onto something more interesting. McDonald's reports on Wednesday and I think they are the single best judge maybe in the world of the true state of the consumer who is strapped, who is worried alongside by the way, restaurant brands, Burger King which is on the show tonight, we keep hearing about this cash trapped consumer not willing to eat out and wants to stay at home, wants to preserve capital. But only McDonald's and Burger King can really tell us if that's true or if this people decided that tastes have changed. Robin reports after the close in this online brokerage has managed to win over millions of investors. Maybe you it's become the bell cow of this rally and I am betting we get some fantastic numbers now. It's tough to get data without a government with this government shutdown. Right. But you know, as the best I think bank of America does and it holds an analyst meeting on Wednesday, we're going to find out more about the consumer from them than anybody else. I think it'll tell a relatively sanguine story about the state of the economy and the bank and it could be uplifting. It's a very inexpensive stock. Next, what the heck is really going on with this Warner Brothers discovery? Is the company going to sell itself the highest bidder? Are the earnings any good? That's Thursday's business before the open and I want to see if there's going to be an auction. To me, the stocks moved into arbitrage levels, meaning it's up a ton anticipation of a takeover. But I think you could still catch a couple more bucks if they close any sort of deal. Of course, if they don't though like arbitrage, look out below. We get a couple of real good ones lumped in here. We got a firm for buy now, pay later, Sanders for tech storage and materials for rare earth materials. All three have had they've had tremendous stories to tell for a while now, although Sandys has had a huge and now parabolic run. And I, you know, I don't like to recommend the ones that are in parabola mode. Finally, Friday we got a lagging fast food chain, Wendy's and one of the best performers of the year, Constellation Energy. The company generates power, including a lot of clean nuclear energy. I think these two bookends are most appropriate. Winners win so you continue to buy consolation and unfortunately losers keep losing. So you got to avoid Wednesdays, Wendy's especially by the way, when we have the superior restaurant brands coming up later in the show. The bottom line, I can't tell you not to be glum. I can tell you that the year of magical investing is not yet over. It's taking a breather. But we did get through the historically tough months of September and October with no break in the magic. If the passes any guide, November and December tend to be much, much better. Let's go to Jerry in Illinois. Jerry.

[Caller]

Hey, Jim. Your mission has been very successful in our family about 10 years ago, maybe more, maybe less. You told us to keep an eye on and to turn to turn our attention to our children and grandchildren. So here's what we did. We opened up four custodial accounts, gave each kid 100 bucks and we said whatever they earned in the summer or their after school work, we would match dollar for dollar. Only in stocks. Two for one, by the way. Well, it's seven years later and you're really not going to believe how much money. I don't want to tell you because you won't believe me, but there's something else that happened. We made four lifetime investors. They call us and ask questions and when they do, I make them do some research. So one of the, one of the kids came up with something about a year ago called mntn, which is really my question. I couldn't, I couldn't figure it out. I know what it was, but they loved it so much I bought each room 25 shares. They bought 25 shares for myself. So I follow it and I can't figure out what's going on. Can you?

[Jim Cramer]

I can either. I think it's a better company than it's Then it's trading. I know we spoke to them earlier today. I do believe that MNTN offers a great, great opportunity for, for advertisers. Let's just step back for a second and think about what you've accomplished. You have made it so that people's lives have changed. I'd like to think I played a role in that. You're kind enough to share with me. MNTM so far has not worked out. I was telling Ben Stoder earlier today I am surprised myself that it's not doing better. They're not delivering and that's just unacceptable. Okay, the year of magical investing is not over. It just took a breather after a couple of historically tough months. And if the passes any guide, November, Dec, they do tend to be much better. Man money tonight. Every day I feel like we've got another story about how the consumer is pulling back from spending on restaurants. So where does the company like Restaurant Brands International fit in the equation? I'm checking in with the company's top brands. Then we're celebrating Halloween man money style by taking a bite of Hershey's to see if there's any hope of a sweet future for that one. Oh, by the way, someone tell me what's going on with Columbia Sportswear, please. After hitting a 52 week low, what should investors make of the apparel company's future? I'm going straight to the source for answers. So stay with Kramer.

