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Nvidia
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/30/how-schneider-electric-is-fueling-nvidia-infrastructure-growth.html?&qsearchterm=Nvidia
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How this $130 billion energy management company is fueling Nvidia’s infrastructure growth
| 2025-09-30T00:00:00
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Then last month, Schneider announced new, highly technical and detailed data center blueprints, developed with Nvidia, that the company says will significantly accelerate construction timelines as well as help operators adopt AI-ready infrastructure.
Schneider announced in June it would collaborate with Nvidia to serve the growing demand for sustainable, AI-ready infrastructure. This was a research and development partnership for power, cooling, controlling and high-density rack systems to enable the next generation of AI factories across Europe and eventually beyond.
It's the largest energy management provider for data centers, which represent about a quarter of its business, and it's working with chipmaker and Wall Street powerhouse Nvidia.
Despite its name, Schneider Electric does not generate electricity. It is an energy management company, mixing electrification and digitization together so customers know exactly where their energy is consumed and can optimize their energy usage in real time.
A version of this article first appeared in the CNBC Property Play newsletter with Diana Olick. Property Play covers new and evolving opportunities for the real estate investor, from individuals to venture capitalists, private equity funds, family offices, institutional investors and large public companies. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.
The first part of that is integrated power management and liquid cooling control systems. The second is a framework for the development of Nvidia's new Blackwell chips.
"We make sure, at every generation they come out with, that the solution we put together will minimize the consumption of energy to power their installations," said Jean-Pascal Tricoire, chairman of Schneider Electric. "Those chips, which are powering AI or enabling AI, are chips which are consuming a lot of energy, and you need to cool them directly on the chip by bringing liquid directly on the chip."
The partnership could prove extremely lucrative, especially given Nvidia's recent $100 billion investment in OpenAI. More data centers will mean more demand not just for energy but energy management.
"We are entering a new era of accelerated computing, where integrated intelligence across power, cooling and operations will redefine data center architectures," said Scott Wallace, director of data center engineering at Nvidia, in a release about the new Schneider designs.
In something of a positive feedback loop, AI is helping to increase energy efficiency, even as it sucks up more energy. This is not just in data centers, but in all of the built environment.
"To make it very simple, AI can help gain in efficiency four times more than it consumes, at least four to nine times more," said Tricoire.
Power consumption was already being digitized, but it had been difficult to optimize this at scale.
"Today, for the first time, we've got computing engines that can integrate all the complexity of what you do, what I do, what this data center is doing, what the grid can power, what this power plant can produce, what this solar rooftop can do, in real time and make sure that we consume much better at the right time, the right sort of energy. So it's a revolution of digital energy," Tricoire explained.
The proliferation of energy sources, including solar, wind, geothermal and nuclear, creates a decentralized model of energy production. This is one of the biggest changes in the market.
"If your home is not consuming any more electricity, because you are autonomous with solar batteries, because you recharge your electric vehicle, then that means you have freed enough power to power a fraction of this data center which is close to you," Tricoire said. "All of us can become, in our enterprises, in our homes, in our daily life, in professional life, actors of this transition, which is more efficient and more sustainable."
Tricoire pointed to other geographies, like Europe, India and China, that are turning to electrification because of a lack of fossil fuels. For them, it is the only way to be more competitive. He said that will lead to further innovation in the sector and push American companies to follow suit — even despite political headwinds in the U.S. for renewable energy.
"Companies are very pragmatic. If a solution makes money, they will go for it, right? And if, on top of it, it's better for their footprint, they will go even faster," said Tricoire. "There is so much innovation taking place today, and the cost curves of new technologies are going down so fast, that companies are adopting new ways of doing things."
Tricoire has been with the company nearly 40 years and says he has never seen the type of dramatic and swift maturity and growth in energy technology that he's seeing right now.
"I think people are completely underestimating the revolution which will happen in the field of energy in the two decades to come," said Tricoire, adding that the combination of electrification technologies, plus digitization, augmented to a whole new level by AI, creates a number of possibilities that we've never seen before.
"And the great news is that it's not things that should be deployed in 10 years' time, 20 years' time. Those are technologies that should be or can be deployed today with a great economic return," Tricoire said.
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Nvidia
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/30/nvidia-gets-a-price-target-hike-from-citi-on-ai-infrastructure-growth-openai-deal.html?&qsearchterm=Nvidia
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Nvidia gets a price target hike from Citi on AI infrastructure growth, OpenAI deal
| 2025-09-30T00:00:00
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Nvidia is poised for further upside as it ramps up initiatives to improve artificial intelligence infrastructure, including new products and partnerships, according to Citi. The investment bank, which has a buy rating on shares, raised its price target for Nvidia to $210 from $200, implying 15.5% upside from Monday's close. "While we await further details on the recent $100B OpenAI investment, we walked away incrementally positive on the company's roadmap and competitive positioning post Rubin CPX GPU launch," Citi analyst Atif Malik said Tuesday in a note to clients. "We model Oct/Jan[1]Qs sales $54B/$62B and adjust CY26/27 estimates +1%/+10% to align with Citi's updated AI infrastructure spending forecast and view on financing flows." Nvidia earlier this month unveiled its Rubin CPX , a high-end graphics processing unit capable of handling generative video creation at high speeds. The product, which will support advancements in generative AI technologies, is slated to debut in late 2026. The chipmaker also recently announced it would invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI, with the goal of building massive data centers to support the growth of the AI industry — a boon to its customers. "NVIDIA's roadmap is not impacted by this partnership and no change in commitment towards ARM. NVIDIA is giving customers more options with x86," Malik wrote. The analyst also noted that GTC Washington, a three-day AI conference taking place in late October, could lift the stock. CEO Jensen Huang is slated to deliver the keynote address. Malik's revised price target falls slightly below the average $213.34 target on the Street, LSEG data shows. NVDA YTD mountain NVDA year to date Nvidia shares were trading flat before the bell on Tuesday. The company's stock is up roughly 7% over the past month and 35% year to date. ( Learn the best 2026 strategies from inside the NYSE with Josh Brown and others at CNBC PRO Live. Tickets and info here . )
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Nvidia
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/30/nvidias-market-cap-tops-4point5-trillion-on-ai-infrastructure-deals.html?&qsearchterm=Nvidia
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Nvidia's market cap tops $4.5 trillion after string of AI infrastructure deals
| 2025-09-30T00:00:00
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Nvidia shares reached a fresh record on Tuesday, climbing almost 3% and lifting the chipmaker's market cap past $4.5 trillion.
The stock is now up about 39% for the year, and continues to attract investors as Nvidia steps up its pace of deal-making, cementing its position at the center of the artificial intelligence boom.
OpenAI said last week that Nvidia would take an equity stake worth up to $100 billion in the AI startup, and would build hundreds of billions of dollars worth of data centers filled with Nvidia graphics processing units. OpenAI then announced five massive new data centers with Oracle that are expected to be filled with hundreds of thousands of GPUs. The whole "Stargate" project will cost $500 billion, the companies said.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says Nvidia's products comprise about 70% of the spending on a new AI data center.
Analysts at Citi on Tuesday raised their price target on Nvidia from $200 to $210, citing an increased forecast for AI infrastructure spending after the OpenAI announcements.
"We believe OpenAI came to Nvidia asking for help as Nvidia has a very compelling product, and as the number of users and compute being consumed per user basis is growing," Citi analyst Atif Malik wrote in the note.
OpenAI is far from alone, as Meta , Google and others are also dramatically ramping up their infrastructure spending.
CoreWeave , a cloud provider that includes Nvidia as a large shareholder, said Tuesday it had reached a deal to supply Meta with $14.2 billion in AI infrastructure services.
Nvidia's stock is outperforming all of its megacap peers so far this year except for chipmaker Broadcom , which is up about 40%, similarly boosted by OpenAI.
WATCH: Worried about an AI bubble? Trader says she prefers hard assets, especially silver
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Nvidia
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https://www.cnbc.com/video/2025/09/30/nvidia-crosses-4-point-5-trillion-market-cap-how-to-trade-it-now.html?&qsearchterm=Nvidia
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How to trade Nvidia as it crosses $4.5 trillion market cap
| 2025-09-30T00:00:00
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In this video
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How to trade Nvidia as it crosses $4.5 trillion market cap
CNBC’s “Halftime Report” team discusses Nvidia's historic market cap and how to trade the stock.
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Nvidia
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https://www.cnbc.com/video/2025/09/30/cerebras-ceo-heres-why-our-chips-are-a-more-efficient-alternative-to-nvidia.html?&qsearchterm=Nvidia
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Cerebras CEO: Here's why our chips are a more efficient alternative to Nvidia
| 2025-09-30T00:00:00
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Cerebras CEO: Here's why our chips are a more efficient alternative to Nvidia
Andrew Feldman, Cerebras Systems founder and CEO, joins CNBC's 'Squawk on the Street' to discuss how chipmaker is taking on Nvidia, growth expectations, and much more.
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Nvidia
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/29/broadcom-nvidia-among-the-stocks-showing-notable-insider-sales.html?&qsearchterm=Nvidia
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Broadcom, Nvidia among the stocks showing notable insider sales
| 2025-09-29T00:00:00
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Several technology giants have seen insider sales over the past week as the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite continues to hover within striking distance of its record high. Insiders at companies including Broadcom , Nvidia and Strategy offloaded millions of dollars worth of shares this month, according to a raft of disclosures filed with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission. Here's what executives sold (percentages as of Friday's close): Broadcom (AVGO) CEO Hock Tan sold 100,000 shares at an average price of $339.58 for a total of $34 million. Shares are up 28% over the prior three months. Ross Stores (ROST) CEO James Grant Conroy sold 39,400 shares at an average price of $146.00 for a total of $5.7 million. Shares are up 17% over the prior three months. Gap Inc (GAP) Director Robert Fisher sold 500,000 shares at an average price of $22.90 for a total of $11.4 million. Shares are up 7% over three months. Oklo (OKLO) Director Michael Stuart Klein sold 50,000 shares at an average share price of $133.76 for a total of $6.7 million. Shares are up 150% over the prior three months. Nvidia (NVDA) Director Mark Stevens sold 350,000 shares at an average price of $176.39 for a total of $61.7 million. Shares are up 23% over the prior three months. Director Harvey Jones also sold 250,000 shares at an average price of $176.21 for a total of $44.1 million. Shares are up 21% over the prior three months. Strategy (MSTR) EVP & General Counsel Wei-Ming Shao sold 10,000 shares at an average price of $355.79 for a total of $3.6 million. Transaction included exercising options that expire in 2032. Shares are down 5% over the prior three months. Ciena (CIEN) Director Bruce Claflin sold 8,500 shares at an average price of $140.12 for a total of $1.2 million. Shares are up 74% over the prior three months. AutoZone (AZO) VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,900 shares at an average price of $4,180 for a total of $11.9 million. Transaction included exercising options that expire in 2026 and 2027. Shares are up around 20% over the prior three months.
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Nvidia
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/01/wednesday-stocks-from-analyst-calls-like-nvidia.html?&qsearchterm=Nvidia
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Here are Wednesday's biggest analyst calls: Nvidia, Apple, Tesla, Delta, Carvana, Coinbase and more
| 2025-10-01T00:00:00
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Here are Wednesday's biggest calls on Wall Street: Seaport initiates Apple as buy Seaport said Apple products leave the company well positioned for the long haul. "We expect Apple t o have a good year on this year's product line-up, with Apple Air trending well and boding a stronger future for further price increases as an affordable phone (maybe) comes out next year." Wells Fargo initiates Snowflake as overweight Wells Fargo said it sees a slew of catalysts ahead for the stock. "We see a favorable tactical setup for NOW shares into 4Q given a number of key catalysts, most notably potential for 3Q upside driven by US Public Sector & 4Q's signif renewal cohort. Remain constructive into year-end, esp w/ shares ~30x '27 EV/FCF." Bank of America reiterates Nike as buy Bank of America said the turnaround is "underway" following Nike earnings on Tuesday. "We reiterate our Buy rating; better than expected wholesale sales gives us increased confidence that the turnaround is well underway." JPMorgan reiterates Apple as overweight The firm said its survey checks show consumers willing to participate in Apple's upgrade cycle. "Series, with key takeaways including: 1) A strong and robust cycle for the iPhone 17 Series relative to the iPhone 16 Series, led by upgraders, while interest from switchers is modestly softer compared to the prior year, even as; 2) Both upgraders and switchers are showing a higher preference for high-end models compared to the prior year." Jefferies upgrades Delta to buy from hold Jefferies said the airline is "compelling." "We upgrade DAL to Buy alongside Buy-rated UAL, viewing the pair as carrying the highest upside to Q4 guides & most compelling margin theses through 2026 and beyond." Jefferies upgrades Sunrun to buy from hold Jefferies said in its upgrade o f Sunrun that it is well positioned heading into 2026. "We U/G to Buy with a refreshed PT of $21 ahead of 2025 cash generation expected within guidance range and likely even more cash gen in 2026 as safe harbor expenses roll off." Wells Fargo adds CrowdStrike to the tactical ideas list Wells Fargo raised its price target to $600 per share from $550. "We believe CrowdStrike's momentum continues to build, as the company is finally back on offense. With the most advanced security platform in the industry, we believe growth is set to accelerate and reiterate an OW rating and raise our PT to $600." Jefferies upgrades Carvana to buy from hold Jefferies said it sees "elevated growth" for Carvana. "The results of our consumer survey, proprietary web scape, and capacity analysis all support CVNA continuing to deliver elevated growth and upside to consensus." RBC upgrades Mercury Systems to outperform from sector perform RBC said the company is "well positioned as a merchant supplier of defense mission-critical processing systems." "We upgrade shares of Mercury Systems (MRCY) to Outperform from Sector Perform." Barclays downgrades AT & T to equal weight from overweight Barclays downgraded the stock mainly on valuation. "Downgrade AT & T to EW with valuation now more reflective of operational improvement." HSBC upgrades Autodesk to buy from neutral HSBC said the software company is well positioned for artificial intelligence. "We think that Autodesk is strategically well placed to benefit from AI." Evercore ISI downgrades Allstate to in line from outperform Evercore ISI downgraded the insurer on valuation. "We downgrade ALL t o In Line from Outperform as the risk reward is more balanced after a solid run YTD." Goldman Sachs initiates Glaukos as buy Goldman Sachs said in its initiation of Glaukos that the ophthalmology company is well positioned. "Ophthalmology represents one of the largest global market opportunities in MedTech, with our expanded coverage having an aggregate > $60 billion exposure to this in the following key areas: (1) Soft Contact Lenses and Consumer Products; (2) Surgical (for both glaucoma and cataract procedures); and (3) Ophthalmic Pharmaceuticals." Baird upgrades United Rentals to outperform from neutral Baird said it sees "industry stabilization" for the equipment rental company. "Fo r URI, our primary focus remains on the trajectory of growth/earnings; growth reacceleration in 2026 is likely to drive shares higher, despite a higher current valuation relative to historical levels." HSBC initiates Repligen as buy HSBC said the health-care company has "portfolio breadth." "Repligen offers pureplay exposure to bioprocessing, one of the highest growth areas in the sector." Goldman Sachs upgrades Beta Bionics to buy from neutral Goldman Sachs said it is bullish on the medtech company. "Upgrade Beta Bionics (BBNX) from Neutral to Buy." TD Cowen initiates Macom Technology Solutions as buy TD Cowen said it is bullish on the semis company. "We see MACOM benefiting from secular growth drivers across its three end markets as the company delivers the highest RF power, highest frequency, and highest data rates for its customers." TD Cowen downgrades Marvell to hold from buy TD Cowen said it has limited visibility on Marvell shares. "Net, we prefer to take to the sidelines and await better visibility and more solid positioning before recommending shares." Bank of America reiterates Dell as buy Bank of America raised its price target to $170 per share from $167. " Dell's SAM [Securities Analyst Meeting] is scheduled for Oct. 7th, and we believe the biggest topics for the event are 1) AI server rev trajectory and TAM, 2) the durability and margins around AI servers, 3) a clear roadmap for Storage (AI server attach, plan to regain share, etc.) and 4) true viability & demand for AI PCs." TD Cowen initiates Semtech as buy TD Cowen said the semis company is well positioned for data center connectivity. "De-levered and re-focused, we initiate on Semtech with a Buy rating." William Blair reiterates Tesla as market perform The firm raised its delivery estimates for Tesla but said it is getting harder to stick with its market perform rating on the stock. "As expected, the end of the EV tax credit has caused a pull forward in demand, but it has been stronger than we originally estimated. U.S. demand for the new Model Y has been a bright spot, and a return in China and rest of world has offset the continued weakness in Europe." JPMorgan upgrades Banc of California to overweight from neutral JPMorgan said the regional bank is best positioned for lower rates. "We view Banc of California as skewing more liability sensitive in a backdrop of lower short-term rates." Evercore ISI upgrades Samsara to outperform from in line Evercore ISI said it sees a slew of positive catalysts ahead for the software company. "Upgrading Samsara ( IOT) to Outperform and raising our price target to $50, based on a constructive multi-year outlook driven by: 1) expanding product breadth across underpenetrated core markets, 2) a proven beat-and-raise execution framework…" TD Cowen reiterates Nvidia as buy The firm said it is bullish on Nvidia's high-speed interconnect technology, NVLink. "NVIDIA is the market incumbent with its NVLink offering, and we see the proliferation of NVIDIA-based systems as a wide moat for the company in the scale up switch market." RBC downgrades GE Vernova to sector perform from outperform RBC downgraded the stock mainly on valuation. "We continue to see GEV benefiting from strong demand for energy generation/distribution and from positive price dynamics and productivity improvements. However, we believe this is now more fully reflected in current valuation and consensus expectations through the end of the decade." BTIG initiates Coinbase as buy BTIG said the crypto company is firing on all cylinders. "We are initiating coverage of Coinbase Global (COIN) with a Buy rating and $410 price target."
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Nvidia
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/29/monday-top-stocks-from-analyst-calls-like-nvidia.html?&qsearchterm=Nvidia
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Here are Monday's biggest analyst calls: Nvidia, Apple, Tesla, Wells Fargo, Disney, AppLovin and more
| 2025-09-29T00:00:00
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Here are Monday's biggest calls on Wall Street: Deutsche Bank upgrades Lam Research to buy from hold Deutsche Bank said the semis company is best positioned. "Despite the impressive move in shares YTD (+77%) and even in the last 3 months (+31%), we believe LRCX is well positioned to outperform peers over the next twelve months given these cyclical and secular tailwinds." Read more . Bank of America reiterates Apple as buy The firm said iPhone 17 ship dates remain elevated. "Our tracking of iPhone ship dates on Apple's own website, and various carrier websites, indicates that as of Sep 29th, ship time for the iPhone 17 (19 days) is more extended vs last year's iPhone 16." Wells Fargo upgrades Amer Sports to overweight from equal weight Wells Fargo said investors should buy the dip in the sporting goods company. "With AS shares -20% this past month (vs. SPX +3%), we take advantage of the sell-off following diligence/expert checks in China that point to little-to-no concern both NT and LT over recent Arc social media backlash." Goldman Sachs upgrades Innoviz Technologies to buy from neutral Goldman Sachs said the autonomous vehicle company is well positioned. "Separately, we upgrade lidar provider Innoviz ( INVZ) to Buy from Neutral, reflecting design win potential over the next 3-6 months and relative valuation." Jefferies initiates UP Fintech as buy Jefferies said it is bullish on the China fintech company. "UP Fintech is a leading integrated financial technology platform providing a cross-market, multi-product investment experience for investors around the world." Morgan Stanley downgrades Wells Fargo and US Bancorp to equal weight from overweight The firm downgraded the stocks on valuation. "We are downgrading WFC and USB to Equal-weight from Overweight, driven by valuation and our below-consensus NII [net interest income] estimates." Read more. Morgan Stanley upgrades Citizens Financial to overweight from equal weight Morgan Stanley said the regional bank is "compelling." "As we look out to 2027, CFG's strong 4+ pct pt ROTCE improvement story makes the stock more compelling, with multiple ways to get there." Bernstein reiterates Nvidia and Broadcom as outperform Bernstein said the two stocks are a must-own. "Own both NVDA and AVGO . AI sustainability worries have climbed as huge numbers start to draw disbelief, and NVIDIA's ecosystem investments raise eyebrows. But demand looks off the charts, NVDA' s OpenAI deal and Hock's new 5-year targets suggest we may still be early, and we are hard-pressed to think of a better use of NVDA's cashflow at this point. We think both stocks can and should be owned." Barclays reiterates Tesla as equal weight Barclays said it is sticking with its equal-weight rating. "Yet we believe the rally can also be put in context of Tesla as the 'OG meme stonk', with performance also reflecting a combination of technical factors (i.e. option activity / call purchasing), retail excitement, and Mag7 catch-up." Morgan Stanley downgrades Novo Nordisk to underweight from equal weight The firm said in its downgrade of Novo Nordisk that it sees too many negative catalysts for the biopharma company. "We expect downward revisions to 2026-27 consensus from slower US GLP-1 prescription growth and competitive pressure, and we see catalysts with downside risk over the next 6 months." Goldman Sachs reiterates Disney as buy Goldman Sachs said it is sticking with shares of Disney. "We believe that investor sentiment is mixed. Bulls see DIS as a high-quality earnings compounder with DD% EPS growth over the medium term underpinned by DTC subscriber growth and operating leverage, the benefits from at least 3 new cruise ships, and the return to Sports EBIT growth following a strong start to the launch of ESPN Unlimited." UBS initiates Core & Main as buy UBS said investors should buy the dip in the fire protection company. "We initiate coverage on CNM with a Buy rating and $65 price target, representing ~27% upside." Morgan Stanley reiterates AppLovin as overweight Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $750 per share from $480. "On 10/1 APP will launch its self-serve tool for non-gaming. This is a key catalyst to grow its ad business and prove that it can tap into billions of ad dollars outside the game industry." Barclays initiates Oklo as overweight Barclays said shares of the nuclear company have plenty more room to run. "OKLO is a levered way to invest in the SMR [small modular reactor] theme." Morgan Stanley reiterates Alibaba as overweight Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Alibaba to $200 per share from $165. "We raise our cloud growth estimates to 32% for F26 and 40% for F27, driven by increased capex, model upgrades, strategic partnerships and accelerated international expansion." Deutsche Bank reiterates Intel as hold The firm raised its price target to $30 per share from $23. "INTC has had a busy month in the news, with multiple equity raises (USG, NVDA, etc.), collaborations (NVDA), divestitures (Altera), and macro related impacts (tariffs and trade restrictions) all acting as event driven catalysts for the stock." JPMorgan reiterates Spotify as overweight JPMorgan said Spotify remains well positioned ahead of a possible price increase. The firm also raised its price target to $805 per share from $740. "There is considerable investor focus on a US price increase—which we believe could come by year-end or early 2026—that would drive further upside to our model."
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Nvidia
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/26/nvidias-investment-portfolio.html?&qsearchterm=Nvidia
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Nvidia's $100 billion OpenAI deal showcases chipmaker's growing investment portfolio
| 2025-09-26T00:00:00
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Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang gestures as U.S. President Donald Trump (not pictured) delivers remarks during the "Winning the AI Race" Summit in Washington D.C., U.S., July 23, 2025.
Nvidia this week said it'll invest $100 billion into OpenAI in a deal that highlights just how big the chipmaker's investment portfolio has become since the arrival of generative AI in 2022.
That deal came just one week after Nvidia committed a $5 billion investment into one-time rival Intel , and after the company announced its intention to make $500 million investment into self-driving car startup Wayve and a £500 million ($667.7 million) investment into U.K. cloud provider Nscale.
Nvidia's investment spending spree underscores the chipmaker's ascendance to the top of Silicon Valley's pecking order, providing capital and access to its highly desired artificial intelligence chips in exchange for equity and insight into where some of the hottest AI startups are headed.
If the full OpenAI investment is completed — it is expected to be carried out over an unspecified number of years — it would represent Nvidia's largest investment ever.
Nvidia in August disclosed in a financial filing that it owned $4.33 billion in publicly traded holdings, including Applied Digital , Arm , CoreWeave , Nebius Group , Recursion Pharmaceuticals and WeRide .
At the end of July, Nvidia valued its nonmarketable equity securities at $3.8 billion, up from $1.8 billion a year ago.
The majority of Nvidia's portfolio companies have some strategic connection to the company's business, either developing complementary technology to its chips, selling rented access to its chips or using the chips for AI, enterprise software or robotics.
But just because Nvidia is on a company's cap table doesn't mean it's one of the chipmaker's customers.
"We do not require any of the companies we invest in to use Nvidia technology," a company spokesperson told CNBC.
For example, Nvidia's deal with OpenAI merely makes it the "preferred" computing power supplier to the startup, not an exclusive provider. Cohere, an enterprise AI startup that Nvidia participated in funding rounds for, announced this week that it will use AMD chips in addition to Nvidia's.
In 2022, OpenAI launched ChatGPT and made the broader world aware of the importance of Nvidia's graphics processing units. Since then, Nvidia's market cap has grown from just over $420 billion to about $4.3 trillion while its annual revenue has increased by 383% from $27 billion in the company's fiscal 2023 to $130.5 billion in the fiscal year ended in January.
The year ChatGPT first debuted, Nvidia made 16 investments into other companies, including seed rounds and stakes acquired through incubators, according to a CNBC analysis of PitchBook data. Nvidia's investments rose to 41 in 2024, and so far in 2025, the chipmaker has made 51 such deals, not counting its commitment to OpenAI.
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Nvidia
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/30/tuesday-stocks-from-analyst-calls-like-nvidia.html?&qsearchterm=Nvidia
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Here are Tuesday's biggest analyst calls: Nvidia, Apple, Tesla, Amazon, Meta, CoreWeave, Celsius and more
| 2025-09-30T00:00:00
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Here are Tuesday's biggest calls on Wall Street: Goldman Sachs initiates Golar LNG as buy Goldman Sachs said the nat gas company is compelling. "We initiate coverage of Golar LNG (GLNG) with a Buy rating." BTIG downgrades Instacart to neutral from buy BTIG downgraded the stock due to rising competition. "We are downgrading CART from Buy to Neutral in light of ongoing negative competitive developments." BMO initiates TransDigm Group as outperform BMO said it is bullish on the aerospace component parts company. "We initiate on TransDigm (TDG) at Outperform with a $1,420 target and 10% return." Bernstein reiterates Netflix as outperform The firm said a purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery by Netflix is not likely. "As the House of Ellison deliberates its next move, investors are assessing who else could be considering a bid for WBD. Among the possibilities, NFLX stands out as interesting. We have considered the scenario, but not as a likely outcome, largely because it is unclear what strategic value NFLX would realize, or what it could achieve without WBD." UBS upgrades Fidelity Information Services to buy from neutral UBS upgraded the fintech company and said it sees an attractive risk/reward. "We upgrade FIS to Buy after having been Neutral rated due to a fair valuation, balanced risk-reward, and multiple quarters of uneven results." Bank of America upgrades Freeport-McMoRan to buy from neutral The firm said the risks are priced in for the mining company. "We see FCX as blue-chip copper exposure." Evercore ISI initiates CoreWeave as outperform Evercore ISI said investors should buy the dip in CoreWeave shares. "While we concede there are a wide range of outcomes and the stock will be volatile near-term, there's higher probability CRWV is able to sustain and scale their differentiation from training to inferencing as they benefit from running an 'at scale AIas- a service' for customers beyond the current cohort. Initiate with OP and $175 Target Price." Goldman Sachs downgrades Spotify to neutral from buy Goldman Sachs downgraded Spotify on valuation. "That said, we see a balanced risk/reward on current shares and increasingly see more of this forward growth priced in at current levels." Citi reiterates Nvidia as buy Citi raised its price target on shares of Nvidia. "We lift our TP to $210 from $200 on consistent 30x P/E times revised CY26E ~$7 earnings power and view GTC [Global AI conference] Washington Oct 27-29 as a potential catalyst for the stock." Read more. Morgan Stanley upgrades Celsius to overweight from equal weight Morgan Stanley said the energy drink company is too attractive to ignore. "While CELH stock is up sharply from its lows, it's pulled back ~10% over the past month, and we see an attractive 2:1 bull/bear skew from here." Goldman Sachs reiterates Netflix as neutral Goldman Sachs raised its price target ahead of Netflix earnings on Oct. 21. "We reiterate our Neutral rating (on the shares on the back of a balanced risk/reward from current levels) and slightly lower our 12-month PT from $1,310 to $1,300 on unchanged multiples." Stephens initiates Dorman Products as overweight Stephens said the auto parts company is an "inflation winner." "We are initiating coverage of Dorman Products (DORM OW $185 PT) with an Overweight rating and $185 PT." Needham reiterates Apple as hold Needham said Apple has not raised iPhone prices enough to keep up with inflation. "We link AAPL's inability to increase prices to its inability to introduce new killer apps and differentiated features that would give it pricing power above inflation." Canaccord reiterates Tesla as buy Canaccord raised its price target to $490 per share from $333. "So, here we are again with Tesla , having those very deliberations. We wrote a note in early January where we underwent the same debate and inked our struggles on paper — 'To downgrade or not to downgrade; that was the question.' We kept our BUY rating. And despite the volatile ride since, we're glad we did." Goldman Sachs initiates Royalty Pharma as buy The firm said in its initiation of the biopharma company that Royalty Pharma is well positioned for growth. "Uniquely Positioned In Early Innings of Long-Term Royalty Market Growth." Mizuho initiates Amazon as outperform Mizuho said it sees a slew of positive catalysts ahead for the e-commerce giant. "We like Amazon on the expansion of AWS infrastructure, poised to benefit from the scaling AI inference opportunity and on expanding retail margins, driven by improving efficiency and fast-growing advertising." Mizuho initiates Meta as outperform Mizuho said Meta is best positioned for artificial intelligence. "We launch coverage on META with Outperform and $925 Price Target; it is our favorite long-term holding in Internet. META has the best leverage to AI/ML and GenAI in our space, which is transforming its consumer product, user engagement, ad products, and operations." Oppenheimer upgrades Semtech to outperform from perform The firm upgraded the semis company following constructive management meetings. "We are raising estimates and upgrading shares of SMTC to Outperform from Perform after hosting mgmt. meetings with investors last week." Deutsche Bank initiates Array Technologies as buy Deutsche Bank said the renewable software company is a turnaround story. "We initiate coverage on Array Technologies (ARRY) with a Buy rating and our 12-month Price Target is $11/sh. Implied upside is ~33." Deutsche Bank initiates Nextracker as buy Deutsche Bank said shares of the solar company have plenty more room to run. "We initiate coverage on Nextracker Inc . ( NXT) with a Buy rating and our 12-month price target of $88/sh, implying upside is 20%." Canaccord initiates FirstCash Holdings as buy Canaccord called the pawn shop company the "gold standard in an attractive industry deserving of a premium multiple." "After many questions by investors for longer than we can remember (why don't you cover FirstCash??), today we are initiating coverage o f FirstCash (FCFS) with a BUY rating and $200 PT."
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Microsoft
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/01/jim-cramer-5-biggest-money-mistakes-i-still-regret-even-today.html?&qsearchterm=Microsoft
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Jim Cramer: Billionaires 'won't save you—they're out for themselves.' Here are 5 biggest money mistakes 'I still regret' today
| 2025-10-01T00:00:00
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If picking great companies and buying their stocks seems so simple, why can't we all make money? Why do so many investors get discouraged or call stocks too risky? Mistakes, that's why. We make mistakes and we get defeated. I make mistakes, not all the time, but often enough to get discouraged myself. I question my abilities both off the air and on the air. But every time you make a mistake, you learn. Boneheaded mistakes are how you get better. Early in my hedge fund days, I kept losing trade tickets in a shoebox and reviewed them monthly. That painful exercise taught me more than my winners ever did. Finding the next Nvidia, Apple, or Microsoft requires practice ... and practice means learning from errors. So let me share some blunders. Take my lessons and apply them to your own life, and your own investing — and avoid the mishaps I still regret even today.
1. Your stocks will tell you when to sell.
What happens if you have really picked a clunker? We don't have to obsess about our stocks. But we can't be complacent at quarterly earnings time. When something is drastically wrong after a company reports, you need to blow that stock out of your portfolio right then. If the stock is really getting obliterated, and you can't figure out why, that means big sellers know more than you and you must take the loss, no matter how big the decline. You don't want your stocks to go to zero. I learned this with Bausch Health. The CEO painted a rosy picture, but the company missed badly and faced earlier-than-expected patent expirations. The stock plunged nearly 50% in minutes. I thought it was panic-selling and stayed put. Wrong. It was smart selling. Months later, it was cut in half again, costing my charitable trust a fortune.
2. Don't make excuses for management.
Management turmoil often means sell, no matter how good the franchise. I learned this with Estée Lauder. For years, the company had always bounced back. So when Covid-19 hit China, I assumed management would adapt again. Instead, they froze. China, Estée Lauder's biggest market, shut down. Wealthy women stopped shopping. The stock plunged from $370 to $255. Then China cracked down on luxury goods, and management kept offering false reassurances with no new strategy. I respected the brand, but that didn't matter. Customers were vanishing. Management, hitherto incredibly strong, just became clueless; I learned to ignore a CEO's rosy obstinance at my own peril. We ended up selling it in the $90s.
3. Anger is not a strategy. Calm down before you act.
In 2023, we bought Oracle, betting on its pivot from enterprise software to AI data centers. The build-out was massive, yet Wall Street gave it no credit. We took advantage, and the stock climbed — until Cerner, a $28 billion medical records acquisition, delivered a shortfall that offset AI optimism. Oracle's stock dropped from $126 to $100, leaving us with a $15 loss. I stuck with the AI story, dismissing Cerner as noise. But the next quarter brought the same pattern: hype about data centers, disappointing numbers elsewhere. Analysts slammed the results, and I grew furious. In a fit, I sold—only to watch Oracle rebound within weeks on news of big AI contracts. The stock eventually ran past $220, more than 125 points above where I departed. Oracle's fundamentals were strong, but I let emotion override patience. Before making rash decisions, step back, cool off, and ask whether a comeback is still possible.
4. Billionaires won't save you—they're out for themselves.
I can count on a couple of fingers the number of billionaire hedge fund managers who have actually tried to help other people's capital appreciate. I don't have enough fingers or toes to count how many have tried to scare you and panic you out of your stocks and send you reeling into cash. And billionaires never apologize for their negativity. They always portray themselves as responsible actors no matter what. Because they don't need to. They already have their money. They won't risk it unless failure is nearly impossible, which means they'll never offer useful stock ideas. Their perspective is completely different from yours. I learned this lesson early in my career when I was asked to advise an heiress worth billions. I wanted to recommend stocks, but my boss reminded me: You only need to get rich once. He told her to stick with safe municipal bonds. He was right. For her, protecting capital mattered more than growing it.
5. The bond market is often wrong.
All my investing life, I have been told one thing about bonds: The bond market is never wrong. If long-term rates are higher than short-term, it signals healthy growth. You're paid for the risk of tying up money. But sometimes the curve flips, and long-term rates fall below short-term ones. That's considered a warning of recession, driven by fear of Fed policy and a "flight to safety." Here's the problem: the bond market has been wrong countless times. Investors panic, pile into bonds, and pundits declare doom. Yet the dire forecasts often don't materialize. Meanwhile, people who listened to the fear sold perfectly good stocks and missed major gains. So here is my final lesson: Do not listen to the people who examine the curve of the bond market and decide that they should sound the alarm about the future, which includes selling perfectly good stocks. Pay attention to the fundamentals of your stocks, not the bond market's indications, and I promise you that you will make a heck of a lot more money than those who think they know something simply by looking at future yields. Upgrade to an annual CNBC Investing Club membership today and claim your free, signed copy of Jim Cramer's new book, "How to Make Money in Any Market." (See terms and conditions for complete offer details. This promotion is available only while supplies last. See the full disclaimer here for important limitations and exclusions.) Jim Cramer is a bestselling author, financial expert, and media personality. He is the host of CNBC's Mad Money and cohost of Squawk on the Street. He is also the founder of CNBC Investing Club and of TheStreet. His many books include "Confessions of a Street Addict," "Jim Cramer's Getting Back to Even," "Jim Cramer's Mad Money," "Jim Cramer's Real Money," "Jim Cramer's Stay Mad for Life," and "Jim Cramer's Get Rich Carefully."
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Microsoft
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/01/microsoft-wants-to-mainly-use-its-own-ai-chips-in-the-future.html?&qsearchterm=Microsoft
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Microsoft wants to mainly use its own AI data center chips in the future
| 2025-10-01T00:00:00
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Microsoft Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice President of Artificial Intelligence Kevin Scott speaks at the Microsoft Briefing event at the Seattle Convention Center Summit Building in Seattle, Washington, on May 21, 2024.
Microsoft would like to mainly use its own chips in its data centers in the future, the tech giant's chief technology officer said on Wednesday, in a move which could reduce its reliance on major players like Nvidia and AMD .
Semiconductors and the servers that sit inside data centers have underpinned the development of artificial intelligence models and applications.
Tech giant Nvidia has dominated the space so far with its graphics processing unit (GPUs), while rival AMD has a smaller slice of the pie.
But major cloud computing players, including Microsoft, have also designed their own custom chips for specifically for data centers.
Kevin Scott, chief technology officer at Microsoft, laid out the company's strategy around chips for AI during a fireside chat at Italian Tech Week that was moderated by CNBC.
Microsoft primarily uses chips from Nvidia and AMD in its own data centers. The focus has been on picking the right silicon — another shorthand term for semiconductor — that offers "the best price performance" per chip.
"We're not religious about what the chips are. And ... that has meant the best price performance solution has been Nvidia for years and years now," Scott said. "We will literally entertain anything in order to ensure that we've got enough capacity to meet this demand."
At the same time, Microsoft has been using some of its own chips.
In 2023, Microsoft launched the Azure Maia AI Accelerator which is designed for AI workloads, as well as the Cobalt CPU. In addition, the firm is reportedly working on its next-generation of semiconductor products. Last week, the U.S. technology giant unveiled new cooling technology using "microfluids" to solve the issue of overheating chips.
When asked if the longer term plan is to have mainly Microsoft chips in the firm's own data centers, Scott said: "Absolutely," adding that the company is using "lots of Microsoft" silicon right now.
The focus on chips is part of a strategy to eventually design an entire system that goes into the data center, Scott said.
"It's about the entire system design. It's the networks and the cooling and you want to be able to have the freedom to make the decisions that you need to make in order to really optimize your compute to the workload," Scott said.
