Closing Bell 11/11/26

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0:56Scott Wapner: All right, guys, thanks so much. Welcome to Closing Bell. I'm Scott Wapner, live from Post 9 here at the New York Stock Exchange. This Maker Breakout begins with this bounce in AI today after some much-needed relief from CoreWeave. After its own earnings, we'll tell you specifically why that stock looks like that. In just a bit, NVIDIA is bouncing too. We have the very latest on what's happening there. Semis, power, software, all getting a pretty nice bump today. Let's show you the big scorecard with 60 to go in regulation. Do have green all around today. Nasdaq, the clear winner, as you can clearly see, up near 2%.

1:28Scott Wapner: Even as interest rates move higher, 10-year, watching that, look at it, stuck right at 5 % now. Markets clearly rethinking the rate hike outlook as well. We'll have more on that too coming up. We do begin with our talk of the tape, this bounce in NVIDIA today, a notable downgrade there. Seema Modi following that angle. Megan Casella as well has the very latest regarding the company and some new reporting around the government and that angle. And Megan, we'll begin with you. Scott, the focus in Washington right now is in trying to figure out who in the government knew what about NVIDIA and Megaspeed and when they knew it.

2:02So Axios reporting earlier today that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick received a memo back in May warning about Jensen Huang's relationship with an alleged spy. They also report that Treasury Secretary Scott Besson confronted Lutnick just last week over Megaspeed, asking him why the company was not on Commerce's blacklist. Lutnick reportedly replied that he would look into it. I'll also note, though, a Commerce Department spokeswoman tells CNBC this is false and there was no such conversation. Now, separately, we're beginning to see more lawmakers from both parties clamoring to see some accountability here.

2:35So North Dakota Senator, Republican Senator Kevin Kramer today telling CNBC that he was calling for Jensen Huang's resignation, saying he can't believe we are even considering him not resigning. And three House Republicans who have called on Huang to testify say that they're giving him to the end of the day to respond to their request. Absent a response, Scott, they say they're prepared to issue a subpoena to get him to the Hill.

2:58Scott Wapner: OK, Megan, thank you. Megan Casella there now to SEMA on that big bounce today we're seeing in NVIDIA shares. Hi. It's certainly notable, Scott. In fact, in Morgan Stanley removing NVIDIA from its top picks list, analysts there are saying they are not changing NVIDIA from overweight, But they say they expect near-term uncertainty as Jensen Wang's leadership is crucial to the company's strategic direction. The team at Bayer taking it a step further downgraded the stock to neutral saying, quote, we contend a new CEO is needed to establish internal safeguards to align with existing and upcoming U.S.

3:30policies, enforcing restriction to China's access to U.S.-made AI technologies and to reestablish trust both externally and internally. They also flag that they think the odds favor an outsider being hired as CEO versus someone being promoted within NVIDIA. Despite these negative takes, Scott, the stock is bouncing back today along with other chip names. That's in part due to the move we're seeing in Corweave following its strong earnings report. CEO Mike Intrader telling CNBC that the election won't slow down its data center expansion plans. We're seeing Corweave's bonds back below 15 percent, so out of distressed territory while its stock is ripping higher, trying to recover from the major downturn over the last few months, Scott.

4:12Scott Wapner: And stopping those program stock sales, too. And that gave the stock another boost. We'll watch all of it. Seema, thanks so much for that. That's Seema Modi. Now to our panel. Hightower's Stephanie Link owns NVIDIA. Solace's Dan Greenhouse, Capital Area Planning Group's Malcolm Etheridge. Stefan Malcolm are CNBC contributors. He owns the stock as well. Steph, I'll begin with you. What are you doing with the shares? I'm holding them because I still believe that they can earn$20 a share in fiscal 28 that puts this stock at nine times earnings. We know that the gross margins have been de-risked during the mid-70s.

4:41I think that's fine. But I'm not buying here because it's binary, Scott. What happens to the CEO is binary.

4:49Scott Wapner: I really think so for the future of this stock. For the future of the stock, he is also the ambassador for AI and the revolution. He's like the chief cheerleader. Of course. And so to me, I would love to buy it if I knew he was if he was going to stay. But we have four to six weeks, maybe four to six months. We have no idea how long these investigations are going to go. That, I think, is going to keep a lid on the stock. I mean, it's rallying today, which is nice, but it's rallying today on core weave, on Anthropic, the IPO going and coming out at a better price, a better value. And overall, in general, the blue wave was way, way overdone.

5:24So we're having a nice bounce in the sector today, and they are participating, but I just want to sit and I want to just wait. And that's so unlike me. I want to be contrarian and I want to go for it. But I think if he is out, the stock falls.

