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CNBC’s Jim Cramer warned investors not to pick up beaten-up shares of video game companies like Activision and Take-Two just yet.
Video game companies saw their stocks skyrocket during the height of the Covid pandemic, as consumers hunkered down and turned to at-home entertainment.
That changed when the economy reopened, leading to a boom in outdoor activities.

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Thursday warned investors not to pick up beaten-up shares of video game companies like Activision Blizzard and Take-Two Interactive Software just yet.
“I’m not saying they’re done going down at this point — I definitely think they have more downside — but at some point they’ll be cheap enough to be worth buying. It’s just that we aren’t there yet,” he said.

Some of the other names to keep an eye on include Sony, AMD, Microsoft and Nvidia, according to Cramer.
Video game companies saw their stocks skyrocket during the height of the Covid pandemic, as consumers hunkered down and turned to at-home entertainment. That changed when the economy reopened, leading to a boom in outdoor activities.
“In other words, life is too short to stay at home playing video games, or at least that’s how many consumers seem to feel at the moment,” Cramer said.
He added that the companies are also weighed down by the dependence on revenue streams from digital advertising, which has seen a downturn as the Federal Reserve raised interest rates to slow down the economy.
Nevertheless, the headwinds facing the video game industry will likely abate, though it’s unclear when, Cramer said.

“While the video game industry came out of 2022 looking like one of the biggest losers … I think it could just turn out to be a temporary problem, not a permanent one. Too soon to start bottom fishing here, but eventually, there will be a bottom,” he said.

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Netflix founder Reed Hastings is giving up his CEO role.
He will remain at the company as chairman.
Hastings co-founded Netflix in 1997. Ted Sarandos was promoted to co-CEO alongside Hastings in July 2020.

Netflix founder Reed Hastings is giving up his CEO role but will stay on as chairman, the company announced alongside its earnings report Thursday.
Co-CEO Ted Sarandos will remain in his position. Greg Peters, most recently chief operating officer, will assume the post of co-CEO in Hastings’ place. Peters will also join the company’s board.

“I want to thank Reed for his visionary leadership, mentorship and friendship over the last 20 years. We’ve all learned so much from his intellectual rigor, honesty and willingness to take big bets — and we look forward to working with him for many more years to come,” said Sarandos in a written statement.
Hastings co-founded Netflix in 1997. Sarandos was promoted to co-CEO alongside Hastings in July 2020, the same time that Peters was appointed to his COO role. The company did not specify whether it would backfill the role of COO.

Netflix co-founder and CEO, Reed Hastings, is in Sydney to meet with executives of other subscription streaming services, February 25, 2022.
Wolter Peeters | Fairfax Media | Getty Images

Hastings tweeted on Thursday that he plans to stay on as executive chairman “for many years to come.” He leaves the helm as the streaming giant attempts a variety of pivots to boost subscribers and rebound after its business sagged in recent quarters.
Hastings wrote in a blog post on Thursday that period of the past two and a half years “was a baptism by fire, given COVID and recent challenges within our business.”
The executive shake-up will also see Bela Bajaria, who served as the company’s global head of television, step in as chief content officer. Scott Stuber, who was previously the head of global film, will step in as chairman of Netflix Film.

The succession announcement comes alongside the company’s fourth-quarter earnings report. Netflix matched Wall Street’s revenue expectations and posted millions more subscriber adds than anticipated.
Correction: Netflix was founded in 1997. An earlier version of this story misstated the year in some instances.

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Netflix used to be legacy media’s biggest enemy, but the industry’s common fight against slowing growth have banded companies together.
Netflix shares jumped 6% after hours after it gained 7.7 million subscribers in the quarter.
Disney, Comcast, Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery rose after hours.

For the past three years, the global media and entertainment industry has been defined by the streaming wars. Each media company created a streaming service to compete. Only the strongest would survive, the narrative went. The losers would consolidate or die.
Last year, the streaming wars didn’t end, but a metaphorical meteor approached the entertainment world in the form of slowing growth. For the first time ever, Netflix lost subscribers. Its shares fell more than 60%. Disney, Comcast unit NBCUniversal, Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery had also transformed their businesses to revolve around streaming, so their stocks fell dramatically too.

Media companies still duke it out for hit shows, advertising dollars and, ultimately, eyeballs. But imagine what would happen on Earth when facing an apocalypse: Land wars would become less important. They might even stop. The threat of mass destruction becomes the common enemy.
That’s what Netflix’s latest quarterly earnings report suggests. Netflix added 7.7 million streaming subscribers in the fourth quarter, blowing out analyst estimates, which were closer to 5 million. Netflix’s shares rose more than 6% after hours.
Previously, great news for Netflix was bad news for legacy competitors competing with Netflix. Those days are over. Now, the industry bands together. Disney, Comcast, Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery all rose slightly after Netflix’s report.
Read more: Netflix founder Reed Hastings is giving up his CEO role
Media companies have, at least momentarily, found themselves fighting against a common enemy – streaming subscriber fatigue. Wall Street doesn’t like sagging growth.

