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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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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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Walmart won’t throw its own sales event that coincides with Amazon Prime Day.
The big-box retailer has had weeks-long deep discounts on items including bicycles, air fryers, apparel and more as it tries to sell through excess merchandise.
An abundance of inventory and discounts could tee up a more challenging backdrop for the retail industry, as consumers pull back on discretionary spending.

Walmart Rollback pricing signs are displayed while customers shop during the grand opening of a new Wal-Mart Stores location in Torrance, California.
Patrick Fallon | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Walmart won’t be doing its own event to rival Amazon Prime Day this year, according to a company spokesperson.
The big-box giant, like other retailers, has typically thrown its own overlapping sales event. Yet this year, much of its merchandise is already on sale.

Bright yellow “Clearance” signs have become a fixture in many stores in recent weeks, and its website is touting thousands of Rollbacks, a signature term for the discounter’s 90-day price cuts, on bicycles, air fryers and more.
“You go in stores now, it’s almost like Prime Day in some of these categories,” said Rupesh Parikh, a senior analyst for Oppenheimer & Co.
Walmart’s heavy discounting illustrates the steps that retailers are taking to sell through excess merchandise that has racked up in the back of stores and in warehouses — even if that hurts profits. Walmart, Target and Gap are among the companies coping with higher-than-usual inventory levels. Retailers have chalked up the problem to a mix of factors, including ordering too much, getting seasonal goods too late, pandemic categories losing luster and consumers spending more on services instead of stuff.
Target warned inventors last month that it will take a hit to its profit margins as it cancels orders and marks down unwanted items.

Retail challenges

The abundance of inventory and promotions creates a unique backdrop for this year’s Amazon Prime Day. The sales event will take place Tuesday and Wednesday. Since its debut in 2015, it has become a shopping holiday that has lifted sales not only for Amazon, but nearly every online retailer.
It also tees up a more challenging period for the retail industry. Inflation has cut into Americans’ budgets, leaving fewer dollars for discretionary spending. Heavy promotions by some retailers pressure others to cut prices, too. And after a pandemic period marked by fewer discounts and higher profits, shoppers may revert to a bargain-hunting mentality as the back-to-school and holiday shopping seasons approach.
“You’re going to train that consumer to wait for deals,” Parikh said.
High levels of markdowns at Walmart stores caused Oppenheimer to take the company off its list of top picks for investors on Thursday. Instead, the firm’s top picks in the food retailing/discounter category are Dollar General, which draws budget-conscious customers like Walmart but has fewer big-ticket items vulnerable to markdowns, and Costco, which has shoppers who care about value, but tend to have higher incomes.

Discounts galore

Some retailers are still pressing ahead with sales events that coincide with Prime Day. Target is hosting Deals Days, a three-day event from Monday to Wednesday with discounts on thousands of items across every category from electronics to beauty. Best Buy is having a Black Friday in July Sale with deals on laptops, TVs, smartphones and more from Monday to Wednesday. And Macy’s kicked off its Black Friday in July event on Thursday and it will run through Wednesday, with specials in store and online on apparel, accessories, beauty and home.
While Walmart is skipping the flashy marketing and short-term sales event, discounts will be plentiful for shoppers who hit its stores.
Oppenheimer’s price target for Walmart is $165.00, nearly a third higher than where the company’s stock is currently trading. Parikh said the discounter could benefit from attracting more price-sensitive shoppers who seek low-priced groceries and essentials. Yet he said in the quarters ahead, it will get compared with a pandemic boom period when consumers had extra stimulus dollars and fewer places to spend them.
As it goes up against those tough comparisons, the economic outlook has changed.
“It’s not ‘Ok, let’s clear this out and we’re going to go back to what everything looked like.’ That’s just not the case,” Parikh said. “Food inflation is really high. Gas prices are high. These consumer pressures, as they stay elevated, it just builds on the consumer — especially the lower-income consumer.”
Plus, there are signs heavy discounts will spill into next season. Walmart will take “a couple of quarters” to get back to more typical inventory levels, the company’s U.S. CEO, John Furner, said at an investor event in early June.
On Thursday, Urban Outfitters-owned apparel retailer Anthropologie sent an email to customers to promote an upcoming sale: a 25% discount on fall clothing. It’s timed for this coming weekend, in the thick of summer.
CNBC’s Lauren Thomas contributed to this report.

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Federal vehicle safety regulators will investigate a crash last month in which a vehicle struck a self-driving car from General Motors-backed Cruise.
The incident resulted in minor injuries.
The Cruise vehicle was in “autonomous mode” at the time of the crash.  It’s unclear if a safety driver, employee or other passenger was in the car.

