Mad Money w/ Jim Cramer 1/28/26

Summary

Mad Money w/ Jim Cramer – January 29, 2026 Episode Summary

Episode Overview

On this episode, Jim Cramer dives deep into the main drivers of the current stock market, especially as they relate to shortages versus gluts—a theme he argues is the "true north" for investors this earnings season. Cramer analyzes the performance of key sectors and companies, giving his trademark “buy/sell/hold” guidance, conducts engaging CEO interviews (ServiceNow, Levi Strauss, Teva Pharmaceuticals), and concludes with the rapid-fire “Lightning Round.” The show is lively, full of direct and colorful advice, insider-level business strategy talk, and actionable investing takeaways.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Shortages vs. Gluts: The Driving Force in Markets (Starts at 01:27)

• Shortages Rule. Gluts Kill. Jim urges investors to always ask: “Is there a shortage or a glut of what the company sells?” If a shortage—buy. If a glut—run.
  • “Shortages are the true north. Gluts are the kiss of death.” – Jim Cramer [01:32]
• Market Performance Recap: DOW up 12 points, S&P down slightly, NASDAQ up.
• Federal Reserve Recap: Not much news from Fed Chair Powell; focus remains on company fundamentals, not macro headlines.

Gold vs. Silver

• Gold: Major breakout due to chronic supply constraints; recommends staying long gold, especially miners operating in jurisdictions like Canada (e.g., Agnico Eagle).
  • “They don’t call it precious for nothing. Plus, most of the gold is in places that are, let’s just say, not so great for doing business.” – Jim Cramer [02:47]
• Silver: Might be manipulated; apparent “artificial shortage.” Advises caution and “sell, sell, sell” due to possible price collapse.

Tech Shortages: Data Storage Boom

• Data Center Storage: Unprecedented shortage highlighted by Micron & Seagate. Long lead times (4+ years) to build memory foundries point to sustained pricing power and rising earnings.
• Stock Moves: Seagate +19%, Micron and Texas Instruments also surging. Expecting Western Digital & SanDisk to benefit.
  • “It takes about four years to build a plant that can make memory devices. So I think the shortage lasts for some time.” – Jim Cramer [04:58]
• Insight: Stocks making components in short supply are the market’s best performers.

Power Generation Comeback

• Rise of data centers equals soaring electricity demand, reviving the prospects for companies like GE Vernova (spinoff from General Electric), now a global growth story.
  • “Power generation became a tough business…now it’s one of the biggest growth stories in the world.” [06:04]

---

2. Earnings Season Highlights: The "Magnificent Seven" & More (Starts around 06:45)

• Microsoft: Beat earnings, but shares dropped due to high AI-related capital expenditures. Market not fully convinced.
  • “Their capex budget…up 66% year-over-year. That’s not what the market wants.” [08:00]
• Meta (Facebook): Huge beat on earnings/revenue, huge spending on AI, but confident in continued operating income growth.
• Tesla: Production/delivery below expectations, but strong Q4 numbers and $1.4B in free cash flow sent stock higher. “A beast that wants to roar higher.”
• IBM: Now being called part of a “Magnificent Eight” after a strong report, strong software revenues, attractive valuation.
• LAM Research: Semicap equipment continues to surge.

Bottom Line:

• "The best performers in the entire stock market…are companies that you may never have heard of. They make things that are in short supply. Their stocks keep soaring. The rest of tech – mixed bag." – Jim Cramer [09:39]

---

3. Caller Q&A Highlights (From 09:42 and 10:20)

• Texas Pacific Land (TPL): Possible data center land play but too tied to oil and gas for Cramer’s taste: “Not my favorite. It's a spec.”
• Netflix: Cramer still bullish, likes the management, notes upside potential.
• DraftKings: Likes the company but sees growth constrained until major states legalize gambling.
• Shortage/Glut Reminder: “Sometimes it’s as simple as a company like Meta blowing away the numbers.” – Cramer [11:23]

---

4. Interview: Bill McDermott, CEO of ServiceNow (14:45–22:58)

Key Segments

• ServiceNow’s Growth: Fastest enterprise software co. to $1B, $5B, $10B, $15B+ (organic). Operating at “rule of 57” (revenue growth + free cash flow margin).
  • “We have a once in a generation platform…winning.” – Bill McDermott [15:03]
• AI’s Impact on Business Model: Not cannibalized by AI; rather, integrates with leading models (OpenAI, Anthropic), adds value through workflow automation.
  • “There’s a meaningful difference between giving enterprises access to an AI model and building that model into workflows where real decisions are made.” – Bill McDermott, quoting Dario at Anthropic [16:30]
• Seats & Consumption: Growing monthly active users +25% yoY. TAM up from $90B to $600B since 2019.
• Buyback: Announced $5B repurchase, $2B starts immediately as “accelerated repurchase.” McDermott notes his personal comp is all stock.
• Security Expansion: Acquisition of Armis for real-time, agentless security/data classification—a key growth area.
  • Memorable Quote: “Cybercrime is forecast to cost the world $1 trillion a month. If that was an economy, it would be third only behind the U.S. and China.” – Bill McDermott [22:20]

---

5. Interview: Michelle Gass, CEO of Levi Strauss (24:56–32:27)

• Direct-to-Consumer Focus: DTC now half of Levi’s business; 15 quarters of comp growth in this channel. E-comm +22%. "We've rewired the company to operate as a best-in-class retailer."
• Brand Expansion: Transitioning Levi’s from just jeans to full denim lifestyle (tops, dresses, etc.). Strong women’s growth (now 38% of biz, with runway toward 50%).
  • “It’s our responsibility to continue to drive results. …Head to toe denim lifestyle…That strategy is working and it's expanding our addressable market.” – Michelle Gass [29:15]
• Super Bowl Activation: Hosting at Levi’s Stadium, new national campaign; expects brand lift and ROI.
• APAC Growth: Underpenetrated in Asia, with strong momentum in markets like Japan and India.