Netflix’s big quarter doesn’t yet include results from forcing password sharers to pay, a process that will kick into gear soon. That’s more good news for Netflix and the industry at large, which can follow Netflix’s lead. Netflix said it expects subscriber growth in the first quarter to be lower than the fourth quarter for general seasonality reasons, but it expects growth in the second quarter due to more customers signing up rather than losing the service as Netflix cracks down on sharing passwords.
The old media world was defined by Netflix disrupting the legacy industry. Now, as Netflix goes, so goes the media world. A band of brothers. Sort of.
WATCH: Netflix stock jumps after subscriber beat

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CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Thursday said that the carnage in tech stocks like Tesla, Salesforce and Amazon is concealing a bull market in other names.
“We had a very traditional bull market based on the dollar and interest rates peaking,” he said.

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Thursday said that the carnage in tech stocks is concealing a bull market in other names.”We had a very traditional bull market based on the dollar and interest rates peaking, both of which tend to be terrific for stocks for a whole host of reasons,” he said, adding that “the relentless beatdown in the Teslas and Salesforces and Amazons” is obscuring it.
Stocks fell Thursday after the Labor Department reported that initial filings for unemployment insurance fell to their lowest level since September, indicating that the labor market remains hot despite the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes.

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While stocks have taken a beating in recent days, many are still rallying overall, he said. Shares of companies including Visa, Mastercard, J.P. Morgan Chase and Boeing bottomed late last year, according to Cramer.
“These huge stocks have had monster, happy moves in the last few months – what we’ve seen this week is merely an orderly decline to burn off their vastly overbought condition,” he said.
Cramer, who has remained adamant that investors stay away from mega-cap tech name, told investors to not make the same mistake as Wall Street by getting caught up in tech stock declines.
“Let’s remember, there are two tracks out there. The tech track that can’t seem to find its footing, rooted in about 30% of the market, and the other track, which found its footing months and months and months ago,” he said.
Disclaimer: Cramer’s Charitable Trust owns shares of Salesforce and Amazon.

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An activist investor like Trian Partners’ Nelson Peltz on Walt Disney ‘s (DIS) board could help prod the entertainment conglomerate to address its financial woes and implement much-needed changes to create long-term value for the company and its shareholders. Peltz, the CEO and founder of investment firm Trian Partners, has been waging an ongoing proxy battle to gain a seat on Disney’s board — a move the Club would endorse in order to pressure Disney to rein in spending and get its financial house in order. Trian currently holds a nearly $1 billion stake in Club holding Disney. “Lots of angry people ask me why I support Nelson Peltz for the Disney board, and I give a simple answer: What has this board done for its shareholders other than wipe out more shareholder money?” Jim Cramer said during the Club’s “Monthly Meeting” on Thursday. “There has to be someone on that board who can stop the incredible money being paid while we all suffer,” he added. Nonetheless, Disney’s board unanimously decided against offering Peltz a seat, according to an SEC filing the company submitted Tuesday. “Nelson Peltz does not understand Disney’s businesses and lacks the skills and experience to assist the board in delivering shareholder value in a rapidly shifting media ecosystem,” the company said during a presentation to investors on Tuesday. Peltz, whose next step in his fight is to convince voting Disney shareholders he deserves a board seat, has had success serving on several company boards. He’s currently non-executive chairman at Wendy’s (WEN) and serves as a director at Unilever (UL). He’s previously served as a director at Club holding Procter & Gamble (PG), as well as Sysco (SYY) and Kraft Heinz (KHC), among many others. In companies that Trian invested in — and Peltz served on the boards — the companies’ total shareholder return, on average, has outperformed the S & P 500 by roughly 900 basis points annually, Peltz has said. Peltz’s efforts to obtain a seat on Disney’s board come amid significant upheaval for the company. Disney reported a dismal fiscal fourth quarter in early November, prompting the board to fire then-CEO Bob Chapek and reappoint Bob Iger to the top job. Disney’s stock came down by more than 44% in 2022, but has gained roughly 14% since the start of the year. Shares closed out Thursday mainly flat, at roughly $99 apiece. Shareholders have been particularly frustrated by Disney’s mediocre direct-to-consumer streaming business, which includes Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+, that has yet to reach profitability. The streaming business lost nearly $1.5 billion last quarter, though management has repeatedly said its goal is to reach profitability for Disney+ by fiscal 2024. Disney is set to report fiscal 2023 first-quarter earnings after the closing bell on Feb. 8. For his part, Peltz said he’s not looking to remove Iger, who is working on finding a new successor. “My goal would be to work collaboratively with Bob Iger and other directors to take decisive action that will result in improved operations and financial performance,” Peltz noted recently. Wall Street has had a mixed reaction to Peltz’s efforts to obtain a board seat. In a research note Tuesday, analysts at Trust Securities said Peltz has “credible board experience and track record, even if more limited in media.” Conversely, analysts at LightShed Partners on Wednesday called Trian’s push to put Peltz on the board a “distraction.” Bottom line Disney is a company with incredible brands that customers love. To ensure the value of those brands is maintained, we’d like to see accountability for the company’s overspending in unprofitable businesses. Peltz’s experience shouldn’t be downplayed, given his appointment on countless boards past and present. And even more to the point, Trian Partners has an incentive to see Disney succeed , given its very large stake in the company. (Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is long DIS. 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.

