Closing Bell - Closing Bell: Countdown to Apple 1/29/26

Episode Date: January 29, 2026

Apple’s stock has been a big disappointment lately – so what’s at stake for its report in Overtime? Alger’s Ankur Crawford, Wedbush’s Dan Ives and Big Technology’s Alex Kantrowitz tell us what they’re expecting. Plus, big moves in coffee, cruises and credit cards today shed some new light on the state of the consumer. We explain. And, the Jetblue CEO tells us how the latest winter storms are impacting the company’s bottom line. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome to closing bell. I'm Scott Wobner live from Post 9 here at the New York Stock Exchange. This maker breakout begins with another big test for big tech. Apple reporting earnings in a little more than an hour. We'll, of course, discuss what's at stake with our All-Star team today. In the meantime, we show you the scorecard here with 60 to go. In regulation, stocks have been read all day long as a big drop in Microsoft drags down stocks. It drags the NASDAQ, it drags down tech, It's sort of dragon sentiment around software. Meta, though, bucking the trend today. It surges following its better than expected revenue growth. We'll talk more about that coming up.

Service now, sinking along with other software names, as I said, that stock down 12%. But how about IBM? It's a standout today. After its solid earnings beat, that stock is rising, and it's had a really nice run. How about Lamb Research? It's strong as well, its own strong earnings report

and guidance, ending up with a chart that looks like that today. It takes us to our talk of the tape, the countdown to Apple, with that stock, a big disappointment lately. Yes, we will get to that with our panel, Alder's Anker Crawford and Wedbush's Dan Ives and Big Technologies, Alex Cantorowitz. Going to join us in just a minute. All right, we're going to get to Apple, okay? We need to start, though, with Microsoft, Mr. Ives. You were really bullish going in because we talked about it when you were sitting where Anker is one day ago.

That stock is having its worst day. since March of 2020, and you've lowered your price target. Were you shocked by what you got? Yeah, I mean, I thought, to me, that was probably one of the worst handled conference calls. For Nadell is a Hall of Famer. And I think that conference call, in terms of the Capax, talking about, like, how that's going to be allocated relative to Azure and some of the co-pilot stuff. I think that was not handled well.

I think the conservatism, you know, relative to what they're going to see over the next quarter or two, I get it, but I think that was disappointing. And look, it's one where we're still very bullish on Microsoft, you know, lower price targets still, you know, 575. But the issue on that call was really you came out of there feeling like, okay, the ramping up cap X, but you're not seeing it all toward Azure. And I think you're not seeing the growth acceleration. You told me we were going to see that. Like you must have been surprised. Were you surprised by the Azure growth number?

Because that's what this is all about. You can't tell me you're spending all this money and then tell me that your growth rate for your premier thing is lower. Yeah. The growth number in the quarter was what we were open for. The disappointment was for this coming quarter in terms of the guidance. You feel like that Azure number is troughed based on everything recently. I expect it's really a number that has a four in front of it. The fact that they sort of lowered and sort of downticked it relative to the rampant cap X,

You could say it's conservatism because look, I'll go back to look at meta a quarter ago. Well, I was going to say this is last quarter's meta. Yeah. I mean, the charts are like stark how similar they look. Remember that off a cliff last quarter from meta. Exactly. And that's why like obviously meta, you know, one of the names that was true Bullochon. I think that was a prove a quarter.

Now Microsoft, you look in the Della rarely in the penalty box needs to prove it. And I think that's what you see playing out here. Anker, what was your big takeaway? Is you own this name? Look, I think that if you look at the numbers, independently of the stock, the numbers were okay. They weren't as bad as a stock reaction. And I think what's happening today is across software is people are questioning the terminal multiple. What value do these companies have in five and seven and nine years when they face

a potential competitive risk that attacks their terminal operating profit? And therefore, what is the terminal operating multiple, right, that you'd pay for the stocks? And And because you don't know, you can't put a multiple on them, which is going to compress multiples. Well, you certainly can't put the most premium of multiples on it. If now we're talking about revenue growth rates slowing by, you know, enough of a degree to question what you're spending and where the ROI is and when. So, look, I am not a believer that there is no ROI here. I think it will just take time. And if you have tried to use copilot, it takes time to learn how to use copilot.

It takes time to learn how to use the AI tools, even in the enterprises. So I am a wholehearted believer that AI is going to drive ROI. You've seen it in the meta results. You've seen it in App Lovin's results. In IBM. I mean, look what Arvin and IBM are doing? I said that on the halftime report. Maybe people need to.

He doesn't wear a leather jacket. He doesn't walk around. He's not all flashy. He doesn't talk about himself and doesn't show up everywhere trying to talk with everybody. Look, but his stock speaks louder than he ever could. Arvin has the golden touch right now. And I think that, you know, we're bullish and I bet. I think that continues to be underestimated.