Microsoft and its rivals Google and Amazon are designing their own chips to not only reduce reliance on Nvidia and AMD, but also to make their products more efficient for their specific requirements.
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Microsoft
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/30/black-girls-code-ceo-on-the-relationship-that-helped-fuel-her-success.html?&qsearchterm=Microsoft
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Black Girls Code CEO on the No. 1 relationship that helped fuel her success: ‘I’ve been really fortunate’
| 2025-09-30T00:00:00
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Cristina Mancini has had a storied career. The CEO of nonprofit Black Girls Code worked at 20th Century Studios (previously 20th Century Fox) for more than 13 years, rising to the rank of executive vice president. She then spent more than five years at Salesforce first as chief marketing officer and then chief engagement officer. She was appointed to her current role at BGC in 2023. "I've been really fortunate," Mancini told CNBC Make It at the Fast Company Innovation Festival in September. "I have had some incredible mentors and sponsors that have helped accelerate my career." There is one in particular that stands out, she said: John Herbert, former chief information officer at 20th Century Studios.
'The IT executive that was assigned to me was not taking me seriously'
In 2015, Mancini was tasked with deepening fan engagement with 20th Century properties, specifically by connecting with fans digitally. But she needed the tech to do that. "I was struggling because the IT executive that was assigned to me was not taking me seriously," she said, adding that "I needed technology. I needed to test technology, and he would not help me." So she started finding workarounds. "You will find if you keep doing that, eventually the CIO will come visit you in your office," she said. "Luckily, instead of penalizing me for that, John asked, what was I trying to accomplish?" When Herbert understood Mancini's mission and constraints, he helped her get hold of the tech she needed. "He also introduced me to these tech organizations like HP and Microsoft," she said. "That led to me really finding my footing in the tech landscape."
John asked, what was I trying to accomplish? Cristina Mancini CEO, Black Girls Code
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Microsoft
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https://www.cnbc.com/video/2025/09/30/recession-fears-are-a-anew-concerna-for-retail-investors-says-investopediaas-caleb-silver.html?&qsearchterm=Microsoft
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Recession fears are a ‘new concern’ for retail investors, says Investopedia’s Caleb Silver
| 2025-09-30T00:00:00
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Recession fears are a ‘new concern’ for retail investors, says Investopedia’s Caleb Silver
Caleb Silver, editor-in-chief of Investopedia, joins Fast Money to discuss the latest sentiment survey showing retail investors remain cautiously optimistic but overly loyal to big Nasdaq names like Apple and Microsoft, while voicing new worries about recession, inflation, and bubbles, and more.
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Microsoft
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/30/amazon-alexa-echo-price.html?&qsearchterm=Microsoft
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Amazon's new Echo devices designed for Alexa+ start at $99
| 2025-09-30T00:00:00
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In this article AMZN Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT
Daniel Rausch, vice president of Alexa and Echo, announces the Echo Studio and Echo Dot Max during an Amazon event showcasing new products in New York City, U.S., September 30, 2025. Kylie Cooper | Reuters
Amazon on Tuesday unveiled four new smart speakers and voice-activated displays that are revamped with Alexa+, its personal assistant that's powered by generative artificial intelligence. The company debuted the Echo Dot Max, a revamped version of its compact smart speaker, which costs $99.99. Amazon also unveiled a new Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 11, priced at $179.99 and $219.99, respectively. There's also a new version of the Echo Studio, a larger, higher-end model with a more powerful speaker, priced at $219.99. All the devices are available for preorder on Tuesday, and users will get Alexa+ early access "out of the box," Amazon said. The Echo Dot Max and Echo Studio ship Oct. 29, while the Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 11 ship Nov. 12.
The devices were launched at Amazon's fall hardware bonanza, held in New York. They're the first batch of revamped products under the leadership of Panos Panay, a former Microsoft hardware leader who joined Amazon in 2023. It's also the first set of Amazon hardware to integrate the company's long-awaited Alexa+, which debuted in February and has slowly rolled out in early access for some users. "These are the most powerful Echo devices we have ever created," Panay said on stage at the event. "Custom silicon, advanced sensors, our best microphones and sound, noise cancellation, understanding the user, faster than anything we've ever delivered before. They're also beautifully designed to fade into the background." Alongside a revamped look, Amazon added new AZ3 and AZ3 Pro chips for edge processing to the devices, which are faster, more powerful and have "AI built right in," said Daniel Rausch, the head of Amazon's Alexa and Echo businesses.
Panos Panay, head of Amazon's Devices and Services team, introduces Echo during an Amazon product event in the Manhattan borough of New York City on September 30, 2025. Amazon announced its next generation of Kindle, Ring, Blink, Fire TV, and Echo devices. Charly Triballeau | Afp | Getty Images
The devices also feature a so-called Omnisense platform that gives Alexa "better contextual awareness," Rausch said. It allows the Echo Show to be able to recognize users and serve up personalized insights, like an analysis of how they slept last night or alert users if they left their front door unlocked after midnight. Amazon faces growing pressure to update its hardware and software for the generative AI age following the success of rivals such as OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini. Meta also has its Ray-Ban Meta glasses, which use its Llama large language model to answer spoken questions from the user. Amazon is also looking beyond Alexa or Echo smart speakers for opportunities in device growth. The company in July confirmed it's acquiring AI wearables startup Bee, which makes a wristband that can record and transcribe conversations.
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Microsoft
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/30/ring-founder-ai-amazon-doorbell-police.html?&qsearchterm=Microsoft
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Ring founder 'backs the blue,' says AI is helping Amazon-owned doorbell unit fight crime
| 2025-09-30T00:00:00
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In this article AMZN Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT
Jamie Siminoff, founder of Ring, speaks during an Amazon product event in the Manhattan borough of New York City on Sept. 30, 2025. Charly Triballeau | AFP | Getty Images
In 2023, Jamie Siminoff called up Amazon 's former devices boss, Dave Limp, to say he was stepping down from leading the video doorbell company he sold to the e-commerce giant for $839 million in 2018. Siminoff, who started Ring in 2013, said Limp and Amazon offered him the opportunity to work elsewhere at the company, but he declined. "I said, 'I think I have to leave,'" Siminoff recalled in an interview on Friday. "I don't think I can be half in. I'm either all in or I'm all out." He wasn't gone for long. In April, Siminoff announced his return to Ring, replacing Liz Hamren, a former Microsoft and Discord executive whom Amazon had hired to succeed him. Now that he's back at the helm, Siminoff says he's restoring Ring's original mission, to "make neighborhoods safer." And now his team has even more artificial intelligence technology at its disposal to supercharge those efforts. Siminoff took the stage Tuesday at Amazon's annual hardware event in New York to debut new Ring cameras, along with a feature called Search Party that uses AI to identify potential matches in camera footage. It's aimed at "reuniting lost dogs" with their families, but Siminoff said there could be other applications in the future.
During Hamren's two-year tenure, Ring moved to adopt a softer, more whimsical image marked by silly videos of backyard animal encounters and family-friendly hijinks. It also removed a tool widely criticized by civil liberties and privacy advocates that let police request doorbell footage from users in its neighborhood watch app. Siminoff, 48, said Ring's cameras have many uses, including keeping an eye on pets and loved ones. Siminoff is based in Los Angeles and has two dogs, a Belgian Malinois and a Chihuahua. "I'm focused on: How can I get the highest density of camera coverage in a neighborhood matched with AI to make neighborhoods safer?" he said. "It's not just hard crime." Ring is part of Amazon's vast devices and services division, which is overseen by Panos Panay, a former Microsoft hardware leader who joined the company in 2023. Beyond Ring, the unit spans Amazon's Zoox robotaxis, Kindle e-readers, Echo devices and Kuiper, the company's internet satellite service. Ring's security cameras typically start at $50 and range in price depending on coverage. Users can also pay up to $20 a month for its subscription service that lets them continuously record and access more cloud storage, among other features.
'It was terrible'
Siminoff said a personal encounter with violence played a part in his return. Several months earlier, Siminoff said he witnessed a shooting at a laundromat in South Central Los Angeles that left him feeling shaken. "It was terrible," Siminoff said through tears. "Kids are crying, it's a whole f****** scene."
Ring CEO Jamie Siminoff unsuccessfully pitched his company on ABC's "Shark Tank" in 2013 before returning to the show as a guest judge. Eric McCandless | Contributor | Getty Images
The incident reaffirmed his belief in Ring's mission and its potential to aid law enforcement officers when they "don't have time to go door to door," he said. Those relationships with police have been controversial over the years. Amazon claimed a Los Angeles Police Department pilot program in 2015 found that Ring's doorbells reduced burglaries in neighborhoods "by as much as 55%," according to a 2018 release. But reports from several outlets have disputed whether Ring cameras lead to a decrease in crime. Privacy advocates have expressed concern that the company's cameras and accompanying Neighbors app have heightened the risk of racial profiling and turned residents into informants, with few guardrails around how law enforcement can use the material. Siminoff, who said he's "pro public safety" and "backs the blue," said he felt some of the coverage of Ring's video-request feature for police was unfair or inaccurate. "That's the stuff that irks me," Siminoff said, referring to the claim that Ring gives camera access to police. "We allow them to request footage from people in a super privacy centric, anonymous way that keeps their privacy. But that's not a good headline," he added.
Devin Hance | CNBC
A few weeks after Siminoff's return, Ring reintroduced its community request tool through a partnership with Axon Enterprise , the maker of Tasers and police body cameras. Police can solicit footage from Ring cameras through Axon's online evidence management system, and users can choose whether or not to share it. "I don't think we should be working directly with police," Siminoff said. "It's not the business we're in in any way." Siminoff said Ring, which is profitable, is exploring other potential growth areas, such as security solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses. Ring isn't currently exploring offering up its tech to a more homegrown customer — its sprawling parent company. At least when it comes to sticking its cameras in Amazon delivery vans or warehouses. Siminoff has considered it, but "then you realize it's just a distraction," he said. "Amazon's so big you could probably do something for everything." WATCH: Amazon comments on $2.5 billion settlement with FTC
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Microsoft
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/29/jim-cramer-explains-why-he-thinks-the-ai-boom-is-different-than-the-dotcom-bubble.html?&qsearchterm=Microsoft
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Jim Cramer explains why he thinks the AI boom is different than the dotcom bubble
| 2025-09-29T00:00:00
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CNBC's Jim Cramer on Monday pushed back against the narrative that Wall Street's fervor for artificial intelligence is the same as the dotcom bubble of 2000, saying there are major differences in terms of the quality and funding of the current Big Tech stocks that are leading the market to new heights.
"Speaking as an internet pioneer, what I see now is the polar opposite of what we were seeing 25 years ago. When the dotcoms made bad investments, nearly all of them went under," he said. "But, worst case scenario, if Google and Amazon and Meta make bad investments and take big losses, that's just another day at the office."
Cramer explained that some on Wall Street doubt the validity of hyperscalers' huge investments in AI and data centers, and they fear the AI boom will bust and send the market into chaos like what happened at the end of the dotcom era.
But Cramer suggested that each of the major players in the space — namely Nvidia , Microsoft , Meta , Apple , Alphabet , Amazon and Tesla — are all "developing a reputation for something different" and are more substantive than many of the dotcom companies. He noted that most of the data centers are being built by these massively rich companies, which was not the case for some dotcom-era outfits that bought infrastructure and fell into debt. However, he said he was somewhat concerned with Oracle 's announcement it would build data centers with "big money from OpenAI," as "we have no idea where that money's really going to come from."
He also suggested that the tech megacaps aren't "the types of companies that will roll over and go under in a few months' time." Instead, he said that for the most part, they're flush with cash and could pivot and write off debt if they needed. He also expressed optimism that these companies will continue to succeed as AI technology becomes more and more advanced.
However, despite his confidence in Big Tech and the AI thesis, Cramer said he doesn't think investors should stop scrutinizing major stock moves and investments in the space.
"So, should we take the dotcom bomb scenario off the table? Oddly, I don't want it to be taken off the table," he said. "See, The skepticism keeps things in check. If there weren't such a negative bent to the story right now, everyone would be in this pool, and we'd all drown."
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Microsoft
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/29/anthropic-claude-ai-sonnet-4-5.html?&qsearchterm=Microsoft
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Anthropic launches Claude Sonnet 4.5, its latest AI model that's 'more of a colleague'
| 2025-09-29T00:00:00
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Dario Amodei, co-founder and chief executive officer of Anthropic, at the World Economic Forum in 2025. Stefan Wermuth | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Anthropic on Monday announced its latest artificial intelligence model: Claude Sonnet 4.5. The model is better at coding, using computers and meeting practical business needs, and it excels in specialized fields like cybersecurity, finance and research, Anthropic said. The Amazon -backed startup, which is valued at $183 billion, is making Claude Sonnet 4.5 available to all users. Anthropic said Claude Sonnet 4.5 is the "best coding model in the world" according to industry benchmarks like SWE-bench Verified, a test set that measures an AI system's software coding abilities. "People are just noticing with this model, because it's just smarter and more of a colleague, that it's kind of fun to work with it when encountering problems and fixing them," Jared Kaplan, Anthropic's co-founder and chief science officer, told CNBC in an interview. The model generates higher-quality code, is better at identifying code improvements and can follow instructions more reliably, the company said. Claude Sonnet 4.5 comes after Anthropic launched Claude Opus 4.1 in August and Claude Sonnet 4 in May. It's the latest example of the breakneck pace of innovation within the AI industry.
Anthropic was founded by a group of former OpenAI researchers in 2021, and the two companies have been fierce competitors ever since. OpenAI kick-started the generative artificial intelligence boom following the release of its ChatGPT chatbot in 2022. The startup, which has seen its valuation swell to $500 billion, announced its latest model, GPT-5, in August. The rollout was rocky, as some users complained about losing access to the company's prior models. Mike Krieger, Anthropic's chief product officer, said that Claude Sonnet 4.5 will be the default for users and that Anthropic recommends the model for "basically every use case." Even so, users will have options. Paid subscribers can still choose to use Opus, and users with specific workflows can select an older generation of Sonnet if they aren't ready to migrate overnight, he said. Claude Sonnet 4.5 is smaller than Claude Opus 4.1 but smarter than it in "almost every single way," Krieger added.
Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Anthropic's Claude Sonnet 4.5 chatbox. Courtesy of Anthropic
"We have found it, and our customers are finding it, very useful for real, actual work," Krieger said. Claude Sonnet 4.5 can run autonomously for 30 hours, and Anthropic said it's able to maintain focus on complex, multistep tasks throughout that period. Claude Opus 4, which the company launched in May, could run autonomously for just seven hours. Anthropic has also been able to improve the model's behavior through extensive safety training, the company said. It has reduced "concerning behaviors" like deception, power seeking and sycophancy, which is when a model tells a user what they want to hear. Claude Sonnet 4.5 is also more resistant to prompt injection attacks, where a model can get tricked into doing something malicious, like exposing sensitive data. "This is the biggest jump in safety that I think we've seen in the last probably year, year and a half," Kaplan said. Additional model launches are already on the horizon for Anthropic. Kaplan said better models are coming, including "very likely Opus." "No promises," he said. "But I think that we'll probably have one or two more releases before the end of the year." WATCH: Microsoft to buy AI from Anthropic in shift away from OpenAI, sources say
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Microsoft
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https://www.cnbc.com/video/2025/09/29/pres-trump-urges-microsoft-to-fire-lisa-monaco-who-served-as-deputy-ag-in-the-biden-administration.html?&qsearchterm=Microsoft
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Pres. Trump urges Microsoft to fire Lisa Monaco, who served as deputy AG in the Biden administration
| 2025-09-29T00:00:00
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Microsoft
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/29/from-tesla-to-microsoft-satya-nadella-tech-firms-leader-once-h-1b-visa-holders.html?&qsearchterm=Microsoft
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From Elon Musk to Microsoft's Satya Nadella: Tech leaders that were once H-1B visa holders
| 2025-09-29T00:00:00
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In this article EBAY
CSCO
ZM
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MSFT Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT
Evgenia Parajanian | Istock | Getty Images
President Donald Trump is looking to restrict and overhaul the H-1 B visa program, which has allowed U.S. companies to hire foreign talent in occupations such as IT, healthcare and engineering for decades. The program has been a topic of debate among lawmakers in Washington for years, with many opponents arguing that it removes job opportunities for U.S. nationals and is rife with abuse. In response, Trump announced a plan to impose $100,000 fees on H-1B applications, which could severely impact American companies' ability to support the visas. One thing that can't be disputed, however, is that the program has been part of the journey of a considerable number of American technology and business leaders since its inception in 1990. Here is a list of some of the highest-profile ones.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk, the world's richest man and the founder of a raft of prominent tech companies in the U.S., is not only one of the most prominent H-1B visa recipients but also one of the most vocal advocates of the program. Originally born in South Africa, Musk moved to the U.S. in 1992 when he transferred to the University of Pennsylvania to pursue his studies. He later attended Stanford before dropping out to pursue entrepreneurial ventures in Silicon Valley.
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While some details of his early visa situation have been debated, Musk has gone on record saying the reason he is in the U.S., along with "so many critical people who built SpaceX, Tesla and hundreds of other companies that made America strong," was the H-1B visa. Still, the billionaire, who has become highly involved in U.S. and global politics, has also supported the overhaul and reformation of the H-1B system in the past.
Eric Yuan
Eric Yuan, the 55-year-old founder and CEO of Zoom , immigrated to the U.S. from China in 1997 on an H-1B visa, though his journey was anything but easy. Yuan was sponsored for an H-1B visa by video conferencing company Webex — later acquired by Cisco Systems — but was only approved on his ninth try, he said on a Cloud Giant podcast in 2020.
Eric Yuan, founder and CEO of Zoom Video Communications, speaks at Concordia Annual Summit in New York on Sept. 25, 2024. Leigh Vogel | Concordia Summit | Getty Images
Despite speaking very little English upon his arrival in the U.S., he would go on to launch Zoom in 2011. The company's IPO in 2019 valued Yuan's shares in the billions. While Yuan has not publicly commented much about the H-1B visa program, he told CNBC in 2019 that the United States' openness to immigration is healthy and that he expects that culture to persist.
Satya Nadella
Born and raised in India, Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO of Microsoft , is also a former recipient of an H-1B visa, though his circumstances were quite unique. Having been in the U.S. since 1990, he held a highly coveted green card until he gave it up to bring his wife into the country through a successful, but otherwise risky, H-1B visa application in 1994.
"The idea that you have to give up your green card to get an H-1B is, in retrospect, silly. And so therefore let us in fact take the reform so that it works for us, both our security but as well as our competitiveness," said Nadella in a 2017 interview with CNBC. Back in 2017, speaking on the 'Make Me Smart' podcast, Nadella defended the H-1B visa program, saying that it provided Microsoft with high-skilled labor that helped it remain globally competitive, though he welcomed an executive order reviewing H-1B for abuses under the first Trump administration.
Jayshree Ullal
Jayshree Ullal, CEO of cloud networking company Arista Networks, was born in the United Kingdom and raised in New Delhi, before she moved to the U.S. at the age of 16 and began her studies at San Francisco State University. After completing a master's degree at Santa Clara University, she went on to work for prominent tech companies, including Fairchild Semiconductor, Advanced Micro Devices, and Cisco. Somewhere in that time, Ullal had been a recipient of an H-1B visa, a representative of the CEO had previously disclosed to Forbes. Arista did not respond to a request for comment from CNBC.
President and CEO of Arista Networks, Jayshree Ullal. Scott Mlyn | CNBC
While details of Ullal's H-1B journey are unknown, she has voiced support for immigration reform and easier pathways for foreign workers to the U.S. in the past. Speaking to Times of India in 2023, she said the immigration process had become overly challenging with permanent residence visas taking up to 15 years to secure, which is "a large chunk of a professional person's work life." "At Arista, we believe that the best developers can come from anywhere and there is a global distribution of engineering talent — virtual or physical," she added. Ullal is one of the handful of immigrant billionaires in the U.S. today with a net worth of $6 billion, according to Forbes.
Jeffrey Skoll
Jeff Skoll, the first President of eBay — now a philanthropist and chairman of Capricorn Investment Group — is another former H-1B visa holder who has advocated for the program, while supporting targeted reforms. As a Canadian, he graduated from the University of Toronto in 1987 before he came to America to study at Stanford University. He would later obtain an H-1B visa in 1996 when he began working for eBay and its founder, Pierre Omidyar.
Jeff Skoll Getty Images
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Amazon
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/01/microsoft-wants-to-mainly-use-its-own-ai-chips-in-the-future.html?&qsearchterm=Amazon
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Microsoft wants to mainly use its own AI data center chips in the future
| 2025-10-01T00:00:00
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Microsoft Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice President of Artificial Intelligence Kevin Scott speaks at the Microsoft Briefing event at the Seattle Convention Center Summit Building in Seattle, Washington, on May 21, 2024.
Microsoft would like to mainly use its own chips in its data centers in the future, the tech giant's chief technology officer said on Wednesday, in a move which could reduce its reliance on major players like Nvidia and AMD .
Semiconductors and the servers that sit inside data centers have underpinned the development of artificial intelligence models and applications.
Tech giant Nvidia has dominated the space so far with its graphics processing unit (GPUs), while rival AMD has a smaller slice of the pie.
But major cloud computing players, including Microsoft, have also designed their own custom chips for specifically for data centers.
Kevin Scott, chief technology officer at Microsoft, laid out the company's strategy around chips for AI during a fireside chat at Italian Tech Week that was moderated by CNBC.
Microsoft primarily uses chips from Nvidia and AMD in its own data centers. The focus has been on picking the right silicon — another shorthand term for semiconductor — that offers "the best price performance" per chip.
"We're not religious about what the chips are. And ... that has meant the best price performance solution has been Nvidia for years and years now," Scott said. "We will literally entertain anything in order to ensure that we've got enough capacity to meet this demand."
At the same time, Microsoft has been using some of its own chips.
In 2023, Microsoft launched the Azure Maia AI Accelerator which is designed for AI workloads, as well as the Cobalt CPU. In addition, the firm is reportedly working on its next-generation of semiconductor products. Last week, the U.S. technology giant unveiled new cooling technology using "microfluids" to solve the issue of overheating chips.
When asked if the longer term plan is to have mainly Microsoft chips in the firm's own data centers, Scott said: "Absolutely," adding that the company is using "lots of Microsoft" silicon right now.
The focus on chips is part of a strategy to eventually design an entire system that goes into the data center, Scott said.
"It's about the entire system design. It's the networks and the cooling and you want to be able to have the freedom to make the decisions that you need to make in order to really optimize your compute to the workload," Scott said.
Microsoft and its rivals Google and Amazon are designing their own chips to not only reduce reliance on Nvidia and AMD, but also to make their products more efficient for their specific requirements.
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Amazon
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/01/top-3-club-stocks-and-the-bottom-3-as-the-market-surged-in-q3.html?&qsearchterm=Amazon
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The top 3 portfolio stocks, and the bottom 3, as the market surged in the third quarter
| 2025-10-01T00:00:00
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It was a terrific third quarter for Wall Street as the stock market hit record high after record high. The S & P 500 and Nasdaq climbed 7.8% and 11.2%, respectively, from the June 30 close to Tuesday's close, the session before the start of the fourth quarter, which began on a sour note after the government shut down early Wednesday morning. The final quarter of the year is historically the strongest for stocks. We will have to see if that holds true in an already stellar 2025, which has seen the S & P 500 and Nasdaq gain more than 13% and 17%, respectively, year to date. .SPX .IXIC YTD mountain 2025-06-30 S & P 500 vs. Nasdaq YTD The Q3 outperformance came despite a cocktail of uncertainty. Investors continued to speculate over the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decisions. The Fed, however, did finally announce a quarter-percentage point reduction to the overnight lending rate on Sept. 17, the first cut since Dec. 2024. Wall Street also mulled President Donald Trump 's tariff moves and the longevity of the generative artificial intelligence trade. Since the end of the second quarter, the Club has sent out dozens of trade alerts. This includes initiations of Nike , Cisco Systems , and Boeing, while exiting Coterra Energy altogether. Through it all, there were clear winners and laggards in the third quarter — a diverse group spanning Big Tech to industrials. Here's a breakdown of the portfolio's top three and bottom three performers over the period, along with the Club's updated take on each. Gainers 1. Apple: +24.1% Apple shares were buoyed by an early August announcement that the company would boost its investment in U.S. manufacturing by another $100 billion, bringing its total commitment to $600 billion over the next four years. Investors celebrated how CEO Tim Cook navigated the Trump administration's threats of higher tariffs against the iPhone maker. Less than a month later, Apple stock surged again after a favorable ruling in Google's antitrust case. A federal judge ruled that Alphabet -owned Google could still make billions of dollars in payments to Apple to preload Google Search onto the iPhone and other company devices. Wall Street liked the news because it prevented an immediate hit to Apple's high-margin services business. The ruling also opened the door for similar deals with large language model providers to bring AI services to Apple, which could improve the company's so-far lackluster generative AI rollout. Finally, Apple owes its most recent gains to positive signs for the company's new iPhone 17 and Air lineup. Wall Street analysts have said so themselves. JPMorgan, for example, raised its price target on Apple to $280 apiece from $255 last week, citing favorable demand indications since the new devices were introduced on Sept. 9. Jim has sent a clear message to Wall Street : Get more bullish on Apple stock. 2. Broadcom: +19.7% The custom chipmaker received a leg up after posting a top and bottom line beat last month, propelled higher by management's commentary around a new customer's $10 billion worth of AI-related orders. As a result, Broadcom CEO Hock Tan said that AI revenue for the full year should "improve significantly" compared to previous expectations. The Club hiked its price target to $350 from $290 following the release. Additionally, shares benefited from the continued strength in the generative AI trade, too. In turn, the Club trimmed our Broadcom position a few times over the past quarter. Our conviction in the stock hasn't changed. Instead, it's important to remain disciplined and right-size a position when necessary. 3. Nvidia: +18.1% Rounding out our top three quarterly gainers was Nvidia . Like Broadcom, the chipmaker's shares surged on signs that AI spending wasn't easing up anytime soon. Investors saw this in quarterly earnings reports from Club holdings Meta Platforms, Amazon, and other Big Tech names, which raised their capital expenditures. Oracle 's quarterly earnings report gave AI-linked stocks another lift in September on the back of blistering demand for the company's cloud services. Trump also gave Wall Street some assurance that the administration would give Nvidia licenses to offer its H20 AI chip in China – a crucial market for the company. Nvidia also announced a $100 billion investment to help OpenAI build data centers. Shares hit a record high as recently as Tuesday. Laggards 1. Salesforce: -13.1% It's not a surprise to us that Salesforce was the portfolio's worst Q3 performer. In general, Software as a Service (SaaS) names have taken hits as the rise of generative AI puts revenue for their seat-based models at risk. That's exactly why, in August, the Club downgraded Salesforce stock to a hold-equivalent 2 rating from a buy. Plus, quarterly earnings in early September didn't help investor sentiment either. The company disappointed investors with its financial outlook. In Jim Cramer's interview with CEO Marc Benioff, he asked about the company's guidance versus expectations. Benioff defended the outlook, saying in part: "Maybe I'm just being too conservative. I think I'm being appropriately conservative, but I've always been that way for 26 years." The next catalyst for Salesforce comes later this month when it holds its annual Dreamforce conference, which needs to wow investors . 2. Texas Roadhouse: -11.3% This stock has been hit over the past three months due to commodity inflation. Higher beef prices, which have eased somewhat recently, weighed on shares as investors worry about whether Texas Roadhouse will pass on the additional costs to diners or absorb them. Quarterly earnings in early August affirmed that concern, even with strong comps as beef prices still dented results. But the casual steakhouse chain is otherwise executing well on everything it can control. We're conflicted, but still sticking with Texas Roadhouse. 3. Honeywell: -9.6% Honeywell shares have dragged ahead of the industrial conglomerate's forthcoming split into three publicly traded entities. The stock's underperformance is likely due to a Wall Street phenomenon, known to some investors as "spin purgatory." Other Club stocks like DuPont have undergone similar patterns. That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with Honeywell's fundamentals, though. After all, we still believe the split will unlock much more value for the company. (See here for a full list of the stocks in Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
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Amazon
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/30/nike-shares-jump-on-strong-earnings-signs-its-turnaround-is-racing-ahead-under-ceo-hill.html?&qsearchterm=Amazon
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Nike shares jump on strong earnings, signs its turnaround is racing ahead under CEO Hill
| 2025-09-30T00:00:00
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Nike shares jumped in after-hours trading Tuesday after the sportswear maker's quarterly results far exceeded Wall Street expectations, signaling that CEO Elliott Hill's turnaround strategy is gaining momentum. Total revenue in the company's fiscal 2026 first quarter increased 1% year over year to $11.72 billion, topping Wall Street expectations of about $11 billion, according to estimates compiled by LSEG. Earnings per share (EPS) fell 30% from the year-ago period to 49 cents, beating the consensus of 70 cents, LSEG data showed. The stock — a member of the Club's portfolio for only a few days — climbed more than 4% to around $72.66 a share in extended trading. Nike shares ended Tuesday's regular session down almost 10% in September. Why we own it Nike, the global leader in sportswear, is undergoing a turnaround under CEO Elliott Hill. With Hill in charge, Nike is focusing on its most important categories across its three main geographies and five major cities. After too much attention on its direct-to-consumer business, Nike has pivoted back to key retail partners to drive sales. Competitors: Adidas , Puma , Lululemon , On Holding , Deckers Brands Last buy: Sept. 26, 2025 Initiation date: Sept. 26, 2025 Bottom line Nike's quarter filled up the box score, as far as our investment thesis is concerned. Turnarounds require management credibility, and the best way to create that is by beating the guidance you give the Street. Nike's results were far better than the guidance that executives offered three months ago. Hill and Co. had forecast revenue falling by a mid-single-digit percentage, gross margins declining 350 basis points to 425 basis points, and selling, general and administrative (SG & A) expenses increasing by a low-single-digit percentage. Instead, what actually happened is that revenues increased by 1%, gross margin fell by just 320 basis points, and SG & A dollars dipped about 1%. A basis point is equal to 0.01%, so in this case, gross margin declined by 3.2 percentage points. Another part of our thesis where Nike shined is innovation and its "Win Now" initiative, which is all about prioritizing its best-performing categories across its main geographies. This strategy is still in its early days, but the work has begun to pay off in key areas like running, where management launched what it called its "sport offense," which brings the company's organization closer to the athletes it serves. "We're getting back to delivering a relentless flow of innovation that serves real athlete needs, and we're pulling it all the way through the marketplace in consumer-friendly ways," Hill said on the earnings call. "The early results have been positive with Nike running growing over 20% this quarter," added Hill, a longtime Nike employee who returned to the company in October 2024 as CEO. We also wanted Nike to pivot back toward its wholesale business and re-engage partners like Dick's Sporting Goods and the Dick's-owned Foot Locker, rather than relying too heavily on its direct-to-consumer channel, which had been a focus of Hill's predecessor, John Donahoe. To our delight, Nike's fledgling efforts have paid off: its North America wholesale business returned to growth, with sales up 5% year over year on a currency-neutral basis and momentum is expected to continue. In particular, management called out the success of the Nike Brand Store on Amazon , which Hill said is driving stronger engagement and sales than anticipated. Nike returned to selling wholesale on Amazon earlier this year for the first time since 2019 . Amazon is a fellow Club holding. Like any turnaround, though, we know progress isn't made in a straight line. We've talked about this repeatedly with our position in Starbucks . Nike has acknowledged this, too. "We are encouraged with how we have started the year, but progress won't be linear and there is still work to do to return to driving consistent, sustainable and profitable long-term growth" CFO Matthew Friend said on the call. Specifically, getting Nike's Greater China segment and its Converse brand to return to profitable growth won't be an easy task. Additionally, Nike's website may have been de-emphasized, but it's still an important part of the business. Inventory and tariffs headwinds need to be managed as well. Still, we left the earnings call with greater confidence in Hill's plan. Ahead of Tuesday's print, we put a small Nike position on last week because we wanted to participate in some upside if the turnaround was on track, and we liked what we heard. For that reason, we are increasing our price target to $85 from $80, reiterating our buy-equivalent 1 rating, and planning to scale deeper into this new position. Tariffs Nike is among the many shoe and apparel companies grappling with President Donald Trump's evolving tariff policies, as a result of Southeast Asia being such a hub for manufacturing those products. Investors are well aware that Nike has steep tariff exposure, though, and investors have been pricing that risk into the stock for months — well before we arrived. For us, the question is how Nike manages tariffs from here. On Tuesday, Nike said on the earnings call that reciprocal tariff rates have increased for certain countries since its last earnings call in late June. As a result, management now estimates the gross incremental cost to Nike on an annualized basis is approximately $1.5 billion, up from its prior view of $1 billion. That is going to result in a hit to gross margins in the fiscal year of roughly 120 basis points, up from 75 basis points. Nike has previously shared that it is working to mitigate its tariff headwind through initiatives like sourcing optimization and reducing China footwear imports from 16% to a high single-digit range by the end of fiscal 2026. Also, the company is working with suppliers and retail partners to mitigate other cost increases and has implemented a price increase beginning this fall. Finance chief Friend said Tuesday that Nike is adhering to that plan. "And I remain confident in our ability to leverage our strengths, our scale and the deep experience of our leadership team to navigate through this disruption," he said. Guidance Here's the second-quarter guidance Nike management offered Tuesday: Revenues to decline by a low-single-digits percentage, including a one-point tailwind from foreign exchange. That's roughly in line with the consensus estimate implying a roughly 3.1% year over year decline, according to FactSet. Gross margin to decline approximately 300 basis points to 375 basis points year over year, inclusive of a 175 net headwind from the new incremental tariffs. That's worse than the roughly 225 basis point decline analysts were modeling, but the main difference appears to be the incremental tariffs. SG & A dollars to increase in the high-single digits, balanced between an acceleration of marketing spending— which Nike calls demand creation expenses — and a low-single-digit increase in operating overhead. That's higher than the estimate for flat growth. Overall, we're calling quarterly guidance better than feared, largely due to the tariff headwinds. Outside of the second-quarter figures, the company shared some other updates for the rest of the year that we found quite bullish. Specifically, Nike said its spring order book is up versus last year, with growth led by sport. As a result, the wholesale business is expected to return to modest growth for the full fiscal year. Again, this is welcome news to us because it shows the pivot back to wholesale was the right call. Growth in this channel also makes the decline expected in Nike's direct-to-consumer operations much more tolerable. (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long NKE. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
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Amazon
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/30/tech-and-health-care-rally-in-a-flat-market-plus-amazons-alexa-gets-smarter.html?&qsearchterm=Amazon
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Tech and health care rally in a flat market — plus, Amazon's Alexa gets smarter
| 2025-09-30T00:00:00
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Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer releases the Homestretch — an actionable afternoon update, just in time for the last hour of trading on Wall Street. Market moves : Stocks were lower on Tuesday following slight gains for the S & P 500 on Monday. Unless a last-minute funding deal is reached, the federal government will shut down at midnight. As discussed during Tuesday's Morning Meeting , a government shutdown is a bad reason to sell stocks or make changes to your investment strategy. There is no clear trend for what happens to the market during a shutdown. Bank stocks : The financials were one of the hardest hit sectors Tuesday, with the banks rolling over shortly after 10 a.m. ET on consumer confidence falling to a five-month low. As a leading player in the subprime market, customers of Capital One are likely to feel the effects of a slowdown in the economy first. That's why American Express shares were faring slightly better. However, we think the drop of 6% in Capital One shares is an overreaction since the company's credit quality has been steadily improving. The credit card issuer also has plenty of capacity to buy back stock. Tech stocks : The technology trade and AI infrastructure rally continued Tuesday after Meta Platforms and Coreweave signed a $14 billion deal for computing power, and analysts at Citi raised their AI hyperscaler capital spending forecast through 2029. Coreweave jumped more than 12% on the news, while Meta, the one spending, saw its shares fall modestly. Event updates: Amazon announced a bunch of new hardware products at its Devices & Services event. The most anticipated update was the new Alexa+ integrated Echo smart speakers. Alexa+ is Amazon's next-generation personal assistant that's powered by generative AI. Amazon management has touted the capabilities of Alexa+ on previous earnings calls, noting its difference from other generative AI chatbots, like ChatGPT. "The Alexa+ experience is so much better than I think our prior Alexa experience," CEO Andy Jassy said on Amazon's second quarter 2025 earnings call in July. "She is much more intelligent than her prior self. She's much more capable. And, I would say, unlike the other chatbots that are out there today, who are good at answering questions, but really can't take any action for you, Alexa+ can take a lot of action for you, which is very compelling." One of the best outcomes for the Alexa+ is making it simple for customers to buy goods and groceries on Amazon's marketplace. That's how the Amazon flywheel works: the company develops products and services that drive more sales of other offerings. Another development from Tuesday's event was an expanded partnership between Amazon Prime Sports and the betting site FanDuel. The two companies are teaming up to enhance the viewing experience for NBA betters. Healthcare rally : Health care was the top-performing sector Tuesday after Pfizer struck a deal with the Trump administration to lower drug prices and invest in U.S. manufacturing. In response, the president said the drugmaker will be exempt from pharmaceutical tariffs for three years. Other pharma stocks rallied on this news as investors viewed it as a potential blueprint for more deals. The White House said Eli Lilly is in talks to reach an agreement with the administration, especially since it has already announced plans to build several multi-billion-dollar manufacturing plants in the United States. Bristol Myers Squibb should follow in Pfizer's footsteps, too. Interestingly, Danaher was also one of the biggest gainers in the sector — up more than 5%. As a provider of life sciences and biotechnology tools needed to make medicines, it should benefit from all this onshoring/reshoring activity in the pharmaceutical industry. But the timeline for when this activity will meaningfully benefit Danaher's outlook remains uncertain, as it will take years for the new plants to become fully operational. Still, we're encouraged by the relief rally in a stock we added to just last week. Up next: Nike reports earnings after Tuesday's close, and the most important thing we are looking for is continued signs of a turnaround, driven by improvements to innovation, relationships with wholesale partners, and inventory levels. Conagra before the opening bell on Wednesday. On the data side, the schedule for Wednesday includes weekly mortgage applications, ADP's private-sector employment report, and ISM manufacturing. (See here for a full list of the stocks in Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust, including COF, META, AMZN, LLY, BMY, DHR.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
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Amazon
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https://www.cnbc.com/video/2025/09/30/amazon-touts-alexa-ai-features-new-devices.html?&qsearchterm=Amazon
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Amazon touts Alexa+ AI features, new devices
| 2025-09-30T00:00:00
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In this video
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Amazon touts Alexa+ AI features, new devices
CNBC's MacKenzie Sigalos reports on Amazon's new devices that have been revamped with Alexa+, the company's personal assistant powered by generative artificial intelligence.
