Industry Trend - US chains added over 70 new spicy dishes to their menus this spring and summer [1] - Restaurants are modifying established dishes with spice to attract more customers [2] - Spice is particularly popular with Gen Z and Gen Alpha, and on social media platforms [3] Market Analysis - Adding spicy options is a strategy to entice more customers with something new [1] - Modifying dishes with spice is not expensive but has a potentially big impact on customer acquisition [2]

Hey, I'm Kramer. Welcome to Mad Money. Welcome to Craig America.I'll do my friends. I'm just trying to make you a little money. My job is not just to entertain, but to educate, to teach you.Call me 1800743 CNBC. Tweet me Jim Kramer. Now, we're still in earnings Hades, but at least it's getting a little cooler out there.That's right. We've now gotten over the hump of the big time growth stocks, the hyperscalers, but there's plenty left. Why don't we do this.Let's go right to the game plan. First, we got the ...

What is the common denominator to the meme stock frenzy that we're seeing right now. Well, it's that they're all terrible businesses that aren't trading on fundamentals and are all across Wallstreetbets forums, across Reddit that people are talking about. And it's an effort to get rich quick to capitalize on these really big swings in these companies.This is starting to second day today with all of these companies that you mentioned, GoPro, Krispy Kreme, Wendy's. Amateur traders piling in once again. This c ...

Group 1: Meme Stock Revival - Shares in Krispy Kreme surged by as much as 25%, GoPro jumped 49%, and Beyond Meat rose 11% in a revival of meme stocks [1][2] - The rally was driven by social media buzz and short squeezes, despite little change in the companies' business fundamentals [2][3] - The recent surge in meme stocks is reminiscent of the GameStop chaos from four years ago [3] Group 2: Trading Activity - Krispy Kreme experienced record call volume with over 100,000 contracts traded, about 71 times the average daily volume over the past four years [5] - GoPro saw its highest call volume since 2021 with over 56,000 contracts traded [6] - Other stocks with high short interest, such as Campbell's Co., Aehr Test Systems, Polaris, and Wendy's, also attracted buyers this week [10] Group 3: Market Context - The meme stock rally coincided with broader market optimism, as the S&P 500 reached another all-time high and Bitcoin doubled in less than a year [5] - The revival of meme stocks began last week with significant movements in Opendoor Technologies, which surged over 300% [2][7]

Federal Reserve and Interest Rates - The market reacted negatively to rumors of President Trump firing Federal Reserve chief Pal, with longer-term interest rates increasing from 497% to 507% in an hour, and the S&P 500 decreasing from 6,254 to 6,201 [3][4] - The market rallied when the President denied the rumors, indicating that the stock and bond markets do not want Pal ousted [3][5] - The market is questioning whether Trump is wrong about firing Pal, as stocks are supposed to benefit from lower interest rates, but didn't soar when the rumor of Pal's firing surfaced [8] - The consumer price index showed signs of inflation from the President's tariffs, with higher prices for clothing, furniture, cleaning products, food away from home, meats, poultry, coffee, gasoline, and even soft drinks [10][11] - The Fed is waiting to see the full impact of tariffs before cutting rates, as the economy is not currently in a slowdown, and employment is at 41% [14][15] Big Banks Earnings Analysis - The big banks' year-to-date gains ranged from 7% for Bank of America to nearly 25% for Goldman Sachs, setting a high bar for earnings season [32] - JP Morgan raised its full-year net interest income forecast by $1 billion, but also raised its expense guidance by $500 million [34][35] - Wells Fargo cut its full-year forecast for net interest income, causing the stock to drop more than 5% [38][39] - Citigroup reported a big top and bottom line beat, with net interest income more than $1 billion above the consensus estimate, and the stock jumped 37% [42] - Bank of America managed a bottom line beat, but missed on the top line due to a nasty net interest income miss [45] - Goldman Sachs had the best report of the big banks, with investment banking up 26% year-over-year, equities trading up 36%, and M&A advisory revenue up 71% year-over-year [48][49] - Morgan Stanley reported healthy top and bottom line beats, with wealth and investment management having $82 trillion in combined total client assets [49] Cheesecake Factory Analysis - Cheesecake Factory's stock is up over 31% year-to-date, outperforming the S&P 500's 65% gain over the same period [53] - The company has 350 locations across the US and Canada, including 215 flagship Cheesecake Factory restaurants [54] - The diverse menu eliminates the "no vote" when deciding where to go out to eat, and the wide variety of price points offers value for everyone [57] - Cheesecake Factory's annualized unit volume is $125 million, an obscenely large number for the restaurant industry [58] - The company has been named one of Fortune Magazine's 100 best places to work for the 12th consecutive year [60] - Recent operational performance and notable results were driven by the company's talented team and ongoing focus on staffing and retention [62] - The company delivered impressive unit level margins of 166% in its most recent quarter, while Wall Street was only looking for 158% [66] - The company is planning to open 25 new locations this year across all their brands, with North Italia's unified at $775 million and Flower Child's at $46 million [67][68] First Horizon Analysis - First Horizon delivered a strong enough quarter to make the stock rally, with a small revenue beat plus a nice 3 cent earnings beat off a 42 cent basis [78][79] - The customer has become very encouraged and confident over the course of the last 90 days, with momentum building across the quarter [81] - The company's CFO said that the high rates has really stifled mortgage originations, but the team has done a really nice job of consolidating market share [86] - Lower rates would actually accelerate growth in the economy, and would have a stimulative effect in the near term [90][91] - There's a real opportunity in the middle market space, and there's a very good place for First Horizon in this space [93][94] Investment Strategy - When a stock starts to go lower, it will often keep going lower until all the people who don't know anything are done selling, and you get a terrific price from their ignorance [113] - If you own a stock and you see it go down, first check the conference call transcript, then put it through a chatbot and ask if anything went wrong that you might have missed [115][116] - If it checks out, then the answer is you need to do some buying on weakness, because the weakness won't last for long [116]