That was a huge notch in the belt for our Monk last night. Okay. AK, is this overdone with Microsoft today or justified? I think it's overdone. And I would say the thing underlying at all is the market is trying to pick winners in the AI game. But the game really hasn't gotten underway in earnest yet. You think about Microsoft, they're still in the middle of the Open AI buildout, and the Azure story is still getting underway as far as what AI rules are actually going to happen

and who's going to build on top of that. With meta, yeah, they have an AI story. People are using AI to run better ads and they're optimizing better. But we haven't really gotten yet to this big moment where meta has been investing in, which means that it's trying to get to this personalized superintelligence that it wants to build for everyone, but it still doesn't have a cutting-edge AI model yet that it's rolled out. So I think until we're going to get deeper into this story and the technology matures, we're just going to see volatility.

I didn't think the Microsoft story was that bad. I believe them at their capacity constraints. But I think until we get to a more mature place, we're going to be in a no-excuse's moment in the market where the market is just trying to pick who's winning and who's losing. And if your story is off by just a bit, you get punished. Yeah, we've seen that. I mean, price action on companies that have done well this earning season has not been good.

If you're deemed to not have lived up to whatever bar the street had for you, look out below. That's where Microsoft is. Let's go a little deeper on meta for a moment. Let me bring in Julia Borson, because she follows the company so closely. You told us what to look out for on the way in. We got obviously a great reaction on the way out to what? What was most important that they did that has resulted in the stock? looking like it is today.

Well, yeah, the stock up 10% today. And investors were concerned about growing CAPEX, but investors shrugged off CAPEX that was even higher than anticipated in terms of guidance for the year. As CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained how that investment is paying off and will continue to pay off. Zuckerberg outlined how AI is driving results, saying paid messaging on WhatsApp now has a $2 billion run rate, threads his momentum and is expanding to more countries. and he said that their AI-enabled glasses have tripled sales in the past year.

Bank of America pointing to four positives from this quarterly report, saying AI is driving returns for META more than its peers. Meta is building a self-funded infrastructure powerhouse, estimating positive 2026-free cash flow, saying new models and products are coming and META is thinking beyond ad revenues long term, also noting that Reality Labs losses are expected to peak this year. Zuckerberg also talked quite a bit about how AI is enabling their employees to be far more effective. One engineer can now do the work of a whole team, but they are paying a lot more for that engineering talent. After infrastructure costs, the second largest contributor to Meta's total expense growth is employee compensation driven by investments in technical talent. Scott?

All right, good stuff. Julia, thank you very much for that. Anker. I mean, you talk about a stock reaction that was so new. needed given what happened last quarter when we were having a similar conversation then like we are about Microsoft today. What's your reaction? Well, look, I think Meda did exactly what the street needed them to do, which was show the revenue acceleration that the revenue guide of, you know, the top end being 33% is astonishing. And if you can actually use AI to grow your revenue in that way, you have carte blanche to spend

whatever you want to cross the chasm in this AI world. So you want to go spend $120 billion, go for it, $165 billion on OPEX, go for it. That's a great, I mean, it's a phenomenal point. It's like, prove it, then you'll spend it. But like Microsoft, spend it, you got to prove it. You know, AK, I look at this and I'm like, okay, you may win a few hands betting against Mark Zuckerberg. You might, but he's going to end up at the table longer than you. That has nothing to do with how wealthy he is, because they keep delivering when the chips are down seemingly the most. Bernstein today, all Corps does is win, win, win no matter what.

They raise their target to 900 from 870. They reiterate their outperform. What was your biggest takeaway? Well, I think there's an interesting and well-important word that Bernstein used, which is core. And I think that's really the story of this earnings season, where the market is looking at your core business. For Microsoft, it's Azure. For META, it's advertising.

For Apple, it's going to be the iPhone. Because there is this disconnect. I don't think META had a great quarter because it's far ahead or advancing NAI. It had a great quarter because it really hammered down on its core business as it started to invest in the long term. And you're right. Zuckerberg has done this time and again where he's taken his profit center and he's used it to invest in the next thing, whether that might be a competitor to TikTok or eventually what, you know, his, his Metaverse bet, which potentially failed, but did birth this wearable thing that we're starting to see have real momentum,

and it's going to fund the AI bet as well. And as long as Zuckerberg has his ad engine revving, and it really is revving right now, he's going to be in good shape, and that's going to give him the opportunity to try to play the next hand. What do you guys think, Dan, about, you know, where now that we've got in Meta and Microsoft and we'll get Apple, and we're going to talk about that. that heavily in just a moment. Where does it leave the tech trade in general? If you say the AI heavyweights, now we're not gonna hear from Nvidia for a while, but this trade has been

