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Jim Cramer
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My mission is simple. To make you money. I'm here to level the playing field for all investors. There's always a bull market somewhere and I promise to help you find it. Mad Money starts now. Hey, I'm Kramer. Welcome to Mad Money. Welcome to Kramer Marketer. Up to my friends, I'm just trying to make you a little money. My job is not just to explain, but to entertain teachers. So call me 1-873-CBC. Tweet me Jim Kramer not longer. We were constantly told that this AI stuff pure hype. According to conventional wisdom, there was no way could ever live up to expectations. But after speaking to Mark Benioff, the CEO of tech giant Salesforce last night, you know what I mean? You think that not only are there no hollow promises being made here, but the fruits of the off bandit about terms like generative AI accelerated computing could be far sweeter than anyone thought possible. That's right. I believe that the reality behind the buzzwords may exceed expectations, perhaps even dramatically. And that's the reason why Salesforce rallied 11% today. It deserved to. Today's action was all about Salesforce and some others in its wake, with The Dow gaining 309 points, a lot of it because of the gain in the stock of Salesforce, member of that elite group of companies, the S and P advancing 0.51% and of course the NASDAQ poll voting 1.30% House of Pleasure. I try not to go into too much depth about the power of AI because I'm sure you're sick of hearing about it. But now I'm thinking maybe I don't talk enough about it at all. There's just too much money being made. And I don't want to downplay that. Because you know what? Anything that makes you money will count me all in. Here's the quick history First, Nvidia provide the platform, the hardware and software for all good things to occur. They changed the world with a two pronged assault on the status quo. Accelerated computing, really fast and generative AI. We just didn't know it at the time. For five years now, Video CEO Jensen Huang has been telling us that as fast as chips could upend everything, change the world, change it for the better. And more importantly, his full stack would reduce the cost of ownership and give customers a massive rate of return. But until recently, we had no idea how that would actually work. Tangibility. We had no tangible evidence. Then exactly two years ago, we saw the power of this platform with open air chat beauty. Until then, Nvidia been looked down upon by clueless tech snobs as a maker of video game chips. Intel was king. Nvidia resume was pawn. With some industrial wins, Nvidia become maybe I don't knight bishop, but practically overnight because of generative AI and accelerate computing, Nvidia become crowned king. Intel's not even on the board anymore. Even then it was hard to explain the value proposition to you though, because what does general even do? It felt kind of a parlor game. Oh right, a haiku. Show me what it looked like for Jim Crater interview Gandhi on Mad Money, Jose and yada yada yada. Lots of fun, but nothing really commercial. Nothing to make money from now. Jensen proselytized everywhere about a new industrial revolution, but none of this stuff seemed life changing for all but a few in the know. The tech cognoscente. Oh sure we were aware that there were gigantic cloud infrastructure businesses. Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle Cloud infrastructure. We knew that Tesla was ordering everything in video made or at least tried to, but never got enough. And so were Microsoft, Google, Amazon, the Meta. They were packing invidious chips into these data centers all over the world. But who knew what a data center was? Sure, Tesla needed the chips for driverless cars, Microsoft needed them for chat, CBD, Copilot, Google for Gemini, Meta for better AI startups like Anthropic got $7 billion from investors including Amazon and Google to create something called Claude. Not like Claude range, but like Claude. But again, we just couldn't figure out how the heck they were going to get a return on their investment. To help call centers. We get call centers. Help law firms, I don't know. Law firm use it. Loan officers, really. Maybe to summarize things. Produce wrote documents. Mundane. And of course, to write term papers for college kids whose parents spend $80,000 a year so they can become ChatGPT proficient. Sure, the tech titans had the money to spend, but it started to feel like AI was some sort of multibillion dollar joke that none of us were in one. I mean, why did Oracle founder Larry Ellison say three months ago, quote, we have 162 data centers now. I expect we'll have 1,000 or 2,000 or more Oracle data cloud centers around the world. For who? For what? Nobody could articulate one practical idea that seemed to make economic sense. Save the digital Twin. Twin A way to build factories with less waste by constructing a digital AI inspired prototype. Might as well be some Revel model building kit. Remember those? At this point, some of the smartest people I know started saying, a lot of hedge fund guys, you know, start saying, you know what? That I, Jim Cramer, had drunk the AI Kool Aid for believing that there was anything big here other than a phony arms race. I stuck to my guns. Although other than ServiceNow, which was using Nvidia's platform to make workers more productive, people didn't see it. And then last night, gloriously, we got the confirmation I've been waiting for. When Salesforce reported back in September at that celebration of all things tech, Dreamforce CEO Marc Benioff told us that his company created something called Agent Force. They could collaborate with humans to improve customer relations and many more things. It was the first time we had heard about the customer in relation to AI, though, it's always been internal, hidden, unknown, like agent. Some made up word that nobody could explain until now. Last night, Benioff put on a clinic. He explained that there's a new concept. It's called digital labor. It's a whole new workforce, one that works side by side with Harry Beleaguered employees who want to be more productive, but they can't be because they have to do too many jobs in a world where hiring extra people just has become way too expensive. Suddenly that we have Agent Force. And with it, Mark said, I quote, we're unleashing this new year of digital labor force for every business in every industry. He went on to say, quote, the implications are just simply profound. Now, people ridiculed me for saying how much we need AI, but Mark says, quote, for decades economic growth depended on expanding the