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Amazon
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/30/florence-poirel-left-google-job-in-switzerland-for-mini-retirement.html?&qsearchterm=Amazon
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37-year-old left her $390,000 Google job in Switzerland for an 18-month 'mini retirement'—and may never return to full-time work
| 2025-09-30T00:00:00
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This story is part of CNBC Make It's Millennial Money series, which details how people around the world earn, spend and save their money. On Valentine's Day in 2024, Florence Poirel poured champagne in her Zurich apartment with her partner, both longtime Googlers. Her partner, Jan, had just finished a long, stressful day, and their conversation turned to what life might be like if they stopped working altogether. What began as a joke became serious the more they talked, Poirel tells CNBC Make It: "Wouldn't it be great if we were retired? Why don't we just do it? Why not just [take] that next step?" By the end of the night, they had decided to go for it.
Florence Poirel with her partner, Jan. Gabriel Pecot | CNBC Make It
At the time, Poirel was 35 and earning roughly $390,000 a year working for Google in Switzerland. Walking away from that kind of compensation might seem surprising, especially since she lives in one of the most expensive countries in the world. "Saying no to this kind of income can be daunting, for sure," Poirel says. But early retirement had been on her mind for years, having built up $1.5 million in savings and investments, as of January 2024, by setting aside most of her income each month. Describing herself as "risk averse" by nature, Poirel chose to test the waters with what she calls "a mini retirement," with enough cash to cover 18 months of expenses. Now, 18 months later, she hasn't decided when she'll return to work. Days are slower, spent reading, swimming in Lake Zurich or traveling with her partner to places like Brazil and Australia. "I thought I would get bored very easily," the now-37-year-old says. "But now, it's been a year and a half and I still haven't [had] a time of boredom."
From Google promotions to planning an early exit
In 2013, after completing a master's degree in business and economics, Poirel was working in marketing in Belgium. During a ride home at the end of a long week, she told a colleague how unfulfilled she felt with her job. He replied with the French phrase "qui ne tente rien n'a rien" — he who risks nothing has nothing. The words stuck with her. The following Monday, Poirel quit her job. About a month later, she packed her things and moved to Dublin with no job lined up, choosing the city for its reputation as a tech hub. Within the year, she landed a contract position at Google, working in content moderation and safety.
Florence Poirel in her home office. Gabriel Pecot | CNBC Make It
In 2017, she transferred to Google's Zurich office to work as a project manager, where she earned three promotions over the following years. That's where she met Jan, who is 17 years older. The relationship made her start to rethink her long-term plans — especially the idea of waiting decades to retire. "I realized that I could not just wait for retirement to enjoy my time with him because he would be much older at that time," she says. "So that's when I thought, 'OK, now I need to think about how I can retire earlier.'"
Discovering FIRE and going on 'mini retirement'
Faced with the prospect of working decades longer than her partner, Poirel went looking for a way to retire sooner. "I think I literally typed in Google, how can I retire 17 years earlier," she says. That search led her to the FIRE movement, which stands for financial independence, retire early. It gave her both the structure and motivation to start tracking her net worth with a concrete target in mind. She began actively managing her investments using a detailed Excel spreadsheet and sought out promotions to boost her salary, channeling each raise directly into savings.
Florence Poirel walking the shore of Lake Zürich. Gabriel Pecot | CNBC Make It
"People think FIRE is about eating only pasta or cramming into an apartment with 20 flatmates, but that was never my approach," she says. "It never felt like deprivation … it was just how I behaved and how I shopped." By January 2024, she had put away about $1.5 million, and though she wasn't burned out or unhappy at Google, she had already started preparing for life beyond work. "I realized how much time with the people I love is the most important," she says. "Climbing the ladder would have meant more responsibilities, more stress, late meetings — and financially, I didn't need that anymore."
How Poirel spends her money
Poirel and her partner keep their finances separate, splitting shared expenses proportionally — about 35% for her and 65% for him. The split was originally tied to their incomes, but has remained in place since they left their jobs. "We're not married, we don't have joint accounts … having separate finances is very important to keep that independence," she says. "Finances and money is never a stressor in our relationship because from the beginning we had the same mindset on how to manage that as a couple." In May 2025, Poirel's total spending came to about $4,611. Here's how her share of expenses breaks down.
Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Christina Locopo | CNBC Make It
Rent: $2,187 for her share of the Zurich apartment
$2,187 for her share of the Zurich apartment Discretionary: $1,345 on travel, electronics and pharmacy purchases
$1,345 on travel, electronics and pharmacy purchases Insurance: $497 for health insurance plus her share of liability, home and car coverage
$497 for health insurance plus her share of liability, home and car coverage Food: $378 for groceries and dining
$378 for groceries and dining Utilities: $134 for Wi-Fi, water, heat and electricity
$134 for Wi-Fi, water, heat and electricity Transportation: $30 for train fare
$30 for train fare Phone: $23
$23 Subscriptions and memberships: $18 for Netflix, Sky and Amazon Prime Although rent is by far Poirel's largest expense, the bright Zurich flat, which she calls her "sanctuary," has plenty of sunlight and a view of the lake. Her costs are modest compared with her former $390,000 salary, especially in Switzerland, where she keeps costs down by shopping at discount stores and sticking to simple routines. She and Jan rarely dine out and spend much of their free time outdoors. "We have beautiful mountains. You can hike everywhere for free … you can spend 15 hours hiking a mountain just with your backpack," she says.
Looking ahead
Poirel says that being able to step away from work at 35 was unusual, made possible by a high-paying career in tech that allowed her to save aggressively. While that might not be realistic for many people, she's seen others in the FIRE community achieve financial independence on lower incomes — it just often takes more time or living in a more affordable place. With her 18-month sabbatical coming to an end, Poirel is still weighing her next move. During the break, she's used her freedom to focus on career coaching for women, while also traveling and enjoying time with her partner.
Florence Poirel outside her home in Thalwil, Switzerland. Gabriel Pecot | CNBC Make It
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Amazon
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/30/versant-wnba-media-deal.html?&qsearchterm=Amazon
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Versant adds WNBA media deal to its growing sports portfolio
| 2025-09-30T00:00:00
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Breanna Stewart, #30 of the New York Liberty, dribbles the ball against Napheesa Collier, #24 of the Minnesota Lynx, in the fourth quarter during Game Three of the WNBA Finals at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Oct. 16, 2024.
Versant has signed a new 11-year media deal with the Women's National Basketball Association, the company announced Tuesday.
The agreement kicks off for the 2026 season and includes at least 50 WNBA games annually and portions of playoff and finals games during select years, the company said.
Versant, the parent company of cable networks and brands soon to be spun off from Comcast , has been rapidly acquiring sports rights and diving deeper into women's sports in particular.
The latest agreement expands upon a previous package between the WNBA and Versant's USA Network signed in 2024. The coverage will include Wednesday night double-headers, a dedicated pregame show and a postgame studio show.
"We're incredibly proud to expand our multi-year partnership with the WNBA," said Matt Hong, president of sports for Versant. "USA Network will be a destination for WNBA viewers all season long, as we showcase the star power across the league."
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Amazon
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/30/cramer-walmart-ceos-ai-warning-is-existential-everyone-needs-to-pay-attention.html?&qsearchterm=Amazon
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Cramer: Walmart CEO's AI warning is 'existential,' everyone needs to pay attention
| 2025-09-30T00:00:00
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The stark comments from the CEO of Walmart about artificial intelligence have business leaders talking, CNBC's Jim Cramer said Tuesday. "I think we're at a different inflection point," Cramer said on "Squawk on the Street." "I had more people talk about these Doug McMillon comments from Walmart than anything else. That this was seminal. That Doug McMillon, who has terrific tech, who is in a battle with Amazon, is basically saying, 'Listen, we're not hiring more, and we're going to get people to do new things.'" McMillon's remarks surfaced in a Wall Street Journal story over the weekend . "It's very clear that AI is going to change literally every job," McMillon said at a conference hosted at the company's Arkansas headquarters last week, The Journal reported. "Maybe there's a job in the world that AI won't change, but I haven't thought of it," McMillon said, according to the report. As Walmart embraces AI, the company plans to keep the size of its global workforce about the same — at roughly 2.1 million — over the next three years, despite projecting revenue increases during that timeframe, The Journal reported, citing Walmart's chief people officer, Donna Morris. McMillon is not the first prominent chief executive to send a warning shot on AI, which has captivated Wall Street and corporate America following the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022. In a June letter posted on Amazon 's website, CEO Andy Jassy said that he expects AI to reduce the size of the company's corporate workforce in the coming years. Still, Walmart's strategy is causing a stir in Cramer's corner of the business community. "I've spoken with a bunch of retailers in the last 24 hours. ... Everyone is surprised," Cramer said. "Doug McMillon, it's existential what he said." Not just for business leaders, Cramer argued, but also for policymakers at the Federal Reserve who are responsible for fostering full employment in the U.S. economy. "[Fed officials] better start thinking about AI more. They're left out," Cramer said. The threat of AI disrupting the labor market comes at a time when the Fed is worried about a slowdown in hiring. At the central bank's post-meeting press conference in mid-September, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell was asked whether he bought into the idea that AI adoption was already having an effect. 'There's great uncertainty around that," Powell said. "I think my view — which is also a bit of a guess, but widely shared I think — is that you are seeing some effects, but it's not the main thing driving it. ... It may be that companies or other institutions that have been hiring younger people right out of college are able to use AI more than they had in the past. That may be part of the story. It's also part of the story, though, that, you know, job creation more broadly has slowed down. The economy has slowed down. And so it's probably a number of things." Disclosure: Cramer's Charitable Trust, the portfolio used by the CNBC Investing Club, owns shares of Amazon.
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Amazon
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/30/amazon-alexa-echo-price.html?&qsearchterm=Amazon
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Amazon's new Echo devices designed for Alexa+ start at $99
| 2025-09-30T00:00:00
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In this article AMZN Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT
Daniel Rausch, vice president of Alexa and Echo, announces the Echo Studio and Echo Dot Max during an Amazon event showcasing new products in New York City, U.S., September 30, 2025. Kylie Cooper | Reuters
Amazon on Tuesday unveiled four new smart speakers and voice-activated displays that are revamped with Alexa+, its personal assistant that's powered by generative artificial intelligence. The company debuted the Echo Dot Max, a revamped version of its compact smart speaker, which costs $99.99. Amazon also unveiled a new Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 11, priced at $179.99 and $219.99, respectively. There's also a new version of the Echo Studio, a larger, higher-end model with a more powerful speaker, priced at $219.99. All the devices are available for preorder on Tuesday, and users will get Alexa+ early access "out of the box," Amazon said. The Echo Dot Max and Echo Studio ship Oct. 29, while the Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 11 ship Nov. 12.
The devices were launched at Amazon's fall hardware bonanza, held in New York. They're the first batch of revamped products under the leadership of Panos Panay, a former Microsoft hardware leader who joined Amazon in 2023. It's also the first set of Amazon hardware to integrate the company's long-awaited Alexa+, which debuted in February and has slowly rolled out in early access for some users. "These are the most powerful Echo devices we have ever created," Panay said on stage at the event. "Custom silicon, advanced sensors, our best microphones and sound, noise cancellation, understanding the user, faster than anything we've ever delivered before. They're also beautifully designed to fade into the background." Alongside a revamped look, Amazon added new AZ3 and AZ3 Pro chips for edge processing to the devices, which are faster, more powerful and have "AI built right in," said Daniel Rausch, the head of Amazon's Alexa and Echo businesses.
Panos Panay, head of Amazon's Devices and Services team, introduces Echo during an Amazon product event in the Manhattan borough of New York City on September 30, 2025. Amazon announced its next generation of Kindle, Ring, Blink, Fire TV, and Echo devices. Charly Triballeau | Afp | Getty Images
The devices also feature a so-called Omnisense platform that gives Alexa "better contextual awareness," Rausch said. It allows the Echo Show to be able to recognize users and serve up personalized insights, like an analysis of how they slept last night or alert users if they left their front door unlocked after midnight. Amazon faces growing pressure to update its hardware and software for the generative AI age following the success of rivals such as OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini. Meta also has its Ray-Ban Meta glasses, which use its Llama large language model to answer spoken questions from the user. Amazon is also looking beyond Alexa or Echo smart speakers for opportunities in device growth. The company in July confirmed it's acquiring AI wearables startup Bee, which makes a wristband that can record and transcribe conversations.
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Amazon
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/30/amazon-prime-fanduel-real-time-nba-betting-updates.html?&qsearchterm=Amazon
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Amazon Prime Video teams up with FanDuel for real-time betting updates during NBA games
| 2025-09-30T00:00:00
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DeMar DeRozan #10 of the Sacramento Kings is defended by Jose Alvarado #15 of the New Orleans Pelicans during the second half of a game at the Smoothie King Center on February 12, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Basketball fans watching on Prime Video this season will be able to track their wagers through an expanded partnership between Amazon and Flutter- owned FanDuel, the exclusive odds provider of the NBA and WNBA on Prime.
Bettors will be able to link their FanDuel accounts to their Prime Video profiles and see how their wagers are playing out in real time, Amazon announced Tuesday. Users can track progress on parlays and check wins and losses. The new feature doesn't permit bets to be placed directly on Prime Video.
A separate overlay option, called OddsView, will update odds, lines, probabilities, moneylines, spreads and game props all in real time in what Amazon is calling an "immersive" experience. It'll be available for all NBA games on Amazon Prime Video.
FanDuel's president of sports, Mike Raffensperger, called it "a significant milestone in how we connect with basketball fans."
Former LA Clipper Blake Griffin, who will serve as an analyst for NBA on Prime, will also became an ambassador for FanDuel's NBA offering. Griffin will be featured across FanDuel campaigns as well as in on-air integrations, social media and live events.
For Prime Video, it's another extension of how it serves up sports and looks to gain more viewers with features and enhancements.
"Since Day 1, we've challenged ourselves to invent features that heighten, customize and add storytelling elements for fans within the live sports experience," said Jay Marine, head of Prime Video U.S. and global sports and advertising, in a release. "As we tip off this long-term relationship with the NBA, we're excited to launch a best-in-class bet tracking experience with FanDuel, as well as a wide-ranging suite of broadcast innovations to enhance Prime Video's comprehensive NBA offerings."
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Microsoft
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/01/microsoft-makes-co.html?&qsearchterm=Microsoft
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Microsoft sales chief Althoff gets new role as CEO of company's commercial business
| 2025-10-01T00:00:00
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President of Microsoft North America Judson Althoff speaks on stage during We Day at KeyArena on April 23, 2015 in Seattle, Washington.
Microsoft 's top-ranking sales leader, Judson Althoff, has been promoted to a bigger role as CEO of the company's commercial business.
Satya Nadella, Microsoft's CEO, wrote in a memo on Wednesday that marketing and operations will move under Althoff's organization. Most of Microsoft's revenue comes from commercial offerings such as productivity software subscriptions and cloud-based Nvidia chips for running artificial intelligence models.
"Our success depends on enabling commercial and public sector customers and partners to combine their human capital with new AI capabilities to change the frontier of how they operate," Nadella wrote in the email. "To accelerate this, we will increasingly need to bring together sales, marketing, operations, and engineering to drive growth and strengthen our position as the partner of choice for AI transformation."
Althoff, who joined from Oracle as president of Microsoft's North America business in 2013, was already among Microsoft's highest-paid executives, receiving over $23 million in total pay in the 2024 fiscal year. His most recent title was executive vice president and chief commercial officer.
Under Nadella, who replaced Steve Ballmer as CEO in 2014, Microsoft has more frequently used the CEO title for select executives.
LinkedIn has had a CEO since Microsoft acquired the company in 2016. Last year Microsoft hired Mustafa Suleyman, a co-founder of the DeepMind AI lab now owned by Google, and made him CEO of a group called Microsoft AI that includes Bing. And GitHub, which Microsoft bought in 2018, had a CEO until last month, when Thomas Dohmke left the company.
WATCH: Cramer's Mad Dash: Microsoft
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Microsoft
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/01/microsoft-365-premium-bundle-ai-copilot.html?&qsearchterm=Microsoft
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Microsoft launches AI and productivity software bundle for consumers
| 2025-10-01T00:00:00
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Yusuf Mehdi, executive vice president and consumer chief marketing officer at Microsoft, speaks at a company briefing in Redmond, Wash., on May 20, 2024. Microsoft unveiled a new category of PC that features generative artificial intelligence tools built into Windows, the company's world-leading operating system.
Microsoft said Wednesday that it will stop promoting a consumer subscription for artificial intelligence services and introduced a bundle blending AI features with traditional productivity apps.
The software company introduced Copilot Pro at $20 per month in early 2024. Microsoft 365 Family, which allows for up to six users and 6 terabytes of cloud storage, goes for $12.99 each month. The new Microsoft 365 Premium tier essentially combines both and will cost $19.99 a month.
"Other AI tools stop at chat — we deliver that plus so much more," Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft's consumer marketing leader, wrote in a statement provided to CNBC.
Microsoft is not discontinuing Copilot Pro, a spokesperson said.
Technology companies have been trying to capitalize on the broad interest in tapping generative AI models to compose documents and create videos.
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Microsoft
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/01/microsoft-price-hike-xbox-game-pass-ultimate.html?&qsearchterm=Microsoft
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Microsoft hikes price of top-tier Xbox Game Pass Ultimate by $10
| 2025-10-01T00:00:00
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Microsoft is raising the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription price by 50% to $29.99 per month, effective immediately, the company announced Wednesday.
The $10 spike comes with a slew of changes to all its Game Pass plans, though its Essential and Premium plans will remain the same price at $9.99 and $14.99, respectively.
The Game Pass Core tier will no longer exist and instead will be rolled into the Essential tier, while Standard subscribers will move to the Premium tier.
"As we continue to evolve Xbox Game Pass, we're focused on delivering more value, more benefits, and more great games across every plan," the company said in a release. "Whether you play on console, PC, cloud – or all three – there's a Game Pass option designed to fit your playstyle."
The new Ultimate tier would cost $359.88 over the course of a year, with the Premium tier at $179.88 yearly and the Essential tier at $119.88 yearly.
Comparatively, PlayStation Plus Premium's highest tier is set at $159.99 annually, with the Extra tier at $134.99 and the Essential tier at $79.99.
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Microsoft
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https://www.cnbc.com/video/2025/10/01/microsoft-ceo-satya-nadella-relinquishes-some-duties.html?&qsearchterm=Microsoft
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Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella relinquishes some duties
| 2025-10-01T00:00:00
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Microsoft
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/26/trump-calls-for-the-firing-of-lisa-monaco-microsoft-president-of-global-affairs.html?&qsearchterm=Microsoft
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Trump calls for the firing of Lisa Monaco, Microsoft president of global affairs
| 2025-09-26T00:00:00
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U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco speaks as Attorney General Merrick Garland looks on after announcing an antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation Entertainment during a press conference at the Department of Justice in Washington, U.S., May 23, 2024.
President Donald Trump on Friday demanded that Microsoft fire Lisa Monaco, an executive who served as deputy attorney general during the Biden administration.
The request appeared on Trump's Truth Social account, which has 10 million followers. It comes one day after former FBI Director James Comey was indicted, days after Trump pushed to prosecute him.
"She is a menace to U.S. National Security, especially given the major contracts that Microsoft has with the United States Government," Trump wrote in the post. "Because of Monaco's many wrongful acts, the U.S. Government recently stripped her of all Security Clearances, took away all of her access to National Security Intelligence, and banned her from all Federal Properties."
Microsoft declined to comment.
Parts of the U.S. government use Microsoft's cloud infrastructure and productivity software. Earlier this month, Microsoft agreed to offer $3.1 billion in savings in one year on cloud services for agencies to use.
Earlier on Friday, Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo published an X post about Monaco joining Microsoft. The appointment happened in July, according to Monaco's LinkedIn profile. The post contained a link to a July article on the University of Chicago law school's website.
On Thursday, Microsoft said it would cut off cloud-based storage and artificial intelligence subscriptions to a unit of the Israeli military, after investigating a claim that the division had built a system to track Palestinians' phone calls.
On Monday, Trump is set to meet with Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, NBC News reported.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella attended a dinner alongside other technology executives at the White House earlier this month.
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Microsoft
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/26/top-pick-microsoft-has-room-to-run-as-ai-efforts-gain-traction-morgan-stanley-says.html?&qsearchterm=Microsoft
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Top pick Microsoft has room to run as AI efforts gain traction, Morgan Stanley says
| 2025-09-26T00:00:00
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Microsoft's efforts to meet the demands of the AI boom may be slow-going, but the technology company is still slated to notch impressive growth from its ties to the industry, as well as from several of its enterprise solutions, according to Morgan Stanley. The investment firm, which has an overweight rating on shares, raised its price target for Microsoft to $625 from $582, implying 18.9% upside. The bank also named Microsoft a top pick. "Sustained momentum on the top-line [and] better appreciation of the breadth of growth drivers…should drive shares toward our upwardly revised $625 price target," Morgan Stanley analyst Keith Weiss said Friday in a note to clients. Microsoft is poised to grow, in large part, due to its Azure cloud computing platform's growth amid an enterprise spending boom. In one survey, 49% of CIOs cited Azure as the likely top IT budget share gainer over the next three years, according to Morgan Stanley. MSFT YTD mountain MSFT year to date The cloud computing platform also grew 39% in constant currency year over year, the note showed. Microsoft's cloud is also uniquely positioned to benefit from AI-industry tailwinds, the analysts noted. "With its integration of the OpenAI model family, Microsoft has already gained a large group of new commercial applications," Weiss wrote, adding that many enterprise software and internet vendors have integrated their solutions with the AI maker's Chat GPT. "With AI workloads set to become a larger portion of cloud spend and driving an increase in the percentage of workloads in the cloud higher, Azure is well positioned to benefit," he added. The analyst also noted that Microsoft, unlike Amazon, can serve a wider variety of clients across the Cloud market. Microsoft serves as Switzerland in the Cloud market, and does not compete with customers like Amazon does in Retail, Healthcare, Logistics, Entertainment, etc., he wrote. "This competitive dynamic creates a market preference to utilize a more independent cloud provider." Morgan Stanley's call falls in line with most analysts on the Street. Of the 64 Wall Street shops that have initiated coverage on Microsoft, 60 have a buy or strong buy rating on the stock, per LSEG. Microsoft shares edged down 0.61% in pre-market trading on Friday. The stock has risen roughly 20% year to date. ( Learn the best 2026 strategies from inside the NYSE with Josh Brown and others at CNBC PRO Live. Tickets and info here . )
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Microsoft
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/25/microsoft-cuts-cloud-services-to-israeli-military-after-investigation.html?&qsearchterm=Microsoft
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Microsoft cuts off cloud services to Israeli military unit after report of storing Palestinians' phone calls
| 2025-09-25T00:00:00
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Microsoft President Brad Smith, left, speaks at a press conference on future visions for the development and application of artificial intelligence in education in North Rhine-Westphalia at the Representation of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia in Berlin on June 4, 2025. To his right is Hendrik Wüst (CDU), Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia, in front of the sign "From coal to AI."
Microsoft said Thursday that it has stopped providing certain services to a division of the Israeli Ministry of Defense. The company did not say which specific services it had stopped providing.
The decision comes after the software company investigated an August report from The Guardian saying the Israeli Defense Forces' Unit 8200 had built a system for tracking Palestinians' phone calls.
"While our review is ongoing, we have found evidence that supports elements of The Guardian's reporting," Brad Smith, Microsoft's president and vice chair, wrote in an email to employees. "This evidence includes information relating to IMOD consumption of Azure storage capacity in the Netherlands and the use of AI services."
Microsoft's decision to stop providing those services follows pressure from employees who have protested Israel's use of the company's software as part of its invasion of Gaza. Over the last few weeks, Microsoft has fired five employees who participated in protests at company headquarters in Redmond, Washington.
The move comes a week after a United Nations commission said that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians with its invasion of Gaza.
Microsoft told Israeli defense officials that it had decided to disable cloud-based storage and artificial intelligence subscriptions the agency was using, Smith wrote. He said Microsoft does not look at customer data for the type of review it conducted, and he thanked the British newspaper for its reporting on the development.
"As employees, we all have a shared interest in privacy protection, given the business value it creates by ensuring our customers can rely on our services with rock solid trust," Smith wrote.
On Thursday The Guardian reported that unnamed intelligence sources had said Unit 8200 was planning to migrate its supply of the phone calls to Amazon Web Services, the market-leading public cloud. AWS did not immediately comment.
WATCH: Israel's global standing is 'desperately at risk because of the suffering of Palestinian civilians,' says Sen. Chris Coons
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Microsoft
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/26/home-depot-and-microsoft-are-named-top-picks-at-street-firms-heres-why-.html?&qsearchterm=Microsoft
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Home Depot and Microsoft are named top picks at Street firms — here's why
| 2025-09-26T00:00:00
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Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer releases the Homestretch — an actionable afternoon update, just in time for the last hour of trading on Wall Street. Market update : Stocks are higher on Friday, but the S & P 500 is still on pace for a weekly decline. There was some brief volatility in the early morning over concerns of an upcoming government shutdown, but the market rightfully shrugged off the headlines. Top picks: Two stocks in the portfolio were named top picks on Friday. Morgan Stanley replaced Atlassian with Microsoft as its favorite bet in software and raised the price target to $625 from $582. The analyst pointed out how the stock has been mostly flat since the software company reported strong quarterly results with an acceleration in Azure growth and provided upbeat forward guidance, but has lagged due to uncertainty around its OpenAI relationship, the durability of Azure growth, Agentics potential threat to Microsoft's productivity app positioning, and questions about the right multiple to pay for the stock. Still, Morgan Stanley said "sustained momentum on the top-line, better appreciation of the breadth of growth drivers and resolution of uncertainty around the OpenAI relationship" should push shares to their new $625 price target. Shares of Microsoft may have had a rough third quarter, but we agree it's time for the stock to regain its momentum. Home Depot was added to JPMorgan's analyst focus list as a growth idea. The analysts predict four first-half of 2026 factors that will drive upside to consensus estimates for the home goods retailer. They include solid wage growth and rising replacement cycles, incremental benefits from net inflation, growth in existing home sales, and tax stimulus for mid- to high-income consumers. If Home Depot has a positive earnings revision cycle, JPMorgan says its price-to-earnings multiple could expand to 28 to 30 times (from about 26 times today) on $17 earnings per share. We would like to see the yield on the 10-Year Treasury behave, which would keep mortgage rates down and lead to greater confidence in the existing home sales market. Next week: Nike, which we added to the portfolio on Friday, reports quarterly results on Tuesday after the closing bell. Jefferies Financial Group, another key earnings report, is out on Monday. We're getting closer to big bank earnings, and Jefferies' results always provide insights into the state of investment banking activity. We'll also learn more about the employment picture, with the job openings and labor turnover survey (JOLTS), ADP payrolls, and the all-important non-farm payroll report for September. The Federal Reserve is trying to balance upside risks in inflation with downside risks in the labor market, making this jobs report key to future monetary policy decisions. (See here for a full list of the stocks in Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
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Amazon
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/01/amazon-grocery-under-5-dollars.html?&qsearchterm=Amazon
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Amazon launches 'price-conscious' grocery brand with most products under $5
| 2025-10-01T00:00:00
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"During a time when consumers are particularly price-conscious, Amazon Grocery delivers more than 1,000 quality grocery items across all categories that don't compromise on quality or taste – from fresh food items to crave-worthy snacks and pantry essentials – all at low, competitive prices that help customers stretch their grocery budgets further," Jason Buechel, Amazon's vice president of worldwide grocery, said in a statement.
The brand is called Amazon Grocery and includes more than 1,000 items, ranging from dairy, fresh produce, meat and seafood to snacks and baking essentials, the company said in a release . Amazon said the new offering unites its Happy Belly and Amazon Fresh brands under one label.
Amazon on Wednesday expanded its private-label grocery lineup with the launch of a new brand aimed at "price-conscious" shoppers, with most products priced under $5.
Grocers and retail stocks slumped following Amazon's announcement. Albertsons dropped more than 2%, while Walmart , Kroger , Costco and Target all fell about 1%.
It's not the first time Amazon has experimented with a budget-friendly grocery brand. It launched a similar offering last September, called Amazon Saver, that was "focused on value."
The move comes as Amazon's grocery business has been in flux.
The company has continued to streamline its chain of Go cashierless convenience stores and Fresh supermarkets, announcing last week that it will close all of its locations in the U.K.
At the same time, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy and other company executives have touted the success of sales of "everyday essentials" within its online grocery business, which refers to items such as canned goods, paper towels, dish soap and snacks.
The company last month expanded same-day delivery of fresh foods to more pockets of the U.S. as it looks to encourage shoppers to add meat and eggs to their order while they're browsing its sprawling online store.
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Amazon
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/30/amazon-devices-alexa-echo-kindle.html?&qsearchterm=Amazon
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It's Amazon's turn to show off new devices: All eyes on Alexa+, Echo and Kindle
| 2025-09-30T00:00:00
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An Amazon device is displayed at an Amazon Devices launch event in New York City on Feb. 26, 2025.
Amazon is hosting a launch event on Tuesday where it's expected to unveil significant updates to its devices lineup.
The event is slated to kick off at 10 a.m. ET and will feature announcements from Panos Panay, who oversees Amazon's sprawling devices and services business.
Invites sent to the media and analysts earlier this month showed what appeared to be an Echo smart speaker, Fire TV, Ring doorbell button and a Kindle e-reader, suggesting what could be in store at the event.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said in a Bloomberg TV interview earlier this year that a "brand new lineup of devices" compatible with Alexa+ would be coming this fall.
Reviews for the company's upgraded assistant, which is powered by generative artificial intelligence, have been mixed.
Ohio resident and IT manager Jeff Finlay, 61, got access to Alexa+ in late June after applying to the beta program in March. Finlay, who has seven Echo devices in his home, said he feels Alexa+ has "worsened some of the functions I was used to using it for."
He said Alexa+'s weather forecasts don't seem to be as informative as previous iterations offered through the original Alexa assistant, called Big Sky.
Wired wrote in July that the new Alexa seems to be a more skilled and natural conversationalist, which "is a relief after years of Alexa's robotic tones." But TechCrunch noted in August that the service was prone to making mistakes and stumbled on some requests, making it seem "very much like a beta product."
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Amazon
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/30/ring-founder-ai-amazon-doorbell-police.html?&qsearchterm=Amazon
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Ring founder 'backs the blue,' says AI is helping Amazon-owned doorbell unit fight crime
| 2025-09-30T00:00:00
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In this article AMZN Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT
Jamie Siminoff, founder of Ring, speaks during an Amazon product event in the Manhattan borough of New York City on Sept. 30, 2025. Charly Triballeau | AFP | Getty Images
In 2023, Jamie Siminoff called up Amazon 's former devices boss, Dave Limp, to say he was stepping down from leading the video doorbell company he sold to the e-commerce giant for $839 million in 2018. Siminoff, who started Ring in 2013, said Limp and Amazon offered him the opportunity to work elsewhere at the company, but he declined. "I said, 'I think I have to leave,'" Siminoff recalled in an interview on Friday. "I don't think I can be half in. I'm either all in or I'm all out." He wasn't gone for long. In April, Siminoff announced his return to Ring, replacing Liz Hamren, a former Microsoft and Discord executive whom Amazon had hired to succeed him. Now that he's back at the helm, Siminoff says he's restoring Ring's original mission, to "make neighborhoods safer." And now his team has even more artificial intelligence technology at its disposal to supercharge those efforts. Siminoff took the stage Tuesday at Amazon's annual hardware event in New York to debut new Ring cameras, along with a feature called Search Party that uses AI to identify potential matches in camera footage. It's aimed at "reuniting lost dogs" with their families, but Siminoff said there could be other applications in the future.
During Hamren's two-year tenure, Ring moved to adopt a softer, more whimsical image marked by silly videos of backyard animal encounters and family-friendly hijinks. It also removed a tool widely criticized by civil liberties and privacy advocates that let police request doorbell footage from users in its neighborhood watch app. Siminoff, 48, said Ring's cameras have many uses, including keeping an eye on pets and loved ones. Siminoff is based in Los Angeles and has two dogs, a Belgian Malinois and a Chihuahua. "I'm focused on: How can I get the highest density of camera coverage in a neighborhood matched with AI to make neighborhoods safer?" he said. "It's not just hard crime." Ring is part of Amazon's vast devices and services division, which is overseen by Panos Panay, a former Microsoft hardware leader who joined the company in 2023. Beyond Ring, the unit spans Amazon's Zoox robotaxis, Kindle e-readers, Echo devices and Kuiper, the company's internet satellite service. Ring's security cameras typically start at $50 and range in price depending on coverage. Users can also pay up to $20 a month for its subscription service that lets them continuously record and access more cloud storage, among other features.
'It was terrible'
Siminoff said a personal encounter with violence played a part in his return. Several months earlier, Siminoff said he witnessed a shooting at a laundromat in South Central Los Angeles that left him feeling shaken. "It was terrible," Siminoff said through tears. "Kids are crying, it's a whole f****** scene."
Ring CEO Jamie Siminoff unsuccessfully pitched his company on ABC's "Shark Tank" in 2013 before returning to the show as a guest judge. Eric McCandless | Contributor | Getty Images
The incident reaffirmed his belief in Ring's mission and its potential to aid law enforcement officers when they "don't have time to go door to door," he said. Those relationships with police have been controversial over the years. Amazon claimed a Los Angeles Police Department pilot program in 2015 found that Ring's doorbells reduced burglaries in neighborhoods "by as much as 55%," according to a 2018 release. But reports from several outlets have disputed whether Ring cameras lead to a decrease in crime. Privacy advocates have expressed concern that the company's cameras and accompanying Neighbors app have heightened the risk of racial profiling and turned residents into informants, with few guardrails around how law enforcement can use the material. Siminoff, who said he's "pro public safety" and "backs the blue," said he felt some of the coverage of Ring's video-request feature for police was unfair or inaccurate. "That's the stuff that irks me," Siminoff said, referring to the claim that Ring gives camera access to police. "We allow them to request footage from people in a super privacy centric, anonymous way that keeps their privacy. But that's not a good headline," he added.
Devin Hance | CNBC
A few weeks after Siminoff's return, Ring reintroduced its community request tool through a partnership with Axon Enterprise , the maker of Tasers and police body cameras. Police can solicit footage from Ring cameras through Axon's online evidence management system, and users can choose whether or not to share it. "I don't think we should be working directly with police," Siminoff said. "It's not the business we're in in any way." Siminoff said Ring, which is profitable, is exploring other potential growth areas, such as security solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses. Ring isn't currently exploring offering up its tech to a more homegrown customer — its sprawling parent company. At least when it comes to sticking its cameras in Amazon delivery vans or warehouses. Siminoff has considered it, but "then you realize it's just a distraction," he said. "Amazon's so big you could probably do something for everything." WATCH: Amazon comments on $2.5 billion settlement with FTC
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Amazon
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https://www.cnbc.com/select/bilt-rent-day-october-2025/?&qsearchterm=Amazon
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Bilt Rent Day October 2025: redemption bonus at Amazon, free fitness classes, neighborhood events and more
| 2025-09-29T20:06:26
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Check out details for Bilt's October Rent Day offers and how you can take advantage of all the perks.
Just like in every month, Bilt Mastercard ® holders can earn double points on all non-rent spending with their card on the first day of the month. Bilt is also offering several neighborhood events and benefits in various cities, including free fitness classes, paid dining and comedy experiences and free stromboli at the Bilt Neighborhood Cafe on Rent Day.
Bilt Rent Day is here again, and this month all Bilt Rewards members can get a redemption bonus of up to 50% when using Amazon's Shop With Points on Oct. 1. Select members can also get a redemption bonus of up to 75% when redeeming their points toward rent through a targeted offer. But these two offers may not be as good as they sound, for reasons we'll explain later.
Earn 1x points on rent payments without the transaction fee, up to 100,000 points each calendar year, 3x points on dining, 2x points on travel, and 1x points on other purchases. Use the card 5 times each statement period to earn points.
How much your points could be worth with the Rent Day bonus depends on your Bilt status:
On Oct. 1, Bilt members can receive a redemption bonus of between 20% and 50%, depending on their Bilt status, when redeeming points through Shop With Points at Amazon.com . This redemption bonus increases the value of your points, which are normally worth 0.7 cents apiece when redeeming for Amazon purchases.
To take advantage of this offer, you'll first need to link your Bilt account to your Amazon account at https://amazon.com/biltrewards. When you check out on Amazon, you can choose "Use Bilt Points" as your payment method and opt to cover some or all of the cost with Bilt points.
As long as you make your purchase between 12 a.m. ET and 11:59 PT on Oct. 1, 2025, you'll automatically receive the increased value.
For select Bilt members only: rent credit redemption bonus
In addition to the Amazon redemption bonus available to all members, select members can also get a redemption bonus of up to 75% when redeeming their points toward a rent credit.
If you're targeted for this offer, you'll see the details — including the exact bonus rate you're eligible for — in the Bilt app or on the Bilt website. Redeeming points towards a rent credit normally gets you 0.55 cents per point, so your points could be worth up to 0.96 cents apiece with the maximum bonus.
This offer is valid from 9:00 a.m. ET on Sept. 25, 2025, through 11:59 PT on Oct. 1, 2025, for members who receive the offer in their account. Eligible members can take advantage of this offer multiple times during the offer period.
Should you take advantage of the Amazon and rent redemption bonuses?
If you were already planning to redeem your points for Amazon purchases or rent, these redemption bonuses are a nice perk that gives you a little more bang for your points. But even with these bonuses, Shop With Points on Amazon and rent credits still aren't the best ways to spend your Bilt points.
Even with the highest bonus—which requires $50,000 in eligible spending or 200,000 in total points earned per calendar year to reach Platinum status—you'd be getting about or less than one cent per point in redemption value. Realistically, most Bilt members will get far less.
