Transcripts For CNBC Fast 20240703

Tomorrow night and apple making a nice move today as well. So were going to get to all of that. I do want to begin with you, josh, because you have interesting new moves that you have made in this market, and the first one is you bought corning. Glw, trading right around a 52week high. I dont know, pennies away from that. On pace for its seventh straight day of gains. Amidst this momentum, why are you buying it now . So it might be a little bit short term overbought, but this is the type of tactical situation that viewers of the show know that im personally looking for. Im looking for really Good Companies that are at some sort of an Inflection Point where the buyers are overwhelming the sellers, and thats exactly whats happening here. This is one of the Oldest Companies in america, 170 years of innovation. Theyre in all sorts of verticals, life sciences, mobile phone and computer displays, specialty materials. But the real driver here, judge, is optical fiber. If people were around during the first dotcom buildout, one of the things they would remember is corning was one of the hottest stocks in the world. That whole thing is happening again, but now with a. I. , and you really cant do the types of stuff that the hyper scalers want to do without huge orders for optical fiber, and i think the inflection in what were seeing with this chart is exactly that. There has been excess inventory at the phone carriers of optical fiber. Thats being worked off, and now management just said on april 30th, you see this big gap up after the Earnings Report, that q1 would represent the low point of the year, that inventory in the system thats kept the stock at a discount has now been worked off, and theyre starting to see the beginning the beginning of a. I. Related orders, and i think this is the type of stock that could get rediscovered. So it just hit our best stocks in the market list, rsi is about 79, so short term it is overbought. But i think it will hold that post earnings gap which is about 31 a share. As long as that rising 50 day stays above the 200 day, i want to be long here. You have a 3 dividend yield, which i think will akct as a cushion. You have dividend increases. You have a company with the longest debt maturities in the whole s p 500 with an average of 23 years, and youve got this huge wave of spending, not just from the hyper scalers in a. I. , but the broad band equity access deployment program, which is a Government Program called bead could be incremental, another 42 billion to expand access to high speed broad band all over the country. Corning is going to be a player there, too. We see that stock on the move. The other stock you bought is sn, another one trading around a 52week high, shark ninja. Tell us what caught your eye about this one. This is more of a flyer. I wouldnt touch it at this price. Im in it lower than here. This is a Company Based in needham, massachusetts, but very few people are aware of it because it got bought by a chinese billionaire who then spun it back out in 2023 making it a u. S. Stock once again. And when they did their ipo in august, chinese stocks were at their lows. People just didnt want anything that had to do with china, but this company is one of the hottest brands in american appliances. The ninja blender and the shark vacuum cleaner, if you bought a vacuum the past few years, its likely you bought a ninja or a shark. They have been expanding into outdoor, skin care, believe it or not, hair care. The company is just on fire. This is a company doing 3. 7 million in revenue. I would probably let it cool off a little bit before establishing a new position. Its an 18 forward p e, earnings per share growth this year, expecting Something Like 20 . Thats the story with shark ninja. I wanted to get those out of the way before we talk about whats at stake the next 24 hours, bryn, and we know whats looming with nvidia earnings. Interesting price action in the nasdaq which is attempting to go positive. If it gets there, it will be because of stocks like nvidia which back, well, hugging the flat line today but right around that 950 level. How about apple, the comeback that stock has had. What do you think is really at stake with the earnings that are looming . I mean, i think the earnings oscars are tomorrow and best picture will go to nvidia. We all know the estimates are Revenue Growth and so i think they will continue to have another crushing quarter. I think between jensen and satya, two rock stars. He will have an awesome earnings call, will spring until a bunch of other companies that have a halo effect after the earnings come out. I think the stock continues to be underappreciated. Its up 90 year to date. I say underappreciated underappreciated i cant help but laugh. Let me explain for some context. Yesterday dan niles was on one of the shows, and he had a really good point that nvidia is trading at 15 below its fiveyear p e average. And sothats what im talking about. I still think that theres a sentiment that sometime in the next quarter or two quarters nvidia will act like a traditional Cyclical Semiconductor company where earnings and revenues start growing at a