work human workforce. It was all about getting more labor, end quote. Not anymore. Now with agents powered by, I have your data work faster, doing tedious things, but essential jobs that nobody wants. And there it is. You know that Mark got 200 deals in the first week of Agent Force alone. Lots of brand name companies too. Do you know there are thousands more in the pipeline? Real customers, real money, tangible. That's an insane amount of business to do in an arbitrary of great things to come. There's a widespread consensus that is simply about replacing people. Well, that is just completely wrong. Jensen never said he was going to have that app, and he said it was a force multiplier. But not a lot of people believed him. He said it would create more jobs. Really thought people would say, I'll give me a break. Creating jobs that couldn't be afforded before, making people more productive, allowing them to do more business, helping customers in deeper ways. That's what this is about. As Mark put it, quote, jobs are going to evolve, roles are going to shift and businesses will need to adapt, end quote. You know what he left out? Two words or die. Sure, it's going to be expensive upfront. We know that demand for data centers, computing power is actually accelerating. That was the lesson last night from Marvell Tech. Their conference call. Wow, we heard that one. And they partnered with everyone, including AI, to make chips, including Met, Amazon, Google and Microsoft. After those two big quarters last night, all I can say is these tech titans aren't overbuilding in some misguided arms race. They're simply trying to keep up with demand, both current and perceived. They'll need every Nvidia full stack they can get their hands on. If none of that makes any sense to you, just look at all the stuff at the stocks. Salesforce stock finished up 11%. Marvell jumped 23%. Now there will always be skeptics, but we now have that crucial use case that we've been waiting for. Agentix. They're only taking away the jobs we don't want that we can't fill. Giving us more time to do what we're actually good at. With lower birth rates, with fewer people in the workforce, maybe we have no choice but to bring in Salesforce to plug into the data center to discover what Jensen's been predicting all along. Now we have the digital labor force. There's your revolutionaries. Here's the bottom line. When this new industrial revolution takes off, you won't want to speak to a human. They don't have the time to talk to you. I say give me the Asian force. Bring on the agenda and thank Kevin's for the digital labor force so that we can do real stuff, not the tedious tasks that we were made, that we've been made to do every day because somebody's got to do it. Not anymore. Now a machine can do it and incredibly, it does it better than we can. Jeff in Florida.
Jeff
Jeff, Hi Jim. Love your show. My wife and I watch it every evening and I particularly enjoy it because the start of it coincides with the start of cocktail hour around here.
Marc Benioff
Wow. Hey GT oh no, it's actually the winner. I think I have to do a Macallan 12 or plus 4 on my voice mess. Cal, go ahead.
Jeff
The stock I was calling about was Danaher. I owned it in the past. Seems to be solid company, good management, meets projections and has a dividend. But the last 60 days been taking a precipitous drop and I'm wondering if this would be a good entry point or if there's something going on that I should be.
Marc Benioff
There's nothing going on other than good things. We own it for the child trust. Let me tell you, they dropped the hammer when they said the China business hasn't come back enough with the China business, there's not going to be any stimulus for health care till we see what Trump does. So what I'm saying is by Danaher now, this is the cheapest I've seen Danaher in my lifetime. Pull the trip. Listen to me. AI is giving us some real examples of how it will create a new industrial revolution. I think it couldn't come soon enough. Remember these terms. Agency's digital labor force. Get used to the mayor money. Tonight I'm hearing what drove cracker barrels Hobbes. Bottom line, beat this quarter when I sit down with the CEO. Then Campbell CEO Mark Klaus announced he was retiring to make the move over to the Washington commanders. I'm recapping some of the incredible work he did while at the helm of the soup kingpin and hearing what's on the horizon for this great man who's also a vet and often jumped. In today's tape, I'm learning more about what Wall street liked in the quarter with the company's top brand. So stay with Kramer.
Mark Klaus
Don't miss a second of Mad Money. FollowIMKramer 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. Missed something? Head to madmoney.cnc.
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Marc Benioff
Last spring I started highlighting the impending turnaround at Cracker Barrel Old Country Store. That's the restaurant chain with a retail kicker. It's best known for its off highway locations menu full of comfort food. At the time, I told you that new CEO Julie Masino could orchestrate a comeback. I also recommend you waiting to buy into weakness because I figured Cracker Barrel had to cut that dividend. Sure enough, that's exactly what happened. It was worth waiting. The stock kept trading a little bit lower through the summer and in the fall. But more recently, Cracker Barrels began To rally. After bottoming it just under $35 mid September, we're back to 54 and change in less than three months. Part that's because they preannounced some great numbers November 14, which is why the stock didn't react much. Would today when I reported full. So what's happening here? Is it all coming true? Is it way ahead of schedule? Maybe Wall street is getting ahead of itself. Let's go straight to the source with Julie Masino. She's the president and CEO of cracker Barrel old country stores, and I think this is for real. Let's find out. Missino, welcome back to.
Julie Masino
Thanks for having me, Jim. It's great to be here.
Marc Benioff
Okay, the headline numbers. Let's just go there. Comp store sales up 2.9%. This is the second quarter in a row, which you were well ahead. So I'm sorry, I'm saying that the turn is here.
Julie Masino
Oh, well, you are very kind. The team is working so hard. I'm so proud of them, really taking care of our guests every single day and making sure that we're executing well today and really setting up the company for the long term.
Marc Benioff
Well, I've got to tell you, I think one of the things you've done, you've heeded the call. You've got 899 early dinner, which is even cheaper than a place that I have to tell you, I like a lot. Texas roadhouse.