By contrast, the following redemption options offer equal or better value for your points and are always available:
Transferring to travel partners: you can transfer Bilt points at a (mostly) 1:1 ratio to Bilt's 22 hotel and airline partners, then use those points to book free flights and hotel stays through the partner's own loyalty program. The value you'll get for your points varies by redemption, but it's relatively easy to get one to two cents per point and potentially much more if you find a good deal.
you can transfer Bilt points at a (mostly) 1:1 ratio to Bilt's 22 hotel and airline partners, then use those points to book free flights and hotel stays through the partner's own loyalty program. The value you'll get for your points varies by redemption, but it's relatively easy to get one to two cents per point and potentially much more if you find a good deal. Travel through Bilt Travel: points are worth a fixed 1.25 cents apiece when used to book hotels and flights through the Bilt Travel portal.
points are worth a fixed 1.25 cents apiece when used to book hotels and flights through the Bilt Travel portal. Down payment on a home: points are worth 1.5 cents apiece when you redeem them toward a down payment on a house. This option requires you to provide documentation showing you're in the process of buying a home.
points are worth 1.5 cents apiece when you redeem them toward a down payment on a house. This option requires you to provide documentation showing you're in the process of buying a home. Student loan payments: points are worth one cent apiece when used to pay an eligible student loan balance. To access this redemption option, you first need to link your student loans to your Bilt account.
Bilt points are one of the most valuable rewards currencies out there, and using them on a rent credit or shopping at Amazon is generally considered suboptimal. The October Rent Day redemption bonus, while a small boost, doesn't change that. But if none of the above redemption options appeal to you, or if you really want to use your points to cover an Amazon purchase or your rent this month, then you'll be best off doing it on Oct. 1.
Earn double points
On the first day of every month, Bilt Mastercard® holders earn double points on all non-rent purchases. Cardholders can earn up to 1,000 bonus points from 12:00 a.m. ET through 11:59 p.m. PT on Oct. 1.
The bonus earnings for that day are:
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Amazon
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/29/hertz-amazon-auto-dealers.html?&qsearchterm=Amazon
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Why the Hertz-Amazon deal poses threats to auto dealers
| 2025-09-29T00:00:00
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The recently announced partnership between Hertz and Amazon Autos will make it easier for rental car companies to offload their own cars directly to consumers, but it could cut into a historical source of profit for car dealerships, auto industry analysts said.
The announcement that the car rental company would be teaming up with the e-commerce giant sent Hertz shares soaring. Hertz already sells most of its fleet directly to consumers — it lists them on its own website and on others, and sells them on Carvana .
But selling its rental fleet directly to consumers is a key piece of Hertz's turnaround plan.
"It's an important part of the business, right?" said Chris Woronka, a Deutsche Bank analyst. "They resell a couple hundred thousand cars every year, just in the U.S. We're talking about several billion dollars worth of inventory that gets resold. Obviously the name of the game is to resell it at the highest price possible."
Amazon provides another channel for that. The e-commerce giant first announced it was entering car sales in 2023, through a partnership with Hyundai dealers, which it has since expanded.
Shoppers on Amazon can secure financing and fill out paperwork, but they have to still head to a lot to pick up the car. In the U.S., new car sales are governed by laws protecting dealers against direct sales, though some companies such as Tesla , Lucid , and Rivian have found a way to sell directly to the public by opting not to have any dealers in the first place.
The Hertz partnership is essentially the same as the Hyundai tie-up. So far, Amazon is keeping no inventory of its own. Instead, it is providing the software to execute sales online through its own website.
It is quite a different way of doing things than Amazon — which is known for keeping warehouses of goods — is used to.
"Amazon, ironically enough, has been trying for 15 or 20 years to get into the automotive retail segment," said Steve Greenfield, a general partner at Automotive Ventures, which invests in mobility companies. "Ultimately, what's giving them heartburn consistently is the fact that with any other product category, they can control the unpacking experience. When a box lands on your doorstep, they know exactly what you're unpacking. With automotive retail. It's totally different. That last mile is fulfilled at a dealership where they have almost zero visibility and zero control of the unpacking experience."
But John Possumato, a former Chrysler Plymouth dealer and entrepreneur, said the Hertz-Amazon partnership should give dealers reason to worry.
In an open letter to the National Automobile Dealers Association, Possumato said rental companies like Hertz can buy cars in bulk, which qualifies them for discounts. This enables the company to sell cars for less than a dealer can afford. That's been an issue in the past, Possumato said. Hertz already runs 45 retail lots around the United States.
But the digital era supercharges the problem, he said.
"You have Amazon, the biggest merchandizer retailer in the country, and you've got the biggest or one of the biggest rental fleets, and they're pairing together to sell these cars," he said.
Watch the video to learn more.
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Amazon
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https://www.cnbc.com/video/2025/09/29/heres-how-the-amazon-hertz-deal-could-threaten-dealers.html?&qsearchterm=Amazon
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Here's how the Amazon-Hertz deal could threaten dealers
| 2025-09-29T00:00:00
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Here's how the Amazon-Hertz deal could threaten dealers
Hertz's partnership with Amazon is another step in the e-commerce giant’s march into auto sales. Hertz wants to sell cars directly to consumers. But the broader shift toward direct online sales could spell trouble for dealerships, even large ones such as AutoNation, Group1, Sonic Automotive, Penske, and Asbury. Wholesale auction companies such as Manheim and AVC are also liable to be watching the deal, as direct to consumer sales could threaten their inventories.
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Broadcom
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/29/broadcom-nvidia-among-the-stocks-showing-notable-insider-sales.html?&qsearchterm=Broadcom
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Broadcom, Nvidia among the stocks showing notable insider sales
| 2025-09-29T00:00:00
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Several technology giants have seen insider sales over the past week as the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite continues to hover within striking distance of its record high. Insiders at companies including Broadcom , Nvidia and Strategy offloaded millions of dollars worth of shares this month, according to a raft of disclosures filed with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission. Here's what executives sold (percentages as of Friday's close): Broadcom (AVGO) CEO Hock Tan sold 100,000 shares at an average price of $339.58 for a total of $34 million. Shares are up 28% over the prior three months. Ross Stores (ROST) CEO James Grant Conroy sold 39,400 shares at an average price of $146.00 for a total of $5.7 million. Shares are up 17% over the prior three months. Gap Inc (GAP) Director Robert Fisher sold 500,000 shares at an average price of $22.90 for a total of $11.4 million. Shares are up 7% over three months. Oklo (OKLO) Director Michael Stuart Klein sold 50,000 shares at an average share price of $133.76 for a total of $6.7 million. Shares are up 150% over the prior three months. Nvidia (NVDA) Director Mark Stevens sold 350,000 shares at an average price of $176.39 for a total of $61.7 million. Shares are up 23% over the prior three months. Director Harvey Jones also sold 250,000 shares at an average price of $176.21 for a total of $44.1 million. Shares are up 21% over the prior three months. Strategy (MSTR) EVP & General Counsel Wei-Ming Shao sold 10,000 shares at an average price of $355.79 for a total of $3.6 million. Transaction included exercising options that expire in 2032. Shares are down 5% over the prior three months. Ciena (CIEN) Director Bruce Claflin sold 8,500 shares at an average price of $140.12 for a total of $1.2 million. Shares are up 74% over the prior three months. AutoZone (AZO) VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,900 shares at an average price of $4,180 for a total of $11.9 million. Transaction included exercising options that expire in 2026 and 2027. Shares are up around 20% over the prior three months.
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Broadcom
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/15/broadcom-will-outperform-thanks-to-dominance-in-the-specialized-chip-market-macquarie-says.html?&qsearchterm=Broadcom
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Broadcom will outperform due to its dominance in the specialized chip market, Macquarie says
| 2025-09-15T00:00:00
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Macquarie sees a long runway of solid growth ahead for Broadcom . The bank initiated the semiconductor manufacturer at an outperform rating. Analyst Arthur Lai also implemented a 12-month price target of $420 per share, which signals 17% upside from Friday's close. Broadcom has soared 55% this year. While the stock trades at a steep premium to the rest of the semiconductor space — 53 times forward earnings versus 29.55 times for the PHLX Semiconductor index — its higher valuation is justified, Lai said. AVGO YTD mountain AVGO YTD chart "We believe Broadcom should trade at a premium to industry peers with 1) strong growth outlook, 2) a strong ~34% dividend CAGR [compound annual growth rate] in recent years, and 3) long-term strategic planning supported by a unique management incentive plan," he wrote. The analyst highlighted the growth of ASICs, or application-specific integrated circuits, which are outpacing GPUs, or graphics processing units. ASICs are chips used for more specialized purposes than their more broad-use GPU counterparts. Lai wrote that Broadcom currently holds a near-monopoly in AI ASIC and cloud networking solutions. "Broadcom's ASIC technology is growing faster than GPU. We expect surging demand for ASIC to outpace GPU growth, driven by adoption among hyperscalers and vertical AI markets (eg, auto, healthcare, financial services)," Lai said. "We estimate a 72% global AI ASIC market CAGR over 2025–28, with Broadcom capturing > 70% market share." Meanwhile, Broadcom's high-margin software expansion is another positive for the stock. The company's operating profit margin increased to 66% from 62% after its VMware acquisition. "Its software business enhances long-term margin stability, high-quality free cash flow, and re-rate," Lai added. ( Learn the best 2026 strategies from inside the NYSE with Josh Brown and others at CNBC PRO Live. Tickets and info here . )
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Broadcom
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https://www.cnbc.com/video/2025/09/25/broadcom-alphabet-are-long-term-ai-winners-says-nuveens-saira-malik.html?&qsearchterm=Broadcom
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Broadcom, Alphabet are long-term AI winners, says Nuveen's Saira Malik
| 2025-09-25T00:00:00
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In this video
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Broadcom, Alphabet are long-term AI winners, says Nuveen's Saira Malik
CNBC’s “Closing Bell Overtime” team discusses the artificial intelligence trade and whether the AI trade is unwinding with Saira Malik, chief investment officer at Nuveen.
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Broadcom
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/10/broadcom-is-a-big-oracle-derivative-play-as-investors-get-keen-on-next-phase-of-ai.html?&qsearchterm=Broadcom
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Broadcom is a big Oracle derivative play as investors get keen on next phase of AI
| 2025-09-10T00:00:00
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Oracle 's staggering forecast has reignited enthusiasm for artificial intelligence, particularly for one specialized chipmaker. The knockout revenue forecast made it clear that demand for AI workloads is set to continue, reassuring investors about long-term returns beyond the resource-intensive "training" phase of AI models. Investors are encouraged by the large opportunity they see in the "inference" phase — where a trained model can make predictions and real-world conclusions based on new data. The market has long expected a higher payout from the inference phase of the AI buildout cycle, and many see Broadcom as a huge beneficiary. It is the leading maker of chips that are considered better-suited and cheaper for inference, which is attractive for hyperscalers looking to cut their soaring AI costs. Shares of the Broadcom jumped almost 10% on Wednesday, riding the high of Oracle's 36% pop. Broadcom is a direct beneficiary of Oracle's forecast, Stephanie Link, Hightower Advisors chief investment strategist and portfolio manager said Wednesday. "Inference is obviously going to be the next big driver, and Broadcom is certainly the number one player," Link told CNBC. "That's not to say that Nvidia and AMD and many other companies won't benefit, but I just don't think that Broadcom is as widely owned or or understood as Nvidia ... In the past year, Broadcom actually has outperformed Nvidia, and I think it is because we are starting to see slow respect and appreciation for what they're doing." Broadcom is Link's largest position, accounting for 7% of her portfolio. She's owned the stock for about four years and recently added to her position after its quarterly results. AVGO 1Y mountain Broadcom stock performance over the past year. Broadcom's shares are up 56% year to date and have jumped more than 145% over the past year. The company is the leader in merchant ASICs — or Application-Specific Integrated Circuits — which are custom processors primarily used for AI inference and networking. ASICs are generally cheaper than general-purpose GPUs and CPUs when it comes to inference, given their low power usage in data centers and highly optimized performance for specific tasks, meaning lower cost per inference request. Link highlighted Broadcom's high-margin software business and recent acquisitions as attractive aspects of the stock. Broadcom's revenue is split between semiconductor hardware and software, with about 41% of total revenue coming from infrastructure software, or its ASICs, networking chips and storage controllers. Software tends to be more profitable than hardware, given that it has lower development costs and can lead to recurring revenue. "Why I think Broadcom, for me, makes more sense, is because it's more diversified, and they had every single segment beat expectations on AI, semis, infrastructure and software. Better EBITDA, better operating income," Link said, adding that Broadcom also has industry-lading gross margins at about 78.4%. The pile-in on Broadcom comes after Oracle nearly turned into a hyperscaler overnight. The cloud infrastructure provider on Tuesday surprisingly reported that its remaining performance obligations — a measure of contracted revenue that has not yet been recognized — jumped 359% from a year earlier to $455 billion. Oracle now expects $18 billion in cloud infrastructure revenue in the 2026 fiscal year, with the company calling for the annual sum to reach $144 billion in the 2030 fiscal year. Oracle chairman and Chief Technology Officer Larry Ellison said during the company's earnings call that the AI inferencing market will be "much, much larger" than the AI training market. "A lot of people are looking for inferencing capacity. I mean people are running out of inferencing capacity," Ellison said during the call, recalling a client that previously requested for "all the capacity you have that's currently not being used anywhere in the world." The Oracle co-founder added that, "in the end, all this money we're spending on training is going to have to be translated into products that are sold, which is all inferencing."
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Broadcom
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/05/broadcom-avgo-stock-openai-earnings.html?&qsearchterm=Broadcom
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Broadcom stock jumps 9% on new $10 billion customer that analysts say is OpenAI
| 2025-09-05T00:00:00
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Analysts at Mizuho, Cantor Fitzgerald and KeyBanc all said they think AI startup OpenAI is the customer. The Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the partnership, that the two companies co-designed a chip that will hit the market next year.
"One of these prospects released production orders to Broadcom, and we have accordingly characterized them as a qualified customer for XPUs," Tan said. He added that the order increased Broadcom's forecast for AI revenue next year, when shipments will begin.
Following a better-than-expected earnings report late Thursday, Broadcom CEO Hock Tan told analysts that a fourth large customer had put in orders for $10 billion in custom artificial intelligence chips, which the company calls XPUs.
Broadcom shares soared 9.4% on Friday after the chipmaker said on its earnings call that it had secured a new $10 billion customer. Analysts quickly pointed to OpenAI.
While Broadcom doesn't name its large web-scale customers, analysts have said dating back to last year that its first three clients were Google , Meta and TikTok parent ByteDance.
"During the call, the company surprised us by noting that it had secured a $10B order from a fourth XPU customer (we believe this is OpenAI), adding significant upside to the company's three current XPU customers (Google, Meta, and ByteDance)," analysts at Cantor wrote in a note late Thursday. "Shipments are expected to commence in 2026."
Broadcom's stock has been on a tear of late as the company has joined Nvidia at the front of the race to build the kinds of processors and infrastructures needed for massive AI workloads. The stock is up almost 120% in the past year, lifting Broadcom's market cap to around $1.6 trillion.
For the fiscal third quarter, Broadcom reported earnings and revenue that topped estimates. The company said it expects $17.4 billion in fourth-quarter revenue, higher than the $17.02 billion projected by Wall Street analysts, with AI revenue reaching $6.2 billion.
But news of an incoming $10 billion customer is what got Wall Street excited.
Tan said on the call that "immediate and fairly substantial demand" boosts the outlook for next year, "and really changes our thinking of what 2026 would be starting to look like."
The company didn't provide specific guidance for next year, but Tan suggested that growth in its AI could be above the 50% to 60% range he'd offered on the prior call.
Analysts at Mizuho raised their AI revenue growth estimate for next year to 76% up from about 60%, which would bring the total to $35 billion. Total revenue for the year ending in October 2026 is expected to increase about 30% to $81.8 billion from $63.1 billion this fiscal year, according to analysts surveyed by LSEG.
In addition to hardware, Broadcom has a large software business, keyed by its $61 billion acquisition of server virtualization software vendor VMware in 2023. Revenue in the infrastructure software business, which includes VMWare, rose 43% to $6.79 billion.
— CNBC's Kif Leswing contributed to this report.
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Broadcom
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/08/nvidia-vs-broadcom-the-debate-is-back-on-but-it-often-misses-the-mark.html?&qsearchterm=Broadcom
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Nvidia vs. Broadcom: The debate is back on, but it often misses the mark
| 2025-09-08T00:00:00
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Broadcom's blockbuster earnings report has rekindled a long-running debate among investors: Just how firm is Nvidia's grasp on the AI chip market? The problem, though, is that might not be the best question for investors to ask. Instead, investors are better served asking just how large the AI computing market itself can grow to be. As investors in Nvidia and Broadcom, we clearly see a role for both chipmakers to play in the AI race. Nvidia is the dominant provider of "merchant" silicon, selling the same advanced chips to various data-center operators, along with a rich software presence. Broadcom is the leading purveyor of "custom" chip-design services, utilized right now by a small subset of deep-pocketed tech companies like Google that, generally speaking, are trying to get more out of their own software stacks. Undoubtedly, some sales that could've gone to Nvidia will flow to Broadcom's coffers in the years ahead as internet giants like Meta Platforms , a fellow Club name widely assumed to be one of Broadcom's existing custom-chip clients, look to run certain internal workloads at lower costs using specialized chips. Some cloud-computing providers may also look to diversify the kind of computing power they can offer customers. The tension is that, if this dynamic indeed plays out, will it mean that Nvidia is no longer be able to meet Nvidia investors' growth expectations? Or, is the demand for AI infrastructure large enough over the coming decade that Nvidia can keep growing sales and earnings, even as its own market share comes down? Our bet is on the second scenario. A pair of notes out Monday morning go to the heart of this debate — one comes from the analysts at Citigroup, the other from Melius Research. Citi cut its 2026 sales estimate for Nvidia by $12 billion and, in turn, its price target on the stock, directly citing Broadcom's comments last week about rising demand for its custom AI chip services. The firm went to $200 a share from $210, a move certainly counter to what we have seen in recent years when it comes to Nvidia price targets, which have tended only to go up. On the other hand, Melius reiterated its price targets on both stocks and argued that even with Broadcom seeing an incredible amount of interest in its custom silicon solutions, the overall demand is large enough that both companies stand to grow immensely in coming years and likely outpace investor expectations. To be sure, while the Citi analysts cut their price target, they are still positive on the name. They maintained their buy rating and noted that even their reduced 2026 estimates are above the Wall Street consensus. Nevertheless, a bullish firm getting somewhat less bullish is notable and it underscores the current debate on the Street. Do you reduce your Nvidia exposure to increase your Broadcom stake? We think the real answer is simply to own both, planting our flag in the Melius camp. While Broadcom is certainly cementing itself as a top AI stock to own, our belief is the demand is simply so great that both will win. Do the homework on both. Adjust their individual weightings based on your standard portfolio management disciplines — i.e., if one has gone on a parabolic move, consider booking some profits; the same goes for it a stock exceeds your threshold for weighting, which for the Club is about 5% on any given position. But analyzing the situation by only playing one against the other is short-sighted. What it really comes down to is the size of the total addressable market, often abbreviated to TAM. Sometimes, there will be a company that has so much market share of a new, rapidly growing industry that it is a given they will lose share as others see how much the company is making and look to compete. However, as the pie gets bigger, they can lose some of that share and still continue to grow. In other words, you get a smaller share or percentage of a larger pie, but that smaller share ends up being larger than the entirety of the initial, smaller pie. NVDA AVGO 1Y mountain Nvidia and Broadcom's stock performance over the past 12 months. Consider the case of Amazon and the online shopping market. Back in June 2018, the research firm eMarketer said Amazon ended 2017 with about 44% of the U.S. e-commerce market, but was on its way to capturing just under 50% in the following year. As of 2023, eMarketer pegged Amazon's share of US ecommerce at about 40%. Nonetheless, Amazon's sales in North America went from $141.4 billion in 2018 to $352.8 billion in 2023. They're on track to be $424 billion this year, according to estimates compiled by FactSet. The point is that while market share is important and the size of the market is an important metric to consider when seeking to determine the size of the opportunity, you do not want to get caught up thinking that you are strictly investing in market-share growth. Instead, what you're investing in is growth in the company's sales and earnings. Since the end of 2017, Amazon has returned around 304% versus 175% for the S & P 500, including reinvested dividends. When we apply this to Nvidia and Broadcom, we think a similar argument makes sense. Nvidia, as a first mover in the AI semiconductor space, has enjoyed the benefits of being the dominant player in the market. However, as more companies started to see the potential magnitude of AI demand, it is only natural that they would move into the space — which, in this case, means looking to companies like Broadcom to help them design their own AI chips. We've also seen AMD ramp up its efforts to compete with Nvidia on the "merchant" silicon side of AI. This doesn't mean Nvidia will stop growing. After all, the company can barely keep up with the demand it has now, and all signs point to the need for AI infrastructure only increasing from here. "We think there are signs that the AI compute/networking TAM is entering a hugeness that is hard to fathom," Melius Research wrote in its Monday note. By their estimation, the serviceable addressable market (SAM) stands at about $2 trillion toward the end of the decade — that's about half of the total $3 trillion to $4 trillion in data center capital expenditures that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang recently predicted would occur by 2030. Against that backdrop, Melius argued that both Nvidia and Broadcom "are much more likely to beat our 2027 estimates than not. In fact, if Broadcom can get just 20% of our $2T SAM estimate for 2030 and Nvidia keeps just 40% then both stocks are going a heck of a lot higher." And that's really all that matters at the end of the day – the totality of AI demand. Indeed, Stacy Rasgon of Bernstein Research made a similar case Friday when he appeared on CNBC's "Closing Bell." At that time, Broadcom shares were soaring in response to its earnings report the prior night, and Nvidia was down a few percentage points. "I don't think the right question right now is necessarily who is winning or losing," Rasgon said, while noting this isn't the first time Nvidia shareholders fretted custom competition. "I actually think, personally, the question is better off to be put: Is the opportunity in front of us still large, or is it not? I think [custom chips] will take share. They're coming from a smaller base. I don't think they dominate. And I think if the opportunity in front of us is still big, if we're still early in this, as I think we are, I think they can both thrive. Think about it this way: If the opportunity in front of us is not still big, like, they're both screwed. That's the right question right now, I think, not as much who is winning or losing." Bottom line While the market makes a lot of noise about which AI chip stock to be in based on which CEO spoke most recently — or reminded the world that AI demand has plenty of room to run — we think investors will be better served keeping their eye on just how large the entire market will grow to be in coming years and targeting the names with best-in-class offerings. In the case of merchant AI chips, that's Nvidia thanks in large part to a massive software ecosystem that serves as a competitive moat against other competitors like AMD. And in the case of custom silicon, it is Broadcom. (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long NVDA, AVGO, META and AMZN. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
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Broadcom
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/12/why-were-looking-to-trim-broadcom-plus-key-investor-events-on-tap.html?&qsearchterm=Broadcom
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Why we want to trim our Broadcom position, plus key investor events to monitor
| 2025-09-12T00:00:00
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Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer holds a "Morning Meeting" livestream at 10:20 a.m. ET. Here's a recap of Friday's key moments. 1. The S & P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq are little changed on Friday as investors await the Federal Reserve's meeting next week. The market hit fresh highs Thursday after a warm inflation report and weaker labor data fueled expectations for an interest rate cut of 25 basis points. That decision is expected on Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET. One notable laggard, however, is Boeing . Shares of the aerospace company are down 1.4% Friday following a 3.3% drop the previous session after CEO Kelly Ortberg said the company is falling behind on 777X aircraft certification at an annual industrial conference. Club portfolio director Jeff Marks sees the stock's pullback as a buying opportunity since it doesn't change the cash flow trajectory of the business. We added to our position this morning. 2. Shares of custom AI chipmaker Broadcom edged higher after Mizuho raised its price target to $410 from $355 late Thursday, citing upside to AI revenue forecasts. The analysts lifted their estimates for fiscal years 2026 through 2028. Growth is being driven by ramped-up production with current clients and expansion to new ones like OpenAI. On Thursday, we said we would trim our Broadcom position if we weren't restricted. The stock has had such a big move since reporting last week. Our stake now exceeds 5%, and when a position gets that large, it's time to lock in gains and right-size it. 3. Looking ahead to next week, there are some key analyst events on deck. DuPont is holding an investor day to preview the new DuPont and Qnity Electronics ahead of its upcoming spinoff of its electronics business. We have our buy-equivalent 1 rating on DuPont stock and a price target of $90 per share. Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike is also hosting its Falcon Con conference. This event comes on the back of a disappointing stock reaction in late August despite a great third quarter . We used that pullback to upgrade the stock to a 1 rating. We reiterated our price target at $520. (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long BA, AVGO, DD, CRWD. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
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Broadcom
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/05/broadcoms-soaring-stock-is-getting-cheaper-heres-the-math-on-how-thats-possible.html?&qsearchterm=Broadcom
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Broadcom's soaring stock is getting cheaper. Here's the math on how that's possible
| 2025-09-05T00:00:00
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Another Broadcom earnings report, another breathtaking stock reaction in response. Shares of the AI chipmaker are soaring almost 11% Friday, sending the stock to a fresh all-time high and putting its market capitalization north of $1.5 trillion. The monster move evokes what we saw from Broadcom back in December, when shares flew 24% in a single session on strong earnings and extra sweet conference call commentary from CEO Hock Tan. A similar situation is playing out again Friday. Yes, Broadcom's fiscal 2025 third quarter results were strong, but adding fuel to the advance is an equally strong guide for the ongoing quarter and Tan's remarkably upbeat updates on the call. Taken together, it's clear that despite all the hoopla about an artificial intelligence spending bubble, we've not yet seen the peak in AI demand when it comes to the real-deal players in the space. Broadcom's conference call is really the main fuel for Friday's rally. Indeed, when the results first dropped after the closing bell, the stock saw a modest move higher. Shortly after the call got going at 5 p.m. ET, the bullish fireworks would begin. The first of them was Tan announcing that Broadcom had secured a fourth customer for its custom AI chips, which it calls XPUs. Its three existing customers are widely believed to be Alphabet , Club name Meta Platforms and TikTok parent ByteDance. This new one is thought to be ChatGPT creator OpenAI. Here's what Tan said: "As we had previously mentioned, we have been working with other prospects on their own AI accelerators. Last quarter, one of these prospects release production orders to Broadcom. And we have accordingly characterized them as a qualified customer for XPUs. And, in fact, has secured over $10 billion of orders of AI racks based on our XPUs. And reflecting this, we now expect the outlook for fiscal 2026 AI revenue to improve significantly from what we had indicated last quarter." That was the primary comment driving Friday's move. Why? Because it was a surprise to the market, and a surprise means it wasn't factored into analysts' financial projections. Put another way, it means that the 2026 earnings estimate the market has been working off to determine a fair value for Broadcom's stock has been too low. And if the EPS estimate has been too low, the price-to-earnings multiple that everyone is using to value the stock has been lower than we all thought. A stock rally based on information like that is one that has legs because it means investors can pay a higher price for the shares — without paying up in terms of valuation. Consider this: Going into Thursday night's print, the FactSet consensus earnings estimate for Broadcom's fiscal year 2026 stood at $8.22 per share. At Thursday's closing price of roughly $306 a share, the stock was trading at 37.2 times that 2026 estimate. As of Friday morning, the FactSet estimate has moved up to $8.92 per share, an 8.5% increase to FY26 estimates. What this means is that even with the stock's roughly 11% surge, it's barely gotten any more expensive on a price-to-earnings basis. Using its $335 intraday price, the stock is only trading at 37.5 times that new FY2026 estimate. That's practically an immaterial difference versus Thursday's close, especially considering investors are usually willing to assign a higher multiple to companies with accelerating growth rates. We saw this same dynamic playout with fellow Club name and AI chipmaker Nvidia back in 2023. The stock surged higher, but never really got more expensive because Wall Street's earnings estimates were moving just as fast. What's more, the new FY26 earnings estimate for Broadcom is likely still too low — purely based on the mechanics of how financial data systems work. It simply takes time for analysts' updated estimates to make their way into the database and show up for us to see. For example, at the time of this writing, our screen showed that Melius Research, a firm that has been rightfully bullish on the stock, has a FY2026 earnings estimate of $8.48 per share. However, we know from Melius Research's note to clients Friday that they are now modeling EPS of $9.71 for next fiscal year. The point is that as these new estimates work into the data providers' systems, we're likely to see the Wall Street consensus move even higher in the weeks to come and the stock, in turn, will appear cheaper. In fact, when we calculate the P/E ratio using only estimates added to the FactSet system post-earnings, it already does look cheaper. AVGO 1Y mountain Broadcom's stock performance over the past 12 months. Now consider that Tan is telling investors that demand is not only sustaining but is picking up steam. Knowing that, it's easy to conclude that analysts will need to continue updating their financial models with more optimistic forecasts as they rethink the demand profile with a fourth major customer now in the picture. For those somewhat skeptical about the upward revisions and Broadcom's ability to meet the new targets, we get it. After all, Wall Street has a tendency to overshoot both on the upside and the downside. In this case, our counterargument would be what Tan said about Broadcom's backlog: It's now over $110 billion. That figure "implies significant business visibility over the next two years," Goldman Sachs analysts wrote in a note to clients. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Goldman was among the firms raising their estimates materially for FY26 and the following fiscal year. It went to $9.95 (from $8.81) and $12.10 (from $10.54), respectively. The other conference call firework aiding Friday's advance and giving the Street conviction to raise numbers is Tan agreeing to stick around through at least 2030. Tan is the man with the plan. He has transformed Broadcom through mergers-and-acquisitions into the well-oiled technology giant it is today, and that cannot happen without a plan that looks years into the future. Tan has been CEO of the company since March 2006. At the time, it was known as Avago Technologies. A decade into his tenure, it acquired Broadcom Corporation and rebranded to take on the acquired firm's name (though it kept the same stock ticker, hence why it trades AVGO). He's continued to make a series of smart acquisitions, including the blockbuster VMWare deal that has added to the attractiveness of Broadcom's stock. The analysts over at Bernstein summed it up well in their earnings reaction note. "The Broadcom narrative is going to take off once again, and at this point we suppose a bear would have to hope that the company is getting out over their skis," they wrote. "But we note that Broadcom knows this business better than anyone, and Hock must see a runway here as he renewed his contract through 2030, suggesting he sees something worth sticking around for. We suspect that numbers are going to go up materially with potential room for further upside to come; valuation (which has admittedly looked rich) is clearly becoming justified." Bottom line As impressive as today's stock move is, the stock is actually cheaper than it was Thursday from a P/E perspective. While the valuation is based on forward-looking estimates that technically could prove too rosy, the reasons we laid out above give us conviction to trust them. They are: The major new customer for its custom AI chip design services Its robust backlog Tan's contract extension As we saw with Nvidia, stock rallies rooted in earnings revisions that are at least equal to the move in stock price are not only justifiable, but tend to have additional room to run longer-term. Of course, there are plenty of investors sitting on significant paper profits in the stock, so we could see some folks ring the register in the near future. In fact, as discussed on Friday's Morning Meeting, we're likely to do the same thing when our trading restrictions aren't in place. This is not counter to our conviction, though. It's simply our discipline to generally book a profit on quick, large gains, and to trim positions that start to exceed our self-imposed 5% threshold, which this move is causing our Broadcom stake to do. That also gives us the flexibility to potentially step in if the stock ever gets caught up in a unwarranted sell-off. Indeed, the earnings-revision dynamic does mean that if the stock does encounter a meaningful pullback, you'll not only be getting a good price, but a good value as well. (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long AVGO See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
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Broadcom
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/05/what-wall-street-is-saying-about-broadcom-fiscal-third-quarter-results.html?&qsearchterm=Broadcom
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Broadcom is soaring after an earnings beat. What Wall Street analysts are saying
| 2025-09-05T00:00:00
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Broadcom's fiscal third-quarter report is being well received by Wall Street analysts, several of whom lifted their price targets on the chipmaker. The chipmaker on Thursday posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue along with robust guidance for the current quarter. The company, which develops chips for Google and other cloud customers, also said it secured $10 billion in orders from a new client for custom chips. Shares popped more than 8% in premarket trading. "This performance puts Broadcom on track to drive ~$20B in AI revenues for FY25," wrote JPMorgan analyst Harlan Sur. "Overall, we are encouraged by Broadcom's strong visibility into FY26/FY27 AI revenue and a record $110B backlog, supported by robust cloud/hyperscaler capex trends, ongoing AI training and inference workloads, the ramp of Google's next-gen TPU v6/v7 3nm AI accelerator ASICs, new customer/program ramps … and strong demand for AI networking." Questions are now swirling among analysts and investors about Broadcom's mystery client — and what that means for the company's strength in the coming years as it tries to take market share from Nvidia . Take a look at what several analysts had to say. Bank of America: Reiterated buy rating, lifted price target by $100 to $400 "Reiterate Buy, our top pick as AVGO's custom AI chip (XPU) continues to build with a fourth large customer (OpenAI per media reports) likely joining the current three (Google, Meta, ByteDance.) The ~$10bn addition (in 2HFY26E) to prior FY26 growth now puts AI growth closer to 110% YoY vs. 55-60% YoY prior. Further, AVGO suggested growth could accelerate further into FY27E on additional programs, new customers," analyst Vivek Arya said. "While we agree AVGO is taking more share, we believe the AI pie could just be getting bigger in-line with NVDA's commentary ("multi $trillion" TAM.)" Barclays: Kept overweight rating, raised price target by $135 to $400 "Outside of the new customer, the core 3 ASIC customers are also doing better than expected and likely surpass the 60% Y/Y AI revenue target even before the new customer layers in … Outside of ASICs, the company is currently short on EMLs (explains transceiver constraints) and is doubling capacity over the next 9 months. The company is firing on all cylinders with clear line of sight for growth supported by significant backlog," analyst Tom O'Malley said in a note to clients. JPMorgan: Kept overweight rating, changed price target to $400 from $325 "Broadcom reported better-than-expected results for the Jul- Qtr and provided solid revenue outlook for the Oct-Qtr, driven by accelerating AI demand, stabilizing non-AI semiconductors, and continued solid momentum from VMware … Broadcom's diversified portfolio and product cycles support a solid revenue growth profile," analyst Harlan Sur wrote in a note. Morgan Stanley: Reiterated overweight rating, raised price target from $357 to $382 "Upside to overall numbers is modest, but AI stays strong. More importantly, the company is putting a 4th AI customer into backlog, with the surprising forecast of $10 bn of incremental 2h revenue," analyst Joseph Moore said. "While Broadcom has said that all three of their initial customers are on track, we do believe that the third customer is in China, could be subject to export constraints, and has seen some implementation delays." Goldman Sachs: Reiterated buy rating, lifted price target by $20 to $360 "We believe the most significant development was Broadcom's announcement that it has converted another new custom silicon customer focused on inference, which is expected to help drive 'material' upside to management's prior expectation of AI Semiconductor revenue growth of ~60% in 2026 ... we see the company remaining the leader in AI custom compute and merchant networking silicon (which is likely to grow in importance), and we believe the company's enterprise software portfolio is under-appreciated," analyst James Schneider said. Wells Fargo: Kept equal weight rating, lifted price target by $90 to $345 "AVGO delivered another solid beat-and-raise w/ continued custom AI XPU momentum - most notably highlighting $10B+ order from new (4th) customer for inference-focused XPU; accelerating AI growth in FY26 and again in FY27 (vs. +62% y/y in FY25)," analyst Aaron Rakers wrote in a note. "We continue to see shares representing a balanced risk/reward at current levels with significant leverage and an expectation that future acquisitions will remain a use of capital keeping us on the sidelines." Deutsche Bank: Kept buy rating, raised price target by $50 to $350 "While AVGO's report/guide were relatively in-line on the surface, the all-important AI commentary was decidedly more bullish," analyst Ross Seymore said. "When combined with a slowly improving non-AI semi segment and a steady software segment, we expect AVGO to deliver ~+40% revenue growth in FY26, with opex control yielding strong EPS fall through. In total, AVGO's report/guide and long-term outlook highlight its leadership position in AI XPU compute/networking, with the steady hand of CEO Hock Tan continuing to steer this growth through the end of the decade (extended his contract through 2030). "
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Broadcom
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/04/broadcom-avgo-q3-2025-earnings-report.html?&qsearchterm=Broadcom
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Broadcom’s stock pops on mystery $10 billion AI customer
| 2025-09-04T00:00:00
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Broadcom reported fiscal third-quarter earnings that beat expectations and provided robust guidance for the current quarter. The stock rose in extended trading after the company said it had secured $10 billion in orders from a new client for custom chips.
Here's how the chipmaker did versus LSEG consensus estimates:
Earnings per share: $1.69 adjusted vs. $1.65 expected
$1.69 adjusted vs. $1.65 expected Revenue: $15.96 billion vs. $15.83 billion expected
Broadcom said it expects $17.4 billion in fourth-quarter revenue, higher than the $17.02 billion expected by Wall Street analysts. Revenue in the third quarter rose 22% on an annual basis.
The company reported net income of $4.14 billion, or 85 cents per share, after recording a net loss a year ago of $1.88 billion, or 40 cents per share. The loss in the year-ago period was due to a one-time tax provision of $4.5 billion that resulted from the company transferring intellectual property to the U.S.
Broadcom develops custom chips for Google and other cloud companies, in addition to networking parts and software needed to tie thousands of artificial intelligence chips together.
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Walmart
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/01/walmart-to-remove-synthetic-dyes-across-all-private-label-food-brands.html?&qsearchterm=Walmart
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Walmart to remove synthetic dyes across all private-label food brands
| 2025-10-01T00:00:00
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A Walmart store is shown in Oceanside, California, on May 15, 2025.
Walmart said on Wednesday it would remove synthetic dyes from its U.S. store-brand food products, including Great Value and Bettergoods, by January 2027.
With this, the world's largest retailer joins several other packaged food makers, including Campbell's and Conagra Brands , in rolling out similar plans in response to the "Make America Healthy Again" initiative under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Walmart also plans to eliminate more than 30 other ingredients such as preservatives, artificial sweeteners and fat substitutes from its private-label assortment.
"This commitment demonstrates how Walmart is responding to changing customer preferences...," said John Furner, president of Walmart U.S.
Its membership chain Sam's Club had said in June it would remove artificial colors, aspartame and other ingredients from its Member's Mark brand by the end of the year.