[Show Host/Producer]

Don't miss a second of Mad Money. Follow imKramer on X. Have a question? Tweet Kramer MadMentions Send Jim an email to madmoneynbc.com or give us a call at 1-800-743-CNBC. Miss something? Head to madmoney.cnbc.com.

[Jim Cramer]

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[Jim Cramer]

This is a tough story. We keep hearing about a slowdown in restaurants pending, but we got a very different story from restaurant brands that's apparent. Coming to Burger King, Tim Hortons Popeyes Firehouse Subs when reported yesterday morning I mean these guys delivered terrific number healthy top and bottom line beat better than expected Same store sales of 4%. Their Tim Hortons Canada business. It just keeps humming. It is doing so well. Its international division that houses almost all the overseas operations including China. Fabulous. In response the stock rallied 1.5%, but that was just the breaking of a five session losing streak. But today then it gave back to gains. Even though the quarter was good, the sellers just won't quit. I've got to ask, is this a buying opportunity? Let's take a Close look at Patrick Doyle, the executive chairman of Restaurant brands, used to run Domino's pizza. Incredibly special, 2010 to 2018. One of the greatest grocery store ever. Mr. Doyle, welcome back to Bad Money. And are you at the. With Gordon Ramsay there and developing a new Wagyu burger?

[Show Host/Producer]

He is not here making burgers today.

[Jim Cramer]

But you do have a menu that is innovative, and you got to tell us about it, because this is not the Burger King that we remember when we were growing up.

[Show Host/Producer]

No, absolutely. Yeah, we've got it. We've got a collaboration with him in the UK right now doing a Wagyu burger. It's actually been doing incredibly well for him, for us, and we're excited about it. And it's just. It's a way of bringing focus to our amazing flame grilled burgers. I mean, that's why people think about Burger King. But he's been fun to work with him. And the whole joke is the burgers are not made by Gordon Ramsay.

[Jim Cramer]

Where are you now? Because it looks exciting.

[Show Host/Producer]

I'm in Miami. I'm in the test kitchen for Burger King in Miami.

[Jim Cramer]

And are you doing a crispy onion dish? I mean, they've got some good ones coming, from what I can tell.

[Show Host/Producer]

Yeah, yeah. It's actually the whole platform of kind of these elevated Whoppers has been working everywhere for us, and we're excited about it. And it's, you know, we're a burger chain at Burger King. We're focusing on great flame grilled beef burgers, and we're excited and it's working. I mean, we're getting growth in the business.

[Jim Cramer]

All right, well, you know, I'm a fan. As I communicate to you when I go to one. I had a great. I was in Frankfurt food, great. I told you about what was wrong, what was right. You fixed immediately.

[Show Host/Producer]

We had some opportunities there. It's fixed, I promise.

[Jim Cramer]

But the fact is that when I go to Europe and I want a meal that is an American meal, I go to you. But now this leads me to something that is disturbing. Pat, maybe you can help me. We have what I call thesis investing. Is this the thesis? The American consumer being hurt? Inflation is not so good. Food stamps might be going away. Divided government against that's the thesis. Against that is the reality, the empirical reality of how great your company is really doing. I'm trying to reconcile that. You were in the pizza business for a long time. You've seen ups and downs. How do we get people to distinguish between the guys who are doing well and the guys who aren't.

[Show Host/Producer]

Yeah. Well, you know what, it's interesting because I mean, your new book talks about, I mean, people need to be investors, not traders. If you're focused on that, if you're looking at a restaurant company, the way to think about whether a restaurant company is going to be a good investment is are you convinced that they are delivering better food in cleaner, better looking restaurants with better service now than they were a year ago? And if you're continually doing that, and we're doing that across our businesses in international, at Tim's, in Canada, at Burger King, Popeyes and Firehouse, I know that we're better today than we were a year ago. That's ultimately what creates growth and that's ultimately then what generates earnings growth. And you know, so I think you're right. I mean, you know, we talked about in our call, things got a little choppy again in October with the consumer. But first of all, that's just in the U.S. 70% of our cash flow comes from Canada and international. But in the U.S. look, it's going to pass and you know, interest rates are coming down and you know, we're going to, we're going to get it back. The consumer is going to come back. I'm confident exactly when we don't know. And I think that's. As you talk about thesis investing, people are a little concerned about the consumer, but we're finding ways to get it done. We're taking a medium and long term view on how we create value in all of our businesses. And it worked in the third quarter and we're excited about what we're getting done to continue that.