Nelson Peltz speaking at the 2019 Delivering Alpha conference in New York on Sept. 19, 2019.
Adam Jeffery | CNBC

An activist investor like Trian Partners’ Nelson Peltz on Walt Disney’s (DIS) board could help prod the entertainment conglomerate to address its financial woes and implement much-needed changes to create long-term value for the company and its shareholders. More

Vice Media is restarting its sale process after earlier interested bidders balked at the initial price tag, according to people familiar with the situation.
The digital media company, which was valued at $5.7 billion in 2017, is now likely to fetch a price of below $1 billion, the people said.
Fortress, one of Vice’s lenders, has become one of the leaders of the sale process as it looks to get paid out, the people said.

Vice Media offices display the Vice logo in Venice, California.
Mario Tama | Getty Images

Vice Media is restarting its sale process after earlier interested bidders balked at the initial price tag, according to people familiar with the situation.
The digital media company, which was valued at $5.7 billion in 2017, is now likely to fetch a price of below $1 billion, the people said. Initially, Vice was looking for a valuation between $1 billion and $1.5 billion, one of the people added. The people weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

A Vice Media spokesperson declined to comment.
Vice last year hired advisers to facilitate a sale of some or all of its business, CNBC previously reported. Some of its most attractive assets are likely to be its content studio and creative advertising agency, Virtue, CNBC previously reported, but the company is attempting to sell itself in full rather than in pieces, the people said.
One of Vice’s lenders, Fortress Investment Group, is a driving force in the sale process, the people said, and has agreed to wait on loan repayment. Fortress was reportedly part of a consortium of lenders in 2019 that provided $250 million in debt to Vice.
Vice has lowered its expectations in hopes of getting a deal done and securing a payout sooner rather than later, the people said.
The company had been nearing a deal with Greek broadcaster Antenna Group, but those talks stalled in recent weeks, the people said. Antenna is still likely to be an interested bidder in the renewed sale process, they added.

Representatives for Antenna and Fortress declined to comment.
Digital media companies have fallen from great heights from in recent years as growth has stalled due to shrinking audience numbers and advertising. They’ve particularly faced growing competition for ad dollars from tech giants like Google. Media companies in general have been facing a slowdown in advertising revenue as macroeconomic conditions have caused a pullback from advertisers.
Meanwhile, Buzzfeed, the only digital media company to IPO, has seen its stock fall roughly 90% since going public in 2021.
Vice reached its peak valuation in 2017 with a $450 million investment from private equity firm TPG, valuing the company at the time at nearly $6 billion.
The company later targeted a valuation of roughly $3 billion, including debt, when it attempted to go public via special purpose acquisition company 7GC & Co Holdings in 2021. However those plans also stalled after the market cooled and investors were no longer sold on Vice’s prospects as a standalone public company.
Vice ended 2022 with a slight gain in revenue, but the business deteriorated among macroeconomic headwinds, according to a person familiar with the matter. Vice missed its revenue goal by more than $100 million for 2022, The Wall Street Journal previously reported.
While the company was unprofitable last year, some of its units did post a profit, and Vice has been intermittently profitable in recent years, the person added.
WATCH: Vice Media CEO talks to CNBC after $400 million acquisition of Refinery29