slower pace and decelerating. I think that actually will happen, but i dont think it will happen until maybe the back half of this year or 2025. So i think youll see a one handle, 1,000 on the stock before you see 800. Yeah, its going to be an interesting 24 hours for certainly holders of nvidia like you and josh and jim. What do you feel like is at stake as we look ahead to tomorrow . Well, a lot is at stake, and the question is whats going to happen. I totally agree with the assessment of the company itself. As far as the cyclicality, i do think the cyclicality will assert itself but not in the next one to two quarters. Thats obviously not the near term. To answer your question, as i think about the stock right now, this quarter, the estimates from a year ago and, remember, it was a year ago they had that first blowout quarter that just all of a sudden made people like me understand this was a Different Company than the usual, those estimates in the quarter are up 230 from a year ago. Thats a lot. Theyre up 20 in the year to date. And my point on this, we all know what the stock has done. I would not be surprised again, to bryns point, if you have a beat and raise tomorrow afternoon, i would not be surprised if the stock popped in the after hours, and i wouldnt be surprised if,at the end of the week, it trailed off a little bit. Let me be clear, im not negative on the stock. Im long the stock. There is a point you have to ask how much of this is priced in . I know the earnings estimates are 31 annualized growth. That will be hard to come by for the next five years. The growth now versus then, so to speak, i think we have a graphic to show you what is expected. Earnings are expected to be five times greater than they were last year. Revenues are poised to more than triple from a year ago. There we go. Thats on our wall. Yes, we think its the most impactful Earnings Report on the s p right now just given what that stock has done. Its near double already in five months. And how much its responsible for the look, theres a fair amount of hype around a. I. , but theyre realizing it, too, in the way theyre monetizing it. Thats why, steph, theres so much at stake especially when some are suggesting, boy, the nasdaq has gone from oversold to overbought seemingly overnight. Look, nvidias 5 weight of the s p 500. Obviously a. I. Touches so many Different Companies throughout technology, throughout other sectors in the market, throughout the economy. Were in the second or third inning. There are ways you can play that theme. Im not in nvidia, as you know, but in other names that have done quite well the last two years as well. So i think you have to pick your spots. I think the expectations are quite high for nvidia especially because the hyper scalers gave you that information. They told you that the four big hyper scalers, amazon, meta, google and microsoft, are going to spend 177 billion in capex for cloud and generative a. I. This year alone. Thats just enormous. And then global capex is actually going to grow 225 billion this year alone. So clearly that benefits a lot of companies, nvidia is included in that. I think as a result if, lets just say, it doesnt meet these aggressive expectations and the stock falls, i really do think youll see buyers come in. I dont think it will be down for long especially given the growth rates we just heard that bryn was talking about, jimmy was talking about as well. Im just choosing to play it a different way. Certainly it is a very important report. Theres no doubt by the way, evercore outperform 1160 is the price target. Josh, as europe our guy on nvidia, how good does this have to be . We know the bar is high. How could it not be . The stock is up almost a double in some five months. This is the quarter that something will go horribly wrong and it just hasnt happened yet. Earnings per share came in at 5. 16. The estimate was 4. 64. Do you have any idea how many times earnings were revised higher to get to that 4. 64 and they still stepped right over it like it wasnt even there. 22. 1 billion. The stock went up 16. 5 . In response had its market cap growth in the single day of 276 billion, the most any company has had in one day market cap growth ever. So its not like its pretty shaky historically. Now to the earlier point being made, nvidia is already the third best performer in the s p. The only two better performers is up 224 , vista corp is up 140. All three are up on a. I. Stuff. Its not underappreciated by the market how good nvidia is. No question. I highly doubt this company will come out, beat earnings, and then have anything other than positive things to say. Given the rate at which people and corporations are spending on the stuff, we dont know how much is already priced in and that, frankly, will be revealed tonight. Crazy the stock goes down to 750 and a snap of the fingers. I like what steph had to say. She doesnt own nvidia. Missed it, valuation too high, but she points out broadcom and the other stocks, like bank of america today, talks about their top five u. S. Semi picks exposed to a. Ii. Broadcom is next on the list. I know you probably wish you were able to capture that kind of upside, but