[Jim Cramer]

Well, let's press that further. Thank you for mentioning the book. You know, in the book I talk about the concept of scale, something that you have helped me imagine understanding. If there is inflation, say beef inflation, what are you going to do if you're with the smaller guys? They are going to be buffeted by it. You have scale and therefore I didn't expect your prices to jump big. And they haven't.

[Show Host/Producer]

No, they have not. They have not. And look, we've got to take care of our guests. And so, you know, we've got peers out there that have taken prices up and down and you know, we've got to have a consistent, great value for our consumers. It has put some pressure on restaurant level margins in the short term for our franchisees and for our corporate stores. But look, we're taking a long term view. We want to build a great business the way you build a Great business is consumers know that they can come in, get great value on what they want to eat. You know, it's not a good deal if it's not what they want.

[Jim Cramer]

Right.

[Show Host/Producer]

And so we're giving them good value across the menu and that's ultimately what builds loyalty, that's what builds growth. And the way you give more value without just pulling the price lever is improve your food, improve your service, have better looking restaurants, all of those things give them a better experience. If you have to take price, do it very judiciously but don't force all of that, you know that that up and down onto under your guests.

[Jim Cramer]

One last question. I continue to love Popeyes. Just love it. Had to good Popeyes within the last month. I don't understand the short term underperformance. I say short term because it's too good a brand to be kept down. Is there something I'm missing or something you're unhappy with?

[Show Host/Producer]

Well, you know what, just the pace of improvements there, it's improving. Experience is getting better. The food is the best in the industry. We just got to pick up the pace of the improvements. We do that, we're going to get the growth. The food is incredible. We just need to make sure that the whole experience matches that. We're getting improvements just got to go a little faster.

[Jim Cramer]

All right, fair enough. Let's leave it at that. But I love yes, the long term investing versus the short term trading. We'll make it so you miss the next run in what is really a company that is so vastly improved. But if you go there, you know it. That's all I can tell you. If you go there, you know, I want to thank you. Patrick Doyle, Executive chairman of Restaurant Brands International qsr. Patrick, great to see you.

[Show Host/Producer]

Thanks Jim. You too.

[Jim Cramer]

Might back up to the break coming up.

[Show Host/Producer]

Have investors gotten spooked by Hershey's latest performance? Or could lower cocoa prices mean the stock is in for a treat? Kramer's got his hand in the candy bowl.

[Jim Cramer]

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[Jim Cramer]