---

6. Interview: Richard Francis, CEO of Teva Pharmaceuticals (32:53–39:54)

• From Generic Leader to Innovator: Teva’s moved from “me-too” generics to tackling hardest neurological diseases (schizophrenia, migraine, Huntington’s).
  • “Neurology and CNS is a huge challenge, but it's a huge opportunity. …That’s where we have the biggest impact.” – Richard Francis [33:58]
• Tardive Dyskinesia (TD): Astedo far exceeding previous sales expectations. Massive untreated population; campaign to raise awareness.
• Migraine Franchise: Sales up 30%; reclaiming market share from bigger competitors.
• Pipeline Growth: Launching four products in five years. Long-acting olanzapine for schizophrenia seen as transformative.
• 2026 as Breakout Year: Expecting 7 milestones in innovative pipeline (neurology, immunology, oncology).
• Not Frightened of Failure: “We play to win and we'll deal with failure when it happens. But we don't let that intimidate us not to do things.” – Francis [39:08]

---

7. Lightning Round (40:12–43:42)

• Robinhood: A buy, “captured the imagination of young people.”
• Satellic Inc. (SATL): Parabolic—good for speculation, do your homework.
• Energy Transfer (ET): Buy, strong yield, pipeline company.
• Software Stocks: Enterprise software (like ServiceNow) better positioned, but broad sector feels “like wearing cement galoshes.”
• Lithium Americas: Too speculative for Cramer’s taste; “not lithium people.”

---

8. End-of-Show Segment: Starbucks Turnaround (43:56–47:18)

• Key Takeaway: Brian Niccol credited with turnaround—Starbucks now capable of getting customers coffee in four minutes or less by streamlining processes and cutting the menu 25-30%.
• Customer Traffic Up: Rewards and non-rewards transactions both rising—a first in several quarters.
• New Product Strategy: Focused on health/wellness, protein drinks, digital menu boards.
  • “You aren't going to turn Starbucks around by layering on even more difficult to make drinks, which slows down everything.” – Cramer [46:39]
• Stock Long-Term Outlook: “If you don’t own any, I think this turn is solid and long lasting and the price is going to be right.”

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Shortages are the true north. Gluts are the kiss of death.” – Jim Cramer [01:32]
• “They don’t call it precious for nothing…most of the gold is in places that are, let’s just say, not so great for doing business.” – Jim Cramer [02:47]
• “The best performers…are companies that you may never have heard of. They make things that are in short supply.” – Jim Cramer [09:39]
• “We have a once in a generation platform…winning.” – Bill McDermott, ServiceNow CEO [15:03]
• “Cybercrime is forecast to cost the world $1 trillion a month. If that was an economy, it would be third only behind the U.S. and China.” – Bill McDermott [22:20]
• “We play to win and we'll deal with failure when it happens. But we don't let that intimidate us not to do things.” – Richard Francis, Teva CEO [39:08]
• “You aren't going to turn Starbucks around by layering on even more difficult to make drinks, which slows down everything.” – Jim Cramer [46:39]

---

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:27] – Jim Cramer’s monologue: Shortages vs. Gluts
• [04:00] – Tech/data storage shortage discussion and top stock movers
• [06:45] – “Magnificent 7” earnings highlights (Microsoft, Meta, Tesla, IBM)
• [09:42] – Opening Q&A with callers
• [14:45] – ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott interview
• [24:56] – Levi Strauss CEO Michelle Gass interview
• [32:53] – Teva Pharmaceuticals CEO Richard Francis interview
• [40:12] – Lightning Round
• [43:56] – Starbucks turnaround and closing remarks

---

Final Takeaways

Cramer’s 2026 show is laser-focused: look for shortages, avoid gluts, and bet on execution—be it in AI-leveraged enterprise software, rapidly evolving pharma, consumer brand reinvention, or companies making the back-end infrastructure of the modern economy. Beware of old narratives—innovators are showing up in surprising places.

If you want growth, follow the shortages!

Transcript

[A]

USAA knows dynamic duos can save the day like superheroes and sidekicks or auto and home insurance. With usaa, you can bundle your auto and home and save up to 10%. Tap the banner to learn more and get a [e-mail] bundle restrictions apply. Homes.com knows that when it comes to home shopping, it's never just about the house or condo. It's about the home. And what makes a home is more than just the house or property. It's the location and neighborhood. If you have kids, it's also schools, nearby, parks and transportation options. That's why homes.com goes above and beyond to bring home shoppers the in depth information they need to find the right home. And when I say in depth, I'm talking deep. Each listing features comprehensive information about the neighborhood, complete with a video guide. They also have details about local schools with test scores, state rankings and student to teacher ratio. They even have an agent directory with the sales history of each agent. So when it comes to finding a home, not just a house, this is everything you need to know all in1place.homes.com We've done your homework.

[B]