Julie Masino
A lot of people like Texas roadhouse. No, our early dine has been really phenomenal. We launched it back in February. It's ticking up as a percent of sales every single. Every single week, Every single day. But really, it's our way to invite people in and say, we got you. When you know, value is really important out there. But cracker barrel is all about abundance at a really great price.
Marc Benioff
Well, tell people what you get for $8.99.
Julie Masino
Yeah. At $8.99, you can have chicken and dumplings, our meatloaf. There's all kinds of great items. So. And then don't forget we've got our sunrise pancake special, which is all day as well, and that's at $7.99. So if you want breakfast for dinner or breakfast all day long, we gotcha.
Marc Benioff
Okay. Now, Thanksgiving is actually an important holiday. Cracker, how was this versus last year?
Julie Masino
Yeah. Thank you. And huge shout out to my teams who worked so hard. So let me put it in perspective for you. We saw 5.5 million guests last week for Thanksgiving. A normal week for us is three and a Half million.
Marc Benioff
We had every rewards member just about. And that's incredible.
Julie Masino
Well, we think it's amazing, honestly. It's such an honor that people spend their things Thanksgiving with us. Or we have a huge heat and serve business where people invite us into their homes to take care of their family and friends for that day. So it's a great day for us. And by the way, every Thursday is Thanksgiving at Cracker Barrel because our roast turkey is on our daily dish that's available every Thursday.
Marc Benioff
Now, how about you're. You were talking about, you're doing your trials, your renovations. You're seeing what's working. You're talking about high, low, medium. How is that going?
Julie Masino
It's going great. So we've got the four stores from fiscal 24 that we talked about when I was here the last time. Collectively, we still got sales and traffic improvements there. And you kind of, kind of got it out of me the last time I was here. Indianapolis, which is our first big market test. We finished our last big remodel there right before Thanksgiving so that we could welcome everybody in. We've got marketing hitting there in the next week, so lots coming in there, but really excited about the opportunity around these refreshes and the remodels.
Marc Benioff
Is there anyone in particular that's working or you think they will?
Julie Masino
Actually, the consumer feedback has been amazing. People love how light and bright they are and how welcoming, and they still feel like Cracker Barrel. Our team members love, love working in them. They feel refreshed and rejuvenated. So feedback has all been positive, and we're experiencing sales and traffic lifts. So how about we're trying to get the algorithm right. Remember we talked.
Marc Benioff
I know that, and I want that, but how about this retail business?
Julie Masino
Where you want retail business? Retail is a $700 million business for us. I think a lot of people lose track of that in the Cracker Barrel story. But remember, we send you through the shop on the way in and the way out, great gifts. You know, Black Friday was last Friday. We started with a new promotion there, Season of savings, which has been an amazing, you know, kind of tell us about.
Marc Benioff
I know a season.
Julie Masino
Season of savings is 10 days of great deals. And so you got to come in every single day, new deals, some amazing, like pajamas to great gifts, everything in between.
Marc Benioff
Okay, now the back of the house. You're starting to dress. I think that someone owned restaurants. Back of the house is often where there's a lot of things that go wrong. They have to go right.
Julie Masino
That is very well Said if we don't get it right back there, there's no way to get it right for the guest. Right. And so remember when I was here the last time we talked about the metrics that matter, making sure that we get food out to people in a quick time. It's made recipe. Right. We're executing well in restaurant. This is kind of the next phase of that, kind of pillar two and pillar five, putting them together so it's easier for our team members to do their jobs. We're really maintaining quality and making sure that our home cooked, delicious food gets out to guests in the right way. We're making it easier. So phase one is in right now. We're getting ready to roll it to a region and then we'll take it to the whole system in Q3.
Marc Benioff
I alluded to the loyalty program. That's a rather big one that you picked up just in one year. You obviously have a lot of fans of the restaurant.
Julie Masino
Yeah, we do. And what I love about our loyalty program more than anything, it's so Cracker Barrel, Jim. It's like it's restaurant and it's retail. You can earn and redeem on both sides of the business. And I think that's what people are really resonating with. So if you want to only eat in the restaurant, but you still can get your rewards on the, on the retail side as well. So 6 million members already and growing. They're spending more, they're coming more often. It's a great program.
Marc Benioff
Country fried turkey. Now, when I first heard that, I said, I don't know, kind of off the grid there. What is that?
Julie Masino
Country fried turkey is a returning favorite for us. It's part of our holiday menu and believe it or not, we are almost out of it. So you got to come in and try it before it's all gone. It's only here through the holidays, but I think we're probably going to sell.
Marc Benioff
You do, I mean, I know you don't call them limited time offered, but there are some exciting things that you gotta get before they go away.
Julie Masino
Well, one of your favorites is pie. And it is pie season at Cracker Barrel.
Marc Benioff
Are you still putting a big slice of cheese on top and maybe not.
Unknown
I do.
Julie Masino
I will do that.
Marc Benioff
No, no, I actually, that was me £50 ago. You're no longer pleasing the new me. Anyway, look, I am so thrilled that you came back. The five pillars of long term strategy, just checking them off and doing them, you're blocking and tackling at the same time. You're giving us barbecue ribs and pot roast. Those are things that we want because that's what we had because our ma's.
Julie Masino
Made well, I think it's just what we do. Well at Cracker Barrel. Right? We're playing our game our way, giving you delicious country hospitality all at a great price.
