D (8:28)

Evan. Hi, Jim. How are you? Thank you for taking my call.

C (8:32)

Oh, I'm glad you called me, Evan. How can I help you?

D (8:36)

I wanted to ask about how you feel about Domino's Pizza after the recent.

C (8:40)

I gotta tell you, man, I happen to love Russell Weiner. I think he's terrific. But, boy, they missed the quarter. And when I read over the conference call, I just didn't find anything that made me feel that this is the level. I couldn't say this is the level because I got other restaurateurs doing incredibly well. I got Starbucks doing well. And I've got Kevin Hockman at Brinker doing incredibly well. And I have Domino's, by the way. Yum was good. And. But they're. They're getting out of pizza. But no, no, it wasn't good. And I don't want it for the yield. Let's go to Jerry in California.

D (9:13)

Jerry, Jim, big ocean wave. Booyah to you from California.

C (9:18)

Fantastic. And I'm glad to have you on the show. What can I tell you what can I say to you? What do you got?

D (9:23)

Hey, great piece recently on Viking Cruises.

C (9:26)

Oh, thank you. Thank you. You.

D (9:29)

You captured that to a T. So. So, Jim, we got into this early. So are we trading this or staying invested in the leaders of the sea?

C (9:42)

We do not trade Viking Holdings. We think that folking Viking holdings with Torstenhagen is about as good as it gets. We spent a lot of time with Toro on the on that last time when he was in New York. And let me just say this. That one if $78 feels a lot like 100. All right. The best tech days, well, ironically is the best ones are old tech. Aside from Amazon and Google. I just don't have that much to say about the others. One of them I like Ford Motor better. Okay. On Man Money today. Breaker, the company behind Chili's and the aforementioned Breaker should say Chili's and Maggiano soared today after earnings. What's working for this restaurant chain? Others aren't. I'm going to check in with the CEO then. With the averages roaring back this month, the IPO market has started to pick up some steam. I'm sharing if newly public company X Energy could energize your portfolio. And Sofi fell over 14% today on an inline earnings and unchanged guidance. I gotta figure out what the heck is going on. Let's bring in the CEO and stay with crap.

E (10:56)

Don't miss a single 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 hey Fidelity.

A (11:19)

Can I get a second opinion on

C (11:20)

stocks in the Fidelity app?

F (11:22)

With Fidelity, it's easy to get an outside opinion from independent experts in a single score. And then when you're ready, trade US stocks and ETFs with no commissions.

G (11:33)

That's right.

F (11:34)

I am always right.

H (11:36)

Investing involves risk, including risk of loss online US equity trades and ETFs and retail fidelity account sell order assessment fee not included. Some account types and securities excluded. Details@fidelity.com commissions Fidelity Brokerage Services, LLC member NYSE SIPC

B (11:49)

he loves it freezing. She loves it hot. The pod by eight sleep ends the argument for good with independent temperature zones that keep both of you sleeping deeper. Try it@8sleep.com

F (12:03)

if you're looking for new ways to get ahead, then you're our kind of person. We're Udemy and we help Learners like you upskill in AI productivity, leadership and management and more. Learn at your own pace from real world experts. You can also prep for certifications that show employers what you know upskill for the career you want@udemy.com now back to your regularly scheduled listening listening.

C (12:39)

This morning we got one of those better than feared quarters from Bricker International pairing of Chili's Imaginas. And that was enough to send the stock up double digits. I love that. While it's still down from its early 2025 highs, investors were braced for a disaster somehow and instead they got just a real good number. All January was soft because of bad weather. Then February and March were much stronger. I love that. What's known as Cadence Plus Management raised the low end of their full year earning earnings forecast. Stock had sort of hard going into the quarter, worries about rising costs instead of the consumer. So these numbers were enough to send it flying. Madger also said April's off to a strong start. So I bet you're going to get some analysts saying good things tomorrow. So let's take a closer look with Kevin Hawkman is the president CEO of Brinker National Moore. Hey Kevin, welcome back to Bad money.

G (13:22)

Hey Jim, thanks for having me on the show again.

C (13:24)

All right, 20 quarters, 20 consecutive quarters of same store sales growth. 31% comp from last year for Chili's. How's that possible?

