Squawk Pod: Mario Gabelli on MSG & Joseph Stiglitz on the Trump Economy

Episode Date: February 19, 2026
Hosts: Joe Kernen, Andrew Ross Sorkin (Becky Quick off)
Special Guests: Mario Gabelli, Joseph Stiglitz

Episode Overview

This episode of the Squawk Pod dives deep into two hot topics shaking up Wall Street and Washington:

1. The latest developments in massive media mergers, with legendary investor Mario Gabelli weighing in on Warner Bros. Discovery, Netflix, Paramount, and the future of MSG’s sports franchises;
2. A sharp critique of the Trump administration’s economic policies, tariffs, and jobs record, courtesy of two-time Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz.

The conversation traverses market strategy, valuation of iconic sports assets, the paradoxical impacts of tariffs and trade policy, and the polarization over economic data in the US.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Media Mergers & The MSG Spinoff: Mario Gabelli’s Take

[12:20]–[23:02]

MSG Knicks & Rangers Split

• MSG's board is considering spinning off the Knicks and Rangers into separate public companies.
• Mario Gabelli:
  • "Forbes has a value of about $13 to $14 billion for them, we think it's clearly $11 billion. So the value per share is north of $350." (12:54)
  • Gabelli highlights alternate routes, including selling a piece of the "Remainco" (like Bob Kraft did with the Patriots):
    "Can they then sell a piece of Remainco, which is let's say the Knicks and the minor league... That's another option for them that they don't talk about." (10:16, 18:27)
  • Gabelli considers the scarcity value:
    • "You have 32 hockey teams...there's a scarcity value. Plus, the basketball teams are going more global." (14:08)
• Discussion of Dolan family control—no expectation of a takeover premium due to their voting stake:
  "They have the vote, but that's okay. It's consistent with league practices and so on." (17:39)

The Paramount-Netflix-Warner Bros. Discovery Deal

• Paramount’s bid for Warner Bros. Discovery currently looks more attractive than Netflix’s:
  • "In the case of Netflix, their stock's dropped from like $110 to $80 over the last four months...If they bump [the bid] to $31, it's closer to 9.5% [return]." (14:38)
  • Gabelli reflects on Netflix's strategy shift:
    "It's a change in the historical culture of Netflix where they would, you know, rent or lease the licenses. So what are they going to do next? The stock at $80 is oversold." (16:27)

Versant (NBCUniversal Spinoff) – A Bargain?

• Gabelli comments on the recent NBCUniversal spinoff, Versant (VSNT):
  • "The stock is a bargain. The only thing I don't have a handle on is why did Comcast keep a 5 year license renewal agreement on balance." (20:14)
  • On the agreement: "I would have preferred that they had it completely, but I can understand...maybe it's to preclude a hostile...money grab by someone because it's intrinsically undervalued...It's like a different kind of poison pill, so to speak." (21:05)

Gabelli’s Notable Quotes

• "You guys are the iconic thing that anybody in the world wants...to understand the pluses and minuses of U.S. capital markets..." (22:40)
• "Whoever doesn't win is going to look for something"—on the industry’s ongoing hunt for scale and content. (19:21)

2. Economic Policy, Tariffs, and Trump’s Legacy: Joseph Stiglitz Responds

[26:39]–[34:20]

Broad Economic Assessment

• Joseph Stiglitz:
  • "Not great right now. And the prospects are that it's going to get worse." (27:07)
• Inflation, tariffs, and the mystery of their impact:
  • "Economists always begin by asking the counterfactual...what would inflation have been but for the tariffs?...You look at those numbers, and it's about $1,000 for every American family. And those numbers line up very closely with the Federal Reserve numbers that Kevin Hassett criticized on your program." (27:20)
  • "If Hassett were right, we'd have to rewrite all the economics books...prices are affected by cost. There's no way you can get around that basic law of economics." (28:41)

The Problem with Tariffs

• Tariffs are regressive—"if you look at who is paying these tariffs, it is lower end people in terms of percentage of their incomes." (30:45)
• Critique of job-creation rationale:
  • "The whole idea was to bring back manufacturing jobs...You know what's happened...in the last year? They're down, they're down, they're down. Did he succeed? Might be a lag, might be, but they're down." (29:36)
• No meaningful gain in blue-collar or manufacturing jobs—growth is in healthcare, unrelated to tariffs.

On the Economic Policy Debate

• According to Stiglitz, there’s rare disagreement within the profession:
  • "Among the economics profession, there's not that much dispute...What is striking is...That's not true of the Trump CEA. I mean, he's laundered institutional credibility in the same way that I think Trump has undermined the institutional credibility of the Fed." (32:05)
• On Fed nominees:
  • "Anybody who gets appointed by Trump has to bend at the knee before Trump...Being appointed by Trump doesn't insulate you from pressure." (33:09)

Worries Over AI Hype at the Fed

• Stiglitz warns against overhyping AI-driven productivity:
  "I don't think there's any significant body of thought that thinks that AI productivity increases are going to percolate into the macro economy fast enough to justify any significant...lowering of interest rates." (33:33)

Notable Quotes & Highlights with Timestamps

• Mario Gabelli:
  • "The stock at $80 is oversold." (01:28, 16:27)
  • "Forbes has a value of about $13 to $14 billion for them, we think it's clearly $11 billion. So the value per share is north of $350." (12:54)
  • "You should feel great about yourselves because you guys are the iconic thing..." (22:40)
• Joseph Stiglitz:
  • "Not great right now. And the prospects are that it's going to get worse." (27:07)
  • "If Hassett were right, we'd have to rewrite all the economics books." (28:41)
  • "Blue collar jobs...the decline...is even larger. Where is the increase...Healthcare. Does that have anything to do with the tariffs? No." (31:13)
  • "Anybody who gets appointed by Trump has to bend at the knee before Trump." (33:09)

Important Segment Timestamps

• MSG Split & Sports Valuations: [12:20]–[14:29], [17:20]–[18:27]
• Warner Bros Discovery / Streaming M&A: [14:29]–[17:20], [19:13]–[20:53]
• Versant / NBCUniversal Spinoff Discussion: [19:59]–[22:03]
• Stiglitz on Tariffs, Jobs, Economy: [26:39]–[34:20]
• Stiglitz on the Fed and AI: [33:33]–[34:20]

Tone & Banter

The episode balances serious analysis with the hosts’ signature banter, particularly around Andrew Ross Sorkin’s birthday and donut consumption, but quickly pivots to hard-hitting assessments from both Gabelli and Stiglitz. The tone is lively, sometimes skeptical, often urgent—especially when speaking about economic distortions or the tense state of the media industry.

Summary Takeaways

• For Investors:

  • Scarcity and global appeal still underpin massive valuations of sports franchises; engineering spinoffs and partial sales remain key strategies.
  • Consolidation and content wars in streaming are far from settled; cash vs. stock, debt loads, and industry alliances are on investors’ radar.
  • Uncertainty over the NBCUniversal spinoff Versant’s long-term structure, but Gabelli deems it undervalued.

• For Policymakers and Economists:

  • Tariff policies, touted as means to bring back manufacturing, have not produced desired job results according to Stiglitz.
  • The debate over the Trump economy is less a battle among economists and more a political communication war.
  • Skepticism abounds regarding the touted economic payoff of AI advances, at least in the near term.