uneven to start the year. It's picked up a little lately running into the numbers. All these names were up a lot over the last week, but not so much year to date. I think you're seeing, I think really a bifurcated tech trade. Because software, at this point you almost can't touch because of the view that that, you know, in terms of AI and what that's doing,

multiples and in terms of the growth, I think you're seeing, you're seeing obviously meta, you know, you're seeing what I believe is alphabet, you're seeing Invidian and others, but then you see Microsoft, Oracle and others sort of, you know, back against the wall. Look, I just think it comes down to like, this is going to be a tech trade, right? I still believe tech stocks are going to be up 20% for the year. But it's not going to be all created the same, right? And I think that's what's starting now. Investors, like you said, scrutinizing a lot more.

They're not going to give you that sort of flexibility. would be like, okay, I'll see in a quarter or two. It's like, no, you have one little misstep, then, you know, you'll see the stock down 15%. Anker, perfect person to entertain that question, given the number of funds that you have, and the top holdings are just littered with these big names. Yeah, what I would say is, you know, earning season isn't over yet. We still have to hear from Google next week, Amazon next week. And those are going to be good bellwethers for what is really happening and doesn't have the same new.

that Microsoft has. So I would say let's wait for those reports because I expect that they will actually be pretty good on a relative basis. And quite honestly, like, I think investors are sometimes, you know, they forget what happened yesterday. And so come next week, you know, we may be a lot higher. Think of meadow last quarter. That's right. Now okay. All right. So let's turn our attention now to Apple, okay? Dan Ives, I'm coming to you first. So the stock was down for like eight weeks in a row. Why? What does it mean for what's going to happen tonight?

Look, and obviously Alex, and we've talked about it a ton, it comes down to the view, like they're watching AI from the stands. They're not on the field, right? And I think our view is, we've talked about it, the last few years been clearly disappointing

when it comes to AI, but you look at Google as a key partnership, you look now new blood coming in from the outside. This is going to be a different DNA in Cupertina. And I believe, look, iPhone alone, we're going to be up double digit, but it all comes down to starting in March with Sierra, then WWDC, monetizing on AI and the biggest install base in the world. It all starts tonight.

Look, I would say, like, there are important conference calls. Tonight for Cook, this is, I think it's a seminal moment. Really? Because he has to lay the groundwork for investors that are so disappointing, feeling Michael J. Fox back to the future and they're not talking about AI. show what the path is this year. Are they sitting in the stands on the 50-yard line? Are they in the nosebleeds?

Like, where are they progressed from all the way up top to down towards the field? Last year at WWDC, newsbleeds. Now I feel, you know, kind of 40-yard line, maybe 30, 40 rows up. They're starting to make their move. But they got to look, time, there's a window. And this is a window for Cook and Cupertino. Alex, how do you see this one? Yeah, I think weirdly it might not matter for Apple that much this year that it's behind on AI.

And the reason why I say that is because we still, despite a lot of the talk, we don't have the killer software app in terms of AI, and we don't have the killer hardware app for AI. So they're not being killed by an open AI device. They're not being killed by Gemini making Android so enticing that you want to switch from the iPhone. And so this, I think, really will be viewed as one of the best, if not the best years in Apple history because they're in this Goldilocks zone, where we do. We don't have that killer AI device yet, and we have strength from Apple in the iPhone 17. The iPhone 17 is very popular. For years, Apple struggled to grow double digits in the iPhone category. This report that we're about to see, we're expecting 13% growth on the strength of the iPhone

17. And then, of course, later this year, we might see the foldable phone. And I think that's going to do very well. So I think if Apple continues to show strength in its core business, it's going to be in really good shape and it can push that AI story down the road a little bit, but not forever. And so I think next year is really where you start to see some of the problems. But I don't think Apple stock should be as stagnant as it has been. And I think it's about to grow in a real way. I mean, interesting to hear you say that it's in the Goldilocks zone simply because the stock would

suggest that it's anything but the, you know, they haven't proven that they can do what Dan Ives says they have to do. How is that Goldilocks? Yeah, I think that's going to reverse. And the reason why I think that's going to happen, and to me, this is not a forever thing. This is a one-year thing. I think we're going to start to see some of the early prototypes of these AI devices. And they're not going to be hits when they come out of the door. And investors are going to see that, and they're going to realize that Apple has a little bit more time, that the AI device and the AI app is not an existential immediate threat to the company, that it's going to be maybe a two or three or three or a one.