G (13:35)

Yeah, we just keep rolling with the food, service and atmosphere, the fundamentals of casual dining. 20 consecutive quarters of same store sales growth. You know, we're now the number two casual dining brand in the US on sales. We're retained our number one stance as the number one traffic brand. We are now the number one alcohol restaurant brand in America. So we are firing on all cylinders. And it starts with our team members taking care of our guests. And that's exactly what's happening. And our extreme value that's working in the marketplace combined with that experience is unbeatable.

C (14:07)

Okay, so let me ask you, how is it possible a little bit of magician on your part. You've got beef inflation. You've got high repair maintenance costs. You got general inflation areas like utilities and rent to go supplies, delivery fees, beverage and food costs unfavorable by 60 basis points. How are you able to make even more money when every one of those is unfavorable?

G (14:27)

Yeah, you know, structurally what we've been doing is just growing our business. So we make sure that the consumer gets incredible value that they can't get any anywhere else. We know if they're going to pull back on trips because of the economy, at least they know they can get a great deal at Chili's. And so as we grow our AUVs or sales per restaurant, we're able to cover those costs and then continue to grow margins. So, you know, I'm really proud of the team. We keep costs really tight. The second thing I would tell you is we have some structural economic benefits that some of the other channels don't have. We have all walks of life that come into our restaurant, whether they're low income or high income, and they all want different things. And so we're able to make sure we meet the consumer where they are. If it's a 1099amazing value meal from our 3 for Me menu, or if it's something that's more premium, you're always going to get a great value of Chili's. And that's why we're capturing market share right now.

C (15:15)

Now, a new sandwich, always going to get people excited. I loved in the conference call. People should listen, read the conference call before you buy the stocks. You know, you like giving people too much food.

G (15:27)

Yeah. You know, there was an insight. So a year ago, we saw the insight that people were really frustrated with fast food prices and they were posting their receipts online. This year we saw a new thing. We call it shrinkflation. So it's when the customer notices that their portion size has gotten smaller because folks are trying to offset higher input costs. And so instead of shrinkflation, we said, let's go do the opposite thing. Let's make a chicken sandwich that's 80% bigger than the leading fast foods premium chicken sandwich. And we've confirmed that here in the Dallas era, testing hundreds of sandwiches, we have a much bigger sandwich. Let's go ahead and sell it in our Three for Me menu at $10.99 with a limited chips and salsa, bottomless drinks and fries, and let's see how we do. And so far, that product, or that I should say that dish is off to a great start. And we're selling 161% more sandwiches today than we were pre the new platform. So we couldn't be more excited about fighting shrimpflation with Chili's. And it's working so far.

C (16:20)

I may have to pivot and go away for three for me for the first time in a long time and go for that chicken sandwich. It sounds very good. You know, I love to eat at your place. Now, one of the reasons I love to eat your place, you said wealthy people not so well, everybody goes, is that you give me name brand liquor? Are you still giving people name brand liquor in those markets?

G (16:41)

Well, of course we're doing that. And so, you know, we have this market of the month. And so this month, actually, it starts tomorrow because tomorrow is national Boba Day. And so we're going to start it a day early. This is our Popping boba markets for $6. And it's got Lunazool tequila, it's got Deep Eddy lemon vodka, it's got house sour, it's got watermelon, and of course, it's got Popping Boba. And, you know, it's interesting, we were tasting this in the test kitchen, and the bobas cost a little bit of money. And folks are like, how are we going to pay for this? I'm like, I know you guys will figure it out because we got to keep this thing $6. And that's exactly what they did.

C (17:13)

Are you going to tell people, I mean, I got to get a reservation. I mean, Cinco de Mayo's coming up. You're going to crush it.

G (17:20)

Well, you know, the cool thing about Cinco de Mayo is you don't need to have a special deal or a special day to create a great value at Chili's. You're always going be able to get a $6 mark. No matter what time of day you come in, whether it's happy hour or not, we're always going to have that value.

C (17:32)

Okay, one last thing. I think people need to know that the check really is cheaper. Three, four dollars versus every. But everybody else now is. You don't necessarily brag about that. You talk about value. Do you think that people just recognize the difference somehow that they're smart enough to know? I mean, even though you look, you have cattle, it goes up every day. There's very few companies other than you in Texas Roadhouse have been able to hold the price. Do they say, wait a second, this seem cheaper?