Company Performance - Cheesecake Factory's stock is up over 31% year-to-date, outperforming the SP500's 6.5% gain [1] - The company boasts an annualized unit volume of $12.5 million, considered an obscenely large number for the restaurant industry [8] - In the most recent quarter, Cheesecake Factory delivered impressive unit level margins of 16.6%, exceeding Wall Street's expectation of 15.8% [15] Business Strategy & Operations - Cheesecake Factory operates 350 locations across the US and Canada, including 215 flagship Cheesecake Factory restaurants and other concepts like North Italia and Flower Child [3] - The company's menu is known for its extensive selection, featuring roughly 225 different items, including approximately 45 cheesecakes and other desserts [4][5] - Cheesecake Factory aims to retain talent by investing in its workforce, having been named one of Fortune Magazine's 100 Best Places to Work for the 12th consecutive year [9][10] - The company makes semi-annual menu changes to stay on top of food trends, adding vegetable-heavy dishes and offering better value to customers [13][14][15] Expansion & Growth - Cheesecake Factory is planning to open 25 new locations across all its brands, with 3-4 being Cheesecake Factories and the rest being other concepts [16] - The company expects to open 6-7 North Italia locations, 6-7 Flower Child locations, and 8-9 FRC restaurants [17] - North Italia's unit volume is $7.75 million, while Flower Child's is $4.6 million [17] Market Outlook & Investment Recommendation - Management remains conservative in its outlook, suggesting the stock might sell off even with a good quarter [19] - Despite strong performance, management's commentary suggests the environment doesn't feel as robust as it did three months ago, with the second quarter revenue outlook coming in below consensus expectations [19][20] - It might be wise to wait and see the latest results before investing, given the stock's recent rally of 30% on very little news [18][21]

Well, a shape up shakeup in the restaurant space this morning. Our Kate Rogers has the story. Hi, Kate. Hey, Court. Wendy's announcing this morning the departure of Kirk Tanner, its CEO, effective on July 18th. Tanner will be heading to the Hershey Company uh to be its CEO as Michelle Bach departs. Wendy's is starting a comprehensive search, it says, for a new CEO, and in the meantime, the board has appointed Ken Cook, chief financial officer of the company, as its interim CEO. Cook, who remains CFO, played ...

Group 1: Leadership Changes - Wendy's CEO Kirk Tanner is leaving the company after just over a year to take the CEO position at Hershey [1][3] - Tanner will depart Wendy's on July 18, and CFO Ken Cook has been appointed as interim CEO while a search for a permanent replacement is underway [3] Group 2: Company Performance - Wendy's has been experiencing muted sales, with its stock down nearly 31% this year, indicating challenges in growth initiatives [1][4][7] - The company is set to report its second quarter results on August 8 [3] Group 3: Hershey's Situation - Hershey announced Tanner's appointment as it faces higher tariff-related costs and elevated cocoa prices amid consumer spending uncertainty [4][8] - Hershey is expected to report its earnings on July 30 [9] Group 4: Analyst Insights - Analysts suggest that Tanner's experience at PepsiCo will be beneficial for Hershey as it navigates current challenges [9] - Wendy's underperformance compared to key peers indicates that its growth initiatives have not yet gained meaningful traction [4][7]

Time now for Kramer's Mad Dash as we countd down to the opening bell got some shakeup in the food business. Yes. Uh Kirk Tanner, who just actually uh I don't know a year uh to took the Wendy's job now out going to Hershey, which is I think is a big step up. The Hershey franchise is a lot uh a lot stronger than the Wendy's franchise. Ken Cook, the CFO of Wendy's, moves over to the uh CEO, uh Michelle Buck, is retiring.I've got to tell you, Carl, uh, if we put up a chart of Hershey, of Wendy's, I don't want y ...

Market Valuation - USELESS coin's valuation exceeds $216 million [1] - USELESS coin's value surpasses that of over 100 McDonald's franchises [1] - USELESS coin's value is greater than that of over 70 Wendy's franchises [1] Market Analysis - Chart analysis indicates whales are not selling USELESS coin [1] - The situation is reminiscent of SPX6900 and FARTCOIN pump [1]