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Walmart
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/30/cramer-walmart-ceos-ai-warning-is-existential-everyone-needs-to-pay-attention.html?&qsearchterm=Walmart
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Cramer: Walmart CEO's AI warning is 'existential,' everyone needs to pay attention
| 2025-09-30T00:00:00
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The stark comments from the CEO of Walmart about artificial intelligence have business leaders talking, CNBC's Jim Cramer said Tuesday. "I think we're at a different inflection point," Cramer said on "Squawk on the Street." "I had more people talk about these Doug McMillon comments from Walmart than anything else. That this was seminal. That Doug McMillon, who has terrific tech, who is in a battle with Amazon, is basically saying, 'Listen, we're not hiring more, and we're going to get people to do new things.'" McMillon's remarks surfaced in a Wall Street Journal story over the weekend . "It's very clear that AI is going to change literally every job," McMillon said at a conference hosted at the company's Arkansas headquarters last week, The Journal reported. "Maybe there's a job in the world that AI won't change, but I haven't thought of it," McMillon said, according to the report. As Walmart embraces AI, the company plans to keep the size of its global workforce about the same — at roughly 2.1 million — over the next three years, despite projecting revenue increases during that timeframe, The Journal reported, citing Walmart's chief people officer, Donna Morris. McMillon is not the first prominent chief executive to send a warning shot on AI, which has captivated Wall Street and corporate America following the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022. In a June letter posted on Amazon 's website, CEO Andy Jassy said that he expects AI to reduce the size of the company's corporate workforce in the coming years. Still, Walmart's strategy is causing a stir in Cramer's corner of the business community. "I've spoken with a bunch of retailers in the last 24 hours. ... Everyone is surprised," Cramer said. "Doug McMillon, it's existential what he said." Not just for business leaders, Cramer argued, but also for policymakers at the Federal Reserve who are responsible for fostering full employment in the U.S. economy. "[Fed officials] better start thinking about AI more. They're left out," Cramer said. The threat of AI disrupting the labor market comes at a time when the Fed is worried about a slowdown in hiring. At the central bank's post-meeting press conference in mid-September, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell was asked whether he bought into the idea that AI adoption was already having an effect. 'There's great uncertainty around that," Powell said. "I think my view — which is also a bit of a guess, but widely shared I think — is that you are seeing some effects, but it's not the main thing driving it. ... It may be that companies or other institutions that have been hiring younger people right out of college are able to use AI more than they had in the past. That may be part of the story. It's also part of the story, though, that, you know, job creation more broadly has slowed down. The economy has slowed down. And so it's probably a number of things." Disclosure: Cramer's Charitable Trust, the portfolio used by the CNBC Investing Club, owns shares of Amazon.
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Walmart
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/29/walmart-ceo-ai-is-literally-going-to-change-every-job.html?&qsearchterm=Walmart
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Walmart CEO: ‘AI is literally going to change every job’—how the best employees can still stand out
| 2025-09-29T00:00:00
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Workers in every type of role must be prepared to adapt to the rise of artificial intelligence in the workplace, says Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, leader of the nation's largest private employer.
"It's very clear that AI is going to change literally every job," McMillon told The Wall Street Journal in an interview that published on Friday, adding: "Maybe there's a job in the world that AI won't change, but I haven't thought of it."
McMillon joined other high-profile CEOs who have signaled plans to reduce their corporate workforces in the coming years as they integrate more AI tools and agents — a growing list that includes Amazon's Andy Jassy and Ford's Jim Farley. Walmart plans to freeze the company's global headcount of 2.1 million workers for the next three years while still forecasting revenue growth the company says will come from wider adoption of AI technologies, according to the Journal.
McMillon expects white-collar office jobs to be among the first to be affected, as Walmart rolls out more AI-powered chatbots and other tools to handle tasks related to customer service and supply chain tracking.
Ultimately, even workers in Walmart stores and warehouses will eventually see more tasks taken on by AI tools, and those remaining workers will also need to be willing to embrace the new technologies to stay relevant, McMillon said in another recent interview, published Sunday by the Associated Press.
"I think no one knows how this is going to play out exactly," he said, reiterating his expectation that "basically, every job gets changed."
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Walmart
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https://www.cnbc.com/video/2025/09/30/steuart-walton-walmart-director-vision-hard-work-and-energy-create-what-wouldnat-exist-otherwise.html?&qsearchterm=Walmart
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Walmart Board Member Steuart Walton talks the growth of Up.Summit
| 2025-09-30T00:00:00
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Walmart Board Member Steuart Walton talks the growth of Up.Summit
Steuart Walton, Walmart board member and RZC Investments co-founder, joins Closing Bell Overtime to discuss the significance of the Up Summit in Bentonville, how it has grown from a “flying car summit” in 2018 into a hub for innovation across defense, energy, tech, and education, why vision and intentional effort are essential to building both companies and communities from Walmart to Bentonville to the Up Summit, and more.
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Walmart
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/25/walmart-la-liga-presenting-partner-el-clasico.html?&qsearchterm=Walmart
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Walmart teams up with Spain's La Liga, furthering the retailer's investment in soccer
| 2025-09-25T00:00:00
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Real Madrid's Spanish defender #20 Francisco Garcia fights for the ball with Barcelona's Spanish forward #19 Lamine Yamal during the Spanish league football match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys in Barcelona, on May 11, 2025.
Walmart is bringing its brand to the biggest match in soccer.
The nation's largest retailer plans to announce Thursday a partnership with Spanish soccer league La Liga as it looks to expand its foothold in soccer and capitalize on its growing fandom in the U.S.
Under the partnership, Walmart will become the first presenting partner of La Liga's "El Clásico," a rivalry matchup between its two powerhouse teams: FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF.
"Teaming up with La Liga and El Clásico enables Walmart to fuel the energy create unforgettable experiences and give fans more ways to celebrate the game that they love," Walmart Chief Marketing Officer William White told CNBC in an interview. "Ultimately, Walmart is looking to make it easier for fans to engage and participate in the game."
The partnership will include a new logo featuring Walmart as the presenting partner for the rivalry matchup, which will be used across the U.S. and Canada and debut this season.
The rivalry game dates back to 1929 and has routinely attracted 650 million viewers across more than 180 countries, according to Walmart and La Liga.
The first El Clásico, which translates to "the classic" in Spanish, of the 2025-26 season is scheduled for Oct. 26 in Madrid, with the second match currently scheduled for May 10 in Barcelona.
Walmart and La Liga will launch the partnership ahead of the first match-up with a full weekend of fan events in Houston starting Oct. 24. The partnership will include large-scale viewing parties, concerts, meet-and-greets with former stars, co-branded merchandise and retail promotions.
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Walmart
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/19/walmart-marketplace-fakes-scams-investigation-takeaways.html?&qsearchterm=Walmart
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5 takeaways from CNBC’s investigation into Walmart Marketplace
| 2025-09-19T00:00:00
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Walmart 's online marketplace has become a key part of its strategy to grow profit faster than sales and better compete against its longtime rival, Amazon . As the largest U.S. retailer with more than 4,600 locations nationwide, growing sales online is also critical for its future. But a CNBC investigation found Walmart's digital boom came as it made it easier for third-party sellers to join and sell on its marketplace, a strategy that has come with a cost. Some consumers have received counterfeit, potentially dangerous products after shopping on the marketplace, CNBC found. The investigation also uncovered dozens of third-party sellers who had stolen the credentials of another business to set up an account, including some who were offering fake health and beauty items. In the early days of Walmart's online marketplace, former employees and sellers said it had strict policies for vetting third-party sellers and the products they offer. But over time, Walmart loosened those controls in a bid to woo sellers away from Amazon and appear more friendly than its rival, according to sellers, e-commerce consultants, and current and former employees. When asked for comment on CNBC's reporting, Walmart said "trust and safety are non-negotiable for us." "Counterfeiters are bad actors who target retail marketplaces across the world, and we are aggressive in our efforts to prevent and combat their deceptive behavior," Walmart said. "We enforce a zero-tolerance policy for prohibited or noncompliant products and continue to invest in new tools and technologies to help ensure only trusted, legitimate items reach our customers." CNBC's investigation uncovered new details about Walmart's strategy to grow its online marketplace and the risks it took to take market share from Amazon. Here are five takeaways from the investigation.
Stolen identities and product tests
During CNBC's investigation into Walmart's marketplace, it found at least 43 third-party sellers who had used the identity of another business to set up their account. Some of these sellers were impersonating large, publicly traded companies such as Thermo Fisher Scientific and Rockwell Medical , while others were smaller, private businesses, such as a New York grocery chain and a Chicago pizzeria. CNBC purchased and tested six items for its investigation, all of them highly rated, deeply discounted beauty products offered by sellers that were impersonating legitimate businesses. All of them were fake, according to brands and lab testing.
Walmart trailers sit in storage at a Walmart Distribution Center in Hurricane, Utah on May 30, 2024. George Frey | AFP | Getty Images
Some of the companies that were being impersonated on Walmart.com told CNBC they had received mysterious packages at their homes or businesses that they later realized were customer returns. One of them, Lifeworks-ACS, received at least 14 returns and mailed them to CNBC for authentication. All of them were found to be counterfeit.
Employee pressure
During the Covid pandemic, Walmart's marketplace boomed and the company gradually made it easier for sellers to join and list items on the platform, former employees said. One of those former employees, Tammie Jones, said when she first joined Walmart's seller vetting team, the requirements to join the marketplace were strict. But she said over time, there was pressure from management to approve more sellers, even when she had concerns about the applicant's credentials or documentation. "It got to a point where they were just like, 'You know what? Just go ahead and approve everybody,'" said Jones. "They wanted that business, so they were willing to take a chance on it."
Onboarding and product vetting
The requirements to join Amazon's and Walmart's marketplaces are different. Amazon often makes sellers conduct a video interview with a company employee, while Walmart's marketplace does not list a video interview as a requirement to join. Over time, Walmart also made changes to the documentation it requires sellers to submit during the application process. In the past, applicants were required to provide their employer identification number and both a W-9 and EIN form, according to a video of Walmart's application uploaded in February 2022. As recently as late March, applicants still needed to provide their EIN, but they were no longer required to upload their W-9 and EIN form, according to a video of Walmart's seller application posted to YouTube on March 31. At the time, the only document U.S. sellers were required to upload was a copy of their driver's license or passport, according to the video. Additional IRS documentation was listed as "optional," the video shows. There are also differences in the documentation Amazon and Walmart require from sellers about the products they want to list. On Amazon, some sellers are asked to provide invoices showing how they sourced their products, which includes proof they purchased between 10 and sometimes as many as 100 units. The Walmart sellers CNBC spoke to, who were interviewed before Walmart changed some aspects of its vetting process in July, said they were rarely, if ever, asked to provide details on how they sourced their goods. Those who were asked to submit documents said they often only needed to show an invoice for one unit and occasionally, answer a few questions about their supplier. Providing an invoice that only shows one unit, compared with 10 or 100, makes it easier for people to resell stolen or counterfeit goods, experts said.
Walmart's changes
About three weeks after CNBC shared its reporting with Walmart, the company changed some of its marketplace vetting policies for beauty and personal-care products in late July. In an email Walmart sent to some sellers, the company announced new restrictions for the category and said it would start requiring certain sellers to participate in an "enhanced vetting program" for those kinds of items. The changes would address some of the issues raised in CNBC's reporting. As part of the new program, some sellers would have to provide documentation for each personal-care or beauty item in their assortment, such as an invoice that demonstrates the product was sourced directly from a brand owner or manufacturer. Numerous beauty and personal-care listings were taken down from the platform after the change, some sellers said.
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Walmart’s Marketplace boom: How lax vetting came with identity theft and fakes
| 2025-09-19T00:00:00
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When Mary May started buying from third-party sellers on Walmart's online marketplace, she said she assumed the products she was purchasing were the same as the ones she'd long bought in stores. So in late March when she said she saw a "ridiculous sale" on her favorite Neuriva brain supplements on Walmart 's marketplace, she bought eight bottles for her and her sister. But when some of the once-daily oral supplements arrived from a seller calling itself Lifeworks-ACS, the 59-year-old mother of three noticed there were misspellings on the bottle and the packaging looked different than it usually did. Weeks later, CNBC confirmed the supplements were counterfeit – and the seller had taken the identity of another business to sign up for the marketplace. "Walmart betrayed me. …They let me purchase something that could have harmed me, my family," May, who was refunded by Walmart for the fake products, told CNBC in an interview from her home in Pleasant Shade, Tennessee. "As a customer, I expect them to care about my well-being when I purchase something from them. Whether it's from a third-party seller or not, it's on Walmart's website."
Walmart.com customer Mary May pictured at her home in Pleasant Shade, Tennessee. CNBC
May and other shoppers both loyal and new have turned to Walmart.com for better prices and a wider selection than they often get in stores, powering a new wave of sales for the largest U.S. retailer as it races to catch up with Amazon's marketplace. Those customers helped Walmart's U.S. digital business turn profitable this spring after years of losing money, an important milestone for a company that has said e-commerce is the key to increasing its future earnings. But Walmart's digital boom came as it made it easier for third-party sellers to join and sell on its marketplace, a strategy that has come with a cost, a CNBC investigation uncovered. Shoppers going to Walmart.com for deals on top brands are sometimes receiving counterfeit, potentially dangerous products instead, CNBC found. Third-party sellers on Walmart's platform in certain cases aren't who they say they are, as CNBC found at least 43 vendors who used the identity of another business to set up their account. Over time, Walmart made its seller and product vetting more lax than Amazon's policies in a bid to woo sellers away from its rival, according to nine marketplace sellers and four current and former Walmart employees. "It's very disturbing," said Elaine Damo, the owner of Lifeworks-ACS, which provides services for children and adults with developmental disabilities. "It's a domino effect, and it trickles and affects everyone," said Damo, who told CNBC she was sent returns from more than a dozen customers — including May — who had purchased counterfeits from the third-party seller that was impersonating her business.
Counterfeit Neuriva Plus Brain Health and Immuno 150 supplements purchased from Walmart.com. CNBC
Reckitt , the maker of Neuriva, said it "immediately opened an investigation" after learning about the counterfeit supplements May bought and said "the health and safety of consumers is our top priority." It said anyone who believes they may have bought a fake item should stop using it and contact the company's customer care team. Over the last five years, the number of sellers and items for sale on Walmart's marketplace has exploded. The platform's U.S. revenue grew 45% and 37%, respectively, in fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2025, Walmart has said. That expansion has fueled Walmart's U.S. e-commerce business, which is second only to Amazon in online sales dollars, according to research from financial firm Mizuho. It's nearing $100 billion in annual revenue and is on pace to represent 10% of all domestic online sales by 2026, Mizuho said. But that meteoric rise came partly from Walmart's decision to accept some risks in the interest of growth, current and former employees said. Tammie Jones, who worked on Walmart's seller vetting team from September 2023 to April 2024, said she was pressured to approve seller applications, even when she had concerns about the applicant's credentials or documentation. "It got to a point where they were just like, 'You know what? Just go ahead and approve everybody,'" Jones said of her managers' directives. "They wanted that business, so they were willing to take a chance on it." In a statement, Walmart said "trust and safety are non-negotiable for us." "We're unwavering in our commitment to delivering everyday low prices, a broad assortment, and innovative shopping experiences. Counterfeiters are bad actors who target retail marketplaces across the world, and we are aggressive in our efforts to prevent and combat their deceptive behavior," Walmart said. "We enforce a zero-tolerance policy for prohibited or noncompliant products and continue to invest in new tools and technologies to help ensure only trusted, legitimate items reach our customers." Counterfeits and fraud are endemic to third-party marketplaces. Amazon, among others, had trouble policing counterfeits as they grew. But Amazon has since tightened its vetting, according to interviews with sellers and e-commerce consultants. Meanwhile, it became easier for bad actors to join and sell on Walmart's marketplace, CNBC's investigation found.
A misspelling on a bottle of counterfeit Neuriva Plus Brain Health supplements purchased from Walmart.com. Adam Jeffery | CNBC
A misspelling on a bottle of counterfeit Immuno 150 supplements purchased from Walmart.com. CNBC
Walmart has required less documentation and vetting to sign up for its marketplace and had imposed fewer restrictions on the types of products people could sell than its main e-commerce rival, according to a review of Walmart's and Amazon's seller applications and interviews with sellers, former employees and e-commerce consultants. "If you look at Walmart, they look more like a flea market than a trusted marketplace. It's like the Wild West on their platform," said Bob Barchiesi, the president of the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition, a non-profit that fights counterfeits and warns fake goods can pose serious health and safety risks. "You can't try to sell trust from aisle five and then let counterfeiters in" online. As part of its reporting, CNBC tested the authenticity of 20 items offered by third-party sellers that had stolen the identity of a real business. All of the products were determined to be counterfeit.
The 20 counterfeit products CNBC tested for its investigation. CNBC
Beyond the tests, CNBC reviewed hundreds of product listings and seller pages on the platform and reviewed hundreds of securities filings, earnings call transcripts and internal documents for its investigation. CNBC also interviewed more than 90 people, including third-party sellers on Walmart and Amazon, marketplace consultants, professors, members of law enforcement, and more than a dozen current and former Walmart employees. Some of those current and former staffers declined to be named because they said they could face termination or because they signed confidentiality agreements. CNBC also spoke with Walmart shoppers about their experiences. While some consumers know the risks of buying health and beauty products on online marketplaces, some said Walmart's brand brings a different level of legitimacy than traditional platforms because it is a trusted brick-and-mortar retailer. Other shoppers told CNBC they weren't even aware they were buying from third-party sellers when shopping on Walmart.com. "I trust Walmart, I thought I was buying it from them," said Aurora Aguilar, who bought skin-care products from a seller impersonating a legitimate business. "It's their website."
Product tests and stolen identities
CNBC purchased and tested six items for its investigation, all of them highly rated, deeply discounted beauty products offered by sellers that were impersonating legitimate businesses. It also tested 14 more items that were purchased by Walmart shoppers and returned to Lifeworks-ACS, which sent them to CNBC.
Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Counterfeit beauty products CNBC purchased from Walmart.com Christina Locopo | CNBC
In most cases, brands authenticated the products for CNBC. In other instances, lab testing conducted by scientists at St. John's University determined whether products were fake by comparing them to an authentic product. These items are just a sample of the hundreds of millions of goods sold on the platform. CNBC centered its investigation on beauty products and health supplements because they're some of the most dangerous counterfeits on the market, often made with harmful ingredients that can make people sick, counterfeit experts said. The fact that consumers ingest them or rub them into their skin increases the safety risk, the experts said. Typically, marketplaces aren't liable for the products their sellers offer. But legal experts said the argument that certain platforms could be held responsible for the sale of harmful products is gaining momentum. In July, weeks after CNBC shared its reporting with Walmart, the company tightened vetting for some third-party sellers who list health and beauty products on its marketplace, according to emails sent to sellers that were reviewed by CNBC. The fraudulent sellers uncovered by CNBC took credentials from a wide range of companies. Some purported to be large, publicly traded businesses, such as Thermo Fisher Scientific and Rockwell Medical. Others were smaller companies, including a California juice shop, Chicago pizza chain Dimo's Pizza and the New York City grocery chain D'Agostino.
Fraudulent Walmart seller accounts CNBC
Most of the sellers were offering high-end beauty products at as much as 91% off the typical retail price listed by the brand or one of its authorized partners. Representatives or owners of the companies that were being impersonated by sellers on Walmart.com all told CNBC they did not have marketplace accounts. They said details like names and addresses listed on publicly available documents were used without their consent. All of the accounts were eventually taken down. Dimitri Syrkin-Nikolau is the owner and founder of Dimo's Pizza. He said he felt "powerless" as he waited for Walmart to take down the fraudulent page and was concerned about damage to his business's reputation. "We spent 16-plus years building the reputation here in Chicago," said Syrkin-Nikolau, adding it took weeks for the page to be removed. "To know that somebody could just take our name and sell whatever they would like on Walmart's website where we have no control doesn't feel good."
The cost of growth
Walmart, headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, has become a core part of tens of millions of Americans' lives since its founding more than six decades ago. In its most recent fiscal year, it posted a staggering $681 billion in revenue. The discounter has more than 4,600 U.S. locations, and about 90% of the country's population lives within 10 miles of a store. Still, even the largest U.S. retailer has to grow somewhere. At Walmart, that expansion is happening online.
Through Walmart's third-party marketplace, which fuels novel business like its Amazon Prime rival Walmart+ and its advertising platform Walmart Connect, the retailer can grow profit faster than sales, Walmart executives and Wall Street analysts have said. The platform also allows Walmart to increase its range of merchandise, which means more customers buying from its website. "The more sellers that you have selling product, the more customers are going to come and take advantage of that marketplace," CFO John David Rainey said at a conference in June. As Walmart scaled its marketplace, it positioned the platform as more seller-friendly than Amazon, the place to go to avoid its rival's restrictions and policy changes, sellers and former Walmart employees said. Between 2019 and 2024, the number of sellers on Walmart's marketplace grew more than 900%, according to estimates from Marketplace Pulse, which collects data on leading e-commerce platforms. The increase came as the company made the marketplace a core piece of its strategy, but also overlapped with a period when Amazon ramped up security controls on its platform, banned many sellers and became known as one of the strictest marketplaces to sell on, according to interviews with sellers and e-commerce consultants.
As a result, some sellers sought refuge on Walmart.com during that period, telling CNBC there was less vetting and looser restrictions on the types of goods they could sell. Walmart rarely, if ever, asked them to provide details on how they sourced their goods, the sellers added. Some sellers, industry experts and former employees said the relatively lax controls made it easier for bad actors to join the platform and sell fake, stolen or dangerous products. "Walmart has evolved into kind of a dumping ground for all the banned Amazon sellers," said Chris McCabe, who used to be a member of Amazon's seller performance team and now runs the consultancy firm ecommerceChris, helping Amazon sellers reinstate suspended accounts. "Walmart doesn't seem to have as robust a system of enforcement."
Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Customer returns of counterfeit products purchased from Walmart.com Christina Locopo | CNBC
Walmart didn't comment specifically on McCabe's remarks. An Amazon spokesperson, when asked if the company has made its platform more strict for sellers, told CNBC that "we are proud of the progress we have made in preventing counterfeits within the Amazon store." "This has required significant innovation and perseverance, and it would not be possible without the partnerships we have been able to build with brands, associations, policymakers, law enforcement, and others," the Amazon spokesperson said. Marketplace Pulse estimates Amazon had 21 times the number of sellers that Walmart had at the end of 2024. Given that scale, some brand owners have had more issues with fakes on Amazon's platform than on Walmart's, according to interviews with brand protection firms, e-commerce consultants and counterfeit experts. But Amazon has shown more of a willingness to address some of its problems, said Barchiesi, the president of the IACC. When the IACC reached out to Walmart in November 2024 inviting the company to join its Marketplace Advisory Council, the retailer stopped responding and didn't ultimately join the initiative, Barchiesi said. The program, which officially launched in May, brings together brands, payment processors and e-commerce platforms like Amazon, eBay and Alibaba to develop best practices and work to get fakes off of online marketplaces.
Bob Barchiesi, the president of the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition, pictured at the group’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. CNBC
In response, Walmart said it has a relationship with the IACC and has attended many of its conferences since 2019, where the retailer discussed marketplace safety with the organization and industry partners. About a week after CNBC shared its reporting with Walmart and asked for a response, including to Barchiesi's comments, the company reached out to the IACC to set up a meeting and later agreed to join the advisory council, the group said. Barchiesi later said the meeting, and the steps Walmart recently took to tighten vetting for some third-party sellers, are a "critical step forward."
'There's a lot of money to be made in the gray market'
In the early days of Walmart's marketplace, it had a stricter approach to combating counterfeits and a higher bar for approving sellers, former employees told CNBC. Seller vetting was considered more stringent than Amazon's, and was so strict that ubiquitous computer maker Dell didn't make the cut when it first applied, said Steve Grigory, who worked on the platform's business development team between 2016 and 2019. "The trust and safety team rejected them because they weren't good enough and I'm like, 'What the hell are you talking about?'" said Grigory, who eventually got Dell onto the platform. But then the Covid-19 pandemic hit the U.S. and Walmart's online business surged. It soon became clear that the marketplace was Walmart's next frontier. In February 2020, Walmart's then-CEO of U.S. e-commerce, Marc Lore, said the platform was growing, but there was still more work to do, including making "selling easier" for its vendors. The following year, it opened its door to Chinese sellers for the first time, according to Marketplace Pulse. By the end of 2021, overall vendors grew nearly 58% from the prior year.
"The biggest goal was just, let's bring on a lot of sellers… [and] get as many products live as we could … to grow the platform and really compete with Amazon," recalled one former employee who was involved with bringing sellers onto the marketplace at the time. To woo sellers away from Amazon, Walmart tried to be more "accommodating" than its rival, including by letting sellers list "certain higher-profile brands," the former employee said. At the time, the only third-party seller allowed to offer Nike products was sports merchandise company Fanatics. Limiting Nike products to one seller reduced the risk of stolen, counterfeit or gray market items, or legitimate products sold outside of official channels. But early in the pandemic, senior Walmart staff realized Nike products were only bringing in a few hundred thousand dollars in revenue per year, the former employee said. If Walmart allowed a wider range of third-party sellers to list the brand's items, staff reasoned it could generate millions and make the marketplace more competitive, according to the former employee.
Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Customer returns of counterfeit products purchased from Walmart.com Christina Locopo | CNBC
Some argued allowing more third parties to sell Nike products would increase the risk of counterfeits, but management ultimately decided it was a manageable risk relative to the "size of the prize," the former employee recalled. "There's a lot of money to be made in the gray market," the former employee said of management's sentiment. "If we're going to make [millions] in sales on these Nike products, the percentage of counterfeit from that is probably small enough that it's net worth us doing this, even if we have to play whack-a-mole or refund some customers."
As Walmart's marketplace grew, adding sellers became a bigger priority and the company began to loosen its vetting and onboarding process, some former employees said. By the time Jones joined Walmart's seller vetting team in September 2023, she said she had a clear objective from management: "approve, approve, approve." The 54-year-old from Savannah, Georgia, had been with the company since November 2021. When Jones later joined the seller vetting team, she said she reviewed seller applications that didn't pass the initial, automated process. At first, she said she was required to examine the seller's inventory, call the vendor to make sure they were who they said they were and ensure the business had been open for a certain period of time, among other checks.
Former Walmart employee Tammie Jones pictured at her home in Savannah, Georgia CNBC
"But then things changed," she said in an interview with CNBC. If Jones could verify the seller's phone number, business address and employer identification number, or EIN, she was told to approve the application, regardless of the inventory the person wanted to offer. Then, her managers stopped requiring her to call applicants, and she was told to ignore internal guidelines on how long the business had been open and other potential red flags, Jones said. By that point, Jones said she felt like she was approving an application that should've been denied most of the time. "It was a red flag for me," she said. "I wasn't sure if something that I'm approving to be pushed through was going to be a product that could potentially harm someone, or if it was a product that was fake." Another person who worked in the department at the same time as Jones told CNBC that the team was told to stop doing inventory checks, but said they still felt like they were approving legitimate sellers most of the time. Jones, who left Walmart in April 2024 for personal reasons including personal health issues and family matters, said she believes the lax approach she experienced is why CNBC found so many seller accounts that had used another business' identity. In many cases, CNBC identified vendors who weren't who they said they were through a Google search and phone call, which sometimes took just a few minutes.
When CNBC notified the companies that their identities had been stolen, some said they had received mysterious packages at their homes or businesses that they later realized were customer returns. "I got packages showing up at my shop, perfumes and stuff. I was like, 'Why am I getting these things?'" said Ed Stuart, whose Cambridge, Massachusetts, business European Country Antiques was used to set up a fraudulent marketplace account. "I tossed them all because there was no one to send them back to."
Customer returns Ed Stuart received at his business, European Country Antiques, in Cambridge, Massachusetts after his business credentials were used to set up a fraudulent seller account on Walmart.com. Ed Stuart | CNBC
Once the business owners identified by CNBC learned their information had been stolen, many of them contacted Walmart customer support to have the pages taken down. In some cases, product listings from those fraudulent sellers were removed soon after they were reported. But in others, products were still available weeks later. Even in cases where item listings were removed, many of the seller pages were still live for weeks or months after they were reported. Nichole Magill, the owner of Florida-based Pint Sized Ice Creams, said her home address, which she used in her corporate registration documents, and her business name were stolen to set up a Walmart marketplace account. Magill said that when she called Walmart to report it, she was transferred four times and then told she needed to send a "legal letter" to an office in California for it to be taken down. The page was eventually removed, but it's unclear when.
Dimitri Syrkin-Nikolau speaks to CNBC at his Chicago pizzeria Dimo’s Pizza. CNBC
Syrkin-Nikolau, the owner of Dimo's Pizza, said Walmart's fraud department "seemed incredibly receptive" when he reached out in mid-March to notify them about the scam account. But around three weeks later, CNBC reviewed the seller page and found the account was still advertising luxury beauty products at more than 90% off their typical retail price and still using Dimo's business information. It was eventually taken down. "Who'd be buying an Estee Lauder skin cream from Dimo's Pizza?" said Syrkin-Nikolau. "It's absolutely a fake account." When CNBC shared information about the scam businesses with Barchiesi from the IACC, he said the sellers would be "automatic red flags" in any marketplace "that has minimal standards of knowing their customer," referencing a term platforms use when vetting third-party sellers. "It's easier to keep people off the marketplace if you do the proper vetting," said Barchiesi. "Once they get into the system, it's much more difficult, right? Because now the consumer's exposed." CNBC sent Walmart more than a dozen questions about its vetting processes, but the company declined to answer many of them. A spokesperson told CNBC the company would provide additional information about its seller and product vetting processes on the condition that CNBC not report it publicly, citing concerns that it could compromise its trust and safety systems. CNBC declined to accept information it could not report. Walmart provided a general statement to CNBC about its commitment to trust and safety. It also issued a news release the day before CNBC's reporting deadline titled: "Building Trust, Powering Progress: Walmart's Vision for a Safer Marketplace."
Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Customer returns of counterfeit products purchased from Walmart.com Christina Locopo | CNBC
In the release, the company said it operates a "multi-layered enforcement system" that includes seller vetting, restrictions on who can sell in certain categories and the use of artificial intelligence to help monitor product listings for policy compliance and intellectual property infringement. It said it proactively takes down listings that violate policies, removes sellers from the platform "when necessary" and enables "rapid response capabilities" that enable its trust and safety team to "investigate and address violations quickly." It said it also has brand protection tools for intellectual property owners. "While counterfeits are estimated to represent a tiny minority of the products sold on marketplaces, it is an issue that plagues all retail marketplaces," Walmart said in its release. "These fraudulent sellers — who grow savvier, faking credentials and dodging enforcement — erode trust, not just in the companies who run these marketplaces, but in the thousands of large and small sellers who act with integrity and seek only to bring value and assortment to those who shop with us."
The 'Wild West' of marketplaces
When Paul joined Walmart's marketplace to resell toys, supplements, and other health and household items, he was relieved to find how "lenient" it was, he told CNBC in an interview before the July changes. A longtime Amazon seller, Paul spoke on the condition of anonymity and was identified by a pseudonym because he was concerned he would suffer reprisal from Amazon or Walmart, such as additional scrutiny. He told CNBC he had become disillusioned with Amazon after seeing how difficult it had become to resell popular products. For example, when he tried to get approval to sell products on Amazon from brands like Lululemon or Nike, he said he needed an official invoice from an authorized distributor that showed he'd purchased 10 or, sometimes, as many as 100 units. Meanwhile, at Walmart, he said he only needed to provide documentation showing he'd purchased one. Paul acknowledged to CNBC that he often buys one item directly from the company to ensure he gets approval, then sources the rest of his inventory through other channels. When asked for further details, Paul declined to share. "It's more of a Wild West compared to Amazon," said Paul. "So it's a breath of fresh air for somebody like me."
Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Customer returns of counterfeit products purchased from Walmart.com Christina Locopo | CNBC
CNBC spoke with eight people who have resold goods from household brands on Walmart's marketplace. Most said they'd never been asked to provide invoices proving how they sourced their products in order to list them for sale. Some of the sellers who said they were asked to submit documentation said they often only needed to show an invoice for one unit and occasionally, answer a few questions about their supplier. Providing an invoice that only shows one unit, compared with 10 or 100, makes it easier for people to resell stolen or counterfeit goods, experts said. They would only need to buy one item directly from the brand to get permission to sell it on Walmart, which is cheaper and easier to do than having to buy multiple items. It's unclear if Walmart's policy on invoices changed after it tightened vetting for some third-party sellers in July. All of the sellers who spoke to CNBC, who were interviewed before the July changes, said there were fewer restrictions at Walmart than on Amazon for most of the popular consumer goods they tried to sell. Chris Grant, who's been an Amazon vendor for around 12 years and creates courses on how to sell on the platform, said sellers viewed Walmart as "the place to take things you can't sell on Amazon." He called it a "shiny object" and "the promised land" for disillusioned Amazon sellers. Given Amazon's size and its success in getting brands to sell directly on the platform, it's gotten harder for third-party vendors to offer certain branded goods, sellers and e-commerce consultants said.
Kranthi Gattu, a doctoral student in industrial pharmacy at St. John's University, tests a counterfeit beauty product purchased from Walmart.com for CNBC. CNBC
In response, Amazon said third-party sellers are "thriving" on its platform and more than 60% of sales are from independent sellers, which are primarily small and medium-sized businesses. Beyond product verification, there are clear differences in the ways that Amazon, Walmart and fellow legacy retailer Target currently vet and onboard marketplace sellers on their respective platforms. On Amazon, sellers have to provide documents to prove their address, such as a bank or credit card statement, according to its application. Applicants must then either take a photo of their face and government-issued ID or conduct a video interview with an Amazon employee where they're required to hold up their ID, show their proof of address and answer questions about their business, according to its application, sellers and e-commerce consultants.
A counterfeit Sol de Janeiro Brazilian Bum Bum Cream (left) purchased from Walmart.com, compared to an authentic version purchased from Sephora (right) Adam Jeffery | CNBC
On Target's marketplace, sellers can only join by invitation. To be considered, applicants must be able to provide a U.S. business address, a W-9, an EIN and answer a wide range of questions about their assortment, according to its online application. In March, Target Chief Guest Experience Officer Cara Sylvester said the company's strict approach is the "right strategy" and added it hasn't prevented growth. "We believe the trust consumers have for the Target brand is a real competitive advantage and that trust should extend to our marketplace offerings, too," she said. In the past, seller applicants for Walmart's marketplace were required to provide their EIN and upload both a W-9 and EIN form, key business verification documents that experts say are an extra layer of security, according to a video of Walmart's application uploaded in February 2022 by Helium 10, a software company for marketplace sellers.
Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Christina Locopo | CNBC
As recently as late March, applicants still needed to provide their EIN, but they were no longer required to upload their W-9 and EIN form that shows the number, according to a video of Walmart's seller application posted to YouTube on March 31 by an independent seller advisor.
Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Christina Locopo | CNBC
At the time, the only document U.S. sellers were required to upload as part of the business verification process was a copy of their driver's license or passport, according to the video. Applicants could include additional IRS documents to improve their wait time and chances of being verified, but it was listed as "optional," the video shows. In July, after CNBC shared its reporting with Walmart, the company said U.S.-based sellers are "required to upload" EIN documents, not just the number itself. When pressed on CNBC's reporting that found the forms were optional, and asked when it started requiring them, Walmart said it initially verifies EINs through government and third-party systems to ensure they match the business listing. "If the initial checks aren't successful, sellers are asked to submit additional documentation… for further verification," the company said. "Sellers who can't provide the required documentation aren't permitted to sell on Walmart Marketplace." A video interview is not listed as a requirement to join Walmart's marketplace.
Big bets on beauty
As the number of sellers on Walmart's marketplace grew, so did the range of products it offered.
Last summer, Walmart announced it would add premium beauty products and expand its range of collectibles and preowned items to its marketplace to boost its assortment and draw more customers. Three months later, when Walmart reported earnings, it said the number of items on the platform had exploded – growing to nearly 700 million, a 67% increase from May.
Walmart's marketplace now offers a wide range of products that shoppers wouldn't typically associate with the discounter. Customers shopping for Great Value toilet paper or baking powder can also purchase preowned Rolexes or Louis Vuitton bags for thousands of dollars. They can also buy thousands of skin-care products, cosmetics and perfumes from popular premium brands including Clinique, Lancome, Estee Lauder and Shiseido.
A counterfeit Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Serum (right) purchased from Walmart.com, compared to an authentic version purchased from Nordstrom (left) Adam Jeffery | CNBC
Many of those products have been offered at steep discounts, which experts say is a common red flag associated with counterfeits. At first glance, many of the premium beauty products are highly rated, which can assure consumers the item is safe to buy. But a closer look shows some of the reviews are worse than they seem. In February, CNBC analyzed reviews from some popular skincare products, including Sol de Janeiro's Brazilian Bum Bum Cream, which has become popular with tweens. At the time, the product listing, which displays reviews for all sellers that have offered the item, had 4.6 out of five stars resulting from 2,526 ratings and 1,552 reviews. However, only 246 reviews came from customers who Walmart had verified purchased the item from its platform. Among those, 118, or 48%, were one star. An analysis of the one-star reviews showed 90% alleged the product was not genuine. "FAKE! Don't waste your money," one person wrote in March. "This is not an authentic product and Walmart should be ashamed for selling counterfeit products on their site." CNBC analyzed ratings for eight other beauty products and found a similar trend. "My daughter bought these at Sephora before. We ran out and saw these were a good price and decided to purchase," one person wrote in a review for Glow Recipe's Watermelon Glow Niacinamide Dew Drops. "She broke out in hives each time she used the drops."
Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Christina Locopo | CNBC
In response to questions about negative feedback on product listings, Walmart said complaints from consumers are flagged and reviewed and the company takes action "as appropriate." The company added if a customer isn't satisfied with a purchase "for any reason," they can use Walmart's return policy, which is designed to correct the issue "quickly and easily." About three weeks after CNBC shared its reporting with Walmart, the company made major changes to its marketplace vetting policies for beauty and personal-care products. It sent an email to some sellers announcing new restrictions for the category and said it would start requiring certain sellers to participate in an "enhanced vetting program" for those kinds of items, according to emails sent to sellers that were reviewed by CNBC. The changes would address some of the issues raised in CNBC's reporting.
A counterfeit Lancome Absolue Rich Cream (left) purchased from Walmart.com, compared to an authentic version purchased from Nordstrom (right) Adam Jeffery | CNBC
As part of the new program, some sellers would have to provide documentation for each personal-care or beauty item in their assortment. The documents include an invoice that demonstrates the product was sourced directly from a brand owner or manufacturer, or a letter of authorization from the brand owner that stated the seller was allowed to offer the product. It was unclear from the email which sellers would be required to participate in the enhanced vetting program. Walmart declined to provide additional detail about the changes and the factors that drove them. "We continually enhance our marketplace policies and regularly remove items that violate our policies," it said in response. "If we discover that a seller's items have been removed in error, we proactively work with the seller to quickly restore their listings." Numerous beauty and personal-care listings were taken down from the platform after the change, some sellers said.