Marc Benioff
And at the same time, you're doing, I know that you're doing some favorites that people really love.
Julie Masino
Yes.
Marc Benioff
The fried apple French toast and the cinnamon swirl French toast breakfast. Those truly resonate. Shepherd's pie. These resonate. How did you know what resonates versus what does?
Julie Masino
We talk to our guests, we talk to our team members. We really say what's uniquely Cracker Barrel? What's a space that we can own that nobody else is in, that feels like us, that we can really deliver on and deliver our great food in a country hospitality that is so right.
Marc Benioff
That's how you have to do it. I want to thank Julie Massino, president CEO of Cracker Barrel. The turn is here. The turn is here. You just heard it. Everyone is back here.
Mark Klaus
Coming up, Kramer's digging into how one iconic American brand is cooking up change in the boardroom and beyond. He's got an exclusive with the CEO Next. Pandora makes it easy for you to find your favorite music. Discover new artists and genres by selecting any song or album, and we'll make you a personalized station for free download.
Marc Benioff
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Mark Klaus
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Marc Benioff
For years, CEO Mark Clouse has worked tirelessly to orchestrate a turnaround at Campbell Soup. Now notice the Campbell's company. I'd say he's done a pretty darn good job. Although that's harder to tell from the stock because it's been pummeled in recent months. That that's mostly thanks to the rotation out of defensive consumer staples. They're all having that happen. Last night though, we learned that Klaus era is coming to an end. He's taking over as president of the NFL Washington Commanders with Mick Bakehouse and currently the president of meals and beverages, becoming the new CEO that's effective Feb1. Bittersweet on both accounts. I love what Mark has done to turn around the old Campbells and I love that he was a fan of the Philadelphia Eagles. But when you're a sports fan like we both are and you get a chance to get to be a honcho at any NFL team, you take it now. Cable supported mixed quarter that's not a slight revenue miss coupled with a modest earnings beat. Management reiterated every line of their full year forecast data stock got hit hard, down more than 6%. Though I can't tell if that's a response, the quarter or the leadership change. But you know what? I can tell it's more of the latter. Let's take a closer look with Mark Klaus. He's the now outgoing president CEO of Campbell's company. To learn more. Mark, congratulations on the new job and welcome back to Mad Money.
Mark Klaus
Thanks, Jim. Great to be here with you tonight.
Marc Benioff
Mark, your leadership, what you brought to the company, what you bring to the ranks of business people will be sorely missed when you go to a private company. But I think you got to be proud of what Campbell's has become. What are the highlights of what you've been able to accomplish during your tenure?
Mark Klaus
Yeah. Thank you, Jim. Well, first of all, obviously in a journey like we've been on at Campbell's over the last six years, this is in no way a one person show. It's a tremendous team. I believe strongly I've got the best leadership team in all of the industry. And I think we have worked very well together to really transform the company and get it ready for this next chapter within the industry. We talk a lot about having all of the pieces now in place to really set the standard in food going forward. And so when I look at it, I think about culture and team, I think about portfolio transformation. You look at the businesses and the brands we have today, we have moved dramatically from where we were so six years ago. And as I think about the capabilities and our track record of performance, doing what we say and delivering on our objectives has been a critical part of the story over these last six years. So I couldn't be more excited about it. And to be quite frank, I couldn't have entertained leaving if I didn't think we were in this position and ready.
Marc Benioff
For, I would say, Mark, is that the travails of being a modern day food and beverage CEO, I've never seen anything like it. Salty snacks, incredibly hot. Then salty snacks cools a little bit People don't like canned soup, then canned soup comes back. Rails was a great acquisition. Maybe five years ago, it wouldn't have been. How do you explain the changing tastes and styles of the American public?
Mark Klaus
Yeah, look, this is a dynamic job and a dynamic industry that we're in, but I think if you follow the track of our industry over time, we have a great history of evolving with the dynamics of consumers. And in any moment that we as an industry experience some of these changes in taste or profile or what a consumer may be looking for as it relates to health and wellness or different occasions in the day, this is an industry that has demonstrated the ability to respond. And I think Campbell's, as I look at what we've built now in the portfolio, I think we're very well positioned. If I think about major trends in food right now, whether it's looking for elevated exp. Experiences, things that are a bit more premium, a little bit less trade off, these are where our brands live. If I look at convenience and value as another key areas of growth, you know, our meals and beverage portfolio lives in that space very well. And so what I really feel like we've done and I think the industry will continue to do is to evolve to meet those trends. And I think we're well positioned within that space to be ready for this next chapter.
Marc Benioff
I think the Rails was. Was brillian, but I too have been surprised about how brilliant it was. Why did that work so well?
Mark Klaus
Yeah, I think honestly, you have a product that is just that unique and that special. And at the end of the day, in food, right, we talk a lot about the marketing and the promotion and all of the variables that go into it. But at the end of the day, this is about experience for the consumers. And this product just is special. And it lives in a space that meets so many needs for consumers. And when you match that quality with that important convenience and occasion of meeting what mom needs for dinner, it creates a powerful story. And I think that's what Rails has really done. And at the end of the day, the team has done a masterful job of building the brand, expanding it, driving innovation, and all of it built on this foundation of incredible quality.