for your story, giving Apple time to rebound. And we've seen some good moves from Apple. I think the Gemini partnership is a good move. They just acquired or moved to acquire this company, QAI, that is doing audio AI. And so they have time to turn it around. And I think they might have a leadership change at the top and potentially have new leadership that will put them in a better direction. So I think that, sorry, go ahead. I'm sorry, finish. No, you finish your thought. That's my bad. I thought you were wrapping up. Go ahead. Yeah, bottom line for me is that Apple is going to have a bit of a window here. I think they're going to take advantage of it. And again, with all these companies, with the core businesses mattering so much, they were stagnant for a while. They're

finally starting to show real growth with the iPhone, and I think that's going to matter a lot. Okay, Anker, what do you think? I mean, AK says they've got time still. I think they're running out of time. And so I think, as I was saying to Dan earlier, I think this is a pair of twos right now. And what we're looking to see is, like, they own the most important interface between AI and the consumer. And they have got to show us where they're going with it. We can dream many different ways by which they can actually execute on that. I can give them 100,000 apps that I need using AI on my phone.

But they have got to help us get there. And that's what I'm looking to hear today and through this year. Like, I don't think this quarter matters in terms of the numbers. Maybe we're a little worried about the margins this year. But they have got to show us where they're going. They don't have that much more time, I don't think. Other people will come and start infiltrating this space. And it's a game of poker, and that's what Cook's playing with the street.

And I think he ultimately wins. You mentioned how important the call will be. A seminal moment for Tim Cook. You described it as he may be asked, Alex suggests, about his future, his job status on that call. Were you interested in that? Do you think he says something about that? I think whether it's in Q&A or I think in one way he's going to have to address it. Because it's my view, he's CEO at least through 2007.

I just don't believe he hands the baton at a time that they're so in flux from an AI strategy perspective. So I do think he addressed. I think, look, there's been speculation about it, and I think it's important. But at the end of the day, you know, you talk about Hall-famed CEO, and this is his legacy ultimately will be determined by how he handles this AIR. Right. Some Hall of Famers don't perform necessarily as well at the end of their runs as they did to get them ready to put that jacket on.

Sure, but I view him more in the Tom Brady Hall theme and obviously to go until the end. Okay. All right, that's fair. We'll see. That was awesome, guys. I appreciate all of you. Anchor, Dan, and AK, we'll see all of you soon. We do have some news crossing the tape on the prediction markets.

And interesting at that, Contessa Brewer, with that. Hi. Yeah, hi, Scott. The new chairman of the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission says the agency will craft new rules to govern prediction markets. This is Mike Seelig. He's a Trump appointee. He's ordered his staff to yank the proposed rule that would have prohibited trades on sports and politics. That was first proposed in 2024.

Instead, Seelig has directed them to also rescind even the warning last year. year to the prediction markets about offering sports and events contracts. He says the CFTC should also be more involved in federal court cases currently being argued because he says, look, the agency has not only the right, but also the responsibility to defend its jurisdiction over commodity derivatives. Remember, states and tribes are suing Kalshi and others because they insist they have the legal right to regulate gambling. And Kalshi argues, well, yeah, this is not gambling.

This is a financial investment. The courts will, of course, decide that. But the chair of the CFTC removing the proposed rule, you know, just being willing to enter the legal phrase, Scott, this is really an indication of where his thinking is. Of course, there are other commissioners. This is not blatant approval of sports event contracts or politics. But there's no other way for me to interpret this. But good news for Calci, Robin Hood, Polymarket, and the others. Let's see how it plays out for Fandul and Draft Kings, because, of course,

Now they have their own prediction markets. And Kalshi, I've reached out already to ask for a response. They're working on that. But I will note that they are a business partner of CNBC. Okay, good stuff. Contessa, thank you for that. That's Contessa Brewer. Meantime, Elon Musk, SpaceX, reportedly considering a merger with XAI.

Mackenzie Segalis is here with these details on a pretty juicy story. Mack? Hey, yes, it is, Scott. This reads like Elon Musk consolidating his empire right before, SpaceX, currently the world's most valuable private company at an $800 billion valuation, heads toward public markets. Now, what's being discussed is a share swap. XAI shareholders would take SpaceX stock.