G (18:00)

Well, that's obviously what's happening because, you know, a lot of folks are complaining that the consumer is not showing up. The reality is the consumer is showing up when there's great value. And so they know when they go to Chili's, even if they don't shop the three for menu, three three me menu, or the $6 market of the month, they're going to get an amazing value anywhere they shop the menu, whether it's our burgers, our chicken crispers, our chicken sandwiches, our fajitas, our ribs, they're all incredible value. And that's why we're Winning. So, you know, the numbers would say we're three to four dollars less than our casual dining competition. But the reality is the consumer knows when they come in they're going to get an amazing deal at chili.

C (18:32)

One last question. Am I going to see a tick tock explosion of people eating the chicken sandwich?

G (18:39)

Well, absolutely. You know, when you have value, that's this good and well, here's what we're seeing the influencer doing. They're going to fast food joints, they're getting their chicken sandwich and they're comparing it to our chicken sandwich and there's no comparison. I mean it's literally, it's way better than any TV ad I could make because it's a before your eyes demo that this chicken sandwich is gigantic. It's the exact opposite of shrinkflation. And so yeah, you're going to see that all over your feed because people love great value and they share it and they like it. And so that's why you're going to see it on your feet.

C (19:06)

Well, that's called cinema verite. I want to thank Kevin Hockman, presidency of Brink International for an excellent quarter. Kevin, I'm glad to have you back on the show.

G (19:16)

Hey, thanks so much, Jim. Appreciate it.

C (19:17)

Of course, bad money is back after the break.

E (19:20)

Coming up, a new player in the nuclear energy space just entered the market. So should you be buying in? Kramer is taking a closer look at X Energy.

C (19:32)

Next.

A (19:35)

Building a portfolio with Fidelity Basket Portfolios is kind of like making a sandwich. It's as simple as picking your stocks and ETFs sort of like your meats and other topics and managing it as one big juicy investment. Now that's pretty good. Learn more@fidelity.com baskets Investing involves risks, including risk of loss. Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC Member nyse, SIPC

B (20:05)

Spring nights can't decide if they're hot or cold and neither can you. 2 the pod by 8 sleep is a smart matches cover with dual temperature zone so one side of the bed stays cool while the other stays warm. Autopilot adjusts automatically as you sleep and it's clinically proven to boost deep sleep by 27%. Better sleep for both of you. No compromise. Neven try the pod by Eight Sleep at Eight Sleep.com what made you confident

F (20:37)

that you could do something that hadn't been done before? I have no fear of failure. Trailblazing women, changing the game.

C (20:45)

One of my favorite pieces of advice,

G (20:46)

think about what your boss's boss needs.

F (20:49)

Leadership can look in many, many different forms. It really does Come down to just trusting yourself. Life is short and you just gotta think big to accomplish big things. Julia Boorstin hosts CNBC Changemakers and Power Players. New episodes every Tuesday, wherever you get your podcast.

C (21:12)

The averages actually not today, but this month have been roaring. And that's allowed the IPO market to pick up with real steam. That includes a new way to play the nuclear power space, X Energy, that came public with a bang last week. Even if the nuclear stocks aren't as hot as they were last fall, and boy, were they smoking before the house of pain, there's still a ton of interest in this business because it's the cleanest way to place to power all these new data centers that we're putting up. Nuclear is the cleanest way, some would say the safest way. So let's take a closer look with X Energy, which is the designer of advanced nuclear reactor technology and a manufacturer to advanced nuclear fuels. They've been working on a small modular reactor design for more than a decade. In theory, these are the lower cost, much lower cost than traditional nuclear reactors, and they take much less time to deploy. At the same time, X Energy has designed a specific type of fuel, fuel that allows these reactors to operate safely, even a very high temperature, which presents advantages for certain industrial use cases. Now, X Energy will be producing this fuel at its own facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, near the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The first fuel facility should be completed within the next two years or so. I bring this up because X Energy doesn't really plan to build its own reactors, let alone own and operate them. They're going for more of what we call razor razor blade business model. The company wants to license its technology to customers and then let them build their own small modular reactors and then sell them the fuel they need to operate at peak efficiency. I really like that because historically building nuclear power plants has been a very tough business where a lot of money has been lost selling designs and fuel for nuclear plants sounds a lot more enticing, safer and more lucrative. Of course, X Energy is still in its early stages, but they have three big initial customers already lined up up Amazon, Dow and Centrica. Okay, Centric, well, listen. And the latter is one of the largest gas and electric utilities in the UK and Ireland, according to Energy Quote. Advanced development efforts are already underway on the first Dow project at its Sea Drift operations site in Texas and the first Amazon project in connection with Energy north west, end quote. Hey, by the way, when Amazon signed on as a major customer in the fall of 2024, it also took a big stake in X Energy and still owns more than 20% of the company. I like that they're believers. Hey, same goes for Ares Management. That's a private equity firm we know very well, as well as Ken Griffin of Citadel, Steve Cohen's Point, 72 Jane Street, Cathie Woods, Ark Invest, and even the University of Michigan Go Blue. That's just mighty impressive list. But if we're talking about backers, I need to mention Ex Energy has a very good relationship with the Department of Energy dating back to December 2020. That's when the company was awarded a $1.2 billion as part of an advanced reactor demonstration program. One of the last things the first Trump administration did was to set up this business this set up this division. So far, $438 million of cost reimbursements have gone through. So the company's got $762 million. With the potential reimbursements for Uncle Sam still in the pipe. With its ipo, X Energy falls into a group of publicly traded next generation nuclear energy companies focused on small modular reactor designs. Think oclo, which a lot of you love the New scale. But X Energy has very different business model than these guys and they also went through the normal IPO process rather than sneaking in via a spac, which you know, I don't like. I like the rigor of the IPO process. So how about the numbers? While the company still very unproparable, there are some positives here. First, unlike OCLO and New Scale, X Energy actually has a decent amount of revenue with $109 million in sales last year. In comparison, Ocos had raised their had zero revenue today, while New Scale has been bringing in 30 to 40 million dollars a year. Ex Energy is making this money from service payments coming from its initial customers as well as grant payments from the Department of Energy. Of course, the company still burn in money in terms of profitability. We're talking about $230 million loss last year. But I honestly wouldn't sweat that too much because X Energy spending big in order to expand, which is what you want to see at this point in its trajectory. Plus the company's got a pristine balance sheet. And after the IPO, they now have roughly $1.4 billion in cash equivalents, along with nearly $600 billion in additional investments. Hey, that's a big cushion for a company that's likely to keep losing money for at least a few more years. Finally, so valuation, which is very difficult to do, the extent that means that Means anything for a money losing company like this one. As I mentioned earlier, Ex Energy came public with a bang. They were originally looking to sell 42.886 million shares shares at a price between 1619. But the deal was upsized to 44.25 million shares and eventually priced at 23 bucks. That's well above the range. That is one of those things I typically say don't buy, don't buy. But I like the company. Last Friday it then opened for trading at $30.11 and it got as high as $37 and changed at its intraday highs yesterday. Though it's since cooled off and come back down to $31 today. Basically flat with where it opened. But that's a 35% gain if you got in on the deal at this price. X Energy is being valued at around $12 billion. It's hard to say whether that. But that's a good or bad price given that we're at least a year away from substantial revenues and maybe years away from profits. Understand this is obviously very speculative position I'm talking about. You can only buy a stock like this with money that you can afford to lose. It's high risk. But if X Energy does pan out and become a major player in America's nuclear energy renaissance, that it is going to be a high reward stock. It's kind of stock I recommend in how to make money in any market because you know I'm pro smart speculation. I think everyone should own one speculative stock. Maybe this is for you. For comparison's sake though. X Energy's market cap now puts it above our close 11.3 billion and makes it much larger than new scale at 3.9 billion. Then again with more revenue than those two companies and some great initial customers you could argue deserves to trade at a substantial premium to both of them. So here's the bottom line. If you feel compelled to speculate on something connected to nuclear power, then I think X Energy is the way to go. Just remember that it's still insanely speculative and if certain things happen, say interest rates spike or a data center construction boom slows down, or there's some sort of kind of like a regulation setback about nukes and this stock will be crushed. But buying those terrible outcomes. I like X Energy. As long as you're comfortable with the risk again though, buy it with the money that you're prepared to lose. But by all means buy it if you're really hung up on nuclear power. All right, let's go to some questions let's go to Ian in Florida. Ian, Booyah.

D (28:00)

Jim. How you doing?

C (28:01)

I am doing well, Ian, booyah to you. What's up?

D (28:05)

All good, Jim. Jim, I wanted to ask you about an aerospace stock. So it's ge. What do you think about it here

C (28:14)

is it right here? Enough is enough. It's been going down because people are worried about air travel. I think this is a maintenance stock. Now there's not as much travel so there's not as much maintenance as needed of the planes. That's when you buy GE Aerospace because otherwise it doesn't come down. This is a good moment to buy GE actually. Really good quarter by the way. John in New York. John.

D (28:38)

Hey Jim, how are you doing?

C (28:40)

I am doing well, John. I'm sorry.

D (28:43)

Good, good, good. I've held AT&T for quite some time now. I'm thinking about selling it. What do you think of this particular stock?

C (28:51)

Look, I like, I like growth and I like income. It gives you the income but the growth side is not there. You know, honestly, I mean if you wanted to own a stock with that had growth in income, I would prefer you own a master limited partnership. Some of those ones that have done really well during the war that it did really well before the war. I'm thinking about enter enterprise product. I want to Monaco by one. Oh, swap out of that and go to one. Okay. I'll feel a lot better about it now. If you want to speculate on something connected nuclear power then I actually think that this X energy just came public may be the way to go. Just remember it's insanely speculative but when we have money ahead, including my exclusive is so fine. Seeing today with split investors in the digital bank's quarterly report. Let's get the details from the CEO. And restaurants are tough to run but we're seeing a remarkable turnaround in a capital trust company that needs to be studied. I'll reveal it and break down the story. And of course all your calls. Rapid fire. Tonight's edition of the lightning round the steroid cramp. What the heck just happened to the stock of Sofi Technology Technologies, the preferred digital bank of the younger generation? Here's the Stocks had incredible run going from $8 and change at its post liberation day lows a year ago to $32 and change last of ever as a longtime so five bull and everybody knows that I felt the move was vindication. Then the stock started rolling over again, selling off part of the broader AI displacement meltdown. I think that's crazy. This is a bank for Heaven's sake. You can't have Claude Vibe code you a bank. As of yesterday, though, so far it pulled back to 18. When it reported this morning, the results were mostly in line, but the guidance for the current quarter was disappointing. In response, the stock plunged more than 15% today. Perhaps that's excessive. Don't take it from me, though. Let's check in with Anthony Noto, the CEO of SoFi Technology. Get a better read on the quarter, not a welcome back to Mad Money.

H (30:44)

Thank you, Jim. Thanks for having me.

C (30:46)

Okay, so I look for your bank for great growth, and from the looks of things, I got plenty of growth. Just maybe even better than usual, wouldn't you say?

H (30:56)

Yes, it's quite remarkable. We had 41% revenue growth and we had 31% margins. And so for the 18th consecutive quarter, we exceeded the golden rule of 40 at 72. We had record new member growth at 35%, record product growth at 37%. And our cross buy was also strong at 43%. So really operating, hitting on all cylinders.

C (31:19)

All right, so when I hear that, I think, all right, beaten raise. But you did not raise. So I've got to try to understand, because as someone who felt just at $18 not that long ago that there could be an exceptional year for earnings, I'm concerned.

H (31:34)

You know, we did not raise the full year guidance because when we originally gave the full year guidance, we were anticipating at least 2 Federal Reserve rate cuts. And now we're assuming that there will be no rate cuts because that's what the forward curve is indicating. And so that's a tougher environment to operate in. And we didn't think this was an environment for us to be overly aggressive. We're still growing revenue over 30% for the full year, and we're still driving 40% earnings growth over the next three years, which are pretty significant growth expectations. So to raise the bar in an environment that is uncertain on the interest rate front and what's going on with the Middle east, we just didn't see it as a prudent thing to do. We feel great about the trends, the underlying business, but we did not take the. The outlook up as many other companies also did the same.

C (32:17)

Well, if that's the case and you don't want to be overly aggressive, your words then. It is disconcerting to me that you're keeping so many loans on your balance sheet. You and I have seen when bankers get too aggressive and they keep back loans on the balance sheet, it's often a sign that they can't sell the loans. Or maybe they want to take on a little more risk than I know I would have thought if I bought the stock of SoFi.

H (32:42)

You know, we're still leveraging the ability to sell loans. Our loan platform business generated over $2 billion of originations for partners. We have a lot of capital on our balance sheet. Our capital ratios are quite high. We raised money last year which gives us the flexibility. We did provide a new metric for investors to give them comfort with the quality of our performance in our loans. We announced that we did over $1 billion of cash revenue. $690 million of that cash revenue is revenue that's generated from net interest income that is our members paying us for their loans and the interest on their loans. That's quite significant. And it's performed pretty well and continue to perform consistently because the credit performance has been consistent. So in some ways we're creating a recurring revenue stream by keeping some of those loans on our balance sheet. We are still selling loans and we're still doing loan platform business but we have the ability to grow the lending business via both channels.

C (33:38)

Okay. So I like many other people have to deal with periodically with with people who want a stock lower. Now I know a lot of people who may not understand. There are people who literally are betting against companies and hoping the stock will go down. There's a particular firm that seems to be thinking that you have a much higher default rate than you then I think you do have. How do you shadow shadowbox against someone who genuinely is able to say what they want about it because it's a free country.

D (34:06)

Yeah.

H (34:07)

You just have to compare it versus our actual results. That comparison is inaccurate. Our actual results so that our loss rate is in line with expectations and significantly different than what's been reported by others that think it's higher. So it's just the facts. We point people towards the disclosures which we're comfortable with and our team's comfortable with and the performance of the loans have been pretty consistent.

C (34:28)

Okay so but there are many pages in your deck which is an excellent deck which show you're taking a long term approach and I love that and you know you've got technology platform segment. These are the things that I'm so excited about. Am I? I, I don't want you to become another bank because I can own capital One. I, I don't want to do that. I want have members. I have some capital one my capital but I want to have members growth a long term approach using technology platform and I don't want you to have as much heavy banking. Do you think I'm wrong in thinking that I want say Nodo light, so to speak?

H (35:04)

No, I, we agree with you, Jim. And the other metric that we released that's on the non lending side is that we generated $390 million of cash revenue from non interest income. And this is revenue that's being generated from our technology platform. It's being generated from our brokerage business which increased 2x year over year. It's from origination fees, debit and credit card interchange of revenue in addition to our loan platform fees. And so we have a good mix of both lending revenue that's generated that was called $690 million and then non lending revenue that is non interest cash revenue of $390 million. Now the great thing about the $390 million is that a couple years ago that was very small and it couldn't contribute to our profitability and growth the way it can today. And so the $390 million was virtually non existent five years ago. And that's all the non lending benefits that we're generating.

C (35:58)

Okay.

H (35:58)

So not to mention the fact that we're launching big business banking so far USD and cryptocurrency which are all new and will contribute to that as well.

C (36:06)

I hear these things and I think I interviewed Vlad 10 of Today that Robinhood not that great a quarter candidly. And I was hoping that you would do the Trump accounts, that you would get some of that business. It's a natural to have it go to.

H (36:18)

So far, yes, we will likely benefit from the Trump accounts as well. The way the government is using this is doing one trustee to start, but then those individuals and those parents can move the funds where they want to appropriately, you know, potentially coming to SoFi. So the government's likely to announce three to four other partners for the Trump accounts. And once the money's dispersed initially to the bank of New York accounts, then people can transfer it to three or four of these other trusted entities, one of which we are bidding to be part of.

C (36:52)

Now Vlad's Putting aside 100 million to set this up. I mean that that's a lot of capital. Do you think that you're ready to do it without that much work?

H (37:00)

We've already built the account and it didn't cost us anything close to $100 million.

G (37:04)

Really?

H (37:05)

Yes, we, we already have our invest accounts. We build on, you know, we build on our technology platform. So we built these accounts well before this time period to make sure we're ready come July when ultimately individuals will be given those initial awards into their accounts and hopefully be able to switch to other accounts like SoFi. Well, I think we do a much better job. We think we do a much better job of educating people to how to invest in the future. Spend less than they make and invest the rest. And we do it in a more responsible way, giving people opportunities in SoFi ETFs as well as SoFi Auto investing in our robo accounts.

C (37:42)

Excellent. Okay, I didn't know that and I'm glad to hear it. I thought you would be a natural. I was saying why. I don't know why I didn't go for that business. Well, I was wrong. You went for it and you've got it. That's terrific. Anthony nuttall is the CEO of SO5 Technologies. So Fi. Thank you, Anthony.

H (37:58)

Thank you, Jim.

C (37:59)

Mad money's back after the break.

E (38:02)

Coming up, you've got questions. Kramer's got the answers. Get charged up for a fast fire lightning round next.

C (38:19)

It is time. It's time for the light sources ahead of time. I stand prepared to grab a supply. We plan to sell and then the lightning round is over. Are you ready? Ski dad. Hello. Right now, Christopher, let's start with Todd in California. Todd, Mike Kramer.

D (38:35)

You doing buddy?

C (38:36)

I am doing well, Todd. How about you?

D (38:38)

I'm doing great, thank you. My family's been vacationing in Reno, Nevada for years. It's close to Lake Tahoe and the ski resorts.

C (38:45)

Okay.

D (38:46)

Reno seems to be having a resurgence lately. And the best resort hotel casino in Reno is the family owned Atlantis. We love the rewards program. They also own Monarch Resort Casino in blackrock Hawk, Colorado. The company ticker is mcri.

C (39:06)

You know something, Todd? I do not know that casino. I have cool many of the casino stocks. I think I should check out Monarch. I am going to go to Ben Stodo after this research director and we're going to figure out why this stock has had just such an amazing run. Because boy, I need a new name after Wynn. Really not working out anymore. Let's go to Dan, Dave in Illinois.

D (39:28)

Dave, Dr. Kramer. Or should I call you Mr. Pink? It's Mr. White here.

C (39:34)

Oh my. Okay, reservoir. What's happening?

D (39:38)

Jim? This $73 billion technology company provides hardware, software and service solutions for networks worldwide. You mentioned them last week in your segment. 16 stocks that got away. This, this stock's performance since the middle of last year has been nothing short of spectacular. Up 500%. So Jim, can you along with Jeff Marks take a deeper dive into Sienna

C (40:04)

Corp. No, don't need to. That one, Dave. That one got us got away. That was Gary. He did an incredible job. If it came back down, I mean in fairness. Went up to 527, come down to 475. But David's up 100 and I do. People talk about this rule of 40 they love. I think up 100% is a little bit too hot for me, so I'm gonna have to hold off. Boy, I remember when I bought that thing at the end in 1999, I crushed it. Let's go to Bob in Florida.

F (40:32)

Bob.

D (40:34)

Hey Jim, thanks for taking my call.

C (40:36)

Thank you.

D (40:38)

Real quick. I ran into you in New York about 15 years ago on the street and you were kind enough to take a selfie with me and I appreciate that. My son and I love your show.

C (40:47)

Be nice as it is to be mean. Thank you very much. What's going on?

D (40:52)

Well, I'm knee deep in Applied material or Applied Digital right now and they just signed that big 7.5 million dollar billion dollar contract with a.

C (41:06)

Yeah, but the problem there is that you've got stock that is making no money in a market where many people are making money and people are switching from the losers to the winners. I'm going to say no to Applied Digital but I do want to go to Lewis in Pennsylvania. Lewis.

D (41:23)

Hey Jim, thanks for taking my call. I'd like to get a buy, sell or hold on Flagstar Bank.

C (41:29)

I know Flagstar Bank. I'm going to give you a hold and I'll tell you what happens. It's going to give you a hold. Don't bite, don't bite, don't buy. There's nothing special. It's not making all that much money, doesn't have that big a dividend. It's just like eh. I don't like air. No reason to buy it. Let's take another. Let's go to Chemo in California. Chemo. Kimo.

D (41:48)

Hello, Jim, it's Chemo from California.

C (41:50)

Okay, Chemo. Great having me on the show.

D (41:53)

Thank you. My fiance Michelle gifted me your book in December. I joined the club two days ago and we can't thank you enough for teaching us.

C (42:05)

Thank you. I mean it's. It's a service book. I try to explain to people the stuff I do every night because I think they need more help and same thing with club members. How can I help you?

D (42:15)

Oh, your teaching is tremendous. Your whole style and your strategies and so forth. Anyway, we've done quite well between December and now.

C (42:25)

Excellent.

D (42:26)

And due to your book. Oh, thank you.

C (42:29)

And that was the plan.

D (42:32)

I was wondering, what do you think about MP materials?

C (42:35)

Oh, I like it very much. It's the only one in that whole area really blessed because they've got the government's background, they've got the government's backing and they have really good solid management and they're doing just a huge number of good things. So I say yes to that one. Let's go to Doug in Pennsylvania. Doug. Jim. How are you?

D (42:53)

Thanks for having me. It's a pleasure. I'm unfortunately I had to call you.

G (42:57)

Thank you.

C (42:57)

No problem.

D (42:58)

Could you talk to me about Fermi?

C (43:01)

Now that is one that I can't bless at all. That seems not even like a science project. It's more like a kind of science drive by. I don't want you in that stock. But you saw that one tomorrow and I think you'll feel good. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the conclusion of the Lightning Round.

E (43:17)

The Lightning round is sponsored by Charles Schwab. Coming up, Kramer's steaming over analysts response to Starbucks quarter. He's ordering a recount next.

C (43:40)

At the end of every conference call, most companies hold a question answer session with the analysts. And after listening to a host of restaurant conference calls this quarter, I got to tell you, often these restaurant analysts, they should try running the restaurant themselves because they seem to be absolutely clueless about how this business works. Last night the once bedraggled Starbucks reported and beat the numbers and raised the forecast. The quarter was a home run, but the analysts were surprisingly new to talking about disappointing margins and guidance boost that seemed too small given the dramatic increase in same store sales. I think they got it all wrong and the market clearly agrees with me. Which is why Starbucks shut up more than 8% today. That's a massive gain. As someone who ran a restaurant for a decade, I can tell you that the key component of earnings is satisfying the customer with the basics. How quickly their food comes, how cordial the servers are, how strong the culture of hospitality is. It's not the taste or the price of what you're serving. As much as you might wish it were. Brian Niccol, the unbelievably good CEO, orchestrated the turnarounds at Yum Brands, Taco Bell as well as Chipotle. And now Starbucks knows this all too well. You fix all the service issues and then the customer wants to splurge for a Starbucks the customer is hard to win over will become a repeat customer. She'll join the loyalty program which has Been pretty stagnant for many years. She'll try the special. She might sign up to have her coffee ready every morning at 8am that comes this quarter by the way. And if she's well off, she'll regard her triple vented cappuccino with skim wet as an affordable luxury. If she isn't, it can be a nice size splurge. Nicholas investing in those customers now to see how they come. That way he knows they can become regulars later. Brian knows that in order to pull off this kind of turn, you're going to have to initially hurt your gross margins. He took them down to 10% but they should bounce back to 30% soon. He told me when I this morning when I spoke to him on Squawk on the street. And when they do, the naysayers will be forced to up upgrade. They'll have to as there are only a handful of companies in this business with better margins. Once Brian gets these margins in the right place, which he will, this stock will become cheap, cheap, cheap. Right now the whole group seems to have some pep. You heard from Breaker earlier, terrific numbers there. Yum Brands had an amazing quarter. The Yum quarters befitting the Disciples of Brian relies heavily on all of the technical executions I just mentioned earlier for its 8%. Same for sales growth including superior speed, improved customer experience and a superior loyalty program. Hey, by the way, Brinker sword 18. Yum jump three. Sometimes I wish success in the restaurant business seemed to be all about the mechanics. I don't like it. It's about the mechanics behind the scenes. See, here's what happened to me when we opened Bar San Miguel. I thought that our low price beer and our delicious food would be what brought the seats filled. Okay, that's what I thought would do it for us. It why it was and it turned out it was the service people loved our waiters and our bartenders. They got talked about. They put the people in the seats without them and the precision in the back, which is the kitchen, we would have gone out of business years ago. That's just how it works. It ain't the taste that an endless attention to detail, that's no fun at all. Has Starbucks gone? The stock gone up too far too fast? Oh, maybe for today. But nickel is a long may she run character. And that's exactly what I think will happen with the stock of Starbucks. I like to say there's always bull market summer. I promise. Try to find it. Just for you. Right here on Man Money. I'm Jim Cramer. See you tomorrow.

F (47:10)

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. 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 this episode is

A (47:43)

brought to you by Schwab Market Update, an original podcast from Charles Schwab. Join host Keith Lansford for this information packed daily market Preview delivered in 10 minutes or less, including including projected stock updates, monetary policy decisions and key results and statistics that may impact your trading. Download the latest episode and subscribe@schwab.com MarketUpdatePodcast or find Schwab Market Update. Wherever you get your podcasts.