Hey, I'm Kramer. Welcome to Mad Money. Welcome to Kramerica. Other people made friends. I'm just trying to make you a little money. My job is not just to teach, to educate, to make it all make some sense. So call me at 1-800-743-CBC. Tweet me, Kramer. When in doubt, ask if there's a shortage or a glut of what the company in question sells is. If it's the former, then you can buy. And if it's the latter, you better get out of Dodge. That's the best cheat sheet I can offer you at this point in earnings season. Shortages are the true north. Glutz are the kiss of death. And you know what? The average themselves, they don't tell you that. Dow inching up 12 points. S&P declining point of 1%. NASDAQ advancing point 1. 7%. Now, I know that on a day like today where the Fed meets, even if decided nothing, you can usually count on Fed chief Jay Powell to control the action. But this result was not particularly surprising. And Powell didn't give us a lot to go on beyond assuring us that the economy's on firm footing, he didn't matter. When I look at the scoreboard for this period, who has the wins and who has the losses, though, it's all about the shortages versus clutch, especially for tech. So listen to me. First about gold. It was a huge Huge win again today. We just don't have enough of it. You think that with all the miners out there the supply of gold would grow 2, 3 or 4% a year, right? Nope. The miners only grow the supply by 1%. They don't call precious for nothing. Plus most of the gold is in places that are, let's just say, not so great for doing business. I like Agnico Eagle. They were on the other night second largest gold miner because almost all of their gold is in Canada, a normal developed country. Now the gold is broken out above $5,400 an ounce and I'm telling you it is not done yet. Many of the other gold havens in Africa and Asia seem attractive, but it doesn't take much for those governments to break contracts or just seize the assets directly. A mine in Mali was recently taken over by the government. Bond managers were detained. The standoff ended up with Barrick Mining paying a huge fine. That's really dented their earnings. Bit of a shakedown. Both A Deco Eagle and back were up huge today. I would keep the gold. I'm a gold bug from way back. Bye bye bye. Silver, on the other hand, could be experiencing an artificial shortage. As our commodities expert Carly Garner told us last night. She said this action looks like a corner, a manipulation even if silver is a plentiful metal, something that could collapse if the alleged corner blows up. Sell, sell, sell. We've got a big shortage in tech. One that truly unlike anything I've ever seen. It's about storage and memory, specifically data storage. We just don't have enough of it for the data centers that are being put up all over this country and the world. We've heard this theme now from Micron and from Seagate last night. The former maker of sophisticated memory chips and the latter is known for more reasonably price common commodity disruption. Stocks are just, you can't even think boom. Micron's doing everything it can to alleviate the shortage. Sanjay Miroja, the effervescent CEO seems to be breaking ground everywhere. Must be carrying shovels to put up new foundries. But you can't put these up overnight. They take years. They're just way too complicated. In this situation where you have in videos new high end chips spewing data, Micron has absurd pricing power. So to Seagate, which last night made it clear that it's going to be very disciplined, isn't planning to flood the market with more disk drives, something that therefore assures a powerful roadmap to higher earnings. Which is why that stock shot up 19% today. It takes about four years to build a plant that can make memory devices. So I think the shortage lasts for some time. Meanwhile, the stock of Texas Instruments, which have been stuck in the mud for ages, burst out of the bond growing nearly 10%. Management talking about tight supply for its industrial chips and chips for its new data center division. Tomorrow we hear from the two remaining storage companies, Western Digital and SanDisk. Have you seen those? If Seagate and Micron are any example, I expect these stocks to continue ramping even if they're already up 61 and 122% for the year. Yes, since the year began. And by the way, they were among the best 10 performers in the S&P 500 last year. When I was on the trading desk in my old firm, I periodically see a stock like sandisk trading furiously each day and people would say, hey, how could Sandys Jim go from 237 at the beginning of the year to 527 now? And I would say, you know why? Because it has to get to 800 and to do that it's got to go over 527. Do that. That glib answer was invariably right. We're a nation short on power too. For years our electricity barely grew, so power generation became a tough business. Bad business. Biggest company, General Electric suffered mightily, surviving on service and maintenance revenues. Now though, big tech companies are erecting data centers willy nilly to meet demand again for compute and storage and cooling. And that's changed the almost moribund gas turbine business. It's now one of the biggest growth stories in the world. So GE for Nova, the GE power spin off can't come nearly satisfying their clients. There's so much business there that they had the visibility on the earnings to the 23rd show. Only J and J has that and that's a pharmaceutical company. That's why that stock just soared today. Oh my God, it never stops. Samsung with a great number now tonight we heard from three members, the Magnificent Seven. There were wildly different results. They're not shortage, they're just idiosyncratic. As we say. Microsoft reported a seemingly better than expected quarter. Nice top and bottom line beat. But it stocks sold off hard and after hours trading. Look, I've been telling you to watch that Azure, their cloud infrastructure business capital expenditures. Wall Street's gotten worried about all the investment in artificial intelligence on Azure and other services. Microsoft did okay. 38% growth on constant currency basis. Not enough to satisfy Wall Street. More importantly though, Microsoft's capital expenditure budget too high Higher than expected. Up 66% year over year. That's not what the market wants next. Metal platforms on the other hand. Oh boy, they got the memo. They're rallying furiously. Social media giant reporting huge earnings beat. Very solid revenue beat. Plus even though they plan to spend 135 billion on their AI build out, this year's management's confident that they can still grow their operating income year over year. In other words, they, they can afford it. That's one reason this stock is getting a much needed boost. This evening Tesla reported to. As I told you on Monday, this is the magnificent seven stock where the numbers barely matter. Especially this time because we already had Tesla's production delivery results both of which we know fell short of expectations. So when Tesla reported tonight and delivered a surprisingly strong set of numbers, top and bottom line beat for the fourth quarter. Very impressive 1.4 billion in free cash flow that was good enough to send the stock higher in after hours trading. Hey, by the way robot and robotaxi intros look ahead of expectations. Real driver the FDR's moves. We can't wait to see that stuff beyond the Mag 7. Let me throw in IBM. They reported magnificent number. Oh my God. Mag 8 I don't know software revenues of 14 very strong full year forecast. Inexpensive stock flying after hours trading. You know I think IBM is incredibly well run by Arvin Krishna and is an inexpensive stock even here. Oh, I can't resist. Listen, we told you by lam Research Semiconductor Capital Equipment that was right. It's ripping. So here's the bottom line. The best performers in the entire stock market. Not tech, the entire stock market are companies that you may never have heard of. They make things that are in short supply. Their stocks keep soaring. The rest of tech mixed bag. If you don't have a shortage mad and IBM looking good. Microsoft sinking and Tesla a beast all by itself. And a beast that wants to roar higher. Dean in Ohio Day. Hey Jim, thanks for taking my call. You betcha. What's up? Been with investing club from day one. Thank you. The data center buildup will be in the trillions. Hyperscalers are the principle. A location that has been quoted as creating the largest and most efficient data center in the world. It's owned by Texas Pacific land that has everything in abundance. Does it make sense to open a small position and TPL and buy on the way up? Thank you. Well, okay. My problem is in the end it is going to trade. They do have a bolt data center business but it's still going to trade in Oil and gas. You know, we liked it last year. I will get. Not my favorite. I think you do it on a spec. But you're going to be betting, by the way, that oil is going to go higher. That's what's going to move it now. We're going to go all the way down to Florida. We're going to Don in Florida. Don't. Hey, booyah, Jim. Booyah time. Okay, listen, I'm looking at Netflix.

[C]

I mean, it's been down ever since.