Reuters reporting that two new Nevada entities were set up last week as potential transaction vehicles with ties to SpaceX and its CFO. Now, there's no sign deal, no disclosed price tag, and the terms are reportedly still fluid. It comes as XAI, which just this month closed around valuing it. at $230 billion is spending aggressively on compute, including its colossus data center build. Musk has pitched the long game here as AI in space. Now, this is classic vertical integration last summer. The journal reported that SpaceX had put $2 billion into XAI, and Tesla just disclosed

another $2 billion investment into SpaceX. So into XAI. So Musk is already linking capital across companies, and that's the larger play here. line up the full stack distribution through Starlink, data and reach through X, GROC as the product, and then anchor it all to SpaceX's scale and balance sheet as he builds the IPO story. Scott? Okay, McKenzie, thanks for that. That's McKenzie Segalis. Elsewhere in the markets today, another day, another surge in the metals. It's copper, it's gold, it's silver. They are all running yet again. Pippa Stevens is following that for us. Hi, Pippa. Hey, Scott. Well, yet again is right,

because we have more records across the board with retail traders. A big factor here now amid the craze, GLD and SLV, now among the top 10 retail traded names. That's according to NASDAQ's retail trading activity tracker. Yesterday, SLV was the third most traded ticker just behind Tesla and Nvidia. In the last four years, SLV first broke the top 10 in late December and has been on the list 13 times since. Now, Copper also added record tracking for its sixth-straight month of gains for the first time in 15 years.

The COPX, getting a lift trading more than three and a half times its 30-day average volume today. And Citi's saying just now that LME prices could hit 15,000 or even 16,000 in the weeks ahead. Thanks to China inventory buying linked to precious metals, price momentum and dollar weakness, which is dwarfing soft physical fundamentals. Still, the firm sees copper averaging 13,000 for the year. Scott? All right, Pippa Stevens. Thank you very much for that.

Now to Christina Parts of Nevelos for a look at the biggest names moving into the close today. today. Christina. Scott, we start with shares of Southwest Airlines because they're taking off up roughly 18% after the company forecasted 2026 profits just well above analyst estimates, expecting capacity growth of about 2 to 3% compared to last year. The carrier is essentially overhauling its old business model to include new revenue streams like bag fees and seat assignments, much to our dismay. Lockheed Martin jumping right now about 4%, almost 5% after posting a Q4 earnings beat in raising its full-year outlook, citing continuous demand for its fighter jets and weapons system. Meanwhile, the company reached a profit-sharing agreement with the Department of Defense

to quadruple production of its air defense missiles. And United Rentals right now is sinking roughly 15% after posting disappointing Q4 results as margins on rental revenue just really came under pressure. The equipment rental company says it will continue to manage costs and expects this year to be similar to 2025. All right, we'll come back in a little bit. Christina, thanks. An action-pack, first 25 minutes, and we're just getting started. Up next, coffee, cruises, and cards.

We've got a pulse check on the consumer, where they're spending, and how much is coming up. We're live with the New York Stock Exchange. You're watching Closing Bell on CNBC. Welcome back. We have big moves and coffee, cruises, and credit cards today. Kate Rooney, Kate Rogers, excuse me. Contessa Brewer and Houston are following that money. Kate Rogers, we start with you.

Hi, Scott. So the big news today was the 2028 financial outlook framework, framework rather, for Starbucks includes global and U.S. comps of 3% plus. Starbucks also forecasting consolidated net revenues growing by 5% or more in fiscal year 28 and operating margins between 13 and 1⁄2 and 15%, which means $3.35 to $4 a share by fiscal year 2020. Now, some of this margin expansion includes targeted pricing, mostly to offset inflation. In addition, executives previewing a lot of changes. changes to Starbucks rewards, now with tears, so that frequent customers get more perks. Global Chief Brand Officer Tressy Lieberman talking about an upcoming AI ordering companion that can drum up what you're in the mood for. Take a listen. We have to imagine a world where people just are saying what they want. They're not putting their order into an app. They're just saying what they're in the mood for, and then AI can help make that recommendation, and then you can place that order immediately. So we're meeting customers where they are, and that's innovation that's going to be coming really soon.

There was also a lot of focus on the in-cafe experience. The CEO Brian Nichols said both rewards and non-rewards customers are starting to return to the brand. The stock, though, Scott, is lower heading into the close. Back over to you. All right, Kate, thank you. That's Kate Rogers for us. Hey, by the way, speaking of Starbucks, Stephanie Link, our very own, has been very bullish on this name, as you may know. And she laid out that strategy on the website.

You can read all about it at CNBC.com slash pro. And I urge you to do that. She bets big on that stock. From coffee to cruises today, those stocks are moving higher. Let's get right to contest a brewer with more on that. Tell us. I mean, they're sailing on the high seas here. You've got Royal Caribbean with earnings out today. Record-breaking demand, best ever, seven-week booking period between Thanksgiving and the start of what the cruise industry calls wave season, which is really when everybody rushes in to book those cruises for the year in the first few months of the year. That's when those happen. Now, customers continue to book closer to cruise. time than is typical traditionally. And those short itineraries, three to four days, are acting like a big funnel, hooking customers on the joys of cruises. Royal Caribbean says they end up booking longer, more expensive trips, and those customers are also spending more, both before they get on the ship and on board. And river cruises are proving very popular.