Marc Benioff
Now, you know, I can't resist going there. I think you're wearing already a bit of a commander's outfit, at least when it comes to the shirt. I want people to know. And my friend Dave Tepper was like this. He was a Pittsburgh fan, but the. But the Panthers. Panthers business came up, it was a franchise, and he took it You. Is it mixed that you and I both know your Eagles fan, Kelsey, has been such a great spokesperson for you? I don't know. I mean, Josh Harris, I know he's the owner. He's a great owner of a basketball team in Philadelphia. What is it like to have to kind of switch allegiances even though we both know the NFL is the king?
Mark Klaus
Yeah, look, I am. I am immensely grateful to Josh Harris and the ownership group of the Washington Commanders. This is an opportunity that I really see coming around once in a lifetime, and I could not be more excited about what that team is doing. You know, Adam Peters, Dan Quinn, doing an amazing job on the football field. I'm excited to come in and support them and support the team at the Commanders to build what I think is one of the greatest potentials in the. In the NFL. NFL. And so when I think about what am I excited about, I'm excited about being part of that. And as much as Jason Kelsey, I love and has been a great partner for the cables company, I am all in on the Washington Commanders. Got my burgundy and goal ready to go, and it's raised hail time now, and I'll have to forget all that. Go, birds.
Marc Benioff
Well, let's see what Josh, I've met you. Was he more attracted the fact that you were distinguished vet, or do you care more about what you've done with Campbell's? What was the attraction both back and forth?
Mark Klaus
Yeah, it's been a great opportunity for me being here in Philadelphia and Camden and being in such close proximity to the Sixer organization and the Harris Blitzer organization. And I've had a chance to get to know Josh. I've gotten no Tad Brown, who's the CEO of Harris Blitzer, and David Blitzer as well. And I think what really, you know, struck that kind of match is very similar values, very similar drive and purpose for building winning organizations and cultures. And I think the fact that we've had the kind of success we've had at Campbell's while also having a background and a track record and doing that in some different and unique environments, I think that combination fits well with what they're trying to do with the Commander organization. But I think at the end of the day, I just couldn't be more excited to be part of that value system that Josh and the other owners of the Commanders have really put in place and excited to be part of that here in a couple months.
Marc Benioff
I have to like Josh very much and the team and the owners and, you know, look, I don't think you would have gone there under the old guys. I certainly know that this is the right spot for you. Mark Klaus, President CEO of Campbell's Company. I'll miss you, buddy. You know what? I'll miss you.
Mark Klaus
I'll miss you too, Jim. And hey, look forward to seeing you at those Eagles Commander games.
Marc Benioff
Enjoy the bye week. I'll talk to you soon. Okay, thanks. Everybody's back after the break.
Mark Klaus
Coming up, cybersecurity company Okta's on the move after earnings. Kramer's identifying what's driving the identity software company higher with the CEO next.
Marc Benioff
Just over three months ago, we got a pretty good quarter from Octa Cybersecurity Play. It's one of the leading players in identity verification. I might say even the leading player. But because one line of their guidance came in a little light, the stock got obliterated, falling nearly 18% in a single day. I told you I thought it was just a ridiculous overreaction. You don't want to bet against quality cybersecurity outfits in this environment. Octa is one of them. Sure enough, when the company report again last night, it shut the lights out there very solid top and bottom line. Beat Management also raising their full year forecast across the board. Turns out business is booming. Even though they made some cautious comments about a challenging macro environment, still wasn't the stock from finishing the day up more than 5%. Can you keep running? Let's check in with Tom McKinnon. He's the co founder and CEO of Okta. Get a better read on the quarter and what's next. McKinnon, welcome back to bed, buddy.
Todd McKinnon
Thanks for having me, Jim. It's great to be back, Todd.
Marc Benioff
Yet some spectacular numbers here. And one of the things that really shocked me was the government is finally seeming to realize the threat act, the threat actors out there in an environment which you said was probably the worst ever, is the government finally spending enough to make it so that we should feel safer?
Todd McKinnon
It's not just the government. Every industry, every company is starting to realize that identity is security. And they're starting to understand that 8 out of 10 cyber breaches are caused by a phished password or a reused password or some kind of identity attack. And the government is investing to solve these problems. They're investing in and modern identity systems that are adaptive and integrated. And when you look at our quarter of our top 10 deals, five of them were in the US federal government. So like a lot of industries and companies, they're investing in because they know cybersecurity is critical and they know identity is the key to get there.
Marc Benioff
Well, Todd, when I hear that, I always think, what were they thinking? What kind of protection did they have?
Todd McKinnon
Well, it's the traditional way of securing things was you make sure you have antivirus on your computer and you make sure you have a good firewall and you call it a day. But that's not good enough anymore. With everyone working from home with people using cloud applications, you really have to have all three. You have to have incredibly solid identity protection. You have to have great multifactor authentication, phishing resistant multifactor authentication. You have to have solid endpoint and solid network security. It's that that triumvirate of security technologies that's really key is something called zero trust. And everyone is getting on board with that and investing to make it a reality.
Marc Benioff
Does Microsoft have that? You've got an interesting slide this time. Page 16. Octave is superior choice versus Microsoft every time. Does Microsoft offer all those three?
Todd McKinnon
It's the tale of two worldviews. Microsoft's worldview is buy everything from Microsoft. Get your computer, get your security technology, get your applications, get your cloud infrastructure. We have a very different worldview. We think that customers should have choice. We think that you should choose the best endpoint security product, that's CrowdStrike or something else. You should choose that. If you want to choose the best applications to collaborate, if you want to choose the best cloud infrastructure, our identity technology is going to connect you to it all and give you choice of flexibility and neutrality and lead you to great outcomes. Great outcomes comes for your business, for growing revenue, for having great user experience, and most important, to keep it all secure.