[B]

The split and I was wondering what. Your thoughts are long. I think that you gotta pull the trigger on Netflix. I'll tell you why I actually like the Warner Brothers. Discovered you. I think that Zazzle has put together the best movie studio in the world. Best TV studio in the world. Netflix wants to have it. Am I going to tell Ted Sarandos that he doesn't know what he's doing? That's been a sucker's play. A lot of guys have done it. I won't. Sean in North Carolina. That Philadelphia accent's so awful. Sean wouldn't be like Sean. Sean in North Carolina. Sean. Is that right? Hey, Sean, what's up? It's an honor. Kramer, would you double down or fold draftkings? Okay, I like draftkings, but I've decided, you know what? Without Florida, without Texas, without California gambling, it's just going to be like. It's, It's. I don't know, it's. It's in the wilderness. I don't know. I want it out of the wilderness. It's not an expensive stock. Or maybe we need a lot of consolidation. That could do it. All right, listen up. I think this earnings season's coming down to shortages and glut. Sometimes it's as simple as a company like Meta blowing away the numbers too, though. Oh, man. Tonight. Oh, my God. We have. You know, they always say that jam packed stuff, which I think is nonsense. It is kind of jam packed that we got the ServiceNow software king. The stock is down 15 doll can debut. I don't know. I'm checking in with the CEO. Find out. And Levi's. Okay, that's easier because it's like pants and other clothes that we're going to sit down with the CEO after the tariffs and the consumer and the DTC. And then Teva stock has soared 55% in the past year. What's behind that? Why don't we check with the CEO? Fresh off the company's earnings. So stay with Kramer.

[A]

Don't miss a second of mad money. Follow imkramer on X. Have a question? Tweet Kramer Madmentions Send Jim an email to madmoneycnbc.com or give us a call at 1-800-743-CNBC. Miss something? Head to madmoney.cnbc.com Comcast business helps retailers become seamlessly restocking, frictionless paying favorite shopping destinations. It's how nationwide restaurants become touchscreen ordering quick serving eateries and how hospitals become the patient scanning data, managing healthcare facilities that we all depend on. With leading networking and connectivity, advanced cybersecurity and expert partnership, Comcast business is powering the engine of modern business powering possibilities. Restrictions apply. USAA knows dynamic duos can save the day like superheroes and sidekicks or auto and home insurance. With usaa, you can bundle your auto and home and save up to 10%. Tap the banner to learn more and get a'@usaa.com bundle restrict thy ticket lady Jennifer of Coolidge.

[B]

Well, many thanks, good sir. Here is my Discover card.

[C]

They accept Discover at Renaissance Fairs?

[B]

Yeah, they do here. Discover is accepted at the places I love to shop. Get it with the times. With the times. You're playing the loot. Yeah, and it sounds pretty good, right? Discover is accepted at 99% of places.

[A]

That take credit cards nationwide, based on.

[C]

The February 2025 Nielsen report.

[B]

For a long time now, the enterprise software cohort has just been a house of pain because Wall Street's terrified they're going to be steamrolled by generative AI platforms that are very good at writing code. But we really haven't seen all that much impact in the actual numbers for these companies. Instead, the enterprise stocks, they've been pummeled by multiple compression. The earnings themselves have been fine, though. Just take a look at ServiceNow. Here's a stock that peaked exactly one year ago. It's now down over 45% since then. But tonight ServiceNow reported what I thought was pretty darn good quarter. And even better, they announced a $5 billion buyback, putting a $2 billion accelerated repurchase starts right away. Clearly, management thinks the stock is cheap. But will the marketplace, which has become a very cruel taskmaster for software as a service, Enterprise software, agree. Who's right? Earlier we got a chance to speak with Bill McDermott. Take a look. Mr. McDermott, welcome back to Mad Money.

[C]

Jim, it's great to be with you as always. How you doing?

[B]

I am doing well, thanks. And it looks like you are too. You beat on every key line. I want to start with these numbers that you turn in tonight because I've got to say, they look very strong overall. I'd like to know how it's happening. What are you doing, Jim?

[C]

You know this is the fastest company in enterprise software to ever hit a billion, 5 billion, 10 billion and now 15 billion plus. Organically. We have a once in a generation platform. We closed the year exceeding Q4 expectations in full year. And we're operating at the rule of 55, meaning we're growing revenue more than 20% and free cash flow margin more than 35. And we actually upped out to the rule of 57 company this year. And basically we're in an agentic AI universe. And companies today want a platform where they can fundamentally reinvent their business model. That platform has to work with the language models, the hyperscalers, the data lakes and all the systems of record to compose a masterpiece. And we put that together and we're winning.

[B]

All right, so Bill, I hear you. I now have to address the stock. You know, I'm a stock guy, you are an enterprise software guy. Stock down 100 points from its high. Highly unusual. People are telling me this is because that AI, so called AI is eating software or that customers can build their own software. Now I know I've been building software with, with Anthropic and that that's hurting your business.

[C]

Yeah, that is again, not true. And I'm very excited to tell you that not only is that thesis not in line with reality, but the contrary opinion is actually where the market is. Today we announced a partnership with Anthropic and I think Dario at Anthropic said it best, so I'll just quote him. There's a meaningful difference between giving enterprises access to an AI model and building that model into workflows where real decisions are made. So we already have partnerships with OpenAI and Anthropic. And again, if you remember, Jim, the world was going to change when there were hyperscalers and software companies going to disappear. And now it's the language models. Actually, we're harmonious with the language models. It's synchronous with business process reinvention and we're leading the way. What I do see is I see feature companies and perhaps some functional companies actually being eaten by AI because we're becoming the great consolidator, meaning that these features and function companies are actually being consolidated into service now as we connect all of the workflow and the data fabric of these great companies so they can improve their return on invested capital. AI doesn't pay off by infrastructure Alone, you got to connect it to business applications where companies can get the value. That's what we're playing.

[B]

Okay, so if that's the case and you offer so much, is it possible that people might say there are fewer seats being used? That literally enterprises to operate with fewer employees. Amazon laid off 16,000 employees today that they. You can't do as much business because there are fewer seats. And at the enterprises you sell into.