Tonight we celebrate Halloween, our great national secular holiday, by doing it the mad money way. By talking about the stock of Hershey. Not because it makes a huge percentage of the candy that you'll probably be giving out tonight, but because Halloween's supposed to be scary. And for the past three weeks, almost nothing's been more terrifying than being a Hershey shareholder. The Stock has plunged from 196 in its highs earlier this month to 169 and change as of today. When the company reported yesterday morning it wasn't enough to turn things around. Now the Stock actually tumbled from 17571 yesterday, 469 today. This is baffling. Baffling. What is going on here? Why has this iconic candymaker become such a heinous stock? The truth is, Hershey's been struggling for the last two and a half years now. I think a lot of that's largely because of the GOP Dash 1 weight loss drugs that have hammered the entire packaged food industry. People just don't want to eat anything bigger than this when they're on those drugs. At the same time, they also struggle with sky high cocoa prices, although that's gotten substantially better over the last 10 months. However I got it, I got to tell you, I think the worst might be behind this one. Really I do. This summer Hershey hired a new CEO fell by name of Kirk Tanner. He previously ran Wendy's, but before that he spent roughly three decades at PepsiCo and he officially took over in mid August. I remember flagging that to you that I thought it was really great for Hershey. Not for Wendy's. So far though, he's had his work cut out for when Hershey reported in late July right before Tanner took Over. The company delivered a complicated quarter. This was a clear top and bottom line. B. But management cut their full year earnings forecast because of the tariffs and the cost of the hedging program they put in place to manage the volatile price of cocoa. Interestingly, the stock spiked immediately on the news, reaching its highest level since last December when we were hearing ridiculous rumors, and I mean it ridiculous, of a takeover from Mondelez. But then it came right back down. Since then, the action, Hershey's been choppy, turning to downright horrible over the past few weeks. I mean, sell, sell, sell, sell, sell, sell. And that brings me to yesterday morning when Hershey reported again. Now, first glance, I thought their numbers looked pretty darn good. Hershey posted net sales of 3.18 billion, which was up 6.5% year over year and above the 3.12 billion that Wall street was looking for. Get this, organic sales growth came in at 6.2%, almost all of which was driven by price increases. Still, that's a really good number for any packaged foods company, especially these days. Especially, by the way, when the analysts were only looking for 3.6% organic growth. So what's the problem here? Well, on the other hand, Hershey's adjusted gross margin was 31.8%. That was down a staggering 85850 basis points year over year. Eight, five basis points reflecting, quote. Here we go. Higher commodity and tariff costs along with unfavorable mix, which more than offset net price realization, supply chain productivity and transformation program savings. End quote. All right, that's obviously not ideal, but this was something everybody coming. I thought it was expected. In fact, the analysts only expected Hershey's gross margin to come in at 3.3 1.5%. Put it all together and they earned $30 per share. Now it is down 44% year over year, but again, much better than the $7% $7 per share that Wall street was anticipating. At the same time, Hershey raised its full year forecast, but not by all that much. Madrid took up the low end of their earnings guidance by $0.09, which is not much when you're projecting 590 to $6 per share. Given the size of the beat for the third quarter, that modest increase to the full year forecast was seen as a bit of a disappointment. When you report a 23% earnings beat and you don't raise your full year forecast outlook by more than 23 cents, well, that's practically a de facto guide. Down worse, on the conference call yesterday, management seemed pretty cautious for one thing they noted and this is what I think is hurting this Halloween season. It hasn't gone particularly well for Hershey. They said it was starting slower than expected thanks to warmer weather and a concentration of seasonal purchases in the final week. Because guess what? That's what happens when Halloween falls on Friday. Company also pointed out that it had some timing benefits in the third quarter that should be reversed in the current quarter. Oh, they also said the Mexican business isn't that good. But you know, this is a company really how are we matters a lot. You're obviously looking forward to 2026. Hershey seems cautiously optimistic that things can get better with emphasis by the way on caution. I think management just doesn't want to stick their collective neck out for something they may not be able to deliver. They repeatedly emphasize that they're playing for the long term, not necessarily this quarter, current quarter, even next year. I like that. Put it all together and you can understand why Hershey stock has gotten pulverized after the past couple of seasons of sessions. I can't say that that's an unreasonable reaction to the quarter even as the stock was already down hard going into the earnings. But it is a big pretty pretty big. But you might want to take the other side of the trade here. When you look at the quarter, those results were legitimately very good. Much better than we have gotten used to from Hershey over the past few years. I actually appreciate management's cautious tone here. Remember, CEO Kirk Tanner's only been in charge for less than three months. This guy's a pro. Pros know you want to under promise so that you can over deliver you pod in the future. I'm not alone in thinking that it's time maybe to get a little more constructive here. Overnight analysts Piper Saylor, they upgraded the stock from underweight a sell to neutral, citing reduced uncertainty. They also think that while cocoa prices could remain inflationary, that could moderate as 2026 comes in fully into focus. I agree with that too. Honestly, we don't have any position Hershey and you want to diversify away from the pure tech like so many others are trying to do. Yeah, it's tempting. Tend to put on a small position here with the stock down at the lowest level since early July. Sure, Hershey still looks expensive selling 28 times this year's earnings estimates, nearly 25 times next year's. But if I'm right that management's being deliberately cautious with its forecasting, then there's a good chance next year's numbers will come in higher than Expected making the stock a lot cheaper in retrospect after this big fall. So here's the bottom line. Hershey's been through it very difficult few weeks. Coming on the heels of a tough couple of years. Their results have been muddled, including the quarter that reported yesterday as the new management team has only just taken over. In fact, they've been very conservative when talking about the future. But I like that, frankly, I think that even if the stock hasn't bottomed yet, it's probably close to a bottom. Though this one only works if you believe in Kirk Tanner's leadership. I'm a believer, though. I just wish it had been a happier Halloween and less of a trick and more of a treat for this peerless brand. Let's go to Bob in my home state of New Jersey. Bob.

