Five things to note ahead of the opening bill. Alphabet's driverless taxi company, Whimo, says service is back now in San Francisco following a pause on Saturday that took place during a blackout that hit that city. Videos shared on social media appear to show multiple Whimo vehicles stalled in traffic and blocking some intersections.Private equity firms including Permyra and Warberg Pinkis reaching a deal to buy investment software provider Clearwater Analytics for about $8.4% billion. In the third install ...

All right, joining us now to talk technicals ahead of a shortened uh trading week, Chris Lone, partner and chief market strategist at Strategus uh research partners. How's Trener. >> He's doing much better.>> He is. >> Yeah, really. So, >> give him our best.>> I certainly will. >> Christmas. Um >> interesting stuff.Yeah. That that you're talking about here. We you you say that the rotational tape has been persisting which makes you think 2026 this could be a a sign of it continuing which would be >> really ...

Stock Recommendations - One Oak is considered a buy [1] - The play on ticker SATs is over due to bandwidth and broadband sales [2][3] - StubHub stock is not recommended due to losing too much money [4] General Investment Advice - Avoid companies that are losing money, focus on those that are making money [4] - Jim Kramer's book is recommended as an easy gift [3] Media and Sponsorship - The Lightning Round is sponsored by Charles Schwab [4] - Jim Kramer can be followed on X (formerly Twitter) and contacted via email or phone [5]

Financial Performance - Paychex reported a modest top and bottom line beat, raising the midpoint of the full-year earnings forecast for the second consecutive quarter [1] - The company had 18% revenue growth and earnings per share up 11% [3][4] - Free cash flow increased by 38% year-to-date [4] - Paychex raised earnings per share guidance for the second time this year [5] Strategic Initiatives and Acquisitions - Paychex acquired Pay Corps and fully integrated Paychex Enterprise business into the Pay Corps brand [7][8] - The company expects $100 million in cost synergies for the fiscal year from the Pay Corps integration, raised from an initial commitment of $80 million [9] - The acquisition of Pay Corps has expanded Paychex's market opportunity by $10 billion [10] Market and Industry Outlook - Paychex's full-service HR outsourcing business continues to perform exceptionally well [6] - The company believes it is well-positioned to capitalize on market opportunities, drive growth, expand margins, and strengthen its leadership position in the AI era for human capital management [6][7] - Small business job index has remained relatively stable in 2025, with continued moderation in wage inflation [16] - The company sees continued challenges in the small end of the market in finding qualified employees [17] - Paychex clients are not buying as many ancillary attachment products as expected, which led to some guidance discussions [18] - The company does not see any signs of recession and anticipates positive developments in 2026 with tax clarity and easing interest rates [18][19] - 70% of Paychex's clients are blue and gray-collar workers, and 95% are companies with less than 100 employees, making them less exposed to AI risks [13]

AI & Data Center Investment - AI 和数据中心建设领域在经历了一段困难时期后，可能迎来转机，资金可能重新流入 [1][2][9] - 市场对超大规模企业（hyperscalers）雄心勃勃的扩张计划态度转变，此前这些计划曾备受华尔街赞誉，但现在因过度支出而受到惩罚 [4] - 行业内存在“懒人交易”或“循环交易”的现象，即一家公司给另一家公司资金，然后后者购买前者的产品，这可能隐藏了潜在的弱点 [12] - Oracle 获得了 OpenAI 价值 3000 亿美元的订单，以及来自其他公司的 2230 亿美元订单，这些潜在收入被计入剩余履约义务（RPO）[14][15] - OpenAI 可能会以超过 5000 亿美元，甚至高达 8300 亿美元的估值筹集 1000 亿美元资金 [20] - 如果 OpenAI 能够成功筹集大量资金（如 1000 亿美元），那么包括 Vertiv、Caterpillar、Core 和 Broadcom 在内的数据中心股票可能会再次上涨 [22][25] Market Trends & Opportunities - 消费者支出复苏，零售业和与可选消费相关的行业表现强劲，例如 Carnival Cruise 的股票上涨了近 10 个点 [4][5] - 金融股因 IPO 和收购活动而受到追捧，高盛（Goldman Sachs）今年上涨了 56%，超过了“七巨头”（Magnificent 7）中的大多数 [6] - 投机性股票，如量子计算、核能、资本不足的数据中心建设者、虚假的比特币延伸和替代能源公司，已经不再流行 [8] Company Specific Analysis - 报告对 Dell 的股票表示担忧，认为其零部件成本上升可能会影响利润，但同时指出公司内部人士正在买入股票，可能预示着股价不会大幅下跌 [26][27] - 报告对 Chewy 表示认可，认为其产品线质量高，价格合理，客户服务出色，但同时也承认该公司面临来自亚马逊的竞争压力 [30][31][32]