A robot car of the General Motors subsidiary Cruise is on a test drive in 2019.
Andrej Sokolow | picture alliance | Getty Images

Federal vehicle safety regulators will investigate a crash last month in which a vehicle struck a self-driving car from General Motors-backed Cruise. The incident resulted in minor injuries.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Thursday said its Special Crash Investigation Program is probing the incident, which occurred June 3 in San Francisco – a day after California regulators granted Cruise permission to commercialize its robotaxi fleet.

Occupants of both vehicles involved in the crash received medical treatment for “allegedly minor injuries,” according to a mandatory report filed by Cruise with the California Department of Motor Vehicles.
According to the report, filed by Cruise Vice President of Global Markets Todd Brugger, a Toyota Prius entered an intersection after traveling straight via a lane designated for turning. The Cruise vehicle was attempting to make a left-hand turn across several lanes of traffic and had stopped to allow the car to turn.
The Prius was traveling about 40 mph in a 20 mph speed zone when it struck the Cruise vehicle, according to the filing. The Cruise vehicle was in “autonomous mode” at the time of the crash. It’s unclear if a safety driver, employee or other passenger was in the car.
The NHTSA, part of the Department of Transportation, confirmed the investigation but declined to offer other details.
Cruise, in an emailed statement, said the company has provided NHTSA with “routine information” about the crash. The company also noted that the inquiries from the Special Crash Investigation team are separate from the agency opening an official defect probe into the company or its vehicles.

“NHTSA has not opened a formal investigation into Cruise for this or any other incident,” Cruise said. “Any suggestion to the contrary is absolutely inaccurate. An office within the agency has collected routine information, which we have provided.”
Separately on Thursday, the NHTSA opened another investigation into a fatal pedestrian crash in California involving a 2018 Tesla Model 3. It adds to more than 30 other probes into Tesla vehicles since 2016 in which advanced driver assistance systems like Autopilot were a suspected factor.
Tesla crashes currently under investigation have resulted in 16 fatalities of vehicle occupants or pedestrians, according to the agency.

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The Cowboys announced a partnership with Black Rifle Coffee a day after the shootings in Highland Park, Illinois.
The timing of the announcement faced a backlash on Twitter.

Owner Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys attends training camp at River Ridge Complex on July 24, 2021 in Oxnard, California.
Jayne Kamin-oncea | Getty Images

The Dallas Cowboys are facing a backlash after the football team announced a partnership with gun-themed coffee company a day after the deadly shooting in Highland Park, Illinois.
The company, Black Rifle Coffee, says it is veteran-owned and sells products with names including “Silencer Smooth Coffee Rounds,” “AK-47 Espresso Blend” and “Murdered Out Coffee Roast.”

“Please welcome America’s Coffee to America’s Team,” the Cowboys tweeted earlier this week with a video montage showing the team, coffee beans and a man wearing camouflage clothing drinking coffee.
The announcement set off criticism online, including from those who noted its poor timing a day after the Highland Park shooting, which left seven dead and wounded dozens more, and weeks after the Uvalde, Texas, shooting that killed 21, including 19 children, at Robb Elementary School.
“This is such a dumb insensitive move on the wrong side of history,” one account tweeted. “This is the only team I’ve ever cheered for my entire life, despite letting me down for decades,” said another tweet. “But this is the line in the sand. I can’t support this. If the Cowboys don’t rescind this, I’m done.”
Others expressed their support, including one account that tweeted that said Black Rifle is veteran-owned and that people were getting mad over the company’s name without knowing anything about it.
“Great company with a great mission,” another tweeted.

In a statement, Black Rifle said the deal with the Cowboys had been in the works for a long time and “was timed to coincide with the Independence Day holiday.” A representative declined to respond when asked whether the company considered delaying the Cowboys announcement after the shootings.
The Dallas Cowboys did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment. The NFL didn’t respond to requests for comment, either.
Jerry Jones, the Cowboys owner, had said in a statement when the team announced the partnership that the agreement represents the Cowboys’ support of the military and first responders.
On its website, Black Rifle Coffee says it was founded in 2014 and is committed to supporting veterans and first responders. “Black Rifle Coffee Company serves coffee and culture to people who love America,” the company’s bio reads.
The coffee company, which went public in February after a merger with a SPAC, also partners with NASCAR and the National Wild Turkey Federation, and athlete Travis Pastrana, according its website.
Black Rifle’s stock price hit a 52-week low of $6.62 on June 27 and opened Thursday at about $9.
– CNBC’s Jessica Golden contributed to this report.

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