[Caller]

Hey, Junk. Jim.

[Jim Cramer]

Booyah. Booyah. Bob. What's happening, Frank?

[Caller]

Well, I finally got Trudy. I bought some Target a while back when it was at its high and I got rid of half of it. I just hung on to the other half, but it doesn't seem like it's doing anything. And I kind of figured maybe by Christmas it would hopefully go back. What do you think about that?

[Jim Cramer]

Well, it does have a new CEO and we haven't seen the imprint yet. I will say this, these stocks are so out of favor that even if you buy the best of them, they're not working. A longer term view would say that it's time to buy Wal Mart or one that I talked about with Jeff Marks and I own the for the chattel trust, which is that Costco has come down so much that I think Costco is the way to go. I don't care so much about the yield target as a big one. I care about growth and Costco's got that. That's the way to go. And let's go to James in Ohio. James.

[Caller]

James, I was just. It's an honor to speak with you today. Just like you, I'm a former former resident of Philadelphia and I want to give you a big time broad and only bruya to you, bro.

[Jim Cramer]

Come on, man. You know my mom is for about 10 blocks, 10 blocks away. She's from Broad Lindley, maybe a Stone's Row. What's going on?

[Caller]

James? I've been Costco hit an all time high back in February and, and I've been watching it like Burt Lancaster and run silent, run deep, things going down, down, down. And I don't know, is it a time to reduce my position by more. Hold on, you know, I know they have a new CEO now and I don't know how that's affecting the operation. So I'd be interested in your take on that.

[Jim Cramer]

Okay. It's funny and people have to understand. I actually do not know the questions ahead of time and I just literally talked to a caller and I was saying that I think the Costco is right now. I think Costco is right. It sells at 45 times earnings. It typically is not never cheap. I remember this from the old Berkshire days with the late Charlie Munger. It can you just start buying something which just seems that 45 times earnings. I think you can start a position. We own a longstanding position for the travel trust. I don't like to violate my basis, but Costco is the best buy in the industry. I think it's been hurt by a piece in a major magazine about how maybe the best times are over. I just don't think that. So anyway, I agree. Costco's good and go burst. Look, Hershey's had a couple of very rough years, but I think now might be an interesting time to start a positions down so much. Got a new CEO. Kirk Tanner, Total pro. Much more made money at including my exclusive with Columbia Sportswear. Shares slipping after earnings to the lowest level since early 2016. Maybe investors are getting a buyer opportunity. Let's find out by going right to the CEO. And investors were spooked by Meta's earnings report. I think many are failing to see the forest through the trees. I'm going to break it down and give you a very opposite view of what everyone else is saying today. And then of course, all your calls. Rapid Fire. Tonight's edition, lightning round. So stay with the tough times. Stop for Columbia Sportswear, the apparel company which you know is Columbia. Sorrel, Prana, Mountain Hardware. Fabulous brands struggle for a bit now. Four and a half years ago, Columbia was $115 stock and now it is under 50 after a nearly 4% drop today, its lowest level since 2016. Last night Columbia reported difficult quarter, better than expected revenue. Sizable earnings missed was driven by a big impairment charge that honestly would have been fine except management did give you some tough guidance for the current quarter and that's still important. Holiday quarter. Look, I know this is a rough moment for all things apparel, for everybody, but is there any reason to believe the company can turn things around? I saw some green shoots in Europe.

[Tim Boyle]

Europe.

[Jim Cramer]

Let's check in with Tim Boyle. He's the chairman, president, CEO of Columbia Sportswear. Find out things. Mr. Boyle, welcome back to mad money.