Marc Benioff
Well, look, I think that we had Mark Benioff on last night talking about Copilot. Maybe not working, but you get it. It comes with the process. So when I listen to what you're saying, you get Microsoft. Microsoft is really huge. And I always think that people say, hey, I did it with Microsoft. I didn't do anything wrong. That was like the way I remember IBM used to be. If I didn't use IBM, well, you know what? I did the best. That's still good enough. Is it?
Todd McKinnon
Well, the world's changed and especially we'll narrow it down. We're talking about the broad technology landscape, but we narrow it down into the world of cyber. So cyber is. It sounds basic, but it's adversarial. People are trying to attack you. So that means that if you have everything from one vendor, you don't have that layered resilience of a best of breed ecosystem that's going to keep you more secure. So that's why it's very important. Something we're investing heavily in is to make sure we have robust and complete integrations to be able to share risk assessments and risk signals and take actions when there is an issue in any part of your infrastructure, to make sure your entire infrastructure, your entire cyber ecosystem is aware of that and can keep you defended.
Marc Benioff
Now, do you think you mentioned at the beginning of your conference call threat environment has never been more hostile? Todd, I don't hear as many public big issues right now. Are there others? Maybe I'm missing it. I don't, I don't hear big hacks. We did hear them, of course, and you're quite familiar. But I want to know whether things have calmed down at all. And the same time you say things are more hostile.
Todd McKinnon
I think there's. You just look at the data and the amount of ransomware and the amount of breaches. It is bigger than ever. And also if you go around the world, I was in Australia a couple weeks ago, they're talking about big breaches there. It's global, it's impactful. I think one of the reasons, Jim, it might not sound like as many is because we're all getting used to it. We're all getting a little numb to it, but it doesn't mean the stakes aren't high and it's up to all of us to stay protected.
Marc Benioff
Well, when it gets numb like that, the worst things happen. One of the things we're very excited about is Gen AI and we're really excited about Asian Force for instance. We're really excited about Agentix. I didn't even think until I read your stuff off. For Gen AI we should be not only just be excited, but we should be a little bit more concerned about these new, let's say, brilliant bots.
Todd McKinnon
Yeah, we have pretty good technical standards for when a person logs into a website or a mobile app. How to do that in a way that uses biometrics and can't be phished and can't be attacked. We don't have the equivalent for agents. An agent by definition logs into multiple systems on your behalf. And the problem with in a lot of these agent frameworks, they have the equivalent of the passwords written on the sticky notes on the monitor inside the agent. They don't have a good standard for doing secure phishing resistant authentication into all the systems they're connecting to you on your behalf. As you can guess, that's not great from a security perspective, because if one of these agents gets compromised, then the person that compromises the agent then has access to all those systems, your calendar and your bank account and all the things that these agents are going to do on our behalf. And that's a problem. So we're trying to help solve that problem with a product we call auth4gen AI. And it's really trying to help set some standards on how this industry should work in a more secure way.
Marc Benioff
Is anyone else competing with you on that?
Todd McKinnon
I think the whole world is rushing to figure out how to build the right platforms and building different pieces of the platforms to make this possible. So I would say it's more of a industry collaboration to define the next development platform for agents. And we're trying to do our partners.
Marc Benioff
Now, I know you're winning some really big deals. I have to believe that some of them are just from these global system integrators. Because I wouldn't know if I were a major CEO, my job was to make cookies or my job was to make soda. I would not necessarily know how to get worried about identity theft. They're going to GSIS and those GSI's are going to you.
Todd McKinnon
You hit the nail on the head there. These CEOs and these boards, they know a lot. And one of the things they know is in most times they have technology that they've amassed in different waves and different generations of technology over 30, 40, 50 years. So it's incredibly complex. And then at the same time, they know that there's this revolution in AI and agents and chatbots and they want to take advantage of that and they want to be on board with all that innovation and driving their companies. And they also know that cyber is a huge issue. So the global systems integrators are key to help them understand this all and put it all together. And we're lucky enough to work with all the best global systems integrators to be the identity partner of choice. So when they go in there and try to modernize, help these companies modernize their tech stack, part of the things they're doing is modernizing their identity stack. And we're the clear leader. That's the only modern, independent, neutral identity player. And that's why they're turning to us. And that definitely part of our strong results of the top 10 deals in the quarter, they all involve some kind of partner. So that's an important part of our strategy and it's good to see it pay well.
Marc Benioff
I think that you, that you deserve to hear Congratulations on a great quarter or I think the first of a very long stretch because you are the clear leader in this space, as you say, or else these integrators would not be picking you. They know more than we do. I want to thank Todd McKinney's co founder, chairperson, person and CEO of OCTA. Todd, welcome back.
Todd McKinnon
Thanks for having me, Jim.
Marc Benioff
Absolutely. I'll talk to you soon. Me and Bunny's back after the break.
Mark Klaus
Coming up, Kramer takes your calls. And the sky's the limit. It's a fast fire lightning round.
Marc Benioff
Next. You know there's a million reasons why I love my job. But I really think one of the most meaningful things I've ever done is start up the CNBC investing club. It is a labor of love and many people everywhere I go tell me they have learned so much about how to invest the right way. Tonight I'm giving you this alert. I want to share a special offer with my dedicated viewers who are interested in learning how to build long term wealth. Our goal with me, we're offering our best deal of the year for one more day. That's it. Simply scan the QR code here or visit cnbc.comkramerclub to sign up today. I think you'll be very glad you did. And that's it. Last chance. And now it is time. It is time for the lightning round and then the lightning round is over. Are you you ready ski daddy? Cover the light round. Crazy. Let's start with Bretton California.