Small Business Performance & Outlook - Small business job index remained relatively stable in 2025 [1] - Continued moderation in wage inflation is observed [1] - Overall, small businesses are healthy [4] - Macro environment is solid, with no signs of recession [4] - Anticipation of tax clarity and easing interest rates going into 2026 [4] Workforce & Cost Management - Same store workforce levels for clients are essentially flat for the quarter [1][2] - Continued challenges in finding qualified employees, particularly in the small end of the market (50 employees and less) [2] - Businesses are actively managing their costs [3] Product Attachment Rates - Clients are not buying as many ancillary attachment products as expected for the quarter [3] - Lower attachment product sales impacted guidance discussions [3]

AI & Data Center Industry - AI 和相关产业在经历了一段华尔街的低迷期后，可能迎来了转机，资金重新流入 [1] - 数据中心建设面临挑战，包括资金不足、工人短缺、材料短缺和电力不足等问题 [2][3] - 股票市场开始惩罚超大规模企业雄心勃勃的扩张计划 [3] Market Trends & Investment Opportunities - 消费者复苏推动零售和非必需消费品行业发展，例如 Carnival Cruise 股票上涨近 10 个点 [3][4] - 大量首次公开募股（IPO）和收购活动刺激了银行股的购买 [5] - 高盛集团（Goldman Sachs）今年上涨 56%，超过了“七巨头”（Magnificent Seven）中的多数公司 [5] Company Performance - Carnival Cruise 的股票因业绩超预期和恢复派息而上涨 [4] - Wells Fargo 获得了一篇非常积极的评价文章 [5]

College Sports Valuation Trends - Top 75 athletic programs' total valuation increased by 13% to $512 billion from 2024 [1] - University of Texas at Austin tops the list with a valuation of almost $15 billion [1] - TV deals are a primary driver of college sports program valuations, particularly for Big 10 and SEC conferences [2][3] NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) Impact - NIL deals are changing the college sports landscape, with some athletes potentially earning more than they would professionally [4] - Universities can now directly pay student-athletes, with a soft cap of approximately $205 million this year [9] - NIL opportunities can significantly boost a university's value if capital is strategically deployed to student-athletes [10] Revenue and Financial Factors - Revenue streams include media rights, ticket sales, and sponsorships [8] - Donor money can significantly impact a program's revenue, as seen with the University of Texas [4]

Investment Recommendations - Amazon's top line, bottom line, and free cash flow are growing faster than the market, but it trades at a market multiple, suggesting it is a good investment [1] - Alibaba inspired a trade [1] - Goldman Sachs is worth a look for IPOs and potential M&A activity [1] - General Motors (GM) has an incredible chart and is expected to go higher [1]

AI Trade & Market Dynamics - The AI trade is expected to shift from broad enthusiasm to a more selective environment in 2026 [3] - A robust IPO market is anticipated, featuring private AI companies and SAS companies that didn't IPO in 2021 [4] - M&A activity is expected to be significant as enterprise companies seek to integrate AI into their architectures [4][5] Enterprise Adoption & Sector Impact - AI is transitioning from a consumer novelty to an integral part of business processes and workflows [8] - Enterprise adoption of AI will drive increased demand for inference, potentially requiring 10-50 trips back to LLMs for complex workflows [9] - The inference is becoming the heartbeat of global business, creating enormous demand for data centers [10] LLM & Data Center Considerations - The LLM market is expected to be highly competitive, with open-source models from Chinese companies, Meta, and Nvidia [11] - Leaders in the LLM market are likely to move up the stack, similar to Microsoft with Windows and Oracle with databases [11] - The data center trade is not a concern due to the expected imbalance between high demand and limited supply, despite capital and resource constraints [10][11]