youre in other names. If that doesnt underscore it, i dont know what does. Its cheaper than nvidia but not as cheap as when i was buying it. It was trading at 14 times forward estimates. Thats one of the reasons i bought it because it was yielding so much and it is so strong. Youre at 30 times forward. Their part of a. I. Is going to go from 10 of the company, of their semi business last year to 25 by 2025. Thats huge growth, too. They benefit as well from the hyper scale spending and they have the best in class margins, Free Cash Flow of 12 billion this year. They will in the Fourth Quarter will increase their buyback again. They have the vmware which helps in recurring revenues and higher margins and they do have best in class margins. I do think theres a lot to look forward to with regards to broadcom, maybe doesnt get the splash as nvidia does, but thats fine by me. Citi says theyre wildly bullish on semis. They list lamb research, by the way, which you just bought more of. Tell us. Yeah, this is one thats lagged the smh, up 22 this year. Its not bad but its up 34 . Applied materials is also up so it is lag because were all waiting for a recovery this is a second half 2024 situation and a really big tail wind for 2025, and were start to go see green shoots with regard to supply and demand, asps are increasing, utilization rates are rising. I want to get ahead of this turn. In the meantime, the company has done a really good job in terms of Gross Margins and, of course, today they announced a big buyback in the stock split that typically is positive for a stock. Im surprised its not up more. The recovery is coming. Its just a matter of timing, and i want to get ahead of that. 10 million buyback. Im glad you mentioned that. That citi note, bullish on Applied Materials in the semiequipment space and thats yours. Everything stephanie said about wafer fab applies as well. I think for holders of lam research, should we be in asml. The pricing is different for amat. Im more comfortable because amat touches more of the actual chain by which semiconductors are built, but, regardless, whether its amat, lam research, were building semiconductors plants all over the place. Its japan, its india and all of these companies will benefit. I would love to touch on qualcomm. I was going to bring it up. Go ahead. Chips have gone crazy and qualcomm is on the list of the third best performer so a record high today, you have Texas Instruments 24. We talked about nvidia. Kla, taiwan semi, micron, marvell and your qualcomm has done well. Thanks for that. Scott, the reason im eager, everyone know this is stock was in the desert in 22 and 23. If youre a longterm investor, whats going on . Theres real intellectual property at qualcomm. This is similar again to stephanie with broadcom that this is a different way of playing a. I. You saw the announcement theyre providing qualcomm is providing chips for a. I. Enabled computers. Thats huge. This is in addition to Edge Computing on smart phones as far as a. I. Capabilities go. So theres a reason that the stock is breaking out. I just want to say one more thing. I remember recommending this stock in early 2022 at 190 and then it went into the desert. I felt bad about that. I did. But if you stuck with it as i have and if you stuck with me, youre now reaping the rewards. Stick with the farmer. I do want to hit pay low w palo alto, our chart of the day. I dont need an opinion from people who dont own it. The stock is down about 3 , and thats a recovery. The intraday from where it was after earnings yesterday to where it opened this morning, well take that as a w, i think, if youre in shares of palo alto. The analysts are defending it, too, like dan ives. Crowdstrike is where youre at. Steph, you bought more fortinet. I was giving rob sechan a hard time because the cyber stocks have done so well expect this one of late. Why did you buy more . Is that the reason, its underperformed . Well, yes, and im a very big bull on Cyber Security and i believe the big five names are going to get bigger and bigger as you see m a and consolidation. When you talk to chief technology officers, they have in the past owned many different vendors. They didnt want to be hostage to one particular company. So they have a lot of different vendors. The problem is the vendors dont talk to each other so not a lot of things are working well. I think youre going to see the big five get bigger and bigger. Fortinet is one of them. Last year was a disappointor because they had to lower guides. I think theyve righted the ship. I think youre at trough earnings especially in firewall, a big exposure for them. Dont forget two years ago this was one of the best Cyber Security names. And so my point is some years are going to be lumpy in terms of ups and downs in the stock price and when theyre down is when you want to own them. I think this company has done a really good job in terms of switching to more platform concept and you see that with palo alto, a pretty good quarter on the platform side. I think you want to try to find the ones that are lagging. This one has. Its frustrating. At seven times price to sales which is palo alto at 13 times, you have an opportunity over the long haul. Well take a quick break. Well get bryns take on tesla. Adam jonas, the influential analyst at Morgan Stanley has a new note out today. What he is saying and later a halftime exclusive with Michael Arougheti and tony ressler. Were back in two minutes. Announcer are you following the Halftime Report podcast . Look for us in your favorite podcasting app. Follow now. Ere excellence, comfort, and electricity. Are forever in bloom. Welcome to beyond. The mercedesmaybach eqs suv. The future is not just going to happen. You have to make it. And if you want a successful business, all it takes is an idea, and now becomes the future where you grew a dream into a reality. The all new godaddy airo. Put your Business Online in minutes with the power of ai. And theyre all coming . Put your Business Online in minutes those who are still with us, yes. Grandpa whats this . Your wings. Light em up gentlemen, its a beautiful. Day to fly. After military service, you bring a lot back to civilian life. Leadership skills. Technical ability. And a drive to serve in new ways. Syracuse universitys Daniello Institute for veterans and military families has empowered more than 200,000 veterans to serve their communities and their careers. From professional certifications, to job training, to help navigating programs and services, we give veterans access to support from anywhere in the world. Lets do our calls of the day starting with tesla. Stocks up near 4 . Adam jonas, bryn, of Morgan Stanley reiterating overweight, wants investors to pay close attention to the june 13 pay package for elon musk. How closely are you watching it . Is it a binary event in how youll think of the stock . If they voted to not give him the compensation, yes. I think that will pass. To me it doesnt make sense that they would say no to that. I think it would be binary if they voted no, but i dont think that will happen. I think also today i saw pepsi announced a partnership with tesla. As ive said before, the next couple quarters will be murky for the stock. And so as chinese ev sales are growing but at a decreasing rate, u. S. Sales are declining, you have to get through this time period. And so when fundamentals are murky, you need to look at technicals. The chart is still in a down trend finding a base here. I think 187 is resistance. I sold calls on this position. I dont think it will get called away, but i think this is going to be the year, if you dont own tesla, if you believe in the adam jonas scenario its going to be mobility, which is robotaxis or uber, its going to be cars, energy, insurance, its the network, then thats how it gets to the 310. A big price target, right . Its not this year. I know but still a big jump from where it is today. Yep. If you factor in what you suggested a murky road ahead the next couple of quarters. Yeah, 60 i think 64 was what he had accounted for mobility. Mobility, i dont think, exists today. I think, you can clarify if im wrong, a much longer term time horizon. I think this is a stock that right now is in a downward trend, murky the next two quarters but im bullish longer term. I have my position. Ill sell calls and trade around that. Okay. Not in a downward trend is toast. Josh brown, up 90 in six months. Today the price target gets maintained at 28 and the stock did get downgraded to neutral from outperform at baird. They love the name. They love the story, but its had a huge run in recent months as they point to. How should we think about this now . I think thats a fair statement. It has had a huge run but has cooled off lately. The rsi is now down to 57. So it had a big rally. It looks like its consolidating that. Were about 6 below the 52week highs, but were still 8 above the 50Day Moving Average, 30 above the 200. So we are firmly in an up trend, but, you know, stocks dont double and then double again overnight without that big of a fundamental change and really what this company is doing is when they report earnings, theyre just letting you know what their progress is on further penetrating total Addressable Market and theyre doing great. Im going to remain long here. I dont need it to keep rallying the way its been. Its perfectly fine if the stock takes a breather. Lets get to seema mody with the headlines. A news update. Russian forces have started exercises with Tactical Nuclear weapons. The Russian Defense Ministry Said the first stage drills involve forces in an area that includes parts of ukraine that russia now controls. Russian president Vladimir Putin called for the drills after russia said comments from western officials were security threats to the country. A Bipartisan Group of senators are calling on the Justice Department and the ftc to investigate formula one and its u. S. Owner Liberty Media for rejecting andrettis global deal. The Bipartisan Group argued the management may be violating antitrust law by denying andrettis bid to enter the sport in 2025 and 2026, even though the sports governing body approved its application. And wnba star Caitlin Clark has signed a Historic Deal with Brand Ambassador wilson making her the first athlete since Michael Jordan in the 1980s. The leagues official basketball supplier said it would release collections to celebrate her the rest of 2024 but did not disclose the deals financial terms. Scott . Seema, i appreciate that, thank you. Seema mody. Michael arougheti and tony resler are live from ares st day. That interview is coming up after this quick break. Sler are investor day. That interview is coming up after this quick break. At Morgan Stanley, old school hard work meets bold new thinking. laughter at 88 years old, we still see the world with the wonder of new eyes, helping you discover untapped possibilities and relentlessly working with you to make them real. Old school grit. New world ideas. Morgan stanley. We see you. Athletes. Investment bankers. Doctors. Business leaders. We see your ambition. Your desire to succeed. Which is why we are investing in your future. Empowering the next generation to reach the csuite and elevating womens golf. Because you may not always see yourself in the world, but we see you. Trading at schwab is now powered by ameritrade, unlocking the power of thinkorswim, the awardwinning trading platforms. Bring your trades into focus on thinkorswim desktop with robust charting and analysis tools, including over 400 technical studies. Tailor the platforms to your unique needs with nearly endless customization. And track Market Trends with uptotheminute news and insights. Trade brilliantly with schwab. We are back on halftime. Ares Management Holding its investor day today. Our own leslie picker is there and joins us with a halftime exclusive. Leslie . Scott, thank you. I am here with tony ressler and Michael Arougheti, the executive chairman and ceo, both cofounders of Ares Management. And its a big day for you all this is the tenyear anniversary since your ipo. Were here for your investor day. Over that time in the decade since you went public, ares stock has grown 650 . Tony, i want to start with you. As you take a step back, how would you characterize the firms history in a way that informs where youre going from here . We looked at the tenyear history of a public company, 25 years being a company at Ares Management. Weve had a long and remarkable road. The past ten years i dont mean to sound completely confused by it but please understand, i did not expect that our market cap would go up ten times over the past ten years. I didnt think our fre would go up ten times over the past ten years. I didnt think our assets under management would grow five, six, seven times. What i did think were a really good company when we went public, and i thought we had an ability to be great and, you know, that combination of the markets that really did come our way and our ability to focus on both credit and origination and finding quality people, all of the things weve been able to do over the past 25 years has really built upon itself. I must say, im so proud, so delighted about where we are. I dont know if im surprised or just excited and proud, but, i must say, it is a really good company that we have a lot to be proud of. And, mike, you all set targets today, fiveyear targets, in fact. You said you expect to grow organically not through m a, to 750 billion that represents a cagr of more than 12 . Do these targets still hold if theres a recession or some sort of black swan event . And i ask this. A fiveyear target is a long way into the future. The fact were willing to project out five years says something about the conviction that we have on the results. Whats interesting about the forecast we put out, we did put out a 750 billion aum target. As importantly, we said we would grow our Distributable Income 20 to 25 and our dividend 20 plus turnpike and the reason we have conviction, to your question, is the business is designed to perform in any market environment and, in fact, if you look at our history, the two times weve grown the fastest were during the gfc and during covid. Theres a lot to the structure of the business in terms of how people give us capital and how we invest that gives thats confidence well be able to navigate whatever is in front of us. I want to follow up on that. We were at the jpmorgan investor day yesterday and the chairman and Ceo Jamie Dimon spoke about private credit and said, quote, a lot of those folks will be stranded when the you know what hits the fan because they cant roll over a loan at 14 , their company wont be able to afford it. Banks work with borrowers in a crisis but they have to book it at par. He says basically private credit hasnt dealt with high interest rates, hasnt dealt with the recession and it hasnt dealt with high spreads. Whats your response to that . False. Weve been investing in the private markets for 30 years a. Loan is a loan whether its held on a Bank Balance Sheet or held in a private credit fund. They are largely unlevered. Banks are 10 to 15 times levered. Private credit funds are long during capital from Institutional Investors. Banks are with shortterm deposits. I think theres fundamentally structural differences that change behavior. If you look at ares, and we talked about the strength of our credit performance, weve invested 150 billion into the private credit market since we founded the firm and we had a loss rate of one basis point. So everything that weve seen over the last 30 years would indicate that the risk people are trying to argue exists in our market just isnt true. And given, tony, you all invest in 3,200 portfolio companies, most of which are out of the public eye, what are you seeing on the ground as it pertains to the potential for a recession, to inflation, to consumer spending, and do you think those largely private investments mirror what we see in public commentary from public ceos, fed officials and the like . Well, generally speaking, i think what we see in our portfolio are Companies Generating positive cash flow growth. Were seeing a decent economy out there across the portfolio. But back to the original point of where private credit was and where its going really since over the past 30 years but since the gfc, assets have moved off the Balance Sheet of banks, which are generally shortterm liabilities that maybe shouldnt be that much of an investor in longterm assets, and theyve moved off the Balance Sheet of banks on to longterm investors, on to the Balance Sheets of firms like ares and our investor base, and ultimately this marketplace is growing bigger than people appreciate. Its growing in the u. S. Its growing in europe. Its growing in asia. Its growing in corporate assets. Its growing in real estate assets, in infrastructure assets, in asset backed security. So, generally speaking, this world of private credit, irrespective of what some folks might want or wish or hope for, this asset class is even bigger than people appreciate today and is going to get far bigger over the next 5, 10, 15 years, and for good reasons, and for reasons that will actually reduce Systemic Risk because these assets are going on to the Balance Sheet of companies that are not highly levered and that do not finance themselves with shortterm liabilities or customer deposits. So, again, this all makes perfect sense since the gfc, as you highlighted the difficulties in certain types of Financial Institutions investing . Longterm assets. Although some would say that leverage in the system surprises loans that are out there and other interconnectivities with the Banking System who are providing some of the financing and so forth, you still dont see a Systemic Risk from the broader system as well . There are bad actors and people that utilize too much leverage in virtually every asset class, but generally speaking, Ares Management is an unlevered, modestly levered, and doesnt require customer deposits for insurance. Large banks are 10 to 12 times leveraged with customer deposits, with government insurance, that have a different level of risk and, therefore, should have a different level or different type of Balance Sheet and investment base and they do and should. Mike, what do you make of the retail strategy as well . A huge component of your Growth Strategy. You say in todays presentation that people with a Million Dollars or more in investable assets comprise about 3 of alternative asset penetration. You think that will grow to 6 in 2028. How does all of this factor in to kind of that Growth Strategy surrounding retail especially as it grows, it will likely get more attention from regulators as well. What weve tried to build at ares is a diversified capital base and growth engine. When you look at the funds that we manage, we manage liquid traded funds. We manage semiliquid nontraded funds, institutional funds, et cetera, et cetera. I think the rise of retail is an important mega trend, because what it does, it now gives access to everyday investors, access to alternatives that used to only be the purview of institutions. This idea of the democratization is really important. Theres been a meaningful shift in peoples ability to support their retirementas the population ages, so not surprisingly theyre finding their way to these types of structures. At the end of the day, whats going to tamp growth in this industry, at least moderate it, are there enough quality assets that we all can originate and structure to deliver outcomes to the investor . So were incredibly enthusiastic for the growth in retail, and you saw the projections, but, mind you, thats growing to some extent at the expense of our institutional franchise as we diversify. I think you have to look at it in the growth rate and not just isolated to retail. And why would retail be any different, if you will, from endowments or foundations or Pension Funds or sovereign . Some might have 30, 40, 50 in alternatives. Retail, were arguing, would be 3 going to 6, 7, 8 . I think a reasonable assumption. I believe my colleague, scott wapner, has a question for you both in studio. Great to have you on our program. Ive been thinking a lot about sports as an investable asset. Michael, congratulations to you on the orioles. Europe now one of the owners. Thanks, scott. Tony, you own the Atlanta Hawks of the nba. As i ask you this question, the nfl is actively considering, and they will this week in their meetings in nashville, decide whether private equity can be investors in their teams. And, tony, im wondering how you think about that as a possible opportunity for ares. I think theres no doubt the nfl, i hope, is a real possibility for ares and for our sports and media funds. And for what its worth, sports, generally speaking, the media and sports world is a much larger asset class, scott, that people really appreciate. This is hundreds of billions of dollars of not just value and, frankly, lendable assets, but the ancillary assets, the stadiums, the arenas, the real estate developments, ancillary businesses, these are all huge opportunities that private equity and private credit will undoubtedly be a meaningful part of. I would also suggest that the other relevance is that the sports world, as people appreciate global media rights and the value of these franchises and the importance and value of the overall assets themselves will dramatically push to improve management and expertise in these businesses which really historically havent always been very well run. And youre seeing a massive transition over the last ten years, and i would argue over the next ten years to far more professional management and really improve margins and operations and actually revenue sources. So thats all part of the game, i think. Mike, how do you think p e firms would view being passive investors . Its just not something you guys normally thats not how you roll, right . You like to have a say yeah. In the operations of the kind of business you invest in. In this case, certainly in the nfls case, you could only be a passive investor. Ill say two things. One, were in the business of delivering investment outcomes to investors. And so, given our capability and track record in sports investment both professionally and personally, just granting access, i think, is a huge Value Proposition to the investors, but i would also encourage to you think about what weve been able to do in our credit business where were not a control investor, but we have significant influence over the portfolio. We can give them access to best practices that we see that they otherwise couldnt. So my hope and expectation would be if we were involved in this effort Going Forward through our skill set, we would be able to deliver some of this expertise and track record tony is talking about just in terms of engagement and influence without necessarily having control. Tony, how would you making businesses go ahead, please. Go on, im sorry. Finish your thought and then ill ask you. I was just add to go mikes point that making businesses run better is what alternative Asset Managers with private equity folks, private lenders try to do with or without control, and i think many of the leagues will appreciate that. How would you think about your return on investment, though, and potential exits . You, tony, may want to realize your gain or return faster than would be typical, per se, in the nfl. How would you think about that . Well, again, i think what the nba has already introduced and certainly the mlb and the nfl are moving towards, you have private Equity Investors already buying minority pieces of teams. So i think what youll find an increasing number of Institutional Investors and, frankly, an increasing market in minority investments for franchises in virtually all of the major sports leagues, and that, of course, creates a bigger market and there will be far more liquidity for both control and noncontrol owners. As a result, better investment environment. I would liken it, scott, to the growth were seeing generally in the secondary market where a whole ecosystem of Capital Solutions is beginning to form to grant liquidity to investors and illiquid assets or owners of illiquid assets and i would expect the sports landscape to be on a similar path. Thank you both so much for being here today. Tony ressler, Mike Arougheti at your investor day. Thank you. Thanks for having us. We look forward to following your progress. Appreciate it. Scott, back to you. I appreciate it. Leslie, thanks so much for that. Coming up, bryn talkington is making some moves in the crypto space today. The trade is next. Your shipping manager left to find themself. leaving you lost. You need to hire. I need indeed. Indeed you do. Indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates matching your job description. Visit indeed. Com hire you know whats brilliant . Boring. Think about it. Boring is the unsung catalyst for bold. What straps bold to a rocket and hurtles it into space . Boring does. Boring makes vacations happen, early retirements possible, and startups start up. Because its smart, dependable, and steady. All words you want from your bank. For nearly 160 years, pnc bank has been brilliantly boring so you can be happily fulfilled. Which is pretty unboring if you think about it. We are back. Bitcoin hitting the highest level since april. Ethey are hitting its highest level since march. We are back at 70,000 on bitcoin. Bryn, Grayscale Bitcoin trust, you sold it. You bought the Ishares Bitcoin trust. Take us through that trade. I dont see gray scale taking down the Expense Ratio to be even remotely commensurate with ibit, which is 25. Grayscale is still 150. And so the same thing. Ultimately youll see more consolidation. You dont need ten different bitcoin etfs. But grayscale is a different story. That etf still hasnt