Jeff
Brett Dr. Jim Fitness. Kramer, I don't think your callers know how disciplined you are with your fitness.
Marc Benioff
Thank you. Thank you. What's happening my friend?
Jeff
I'm Brett Schrepp of California. I'm disciplined with my body, I'm disciplined with my diet. I'm disciplined who I dare. I'm a long term investor and you're a legend. What is your opinion on alsm Allison.
Marc Benioff
Train story company Terrific does it does great. But let me tell you something. At 117 with the 14 times earnings I actually would prefer you to swap out right now and go to be with Mary Barr at GM cheaper and will be just as good. Let's go to Dom in Pennsylvania. Dom.
Jeff
Hey Jim, just a few months ago I bought a stock around like $15 a share. And recent news with stocks going nuclear I was looking into it. What do you think about nanonuclear energy?
Marc Benioff
No earnings. I do believe in the nuclear story which why I say GE BR Nova. But let me tell you what to do. Right now, right here, tomorrow I Want you to take out almost all of your cost bases and let the rest run. Then you can never lose money. And how happy is that? What is that? That's called nirvana. Let's go to Howard, New York. Howard.
Jeff
Hello Jim Howard. Hi Jim. I'm a first time caller, long term listener. Just want to thank you and your team for all that you do for the individual investor and you really helped make me a better investor.
Marc Benioff
Well, that's what I want to do. You make me feel terrific about saying that. Thank you. I'm so glad you said it. Thank you.
Jeff
And now I'm going to turn you over to my 12 year old grandson Parker who's a big fan of yours also and he'll ask you about the soccer interest.
Marc Benioff
Excellent. Our stock is a profitable infrastructure company involved in technology and other fields. The stock is Sterling Infrastructure. This kid's got horses this stock up to 120%. Now I will tell you, Sterling Infrastructure Reeds is a lot like a lot of other companies. It is living off I think a lot of the federal money that's been spent. So I don't want to get greedy here. It is just the two points off of its high. I say you take some off the table. Okay. And because I like this kid, take some off the table and let the rest run. I think you got your whole life ahead of it. Let the rest run. Okay, let's go to Prakash in California. Prakash.
Todd McKinnon
Hey.
Jeff
Hi Jim. Like my name is Prakash from California, I'm investing club member and like I learned a lot and I have simple strategy. If you buy hundred, I buy 50 or less. If you sell 100, I sell 50 or less. So that is my simple strategy. My portfolio is 60 more than 60% in one and a half years. So thank you for that, you are a great man.
Marc Benioff
Oh, thank you. No, I got to stay humble because there's things I don't do good either. But thank you so much for that. How can we do make money now?
Jeff
Yeah, I the question is I gone out of the way and I bought Miras M R U S and I don't know what to do with this stock.
Marc Benioff
Like okay, now this is a stock, you know, you and I both know because we've been around together looking at each other. This is one of those things that it may not work out. They do have some good news. They have FDA approval of a drug but it is still very, very speculative. And that ladies and gentlemen, conclusion of the Lightning round.
Mark Klaus
The Lightning round is sponsored by Charles Schwab. Coming up as Averages blow past record after record. How can investors know what names could explode higher? Kramer's explaining how this market is sending unexpected stocks soaring next.
Marc Benioff
Most markets are like giant games of whack a mole. Stocks pop up and they're whacked down almost immediately by sellers using mouth sell, sell, sell, sell. That's not what is happening in this market though. In fact, it's the opposite these days. Stocks start bubbling up like Old Faithful. The ground shakes, the steam builds. Next thing you know, there's these geysers of points that shoot at the sky like clockwork. They can't be stopped now there are spouts of faith bringing up all the time spewing points for anyone who wants them. I can't say there's predictables Old Faithful which when I went to see it with my kids this summer, went off at intervals of 56 and 58 minutes. But there's a different, more exciting kind of predictability here. We know that some stocks are just going to roar, but we just don't know which ones at what time. What they sure expect that Marvel Tech if Marvel Tech reports a great number, we know that's going to go off. Same with Salesforce. That goes off to those were today's bonanzas. But I spent a lot of my time during each session trying to track down why some stocks just exploded without provocation. I mean, why did Palo Alto and CrowdStrike sore 3 and 4% respectively out of Nowher? Who knows? We get that Amazon roared higher. We know that they're having excellent holiday season. Maybe it's their partnership with Marvell Tech. Is that driving it? Nvidia wasn't going anywhere. Opened at 142, then fell to 140. But then as if by magic, it rocketed 145. Great reaction to Marvel in response to use cases brought by Salesforce, Agent X or just some seller who finally finished. Then we got all these one offs. Consider them walk on to some weird game of college football. Edwards Life Science has been more bun for age changes to the stock screens. 5.7% upbeat outlook given to some brokerage house. Chipotle suddenly gets gunned up nearly 5% because it raised prices and no one seems to care. Sometimes we don't even bother to pay attention to these endless rallies. Does anyone even care anymore? The Royal Caribbean was up another 4 points today. Stocks almost doubled for the year at this point. How about Block AKA Square? That's been a laggard of late. So let's send it up 6% just to keep it up there with the firm in upstart up more than 45 and 80% of the year respectively. Probably. We take some things for granted, don't we? Oh, and don't forget Reddit up another 3%. Oh, Apple ovens up its usual 7 points, befitting its new found $132 billion status. Whatever the heck it does. Kidding. It gets so crazy that when the stock of Palantir, one of the great performers of our new era, went from being up to being down today, it was like Old faithful got Captain thrown for a loss. Turns out open air may be moving into the defense space. I think that will prove to be a merely a glancing blow to Palantir. You could buy it tomorrow for its regular scheduled blowoff. Got to love it. Be there, be square or block or whatever. Oh, and the averages up for 10 out of 11 days. Record high after record high. I mean, what the heck is that? I'll tell you what it is. The sellers with the whack a mole mallets, they seem to have disappeared, left the building, the IPOs, all their new stock supply, they're nowhere to be seen Now. CNBC investing club members know this market has gotten overbought and we trim stocks for the travel trust when we get overbought. What if you get your bulletins? You know we're not being complacent. And if you're a club member, you know not to be either. We feel greedy at these levels. Greed is bad, especially if you're running. Terrible choice where you can see my moves before I make them. But let me tell you, I think this market's business. It's just not business as usual. And if you think it is business as usual, you're out of your mind. This market is like no other. You never know when the next geyser is going to go off. And for just a bystander of old faithful, it's painful. It's painful. So get out the watch. Maybe you wait 57 more minutes to this crazy, wild, insane tape. You know what? You may just catch the next big one. I like to say there's always a bull market somewhere, and it's right here. And I promise to find in the next one for you. I'm Jim Cramer.