Royal Caribbean's ordering 10 new ships for that segment of the business. They raise some guidance here, but way beyond what the street was expecting this year. But a couple potential speed bumps. More ships in dry dock this year than last, which could suppress comparisons, especially in the second quarter. Private destinations, of course, are an expensive investment, although the ROA is expected to be great. And there's lots of competition in the Caribbean and questions about how that might affect pricing. But today, look at this. A rising tide lifts all boats. You've got Royal Caribbean up almost 19 percent. Norwegian up more than 10 percent. Carnival up nine percent. percent, biking up more than 5 percent. And you want to hear more about this? You'll be able to do so from

CEO Jason Liberty. He's on Mad Money tonight, sits down with Jim Kramer for an exclusive interview. You won't want to miss that, Scott. All right, we won't. Contessa, thanks for that. That's contested Brewer, of course. Let's send it now to Hugh Sown for more on MasterCard's quarter. What it says about the consumer, Hugh. Hey, Scott. So MasterCard chairs are up more than 3 percent today after reporting four key results that topped estimates on strong consumers spend and a spike in cross-border volumes. The Payments Network posted adjusted EPS of $4.76 a share, a 20% increase from a year earlier, and 55 cents per share, more than analysts had expected. MasterCard, as we know, benefits as more consumers tap their credit and their debit cards for insore and online purchases. The firm has about 3.7 billion cards of use, and customers put $2.8 trillion in gross dollar volumes on their MasterCard's last quarter, a 7% increase from a year earlier.

The company also today announced that it plans to cut 4% of its staff. globally or about 1,400 workers so that it can invest more in technology. Now, per the MasterCard's EFO, the strength in the consumer spending from the fourth quarter has carried over to the first couple weeks of this year. And these are all good signs for MassCard's chief rival, which Visa, which reports after the close, and we'll be watching those results as well. Back to you. All right, Hugh, thank you. Hugh Stone. Coming up, the CEO of JetBlue, who weighs in on the company's latest earnings report, plus the impact of last weekend's major winter storm and

the threat of more wild weather this weekend. We're back after this. Welcome back. Take a look at shares of JetBlue. They are down now. They pop more than 6% though since reporting results earlier in the week. So given a little bit back. Phil LeBoe joins us now live with the company's CEO.

Phil. Thank you, Scott. Joanna Garrity, thank you for joining us today on the closing bell. A couple of days after you reported your Q4 results. But I think what people are most focused on right now when it comes to you guys is your guidance for 2026. Am I correct? This could be the year you get back to break even.

Is the Jet Forward Turnaround Plan really starting to bear some fruits here? Thanks, Phil. Appreciate the question. Very happy to be here. We are very excited about 2026. This is going to be JetBlue's year. 2025 was a tough year for the industry. But the team executed, we layered in a whole series of initiatives in 2025.

And those initiatives from improved customer experience to our Blue Sky Partners with United States, to loyalty and all the efforts around the lounge. Those are really going to come to fruition this year. And then you add in our new first class product launching this year, a couple with our Boston lounge opening and our Blue Sky Partnership really ramping up. I can't be more excited about what this year is going to be for JetBlue. All right. Well, how did you come through this storm? Because Boston got hit hard. I know they're still digging out. You may have another one coming this weekend. How much of an impact will it have on the first quarter results? Yeah, we haven't calculated the first quarter yet. We were still digging out at the time of our earnings,

but we don't expect a meaningful impact on the full year. The team here does an excellent job. I mean, we are based in New York. We are a northeast carrier. We are a resilient team, and we execute and move through these storms as best as good as anybody. We're looking forward to this weekend. It looks like it's trending more towards a mid-Atlantic Carolina storm, but we're going to be prepared.

We want to make sure we get our customers going to where they want to go and doing it in a unique, great JetBlue way. Joanna, you mentioned the Blue Sky Alliance with United Airlines. Am I correct? Is it going to be this quarter or early second quarter where you are beginning to start booking each other on the other airline's flights for customers who come to you and say, I want to go somewhere and it works better to be partially booked on a United flight? Yeah, we've announced Earn and Burns.

So customers can now earn points on JetBlue and points on United for our respective flights and use them. We'll be announcing this quarter, we'll be launching this quarter, the ability to purchase JetBlue flights on United.com and vice versa. And they're going to see a series of additional benefits move through the year that we'll be implementing. And this is a great opportunity for both JetBlue and for United. It gives Jeplu some scale. It gives our customers more utility and their loyalty program. And I can't say enough about the partnership and what it's going to bring to customers in the Northeast, more scale and more options. And Joanna, finally, when we look at your airplanes on the ground because of the Pratt and Whitney engine issues that you've been wrestling with over the last year and a half, has the worst of it passed?