[Tim Boyle]

Jim, it's great to be with you. Thank you.

[Jim Cramer]

Okay, so, Tim, you're my introduction. I'm seeing some green shoots in Europe. We have to talk about tariffs in a second. But, but tell me what's going on in terms of the stuff that is turning around because I think there's reason to believe that at these levels, you.

[Tim Boyle]

Got to believe I would agree with you 100%. You know, almost every market outside the U.S. in fact, it could, could be all of them are doing very well. We have problems in the U.S. you know that the, the business of selling imported products in the US with the tariffs is not insignificant. And, but our business is based on products. You can see behind me one of our best selling products, the Amaze Puff. It's probably the most expensive garments we've ever sold and they're on fire right now. And so I think that's, that's what we need to do. In addition, we need to invest much more heavily in marketing. And you'll probably have seen some of the work that we've done. It's a bit irreverent. It's focused on our, our former habitual product of showing, you know, having fun in the outdoors and making fun of lots of things. But this is where I think the company is going to be growing and differentiating itself and improving.

[Jim Cramer]

But it is tough to put a lot of marketing dollars in when you have these tariffs and you have chosen to keep prices reasonable for American consumers.

[Tim Boyle]

Yeah, it's, you know, it's an area that we have to, we have to be very cognizant of what's going on with our market. You know, in 2024, we were the 81st largest duty payer in the United States. In fact, prior to Trump's first term, we were in the 40s. So our commodities are very heavily tariffed and there's not much predictability, frankly, in the business. So we have to make sure that we've got a good balance sheet, which we do. We're strong and we have to have a clean focus on where we're going. And it's proven itself in, in the markets outside the US where the business is growing nicely.

[Jim Cramer]

Well, let's talk about outside us, because then we can kind of work back to see what happens when you do absorb things. Because this is organic. Tell me about, we've got boots in front of us, we have shoes and butters. You know, I'm a big user of your, of your product. These look like different new stuff and just give us A sense of what's really, what is really selling well.

[Tim Boyle]

The footwear business for us is quite good in Europe. So we have probably one of our biggest European customers in footwear. Correction. One of the biggest global customers for us for footwear is in Europe. And the business there is very good. It's grown both at the wholesale level and in our own DTC stores and it's a real great opportunity for us. Additionally, China, which I believe ultimately will be the company's largest product geography is growing well and we have healthy businesses in Japan, in Central and South America and the business is actually improving a lot in those markets. The US is more challenging.

[Jim Cramer]

Let's talk about China because at one time I thought that was going to be terrific and then it kind of cooled as the consumer cooled, not as Colombia cooled. I am beginning to hear people tell me in several of our, several of our shows that the consumer is actually getting a little more liquid in China and starting to spend for stuff again after a prolonged period where they weren't buying things.

[Tim Boyle]

Yeah, and we've just started as, you know, the, the, what they call the warm up period for double 11. It's, it's starting off with a real nice range to it and we expect that that's going to be a very strong performer for us. You know, it's hard to pass into quarters in China, but I think over the long term and certainly for this year, we expect to be growing nicely.

[Jim Cramer]

All right, now talk to me about Prana. I, you've got the impairment charge again. I mean it's, to me it's such a natural brand. I am confused about what the game plan is there.

[Tim Boyle]

Well, we've, we changed the management there, I want to say, within the last 18 months. And it's been a real positive. We've got great opportunities in front of the business. We're expanding it nicely into the south and southeast parts of the United States. You know, it's been a California brand for so many years and focused on the west coast and we're getting some nice traction outside of the, outside of those markets. So we believe strongly in it. We've got a great management team in Prada now and I think we're, we're poised to do very well with that brand.

[Jim Cramer]

All right. And then just give me a. Just because I like people to know about. Engineer for whatever. I love the. I use your stuff for extreme outdoor stuff in which I do some things in. And it's everybody who, where everyone who's in the extreme. You look around this is what you see your stuff. What should be looking for from the engineer for whatever campaign?

[Tim Boyle]

Well, I think what if you look at the typical outdoor brand, they're. They're poised themselves with beautiful outdoor scenery and lots of smiling people, and we've really focused on the outdoors is a collection of things sometimes which are beautiful and pleasant, sometimes they're unpleasant. The weather always makes an impact.

[Jim Cramer]

But we.

[Tim Boyle]

We want to make sure that we have a point of differentiation when we're talking about our brand. And that's humor, a large dose of humor and a large dose of tests we put our products through. And you may have seen some of the snowball tests, some of the snowplow tests that we're doing now. And these are areas where we can differentiate ourselves. And we're spending money behind these. These campaigns as well.

[Jim Cramer]

Well, it makes a lot of sense to me. I hope that Europe is the precursor of a big turn. I want to thank Tim Boyle, chairman CEO of Columbia Sportswear. Thank you, Tim, for coming on the show.

[Tim Boyle]

Thanks, Jim.

[Jim Cramer]

Bad money's back after the break.

[Show Host/Producer]

It was a dark and stormy night where Kramer's taking your calls. It's a Halloween lightning round next.

[Jim Cramer]

It is time. It's time for the lightroom Chris Raymond. And then the lightning round is over. Are you ready? Ski. Dad. Turn. Light round. Chris. Ray. Let's go to Kent in Alabama.

[Caller]

Ken.

[Jim Cramer]

Booyah. Jim, how are you? I am doing well, Kent. How about you? Good to hear from you. Outstanding. I'd like to start off saying I try to live my first Corinthians 10:31.

[Caller]

So I give God the glory.

[Jim Cramer]

But I have to praise you, Jim, for teaching me how to jump in the market. We're on. We're on track to retire early at 45 years old. Wow. And my question today is about Soundtown. AI. All right, now, it's a pure spec. I like the fact that it's come back down from its high, but you need to know it does not make money. It's gotta make money before I can get seriously behind it. And congratulations to you. Let's go to Bill in Massachusetts. Bill. Jim, I love your insight, how you said, let's give Jim. Let's give Jassy a chance to prove himself. And you were absolutely right. You were on Amazon all week. You just. You seem to be right 95% of the time. Jim, thank you, man. I was out there on that one. I'll tell you.

[Show Host/Producer]

Yeah.

[Jim Cramer]

Incredible. Incredible. Good call. My question is about next tracker. Oh, man. You know, we made net money in Next tracker for the travel Trust. But then we didn't think that Suge had it in him to have it double. This company is a tremendous company. It still only sells at 24 times earnings. Parabolic move. I'd like to have it cool off a little bit. But wow, congratulations to Dan Shugart who really just did it it. Let's bring in Danielle in Pennsylvania. Danielle. Booyah, Jim.

[Commercial Announcer]

And happy New Year.

[Jim Cramer]

Hey, I've been learning so much. What do you think about at&t these days? I tell you, there's a real scrum going on with AT&T and Verizon and T Mobile. I don't want to get involved. It seems like there's just too many cost cards. Let's stay away from that. Let's go to Sam and Merle. And Sam.

[Caller]

Jim, Jeremy, qbts.

[Jim Cramer]

Now they do report this week. I didn't. I actually see what they say because I think that Dr. Barron is very good. But this IBM is doing some amazing things in Quantum and I think the Trump people have been talking to them about the urgency of being ahead of the Chinese in Quantum and it's going to be IBM that leads the way. Let's go to Jay in New York. J. Hey, Jim, how are you? I am good. How are you, Jay? I'm excellent club member and been following you for a few years now and I really appreciate all you do for the little guys. Thank you very much. Check out how to make money in any market. That's my best solution for the little guy. How can I help you? I bought it. I'm going on vacation in a couple weeks and I can't wait to read it. It's the spec stock in my portfolio, Rocket Labs. All right. I'm glad you said it's the spec stock because otherwise I would not endorse it. I think it is a good spec, but it loses so much money. You got to be aware that who knows where it can only end up. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the conclusion of the Lightning round. The Lightning round is sponsored by Charles Schwab.

[Show Host/Producer]

Coming up, has Wall street misunderstood Meta's latest spending decisions? Kramer's breaking down the math behind the move. Next.