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The chief executive of Club holding Procter & Gamble (PG) on Thursday said inflation appears to be easing and pressure from a strong U.S. dollar abating — comments that only reinforce our view that the consumer staples giant is a solid name to own in 2023. Speaking from the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, CEO Jon Moeller told CNBC that input costs are “leveling out,” with prices rising at a “lower rate than they were previously.” Though, he cautioned that could take time to be reflected on the company’s income statement. “To the extent that all of these costs normalize, the dollar pressure subsides, that’s going to be a wonderful opportunity to invest in this business,” Moeller said. Like many U.S. multinationals, P & G has been weighed down by a strong U.S. dollar, making products more expensive abroad, and record-high inflation that sapped demand. The CEO’s comments come on the same day P & G released fiscal second-quarter earnings . The results showed organic revenue — excluding the impact of foreign exchange, acquisitions and divestitures — increased 5% year-over-year, as higher pricing made up for weaker consumer demand. At the same time, Procter & Gamble, whose high-quality consumer products include Tide, Pampers and Gillette, has been able to increase its value proposition to shoppers by broadening its portfolio to offer products at a range of price points. “Our shares are holding because we’ve transformed our portfolio to offer trade-down opportunities when consumers want them within our brands,” Moeller said. “We’re much better positioned to deal with trade down…but we’re not seeing a lot of it,” he added. Moeller also suggested demand would pick up this year as China’s economy fully reopens, while saying the state of the global economy “doesn’t look honestly horrible.” Shares of Procter & Gamble were trading down 0.6% midday Thursday, at $144.63 apiece. Bottom line Moeller offered a welcomed upbeat take on the economy and P & G’s potential for growth in 2023. P & G remains a stock we prefer amid economic uncertainty, as its consumer products are essential in any economic environment. We also like that the company has offered multiple price points for shoppers searching for more affordable options, particularly amid signs of softer demand. We hope to see profits margins expand in 2023, as input costs come down and the dollar continues to retreat. (Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is long PG. 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.

In this photo illustration a Procter and Gamble logo seen displayed on a smartphone with stock market percentages in the background.
Omar Marques | Lightrocket | Getty Images

The chief executive of Club holding Procter & Gamble (PG) on Thursday said inflation appears to be easing and pressure from a strong U.S. dollar abating — comments that only reinforce our view that the consumer staples giant is a solid name to own in 2023. More

LIV Golf, the Saudi-funded professional golf tour that launched last year, reached a deal to broadcast its events on CW Network.
The CW will air LIV Golf’s 14 global events on weekends starting with one in Mexico from Feb. 24 to Feb. 26, as well as stream them on the CW app.
The announcement comes during LIV’s monthslong court battle with the rival PGA Tour.

Signage on a golf ball at the LIV golf tournament on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022, at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Illinois.
Brian Cassella | Tribune News Service | Getty Images

LIV Golf reached a multiyear deal to make CW Network the exclusive U.S. broadcast partner of the Saudi-funded professional tour that launched last year with dozens of players, including Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson.
The CW will air the 14 global events of the 2023 LIV Golf League season, starting with one in Mexico from Feb. 24 to Feb. 26.

Saturday and Sunday tournaments will air live on the CW and the CW app, and Friday events will be available on the app, the network said in a press release.
Nexstar Media Group owns 75% of the CW, which is known for airing shows primarily attracting younger audiences. It did not disclose the financial terms of the agreement.
CW Network President Dennis Miller in a press release said the partnership “marks a significant milestone in our goal to re-engineer the network.” He added this was the first time in the company’s history that it had become the exclusive broadcast home for live mainstream sports.
The Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund, which is controlled by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has committed at least $2 billion to the golf circuit and also backs LIV’s major tournament sponsor, real estate developer ROSHN.
Until now, LIV has yet to air its matches on a major U.S. network after Apple and Amazon passed on coverage deals. LIV events have been free for viewers online, including Alphabet’s YouTube.

“The CW will provide accessibility for our fans and maximum exposure for our athletes and partners as their reach includes more than 120 million households across the United States,” said LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman in a press release.
The league has struggled to pull in sponsors for its tournaments and critics have accused the Saudi investment fund of “sportswashing” to improve Saudi Arabia’s image.
As its name in Roman numerals suggests, LIV Golf tournaments feature 54 holes instead of the common 72. There are also 12 teams, a total of 48 players and shotgun starts.
In October, the PGA Tour filed a lawsuit against LIV’s Saudi backers in an attempt to force evidence discovery, a continuation of antitrust claims between the rivals.
LIV sued the PGA Tour a month prior alleging anti-competitive practices and monopolistic behavior. In response, the tour countersued LIV Golf, accusing it of interfering with its deals. Tiger Woods reportedly rejected an $800 million offer to join the league.
The PGA Tour previously suspended 17 players for playing in the inaugural LIV Golf tournament in June, which the Saudi-tied tour called an “effort to stifle competition.” LIV’s Norman visited Capitol Hill in September to meet with members of Congress.

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