Evolving legal landscape
The nature of online marketplaces makes it difficult to eradicate counterfeit goods. In the last two years, 50% of counterfeit items were bought from sellers on U.S.-based marketplaces, according to a study conducted by market research firm OnePoll and brand protection platform Red Points. Part of the issue is a lack of regulation. While selling counterfeit goods is a crime, platforms face almost no liability for facilitating their sale, as long as they take down listings for fake goods after brands bring them to their attention. That's largely because of a 2010 court ruling that arose after Tiffany sued eBay over counterfeit products on the platform. The court decided that eBay wasn't liable, even if it had general knowledge that fake Tiffany products were being sold on its site, primarily because it had promptly removed infringing listings that Tiffany had reported to the platform. Kari Kammel, the director of the Center for Anti-Counterfeiting and Product Protection at Michigan State University, said the ruling made it so marketplaces are "essentially immunized" from being held responsible for bad actors selling on their platforms. "They are not required to proactively vet products that are going up or to proactively screen all of their postings and all of their listings, or to even take consumer complaints about counterfeits," said Kammel. Ever since, the ruling has put the onus on retailers and brands to police online marketplaces themselves, conduct test buys to find counterfeit products and submit requests to have the items taken down. It's a long and costly process that can lead to a game of whack-a-mole, where as soon as companies remove one infringing listing, another crops up, starting the process all over again.
A misspelling on the packaging of a counterfeit Estee Lauder serum purchased from Walmart.com. Adam Jeffery | CNBC
Some critics of the ruling say it might have made sense in 2010, but the precedent doesn't take into account how modern marketplaces have developed and the technology they now have at their disposal. Proponents of the ruling say that without it, marketplaces could be forced to police every listing, making it harder for them to run their platforms, which could limit consumer options for online shopping. The first major piece of legislation to regulate online marketplaces, the Inform Consumers Act, took effect in June 2023 and requires online platforms to collect, verify and disclose certain information about some third-party sellers. The statute is relatively new, so it's unclear to what extent platforms could be held liable for gaps in vetting and verifying their sellers. The Shop Safe Act, a bipartisan federal bill that aims to curb the sale of fakes on online marketplaces, takes the Inform Act a step further. It's designed to address some of the issues posed by the Tiffany vs. eBay ruling by incentivizing platforms to better vet sellers and the products they're offering. When platforms comply with certain anti-counterfeiting measures, they could be shielded from liability if a seller offers a fake product. Brands widely supported the legislation, but it has so far failed to pass at least three times, most recently in the last Congress. That's partially because Walmart and other online marketplaces like Amazon, Etsy and eBay have lobbied against aspects of it, two U.S. Senate aides, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the discussions were private, told CNBC. "They generally would just rather not have to do any of these things, right? Like the status quo is pretty good for them," one aide said. The aides cautioned that the platforms aren't outright against the bill and have been engaging with congressional staff on it. The legislation is expected to be reintroduced in the current Congress, they said. Walmart and Amazon did not respond to CNBC's questions about their lobbying activities around the bill. They also didn't share their positions on the legislation.
A misspelling on the packaging of a counterfeit Kiehl’s serum purchased from Walmart.com. Adam Jeffery | CNBC
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Walmart
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/19/5-things-to-know-before-the-stock-market-opens.html?&qsearchterm=Walmart
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CNBC investigates Walmart's Marketplace, Colbert backs Kimmel and more in Morning Squawk
| 2025-09-19T00:00:00
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This is CNBC's Morning Squawk newsletter. Subscribe here to receive future editions in your inbox. Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:
1. The cost of Walmart's digital growth
Serene Lee | SOPA Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images
Walmart's online marketplace has exploded in recent years. But a major investigation from CNBC published this morning shows that this growth has stemmed in part from lax requirements for third-party sellers. CNBC's Gabrielle Fonrouge and Paige Tortorelli found dozens of vendors on Walmart's platform who have taken on the identities of other businesses when creating accounts, some of whom were selling counterfeit health and beauty products. Bob Barchiesi, the president of the non-profit International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition, said Walmart's digital platform looks "more like a flea market than a trusted marketplace." Through interviews with marketplace sellers and current and former employees, CNBC found that Walmart made its vetting process more lax in hopes of encouraging sellers to jump from Amazon to its own platform. In a statement, Walmart said it has a "zero-tolerance policy for prohibited or noncompliant products" and has invested in tools to ensure product authenticity. Weeks after CNBC shared its reporting with the company, Walmart also tightened vetting for certain sellers and products. Experts warn that consumers face a higher risk of accidentally purchasing counterfeit products through online marketplaces than from traditional retailers. Along with its investigation into Walmart's practices, CNBC also released a new guide today for how shoppers can ensure they aren't buying fake products.
2. Open mic
Show host Jimmy Kimmel delivers his opening monologue at the 96th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S., March 10, 2024. Mike Blake | Reuters
ABC's indefinite suspension of Jimmy Kimmel's late-night talk show has become a cultural lightning rod. President Donald Trump indicated yesterday that the federal government could revoke the licenses of broadcast TV networks that are "against" him. The president's comments followed CNBC's interview with Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr, during which he suggested that more changes to the media landscape are coming. "We're not done yet," Carr said. Meanwhile, fellow late-night talk show host Stephen Colbert is coming to Kimmel's defense. In his show last night, which was dedicated to free speech and Kimmel's team, Colbert called ABC's decision "blatant censorship" and Trump an "autocrat."
3. Party like it's 2021
Jakub Porzycki | Nurphoto | Getty Images
4. Master of none
Jonathan Raa | Nurphoto | Getty Images
The Federal Trade Commission is taking Ticketmaster and its parent Live Nation to court, alleging "illegal" ticket resale tactics. The FTC said in its lawsuit that Live Nation and Ticketmaster "tacitly worked" with scalpers so they could "unlawfully purchase" tickets to increase profits. Seven states joined the lawsuit, which was filed in California federal court. Ticketmaster and Live Nation both did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment. Investors didn't seem to take the news well: Shares of Live Nation closed down more than 2% yesterday.
Get Morning Squawk directly in your inbox CNBC's Morning Squawk recaps the biggest stories investors should know before the stock market opens, every weekday morning. Subscribe here to get access today.
5. Boxed out
Kevin Durant, Co-founder of Boardroom and 2x NBA Champion. Jesse Grant | CNBC
Sometimes, forgetting your password isn't such a bad thing. Just ask NBA star Kevin Durant's agent. Durant cannot locate the password to his Coinbase account, which holds the bitcoin that he started buying in 2016, his agent Rich Kleiman told CNBC this week. That's "only benefitted" the athlete, Kleiman said, given that the cryptocurrency is going "through the roof." After CNBC reported on Durant's predicament, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said on X that Durant's account has been recovered. See more from CNBC's Game Plan conference in Los Angeles here.
The Daily Dividend
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Walmart
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https://www.cnbc.com/video/2025/09/19/how-walmartcoms-lax-seller-vetting-came-with-fraud.html?&qsearchterm=Walmart
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How Walmart.com’s lax seller vetting came with fraud
| 2025-09-19T00:00:00
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How Walmart.com’s lax seller vetting came with fraud
In its race to rival Amazon and become the next great “everything store,” Walmart leveraged its brick and mortar empire to grow into a major player online. And it didn’t take long for the world’s biggest retailer to build a massive digital marketplace with hundreds of millions of products and thousands of third-party sellers. But the strategy poses risks as a CNBC investigation found lax vetting came with fraud and fakes on the site. CNBC's Gabrielle Fonrouge has the story.
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Walmart
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/19/avoid-buying-fake-products-online-marketplaces.html?&qsearchterm=Walmart
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How to avoid buying fakes on Walmart, Amazon and other online marketplaces
| 2025-09-19T00:00:00
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As more consumers prioritize convenience and value over brand loyalty, experts say they're turning to online marketplaces more than ever to buy the things they need, raising the risk they could inadvertently purchase a fake product. While fake goods have exchanged hands in informal markets since ancient times, the growth of online marketplaces has contributed to the rise in counterfeits because of how easy online shopping and selling have become. A CNBC investigation of Walmart 's marketplace published Friday uncovered dozens of third-party sellers who had stolen the identity of another business, and some of them were offering fake health and beauty products. After CNBC shared its reporting with Walmart, the company began tightening its vetting process for some products and sellers and said it has a "zero-tolerance policy for prohibited or noncompliant products."
Serene Lee | SOPA Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images
Between 2020 and 2024, e-commerce as a percentage of overall U.S. retail sales reached record highs, and goods seized for intellectual property violations more than doubled during that general time period, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. When shopping on online marketplaces, consumers need to be "very careful" to avoid inadvertently purchasing fakes, said Megan Carpenter, the dean and professor of intellectual property law at the University of New Hampshire's Franklin Pierce School of Law. "You're purchasing from sellers, distributors, manufacturers that are all over the world with the push of a button," said Carpenter, who previously practiced intellectual property law. "Sometimes you hear the phrase, 'buy cheap, buy twice,' but there are also big safety and danger issues" that come from purchasing fakes online, she said. Counterfeit products have been endemic to third-party marketplaces for as long as they have existed, but it is difficult to quantify just how common they are. While longtime marketplace operators have made numerous policy changes over the years to crack down on fakes, the nature of the platforms makes it difficult to eradicate counterfeits altogether. Amazon said it has taken steps to address fakes on its platform, and is "proud of the progress" it has made in preventing counterfeits. Walmart added in its statement to CNBC that customers who are not satisfied with an item can return it for a full refund. To ensure consumers are getting the real thing, here are a few guidelines experts said people should follow when shopping on online marketplaces.
Research the seller
Plenty of brands sell their products directly to consumers through online marketplaces. If the company that makes the item is the one that's also selling it, experts said that's always a consumer's best bet when shopping on online platforms. If the seller offering the item is not the brand, consumers should research the business to make sure it is legitimate. In the past, the name or business information of a third-party seller offering a product wasn't always clear. But the Inform Consumers Act, a law that took effect in 2023, now requires platforms to publish that information for certain sellers. When shopping on marketplaces like Walmart and Amazon, consumers can see the name of the seller offering the product on the right-hand side of the page. When they click the business name, they can typically see more information, such as its address, phone number and some information about what it does.
Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Christina Locopo | CNBC
The seller's page will offer a host of clues to consumers. Shoppers can typically see where the business is based, go over its catalog of items and read the reviews it has received. If other shoppers have left reviews saying the business sold fake products, that's a good sign that consumers should find another seller or other place to purchase the goods. Shoppers should also check the address of the business. For example, if the seller is offering beauty products and the address either doesn't exist or goes back to a car repair shop, that's a red flag. The name of the business matters, too, said Kari Kammel, the director of the Center for Anti-Counterfeiting and Product Protection at Michigan State University. "For example, if you're buying toys online, and the seller is called, you know, cheap kitchen utensils shop, there's a discrepancy there, right?" she said. "So it can be a red flag." If it's not immediately obvious if the brand is selling the item, a quick Google search will typically reveal whether the marketplace seller is an authorized distributor of the product. Many brands publish information about resellers on their websites. When shopping for health and beauty items, the kinds of products that go in or on someone's body, consumers should only buy directly from the brand or one of its authorized distributors to make sure they are getting genuine products, experts said. "With any of these counterfeits, you're gambling, right? You may get one that doesn't cause any harm, but maybe it just won't last as long, if you're lucky," said Kammel. "On the flip side, you may get something that just totally fails in what would be a normal quality or safety inspection from a legitimate company, and can cause serious harm." Plenty of the stuff sold on online marketplaces is considered first party, meaning the platform owns and distributes the products themselves on a wholesale basis. If consumers see "sold and shipped by Amazon" or "sold and shipped by Walmart" they can feel comfortable purchasing the item, regardless of the category, experts said.
Question the price
When shopping on online marketplaces, consumers should keep in mind the old adage: "If it looks too good to be true, it probably is." If a shopper sees a luxury beauty cream that's being sold at a 91% discount from its typical retail price, as CNBC found during its investigation into Walmart's marketplace, that's a major red flag that the item could be counterfeit. "One of the strongest hooks to get people to buy these counterfeit products, of course, is price," said Saleem Alhabash, the associate director of research at Michigan State's Center for Anti-Counterfeiting and Product Protection. "Making it sound like it's too good of a deal to pass along." Sometimes, the products that third-party sellers are offering are discounted because they were purchased from liquidators or during a promotion directly from a retailer or brand. In those cases, the price reduction will usually be more modest and the item's cost will be closer to the typical selling price, experts said. Still, counterfeiters are getting more savvy and are using market data to price their products, Alhabash said. Sometimes, fake goods can be priced nearly identically to the typical selling cost, he said.
Packaging
When consumers buy from third-party sellers on online marketplaces and still aren't sure if they've purchased a legitimate item, the product's packaging can also offer clues once it arrives. "Take a second to just look at it and see if it looks right," said Kammel. "If they get it, and it's a product they've used before and they still have the old packaging of the product, just do a quick side by side."
A misspelling on a bottle of counterfeit Immuno 150 supplements purchased from Walmart.com. CNBC
Sometimes, packaging could look different because the manufacturer changed it. In other cases, red flags like typos on the box could indicate the product is counterfeit. If the brand hasn't changed the packaging, check to see if the design and size of the packaging is the same as what's sold in stores. When in doubt, consumers can always call the brand to make sure.
What to do if you buy a fake product
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Mastercard
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https://www.cnbc.com/video/2025/09/29/mastercardas-michelle-meyer-on-why-the-job-market-deserves-close-attention.html?&qsearchterm=Mastercard
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Mastercard’s Michelle Meyer on why the job market deserves close attention
| 2025-09-29T00:00:00
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Mastercard’s Michelle Meyer on why the job market deserves close attention
Michelle Meyer, chief economist at the Mastercard Economics Institute, joins CNBC's 'Money Movers' to discuss how consumers are faring amid uncertainty around tariffs, inflation, and labor markets.
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Mastercard
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/21/mastercard-is-testing-its-all-time-highs-and-on-the-verge-of-a-big-move-higher-charts-suggest.html?&qsearchterm=Mastercard
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Mastercard is testing its all-time highs and on the verge of a big move, charts suggest
| 2025-08-21T00:00:00
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After pulling back to an ascending 200-day moving average in mid-June, shares of Mastercard (MA) have resumed a strong uptrend phase. Having regained moving average resistance in recent weeks, MA is once again testing its all-time high around $595. With strong momentum readings and improving relative strength, this week's breakout could lead to much further highs for this global payments giant. The daily chart of Mastercard shows how quickly the stock recovered from its Q1 sell-off into the April low. By early May, the financial services leader had regained 100% of the downtrend phase. But after making a new all-time high into early June, the stock experienced a strong pullback to the 200-day moving average. A bullish engulfing pattern emerged as MA tested this long-term trend barometer, which also represented a 50% retracement of the April to June rally phase. Soon after this constructive candle pattern, Mastercard pushed up to set a new resistance level around $570. Over the last three weeks, MA has now powered above this resistance point to once again test the June high around $590. So, what gives us confidence that this latest upward thrust could be the beginning of a much broader advance? The RSI pushed above 60 this week as the price retested the previous all-time high, in a move that is similar to previous bullish phases. New swing highs in May 2025, August 2024, and November 2023 were all marked with a similar improvement in price momentum. Bearish periods have also shown very consistent patterns, with the RSI usually remaining below 60 on rallies and pushing below 30 on selloffs. The rotation that we've now observed, with the RSI rotating to a classic bullish range, gives further support to the thesis that this could be the beginning of a more significant uptrend phase for Mastercard. While the evidence certainly supports further improvement for Mastercard, a quick review of previous tops for this fintech innovator can help us identify potential warning signs of a downside reversal. Previous uptrends in Q2 2025, Q1 2025 and Q4 2024 have all ended with a classic bearish momentum divergence pattern. Strong upward moves on higher RSI readings reinforce the bullish technical configuration and suggest further gains. But a new swing high driven by weaker momentum readings represents waning support for advance, and usually means a major top is in the works. Given the improving momentum picture and accelerating relative strength profile, the current technical setup suggests a healthy breakout as long as MA pushes above $595 and holds that breakout level. And while an analysis of previous major tops can give us a decent checklist to identify upside exhaustion, the lack of warning signals for now suggests this could be just the beginning for this credit card powerhouse. -David Keller, CMT marketmisbehavior.com DISCLOSURES: None. All opinions expressed by the CNBC Pro contributors are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC, NBC UNIVERSAL, their parent company or affiliates, and may have been previously disseminated by them on television, radio, internet or another medium. THE ABOVE CONTENT IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY . THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSITUTE FINANCIAL, INVESTMENT, TAX OR LEGAL ADVICE OR A RECOMMENDATION TO BUY ANY SECURITY OR OTHER FINANCIAL ASSET. THE CONTENT IS GENERAL IN NATURE AND DOES NOT REFLECT ANY INDIVIDUAL'S UNIQUE PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES. THE ABOVE CONTENT MIGHT NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES. BEFORE MAKING ANY FINANCIAL DECISIONS, YOU SHOULD STRONGLY CONSIDER SEEKING ADVICE FROM YOUR OWN FINANCIAL OR INVESTMENT ADVISOR. Click here for the full disclaimer.
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Mastercard
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https://www.cnbc.com/video/2025/06/24/there-are-niche-opportunities-for-stablecoins-says-mastercard-ceo-michael-miebach.html?&qsearchterm=Mastercard
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There are niche opportunities for stablecoins, says Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach
| 2025-06-24T00:00:00
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There are niche opportunities for stablecoins, says Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach
Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach joins 'Mad Money' host Jim Cramer to talk Mastercards new stablecoin partnership with Fiserv.
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Mastercard
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https://www.cnbc.com/video/2025/06/24/mastercard-stock-jumps-as-it-links-fiservs-new-stablecoin-to-its-global-payments-network.html?&qsearchterm=Mastercard
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Mastercard stock jumps as it links Fiserv's new stablecoin to its global payments network
| 2025-06-24T00:00:00
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Mastercard stock jumps as it links Fiserv's new stablecoin to its global payments network
CNBC’s MacKenzie Sigalos reports on Mastercard’s stock jump after the company announced it will integrate Fiserv’s new stablecoin, FIUSD, into its global payments network — modernizing settlement while preserving its core business model.
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Mastercard
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https://www.cnbc.com/video/2025/07/25/disagree-with-stablecoin-disruption-thesis-for-visa-and-mastercard-says-mizuhos-dan-dolev.html?&qsearchterm=Mastercard
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Disagree with stablecoin disruption thesis for Visa and Mastercard, says Mizuho's Dan Dolev
| 2025-07-25T00:00:00
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Disagree with stablecoin disruption thesis for Visa and Mastercard, says Mizuho's Dan Dolev
Dan Dolev, Mizuho senior fintech analyst, joins 'Power Lunch' to discuss changes to the payment space with the passage of the GENIUS Act, stablecoin's use cases and much more.
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Mastercard
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https://www.cnbc.com/video/2025/05/15/moonpay-ceo-on-new-mastercard-stablecoin-card-cryptocurrency-wallets-will-be-embedded-everywhere.html?&qsearchterm=Mastercard
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MoonPay CEO on new Mastercard stablecoin card: Cryptocurrency wallets will be embedded everywhere
| 2025-05-15T00:00:00
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MoonPay CEO on new Mastercard stablecoin card: Cryptocurrency wallets will be embedded everywhere
MoonPay founder and CEO Ivan Soto-Wright joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss the company's partnership with Mastercard to launch a new stablecoin payment card, the future of stablecoins and crypto wallets, how the move will disrupt the traditional financial system, and more.
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Mastercard
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https://www.cnbc.com/video/2025/05/12/mastercards-michelle-meyer-consumers-are-still-spending-on-travel.html?&qsearchterm=Mastercard
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Mastercard's Michelle Meyer: Consumers are still spending on travel
| 2025-05-12T00:00:00
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Mastercard's Michelle Meyer: Consumers are still spending on travel
Michelle Meyer, Mastercard Economics Institute chief economist, joins CNBC's 'Power Lunch' to discuss outlooks on the consumer, travel trends, and more.
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Mastercard
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https://www.cnbc.com/select/visa-vs-mastercard/?&qsearchterm=Mastercard
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Visa vs. Mastercard: What are the differences?
| 2025-02-04T12:30:01
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What are Visa and Mastercard?
Visa and Mastercard are two of the four largest credit card networks globally, with the other two being American Express and Discover. Credit card networks make everything behind the scenes of a credit card payment possible by processing transactions between merchants and card issuers, such as banks and credit unions. While Visa and Mastercard don't issue credit cards, they provide the infrastructure that makes credit card payments seamless. Things like your card's credit limit, interest rates, annual fees and rewards programs are determined by your issuer, not Visa or Mastercard. Find the best credit card for you by reviewing offers in our credit card marketplace or get personalized offers via CardMatch™.
Visa vs. Mastercard benefits
While most credit card benefits come from the issuing bank, Visa and Mastercard also provide benefits tied to their respective networks. Many benefits are provided at the card issuer's discretion, so even if your card is in a specific Visa or Mastercard tier, you might not have the same benefits as other cards at the same level. Here are a few examples of Visa benefits and Mastercard benefits: Visa benefits Access to roadside dispatch: A 24/7 pay-per-use roadside assistance service that can arrange towing, locksmiths or jumpstarts for you.
A 24/7 pay-per-use roadside assistance service that can arrange towing, locksmiths or jumpstarts for you. Travel and emergency assistance services: Can help with emergencies while traveling, including medical referrals, prescription replacements and translation services.
Can help with emergencies while traveling, including medical referrals, prescription replacements and translation services. Return protection: Visa will reimburse you for eligible items worth up to $300 if a merchant refuses to accept a return. Mastercard benefits Mastercard ID theft protection: This service can help monitor the internet for leaked personal info, alert you of suspicious activity and help you track your Equifax credit score.
This service can help monitor the internet for leaked personal info, alert you of suspicious activity and help you track your Equifax credit score. Mastercard travel & lifestyle services: Enjoy luxury hotel perks, flight and car rental discounts and airport concierge services.
Enjoy luxury hotel perks, flight and car rental discounts and airport concierge services. World Elite Concierge: A 24/7 concierge service that can help with tasks like restaurant reservations, event tickets and locating lost luggage.
How are Visa and Mastercard similar?
As the two largest credit card networks, Visa and Mastercard share many key features, making them nearly interchangeable for most consumers: Global acceptance : Visa cards are accepted in over 200 countries, while Mastercards are accepted in over 210 countries. You'll rarely encounter a merchant that takes one card but not the other.
: Visa cards are accepted in over 200 countries, while Mastercards are accepted in over 210 countries. You'll rarely encounter a merchant that takes one card but not the other. Zero liability protection : All Visa and Mastercards protect you from unauthorized charges, ensuring you're not held responsible for unauthorized charges.
: All Visa and Mastercards protect you from unauthorized charges, ensuring you're not held responsible for unauthorized charges. No direct issuance : Neither Visa nor Mastercard issues credit cards directly. Instead, they work with financial institutions to offer cards on their networks.
: Neither Visa nor Mastercard issues credit cards directly. Instead, they work with financial institutions to offer cards on their networks. Varying card tiers: Both networks offer several card tiers with varying benefits to suit different needs.
How are Visa and Mastercard different?
The differences between Visa and Mastercard credit cards are relatively minor. Overall, Visa cards generally offer slightly stronger travel-related benefits and protections, while Mastercards may unlock access to more discounts and exclusive experiences. Visa has three primary card tiers: Visa Traditional: Includes basic benefits like roadside assistance, emergency cash disbursement and emergency card replacement.
Includes basic benefits like roadside assistance, emergency cash disbursement and emergency card replacement. Visa Signature: Expands access to a wider range of benefits and protections, including extended warranty protection, trip delay protection and Global Entry statement credits.
Expands access to a wider range of benefits and protections, including extended warranty protection, trip delay protection and Global Entry statement credits. Visa Infinite: Offers the highest levels of protection and premium perks like airport lounge access and airline incidentals statement credit. Mastercard credit cards also come in three tiers: Standard Mastercard: Access to limited benefits like zero fraud liability and ID theft protection.
Access to limited benefits like zero fraud liability and ID theft protection. World Mastercard: Adds cell phone protection and special discounts with partner brands like Booking.com, ResortPass and Lyft.
Adds cell phone protection and special discounts with partner brands like Booking.com, ResortPass and Lyft. World Elite Mastercard: Features premium benefits like access to the World Elite concierge and a higher level of cell phone protection. Ultimately, the biggest differences depend more on the issuing bank than the network. The card issuers determine factors like your interest rate and credit limit and which credit card network benefits they will support.
Should I get a Visa or a Mastercard?
The differences between Visa and Mastercard are pretty slim. Instead of focusing on the network, pay attention to the issuing bank, the card's perks and how they align with your spending habits. Here are some standout options from both networks: Visa Cards When it comes to options for Visa cards, the Chase Freedom Unlimited® stands out for offering generous rewards rates on common everyday spending categories and no annual fee (see rates and fees).
Chase Freedom Unlimited® CNBC Select Rating 5.0 Learn More On Chase's site CNBC Select Rating 5.0 Learn More On Chase's site Spotlight New cardholders receive a 0% intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers. Credit score Good to Excellent 670–850 Regular APR 18.99% - 28.49% variable Annual fee $0 Welcome bonus Earn $200 cash back See rates and fees. Terms apply. Member FDIC. Read our Chase Freedom Unlimited® review. Our expert take The Chase Freedom Unlimited® is a no-annual-fee card that earns generous cash-back on everyday purchases and a lucrative welcome bonus. Pros & cons Valuable welcome bonus and high rewards rates
Long intro APR for purchases and balance transfers
No annual fee Has a foreign transaction fee
Few rewarding ongoing benefits More details Highlights Intro Offer: Earn a $200 Bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening
Enjoy 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel SM , our premier rewards program that lets you redeem rewards for cash back, travel, gift cards and more; 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and 1.5% on all other purchases.
, our premier rewards program that lets you redeem rewards for cash back, travel, gift cards and more; 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and 1.5% on all other purchases. No minimum to redeem for cash back. You can choose to receive a statement credit or direct deposit into most U.S. checking and savings accounts. Cash Back rewards do not expire as long as your account is open!
Enjoy 0% Intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers, then a variable APR of 18.99% - 28.49%.
No annual fee – You won't have to pay an annual fee for all the great features that come with your Freedom Unlimited ® card
card Keep tabs on your credit health, Chase Credit Journey helps you monitor your credit with free access to your latest score, alerts, and more.
Member FDIC Balance transfer fee Intro fee of either $5 or 3% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater, in the first 60 days. After that, either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater. Foreign transaction fee 3% of each transaction in U.S. dollars
The Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card is another Visa card worth considering if you don't want to deal with tracking bonus categories and prefer earning a flat reward rate across purchases. Best suited for credit scores of 670 or higher, the card also offers a valuable welcome bonus and introductory APR offer.
Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card CNBC Select Rating 5.0 Learn More On Wells Fargo's site CNBC Select Rating 5.0 Learn More On Wells Fargo's site Credit score Good to Excellent 670–850 Regular APR 18.99%, 23.99%, or 28.99% Variable APR Annual fee $0 Welcome bonus Earn a $200 cash rewards bonus See rates and fees. Terms apply. Our expert take The Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card is great if you want simplicity thanks to its flat-rate 2% unlimited cash rewards on purchases and $0 annual fee. Pros & cons High flat-rate return on purchases
Intro-APR for purchases and qualifying balance transfers for a year
No annual fee
Cell phone protection Has a foreign transaction fee
Limited redemption options unless you pair it with a Wells Fargo card that allows point transfers More details Highlights Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff. Apply Now to take advantage of this offer and learn more about product features, terms and conditions.
Earn a $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months.
Earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases.
0% intro APR for 12 months from account opening on purchases and qualifying balance transfers. 18.99%, 23.99%, or 28.99% variable APR thereafter; balance transfers made within 120 days qualify for the intro rate and fee of 3% then a BT fee of up to 5%, min: $5
$0 annual fee.
No categories to track or remember and cash rewards don't expire as long as your account remains open.
Find tickets to top sports and entertainment events, book travel, make dinner reservations and more with your complimentary 24/7 Visa Signature® Concierge.
Up to $600 of cell phone protection against damage or theft. Subject to a $25 deductible. Balance Transfer Fee Intro balance transfer fee of 3% for 120 days from account opening, then up to 5%, min: $5 Foreign Transaction Fee 3%
Mastercards On the Mastercard side, the Citi Double Cash® Card is a great cash-back card earning an unlimited 2% on all purchases (1% back when you buy and 1% back when you pay). The card also has a $0 annual fee, which can help keep additional costs down.
Citi Double Cash® Card CNBC Select Rating 5.0 Learn More On Citi's site
CNBC Select Rating 5.0 Learn More On Citi's site
Spotlight Receive a 0% intro APR for 18 months on balance transfers. Credit score Good to Excellent 670–850 Regular APR 17.99% - 27.99% variable Annual fee $0 Welcome bonus Earn $200 cash back See rates and fees, terms apply. Read our Citi Double Cash® Card review. Our expert take The Citi Double Cash® Card is one of the best no-annual-fee cash-back cards thanks to its straightforward rewards structure. Pros & cons Long intro-APR for balance transfers
High flat-rate cash-back rewards structure
No annual fee Has a foreign transaction fee
Intro APR doesn't apply to purchases More details Highlights Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff. Earn $200 cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.
Earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases. To earn cash back, pay at least the minimum due on time. Plus, earn 5% total cash back on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked with Citi Travel.
Balance Transfer Only Offer: 0% intro APR on Balance Transfers for 18 months. After that, the variable APR will be 17.99% - 27.99%, based on your creditworthiness.
Balance Transfers do not earn cash back. Intro APR does not apply to purchases.
If you transfer a balance, interest will be charged on your purchases unless you pay your entire balance (including balance transfers) by the due date each month.
There is an intro balance transfer fee of 3% of each transfer (minimum $5) completed within the first 4 months of account opening. After that, your fee will be 5% of each transfer (minimum $5). Balance transfer fee There is an intro balance transfer fee of 3% of each transfer (minimum $5) completed within the first 4 months of account opening. A balance transfer fee of 5% of each transfer ($5 minimum) applies if completed after 4 months of account opening. Foreign transaction fee 3%
Consider the Capital One Platinum Credit Card if you're building or rebuilding your credit. While the card doesn't offer any rewards program, it has no annual or foreign transaction fees, and, after just six months, Capital One will review your account will automatically be reviewed for a higher credit line or an upgrade to a rewards card.
Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card CNBC Select Rating 4.0 Learn More CNBC Select Rating 4.0 Learn More Credit score N/A Regular APR 29.49% variable Annual fee $0 Welcome bonus None Terms apply. Read our Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card review. Our expert take The Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card can help you build, or rebuild, your credit because you can be approved with no credit or bad credit. Pros & cons No annual fee
Low minimum refundable security deposit starting at $49 to get a $200 initial credit line No rewards on purchases
No welcome offer
High APR More details Highlights Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff. No annual or hidden fees. See if you're approved in seconds
Building your credit? Using the Capital One Platinum Secured card responsibly could help
Put down a refundable security deposit starting at $49 to get at least a $200 initial credit line
You could earn back your security deposit as a statement credit when you use your card responsibly, like making payments on time
Be automatically considered for a higher credit line in as little as 6 months with no additional deposit needed
Enjoy peace of mind with $0 Fraud Liability so that you won't be responsible for unauthorized charges
Monitor your credit score with CreditWise from Capital One. It's free for everyone
Get access to your account 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with online banking to access your account from your desktop or smartphone, with Capital One's mobile app Balance transfer fee $0 at the Transfer APR, 4% of the amount of each transferred balance that posts to your account at a promotional APR that Capital One may offer to you
FAQs Is it better to pay with Visa or Mastercard? Since both cards are widely accepted, whether it's better to pay with a Visa or Mastercard depends on your specific card's features and the type of purchase you are making. What are the four major credit card networks? The four major credit card networks are Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover. Why doesn't Costco accept Mastercard? Costco and Visa entered an exclusive partnership in 2016, so only Visa cards are accepted at U.S. Costco warehouse locations.
Subscribe to the CNBC Select Newsletter! Money matters — so make the most of it. Get expert tips, strategies, news and everything else you need to maximize your money, right to your inbox. Sign up here.
Why trust CNBC Select?
At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every credit card story is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of credit products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics. Catch up on CNBC Select's in-depth coverage of credit cards, banking and money, and follow us on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to stay up to date.
Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.
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Mastercard
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https://www.cnbc.com/select/choice-rewards-world-mastercard-review-2025/?&qsearchterm=Mastercard
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Choice Rewards World Mastercard review: A no-annual-fee rewards credit card
| 2025-03-18T16:12:40
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The First Tech Federal Credit Union Choice Rewards World Mastercard® is an unusually low-cost credit card that earns above-average rewards on everyday purchases. Plus, it offers a low APR and no balance transfer fee. It's a good card, especially if you aren't interested in managing a more complex rewards system, but the tradeoff is that the Choice Rewards lacks some of the "wow" factor, like an intro APR period, seen with the best rewards cards. Below, CNBC Select details the benefits, rewards and fees of the Choice Rewards card to help you decide if it's right for you.
Choice Rewards World Mastercard® Learn More On First Tech Federal Credit Union's site Rewards Earn 2X points on groceries, gas, electronics, medical, household goods and telecommunications, 1X points on all other purchases
Welcome bonus Earn 20,000 points when you spend $3,000 in the first 60 days from account opening
Annual fee $0
Intro APR None
Regular APR 12.50% - 18.00% variable
Balance transfer fee None
Foreign transaction fee None
Credit needed N/A Terms apply. Pros Low APR
No annual fee
Popular 2X rewards categories Cons Below average amount of time to earn the card's welcome bonus
No option to transfer points to travel programs Learn More View More
Welcome bonus
The Choice Rewards World Mastercard® comes with the opportunity to earn 20,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 in the first 60 days of opening your account. This bonus is worth $200, which isn't as valuable as many of the best welcome bonuses. You also only have 60 days to meet the minimum spending requirement, which is shorter than what many other rewards credit cards require.
Benefits and perks
There are a handful of Mastercard benefits you can take advantage of with the Choice Rewards World Mastercard®. You won't have access to ongoing statement credit offers, but you can benefit from this card's travel and shopping protections, including: Purchase assurance
ID theft protection
Lost and damaged luggage coverage
Trip cancellation coverage
Travel accident insurance
Baggage delay insurance
MasterRental coverage
Mastercard travel and lifestyle services
Travel assistance services
How to earn and redeem points
Earning The Choice Rewards World Mastercard® earns rewards at the following rates: 2X points on everyday purchases, including gas, groceries, household goods and more
1X points on all other eligible purchases Redeeming First Tech Credit Union doesn't publish the value of its points, and when reached for comment, a representative said it was the credit union's policy not to disclose this information. It advertises on its website that the 20,000-point welcome bonus is worth $200, so you should get at least one cent per point for certain redemption categories (though we can't confirm which ones). Here are all of the card's points redemption categories: Charitable donations
Travel
Experiences
Concerts and sporting events
Gift cards
Merchandise
Cash back
Rates and fees
The Choice Rewards World Mastercard® has no annual fee, no foreign transaction fees, no cash advance fee and no balance transfer fee. Late payments and returned payments incur a fee of up to $25. Find the best credit card for you by reviewing offers in our credit card marketplace or get personalized offers via CardMatch™.
Card comparison
Choice Rewards World Mastercard® vs.
Wells Fargo Reflect® Card
Wells Fargo Reflect® Card CNBC Select Rating 4.3 Learn More On Wells Fargo's site CNBC Select Rating 4.3 Learn More On Wells Fargo's site Spotlight This card offers one of the longest introductory APR periods for purchases and qualifying balance transfers. Credit score Good to Excellent 670–850 Regular APR 16.99%, 23.49%, or 28.74% Variable APR Annual fee $0 Welcome bonus None See rates and fees. Terms apply. Our expert take The Wells Fargo Reflect® Card can help you save on interest charges thanks to its extra generous intro-APR offer on purchases and balance transfers. Pros & cons Best-in-class intro-APR for purchases and qualifying balance transfers
No annual fee
Cell phone insurance: up to $600 of cell phone protection against damage or theft. Subject to a $25 deductible No rewards
No welcome bonus
High balance transfer fee More details Highlights Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff. Apply Now to take advantage of this offer and learn more about product features, terms and conditions.
0% intro APR for 21 months from account opening on purchases and qualifying balance transfers. 16.99%, 23.49%, or 28.74% variable APR thereafter; balance transfers made within 120 days qualify for the intro rate, BT fee of 5%, min: $5.
$0 annual fee.
Up to $600 of cell phone protection against damage or theft. Subject to a $25 deductible.
Through My Wells Fargo Deals, you can get access to personalized deals from a variety of merchants. It's an easy way to earn cash back as an account credit when you shop, dine, or enjoy an experience simply by using an eligible Wells Fargo credit card. Balance transfer fee 5%, min: $5 Foreign transaction fee 3%
The Wells Fargo Reflect® Card is one of the best intro APR credit cards on the market, and it can be a better option for saving on interest than the Choice Rewards card, despite its balance transfer fee and lack of rewards. That's because the lengthy 21 month 0% APR intro period of the Wells Fargo Reflect means that you won't pay any interest on a qualifying balance transferred from account opening (then a variable 16.99%, 23.49%, or 28.74% APR applies). If that transferred balance is large enough (or charges a high rate of interest), the money you save during that period can more than offset the Wells Fargo Reflects' balance transfer fee. For balance transfers, there is an intro balance transfer fee of 3% for 120 days from account opening, then up to 5%, min: $5. Choice Rewards World Mastercard® vs. Citi Double Cash® Card
Citi Double Cash® Card CNBC Select Rating 5.0 Learn More On Citi's site
CNBC Select Rating 5.0 Learn More On Citi's site
Spotlight Receive a 0% intro APR for 18 months on balance transfers. Credit score Good to Excellent 670–850 Regular APR 17.99% - 27.99% variable Annual fee $0 Welcome bonus Earn $200 cash back See rates and fees, terms apply. Read our Citi Double Cash® Card review. Our expert take The Citi Double Cash® Card is one of the best no-annual-fee cash-back cards thanks to its straightforward rewards structure. Pros & cons Long intro-APR for balance transfers
High flat-rate cash-back rewards structure
No annual fee Has a foreign transaction fee
Intro APR doesn't apply to purchases More details Highlights Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff. Earn $200 cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.
Earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases. To earn cash back, pay at least the minimum due on time. Plus, earn 5% total cash back on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked with Citi Travel.
Balance Transfer Only Offer: 0% intro APR on Balance Transfers for 18 months. After that, the variable APR will be 17.99% - 27.99%, based on your creditworthiness.
Balance Transfers do not earn cash back. Intro APR does not apply to purchases.
If you transfer a balance, interest will be charged on your purchases unless you pay your entire balance (including balance transfers) by the due date each month.
There is an intro balance transfer fee of 3% of each transfer (minimum $5) completed within the first 4 months of account opening. After that, your fee will be 5% of each transfer (minimum $5). Balance transfer fee There is an intro balance transfer fee of 3% of each transfer (minimum $5) completed within the first 4 months of account opening. A balance transfer fee of 5% of each transfer ($5 minimum) applies if completed after 4 months of account opening. Foreign transaction fee 3%
The Citi Double Cash® Card is one of the top no-annual-fee cash-back credit cards because it earns at least 2% back on every purchase (1% when you buy and 1% when you pay your balance). That gives it an edge over the Choice Rewards, which earns 2X points on many — but not all — purchases. The Citi Double Cash's reasonable intro balance transfer fee, generous intro-APR offer and great flat-rate rewards can make it a great card if you're looking for simplicity and value. Learn more: Citi Double Cash Card review Maximize your money with the right savings account
Is the Choice Rewards World Mastercard right for you?
There's a lot to like about the Choice Rewards World Mastercard®. It has a low APR (for a credit card), no annual fee and no balance transfer fee. You can also earn rewards on everyday purchases. In many ways, you can't go wrong with this card. However, when you compare it to other no-annual-fee credit cards, its rewards and benefits don't stand out. Many credit cards offer 2% in rewards on every purchase (not just in limited categories) or provide lengthy intro APRs to save on interest.
Subscribe to the CNBC Select Newsletter! Money matters — so make the most of it. Get expert tips, strategies, news and everything else you need to maximize your money, right to your inbox. Sign up here.
Why trust CNBC Select?
At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every credit card review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of credit card products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics. Catch up on CNBC Select's in-depth coverage of credit cards, banking and money, and follow us on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to stay up to date.
Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.
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Mastercard
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https://www.cnbc.com/video/2025/03/28/mastercard-economics-instituteas-michelle-meyer-on-the-state-of-the-consumer.html?&qsearchterm=Mastercard
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Mastercard Economics Institute's Michelle Meyer on the state of the consumer
| 2025-03-28T00:00:00
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Mastercard Economics Institute's Michelle Meyer on the state of the consumer
Michelle Meyer, chief economist at Mastercard Economics Institute, joins 'Money Movers' to discuss the latest inflation data, the state of the consumer, and more.
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Netflix
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https://www.cnbc.com/video/2025/10/01/final-trades-netflix-apple-and-the-xar.html?&qsearchterm=Netflix
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Final Trades: Netflix, Apple and the XAR
| 2025-10-01T00:00:00
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Netflix
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https://www.cnbc.com/video/2025/09/23/netflixs-next-growth-catalyst-is-a-ramp-on-ad-revenue-and-more-live-events-evercores-mark-mahaney.html?&qsearchterm=Netflix
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Netflix's next growth catalyst is a ramp on ad revenue and more live events: Evercore's Mark Mahaney
| 2025-09-23T00:00:00
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Netflix's next growth catalyst is a ramp on ad revenue and more live events: Evercore's Mark Mahaney
Mark Mahaney, Evercore ISI head of internet research, joins 'Closing Bell' to discuss Mahaney's thoughts on Netflix, if churn will pickup among the streaming stocks and much more.
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Netflix
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/17/loop-capital-upgrades-netflix-says-media-giant-has-won-the-streaming-wars.html?&qsearchterm=Netflix
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Loop Capital upgrades Netflix, says media giant has 'won the streaming wars'
| 2025-09-17T00:00:00
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Loop Capital is becoming very bullish on Netflix . The investment firm upgraded shares of the streaming giant to a buy rating from hold. Analyst Alan Gould accompanied the move by raising his price target to $1,350 per share from $1,150. Gould's revised forecast implies another 12% upside for the stock, which has surged 35% this year. Gould pointed to a strong fundamental backdrop for Netflix, admitting that his prior downgrade of the stock was a mistake. NFLX YTD mountain NFLX YTD chart "We are upgrading our rating back to Buy based on exceptional 3Q engagement, a strong 4Q content slate, higher long-term margin assumptions as each dollar of content is generating more revenue, which leads to higher earnings and free cash flow," he wrote. "Our NFLX downgrade in mid-December with the stock in the low $900s was wrong, but after a strong first half, the stock has tread water the past quarter. At the time of our downgrade management was guiding to 11-13% revenue growth in 2025; it is now 16-17%." The analyst credited titles such as the third "Squid Game" season, the second "Wednesday" season and "KPop Demon Hunters" for increasing Netflix's engagement. Gould also raised his third-quarter estimates and expects management to raise its full-year revenue guidance. The company has a track record of exceeding its revenue guidance around 75% of the time. Gould also highlighted Netflix's dominant position as an entertainment giant, even amid stiff competition. The analyst believes investors are "overly concerned" with potential rivals. "NFLX's has won the streaming wars, and even with stronger competition from David Ellison's PSKY or PSKY/WBD, we believe NFLX has the global customer and content scale, technological advantage and cash flow to maintain its growth and dominance," he wrote. "NFLX's is trending towards a record share of U.S. TV consumption for the platform in 3Q. The U.S. is over 40% of total revenue and NFLX's total revenue has historically been strongly correlated with its U.S. share of TV consumption." Netflix shares rose more than 1% in the premarket following the upgrade. Most analysts are bullish on Netflix . Of the 50 who cover the stock, 35 rate it a buy or strong buy, according to LSEG. ( Learn the best 2026 strategies from inside the NYSE with Josh Brown and others at CNBC PRO Live. Tickets and info here . )
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Netflix
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/22/mondays-big-analyst-calls-nvidia-apple-netflix-nike-gm-more.html?&qsearchterm=Netflix
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Here are Monday's biggest analyst calls: Nvidia, Apple, Netflix, Tesla, Meta, Amazon, Nike, Micron, GM and more
| 2025-09-22T00:00:00
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Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Monday: Evercore ISI reiterates Netflix as outperform Evercore ISI says the company is firing on all cylinders, reflected in U.S. and Mexico survey results showing "resilience on core satisfaction and global content leadership." "We continue to see Netflix as the strongest financial and competitive franchise in streaming, with Live Events and Advertising revenue serving as long-term, material new growth vectors." Wedbush reiterates Apple as outperform Wedbush raises its price target on Apple , citing strong iPhone 17 demand. "We are raising our price target to $310 from $270 based on the early strong demand signs coming out of the iPhone 17 cycle. With iPhone 17 officially going on sale over the weekend we are positively surprised on the demand trajectory with units that now appear to be tracking 10%-15% ahead of iPhone 16 thus far." Read more. Piper Sandler upgrades Steven Madden to overweight from neutral Piper Sandler says it sees a "recovery ahead of peers" for the shoe company. "We upgrade SHOO to Overweight with a $40 PT." Morgan Stanley upgrades ASML to overweight from equal weight The investment bank sees "early signs of improvement" for the semiconductor equipment company. "Since peaking last year (Jul'24), earnings forecasts have been revised significantly downwards for ASML , as is typical in a downcycle, with a marked effect on the share price (down 45% peak to trough)." Baird adds a fresh pick on Nike Baird says Nike is a turnaround story. "While an outright positive inflection in marketplace sales will be the last piece to the story, with shares pulling in since late August, forward EPS likely having bottomed, and calendar-2026 macro conditions potentially improving, we like the risk/reward." Jefferies initiates Iron Mountain as buy Jefferies says it is bullish on shares of the technology infrastructure storage company. "Iron Mountain has undergone a strategic transformation, accelerating growth across data centers, digital solutions, and asset lifecycle management." Bernstein reiterates Nvidia as buy Bernstein says it is sticking with shares of Nvidia. "The datacenter opportunity is enormous, and still early, with material upside still possible." Barclays reiterates Meta Platforms as overweight Barclays says it is bullish on Meta's ad business opportunity. "We see up to $6B and $19B of incremental ad revenue from WhatsApp and Threads in '26 and '27, respectively." Bank of America reiterates Amazon as buy Bank of America says it continues to be bullish on Amazon's move into the grocery business. "Amazon's entry into grocery has been slow with setbacks over the years, but has made progress YTD with a reorganization [of] Whole Foods in June, the nationwide launch of perishable delivery in August and now ramping up local grocery partners." Jefferies initiates Grid Dynamics at buy Jefferies says the digital IT services company is well positioned. "We initiate on GDYN, a digital engineering focused IT Services firm, with a Buy rating and an $11 price target." Citi initiates Ryder System at buy Citi says shares of the logistical transportation company have more room to run. " R is a business model transformation story that still has runway for further traction with investors." Wells Fargo raises Brinker International to overweight from equal weight Wells Fargo says in its upgrade of Brinker that investors should buy the dip in the owner of Chili's and other restaurant brands. "Shares are -13% post-FQ4 as hard compares loom & NT data expectedly slowed. But: 1) EAT's FY26 comp/EPS guide looks beatable and Mgmt exuded confidence in '26 momentum levers (Ribs, mktg, queso relaunch, ops/tech, etc.)." Barclays upgrades Helmerich & Payne to overweight from equal weight Barclays says the onshore energy company is compelling. "Upgrading HP to OW, raising PT to $25 (from $17 currently) representing ~22% upside potential from current levels." BMO upgrades Xcel Energy to outperform from market perform BMO says shares of the energy company have plenty more room to run. "We are upgrading shares of XEL to Outperform from Market Perform." Wells Fargo initiates Guardant Health at overweight Wells Fargo says it likes the health company's "oncology-focused strategy." "We initiate on GH at Overweight, $72 PT." Piper Sandler reiterates Tesla as overweight Piper Sandler raises its price target on the stock to $500 per share from $400. "We are boosting our price target to $500, following a trip to China. After meeting with Chinese EV makers, we can see why Elon Musk respects these 'fast followers' so much. Indeed, vertically-integrated Chinese OEMs may be Tesla's #1 competitive threat. But when it comes to 'real world' A.I., these companies look to Tesla for guidance – not the other way around." Morgan Stanley upgrades Applied Materials to overweight from equal weight The bank says shares of Applied Materials are compelling. " AMAT currently trades at a 25% discount to [Lam Research] vs 10% average since 2023, and our new PT implies a 15% discount." Morgan Stanley reiterates Micron Technology as equal weight Morgan Stanley raises its price target to $160 per share from $135. "Micron - as highlighted in our FAQ last week, and by our global team in an insight published on Sunday, conditions in most flavors of DRAM have improved." UBS upgrades FactSet to buy from neutral The bank says investors should buy the dip in shares of the capital market system company. "We are upgrading FDS to Buy from Neutral following the recent sell-off. We believe FDS (and the info services sector as a whole) has gotten caught up in a negative AI disruption theme, which has weighed on multiples." Raymond James cuts Lennar to underperform from market perform The firm says the homebuilder's turnaround is taking longer than expected. "We are downgrading our rating on LEN to Underperform (from Market Perform) following our review of Friday's 3Q25 results and reduced forward guidance, which in our view, acknowledges that Lennar's volume-based operating strategy is overdue for a re-calibration." Bank of America reiterates Caterpillar as buy Bank of America raises its price target on the stock to $517 per share from $495. " CAT is a global powerhouse in mining, construction, oil and gas, rail, and power systems equipment." Citigroup reiterates General Motors as buy Citi raises its price target to $75 per share from $61. " GM has the most leverage to positive trade agreements of any stock in our coverage universe." Bank of America initiates Aura Minerals at buy Bank of America says it is bullish on shares of the gold miner. "We initiate coverage of gold miner Aura Minerals (AUGO) with a Buy rating and $40 per share price objective (PO), implying upside of ~25%." BMO upgrades Sarepta to outperform from market perform BMO says the company's muscular dystrophy drugs are promising. "We believe Sarepta is uniquely positioned to leverage its [Duchenne muscular dystrophy] expertise and market leadership to drive long-term uptake of Elevidys and its [Phosphorodiamidate Morpholino Oligomer] franchise." Truist reiterates Alphabet as buy The bank raises its price target to $285 per share from $225. "We remain constructive on GOOGL as we believe the company continues to dominate the Search market at 90%+ even as new Gen-AI platforms are growing users & usage."
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Netflix
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/17/stocks-making-the-biggest-moves-premarket-nvda-baba-wday-nflx.html?&qsearchterm=Netflix
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Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: Nvidia, Alibaba, Workday, Netflix and more
| 2025-09-17T00:00:00
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Check out the companies making headlines before the bell: Nvidia — The artificial intelligence chip darling dropped more than 1% after a report by the Financial Times , which cited three people with knowledge of the matter, said China's internet regulator has banned the biggest tech companies in the country from buying Nvidia's AI chips. Shares of chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices also fell more than 1% in sympathy following the report. Alibaba — U.S.-listed shares of the Chinese e-commerce giant gained 2.3% after Chinese state media reported that the company won a major customer, China Unicom, for its artificial intelligence chips. Baidu — The Chinese tech company surged nearly 8%. The move comes on the heels of Arete Research Services upgrading Baidu's American depositary receipts to buy from sell , citing a positive outlook for its AI chip and cloud-computing revenue. Cytokinetics — The stock rose more than 1%. On Tuesday, the biopharmaceutical company announced plans to offer $650 million in convertible senior notes due in 2031. Workday — Shares of the human resources software provider advanced more than 8% after activist investor Elliott Management disclosed a $2 billion stake in the company. Netflix — The streaming giant moved 1.2% higher on the back of an upgrade to buy from hold at Loop Capital. The firm said Netflix has won the streaming wars with its strong content and has higher longer-term margin assumptions as its content generates more revenue. Zillow Group — The stock climbed nearly 3% after Bernstein upgraded it to outperform from market perform. The firm said it has been "warming up" to its fundamental story and cited the company's recent execution on revenue growth as a factor. Tesla — Shares of the electric vehicle maker fell more than 1%, reversing course from the rise it saw in the previous trading day. Tuesday's move higher marked the stock's sixth straight day of gains. General Mills — The food company fell 3% after General Mills reported lackluster fiscal first-quarter results. Earnings came in above expectations but organic sales growth was about in line with expectations. — CNBC's Sarah Min and Michelle Fox Theobald contributed reporting.
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Netflix
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/17/stocks-wednesday-by-analyst-calls-like-nvidia.html?&qsearchterm=Netflix
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Here are Wednesday's biggest analyst calls: Nvidia, Apple, Netflix, Nike, Disney, Micron, Walmart, Zillow, FedEx and more
| 2025-09-17T00:00:00
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Here are Wednesday's biggest calls on Wall Street: Loop upgrades Netflix to buy from hold Loop said it sees "strong near-term engagement" for the Netflix. "We are upgrading our rating back to Buy based on exceptional 3Q engagement, a strong 4Q content slate, higher long-term margin assumptions as each dollar of content is generating more revenue, which leads to higher earnings and free cash flow." Read more. BMO downgrades Progressive to market perform from outperform The firm said it is concerned about a declining revenue trend for the insurance company. "While shares are indeed inexpensive to the tune of -21% vs. the S & P 500 when assuming a profit margin that's more "normal/less good" as competition increases; we feel less comfortable that the current declining revenue revision trendline will improve." Morgan Stanley reiterates Apple as overweight Morgan Stanley said its checks show that trends are mixed for Apple's iPhone 17 lead times. "iPhone 17 lead times are tracking in-line to higher Y/Y, but early iPhone supply is better Y/Y, meaning early iPhone 17 demand is likely up Y/Y." Daiwa reiterates Nvidia as outperform Daiwa raised its price target on the stock to $205 per share from $165, and says Nvidia is "undervalued." "NVIDIA keeps marching forward carrying on its broad shoulders the AI mantra. CEO Jensen Huang's is traveling the world, and having success, supporting this effort." Citi reiterates McDonald's as buy Citi raised its price target on the stock to $381 per share from $373. "However, we see the story gaining steam into '26 as MCD leans into its next round of multi-year growth drivers (beverages, particularly energy, a remodel cycle, accelerating unit growth), while accelerating share losses at peers/the risk of the negative franchisee feedback loop take hold and offer MCD dollars to potentially vacuum up." Read more. Piper Sandler upgrades Ormat Technologies to overweight from neutral Piper Sandler said it is getting more constructive on shares of the renewable geothermal energy company. "While we have been following Ormat for a couple of years, in our 2024 initiation we described the company as an established geothermal player who is well-positioned to benefit from renewed industry focus, which could be set for a shale-like revolution supported by the oil and gas market." Guggenheim upgrades Workday to buy from hold Guggenheim said the HR enterprise systems software company is well positioned. "We believe WDAY is a better positioned company today than it was a few years ago. While the macro backdrop is not ideal for WDAY' s core business of large, multi-year, multi-million-dollar projects, the company has made several improvements." Roth upgrades Kroger to buy from neutral Roth said it sees "performance improvement" for the grocery company. "With a pressured consumer, we believe Kroger will enjoy channel tailwinds and see a return to unit volume growth. On better volumes, more inflation, and cost savings, Kroger results should continue to surprise to the upside." Wolfe upgrades MasTec to outperform from peer perform Wolfe said the engineering company is a data center beneficiary. "We see a favorable setup fo r MTZ as we near an inflection in gas infra. Data center growth and utility capex remain tailwinds." Wolfe reiterates Micron as outperform Wolfe raised its price target on Micron to $180 per share from $160. "The outlook in commodity memory continues to improve with multiple AI tailwinds." Bernstein reiterates Disney as outperform The firm said Disney needs to provide more content for local markets internationally. "Disney+ penetration in international markets remains low, typically below 20% in key developed markets, some under 10%. This represents an opportunity for Disney to continue expanding, but it'll require deliberate content investments aligned with each market, much like Netflix's approach for years." Evercore ISI downgrades FedEx to in line from outperform Evercore ISI said it sees "demand headwinds" for FedEx. "We are downgrading FDX to In Line (from Outperform) and lowering our price target to $243 (from $249) owing to ongoing demand headwinds that are likely to provide greater risk to near-term EPS estimates." Bernstein upgrades Zillow to outperform from market perform Bernstein said the online housing company is compelling. "We have been warming up to the fundamental story on Zillow, held back more so by timing and valuation." Bank of America reiterates Walmart as buy Bank of America raised its price target to $125 per share from $120. "We expect WMT's value & convenience to continue resonating esp. as online pricing is the same as in-store." Read more . Berenberg upgrades AbbVie to buy from hold Berenberg said the biopharma company has a "winning" formula. "With high single digit growth intact, top tier R & D returns and strong cash flow, AbbVie warrants a premium valuation, in our view. We upgrade to Buy with a price target of USD270, offering 25% upside." Berenberg downgrades Eli Lilly to hold from buy The firm said the obesity market has "plateaued." "While we expect Lilly to remain in the obesity driving seat, we conclude the obesity market upgrade cycle has plateaued and consensus expectations for Lilly's franchise are high." Bank of America reiterates Nike as buy Bank of America said it is sticking with Nike ahead of earnings later this month. "A message of improving sales trends coupled with commentary that inventory is healthy in the channel and on track to be clean by the end of 1H would confirm our view that the recovery is progressing; reiterate Buy." ( Learn the best 2026 strategies from inside the NYSE with Josh Brown and others at CNBC PRO Live. Tickets and info here .)
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Netflix
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/15/a-covered-call-options-strategy-for-investors-betting-on-future-netflix-gains.html?&qsearchterm=Netflix
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A 'covered call' options strategy for investors betting on future Netflix gains — while mitigating risk
| 2025-09-15T00:00:00
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A buy-write strategy, also referred to as a covered call, is an options trading approach in which an investor simultaneously purchases shares of an underlying stock and sells a call option on those same shares. This strategy is designed to generate "income" by collecting options premiums received from selling call options, while the owned shares serve as collateral, thereby limiting the risk associated with the short call position. The strategy is moderately bullish. It involves buying/owning the underlying shares. If one owns an asset, any rational investor would want the value of that asset to rise. But, by selling an upside call option, the investor will be obligated to sell the shares at the strike price if holders of those calls exercise them. So if an investor is bearish on an asset, a buy-write or covered call isn't suitable. If an investor is wildly bullish on an asset, anticipates a large, sharp upward price movement in the near term, and seeks substantial capital gains, a buy-write or covered call may be a profitable strategy. However, it would likely be a suboptimal approach to affect an aggressively bullish investor's thesis. Strategy mechanics To implement a buy-write: Acquire the underlying asset : Purchase at least 100 shares of the target stock (a standard options contract in the U.S. represents 100 shares). Sell a call option : Concurrently sell one call option contract with a strike price typically at or above the current stock price (often out-of-the-money to allow for some potential appreciation). The options premium collected represents the "income". Monitor and manage : At expiration, if the stock price remains below the strike price, the call expires worthless, allowing the investor to retain the premium and the shares. If the stock price exceeds the strike, the shares may be assigned (called away) at the strike price, but the investor still keeps the premium and any capital gains up to that level. Of course, the investor may also manage the position prior to expiration. In certain circumstances, the short call option's price may decline to a level where the investor can purchase it back at minimal cost, locking in a gain on the option and possibly adjusting or "rolling" to another strike or expiration to collect additional premium if desired. Bear in mind, though, that rolling a short call to a lower strike if and as a stock declines will cap potential gains if the stock rebounds, and an investor should weigh those tradeoffs carefully. The net effect is a reduction in the effective cost basis of the stock by the amount of the premium, potentially enhancing overall returns if the stock performs moderately well. Suitability and optimal conditions This strategy is most suitable for investors with a neutral to moderately bullish outlook on the underlying stock, particularly when they seek to augment income on a position they intend to hold in the near term. It is ideal in the following scenarios: Sideways or modestly rising markets : The strategy benefits from limited price appreciation, as the premium provides yield without requiring significant stock movement. High implied volatility environments : Elevated volatility increases call option premiums, thereby boosting income potential. Income-focused portfolios : It appeals to those prioritizing current yield over unlimited upside, such as in dividend stocks or stable blue-chip equities, where the investor is comfortable potentially selling the shares at a predetermined price. However, it caps potential gains if the stock surges significantly and exposes the position to downside risk equivalent to owning the stock outright (mitigated somewhat by the premium). It is less appropriate in strongly bullish markets, where forgoing upside may underperform a simple long stock position. There's a tendency in articles like this for the author to propose a buy-write or covered call idea, only to shift to a catalyst-driven option strategy a few days later, followed by a hedging strategy. While there's nothing wrong with implementing a variety of option strategies, and it's important to recognize that each strategy has its time and place, one must remember that buy-writes/covered calls are an investment strategy intended to be implemented consistently, typically across a range of underlying assets over time, as long as the primary criteria are met. So consider these examples as merely the first step; continue to evaluate the underlying factors and options for suitability, and deploy the strategy consistently for optimal results. Good time/opportunity for buy-writes? We are in a bull market. The S & P 500 hit a new high on Monday. Financials are also doing well — XLF is trading well above the 20, 50, and 150-day moving averages. Because buy-writes/covered calls involve owning stock, that's a good first step. So let's take a look at the example below, using Netflix. The streaming giant posted solid results in the most recently reported quarter. The company boasts over 300 million subscribers globally, a number they hope to grow by more than 35% by the end of the decade. That's ambitious but achievable, given the addressable market (TAM) is estimated at 750 million, excluding China. (Note: Due to regulatory restrictions, Netflix does not operate in certain countries that censor the content available to the country's inhabitants. Therefore, as the company outlines on their website , Netflix is not available in China, Crimea, North Korea, Russia and Syria, although some residents of those countries may access via VPNs or other means). The company raised its revenue growth guidance from 13% year over year to 15% and improved its margin forecasts as well. Netflix is trading ~ 36.5x FY2026 adjusted earnings per share with an expected year on year growth rate of ~22.5%, a reasonable valuation if not an overwhelmingly cheap one. This supports a moderately bullish outlook, our first criterion, as does the fact that while the stock remains above the 200-day moving average, it is actually below the 50-day, and has underperformed the market since reaching an all-time high on June 30. A holder of the shares could sell the Oct. 31 expiration $1,285 calls for ~2.5% of the current stock price or nearly $30 per share. That's not a bad yield over ~ 6½ weeks. Additionally, the $1,285 strike offers more than 8% of potential capital appreciation before the shares are potentially "called away." Combined with the 2.5% in premiums collected, the maximum gain on the trade is greater than 10%. DISCLOSURES: None. All opinions expressed by the CNBC Pro contributors are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC, NBC UNIVERSAL, their parent company or affiliates, and may have been previously disseminated by them on television, radio, internet or another medium. THE ABOVE CONTENT IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY . THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSITUTE FINANCIAL, INVESTMENT, TAX OR LEGAL ADVICE OR A RECOMMENDATION TO BUY ANY SECURITY OR OTHER FINANCIAL ASSET. THE CONTENT IS GENERAL IN NATURE AND DOES NOT REFLECT ANY INDIVIDUAL'S UNIQUE PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES. THE ABOVE CONTENT MIGHT NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES. BEFORE MAKING ANY FINANCIAL DECISIONS, YOU SHOULD STRONGLY CONSIDER SEEKING ADVICE FROM YOUR OWN FINANCIAL OR INVESTMENT ADVISOR. Click here for the full disclaimer.
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Netflix
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/03/netflix-clips-moments-viral-share-mobile.html?&qsearchterm=Netflix
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Netflix will let users customize and share clips on mobile
| 2025-09-03T00:00:00
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Netflix on Wednesday announced a new update to its "Moments" feature, allowing viewers to choose a start and end point on clips to save and share.
The feature, which is only available on mobile devices, was first rolled out last year, for viewers to save scenes that they love and share them.
The new update coincides with the release of the second part of season 2 of the popular show "Wednesday."
Netflix's new update to the "Moments" feature is looking to capitalize on viral moments in shows such as "Wednesday." The update includes a "clip" option on the screen to adjust the length of a segment. After it's clipped, the video will save to viewers' "My Netflix" tab for rewatching or sharing.
"At its heart, this feature is about giving members the ability to celebrate and share their favorite stories while curating an experience that feels uniquely their own," said Elmar Nubbemeyer, Netflix's vice president of member product. "This is just the beginning of a more dynamic Netflix experience with features and designs that feel intentionally made for mobile devices."
During the first season of the series — a spin on the classic TV show "The Addams Family" — a scene of the title character, Wednesday, dancing went viral and became one of the series' most popular moments. "Wednesday" is the most popular Netflix show to date, with more than 252 million views, according to the company's website.
The first part of the series debuted in August and has raked in tens of millions of views so far.
The new update comes as Netflix is revamping its brand, with a redesigned homepage and a vertical video feed on mobile that looks similar to TikTok.
The streaming giant has implemented a variety of strategic moves since its brief period of stagnation in 2022, from updating its features to business initiatives such as a cheaper ad-supported subscription plan and a password-sharing crackdown.
Netflix no longer releases subscription data, but the streamer reported it had more than 300 million paid memberships in January.
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Netflix
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/25/netflix-kpop-demon-hunters-box-office-one-off.html?&qsearchterm=Netflix
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Netflix's 'KPop Demon Hunters' seemingly smashed the box office. Here's why it's likely a one-off
| 2025-08-25T00:00:00
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And that's "How It's Done."
Netflix capitalized on its chart-topping "KPop Demon Hunters" over the weekend with a two-day theatrical release of its new sing-along version.
Box office analysts spent much of Sunday trying to determine exactly how well the animated feature performed, relying on anonymous executives from rival studios and scraped data from ticket sales sites. Estimates range from $16 million to $20 million for the sing-along's domestic run.
That's smaller than recent domestic theatrical re-releases like "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith" and the 15th anniversary screenings of "Coraline" — which generated $25 million and $33 million, respectively — but higher than most re-released films including "Interstellar," which snared $15 million in late 2024 and "Pride & Prejudice," which tallied $6 million earlier this year.
The streaming company has never reported box office grosses publicly and declined to do so for this film. It also declined to comment on the release when reached by CNBC.
But the buzz has Wall Street wondering whether Netflix may change its tune and push further into theaters.
Netflix has long used theatrical releases as a marketing tool to promote its streaming service. The company's strategy has always been to host content on its platform for subscribers, rather than broader audiences on the big screen, and it rarely delays releasing works in the home market in favor of a theatrical run, except when it's looking at awards contention or special occasions.
"KPop Demon Hunters" is the most recent exception. But experts say it's unlikely to rewrite Netflix's rules.
"It absolutely does not change anything," said industry analyst David Poland. "It's all about events for Netflix."
There's a lot of talk in the cinema business about "eventizing" film — basically making the theatrical release a spectacle or a can't-miss event. Netflix has been able to do this successfully because it's not a traditional studio. It doesn't stick to typical release windows, opting to make one-off deals with theater chain operators for each of its films.
That allows Netflix to avoid costly marketing campaigns, which are typically estimated to be about half of whatever is spent on the production budget.
However, this strategy does often put Netflix at odds with theatrical partners. For example, "KPop Demon Hunters" was released in around 1,700 theaters, which is a little more than a third of all domestic theaters. It did not appear in a single AMC theater, the largest cinema chain both domestically and globally.
AMC declined CNBC's request for comment on the release.
The exhibitor will be working with Netflix, however, for Greta Gerwig's "Narnia" film, which is getting an exclusive two-week global debut in IMAX starting Thanksgiving Day 2026.
Poland noted that Netflix does offer favorable terms with theaters when it comes to splitting ticket receipts, which can help entice exhibitors to work with the company despite the smaller release windows.
"They don't care about the money, and in this case, my guess is they paid much higher than the 50% that's normal to the exhibitors that read it, because it doesn't matter," Poland said. "It's not enough money to matter to them. But as a promotional event, it's very successful."
Already, "KPop Demon Hunters," which launched on Netflix in late June, has become the second-most watched English language film on Netflix, just behind 2021's "Red Notice." The film has been viewed more than 210.5 million times, according to Netflix, about 20 million short of the record.
The sing-along and pop culture buzz from the theatrical release could help boost that number even higher.
"There was obviously a huge demand for the movie and offered up yet another example of how important the theatrical moviegoing side of the business is to generate huge publicity, create a cultural event and, in turn, a social media phenomenon," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.
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Netflix
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/25/netflix-stock-kpop-demon-hunters-box-office.html?&qsearchterm=Netflix
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What the strong 'KPop Demon Hunters' box-office showing means for Netflix stock
| 2025-08-25T00:00:00
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The success of a movie about K-pop performers fighting supernatural enemies has Wall Street wondering if Netflix has found its next big franchise. A limited theatrical run of "KPop Demon Hunters" this weekend appears to have led the box office with $16 million to $18 million in sales, according to The Associated Press , who cited industry executives on the condition of anonymity. Netflix has not confirmed those figures or reported its own numbers. If correct, they would mark Netflix's first No. 1 film in its history. "It certainly is promising — no doubt about that," said Morningstar analyst Matthew Dolgin. Shares popped 1.6% in on Monday, outpacing the S & P 500 — which lost around 0.2% on the day. NFLX .SPX 1D mountain Netflix vs. S & P 500, 1-day Garnering 'cultural purchase' The animated film's theatrical performance is unusual given Netflix's focus on driving consumers to its streaming platform rather than brick-and-mortar film houses. "KPop Demon Hunters" was also available on Netflix prior to its in-theater run, meaning subscribers could see it immediately without having to shell out for tickets. The in-person screenings this weekend were branded as sing-along experiences. Argus analyst Joseph Bonner said the movie's in-theater run can be seen more as a marketing ploy than a way to drive revenue. A hit from Netflix in traditional theaters can remind consumers of the quality and diversity of content on the platform, he said. It's an especially important win for Netflix, Bonner said, given that the company hasn't been historically viewed as a strong competitor in youth-focused or animated media. "This is exactly what they want to do," Bonner said. "They want to create content that will gain some cultural purchase," or cachet. Bonner said Netflix likely won't lean into more theatrical runs as a result of "KPop Demon Hunters" performance, though he did call it a "feather in the cap" for the company. He added that it debuted in late August, which is not a particularly competitive period for the box office. While Morningstar's Dolgin said early indications are positive, he said it's too soon to tell if the movie has the staying power to become a major franchise for Netflix. The total benefit for Netflix will depend in part on additional revenue streams tied to the movie, such as from merchandise or the soundtrack, he said. This comes at an already strong moment for Netflix. The stock has outperformed the broader market in 2025 with a surge of more than 37%, while the S & P 500 is up just 9.8%. Wall Street sees even more upside ahead for the streaming giant: LSEG data shows the average analyst price target on Netflix signals more than 9% upside. On top of that, 35 of 50 analysts covering the stock rate it a buy or strong buy. Short Hills Capital Partners' Stephen Weiss was one investor pleased with the development. "They constantly add to their value proposition," Weiss said Monday on CNBC's " Halftime Report ." "They continue to brand and they continue to do quite well." Netflix declined CNBC's request for comment.
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ExxonMobil
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https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/24/california-sues-exxonmobil-alleging-deception-about-plastics-recycling.html?&qsearchterm=ExxonMobil
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'They knew and they lied': California sues ExxonMobil, alleging deception about plastics recycling
| 2024-09-24T00:00:00
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California's attorney general sued ExxonMobil on Monday, alleging that the company had waged a "campaign of deception" for decades to mislead consumers and convince them that recycling was a viable solution for plastic waste. The lawsuit, filed in Superior Court of California in San Francisco, says ExxonMobil promoted recycling as a "cure-all for plastic waste," even though the company knew that plastic would be difficult to eradicate and that certain methods of recycling could not process much of the waste produced.
It further alleges that ExxonMobil violated state regulations over water pollution and misleading marketing, among others.
"Exxon Mobil knew that 95% of the plastic in the blue bin was going to be incinerated, go into the environment or go into a landfill," California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in an interview. "They knew and they lied."
In a statement responding to the lawsuit, ExxonMobil said that "advanced recycling" is effective and that the company has kept more than 60 million pounds of plastic waste out of landfills using the method. The term refers to chemical or heat-based recycling: processes that breaks plastic down to its basic chemical components for potential reuse.
"For decades, California officials have known their recycling system isn't effective. They failed to act, and now they seek to blame others. Instead of suing us, they could have worked with us to fix the problem," ExxonMobil said.
The lawsuit represents a new avenue in the legal fight to hold fossil fuel companies responsible for pollution and their aggressive marketing practices. In other lawsuits, state attorneys general and environmental nonprofits have sued oil and gas giants over carbon pollution and its role in climate change and extreme weather.
The new suit, which the attorney general's office is billing as the first of its kind, will put the lifecycle of plastics and the potential harms of microplastics at center stage.
The state is requesting a jury trial and seeking to make ExxonMobil hand over some of its profits along with other civil penalties.
"We want them to put billions of dollars into an abatement fund," Bonta said.
Environmental groups cheered the announcement.
"This is the big one. I hope this is going to open the floodgates," said Judith Enck, president of Beyond Plastics, a nationwide project seeking to end plastic pollution.
Enck said that previous lawsuits have targeted individual plastic products or companies that sell them, but "this is the first to go upstream and make an effort to hold the production companies accountable."
She added that she is skeptical of claims about the benefits of advanced recycling because the process often turns plastic into transportation fuel.
Bonta agreed, calling the process a "farce" and "another version of the same old lie."
The lawsuit says ExxonMobil is the world's largest producer of polymers used to make single-use plastics, which are derived from fossil fuels.
It alleges that ExxonMobil and its predecessor companies, Exxon and Mobil, for decades promoted single-use plastics through industry groups, advertising campaigns and other marketing initiatives, at one point even using Boy Scouts to sell plastic kitchen and trash bags as a fundraiser.
The industry groups encouraged Americans to pursue a "throw-away lifestyle" and downplayed public concerns about plastics' ecological risks, the lawsuit says. In 1973, industry leaders called those concerned about plastic waste "enemies," according to internal communications from the Society of the Plastics Industry (now known as the Plastics Industry Association), which are cited in the lawsuit.
When public concerns grew, ExxonMobil and its predecessors pushed mechanical recycling as a solution, despite internal industry warnings that it was not a permanent or feasible fix.
"They were having problems with plastic pollution — people being concerned about it — and they have internal discussions where they say, 'What are we going to do about this?'" Bonta said. "And their answer was 'promote recycling,' even though they knew that it was not something that could be used and that could be reliably scaled technically or financially."
One example cited in the suit: Exxon, Mobil and other petrochemical groups formed the Council for Solid Waste Solutions in 1988, which took out a 12-page advertisement in Time magazine urging recycling.
In the U.S., the plastic recycling rate has never exceeded 9%, the lawsuit says.
It also calls microplastic pollution a "crisis."
Scientists have found microplastics in fresh snow in Antarctica, near the summit of Everest and in the Marianas Trench — evidence of how ubiquitous this type of pollution has become.
Microplastics can have harmful effects on both the environment and human health, some scientists say. Early studies suggest they could cause inflammatory responses and cell damage in the human body.
A study published earlier this year showed that people who have microplastics and nanoplastics in the plaque lining a major blood vessel in the neck may have a higher risk of heart attack, stroke or death.
Still, more research is needed to understand the risks microplastics may pose to human health.
Leehi Yona, an assistant professor of environmental and climate law at Cornell University, said the lawsuit opens a second front in the fight to hold fossil fuel companies accountable.
"We've seen quite a few lawsuits that have been based on the evidence around what these companies knew about climate change and how they deceived the public," Yona said. (California is one of many states and localities that have sued the companies over their contributions to climate change.)
But the new lawsuit expands that approach to claims about plastics, she said.
"In my mind, these lawsuits are incredibly important not only for their legal merits, but also to draw attention to the misrepresentations of some of these companies in the same way lawsuits against the tobacco industry were about the way they misrepresented connections between smoking and lung cancer," Yona said.
Several nonprofit organizations, including the Sierra Club, the Surfrider Foundation, Heal the Bay and Baykeeper, together filed a separate lawsuit against ExxonMobil on Monday, also in San Francisco. The attorney general's office and the nonprofits are coordinating their legal approach and both lawsuits make similar claims.
