
Listen to Jim Cramer’s personal guide through the confusing jungle of Wall Street investing, navigating through opportunities and pitfalls with one goal in mind - to help you make money. Mad Money Disclaimer
Loading summary
Elliot Kaelin
With Amex Business Platinum, your dental clinic can really sparkle with a flexible spending limit that adapts with your business. That's the powerful backing of American Express. Not all purchases will be approved.
Jim Cramer
Terms apply.
Elliot Kaelin
Learn more@americanexpress.com AmExBusiness Building a business may.
Lisa Gill
Feel like a big jump, but On Deck small business loans can help keep you afloat. With lines of credit up to $100,000 and term loans up to 250,000, OnDeck lets you choose the loan that's right for your business as a top rated small business lender. On Deck's team of loan advisors can help you find the right business loan to fit your needs. Visit ondeck.com for more information. Depending on certain loan attributes, your business loan may be issued by Ondeck or Celtic Bank. On Deck does not lend in North Dakota. All loans and amounts subject to lender approval.
Jim Cramer
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. Man, money starts. Hey, I'm Kramer. Welcome to Mad Money. Welcome to Cramerica, friends. I'm just trying to make a little money. My job is not just entertain, but to explain. So call me 1-800-7-3 CBC tweet me at Jim Cramer. We focus on the 10 year treasury, we focus on the Fed, we dwell on Friday's employment report and a bunch of important surveys and inflation reports. These are indeed all important, all impactful to stock prices, including today with Dow gained 107 points, estimate advanced 0.16%, NASDAQ Diploma 0.06% by the way these prices rolled. Nice recovery. Very ugly moments middle of the day. Mostly driven, yes, by the vicissitudes of the bond market, which ended up where it started after some pretty wild gyrations. But what we don't focus on enough here or anywhere else frankly, is fraud. Yes, fraud. Specifically the negative correlation between the love for the red hot stocks of flavor of the month companies that aren't doing all that well. When these firecrackers get severely overheated, you've got to be very careful because it means buyers are getting carried away with concepts, not earnings, not sales. And when that happens, the market's driving us through the danger zone. Yet we are in Kenny Loggins territory. I started telling you to worry about froth at the end of November, just for Thanksgiving. Many of the red hots peak right then, but some others just kept running. Much to my own chagrin back then, I Highlight a whole bunch of overextended groups with my own monikers like companies with AI in the name and ambiguous enterprise software and Real Company Crazy rally. But also some traditional sectors like alternative energy, consumer fintech, enterprise software, space and Trump winners. Those were the results of a screen we had run searching for stocks that had a total return of 50% for the month of November. That is a red flag if I have ever heard of one. Since then there's been a real downturn in most of these stocks, which is a very good sign actually. But there were some that just wouldn't quit, which is a very bad sign. Until yesterday. Until yesterday, when the worst of the excesses, the real helium, the balloon, quantum computing stocks finally got skewered and done by none other than Jason Wall, the man behind Nvidia. Now you know my position. I'm an apostle of this company. I think it's the vanguard of the new industrial revolution, one that's going to touch every aspect of your my lives. In short time, I expect robots will dominate many workplaces, including some surprising sectors. Autonomous vehicles, digital factory twins, health care costs. These are all coming and they're all good. We're looking at the era of Agent X where machines augment humans and often do a better job, especially when we're dealing with humdrum but labor intensive tasks. Nvidia stock often gets a lot of heat for being too high, but none of what happens there is froth. The revolution is real. And more important, the company's sales and earnings are real and they are spectacular. Which is why I always tell you to own this one, please don't trade it. This positive productivity story can play out over multiple years. I think it will benefit numerous companies, but it can also spawn froth as speculators seize on businesses that could potentially do even better than the accelerated computing and artificial intelligence that are the hallmarks of Nvidia and that I love so much. The worst. And I mean by I'm talking about the worst, the most chimerical, the most dangerous, least popular, most hyped quantum computing stocks. Some amorphous method or reality, some wizardry mixed in with a dash of alchemy that represent the worst of all worlds. Yesterday, an unlikely source flattened the froth of quantum computing and I for one actually breathed a sigh of relief. Yesterday, Jensen Huang told us the truth about this group and I want you to listen. Well, probably somewhere between in terms of the number of qubits, you know, order of five orders of magnitude or six orders of magnitude away. And so if you kind of said 15 years for very useful quantum computers. That would probably be on the early side if you said, you know, 30 is probably on the late side. But if you picked 20, I think a whole bunch of us would believe it. But what we're interested in is we want to help the industry get there as fast as possible and to create the computer of the future and we'll be a very significant part of it. 20 years. I mean, holy cow. The quantum computing stocks got crushed from those words. I mean annihilated. Many people thought the future was now when it came to quantum computing. They thought it could be a valid competitor in videos accelerated computing this year, next year. You got it. The panic sellers, well, they got quantum wrong. This quoting the most important person the business. And I bet these stocks have got more downside, maybe a lot more downside. Similar to the Icarus. Like dot coms of a different era. You can still escape them before the insiders take advantage of the windfall that many of you have given them by bidding these silly stocks off. I don't want you to get hurt. You're getting your chance to get out and you need to take it. Jensen not only pushed out the timeline for this technology, you know what, he even questioned the use case of quantum computing altogether. He said it's good at small data, but it's not good at crunching large data. And the new industrial revolution runs on large data. Nvidia said wants to solve problems that normal computers can't. Quantum computing needs normal computers to work. And that gating factor, because they're so slow could make quantum computing less important, less germane than their promoters think. Ouch. I focused on three quantum computing stocks for you in November. I, O N Q Quantum Computing and D Wave Quantum. They were on earlier today. I listen, I haven't changed my mind. And subsequently also mentioned Brigadi Computing. All these companies share a couple of trades. They're losing tons and tons of money and they almost have no revenues. One's got okay revenues, but really this rigidity that represented the worst excess. Its stock was below $1 back in October when it got to $2. By late November the company issued 50 million shares to raise $100 million. It is a market offering and then we're in 21 bucks. That's the definition of froth. That's what you never want to see if you're a true believer in a bull market. Today we're getting stock got crushed by Genesis comments falling from 18 to 10. And again, it's not too late. To sell. It was at a buck a couple of months ago. Give me a break. Same with the three we highlighted back in November. IO and Q plummeted 39%. D wave quantum dropped 36%. Quantum computing nearly got cut in half, down 43%. When you do this kind of speculation, you have to know that you're playing a dangerous game of musical chairs. I think all these frothy stocks remain vulnerable. You own a stock with AI in the name, you could be in trouble. You own a hyped up alternative energy company, especially one connected nuclear power. You need to ring the register tomorrow. They've come too far, too fast for technology. Can take over a decade to deploy. Now, I wrote a piece this weekend for the CBC Investing Club talking about how much I wanted to buy the stock of Palantir. The enterprise software companies growing incredibly fast can revolutionize everything from military procurement, health care. The stock just wouldn't quit. And I had a huge case of fomo. Fear of missing out. I said it's the quintessentially wrong move for the trust to buy a stock that's run from 16 to 82 in one year's time. But I felt it, I wanted it. And of course, that was the top. Palantir stock, which fell again today, is at 68 now. Can't seem to stabilize. Ultimately it will, and that's how much I respect them. But it has to churn and burn base before that happens. Shaking out all the hot money. I see that happening in every one of these speculative categories. And while I hate to watch anyone lose money, all I can say is told you so. I can't be part of this froth. I've seen so many investors in my time get caught up in electric vehicles, charging station stocks, alternative fuels, small caps, Chinese stocks, Internet infrastructure stocks, the early generation enterprise software stocks. I always want you to stay in this game. But I couldn't save the people refuse to sell their red hots. They were too greedy and then they were too poor. Look, I take this stuff personally. I don't play for dinner anymore, but I used to, so I know what you're going through. The D waves, the new scales, the rigidis, you can make money in them. But these are not stocks you buy and hold or invest in. You got to buy them to sell them. Bottom line, if you haven't sold, sell. If you actually think these moves are sustainable, you need to take a breath, limit your risk, and above all, take profits so that you don't have to play for dinner either. Robert New York. ROBERT well, Jim, it's great to talk to you tonight. I'm on the show. Glad you're on the show.
Robert
Thanks.
Jim Cramer
Thanks for inviting me. This company that I want to talk about is the biggest US Egg producer.
Robert
They just beat profit and sales estimates.
Jim Cramer
On higher prices, holiday season demand, not to mention their acquisition to obtain the production assets of ISC America.
Robert
Okay.
Jim Cramer
The impact of the bird flu outbreaks in the US has skyrocketed. Skyrocketed the egg prices, Jimbo, and this company benefited huge. The share price has nearly doubled in the past year. Now, Jim, listen to this. On April 3rd, let's go to the videotape. You said positive things on this company and you got me to buy this stock and I paid in the 60s and you did it for me because now the stock said 105 and it's not done. ROBERT it's not done because the secret sauce behind Cow Maine is not the egg shortage. It's the fact that that's the kind of protein that people who take GOP one drugs need. Eggs are the best source of protein for GOP1, and that's why that stock's really moving. They didn't even mention in the release. I was shocked because that's the secret sauce behind Cal Maine's growth, and it's why you're going to continue to make money in it. All right, look, you can't take part in these frothy names for long. You can make money in them, but they're not investments. They're just trades. You have to buy and then you have to sell, sell, sell, sell, sell. A marathon of deals. Hit the tape this week. I'm CM Bucci. Get in on some of the market's latest mergers. Then I'm scrolling through what we know about a potential TikTok ban and giving you a rundown of what to watch for in the weeks ahead. Plus, before I head to the west coast for next week's JP Morgan health care conference, I'm getting to hear a little bit more about what to expect from the conferences with its own Lisa Gill. So stay with Kramer.
Lisa Gill
Don't miss a second of Mad Money. Follow imkramer on X. Have a question. Tweet Kramer Madmentions. Send Jim an email to madmoneynbc.com or give us a call at 1-800-743-CNBC. Missed something. Head to madmoney.cnbc.com.
Elliot Kaelin
Clueless I'm Elliot Kaelin, and I cannot wait to tell you.
Jim Cramer
All about the new podcast I'm hosting for Smartless Media. It's called Smartless Presents Clueless, a bite.
Elliot Kaelin
Sized twice twice weekly game show with a different main game and cliffhanger puzzle every single episode and all this season, the contestant will always be Sean Hayes.
Jim Cramer
That's the Clueless promise.
Elliot Kaelin
Since you never know what the game will be, you won't want to miss a single episode.
Jim Cramer
Listen and follow wherever you get your.
Eduardo
Podcasts when you're hiring, the best way to search for a candidate isn't to search at all. Don't search Match with Indeed. Indeed is your matching and hiring platform with over 350 million global monthly visitors, according to Indeed data, and a matching engine that helps you find qual candidates fast. Use Indeed for scheduling, screening and messaging to connect with candidates faster. Plus, 93% of employers agree Indeed delivers the highest quality matches compared to other job sites, according to a recent Indeed survey. Leveraging over 140 million qualifications and preferences every day, Indeed's matching engine is constantly learning from your preferences. Join more than three and a half million businesses worldwide that use Indeed. Listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit to get your jobs more visibility indeed.com madmoney just go to indeed.com madmoney right now and support this show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Indeed.com madmoney Terms and conditions apply. Need to hire you need Indeed.
Elliot Kaelin
Is it time to reimagine your future? The right business skills may make a difference in your career. At Capella University, we offer a relevant education that's designed to focus on what you need to know in the business world. We'll teach professional skills to help you pursue your goals like business management, strategic planning, and effective communication. And you can apply these skills right away. A different future is closer than you think with Capella University. Learn more at Capella.
Jim Cramer
Eduardo Even before time expires in the Biden administration, we're starting to see the flood of mergers and acquisitions I've been telling you to expect under a Trump antitrust regime. For the past four years, the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department's antitrust division have taken a real hard line on M and A because Biden's regulators are reflexively hostile to any kind of corporate consolidation. It got to the point where companies figured it's just not worth the effort to fight these agencies in court. No guarantee of success. And that's why, when Trump won in November, it became very obvious that we were looking at a deluge of M and A deals and these companies couldn't even bring themselves to wait for Inauguration Day. Just in the past few days, we've already gotten a slew of merger activity. On Monday morning, Disney announced it'll be combining its Hulu plus live TV business with Fubo. And that's a small media company, but it offers a streaming service is focused primarily on live sports content. Disney effectively so acquiring Fubo through this deal. I got to tell you, they'll have a 70% stake in the combined entity. Small, but could be important. They're snapping this thing up just to stave off some litigation from Fubo, but which is trying to block a streaming joint venture between Disney, Fox and Warner Brothers Discovery, by the way, after the close and a very bullish announcement, Disney said they have about 157 million global users streaming content with ads. Now. We talked about buying more for the Trust at the 10:20 morning meeting. These are pretty impressive numbers. I'm now frozen. Can't buy any. But boy, I like what I'm seeing. Look, the Hulu deal was just the appetizer because from Monday night through Tuesday, we got several multibillion dollar M&A transactions. Let's take them in chronological order, starting with Stryker. That's that medical device maker spending $4.9 billion in cash to buy an ARI Medical, which is mainly focused on treating patients with venous thromboembolism, or VT. It's a condition that impacts up to 900,000 people in the United States every year. Stryker says that its hinary product portfolio is highly complementary to the neurovascular business. I've checked it out. I agree. I like this deal. Next. Early yesterday morning, we learned that Getty Images and Shutterstock, two of the leading purveyors of stock photos and videos, are joining forces in a merger of equals. Of course, in reality, there's no such thing. Gettysburg, Shutterstock and their shareholders will own 55% of the combined company. This one's pretty straightforward. You got two major players in the same industry combined to give themselves a lot more leverage versus their customers. Something they need in this age of AI generated content. Then a little later on Tuesday morning, Kramer Faith Paychecks, the payroll processor and payer and provider of outsourced human capital management solutions, announced that it's acquiring rival software vendor Paycor HCM for $4.1 billion. I like this Paycor again. They're rolling up the human capital management software space and paycor gives them additional scale to broaden their offerings. And listen, that's not even an exhaustive list of M and A activity this week. On Monday, Phillips 66 announced a deal to acquire certainly certain privately held natural gas infrastructure assets for over $2 billion. Yesterday, a waste management company called GFL Environmental announced that it's selling the majority of its environmental services business to a pair of private equity firms for over $6 billion. Also yesterday we learned another Kramer fave small business uniform rental provider Cintas, although they do a lot of other stuff for small business, was launching a hostile $5 billion plus takeover attempt of Universe, which also specializes in workplace uniforms and protective clothing. And today we got a report out of Bloomberg that Constellation Energy, the incredibly red hot independent power producer with big nuclear exposure, is nearing a huge $30 billion deal to buy Calpine. That's another major power generator that was taken private back in 2017. All right, so what do we make of this wave of deals? First, I got to say, it's just nice to see some mergers again. While this deluge was widely anticipated because of the change in administrations, it's still good to see some confirmation. Makes me feel confident betting on more deal activity. Which is one of the reasons why we recently bought the stock of Goldman Sachs for the Chapel Trust. They've got a huge M and A advisory business that's been in hibernation for years. I think the stock should be bought by everybody, but more generally I'm just happy to see so many companies once again going for deals that should improve their business. Look at the transactions we've seen just this week. While some of them likely would have been challenged by Biden's illogically driven regulators, most of them seem pretty justifiable. All of them make great business sense. Disney tied up with Hulu and Live TV with Fubo. That clears the way for a streaming venture with Fox and Warner Brothers. I'm not sure that project will work, but now they can at least try it. Stryker doesn't currently do much in the very specialized venous thromboembolism space where Inari Medical operates. Huge for them, Getty Images and Shutterstock. Now they're fighting for the life In a world where generative AI systems can create images from simple text prompts, they'll certainly be stronger together, and they'll be in a better position to negotiate with the software developers who want to license their photos to train their AI models. By the way, they're also going to benefit from widespread adoption of the latest in video platform. Blackwell, which works wonderfully with video paychecks, is also gaining scale in the industry with the Pay for HCM deal. I suspect the biden administrators, this one could draw some antitrust attention are going to they're going to take a good hard look at this deal. But I can't see why this kind of takeover should be blocked. The human capital management space has quietly gotten very crowded. Paychecks has plenty of stiff competition all across its businesses and payroll processing. They fight bitterly with longtime rival ADP and others. For human capital management businesses there are lots of competitors, more than I got an upgrade yesterday. Stocks flying the only proposed deal that I think might deserve some real antitrust scrutiny is the Cintas Universe tie up which member isn't even official deal yet. It's hostile and Universe doesn't have to do a Universe family control. And even this one only raises eyebrows because Cintas and Universe mostly serve the same small business space. I don't love the idea of squeezing any small business, okay? They get squeezed enough by the governments, especially if you're talking about ingrained services like uniform rentals where there don't seem to be that many options. So I went to Todd Schneider, straight shooting CEO of Cintas about that idea. He gave us a very thoughtful response. He pointed out that they have all kinds of competition. Businesses can source their uniforms and safety equipment them from Amazon, Grainger, Fastenal or they can go to Wal Mart or Costco. Even Schneider argued that by joining forces Cintas, Universe and Universe would be able to provide better service to their clients. And even if they're allowed to merge, they'd only be serving 2 million businesses out of 16 million total businesses in the US and Canada. I hadn't thought about the idea that Cintas is also competing with Amazon and Costco and Wal Mart to sell everyday supplies to the small medium sized business customers. Makes a ton of sense. And those market share numbers, they speak for themselves. So the bottom line I got to tell you, I'm just glad we're back to a place where reasonable arguments like this will be considered fairly by the antitrust regulators rather than the situation we had under Biden where every takeover is considered anti competitive until proven otherwise. That's very good news for the whole market as lots of stocks will be going away. Given that we have so few IPOs there won't be a lot of new stock to replace it. And a supply shortage, well that is always good news for investors. House Pleasure they have money's back yet.
Lisa Gill
Food break coming up is it? Time's up for TikTok. Kramer's digging into what the future holds for the social media platform. Next finding the music you love shouldn't be hard. That's why Pandora makes it easy to explore all your favorites and discover new artists and genres you'll love. Enjoy a personalized listening experience simply by selecting any song or album, and we'll make a station crafted just for you. Best of all, you can listen for free. Download Pandora on the Apple App Store or Google Play and start hearing the soundtrack to your life.
Elliot Kaelin
At Capella University, learning the right skills could make a difference. That's why our business programs teach you relevant skills you can take from the course room to the workplace. A different future is closer than you think with Capella University. Learn more at Capela. Eduardo.
Jim Cramer
Is TikTok really about to be Banned in the United States? Do you know that without intervention from the Supreme Court in the next several days, it appears the Chinese owned social media platform might really get shut down? That's a huge deal. Back on April 24, President Biden signed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications act into law. Now this was crammed into a larger piece of legislation to provide military aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, something that passed with broad bipartisan support. In terms of TikTok, the bill stipulated that it would be banned within 270 days unless its Chinese owner, ByteDance, sold the business to an American firm. But finding a deal to sell TikTok was always a long shot. TikTok's likely worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Bite this raised money at a $300 billion valuation just in November, even with the US ban on the horizon. So there are very few companies that could afford it. Even if both sides were willing to make a deal, the Chinese regulators would probably block it. Either way, we didn't get a deal. And that 270 day deadline from the original legislation. That works out to January 19, 2025, 11 days from today and the day before President Trump's inauguration. Now the TikTok ban was challenged in court with the company arguing that the legislation violates itself Free speech rights. Those are under the First Amendment, but if the case worked its way through the lower courts, a federal appeals court upheld law just over a month ago and a few days later the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case on an expedited basis. They're hearing oral oral arguments starting on Friday. Given the timing of all this, it's worth noting that President Elect Trump, who tried to arrange something similar for TikTok, the executive order when he was last in office, has changed his stance here, coming out as against the ban and pledging to save the platform on the Campaign trail. Last month his lawyers filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court, basically asking him to extend the deadline so that he can directly address the ban once he's sworn in. Although who knows if the Supreme Court will play ball. So with the market closed tomorrow in honor of late President Jimmy Carter, I think it's worth taking a closer look at this issue before the court starts hearing oral arguments on Friday. The final briefs filed by both TikTok and the US solicitor general who's arguing on behalf of the law give us really a great indication of how each party will argue the case. Like I said before, Tick Tock is arguing that the law violates its free speech rights and the rights of the users. Their lawyers emphasize that the First Amendment protects Americans access to the speech of foreign adversaries, even if it's propaganda. They also offer alternative to an outright ban disclosure of the source of any material in TikTok, saying quote, disclosure is the time tested, least restricted alternative to address a concern the public is being misled about the source or nature of speech received, including in the foreign affairs and national security context. And quote now by the way, A group of TikTok creators has separately petitioned against the ban and their case was folded into this broader case before the Supreme Court. In one of the creators last briefs, their lawyers argued that the law is quote, an anathema to the First Amendment because it aims to shield Americans from nothing more than potentially disagreeable mix of ideas. But the Justice Department claims that this is not a free speech issue at all. They say the law targets the national security risk stemming from China's controlled bytedance. Here's how they put it in one of their briefs. Quote, the First Amendment would not have required our nation to tolerate Soviet ownership and control of American radio stations or other channels of communication and critical infrastructure during the Cold War. And it likewise does not require us to tolerate ownership and control of TikTok by a foreign adversary today. End quote. Now I'm not totally convinced we didn't let the Soviets control American radio stations, but we did let them publish a newspaper. Justice also argues that TikTok does not have any First Amendment rights here because it is not in control of the algorithm that it uses to make recommendations to its users. They argue that First Amendment rights are not being violated by the law because TikTok would be allowed to continue if it only had a US owner. The issue they stress is the PRC's ability to influence TikTok and gain access to US citizens sensitive data. And the Justice Department says the TikTok'S preferred disclosure remedy won't work, claiming, quote, such a generic standing disclosure would be patently ineffective in quote, so what's going to happen? It's tough. I honestly don't know. I think TikTok and his fellow creator petitioners can score some points with that First Amendment argument, but if the government can paint a clear picture of why TikTok is a national security threat, it could be able to win, usually given The Supreme Court 6 to 3 advantage for conservatives you can get a sense of which way most cases will break, but this is a tough case to game, given that most conservatives were strongly in favor of taking a tough line against TikTok until Trump changed his mind. That said, we'll get indication of which way the Supremes are leaning during oral arguments on Friday because the questions tend to be pretty darn pointed. By the way, I'm also not sure if President Elect Trump's request for an extension of the ban deadline will even be considered, let alone granted. And if the court does uphold the law, it's unclear what Trump's options would be on TikTok once he takes office. It's tricky because this is the result of a law passed by Congress. It's not an executive order that can be simply reversed with a stroke of a pen. It may require congressional action to change course. And while President Elect Trump has tremendous sway with a new GOP controlled Congress, most of those legislators voted to ban Tik Tok last April. We do know that if the TikTok ban is upheld, it will likely be enforced via App stores primarily Apple and Google. Users will be unable to download TikTok or receive any updates via the App Store, severely degrading the platform. Of course, mad money is to show about stocks so what does the TikTok ban mean for your portfolio? For my travel Trust, most obvious answer is that it's good news, if not great news for the other publicly traded social media platforms of advertisers are forced to go elsewhere. And that's especially true for better platforms Trust holding, which has its own knockoff version of Tick Tock with Reels, which I think is pretty good. At the same time, we could see some service providers to Tick Tock take a hit. Oracle comes to mind. They're Tick Tock's main cloud technology provider here in the us but no matter how this case plays out, it deserves more attention than it's getting. For the nearly nine months since Tick Tock ban was passed, it feels like people have just assumed something would be worked out to prevent the most draconian outcome. Maybe investors also figured that Trump would step in after he won the election. But the bottom line, we listen and we don't judge. But here we are almost nine months later and it seems like the only real way to stop the TikTok ban is if they win this case by before the Supreme Court. Given that this isn't really a straightforwardly forwardly partisan issue and we listen and we don't judge, I think, well, let's just call it anybody's ballgame. I'm taking questions and I'm going to start with Susan in New Jersey.
Robert
Susan, Hi Jim. Thank you for taking my call. Love your show. Thank you to you and your crew.
Jim Cramer
Thank you.
Robert
Thank you. I'm a second generation listener. My dad always watched your show, My late father. And now I'm continuing the, you know, continuing to watch.
Jim Cramer
Yeah, I'm so glad you did and I, you know, I'm sure you're, I'm glad that your dad loved the show. That's a nice thing. Thank you.
Robert
He did and I remember him while watching. So thank you. And I took the dive and became a new member.
Jim Cramer
Oh, fantastic. We're working hard, Jeff and I working all day today together trying to get this stuff right. How can I help you now?
Robert
Well, you're awesome and here's how you can help. Hpq. I bought HPQ a while back thinking I would get a jump on the 3D printing and it's really just sat flat. It's been really neutral, even a little in the negative. Friday when everything popped, it popped a touch, but it really hasn't popped. Wondering, do I just keep holding? Do I sell? What's your take?
Jim Cramer
Okay, Susan, I think there are better stocks to own. Frankly, I too expected that we would get a better, that the AI PC would mean more. I don't think it's going to. I would take that one and the fact that it sells low 9 and it's got a 3.46 yield. No, that's. It's starting to look like that nothing's going to move the needle here. I want you to take that money out. We bought a little blackrock today for the trust. That's a great stock. It's different area. I know, but stocks come down 100 points. It's a really good one. Buy a small amount. That's my favorite going into earnings season. And thanks, thank you for those great words of confidence and I will pass it on to the staff. Anyway, look, it seems like the Supreme Court is the only thing standing in the way of a TikTok ban. No one's talking about it. And since this isn't a completely partisan issue, it's really a toss up what might happen here. But you gotta stay focused and boy, if wow, if Meta wins, Meta would be the winner. Of course, as TikTok is banned, much more made money. I included my Preview of the J.P. morgan Healthcare Conference where the top voice in the space, Lisa Gill. Then I'm breaking down the decline in food and beverage stocks. Don't miss my message to the packaged food C suites or navigating the space is changing landscape. They won't like it. You will. And all your calls rapid fire. Tonight's news of the lightning round. So stay with Kramer. Every year we make it a point to attend JP Morgan's annual health care conference out in San Francisco coming up next week because it offers unparalleled access to the top CEOs in the industry. It's the single most important health care event of the year. Some people feel it's the single most important conference of the year. So tonight we're taking the chance to get a preview of what we can expect here from Lisa Gill, managing director, JP Morgan and the head of their health care service research team always comes to speak to us ahead of it. Lisa, welcome back to bed, buddy.
Jensen Huang
Thank you, Tim. I love coming every year ahead of our health care.
Jim Cramer
Well, thank you. I know you're going to start things off by talking to Jamie Dimon, your CEO. And can you give us a little preview about what you guys can discuss? Because we've got a new administration, we've got a lot of different changes in health care, and I think we got a new M and A approach and a lot of M and A deal started the conference.
Jensen Huang
That's absolutely right. So I think, you know, my discussion with Jamie obviously will be centered around health care. But one, deregulation. What does this mean to financing? What do we think about rates going into next year? Because that is how you're going to finance deals. And three, you're absolutely right. I mean, most deals either get announced at our conference or they're meeting for the first time at our conference to put something together.
Jim Cramer
So which parts of health care would be most likely to have deals? I say that because we're doing a piece tonight about deals and they seem to be almost in every single industry.
Jensen Huang
I think, I think across the board. I mean, a lot of what you've seen more recently has been pharma, biotech deals. Right? So from a product perspective, you could see deals in life sciences, you could see deals in services. I think from a service perspective, in the areas that I cover, it's probably less likely that you'll see big deals near term. But, you know, there's been talk about one of the managed care companies maybe buying either a managed Medicaid name or a specific Medicare Advantage name. And I think there's a lot of question around this administration about what does Medicare Advantage mean in this administration.
Jim Cramer
Well, look, you've got a lot of, your group in particular, a lot of, of things in play. A lot of people, for instance, you take a little contrary approach. You like the companies that are involved in drug distribution. Now, a lot of people are very suspicious of these companies. But you think that they might represent some great value.
Jensen Huang
I do. I mean, at the end of the day, the drug distributors provide a service of getting the product very safely from point A to point B and saving the US Health care system billions and billions of dollars each year. And so. So if you think about what they're doing today and trying to replicate that, I would go back and look at 2003, 2004, right when there were white papers written about, hey, if we change the system and we got rid of the drug distributors, what would it mean? Because there was concerns as we saw a change in the overall reimbursement model back then.
Jim Cramer
So I'm going to look at them because I know some were priced for imperfection. That's where the real bargains are. Now we have a president. Sometimes he, let's say he can say some things that were shocked at our incoming president. Yeah. Yes. Our new president elect. And he seems he wants to knock out the middleman. Now, isn't that exactly the people that you're saying might be cheap?
Jensen Huang
Well, what I would say on the middleman is that I would love to believe that any company would give you a good price without having to negotiate the middleman. Negotiate. I would think of Donald Trump, President Elect Trump, as the biggest negotiator. Right. And so I think perhaps he doesn't really know exactly what these companies do. And the models are opaque. And so understanding what they bring to the system, you need to have someone in the middle to be able to negotiate between the manufacturer, between the retailer, be able to provide the level of service needed for the member and all the clinical programs that go around that, I mean, I think of people forget about that. And I would just remind you that, you know, you're primarily really talking about PBMs, not drug distributors. Drug distributors are More logistics coordinators, a PBM or a physician. I'm sorry, a pharmacy benefit management company is going to be on the drug side. And if you look at that, those companies make about just over $2 per script.
Jim Cramer
Right.
Jensen Huang
I mean, it's not big dollars, but.
Jim Cramer
The drug companies like to blame them.
Jensen Huang
Well, it's always easier to blame someone else. Right. So they don't set the price. At the end of the day though, we need the big drug companies. We need innovation. We've seen innovation. We've seen innovation with GLP1. Right. And companies trying to figure out how do we pay for those, but also how do we sustain whatever weight loss people have longer term.
Jim Cramer
If you want, if you want to say that you have a pill or a once a month shot or something that reduces fat without, without muscle loss, it's going to be done at your conference, most likely. And do you think some news?
Jensen Huang
Well, I don't know if we'll get some news at this conference, but I would bet over the next several years we'll continue to see it move in that direction.
Jim Cramer
Let me something. I speak to a number of CEOs like you, obviously. And no pharma CEO I know was able to get in to see Biden because they always said the same thing. His people said bad optics to be in the room. They don't want you in the room. That's going to change, right?
Jensen Huang
I would think so. I mean, I would hope that, you know, President Trump seems to be much more business friendly, wanting to, to make the right decisions. And I think, you know, if we go back to the last administration, he absolutely met with them. He had them at the business roundtables. He had the managed care companies at the business roundtables. Right. So I think that his practices most likely will look similar to the last administration.
Jim Cramer
Okay. Really? Well, that could be. Could be. You know, sometimes he's fiery. Now I did think that I brought this lawsuit. This is the CBS lawsuit. This is about how they say that the pharmacists were really encouraged to do the wrong thing for opiates. And we also have Walgreens all the way down and these stocks are both at their 52 week. I know there's a lot of bad baked in anything good that could be interesting because I'm more interested in finding out new things that could create bargains than I am about saying why they went down.
Jensen Huang
Yeah, let's talk about CBS because I think that there are some good opportunities. And so the biggest driver of what drove down earnings last year was Medicare Advantage. So they had very strong growth in membership for 24, but that came at a cost. They lost about $3.3 billion in Medicare Advantage in 2024 and 2025. Based on their plan design, they will shed a number of those members. Number two, they will regain their stars. Remember stars?
Jim Cramer
Right now I'm involved. Unfortunately, I can't believe that I was checking the stars.
Jensen Huang
So you look at the stars and so their stars will come back for CBS this year, which will create a tailwind in that side of the business. When you look at their pharmacy business, it actually was pretty good last year. Expectations last year. They continue to gain market share. Closing stores. We have too many pharmacies, but apparently.
Jim Cramer
Remember, my understanding is they've closed all the losing stores and management now has a good hand. Is that possible?
Jensen Huang
That is. That is possible. And one of the things that everybody cares about in health care is transparency. And one of the knocks on retail, pharmacy and PBMS has been transparency. CBS has a transparent model that they've offered to the marketplace and they put out a press release earlier this week saying the majority of their scripts will now be at that cost plus.
Jim Cramer
Well, that would be an interesting opportunity. A lot of people know, know the brand. They know it's the stocks. Very low. You're not that worried about this lawsuit?
Jensen Huang
I'm not worried about that lawsuit. I mean, listen, at the end of the day, we saw it with the drug distributors, right? The drug distributors at an all time low settled around the opioid settlement and then that's where the stocks really started to work. And so again, this here, when you think about cbs, it's a small piece of their business. They've got really good cash flow. And so I think at the end of the day, you know, it's something they're going to have to work through. But. But I feel good about CBS going into next year.
Jim Cramer
Well, I like a contrarian approach. There's certainly a lot of value there. I can't wait to see you at the conference where there. I think there'll be even more news than you do. Just because I think that there's some companies that have to do things because they're down so much, maybe. All right, well, that's Lisa Gill, JP Morgan's head of healthcare services at Equity Research. And I've got to tell you, this is as good a preview as you're going to get. But next week is going to be so exciting. I can't wait to go to your conference. Thank you for having me.
Jensen Huang
Can't wait to see you there. Thanks so much, Jim.
Jim Cramer
Mad money's back in.
Lisa Gill
Coming up, Cramer takes your calls. And the sky's the limit. It's a fast fire lightning round maxed.
Jim Cramer
It is time to start the light, of course. And then the lightning round is over. Are you ready? Stay tagged up to the lightning round. Creators of mine. We start with James in Florida. James. Hi, James. Good evening. Good evening. I hope you have a great day. Oh, yeah. How are you? For over 40 years. And my focus question for you tonight is in Pfizer pharmaceuticals. Pfe. It's too low to sell. That's all I can say. I can't recommend it. I just don't want you to sell it. If you have it, let the dividend do its job. And then maybe we get some good news on the CGEN acquisition. How about we go to Pranav in Texas? Pranav, how are you? Booyah. I'm good. How about you, sir? I'm good.
Robert
Thank you for doing all the great.
Jensen Huang
Things for the Society.
Jim Cramer
You're doing marvelous job.
Robert
I just wanted a question on the sticker symbol, sir.
Jim Cramer
Yeah. Okay. Now, this is one of these. Look, we are going to revert. To what? If you want robotics, here's what you're going to get from me. You're going to get Nvidia, because they're the king of robots. That's it. Nobody else. Let's go to Ed in Illinois. Ed. Booyah. Jimmy, chill. What did. Yo, yo. To a true legend. You're the maestro of Wall Street. You're very kind of. I'll play it. What's up, Jim? Vertex has been behaving badly recently after some disappointing news on their new wonder drug, Suzetradine. Is the long term positive outlook for Vertex still intact, or should I. You know, I've got to tell you, Ed, I was sorely disappointed on that. I was praying that they would have something that wouldn't be addictive. And it looks like it's not working. I would not. Now, it reflects the other great drugs they have. And nothing good on that drug. But I don't see a lot of upside because that was the drug of the future for Vertex. Thanks for the call. Lisa in North Carolina. Lisa. Daddy, thank you for getting my car. Oh, thanks for calling. What's up?
Robert
I'm calling about QS QuantumScape.
Jim Cramer
Yeah, you know, I, I. Look, I don't want to be too negative, but I've kind of had of a Quantumscape. I don't think they've got the I don't think they have the horses. I would be a seller. Quantumscape even right at this level have to say it. Let's go to Randy in Ohio. Randy. Hey, Jim. I got. I got two quick questions. I want to know about Powell Industries powl. It's dropped $140 a share. It is unbelievable how badly that stopped. I mean, I'm talking about. I did not see that coming. I think that I've got to do more work on PAL because it has been a big, big disappointment. And that. Ladies and gentlemen, conclusion of the Lightning Round.
Lisa Gill
The Lightning Round is sponsored by Charles Schwab. Coming up, how should snack food makers be preparing for the growing influence of GLP1 drugs? Kramer is giving you his take next tomorrow. Kick off the trading day with Squawk on the street live from post nine at the nyse.
Jensen Huang
When's the last time your hair was that long?
Jim Cramer
Yeah, he's got a guy for everything. I remember him. That's how long we've been. He had that crazy hair. But it took me. But at the time it was. I can't speak about how it was Beautiful. Advanced micro double.
Lisa Gill
Beautiful curls you had.
Jim Cramer
Beautiful. Thank you.
Lisa Gill
It all starts at 9am Eastern.
Jim Cramer
Practically every day we see more research about why the food and beverage stocks just keep going down. One of the most hideous bear markets I can recall. We heard they're being hurt by the GLP1 drugs. The foods are designed to be craved. But what if these drugs stole your craving? We used to hear lay's tell us, bet you can't eat just one. But with Ozempic it's easy not to eat any at all. We hear that a new generation believes their bodies are temples so they won't eat anything processed or adulterated. We know that junk food isn't selling as well as it used to. Just look at the numbers from J.M. smucker, which acquired Hostess Brands, maker of Twinkies. Right as the GOP Dash one drugs began to gain momentum. But we also know three other things. First, no food or beverage company is willing to say that their earnings are being hurt or compromised by GOP1. Second, no company is willing to accept that there are permanent changes in the way young people consume food and drink, especially alcohol, which they seem to have turned on with a vengeance. Third, their dividends, long a terrific trampoline, are now marginal in an era where the 30 year treasury yields more than 4.9% the highest it's been since 2007. That's devastating for the dividend Paying packaged food stocks. In the end, denial is a river that runs through the grocery store aisles. What has to happen with this group? First, the CEOs have got to get more realistic. They have to assume that the GOP Dash ones will only become more popular, given that the diabetes and weight loss shots from Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk work for far more than these two categories. Heavy drinking, hypertension, sleep apnea, cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol, and perhaps even cancer and Alzheimer's prevention. You think people will stop because they don't want to give themselves a shot? How about if you only have to give yourself a shot once a month instead of once a week? How about if pill form gets approved? People losing too much muscle with fat. The industry is going to come up with a pill that only attacks fat, not muscle, or they'll pump places full of protein powder. In other words, the food and beverage business has got to get more realistic about what's coming on down the pike. Specifically, they got to recognize they'll be selling less food because of this. That's why under this new administration, they need to start merging to cut their distribution, advertising and marketing costs. Finally, I think the food and beverage stocks have to do. They got to do something radical here. They have to slash prices to the consumer. They have to stop the revulsion that we all feel when we look at the prices in the supermarket. Liquor's gone up too much. And when you look at those prices and you read about all the bad things liquor can do to your body while the purveyors can't hold price, they have to find a new way to tempt you with value. Even if their profit margins take a hit. Value stocks. Look. Snacks way too expensive. We need value. Processed food prices should be cut substantially to keep loyally. That's what the stocks are saying. Take a look at the stock of McDonald's. It's not going down when they roll out that decent $5 value mill. Texas Roadhouse and Brinker International. They've got terrific filling meals for just over 10 bucks. They found a way to make money. Their stocks are in rally mode. The packaged food companies need to do the same thing. They have to accept that the housing days are gone and start trying to make money for their shareholders again. If it means selling themselves to each other honestly, the whole thing's gotten absurd. It's like Baghdad Bob, levels of denial. How can the food CEOs believe what they're saying? Do they think their stocks are wrong? Do they watch the same things you and I do until I see a food exec say we need to reset expectations in a new world and then cut prices to the consumer and estimates to the analysts. Their stocks will keep experiencing this endless, sickening slow motion decline. How can I see this? There's nothing wrong with resetting expectations. It's painful. And yes, for day two, maybe three, your stocks will indeed get killed, it's true, by the analysts. But unless you're holding the chart upside down, it's telling you that the food and beverage companies exactly what they have to do. Slash prices, slash estimates, merge the same costs and then start all over again. I think it's the only way they can get out of this jam that they actually never saw coming and refuse to acknowledge when everyone else knows exactly what's happening. I like to say, as always, more markets somewhere. I promise I find just for you right here on Made Money. I'm Jim Cramer. See you next time.
Elliot Kaelin
All opinions expressed by Jim Cramer on this podcast are solely Kramer's opinions and do not reflect the opinions of cnbc, NBC Universal, or their parent company or affiliates, and may have been previously disseminated by Kramer on television, radio, Internet or another medium. You should not treat any opinion expressed by Jim Cramer as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy, but only as an expression of his opinion. 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 Is it time to reimagine your future? The right business skills may make a difference in your career. At Capella University, we offer a relevant education that's designed to focus on what you need to know in the business world. We'll teach professional skills to help you pursue your goals like business management, strategic planning, and effective communication, and you can apply these skills right away. A different future is closer than you think with Capella University. Learn more@capella.edu.
Mad Money w/ Jim Cramer: January 8, 2025 Episode Summary
Released on January 9, 2025
Jim Cramer opens the episode by providing a comprehensive overview of the current stock market landscape:
Market Performance: The Dow Jones Industrial Average saw a gain of 107 points, advancing by 0.16%, while the NASDAQ dipped slightly by 0.06%. Cramer attributes these movements to "the vicissitudes of the bond market," which experienced significant fluctuations but ultimately stabilized ("00:58").
Bond Market Volatility: He highlights the unpredictable nature of the bond market, noting its impact on stock prices throughout the trading day ("00:58").
Cramer delves into the issue of fraud within the stock market, particularly focusing on overheated stocks that lack solid fundamentals:
Negative Correlation and Fraud: He emphasizes the danger of investors getting carried away with "concepts, not earnings, not sales," leading to a market entrenched in fraud ("01:45").
Overextended Sectors: Cramer identifies several overextended sectors, including AI, alternative energy, consumer fintech, enterprise software, space, and what he terms "Trump winners" ("02:30"). He warns investors to be cautious with these "firecracker" stocks as they enter the "danger zone" due to their speculative nature.
A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to contrasting Nvidia with various quantum computing stocks:
Bullish on Nvidia: Cramer lauds Nvidia as "the vanguard of the new industrial revolution," predicting that it will revolutionize workplaces with advancements in robotics, autonomous vehicles, and healthcare technology ("05:30"). He urges listeners to "own this one, please don't trade it," underscoring Nvidia's strong sales and earnings growth ("06:10").
Bearish on Quantum Computing Stocks: In stark contrast, Cramer criticizes quantum computing stocks, describing them as "the most chimerical, the most dangerous, least popular, most hyped" ("07:15"). He cites recent statements from Jensen Huang of Nvidia, who pushed back the timeline for useful quantum computers to "20 years," leading to a significant sell-off in these stocks ("08:00"). Cramer advises investors to sell these overhyped stocks before insiders capitalize on their inflated prices ("08:46").
Cramer shifts focus to the uptick in merger and acquisition activities under President Trump's administration, contrasting it with the Biden era's stringent antitrust regulations:
Impact of Administration Change: He explains that the Trump administration's more lenient stance on M&A has led to a "deluge of M&A deals," unlike the previous administration where companies often avoided pursuing mergers due to anticipated regulatory hurdles ("09:50").
Highlighted Deals:
Cramer's Analysis: He commends these mergers as making "great business sense" and expresses optimism about increased deal activity, citing Goldman Sachs' stock purchase as a positive indicator for the trust ("12:00").
Cramer provides an in-depth analysis of the ongoing legal battle over the potential TikTok ban in the United States:
Legislative Background: The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, signed by President Biden, stipulates a ban on TikTok unless it's sold to an American firm by January 19, 2025 ("22:03").
Supreme Court Involvement: The case has escalated to the Supreme Court, which is set to hear oral arguments, determining the fate of TikTok in the US ("24:00").
Stakeholder Positions:
Potential Market Impact:
Cramer's Verdict: He describes the outcome as "anybody's ballgame," emphasizing the uncertainty surrounding the case and its broader market repercussions ("27:00").
Throughout the episode, Cramer engages with callers seeking investment advice:
Susan from New Jersey on HPQ (HP Inc.):
Other Callers:
In the Lightning Round segment, Cramer offers quick buy, sell, or hold recommendations for various stocks:
Pfizer (PFE): "It's too low to sell. I can't recommend it. I just don't want you to sell it." Suggests holding for dividends and potential acquisition news ("40:23").
QuantumScape (QS): Advises selling due to lack of progress and believes the stock lacks potential ("41:37").
Other Stocks: Reiterates confidence in Nvidia for robotics and expresses concerns over Vertex's new drug pipeline.
Towards the end of the episode, Cramer shifts focus to the food and beverage sector, highlighting challenges posed by GLP1 drugs:
Impact of GLP1 Drugs: These drugs, used for diabetes and weight loss, are reducing the demand for processed and high-calorie foods. Cramer notes that "junk food isn't selling as well as it used to" and cites J.M. Smucker's acquisition of Hostess Brands as reflective of this trend ("43:21").
Strategic Recommendations for the Sector:
Cramer's Outlook: He predicts continued declines for packaged food stocks unless significant strategic changes are implemented, emphasizing the need for denominations in expectations and operational adjustments ("43:21").
Cramer wraps up the episode by reaffirming his commitment to uncovering market opportunities and advises listeners to stay informed and adaptable amidst the evolving financial landscape. He signs off with a promise to continue delivering insightful market analysis and encourages audience engagement through calls and the Lightning Round.
Notable Quotes:
On Market Fraud: “When these firecrackers get severely overheated, you've got to be very careful because it means buyers are getting carried away with concepts, not earnings, not sales.” – Jim Cramer (01:45)
On Nvidia: “Nvidia stock often gets a lot of heat for being too high, but none of what happens there is froth. The revolution is real.” – Jim Cramer (05:50)
On Quantum Computing Downturn: “Yesterday, Jensen Huang told us the truth about this group and I want you to listen.” – Jim Cramer (07:15)
On M&A Activity: “While this deluge was widely anticipated because of the change in administrations, it's still good to see some confirmation. Makes me feel confident betting on more deal activity.” – Jim Cramer (12:00)
On TikTok Ban: “The final briefs filed by both TikTok and the US solicitor general give us really a great indication of how each party will argue the case.” – Jim Cramer (25:00)
On Food and Beverage Stocks: “They have to accept that the housing days are gone and start trying to make money for their shareholders again.” – Jim Cramer (43:21)
This episode of Mad Money w/ Jim Cramer offers a deep dive into the current market dynamics, highlighting both opportunities and pitfalls. Cramer's insights into overhyped stocks, strategic M&A activities, regulatory impacts on tech giants like TikTok, and sector-specific challenges provide listeners with a nuanced understanding of the financial landscape as of early 2025.