[C]

Great question, Jim. We're actually increasing the monthly active users that service now 25% year over year. And there's still 1.3 billion seats in our target market. So we barely scratched the surface. Having said that, we have a hybrid pricing model where it's based on seats and consumption. And so we'll meet the customer wherever they want us to. But right now, we're expanding across east to west, across all business functions with the platform, and customers are consuming the apps in every department. And we're also kicking in customers now purchasing additional assist AI packs as they run through the tokens in their original licensing agreement. So you're seeing now new vectors of revenue kicking in. Which is why, not only why we beat the consensus and overachieved all of our objectives last year, but it's why I actually raised the guidance way beyond analyst expectations this year. And I want to make a point to the shareholders, because you're absolutely right. We got lumped in with a cadre of companies that have been sort of functional or feature companies and that has rerated the multiple. That's the only thing that happened to ServiceNow. And the second thing that happened is we tucked in a few M and A moves and I think they were saying, hey, are they buying growth like they've seen so many times before. We proved that we weren't buying growth. We knocked that out of the park. And just to make it very clear, we don't live in the neighborhood where others live. We are one of one in the enterprise. It's the only platform that can reinvent business processes on the fly using AI and all the tools that customers are deserving of. And just to show the shareholders some love, I approved a $5 billion share repurchase and an immediate deployment of 2 billion of that today. So as soon as we can and the window opens in the next couple days for us will be in at 2 billion. I also bet my personal comp all on the stock. So I couldn't possibly be more confident of where ServiceNow's entry point is now, how I expect the multiple to re rate based on Results that are one of one. Let's go.

[B]

All right. I want to be sure people understand that's an accelerated share repurchase on the 2 billion. Meaning it's just going to happen now. So people who really do not like ServiceNow, they can sell it right into you if they want to.

[C]

They could do whatever they want, but if I was them, I'd hold. And for the people that are on the sidelines waiting for the story, Jim, let me explain just a little bit on these M and A moves. I proved beyond a shadow of a doubt we didn't buy growth.

[B]

Okay, Absolutely.

[C]

Knock that one down. I just told you our seats are actually increasing, not decreasing. And our TAM went from 90 to 600 billion since 2019, since I've been CEO and. And I just re upped for 2030. Just saying that I have enormous faith and conviction in this business. But I also did some important tuck ins. And you say, Bill, you asked me the last time we talked, why did you do that? Because you're a builder. Well, what happened was we waited some time to get Moveworks in as it went through the process. And now we have an agentic AI user experience, that open door where you can search, get your requests met from any data source and have a great experience. And all the actions are taken on ServiceNow. And then we went into two very critical areas for the customer. One of them, which is super important, is security. Jim, Cybercrime is forecast to cost the world $1 trillion a month. So if that was an economy, it would be third only behind us and China. Huge problem. So what do customers need? They need visibility and prioritization. They have to reduce their exposure before incidents happen.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

Real time agentless discovery and classification of every asset. It ot medical devices, industrial controllers, the whole nine yards. Armis does that. Okay, so that's added to our great security business that's already growing 100% year over year.

[B]

You are going to have to move on. But I think we made all the points. I really want to know what the bears say now. You know what I mean? Let's see what they say.

[C]

You know what I want to. What? What can they say? I mean, what they can say is. What they can say is let's re rate the multiple because you're living in their own neighborhood.

[B]

I get that. All right, look, I want to thank Bill McDermott, Chairman, CEO of ServiceNow and a great advocate for his shareholders. That's what you must understand. His shareholders. And mad money's back after the break. Thank you, Bill.

[A]

Coming up with Levi's on the move after reporting earnings today. Kramer sitting down with the CEO to find out whether the brand will be stretching its legs in 2026.

[B]

Next.

[A]

This is Rich Gannon from Sirius XM NFL Radio reminding you that Sirius XM is the place to hear every NFL playoff game from the Wild Card round all the way through the Super Bowl. Plus you get to decide how you want to listen to the game. We'll have the hometown announcers for each game and the national broadcasters on your radio and on the Sirius XM app. And if it's football talk that you want, just search for NFL Radio on the app or tune to Sirius XM channel 88 in your car.

[B]

Hey Fidelity, what's it cost to invest.

[D]

With the Fidelity app? Start with as little as $1 with no account fees or trade commissions on US stocks and ETFs. That's music to my ears. I can only talk.

[A]

Investing involves risk, including risk of loss. Zero Account fees apply to retail brokerage accounts only. Sell order assessment fee not included. A limited number of ETFs are subject to a transaction based service fee of $100. See full list of Fidelity.com commissions Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC Member NYSE, SIPC CIDP can make your daily routine feel not so routine. The good news? With a self injection for chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy you have the option to treat at home. Discover [e-mail] and talk to your doctor. That's cidpselfinjection.com brought to you by Argenics.

[B]

After the close, we got the latest numbers from Levi Strauss, the iconic denim maker. They delivered a modest top and bottom line beat. However, the full year earnings forecast was a little light even as the revenue forecast was solid. We got to drill down on that. This is a company that's had a lot of success boarding out its selection of merchandise beyond just jeans. But Levi's has also suffered from President Trump's trade war. The last time they reported three months ago, the stock had soared going into the quarter. Sold off hard. It's been struggling to find its footing ever since, as has almost every single apparel company. So what's it going to take to breathe some life into the stock? Let's check in with Michelle Goss, the president CEO of Levi Strauss, to get a better read on the quarter and where her company said Ms. Scott, welcome back to Money.

[D]

Hey Jim, great to see you. Thanks for having me.

[B]

Well, I'm so glad that we have you. One I want to start out by saying that I'm looking at direct to consumer, which is a nice acceleration. I want to know how that's happening because it does seem to me that that can be a very lucrative business for many, many years.

[D]

Absolutely. I mean, Jim, we're really pleased with the full year and with the quarter. And DTC has really been a bright spot for us. 15 quarters of positive comp growth this quarter. DTC was up 10%. That was driven both by our stores and online. E com up 22%. Really capped off the year at 11%. But we have a long Runway of growth for direct to consumer. It's now half of our business. And one of the things we've been working on hard here at Levi's is really rewiring the company to operate as a best in class retailer, to execute in our stores, drive merchandising head to toe offerings. And it's happening. And you see it in the results.

[B]

Well, look, I know I've got other questions that are about the numbers, but I can't help but witness what's behind you. It is not what I expect. It all seems very different. Very cool. What is going on? This is not. You do not have slacks behind you that are denim.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

So if you take a look, you know, Jim, we're just days away from hosting the super bowl at Levi's Stadium. I mean, this is a huge moment for the city of San Francisco and Santa Clara for the Levi's brand. We're super proud to have the naming rights and be a partner with the, with the stadium with the Niners over a decade and running. And like I said, very excited to host the world here just in a few days. And one really big moment for us is that we are going to have an ad on the super bowl the first time in 20 years. And that will be the kickoff of our next brand campaign now. So, yes, little celebration product right behind us. It's a big moment for us.

[B]

All right. Now, Chipberg, your predecessor, when he named it the stadium, I said, oh, I don't know. It's going to work. It turned out to be. It's one of the neighbors that did work. It is one. Because I think it's a consumer brand. It gets featured. They have to mention it every time. Every single time. So what do you expect, an actual lift because of the name now?

[D]

I think it's, it's everything together, Jim. You know, it has been a really smart investment for us. It's been a great roi. We get a lot of reach by Having the name on the stadium. And we're really looking at this holistically. As I said, we're launching our brand campaign during the super bowl and the city, the city will really be lit up with Levi's activation. So all in, we expect to really kick off the year with momentum. And if you think about this last year it was really for us, center of culture around music as we head into 2026 and you know we're planning for growth again this coming year. It really is the year of music and sports, super bowl coming up, World cup this summer. And stay tuned, it's going to be a lot of excitement.

[B]

Okay, Michelle, what's going on do you think between the stock market and apparel is. Has everyone just said look, until we resolve tariffs we don't want to touch him because you know, it has been, as you and I both know, it's been a tough sell. Whether you're good or bad. The guys who have shot it out, I mean really just crushed it, their stocks are being trashed right now. I've got to try to figure this out. Maybe you can help me.

[D]

Yeah, I mean I start first with of course it's all about the long term and we are really pleased to continue to beat expectations on the top and the bottom line and to be delivering the kind of growth that we know that we, that we can, I mean a mid single digit growth company. We did it this year 7%. We looked at 4 to 5% next year 5 to 6% reported and expanding margin at the same time. So over the long term I believe that you know, the stock catches up. But it's our responsibility to continue to drive results. I also think an important part of our strategy right now is moving the brand from just standing for a pair of jeans to head to toe denim lifestyle. That strategy is working and it's expanding our addressable market. And I don't know that the consumer has fully caught up on that. Yeah, I mean our tops in double digit growth, you know, again this quarter. But it's only 22% of our business which says there's a huge Runway ahead.

[B]

Now there was a terrific piece by Raymond James, it was December 22nd. They talked about the international Runway, especially Asia being very large. I do think that of the companies I follow, you may in the apparel area, you may have the best shot at really big growth in Asia.

[D]

Agree. I mean it's an opportunity. You know, we are still under penetrated in Asia. Our international business overall is growing nicely up 8% this quarter. But when you think About Asia, yes. In our more established markets, like take Japan, that market's been on fire for a while now. India is growing really well. But throughout Asia, Asia, we see a ton of, of Runway for us.

[B]

And I do want people to understand exactly how much because we talk all the time about it, but we don't get the percentages. Women versus men and the opportunity with women because where of the whole mosaic women are as a percentage of the whole.

[D]

Yeah, boy, is this an opportunity for Levi's. We made great progress. I mean, Women's is now 38% of our business, and it was a much lower number not that long ago.

[B]

You've done that.

[D]

I mean, the team is driving. It's really across the board. It's, it's leaning into all of our strategies. Start with product. I talk about head to toe, denim lifestyle, tops and bottoms, dresses, skirts. I mean, women's was up 11% for the year. And we have a long way to go between 38% and 50%. And that's incremental business for us. And, you know, we're executing like a retailer. You go into our stores today, we've made deliberate moves to connect with her in the majority of our US Stores. As an example, women's is now merchandise at the front of the store. A lot of use of mannequins to showcase those licks connecting through social media, marketing, the partnership with Beyonce. So, you know, I can't, I can't tell all of our secrets for the years to come. But let me just say I think we're going to make really good progress with our female customer again.

[B]

All right, well, I look forward to watching the super bowl from Levi's Stadium. And I want to thank Michelle Gossip, presidency of Levi Strauss. Michelle, these numbers, one day people are going to realize how much money you're really making. It's just right now, people say apparel. I think it's going to run its course. Thank you for coming on the show and thinking long term.

[D]

Thank you so much.

[B]

Back into the break.

[A]

Coming up, after being lost in the wilderness, Teva Pharmaceuticals has been surging the past few years. So Kramer is talking to the company's CEO to learn what's behind the turnaround next.

[B]

All right, what that has gotten to the stock of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, one of the world's largest generic drug makers. But I think it's far more than that. After spending a few years lost in the wilderness, the company brought in new leader Richard Francis the beginning of 2023, and the stock hasn't looked back since nearly 400% gain from its 2022 lows. You better listen up.54% gain just over the past 12 months. This morning Tepid reported, although it already pre announced when I was out there at the J.P. morgan Health Care conference, the quarterly results still came in higher. But management full year forecast, some people said was a little light. I don't know. Initially the stock went down 9%. That was just crazy, frankly. Then the stock stabilized after the conference call and then it finished up more than 2% that sane. So what happened here? Is there more room for the stock to grow? Let's dig deeper with Richard Francis, the President CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries. Find out. Mr. Francis, welcome to Manning.

[E]

Thank you for having me. Really pleased to be here.

[B]

I'm just going to say when I saw you at the J.P. morgan conference, I was looking at, I said, hold it. Teeva is a MeToo outfit. You are attacking the hardest thing in the world. You are attacking the brain. And you have had excellent success with it.

[E]

We have. Well, yeah. Thank you for having me, Jim. And, and yes. And thank you for making us one of the picks in J.P. morgan week. I have to say that felt like we'd come a long way. But yeah, neurology and CNS is a huge challenge, but it's a huge opportunity. There are many, many central nurses who actually suffer from many diseases. And I think at Teva, we're very proud that we've taken on schizophrenia, we've taken on migraine, we've taken on tardive dyskinesia. So some of the hardest diseases. But that's what we have the biggest impact and make the biggest difference.