[Jim Cramer]

Wall street can't seem to understand why Meta Platforms is spending such a staggering amount of money on the data center and everything connected to it. Now, this stock has dropped over 100 points since marks over dropped the bomb. It'll spend whatever it takes. This year they're on track to to sell up maybe 70 to 72 billion dollars. It's going to go to 100 billion next year, at least according to the current consensus estimates. And that's when the stock just went into oblivion. That was bad news. But wait a second. Let's think this through. Two things bothered people about all the spending. First, investors have gotten used to a more disciplined operation ever since Meta rolled out the year of efficiency in 2023. They're now reminded of the old profligate Mark Zuckerberg who spends like a trumpet seller. Second, he never really explained why they need all this money and need to spend it all. And what is that all about? I don't want to be presumptive. Let me fill you in on what I think Zuckerberg is doing here and more important, why I think he is dead right? And the stocks are buy now that he's pulled back so hard from its highs. First, let me just say that in how to Make Money in Any Market I wrote with great respect about matter. We bought Facebook for the chabotrust way back after its busted ipo. And we haven't wavered our support for Mark Zuckerberg since he's an uber competitive genius with a stellar track record. So I would never bet against this man. My belief is that Zuckerberg spending so aggressive because he wants to maintain, improve and grow his social initiatives worldwide and doesn't want to lose his dominance in that incredibly lucrative business. And Meta could easily lose its dominance if it doesn't continue to innovate and astound and yes, spend. Who could possibly challenge them? How about the private outfit known as Open Air which seems to want to challenge all these hyperscalers with some innovation, some gusto. If Meta doesn't spend heavily, I think it is reasonable expect Open Air will come after them. Zuckerberg recognizes the threat to the medic kingdom and he knows he can blunt it by make it real clear that you'd have to be a fool to try to bet against and come in compete against his company. Why not go after the other hyperscalers that aren't defending themselves as aggressively? That's smart. It's kind of like the story of the two hikers being chased by the bear, right? To escape you don't need to outrun the barrier and you outrun the other hiker. In this case, the other hikers are Amazon for web services and retail Alphabet for search and YouTube and Microsoft for enterprise software. If this spending can keep keep out Open Air and its components that I think the sport price is to pay. Actually right now Wall street clearly disagrees with me. Given that Metis lost about 250 billion in market capitalization. But as I see it, it would be irresponsible Zuckerberg not to invest in his vast network of properties. Remember, he's not burning money in some gigantic chimney, he's actually putting it to work. He's betting it will get terrific returns and I have total faith in that. The market disagrees with me clearly, but I don't have enough fingers and toes to count how many times the market has been wrong about Zuckerberg and matter On a larger issue, people keep wanting to equate this year with 2000. Back then, anything you bought to maintain or improve your site was almost immediately worthless a few months after was implemented because of breakneck innovation. Now, now in the case of video where the big spend is, you are seeing some very long lived assets. We need to stop sweating that program. The genius of Zuckerberg is that as long as he spends enough to fend off the competition, Meta can remain the old ultimate social media platform for years to come. Call me a buyer. I like to say. There's always a bull market somewhere. I promise. I find it just for you right here at Made Money, I'm Drew Kramer. I'm gonna see you Monday.

[Commercial Announcer]

All opinions expressed by Jim Cramer on this podcast are solely Kramer's opinions and do not reflect the opinions of cnbc, NBC Universal, or their parent company or affiliates, and may have been previously disseminated by Kramer on television, radio, Internet, or another medium. You should not treat any opinion expressed by Jim Cramer as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy, but only as an expression of his opinion. Cramer's opinions are based upon information he considers 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 Mad Money disclaimer, please visit cnbc.com madmoneydisclaimer.

[Jim Cramer]

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[Commercial Announcer]

Sriracha sounds pretty spicy to me.

[Jim Cramer]

Um, a little spicy, but also tangy and sweet.

[Commercial Announcer]

Maybe it's time to turn up the heat.

[Jim Cramer]

Or turn it down. It's time for something that's not too spicy. Try Doritos Golden Sriracha Spicy but not too spicy.