Mark Klaus
I'll see you tomorrow.
Jim Cramer
All opinions expressed by Jim Cramer on this podcast are solely Kramer's opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC, NBCUniversal or their parent company or affiliate and may have been previously disseminated by Kremer 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. Kramer'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 do you ever watch TV and think, wow, I'm really good at this? You're right. With rewards on Sling. Watching 30 minutes of TV daily gives you chances to win up to $10,000 in cash and other monthly prizes. Sign up for Sling or Stream for free with Sling Free Stream to get rewarded for watching TV. Sling lets you do that. Visit sling.com to learn more and get started. No purchase necessary for it. We're prohibited by law. Visit sling.com for more details.
Mad Money w/ Jim Cramer – Episode Summary (12/4/24)
Release Date: December 5, 2024
Host: CNBC’s Jim Cramer
Timestamp: 01:00 – 09:29
Jim Cramer opens the episode by delving into the transformative impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the stock market, highlighting Salesforce's impressive 11% rally as a prime example. He discusses his conversation with Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, emphasizing the tangible benefits AI is bringing to businesses. Cramer asserts, "I believe that the reality behind the buzzwords may exceed expectations, perhaps even dramatically," (03:15) underscoring his optimistic outlook on AI-driven growth.
Key Points:
Timestamp: 13:48 – 20:43
Jim Cramer interviews Julie Masino, President and CEO of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, to discuss the company's impressive turnaround. Masino shares insights into strategic initiatives such as the introduction of "Early Dine" and significant store remodels, which have driven both sales and customer satisfaction.
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Timestamp: 21:48 – 29:58
Jim Cramer engages in a detailed conversation with Mark Klaus, the outgoing President and CEO of Campbell’s Company, who is transitioning to become the President of the NFL's Washington Commanders. Klaus reflects on his tenure at Campbell’s, highlighting cultural transformation, portfolio diversification, and successful brand management.
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Key Points:
Timestamp: 30:18 – 38:55
Todd McKinnon, Co-founder and CEO of Okta, joins Jim Cramer to discuss the escalating threats in the cybersecurity landscape and how Okta is addressing these challenges. McKinnon highlights the importance of identity verification in combating cyber breaches and outlines Okta's strategic initiatives in the AI-driven security arena.
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Timestamp: 39:00 – 43:34
In the high-energy Lightning Round, Jim Cramer takes calls from listeners, providing swift analyses and opinions on various stocks. This segment is characterized by rapid-fire advice and candid assessments.
Notable Interactions:
Caller Jeff (40:33): "What is your opinion on alsm Allison?"
Cramer: "At 117 with the 14 times earnings, I would prefer you to swap out right now and go to be with Mary Barr at GM."
Caller Prakash (42:35): "I bought Miras M R U S and I don't know what to do with this stock."
Cramer: "It's still very speculative. That's called nirvana."
Key Points:
Timestamp: 44:01 – 47:26
Jim Cramer wraps up the episode by discussing the current bullish market trends, comparing them to the predictable eruptions of Old Faithful. He emphasizes the importance of identifying "bull markets" within the broader trend to capitalize on potential gains.
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Key Points:
In this episode, Jim Cramer provides a comprehensive analysis of the current investment landscape, highlighting the transformative role of AI in driving stock performance, particularly with Salesforce. Through insightful interviews with industry leaders like Julie Masino and Mark Klaus, listeners gain valuable perspectives on successful business turnarounds and strategic leadership transitions. Todd McKinnon’s discussion on cybersecurity underscores the critical importance of robust identity management in today’s digital age. The engaging Lightning Round and market outlook further equip investors with actionable advice and a positive outlook on market opportunities.
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Disclaimer: All opinions expressed by Jim Cramer on this podcast are solely Cramer’s opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC, NBCUniversal, or their parent companies or affiliates. This summary is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice.