Raphael Stevens

Monday – Friday, 6:00 – 7:00 PM ET

It’s that time again! “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer rings the lightning round bell, which means he’s giving his answers to callers’ stock questions at rapid speed.

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Chegg Inc: “I don’t know what to make of Chegg. … To me, it seems like the bulls are going to win on this stock.”

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Moderna Inc: “I think that stock has now come down enough. I would want to own Moderna. I do like Pfizer more.”

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ONEOK Inc: “Keep it. … I think that’s a fantastic stock.”

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Gentex Corp: “I’m going to say buy Gentex. I’m starting to warm up to autos.”

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Spirit Airlines is again delaying a shareholder vote set for Friday on its deal to merge with Frontier Airlines.
Spirit says it will continue deal talks with both Frontier and with JetBlue Airways.
JetBlue has been trying to acquire Spirit since April, two months after Frontier and Spirit announced their planned tie-up.

A Frontier Airlines plane near a Spirit Airlines plane at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on May 16, 2022 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images

Spirit Airlines is again delaying a shareholder vote set for Friday on its deal to merge with Frontier Airlines, a win for competing suitor JetBlue Airways, which wants to buy Spirit outright.
It is the third time Spirit has postponed the vote, which was originally scheduled for June 10. It was later pushed to June 28, but Spirit had delayed it until July 8 last week, a day before the vote.

Spirit said Thursday it would now hold the vote on July 15 so it could continue deal talks with both airlines.
The delays bode well for JetBlue Airways, which swooped in with a $3.6 billion all-cash offer to buy Spirit in April. Two months earlier, Frontier and Spirit announced a $2.9 billion cash-and-stock deal to combine into a discount behemoth.
“We are encouraged by our discussions with Spirit and are hopeful they now recognize that Spirit shareholders have indicated their clear, overwhelming preference for an agreement with JetBlue,” JetBlue’s CEO Robin Hayes said in a statement after the latest delay.
Spirit’s board repeatedly rejected JetBlue’s offers, including sweetened proposals, arguing it didn’t think regulators would sign off on the deal. JetBlue said both deals would face regulatory scrutiny, and Hayes said that Spirit’s board didn’t give JetBlue’s offers full consideration.
It wasn’t clear if Spirit would have the shareholder support it needed to get the Frontier deal passed ahead of the last scheduled meeting, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Frontier, which also sweetened its offer for Spirit, nearly doubling the cash portion to $4.13 a share, didn’t immediately comment on the latest vote delay.
Spirit shares were up 2% in afterhours trading, while Frontier shares were down less than 1%. JetBlue was little changed.

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Monday – Friday, 6:00 – 7:00 PM ET

CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Thursday that investors should be adding shares of Coca-Cola to portfolios.
“So far, in a very bad year for the stock market, Coca-Cola’s been one of the really consistent winners out there,” the “Mad Money” host said.

CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Thursday that investors should be adding shares of Coca-Cola to portfolios.
“So far, in a very bad year for the stock market, Coca-Cola’s been one of the really consistent winners out there. These guys were already putting up great numbers when inflation was insane in the first quarter,” he said.

“Now that so many of their key costs have come down dramatically from their highs. … I think Coke’s results will only just get better,” he added.
The “Mad Money” host said that there are four reasons why he believes investors should snatch up shares of Coke. First, the company is a recession-proof play since people will keep drinking pop regardless of the state of the economy, he said.
“It’s exactly the kind of company that we like here, one that makes real stuff, turns a profit, and returns those profits to shareholders via dividends and a buyback and also has a reasonable valuation versus its historic pricing,” he said.
He also pointed out that Coke will benefit from the ongoing reopening of the economy since people who stayed inside during the pandemic are dining out and ordering Coke products with their meals.
Cramer also said that the company’s venture into alcoholic beverages will boost its balance sheet. Coke announced a partnership with Jack Daniel’s distiller Brown-Forman in June to make a canned Jack-and-Coke cocktail. The company has already launched Topo Chico Hard Seltzer and Simply Spiked Lemonade with Molson Coors Beverage.

But the top reason Coke stock is attractive is that the company seems to be overcoming inflation, Cramer said.
Coke beat Wall Street expectations on earnings and revenue in its first quarter, but saw higher costs for key supplies such as aluminum, high fructose corn syrup and plastic.
However, the price of corn has come down roughly 27% from its April highs, including around a 23% decline over the past three weeks, Cramer said. He added that aluminum is down about 41% from its peak in March.
He acknowledged that the strong U.S. dollar is still a headwind for the beverage giant.
“It means their foreign earnings translate into fewer greenbacks. Not good, but currency fluctuations are much easier for Wall Street to ignore than rampant raw cost inflation,” he said.
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Disclaimer

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Monday – Friday, 6:00 – 7:00 PM ET

CNBC’s Jim Cramer said that the rally in tech stocks Thursday could spark a longer-term recovery, as the beaten-down names struggle to stay afloat in a seesawing market.
“You need to recognize that tech could have more than just a temporary bounce,” the “Mad Money” host said.

CNBC’s Jim Cramer said that the rally in tech stocks Thursday could spark a longer-term recovery, as the beaten-down names struggle to stay afloat in a seesawing market.
“You need to recognize that tech could have more than just a temporary bounce, at least if you’re looking at companies that provide new life to the enterprise, even as, admittedly, the consumer side still looks pretty ugly,” the “Mad Money” host said.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 2.28% on Thursday, buoyed by Samsung’s 11% profit surge and 21% revenue leap that pushed chipmakers and the rest of the tech sector higher. Shares of AMD gained 5.2% and Nvidia climbed 4.8%. ON Semiconductor surged more than 9%. 
The rally was a welcome reprieve for names that have been hammered by the Russia-Ukraine war, Covid lockdowns in China and the Federal Reserve’s series of interest rate hikes. And while bounces in the tech sector have generally stayed short and sweet this year, Cramer said he believes the stocks could see a sustained recovery — even if the economy enters a recession.
“Why do I think tech now has staying power? Because first, the Chinese consumer might be coming back, but second, more importantly, the enterprise isn’t getting as weak as you’d normally expect in a Fed-mandated slowdown,” he said.
China shortened quarantines for international travelers last month, though an uptick in Covid cases in the country has tightened health protocols in some cities. Bank of America Securities said it doesn’t expect China to reenter an extended lockdown as it did in the second quarter, though it acknowledged that the rebound in Covid cases could lead to some volatility.
Cramer reminded investors that tech companies’ products and services extend beyond laptops and home office equipment whose popularity has cooled off since the height of the pandemic. He added that an economic downturn could even increase demand for technology companies’ services.

“Tech’s deflationary. You can lay off lots of people with new technology. You can figure out how to make things more cheaply, do more with less, because of technology. You can make better products with more tech. All of this is happening now,” he said.
Disclosure: Cramer’s Charitable Trust owns shares of AMD and Nvidia.

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GameStop has fired its Chief Financial Officer, Mike Recupero.
It’s making staff cuts across departments as part of an effort to turn around the videogame retailer.
CEO Matt Furlong explained the changes in the memo to employees and said the company has to take bold steps as it invests in its digital future.

A screen displays the logo and trading information for GameStop on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) March 29, 2022.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters

GameStop has fired its Chief Financial Officer, Mike Recupero, and is making staff cuts across departments as part of an aggressive turnaround plan, the videogame retailer announced Thursday.
Recupero, who joined the company about a year ago, was “fired because he was not the right culture fit” and was “too hands off,” a person familiar with the matter told CNBC. He was pushed out by GameStop chairman Ryan Cohen, the person said.

Diana Jajeh, the company’s chief accounting officer, will become CFO. She will have a starting annual salary of $200,000, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and will be eligible for a “transformation bonus” in an aggregate amount of $1,965,000.
The layoffs, which were announced in a memo to employees that was obtained by CNBC, are on the corporate side of the company rather than at its stores, according to the person familiar with matter, and are intended to “reduce bloat” as GameStop invests in other areas.
The legacy brick-and-mortar retailer has been trying to reinvent itself and catch up to a videogame business that has largely moved online. Chewy founder Cohen was tapped last year to lead the company turnaround. He brought in a fresh slate of corporate leaders, including CEO Matt Furlong and Recupero, formerly of Amazon.
The company has made more than 600 corporate hires since the start of 2021, according to the memo announcing the changes.
GameStop’s stock has also garnered heightened attention, frequently getting swept up in the meme stock frenzy and posting sharp swings in its share price.

Yet the retailer has held its cards close to the vest. It has provided few updates on a broader corporate strategy and hasn’t taken questions from analysts on the company’s earnings calls for over a year. It did not respond to a CNBC request for more details about Thursday’s announcement.
Furlong highlighted some steps GameStop has taken to refresh its brand and drive growth on an earnings call this spring. He said it has launched a redesigned app, attracted new members to its rewards program and hired people with backgrounds in e-commerce and blockchain gaming. It plans to debut a marketplace for nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, by the end of the second quarter.
In the memo sent to employees Thursday and obtained by CNBC, Furlong said the company has to take bold steps as it invests in its digital future.
“This means eliminating excess costs and operating with an intense owner’s mentality,” he said. “Everyone in the organization must become even more hands-on and embrace a heightened level of accountability for results.”
Shares of the company fell more than 6% in extended trading after gaining more than 15% during the regular session. As of Thursday’s close, GameStop shares were trading at $135.12 giving the company a market value was $10.29 billion.
Earlier this week, GameStop said its board had approved a 4-for-1 stock split. A stock split is issued when a company wants to increase the number of shares and put their price within reach of more investors. The news spurred a more than 8% jump in the stock price.
Here’s the full memo sent to GameStop employees on Thursday:
All,
Change will be a constant as we evolve our commerce business and launch new products through our blockchain group. After investing heavily in personnel, technology, inventory and supply chain infrastructure over the past 18 months, our focus is on achieving sustained profitability. This means eliminating excess costs and operating with an intense owner’s mentality. Everyone in the organization must become even more hands-on and embrace a heightened level of accountability for results.
With that said, I’m getting in touch today to share three organizational updates:
1.  After making more than 600 corporate hires in 2021 and the first half of 2022, we have a stronger understanding of our transformation needs. This has positioned us to right-size headcount across several corporate departments. Today, we’re making a number of reductions to help us keep things simple and operate nimbly with the right talent in place.
2. We’re going to be making a significant investment in our Store Leaders and field employees, who play a critical role fulfilling the needs of our customers. These individuals are, in many respects, the heart of GameStop. We’ll be sharing details regarding this investment in the coming weeks.
3. Mike Recupero, who has served as our Chief Financial Officer since last June, is departing. Diana Jajeh, who has been our Chief Accounting Officer and possesses strong institutional knowledge of the business, has been appointed Chief Financial Officer.
These changes will enable us to operate in a profitable manner as we execute against our strategy of pursuing sales growth in our commerce business and launching new products that empower customers within the digital asset and web3 gaming verticals. I’m confident in the team we have in place going forward, and thank you again for your continued dedication and focus.
Regards,Matt

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Donald Trump left the board of his social media company just weeks before it was issued federal subpoenas, records show.
Trump, who had served as the chair of Trump Media and Technology Group, was one of six board members removed, according to a June 8 filing with the Florida Department of State’s Division of Corporations.
The SEC served Trump Media and Technology with a subpoena on June 27. Three days later, a federal grand jury in Manhattan issued a subpoena to the firm.

The Truth social network logo is seen on a smartphone in front of a display of former U.S. President Donald Trump in this picture illustration taken February 21, 2022.
Dado Ruvic | Reuters

Former President Donald Trump left the board of his social media company just weeks before it was issued subpoenas by the Securities and Exchange Commission and a federal grand jury in Manhattan, records show.
Trump, who had served as the chair of Trump Media and Technology Group, was one of six board members removed, according to a June 8 filing with the Florida Department of State’s Division of Corporations. His son Donald Trump Jr. also departed the board, along with Wes Moss, Kashyap Patel, Andrew Northwall and Scott Glabe.

Truth Social, the company’s social media app intended to be an alternative to Twitter, posted a statement Thursday denying that Trump had left the board. A spokesperson for the company did not immediately respond to clarify the filing with the Florida state agency.
The “Board of Directors” page on Trump Media’s website appeared blank as of Thursday afternoon. The departures were first reported by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
The SEC served Trump Media and Technology with a subpoena on June 27. Three days later, a federal grand jury in Manhattan issued a subpoena to the firm. Grand jury subpoenas typically indicate a criminal investigation is in progress.
The company said last week none of the subpoenas were directed at Trump.
The subpoenas appear to be related to a proposed merger between Trump Media and Technology and Digital World Acquisition Corp. DWAC disclosed the connection with a criminal probe Friday. A week prior, DWAC said the government investigations could delay or even prevent its merger with Trump’s newly formed company.

The Justice Department and the SEC, which regulates the stock market, are investigating the deal between DWAC and Trump Media. By merging with DWAC, which is a kind of shell company called a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, Trump’s firm would gain access to potentially billions of dollars on public equities markets.
Early criticism of the deal came from Sen. Elizabeth Warren in November. She wrote to SEC Chair Gary Gensler, telling him that DWAC “may have committed securities violations by holding private and undisclosed discussions about the merger as early as May 2021, while omitting this information in [SEC] filing and other public statements.”
Shares of DWAC have fallen more than 50% so far this year.
—CNBC’s Mike Calia contributed to this report.

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Levi Strauss reported fiscal second-quarter earnings that exceeded analyst estimates.
The clothing retailer reaffirmed its 2022 guidance for net revenue to increase 11% to 13% compared to 2021.

A sign is posted in front of the Levi Strauss & Co. headquarters on April 09, 2021 in San Francisco, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Levi Strauss on Thursday reported quarterly revenue and earnings that came in above Wall Street expectations, as the clothing company known for its denim said it benefitted from Americans opting for more relaxed dress codes.
The San Francisco company increased its quarterly dividend and stood by its guidance for the year. Its shares were up about 4% at $17.08 in after-hours trading.

Here’s how Levi performed for the quarter ending May 29 compared to Wall Street estimates based on a survey of analysists by Refinitiv.

Revenue: $1.47 billion vs. $1.43 billion expected
Earnings per share: 29 cents adjusted vs. 23 cents expected

Levi Straus said its higher revenue in the quarter was fueled by both stronger direct-to-consumer and wholesale sales. It said digital revenue rose 3% globally and accounted for 20% of sales in the quarter.
“Jeans are now much more acceptable in the office,” CEO Chip Bergh told CNBC in an interview.
The retailer did track mid-single-digit declines from a year ago at its two value denim brands, which sell at Target, Walmart and Amazon and make up a small percentage of the company’s overall business, Bergh said.
“So there’s some evidence that the more value conscious consumer — the lower income consumer — is starting to feel the squeeze and is starting to make some choices,” he said.

But he said the declines were more than offset by the company’s core business.
Levi’s revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter was up 15% from the $1.27 billion the company reported in the year-ago period. Analysts expected $1.43 billion.
Sales grew by 17% in the Americas, 3% in Europe and 16% in Asia compared to 2021. Levi’s other brands, Dockers and Beyond Yoga, saw an increase of 56% compared to last year.
The company’s selling, general and administrative expenses were $779 million in the quarter, higher than the $644 million last year. The company attributed the increase to the conflict in Ukraine.
For the quarter, the company reported a net income of $49.7 million, or 12 cents a share, compared $64.7 million, or 16 cents a share, in the year-ago period. On an adjusted basis, the company said it earned 29 cents a share in the most recent quarter, which was more than the 23 cents per share Wall Street expected.
For the full-year, the company stood by its guidance for revenue to grow 11% to 13% from a year ago. It still expects adjusted earnings of $1.50 to $1.56 per share.
The company hiked its quarterly dividend to 12 cents a share, up from 10 cents a share.
Harmit Singh, Levi’s chief financial officer, told CNBC that the company decided to reaffirm its fiscal 2022 outlook but to increase its dividend given the lingering effects on the war overseas, the potential slowdown of the value conscious consumer, continued Covid lockdowns in China and currency changes.
Read the company’s earnings release here.
CNBC’s Lauren Thomas contributed to this report.

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