[B]

Well, let's talk about the chart of dyskinesia and Huntington's. Yeah. These are diseases that when you have them, especially trying to get off antipsychotic, the word is. Sorry, there's nothing. No, that's not the case.

[E]

Absolutely not. And when we saw this pivot to growth strategy, we looked at a stato and analysts had peak sales of 1.4 billion this year. We've just closed out at 2.26 billion and we have big sales of 3 billion. And the reason why that's changed is one, there's a massive untreated patient population. 85% of patients are still not on treatment. So that feels tragic.

[B]

And you're trying to get awareness, to which I salute that for a great campaign. Huntington's.

[E]

Did you see that? Yeah, I know. And so we're trying to do that to make caregivers and people who suffer from it, aware that they can go and see their physicians and they can say, you know, is there a treatment now available? Start that conversation. And then aesthetic has a dramatic effect. When patients take it. You can really transform the quality of life. They go from being a hermit to getting back out in society.

[B]

Hermit is right. People don't go out. Now you are one of the. I take the CGRP that is made by. By a competitor by. They were first. But yours is a very popular migraine injectable. And these work. I want people to. These work for many, many people. How's your selling?

[E]

What incredible. In 2025 is up 30%. Right. And now we've given a forecast next year that has tremendous growth in it. And I think this is another great story about Teva. So when we started this strategy, this, this product had sort of been left a bit to flounder.

[B]

Yes.

[E]

Competition was high. There was oils coming in.

[B]

Well, slowly it's Amgen. These are hitters.

[E]

They are hit us. And I came in, we got the team together, said no, there's a huge opportunity. We just got to focus on it. We got to build up our muscle.

[A]

And.

[E]

And I think we can commercialize this but across all of our regions across the world, we've grown it year on year grown market share. And I think this shows the grit that we have at ever the grit and the focus. And when we apply that to our assets, we can generate real return. And I think now we're saying a job we can do a billion. And that was a forgotten drug a few years ago.

[B]

Okay, so let's talk about the future. Those of us who tried hard to help when the antipsychotics and schizophrenia. I try. I never give up. I'll never give up. But there are many people who have. What makes you feel so good about what you have?

[E]

Well, I think I'm glad you sort of feel very passionate about it. We do. I mean There are 4.7 million people in Europe and US who suffer from schizophrenia. It is a really debilitating condition. And what we have with our pipeline, we have. You said it. Which we launched as a long acting respiratory which by the way, everybody said suggested market, you're not going to do anything. That was up 63% last year.

[B]

But. Well, there was doubt. I mean look, there's doubt because we know everything keeps failing.

[E]

But what you need in schizophrenia is you need to have compliance. And compliance come if you have a one or two month injectable because then you don't miss Your dose and that's really important. And as we look forward to the launch of olanzapine towards the end of this year, Olanzapine doesn't have a long act, is the most used molecule in schizophrenia because it's the most used, efficacious. So it's reserved for the most severe patients with the most severe conditions. But what you need, that is you need compliance. So when we launch L A long acting olanzapine, I think we have a real opportunity to transform the treatment for those patients. And there's already a lot of excitement about it. But then I think we have a schizophrenia franchise which is second to none, which is really exciting for us, for the patients and the physicians.

[B]

So what happened to Teva? I know you as a knockoff company. What did you decide to do? Why, why did you think it could be more than that?

[E]

So, well, we're very proud of our generics business that gives huge access to medicines. And so I'm very proud of that. What I saw was we had this innovative capability. It's like a muscle, it atrophied over time. But when I came in, we put the strategy together, we said we have capability, we have assets. They're not being focused on, they're not being invested in. Let's go after it and let's go after aggressively. And so what we've done in a very short space of time is transform the revenue expectations of a steady study and a Jovi. But also we moved our pipeline through the clinic so much faster than people thought. And because of that, we're going to have an opportunity to launch four products in five years.

[B]

In this year itself, 2026 should be a big breakout year. That's why people buying stock.

[E]

I'm glad you mentioned that, Jim. You absolutely. We have seven milestones this year and they're all innovative. We have the, the data coming out and do the kitchen with the data on vitiligo and I15, the data on sea like disease in IL50, the data on MSRMAN, the MSA, the data on the landsmoad when our landspin launches, ASPA product coming out and finally the PD1IL2 in oncology. That doesn't sound like a knockoff company. That sounds like a world leading biopharm.

[B]

You, you have embraced science in a way that I think a lot of other companies should because they're afraid to fail. That's why they go after what I call the easier illnesses. But you don't seem to be afraid to fail.

[E]

Well, we're not. I think we Play to win and we'll deal with failure when it happens.

[B]

Happens.

[E]

And but we don't let that intimidate us not to do things. And the quality of science we have at Teva, I think has been way underestimated. And now we're starting to show that actually our products and as our data gets revealed this year, I think we'll show the quality of what we have. And I think that give us, gives us the confidence to keep going, keep investing and transforming this company.

[B]

You're absolutely right. I remember when I was first on the drug, on the migraine drug and said, someone said, tavin, I said, why would I want to buy, why would I want to use the knock off drug company? And it's a. Well, have you looked, have you looked at what they're doing? You're changing things dramatically. I want to thank Richard Francis, presidency of Teva. You got to look at this company. It's not what you remember it as. That's what matters. Net money's back into the brain.

[A]

Coming up, Cramer takes your calls. And the sky's the limit. It's a fast fire lightning round next.

[B]

It is time. It's time for the light round Christmas rap park. Just because I know this coil stock had it done. My sand press the graphics let us out. And then the lightning round is over. Are you ready, Ski Daddy? Time to write to my squad. Mike in Illinois. Mike. Jim. How are you? I'm doing well. How about you, Mike?

[C]

First I'm doing great, thank you.

[B]

First off, I really enjoyed your new book, especially the way you talk about. You're welcome. Especially the way you talk about understanding business. The way your mom understood shoprite. That's what it's about. It's about my mom and my dad and the mistakes they made. Thank you. So others don't. Yes. Let's go to work.

[C]

I've been thinking about Robin in the same way. Not just as a stock, but as a product people actually use and stick with.

[B]

And you're right. And you're right. Robin Hood has captured that young cohort. He's captured the mind imagination of young people, as I try to do. And I can tell you they are on Robinhood. And it is a buy. Now I'm going to Edwin in California. Edwin. Hey, Kramer. Big booyah to you.

[C]

Wanted to get your thoughts on Satellic Inc. Ticker symbol satl.

[B]

Yeah. This thing is a parabolic move. When I see a parabolic move for a company that's about to have a big earnings step up, I say I Got to call Ben Stodo because I am not going to say that this $5 stock shouldn't be for you. And this is the only book that ever recommends speculating. Maybe it's the one we should be speculating on. So let's do homework for you so you're better and can make more money. That's kind of the goal of the show. Unless you want to talk policy and then you should turn me off. Let's go to Bill in Texas. Bill. Oh yeah, Jim, very much for taking my. Thank you very much for taking my call. I'm a proud club member, a longtime listener and certainly value your opinion. But what I wanted to ask you today, what's your current thoughts on energy transfer? I think that I love those ads on the NFL. I think the stocks up big since then, by the way. So Zoom. It's the NFL ads. Let me tell you something. This the yield 7.3 very inexpensive stock. Great pipeline company. Kelsey Warren. Okay, so I was mad at him for like the first five years of the show. But hey, bygones be guidegones buy et let's go. Don't, don't. I'm hot here. Let's go to John in California. John. Jim, I'm a club member, read your book.

[C]

And I'm an investor, not a trader. Software companies have fallen did appears about.

[B]

AI eroding their computer competitive advantage.

[C]

How do you feel about buying into.

[B]

It when the MACD line crosses the signal line? You may. Maybe it's going to be technical but I've got to tell you, I feel like my I am so beaten down and now this is enterprise. So for it's not so far as a service so I think it should do better. So I agree with you. I'll be a buyer. But oh my God, these stocks are so heavy. I feel weight. They're like wearing cement galoshes. Okay, let's go to Lori in Florida.

[D]

Lori.

[B]

And I'll pronounce it any way I want. Lori. Booyah.

[E]

Jen.

[B]

Lithium America. No, we're not lithium people. We're not. Well, in some ways, but we're not going to. Hey, I play with an open hand, but this kind of lithium, no, we're going to say it's too speculative for me and that place to jelly Lightning Round.

[A]

The Lightning round is sponsored by Charles Schwab. Coming up, Starbucks appears to have finally righted the ship. So should you hop on board? Kramer's cracking the case.

[B]

Next. When Brian Nicholls took over as CEO, the down and out Starbucks in August of 2024, he had one goal, getting you a cup of coffee in four minutes or less. Today we saw the fruits of his labor, a gigantic upside surprise. The same store sales how the average store did versus last year. And for a moment, it looked like Wall street was finally seeing a darn light at the end of the tunnel. Though the stock eventually pulled back hard over the course of the day. Look, that's what happens when you run big into the quarter, which is the case here. I still think it was a huge positive when Brian Niccol took over. He spent months trying to figure out what was wrong with Starbucks so he could take it head on and create a long lasting turnaround. To do that, he relied on his experience turning around Chipotle after he took over in 2018. One of the greatest comeback stories I've ever seen. At the same time, he told me that he had to reduce the time it took for Chipotle to get your food. He tinkered, he changed things up and he solved the naughty throughput problems that permanently changed that company's fortunes. And he's now managing to do the same thing at Starbucks. The throughput for both mobile and in person orders was just way too slow. People were just saying, I can't even wait. By changing up customer service standards, having bigger employee rosters, lower partner turnover, and delivering what he called consistent, timely and personal service. No pizzazz, just basic blocking and tackling, he has changed the guts of the experience. This would put improvement. New customers, the active members reached 35.5 million customers. Rewards transactions grew for the first time in eight quarters. And even non reward transactions grew. Highly unusual. In fact, this was the first time Starbucks grew both rewards and non rewards transactions since the second quarter of fiscal 2022. More transactions, more transactions. That's what you want, not on price. And that's how Brian's been able to win the morning. Or I should say win back the morning. Because Starbucks can finally handle its early traffic. What's winning the morning look like? In Brian's words? Quote, people come back to the brand. And we also drove engagement or more frequency with our existing customers. That's a really strong foundation, end quote. Once Nickel had solved the basic throughput issue, he was able to close stores that couldn't measure up, put more resources into the good ones. He's now able to target the afternoon day part, which could be huge given how much people love cold brew. And he's installing digital menu boards to allow them to quote day part the menu new verb. Now that he's got the Baki and tackling down Nickel's introducing new flavors like protein drinks that look to be a home run. Have you tried that vanilla protein cold brew?

[D]

Wow.

[B]

But Brian isn't overloading the baristas with new drinks. In fact, he cut back 25 to 30% of the menu and offered measures introductions mostly with a health and wellness focus. I like that you aren't going to run. You're not going to turn Starbucks around by layering on even more difficult to make drinks, which slows down everything. Tomorrow Nikkei will expand on the turn at his investor day meeting. I think you hear more about what's returning Starbucks to the rightful place in the morning. Of course not necessarily a needle mover as this stock had run up into the quarter as I mentioned, but it makes for a much more compelling long term story. We have a huge position in Starbucks for the Chapel Trust. We aren't going to buy more, I can tell you that. But if you don't own any, I think this turn is solid and long lasting and the price is going to be right. I like to say, as always, the bull market. Sell my promotional bank just for your man money. I'm Jim Cramer. See you tomorrow.

[D]

All opinions expressed by Jim Cramer on this podcast are solely Kramer's opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC or its 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 Kramer 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 Introducing Fidelity Trader.

[A]

The next generation of advanced trading from Fidelity Customize your tools and charts and access them seamlessly across desktop, web and mobile. For faster trades anywhere you go, try the all new Fidelity Trader plus. Learn more about our most powerful trading platform [e-mail] trader+ investing involves risk, including risk of loss. Fidelity Brokerage Services, LLC Member nyse, SIPC.