been converted. What are your general thoughts on bitcoin hih, i thin such a volatile space. I think people are getting excited that they thought the etf was squashed by the scc. Theres rumors that the etherium tv could be approved, so crypto is moving in that direction of saying we are going to approve this etf, which still just gives more validation for the space in general. Lifts not just bitcoin, but a lot of other crypto assets, as well. Well take a ick qubreak and come back with mike santoli and his midday word, next. what took you so long . Im sorry, there was a long line at the thai place. You get the sauce i like . Of course youre the man i wish. The future isnt scary. Not investing in it is. Nasdaq100 innovators. One etf. Before investing, carefully read and consider Fund Investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses and more in prospectus at invesco. Com at pgim, finding opportunity in fixed income today, helps secure tomorrow. Our timetested fixed income suite, backed by over 145 years of risk experience, helps investors meet their goals. Pgim investments. Shaping tomorrow today. All right. We are back with our senior markets commentator mike santoli with his midday word. Every now and then we have these big moments and the market takes a breath and waits. Feel like this is one of those with nvidia tomorrow. No doubt is. It also comes as the overall market was, you know, coming off of a nice run, and so the question was, are we going to needily have this sort of profit taking under the surface, or is it going to be wait and see . So were holding the gains. The nonnvidia Semiconductor Stocks are acting pretty well also. So it feels like theres some Energy Positioning for perhaps another confirmation that the big picture story remains in tact. So thats how i would read it. It remains a very eclectic market with financials doing okay. Its not that thematic. But i dont think theres a very steep wall of worry left, but you dont always need that when the environment is okay. Price action from palo alto, gets punished, buyers come in well off the ows. Like watching apple, as we normally do, north of 192. Yeah, big picture story is what people will fall back on. Apple, its funny. Find me a more boring stock over the last couple of years. Maybe you can see thats the case. This stock hit 180 in december of 2021. 2 1 2 years later, were talking about 190 and change. So either its just this defensive waxes and wanes with the breeze, or its just kind of, you know, got this potential energy built up into it, because people dont have faith in the ai trade. So holding its own is enough for the Broader Market to perform. You have the electricity of the buyback. I mean, its been the story for a long time that theyre buying it, theyre soaking up the supply. They try to keep you focused on the surface. The thesis is there. I just think that at this point, its kind of sidelined relative to the big themes people really care about. Ill see you in a couple of hours. Thats mike santoli. ll t his final word on closing bell. Final trades are next. Your skin is everchanging, take care of it with gold bonds age renew formulations of 7 moisturizers and 3 vitamins. For all your skins, gold bond. grandpa vo im the richest guy in the world. Of 7 moisturizers and hi baby ns. woman 1 vo i have inherited the best traditions. woman 2 vo i have a great boss. Its me. man 1 vo i have people, people i can count on. man 2 vo i have time to give grandma vo and a million stories to share. grandpa vo if thats not rich, i dont know what is. vo the key to being rich is knowing what counts. Big week for retail, in including that company. Stephanie, what do you think . I think its going to be solid. The key is operating margins, can they get back to that 6 level which say that you in 2019. If you can, youre looking at 11 a share. I think the stock is cheap. By the way, join me at 3 00 on closing bell. Liz ann saunders will be with me, with gene munster and matthew boss of jpmorgan. So well look ahead to all of that. Lets do final trades. Stef, what do you got . Bank of america, just after jpmorgan increased their Net Interest Income number for the second time yesterday, bank of america gets 50 of their total revenues from nii. I think it bodes well for the stock at 1. 2 times stock. Josh brown, did you ride a horse to work today . [ laughter ] the jolly rancher, your new nickname. Moderna, new 52week high here. No real resistance for that 200 Day Moving Average at 160. Bryn, what do you got . Palantir. They just had their sixth quarter of positive gap earnings. Great name to go with nvidia. From the rancher to the farmer. Oracle. Ill see you on closing bell. The exchange is now. Its big hour here, scott. Thank you very much. Welcome to the exchange. Im kelly evans. Heres all whats ahead. Microsofts Developers Conference underway, with the ceo giving the keynote right now. Well continue to bring you all the headlines from that event as we get reaction, as well. And the nasdaq is just fractionally higher after hitting another record high yesterday. Were on record close watch for the nasdaq and the s p, while the dow is on base for a second positive day in three. The