Is 26 when you start to scale that down in terms of the number of aircraft that are out of commission that you can get back in service? Yeah, 2025 was the high water mark. We should be seeing improvements in 26 and into 27. It's most certainly frustrating. I mean, we want those planes flying. We want to be flying more customers, more places. You know, we continue to work with Pratt and Whitney to get to a better place. And, you know, we're confident.

We'll cycle through it. But it's most certainly about a frustrating experience for us, for the industry. But hopefully as we move through this year and into next, we'll start putting it behind us. Joanna Garrity, CEO of JetBlue Airlines. Joanna, thank you for joining us today. Scott, we will send it back to you. All right. Appreciate that, Phil.

Thank you very much. Phil LeBoe. Still ahead. Software stocks. We mentioned Microsoft, not the only one getting slammed today. We'll talk about that space moving lower coming up. Plus, we get you set up, of course, for Apple the bell. It's coming right back. Coming up next, we track the biggest movers as we head into the close today.

Christina Partsenevlos is standing by with that. What's at the top of your list here? Well, unfortunately, crypto is tumbling right now to its lowest point in nearly two months, as investors really hunt for stability. Plus, one automaker post its first ever annual revenue decline while pivoting its strategy. Those stories and more when we return. Less than 15. From the closing bill, let's get back now to Christina for the stocks that she is watching.

What do you see? Well, I'm focusing on crypto first because Bitcoin hitting its lowest level since early December at a valuation right now at around $84,000 to actually so below $84,000. There's, with further interest rate cuts unlikely until later this year, investors might be looking for more steady investments, and that's why you're seeing crypto stocks like Coinbase, bullish, Robin Hood, all moving lower as well. Tesla dropping around 3% after the company posted its first ever decline in annual revenue and also announced plans to end production of its Model S and X cars as it should. shifts towards building more optimist humanoid robots and driverless cars.

Las Vegas Sands sinking right now about 14% despite posting a Q4B. Its results in the Macau market, really disappointed investors, partially because of its higher event costs, especially within basketball. Still, if you zoom out on a one-year basis, shares are still up about 20%, Scott. Christina, thank you. Christina Parts of Nevolo is coming up next. Countdown to Apple is on. Shareholder Kevin Simpson is standing by. He'll tell us exactly what he wants to hear. on the call, what he wants to see in the print.

The market zone is next. All right, we're now on the closing bell market zone. Mike Santoli here to break down these crucial moments of this trading day. Plus, Sima Modi is tracking the flunge today in those software stocks other than Microsoft. Pippa Stevens is going to tell us what she's watching from Big Oil and those earnings reports, which hit tomorrow. And Apple shareholder, Kevin Sipson, standing by before that big report. Michael, I'll turn to you.

Just get your thoughts on this day and what we may hear after. to the bell from Apple. I mean, market really managed to limit the damage, Scott, through those sort of powers of differentiation over the course of the day. Once it seemed like it wasn't going to be kind of a liquidation event, dollar surging and all the assets going down, market was able to rotate back. The familiar friends, you know, transports, banks, the stuff that worked in the first couple of weeks, even some of the bigger tech stocks outside of software.

So I think you give it credit. I still think the market at some point should treat this as a little bit of a warning shot. It's a pretty high sentiment market. Everybody's all in. Exposures are high. People are expecting good things. The year has started well. And so it's a matter of how much volatility from those other markets we are able to absorb in this way.

All right. I can't wait to watch you and Mel as these earnings come in. Mike, you go get ready for that. We'll see you obviously in a little bit on overtime. We're getting some news meantime on Open AI. Kate Rooney has that for us. Hi, Kate. Hi, Scott.

So I'm hearing that Amazon is now in talks to invest up to $50 billion in. In Open AI, the numbers could change. This is all fluid. These private financing can change dramatically in the matter of a couple weeks. But I'm told the term sheets here could be signed in the next week or so, maybe two weeks. Again, up to $50 billion. That number could change. It's part of this strategic investment that we're hearing from Microsoft as well.

Invidia as part of this and this ongoing funding run for OpenAI to raise up to $100 billion, what I'm hearing, according to sources. One aspect of this, Scott, so they are going to be dealing. these strategics first from this person who's familiar with these deal talks telling me they're going to do the strategic deals and then move on to the wider pool of investors, which does include SoftBank. It does include some of the sovereign wealth funds out of the Middle East. Should also point out that Andy Jassy, the CEO of Amazon, I'm told, is in talks with Sam Altman directly. On this scale, you would think that the CEOs would be involved, but they're talking

directly on this. Amazon notably has a major investment in Anthropics. So a rival of Open AI, you know, bounded by former Open AI engineers. So these companies are very much in competition. Amazon was an early backer, but you're seeing sort of the landscape shift here where these big strategic are placing bets on multiple AI companies, but the numbers here are just eye-poppy to this point. No comment from Amazon. Also no comment from OpenAI, but expect to hear more of this in the coming weeks.