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ExxonMobil
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https://www.cnbc.com/video/2024/12/06/lightning-round-exxonmobil-is-overvalued-versus-chevron-says-jim-cramer.html?&qsearchterm=ExxonMobil
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Lightning Round: ExxonMobil is overvalued versus Chevron, says Jim Cramer
| 2024-12-06T00:00:00
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In this video
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Lightning Round: ExxonMobil is overvalued versus Chevron, says Jim Cramer
'Mad Money' host Jim Cramer weighs in on stock including: BlackRock, Applied Digital, ExxonMobil, and more.
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ExxonMobil
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https://www.cnbc.com/video/2023/11/10/three-buys-and-a-bail-exxonmobil-occidental-halliburton-solaredge.html?&qsearchterm=ExxonMobil
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Three buys and a bail: ExxonMobil, Occidental, Halliburton & SolarEdge
| 2023-11-10T00:00:00
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In this video
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Three buys and a bail: ExxonMobil, Occidental, Halliburton & SolarEdge
Jeff Kilburg, KKM Financial founder and CEO, joins 'The Exchange' to discuss three buys and a bail, including ExxonMobil, Occidental, Halliburton and SolarEdge.
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ExxonMobil
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https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/15/us-oil-is-back-and-exxons-60-billion-deal-isnt-the-biggest-signal.html?&qsearchterm=ExxonMobil
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U.S. oil is back, and ExxonMobil's $60 billion deal isn't even the biggest signal
| 2023-10-15T00:00:00
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In this article @CL.1
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Workers connect drill bits and drill collars used to extract oil in the Permian basin outside of Midland, Texas. Brittany Sowacke | Bloomberg | Getty Images
After three and a half years, a tripling in the S&P 500 Energy Index, and many soon-to-be-forgotten culture-war volleys, the U.S. Department of Energy announced Oct. 12 that U.S. crude oil production had hit an all-time high of 13.2 million barrels per day, entirely wiping out Covid-era losses of more than 3 million barrels per day. The news came a day after a $60 billion deal between Exxon Mobil and independent oil producer Pioneer Natural Resources . The combination of recovering production, sustained pressure from Wall Street for cost containment and high stock dividends, and consolidation like the Exxon-Pioneer hookup is not a coincidence. The energy sector's big stock move in 2021 and 2022 was mostly a recovery from a disastrous decade for Big Oil, when tens of billions of cash flow were lost on unprofitable fracking wells, and of a consolidation that was good for company profits, dividends and shareholder returns. The foundation of the 2010s oil business was cracking when Covid broke it, said Rob Thummel, senior portfolio manager at Tortoise Ecofin in Kansas City, Mo. Monthly production topped out at 13 million barrels per day in November 2019 and hit 9.9 million by February 2021. "Capital discipline in the U.S. industry hasn't gone away, and oil is at $85 to $90 a barrel," he said. So, what brought Big Oil back, and what's next? Here are seven important factors that played into U.S. oil's recent history and will influence its future. Why the shale drilling bust ended Oil broke gradually and then suddenly. The S&P 500 Energy Index lost 40% of its value between 2014 and 2019. But the pandemic drove the fast part of the bust, in part by leading Wall Street to insist on further cuts in capital spending, Thummel said.
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What brought it back was renewed demand and higher prices. Recessions end, and oil demand has slowly rebounded after the 2020 downturn and lingering supply-chain shock. And rising prices for WTI crude – which careened during Covid to less than $15 a barrel, shot back to $120 in 2022, and is now near $90 – can make previously-unprofitable plays work, he said. The U.S. production rebound is more concentrated Big Oil isn't back all over America: Production is still down sharply in Oklahoma and North Dakota. It hasn't changed much in Alaska, where production is in a long-term tailspin. And offshore oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico recovered to 2 million barrels a day, but hasn't grown. Instead, the surge is concentrated in the Permian Basin region of Texas and New Mexico, where production costs are among the lowest in the country, said Alexandre Ramos-Peon, head of shale well research at Rystad Energy. Oil from the Permian Basin costs an average of $42 a barrel to produce, he said, with North Dakota in the high $50s to $60.
North Dakota is also hampered by weaker access to pipelines than the Permian Basin, where many producers can use pipelines that lie entirely within Texas, skirting federal regulation of interstate pipelines. That's only one example of a relaxed regulatory environment in Texas, compared to places like climate-conscious Colorado, the nation's No. 4 oil producer, where output is still down 3 million barrels per month, said Jay Hatfield, CEO of Infrastructure Capital Advisors in New York. "There's this place called Texas that doesn't really know what energy regulation is," he said. Where oil companies have been spending their money U.S. oil companies cut capital spending to $106.6 billion last year from $199.7 billion in 2014, according to Statista, contributing to the decline in oil production and arguably delaying the recovery. And they put that money to work paying higher dividends and doing stock buybacks, Thummel said. According to Energy Department data, oil and gas companies paid out about $75 billion per quarter in the last year. The share of oil-company operating cash flow going to shareholders rose to half of operating cash flow from about 20% in 2019, the department says. The link between Exxon-Pioneer deal and peak barrels Offsetting the decline in capital spending is higher productivity per well — while all of the U.S. oil production is back, the closely watched Baker-Hughes rig count is barely half of 2018 levels. The average production per rig of new wells just topped 1,000 barrels a day, up from 668 four years ago, according to the Energy Department. So the industry didn't have to add a ton of new wells or drill in as many new places to recover fully. On CNBC last week, ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods said the company did the merger because it thinks its technology and scale can raise the productivity of Pioneer's fields. "Their [Pioneer's] capabilities, bringing in their Tier 1 acreage, our technology, our development approach, frankly, brings higher recovery at lower cost," Woods said. That suggests more mergers to come as rivals like Chevron also make plays to boost their presence in U.S. shale, especially in the Permian Basin, Hatfield said. Chevron already has made several shale-related acquisitions in recent years, including $7.6 billion for PDC Energy this year and $5 billion for Noble Energy in 2020. Independent producers are under more pressure than more-stable super-majors to pay very high dividends to justify the risk of oil-price fluctuations, which will mean tighter constraints on their ability to keep up in technology and scaling of operations, he said.
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U.S. crude, energy security and Big Oil economics As a result of the rebound in crude, is American repatriating its oil? A little, says Hatfield. Permian shale right now is much cheaper to produce than offshore oil, comes with much less political risk than offshore drilling in much of the developing world, and takes much less time to make a profit than offshore wells. That's leading companies like Exxon to bet more heavily on Permian shale than offshore drilling, he said. "The super-majors are taking capital out of offshore," Hatfield said. "They are reducing overseas development because it is more risky." The biggest part of the equation is that time equals risk, Ramos-Peon said. Global oil producers aren't squeamish about investing in parts of the world where governments change, but the years-long investment cycles in offshore drilling make the much shorter turnarounds in Texas appealing to companies like ExxonMobil, which is one of the industry's biggest offshore players. "In the Permian, you get your capital back in a little over a year," Hatfield said. "The return on investment is much faster and much higher because the wells begin to produce so quickly.'' What oil's recent trading and Israel-Hamas mean for gas prices Gas prices tend to move in tandem with the price of crude oil, which has dropped to about $88 per barrel from $94 in September, driving a 20-cent per gallon drop in the nationwide average price for regular. But the influence of OPEC, whose coordinated production cuts in June have driven prices up 35 cents, often offsets what domestic producers do, Ramos-Peon said. And right now there is the added uncertainty of whether the Israel-Hamas war will result in a slash in production from Iran, whose government supports the Hamas rebels who launched bloody attacks into Israel, he said. "I believe crude prices will stay around the current level in the short term, and in the long term should trend down,'' he said. "If there are sanctions against Iran, that will be bad for consumers."
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ExxonMobil
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https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/06/climate-investor-who-made-right-exxon-bet-on-how-to-beat-the-market.html?&qsearchterm=ExxonMobil
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The climate investor who bet right on ExxonMobil on how to stay ahead of the market for the next decade
| 2022-10-06T00:00:00
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Engine No. 1 is doing a lot of work with autos, which it has been public about, including an investment in GM , on what she describes as a long term transition.
"As investors, we like to talk about Google and Amazon, but where the returns will really be generated in the next decade, we look to agriculture, autos and energy," Grancio said.
Grancio shared a few of her foundational ideas for investing in the future and staying ahead of the market at ESG Impact.
The ExxonMobil campaign does hit on the big themes: having the right governance in place to see companies through big systems changes, making the right investments and avoiding the wrong ones. "We got into Exxon as an investor because we knew if it is smart and has the right management for energy transition and how the business is valued after energy transition, that will be great for shareholders," she said. "We think of the ExxonMobil campaign as being about governance and long-term capitalism," she said.
"Investing is something you can do for the very short-term, but for the vast majority of asset owners ... they are all looking for performance over time," Grancio said at the CNBC ESG Impact virtual event on Thursday. "The market can get confused about investing only for ideology or the extremely short-term, but Engine No. 1 is going deep with companies, looking primarily at the business model and how it will need to change over time to create value for shareholders."
Now CEO, Grancio doesn't want the firm to be defined by the Exxon headline, but rather by a long-term investing approach that is a blueprint for how companies should think about huge systems changes like energy transition, and how investors should access the value that will be created by the companies that get it, and scale transformed businesses.
Jennifer Grancio was among the leaders at Engine No. 1, the upstart investing firm focused on climate and energy transition, that bested ExxonMobil in a 2021 proxy contest upset few saw coming. What Engine No. 1 decided to do next was maybe as surprising: move away from the activist investor approach that worked so well in winning board seats at the oil and gas giant.
"People know about Tesla, but they forget about GM and Ford," Grancio said.
"We will have this huge transition and it needs scale, and that's millions and millions of cars and there is huge room for incumbents like GM and Ford to be part of creating and meeting all of this demand," she said. This doesn't mean Tesla won't be a winner, she added, but GM and Ford also will be, Grancio said.
Don't just be an index fund investor
Engine No. 1 has a passive index ETF — Grancio was among the senior leaders of the BlackRock iShares ETF business before joining Engine No. 1 — but she warns investors that in the same way they may focus on Tesla and forget about the rest of the auto sector, they will miss out on big investment opportunities if they stick with the index portfolio weightings.
"If you leave your money in a passive index fund, or you only buy the super-growth stocks, you will have a huge problem in your portfolio," she said. "Investors are underweight the big transition ideas if they are in the indexes," she added.
Grancio said holding the market in an index fund allows investors to use their shareholder voting power to drive outcomes, which it did by banding together with many large institutional shareholders to take on Exxon, but many of the biggest transition plays, from energy to transportation, are underweights for the majority of investors because of index fund use.
Another big example she cited is agriculture, and a company that she said is getting it right: Deere . "It makes tractors and tractors are dirty, but if we flip that and think about impact and the global food crisis and solving it, Deere's moves into precision ag are better for climate and yield and financial performance of farmers," she said. Deere is building a business to solve a huge systemic problem which also has an impact investing perspective, she said.
Still investing in big oil, and expecting energy transition to take a 'little longer'
Grancio says that Engine No. 1's work with Exxon is a sign that ESG investing works. "Look at the appreciation of different companies in energy and Exxon has more than doubled, significantly higher than peers, and it wasn't just the price of oil," she said.
She also cited Oxy (formerly Occidental Petroleum) which has been a leader in the energy transition space and has more than doubled in 2022 "because it is different from peers," she said. "We believe these are fundamentally investment issues," she added. Another important factor that made Oxy different from peers: a massive investment made by Warren Buffett in the company.
Engine No. 1 continues to be an active owner of energy companies, working on many of the same issues that it did at Exxon even if not through a proxy war: managing capital allocation, setting clear targets on emissions, and investing in green energy business.
But she says that the last year during which the price of oil spiked as a result of the war in Ukraine and critical energy shortages in Europe were exposed does mean that the energy transition "will probably be a little bit longer."
"People use fossil fuels and we have not made this transition, and if we need fossil fuel assets we need them to be managed by the biggest companies in a way that is also looking at new technologies to maintain value after the transition, when we will be more in need of renewables and carbon capture," she said.
That's why she continues to see big energy companies as an investment opportunity. "They know how to do these things at scale. We need to deliver energy to the world today, but as we get to the other side of the energy transition, how they deal with these issues will be required for them to still have a great business," she said. "We think there is a lot of room to work constructively with companies on these issues."
US reshoring of manufacturing should be a new focus
While it does not fit neatly into an ESG box like climate, Grancio said one of the biggest investment opportunities in the future that she is chasing will be American companies in manufacturing, transportation and logistics tied to a huge resurgence in domestic production and manufacturing.
"Investors are not holding railroads, not assuming cars or chips will be made in the U.S.," she said.
On Thursday, President Biden touted a plan by IBM to invest $20 billion in New York-based chip manufacturing, two days after Micron Technology announced up to $100 billion in semi manufacturing investments in the state.
Without providing details, she said Engine No. 1 will be creating an investment in the future around the opportunity to invest in the U.S. supply chain. "We'll be doing something," she said.
The U.S. domestic manufacturing revival is, in a sense, form of "systems change," as globalization of prior decades is disrupted. And that fits Engine No. 1's overall discipline. "We really think you have to understand systems and companies at a deep level to make good choices. Investing should never be ideological. It should be about understanding these companies and how industries are changing," she said. And at a time of serious political blowback against ESG investing focused primarily on energy companies and climate change, she added, "Hopefully, we don't let theater get in the way on this."
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ExxonMobil
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https://www.cnbc.com/video/2023/04/05/here-are-the-sectors-exxonmobils-focused-on-decarbonizing.html?&qsearchterm=ExxonMobil
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ExxonMobil's low carbon president: Decarbonization is building 'compelling' new business for us
| 2023-04-05T00:00:00
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In this video
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ExxonMobil's low carbon president: Decarbonization is building 'compelling' new business for us
Dan Ammann, ExxonMobil low carbon solutions unit president, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss what the low carbon solutions unit does, the company's partnerships and more.
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ExxonMobil
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https://www.cnbc.com/video/2023/04/10/deal-or-no-deal-will-exxonmobil-buy-pioneer.html?&qsearchterm=ExxonMobil
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Deal or no deal: Will ExxonMobil buy Pioneer?
| 2023-04-10T00:00:00
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Deal or no deal: Will ExxonMobil buy Pioneer?
Hosted by Brian Sullivan, “Last Call” is a fast-paced, entertaining business show that explores the intersection of money, culture and policy. Tune in Monday through Friday at 7 p.m. ET on CNBC. Aaron Glick, merger and event strategist at Cowen, joins the show to discuss a potential deal between ExxonMobil and Pioneer, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.
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ExxonMobil
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https://www.cnbc.com/video/2022/06/17/sneak-peek-exxonmobil-at-the-crossroads.html?&qsearchterm=ExxonMobil
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Sneak Peek: ExxonMobil at the Crossroads
| 2022-06-17T00:00:00
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In this one-hour documentary, CNBC's David Faber goes inside one of the most powerful, storied, and consequential players in the energy industry: ExxonMobil. Once seen as untouchable, the company is now facing shareholder challenges over its direction and criticism that is fostered public uncertainty about global warming. As gas prices skyrocket around the world, Faber gains unprecedented access to company executives, workers, and facilities to examine ExxonMobil's efforts to lower its carbon emissions and find out whether the company is ready for the energy transition.
"ExxonMobil at the Crossroads" premieres Wednesday, June 22nd at 8pm ET on CNBC.
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ExxonMobil
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https://www.cnbc.com/video/2022/06/22/lawmakers-vs-exxonmobil.html?&qsearchterm=ExxonMobil
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Lawmakers vs. ExxonMobil
| 2022-06-22T00:00:00
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Lawmakers vs. ExxonMobil
Following the high profile hearings of DC lawmakers investigating whether Big Oil had a role in a climate change misinformation campaign, CNBC's David Faber presses Congressman Ro Khanna on why it's important for them to probe ExxonMobil's past statements on climate change.
00:57 Wed, Jun 22 2022 4:07 PM EDT
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ExxonMobil
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https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/24/cnbc-special-podcast-exxonmobil-at-the-crossroads.html?&qsearchterm=ExxonMobil
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CNBC Special Podcast: ExxonMobil at the Crossroads
| 2022-08-24T00:00:00
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CNBC's David Faber goes inside one of the most powerful, storied, and consequential players in the energy industry: ExxonMobil. Once seen as untouchable, the company is now facing shareholder challenges over its direction and criticism that it fostered public uncertainty about global warming. As gas prices skyrocket around the world, Faber gains unprecedented access to company executives, workers, and facilities to examine ExxonMobil's efforts to lower its carbon emissions and find out whether the company is ready for the energy transition.
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Costco
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/30/cramers-lightning-round-costco-over-sprouts-farmers-market.html?&qsearchterm=Costco
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Cramer's Lightning Round: Costco over Sprouts Farmers Market
| 2025-09-30T00:00:00
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Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Arista Networks' year-to-date stock performance.
Arista Networks : "That company is doing so well, great call."
Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Applied Digital's year-to-date stock performance.
Applied Digital : "It's intriguing, but it loses a lot of money"
Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Resideo Technologies' year-to-date stock performance.
Resideo Technologies : "Interesting idea...but it's kind of played out, it's had a big move."
Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Sprouts Farmers Market's year-to-date stock performance.
Sprouts Farmers Market : "Something's wrong with Sprouts, the stock keeps going down, I don't get it...[Costco]'s the one you want to pull the trigger on."
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Costco
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/26/business-success-tips-lessons-costco-shopping-retail-earnings-consumer-trends.html?&qsearchterm=Costco
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How Costco's 'big and bulky' boom keeps growing the brand: Business success breakthrough lessons
| 2025-09-26T00:00:00
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Costco built its brand on supermarket staples. If you wanted a truckload of toilet paper or enough ham to pack 50 sandwiches, it was the place to go. But Costco has increasingly moved beyond mustard and milk.
The most well-known "surprise" in Costco's sales success strategy may be the boom in gold bars bought by its customers in recent years. But the big-box retailer is also seeing a boom in sales of saunas and sofas, many of them purchased online. In industry parlance, these purchases are termed "big and bulky."
On a recent afternoon at the Costco Warehouse in Liberty Township, Ohio, a constant stream of customers sat on, ran their hands over, and leaned on a prominent display of Thomasville sofas. Some customers stared in awe at the sofas as if they had never seen one before. Maybe they just weren't expecting to see one at Costco. While it is still new to some customers, the retail chain's move into items like furniture has been picking up steam, and market share, over the past few years.
Here is what the company's top executives and retail experts say about the continued shift in branding, and the various ways it can help the retailer continue to grow its membership business and diversify sales.
It's a good way to drive business online and into a company app.
A worker at the Liberty Township Costco Warehouse explained that if you buy the sofas at the physical store, you have to bring your own truck and you have to cart it away on the spot. If you order online, though, he noted, Costco's delivery network will bring the new sofa to you and get rid of the old.
While there are some shoppers that haul sofas out of Costco, the majority of the big and bulky business is online, which has plenty of more room to grow.
E-commerce sales neared $20 billion in the company's most recent fiscal year, increasing over 15%, according results shared by Costco on Thursday with its fiscal fourth quarter earnings. Online sales now total more than 7% of Costco's annual net sales. Costco chief financial officer Gary Millerchip has noted in the past that only around half of members have downloaded the Costco app, suggesting that the addressable market is much larger.
About a year ago, Ron Vachris, the company's CEO, said on the Costco Q3 2024 earnings call that sales of $1,200 swing sets were "blowing out" expectations. He said at that time 80%-85% of big and bulky items were being delivered through its logistics arm.
That momentum has continued, based on the fourth quarter results, with Millerchip telling analysts on a Thursday earnings call that the company continues "to grow share in big and bulky items sold online," with the Costco Logistics playing a big role and resulting in a 13% increase in items delivered in the quarter. Last quarter, Costco had cited a 31% increase in deliveries via Costco Logistics, reflective of the trend towards bigger-ticket items.
The increased appearance of large items in Costco's retail stores also reflects an opportunity to showcase the limited-run products that they have been selling online, according to Melissa Akaka, associate dean for research and brand strategy at the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver. That translates into an opportunity for Costco to expand its share of the market, and membership rolls, by targeting a customer segment who might not have thought of the wholesaler as a place to buy home furnishings or high-end products before.
She is a case in point: Akaka's family recently ordered new countertops, a refrigerator, and a dishwasher from Costco.
Millerchip told CNBC over the summer that the average age of the company's members has fallen, and just under half of its new signups each year are from people under 40.
A brand's continued success always requires evolution.
Elizabeth Lafontaine, director of research at Placer.ai, says that the company is riding a wave of goodwill towards the brand.
"Costco's expansion of product categories seems to be in direct response to how its shoppers view the retail chain: as a trusted brand that offers great inherent value on exclusive products," Lafontaine says. She notes that Costco's high percentage of visitor loyalty and adaptable merchandising model allow the retailer to push the limits of what consumers think of as traditional warehouse club items and services. "That in turn helps to shift the consumer perception around the chain as a whole," Lafontaine said.
The growth in visits to the retailer in 2025, as well as other warehouse club brands, may create more competition with other discretionary retailers who sell large-ticket items, as Costco becomes a more top-of-mind choice for shoppers. "As the chain looks to grow and evolve, they will likely continue to push the limits of what products it can offer its members," Lafontaine said.
It drives higher-margin sales in what's been a lower-margin business.
Industry experts say a pivot towards big and bulky is part of a calculated Costco campaign to shield itself from volatility in lower margin categories due to tariffs and other macroeconomic uncertainty. "Recent shifts in policy and the overall economy have consumers paying more attention to the cost of goods, including large and luxury items," said Akaka.
Michael Zakkour, founder and chief strategist at brand consultancy 5 New Digital, said Costco's pivot allows it to cater to a more affluent customer base that doesn't necessarily need to save money, but still likes a deal. "These are the same consumers who celebrated shopping at Target over the last decade. They don't necessarily need to spend less at mass-market retailers, but they like to," Zakkour said. "While there is an effort to attract a set of wealthier, net new customers, this may be more about servicing and keeping aspirational, monied consumers who are in for a $20 pair of jeans and a 50-pack of paper towels," he added.
"Costco's focus on bigger, higher-margin items is a smart way to encourage trade-up behavior and drive higher receipts per trip," said Shikha Jain, lead partner for consumer and retail in North America and head of the Boston office at consultancy Simon-Kucher.
Start with a few items and then extend.
In the Costco of yesteryear, a month's supply of toilet paper might have been the largest item available, but as the company's has built out its delivery capability, larger is everywhere to be found among their inventory. Some of the more noteworthy items:
Whisper W5XL – 6 seat off-road recreational golf cart
Dynamic Toledo 6-person Hybrid Full Spectrum Sauna
Mini-Digital Grand Piano
Samsung 29 cu. ft. Bespoke 4-Door French Door Refrigerator with Family Hub
California King bed with storage
Costco's collection has sparked an arms race among the biggest retailers for the big and bulky business, with Amazon and Walmart in the game (not to be outdone, you can buy a Revolution Outdoors E4X 6-Seater 60V Lithium Ion Golf Cart for Outdoors at Walmart for $12,000).
The success is changing Costco's approach to holiday sales this year.
Vachris said on the Thursday earnings call that this upcoming holiday season will mark another new push with the big and bulky item boom, with the CEO telling analysts that the retailer is stocking categories that it has not carried in the past during the season.
"We're bringing in backyard sheds in the fall, which are doing very, very well for us, but we never have the ability to do that due to space constraints. We're bringing in saunas for your garage or your home which are also performing very well, high-ticket goods that are very relevant to the time of year, but not reflective of the traditional Costco set. You'll see some more furniture in the warehouses ... we normally didn't do any furniture at that time of the year."
It's also selling a five-foot tall Advent calendar from Swiss chocolate maker Lindt.
Big business brand pivots do come with risks.
Any big change in brand presents potential risks for an already successful business model, according to Jain, some that relate to consumer psychology and which while they may be hard-to quantify do need to be weighed. For example, shoppers not accustomed to seeing oversized items in a physical store could begin to shift the way they think about what Costco has always offered for their car trunk and pantry-sized consumer life. That makes the trend toward larger items a balancing act for Costco, with the company needing to align the psychology of getting a good deal with growing the customer's lifetime value, she said.
"There are potential hazards in this recent pivot. There is a risk of alienating working and middle-class shoppers on price points and the beloved Costco experience," Zakkour said.
But he does not think Costco is likely to stumble in the short-term.
"For now, gold bars, diamonds, and expensive patio sets are becoming as core to Costco as five gallons of Hellmann's, vacation packages, and cheap gas. I've never bet against Costco, and I am not about to start now," he said.
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Costco
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/26/costco-quarter-failed-to-impress-but-there-was-still-a-lot-to-like.html?&qsearchterm=Costco
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Costco's quarter failed to impress. But there was still a lot we liked and a lot analysts liked
| 2025-09-26T00:00:00
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Costco beat on quarterly earnings and revenue, though some dings muted investor enthusiasm Friday. Overall, we considered Costco's fiscal fourth quarter , ending Aug. 31, solid. But as Jeff Marks, director of portfolio analysis for the Club, wrote Thursday evening, the results were not perfect. Same-store sales, referred to as comparable sales or comps in the retail industry, grew 5.7%. They missed estimates for a 5.9% gain and were decelerated from last year's 6.9% advance. This marks the second consecutive quarter of comps underperformance. That, along with a slight decline in renewal rates and a gross margin miss, sent Costco shares more than 2% lower Friday. The stock's year-to-date gain of 1% trails the S & P 500 and the retail sector in 2025. COST YTD mountain Costco YTD Jim Cramer had warned Thursday that a post-earnings stock decline was possible if results were less than stellar because it has a high price-to-earnings multiple. Jim wrote Friday that all things considered the value of Costco and its role as an inflation-fighter are too great to ignore. That's why he recommends that investors own it. We reiterated our buy-equivalent 1-rating and our Club price target of $1,100. We were not the only ones weighing the many high points of Costco's quarter against areas that need work. There were a slew of price target changes on Wall Street, mostly to the downside. However, in most of the notes, there was also plenty of optimism. Bernstein raised its price target on Costco to $1,140 per share from $1,137 and maintained its outperform buy rating on the stock. The analysts pointed out that deceleration in U.S. traffic growth lapped tough comps from last year's gift cards and sales of gold and silver bars, and they started to improve late in the quarter as the company extended hours. Bernstein also highlighted Costco's membership fee growth of 14%, up from 10.4% just last quarter, as Jeff pointed out as well in the Club's analysis. JPMorgan lowered its Costco price target to $1,050 from $1,160 while maintaining its outperform rating. The analysts took a mixed view on the company's quarter, pointing to the dip in membership renewal rates, which are expected to continue over the next few quarters. However, like we also said Thursday evening, they are not too concerned because Costco showed a gain in online signups, which tend to skew toward a younger demographic and usher in a new wave of lifelong members. Morgan Stanley lowered its Costco price target to $1,130 from $1,225 and kept its overweight buy rating. The analysts said the company proved again that it's a "consistent execution machine" in membership fee income and core profitability during fiscal Q4. They noted that while renewal rates ticked down marginally, membership growth and tier upgrade momentum remain intact. Evercore ISI lowered its price target on Costco to $1,025 from $1,060 and kept its outperform rating. The analysts said Costco showcased "impressive traffic and core EPS growth amidst a challenging retail landscape." Even as input costs increase, the company is expected to leverage its scale and supply chain strengths to effectively navigate tariffs, they wrote, adding that Costco remains a "core holding for its defensive growth and market share gains." Truist lowered its Costco price target to $1,033 from $1,042 and kept a hold rating. While delivering a strong quarter, the analysts pointed out misses on earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) and margins. Truist added that Costco's business remains strong and its extreme value proposition will lead to continued share gains. However, as Jim has said, the analysts said that the stock trading at more than 50 times forward earnings presents a challenge to "put fresh money to work." (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long COST. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
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Costco
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/25/how-much-1000-dollar-investment-in-costco-worth-after-5-years.html?&qsearchterm=Costco
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How much money you'd have now if you invested $1,000 in Costco 5 years ago
| 2025-09-25T00:00:00
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Famous for its inflation-proof hot dog and soda combo, Costco is known on Wall Street as a reliable stock with steady growth.
Fueled by solid sales, a successful business model built on paid memberships and regular dividends, Costco share prices have nearly tripled over the past five years, for a total return on investment of 188%, including reinvested dividends. In comparison, the S&P 500 index, which is a measure of the broad U.S. stock market, has seen a total return of 100% over the same time period.
Its popularity may come with a cost, however. Costco shares trade at a premium compared with its profits, leaving investors with "no room for error" if the company underperforms, Scot Ciccarelli, an analyst at Truist Securities, wrote in a recent note.
Even so, many investors believe Costco is well-positioned to withstand tariffs, according to analysts at UBS. As a consumer-staples retailer, it sells mostly products people continue to buy even in downturns, such as groceries, household essentials and health products.
Costco is also known for its bargain prices, made possible by thin margins subsidized by growing revenue from membership fees, which account for a significant share of the wholesaler's profits.
Despite economic uncertainty, Costco continues to expand. The company plans to open about 30 new warehouses a year, with just over half in the U.S. and the rest abroad, per CNBC.
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Costco
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/25/costco-quarter-wasnt-perfect-but-most-of-the-metrics-that-matter-were-solid.html?&qsearchterm=Costco
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Costco's quarter wasn't perfect, but most of the metrics that matter to investors were solid
| 2025-09-25T00:00:00
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Costco reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results Thursday evening, with both sales and adjusted earnings per share topping estimates, driven by robust membership fee growth and margin expansion. Total revenue in the company's fiscal 2025 fourth quarter increased 8% year over year to $86.16 billion, topping Wall Street expectations of $86.06 billion, according to estimates compiled by LSEG. Adjusted EPS for the 16 weeks ended Aug. 31 rose 11% from the year-ago period to $5.87, beating the consensus of $5.80, LSEG data showed. COST YTD mountain Costco YTD Shares of Costco were slightly lower in after-hours trading. The stock has been stuck in a downtrend since spiking to above $1,050 in early June when investors rushed into the stock for its high quality and defensive attributes. Bottom line Costco once again delivered a steady quarter, even as tariffs and a cautious consumer added volatility to the retail environment. While the results weren't perfect, we were pleased to see gross margins continue their upward trajectory. The company credited improvements to its supply chain as a reason for the margin improvement, and an increase in Kirkland Signature penetration continued to be a secret weapon against fighting inflation and keeping prices down. "We continue to work closely with our suppliers to find ways to mitigate the impact of tariffs, including moving the country of production where it makes sense, and consolidating our buying efforts globally to lower the cost of goods across all our markets," CFO Gary Millerchip said on the earnings call. "Additionally, we are changing item assortment where appropriate. This includes leaning into KS [Kirkland Signature] items and increasing domestically sourced goods." Why we own it Costco is the best-run retailer in the world, with a business model focused on offering its members a relatively small universe of products at hard-to-beat prices. Costco has succeeded for decades, but the high inflation of recent years has made the company's value-focused ethos really shine. Competitors: BJ's Wholesale , Walmart , fellow Club holding Amazon Last buy: June 15, 2020 Initiation date: Jan. 27, 2020 In an area in need of improvement, Costco's membership renewal rates dipped, and that's expected to continue over the next few quarters. There's a trade-off happening, with the company enjoying an increase in online signups, which it likes because those skew toward a younger demographic. However, online signups tend to renew at a lower rate. Still, these were solid results overall, and Costco is still one of the highest quality companies we follow, which is why we are continuing our buy-equivalent 1 rating . Given the stock's high price-to-earnings multiple valuation, the quarter probably won't be an overnight catalyst. We're also reiterating our $1,100 per share price target. Commentary Total fiscal Q4 comparable sales, an important retail industry metric, increased 5.7% for the second quarter in a row, but the 6.4% on an adjusted basis represented a deceleration from the prior quarter. Adjusted comps, which exclude changes from gasoline prices and foreign exchange, were driven by a 3.7% increase in traffic. There was also a 2.6% increase in adjusted comparable ticket. Taken together, more shoppers entered Costco warehouses, and they paid higher prices at checkout. By category, fresh food comps increased high single digits on a percentage basis in fiscal Q4, while food and sundries increased mid to high single digits. Non-food increased in the high single digits, and some outperforming categories were gold and jewelry, gift cards, large ticket items, toys, and men's apparel. All were up double digits. As mentioned, gross margins improved 13 basis points versus the year-ago period to 11.13%, missing the consensus estimate. Gross margins improved 3 basis points, excluding gas deflation. Core merchandise was the largest driver of the year-over-year gross margin improvement. It increased by 30 basis points. There was an 11-basis-point headwind from Costco's ancillary and other businesses, which include pharmacy, food courts, and travel. Gas was the main driver of the decline. Last in, first out (LIFO) accounting also had a 6-basis point negative impact on gross margins. The headwind was from a $43 million charge compared to an $8 million credit last year. Costco's paid memberships increased in the quarter, but not by as much as the market anticipated. Total paid memberships ended the quarter at 81 million, an increase from 79.6 million in the prior quarter, but below the consensus estimate of 81.5 million. Still, membership was up 6.3% year over year. Membership renewal rates trended lower again, with the worldwide rate and the U.S. and Canada rate declining to 89.8% and 92.3%, respectively, from 90.2% and 92.7% in the prior quarter. In addition to new online memberships that tend to renew at a lower rate, a large Groupon campaign in December 2023 was a headwind as well. Management continues to expect renewals to decline in the quarters ahead because of its growing online base, but the company is planning to focus on auto-renewal and targeted digital communications to improve the renewal rate of these online signups. Perhaps more importantly, membership fee growth accelerated to 14% from 10.4% one quarter ago. Costco raised the price of its membership last year, driving a step up in fee income over last year. But the company also highlighted upgrades from its Gold Star membership to Executive membership as another positive factor. Members are upgraded to the Executive tier to take advantage of the exclusive operating hours in the morning and $10 credit per month on Instacart purchases that meet a minimum basket. The company's decision to keep United States warehouses open an extra hour Saturday evenings has also been well received. Growth plans In the entire 2025 fiscal year, Costco opened 27 new warehouses, including three relocations, for a total of 24 net new buildings. For fiscal 2026, the company is planning to open another 35 warehouses, including five relocations, for a total net new of 30 warehouses. We are pleased to see this accelerated pace of warehouse growth. (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long COST. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
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Costco
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/25/costco-cost-q4-2025-earnings.html?&qsearchterm=Costco
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Costco tops earnings, revenue estimates as warehouse club gains more members
| 2025-09-25T00:00:00
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Costco on Thursday topped Wall Street's expectations for quarterly earnings and revenue as the warehouse club posted double-digit gains in both membership income and its e-commerce business.
Unlike many other retailers, the company does not share an annual outlook.
On the company's earnings call, CFO Gary Millerchip said the retailer has worked hard to offset higher tariff costs. In some cases, it has introduced new items from its Kirkland Signature private-label brand as alternatives to goods hit by tariffs, he said. About a third of Costco's U.S. sales come from imported goods.
Costco is also changing its merchandise assortment in some cases, he said, such as buying more U.S.-made items or leaning into categories with less tariff exposure like health and beauty.
He said overall inflation remained in the low- to mid-single-digit range, with food price increases similar to last quarter. Yet for the second consecutive quarter, he said inflation returned for non-food merchandise, primarily driven by imported items.
Shares of the retailer fell slightly in extended trading.
Here's how Costco did in its fiscal fourth quarter compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:
Earnings per share: $5.87 vs $5.80 expected
$5.87 vs $5.80 expected Revenue: $86.16 billion vs. $86.06 billion expected
Costco's net income for the three-month period that rose to $2.61 billion, or $5.87 per share, compared with $2.35 billion, or $5.29 per share a year earlier. Revenue increased from $79.7 billion in the year-ago period.
Same-store sales, an industry metric that takes out one-time factors such as store openings and closures, rose 6.4% excluding the impact from changes in gas prices and foreign exchange. That result, which was reported along with Costco's August sales numbers, marks two quarters in a row of decelerating same-store sales.
E-commerce sales increased by 13.5% compared with the year-ago period, excluding the impacts from changes in gas prices and foreign exchange.
For the full year, e-commerce sales exceeded $19.6 billion, a 15% year over year increase, Vachris said on the company's earnings call. That amounts to a little over 7% of Costco's net sales for the year.
Vachris said Costco is adding more digital features, including the rollout of checkout technology to clubs that makes it faster for employees to scan small- and medium-sized transactions. It's improving the search features on its website and app. And, he said, it's created a virtual waiting room on its website for high-demand items like Pokemon cards during peak traffic periods.
As U.S. consumers look for value, Costco and its warehouse club competitors have opened new locations and attracted more members. Younger shoppers have signed up for the stores as the retailers offer more convenient ways to shop online, a wider variety of merchandise and cheaper meals.
In an interview this summer, Millerchip told CNBC that the average age of the company's members has fallen, and just under half of its new signups each year from people under 40.
As members across age groups join, Costco's revenue, which includes net sales and membership fees, has also grown. Its full-year revenue totaled $275.24 billion, up about 8.1% year over year.
In the quarter, its membership fee income jumped about 14%, which reflects its increase in paying shoppers, the rising number of members who are upgrading to higher-tier memberships and its higher annual fee. Last fall, it raised its membership fee for the first time since 2017. Costco shoppers now pay $5 more per year or $10 more annually for its higher-tier membership when their annual fee renews.
Millerchip said on the company's earnings call that the membership fee increase accounted for a little less than half of its membership fee income growth in the quarter.
On the company's earnings call, CEO Ron Vachris said Costco opened 27 new warehouses, including three relocations. It plans to open another 35 warehouses in the coming fiscal year, including five relocations.
Traffic to stores and Costco's website rose 3.7% globally during the quarter, Millerchip said on the call. Meanwhile, average transaction size climbed 2.6% worldwide, excluding gas and foreign exchange changes, he added.
During the quarter, sales in Costco's fresh category, which includes perishable items, grew by high-single-digits led by double-digit gains in meat, Millerchip said on the company's earnings call. Non-food grew by high-single-digits, too, as jewelry, gift cards, toys and men's apparel all rose by double-digits year over year.
Gold bars, however, were less of a growth driver in the quarter because Costco is lapping a year-ago period when it first started to sell the item, Millerchip said.
Shares of Costco have jumped by about 180% over the past five years. Yet the retailer has underperformed the market more recently, as shares are up just over 2% so far this year compared to the S&P 500's more than 12% gains during the same time.
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