Wow. Wow. Good reporting. Kate, thank you. That's Kate Rooney. All right, Seema. Tell us what's up with, I've seen service now, I've seen CRM. I mean, it's not just a Microsoft story today.

No, it isn't. By the way, that OpenAI fundraise has implications for software. It's a bigger than expected number. That tells the market that it has more capital to use that to create these applications that can take aim at the enterprise customer. I was looking at valuations across software, Scott. The IGV software ETF is now trading at the cheapest level since 2016. So in 10 years, that's according to analysis from the CNBC data team.

companies like Microsoft trading at 24 times versus the historical valuation of 30, service now at 26 times versus 51. So clearly there's a lot of dislocation here, and BTIG says there's disconnect between valuations and the fundamental story. Then next big catalyst now, Scott, is Palantir set to report earnings on Monday. And then we have some of the companies that function in the application layer, like Atlassian, which comes out next Thursday. So that's going to be a big part of the story going forward.

What is the guidance from these other software companies? All right, Seema, thank you very much for that. Sima Modi. All right, Kevin, we're going to ramp this right into the bell, and we've got a few minutes to do just that. I thought it was interesting. Alex Kanchowitz suggesting a little bit of Goldilocks around Apple. The stock tells a little bit of a different story, but how do you see things here? Well, we've seen the stock sell off over the past two months.

I listened to your interview, and I thought somewhat of a cool take on it, because Apple has remained out of the fray from all of these things AI adjacent. We know that we want AI to work. We know about the opportunity with Google. And I think it can and I think it will. You know, we're so embedded in this ecosystem that's a really neat story. The earnings today matter a great deal, not because it's like some killer earnings report or some crazy expectation, but I think it always comes back to Apple because they're the

confidence anchor of the market. You know, we talk about Nvidia all the time. and it's super important. But I think at the end of the day, it always comes back to Apple. And all we need to see, Scott, is as steady as she goes, report here. We don't need anything overly exciting one way or the other. I mean, if the stock sells off, would you be a buyer of more? Yeah, absolutely.

I mean, I don't think it's going to sell off. I think that we've seen the sell off before. It's definitely a have-or-have-or-have-not earnings report. We've seen that last night. Just look at Microsoft and Netta. My expectations for Apple. If you look at the numbers, revenues could be up 11.3% to $138 billion. Earnings per share could be also up 11% to $2.67 a share.

Very respectable. The service business could be up 14%. I mean, that's a $30 billion number. And I think the surprising thing that might be really productive is if iPhones, if iPhones can show low double-digit growth, Scott, that'll be the first time in four years where they've been able to say that. So I think it's going to be a good report. I don't know that the stock's going to react big one way or the other.

Any overreaction one way or the other would be a surprise to me. But specific to your question, if it does sell up like Microsoft did, yes, I would be adding to Apple. About a minute left. iPhone hasn't been the problem, obviously. That's been the strong point. When do you need to see AI acceleration, if you want to put it that way? I mean, I think that's the broader market. I think that's what we're seeing from the earnings report here in general.

It's not like you can just say AI and your stock goes up. I mean, you have to monetize it somehow. That's why meta was rewarded. That's why IBM was rewarded. And maybe that's why Microsoft was punished a little bit because of the lack of success with co-pilot. I think that 2026 is really the year that we need to see something. Like, we've been pushed off for sure with respect to Siri. We know that they have it.

We kind of say the same thing. Even you and I talking on halftime, like, oh, we know it's going to work. It's going to get here. But at some point, it's a show me story because you know open eye. AI is getting all of this money from these other places. Like that's no joke money that's being put their way. And we know that they have a device coming. So there comes a point in time where maybe you just say,

look, I'm done waiting for the Apple, and this is enough to get me to move to another product. Kev, we'll see you soon. I'll look forward to speaking with you next. We're going to get everybody said, don't leave your television because we are waiting those Apple earnings. And we'll get them obviously in overtime. Melissa and Mike are going to walk you right up to that.

And with their guests, give you expert analysis on what the stock may do from here, no matter what that company reports. Been down like eight straight weeks coming into the number. Given what Microsoft did and what meta did, maybe there's more pressure on this one now. We shall see that does it for us. I'll see you tomorrow. And overtime.