5:37Scott Wapner: Malcolm, you told us today you're on the fence about what to do with your shares. Tell us more. Well, I'm less on the fence now than I was even a few hours ago when I when I was thinking about this. I think that we definitely do know that it's going to be six months, 12 months of Jensen Wong sitting for hearings where multiple senator, congressperson, whoever is asking him, what did you know and when did you know it? Over and over and over, which at best at this point, the stock basically trades flat for that time period and does absolutely nothing, which means it's dead money for investors. So definitely not the time to be buying into it and trying to catch this dip, as some are suggesting.

6:18But I actually think now it's probably time to go ahead and sell. So initially I was saying I can't be so sure that it's time to go ahead and hit the sell button just because the question is and go buy what? Like there's not a lot out there right now that you want to be buying to replace this kind of a name. But I just think that the likelihood that the shares have a downside is far greater than the likelihood that the shares are flat to positive a month from now, three months from now, 12 months from now. I will, for fun, take the other side of both Malcolm and Steph and say, I think they're both right.

6:55There is a long period of oversight coming for this company. And overhang on the stock. And overhang. That's fair. At the same time, I think we're going to, well, I should say the alternative is that we know pretty quickly, we will know pretty quickly whether something material was disclosed or something inappropriate was done. It's not going to take six congressional hearings, three Senate, etc., etc. I think we're going to know pretty quickly whether he did something wrong. And if it becomes clear that he did not, and that may come out in a week, in a month, yeah, there's still the hearings and yeah, there's still the scrutiny.

7:29But if you know that he didn't do something wrong, if he didn't misrepresent his lobbying on behalf of a foreign government or something like that, then I think some of this will fall by the wayside from the investor standpoint. And you can feel a little more comfortable that the story will not over, given the impending oversight, et cetera, is at least partially de-risked. And I think you could make a case that after a couple of days, a floor will be found and you can start to base from there. And that's when I will buy. And that's when I will buy. And correctly so, I'm just for fun on TV here, I'm going to take the other side and say it's not going to take six months to figure out whether this guy disclosed something or did something inappropriate.

8:03Scott Wapner: No, but there's so many things to yet figure out. Was his influence and desire to have the China market more opened up to NVIDIA's chips and other chips influenced by the relationship? Don't know. Those are the kinds of things that are going to be investigated. What more are we going to learn from the government's role in all of this, what they did or didn't do, what they knew and when they knew it? All of those things are just going to present this overhang likely for the better part of the next several weeks. And they report earnings, by the way, next week. Yeah. And again, I'm not saying there's no risk.

8:38Scott Wapner: I'm just for the discussion saying the alternative is... I know, but I'd like some conviction behind your point of view, not just playing the other side to play the other side. I don't feel... Listen, maybe he did something wrong. I have no idea. Maybe they're going to uncover an email. I don't know. Maybe there's a text message to her. I have no idea. Nobody does. And that's Steph's point and Malcolm's point. What I'm saying is, if he did nothing wrong, it's not going to take six months to figure it out. You're going to know pretty quickly at which point you can buy the stock. Jensen's not going anywhere.

9:06Anyone who read The Thinking Machine knows it or just follows the company, knows that Jensen Wang and NVIDIA are, for lack of a better word, inseparable.

9:14Scott Wapner: The other point, Malcolm, is what J.P. Morgan sums up, and it leads to a more broad conversation about where we are at the moment in the market. You could almost hear a sigh of relief in the AI market as CoreWeave posted solid results that extended the margin story that took hold last quarter. Is that what this is in the market today? We could not afford some sort of big drop from Corweave, some commentary around the earnings, some commentary about the story, given where we are in what feels like a much more fragile market. I think it's the combination of Corweave, Corweave's earnings, yes, and also the conviction of its CEO to say, I'm going to stop share sales going forward.

10:01That says a lot to the street, I think. But then separately from that, Anthropics IPO is huge, right? It's impossible to overstate how important Anthropics IPO is for the ecosystem right now. And the fact that we're getting reporting today that they're planning, they're expecting they're going to be oversubscribed when just one day ago we had concerns that there was a lack potentially of interest in this IPO. I think that combined with what we're getting from CoreWeave today is what's helping to say, okay, the AI trade really is rolling on and the data center backlash may have been overdone to Stephanie's point, the blue wave and everything else that scared us before.

10:41Maybe we were a little bit too concerned and there really is still some opportunity in this trade.

10:46Scott Wapner: You make a really good point. It's a natural segue to talk more about the IPO because sentiment clearly being helped by what we've learned this week and the fact that Anthropic is moving towards that IPO. The same time, we learn more about its and OpenAI's financials. Are Kate Rooney following the money? There's a lot of that money to follow as well, Kate. Yeah, Scott, no lack of growth here. We did get a better look at some of the numbers and the entire AI race just in the last week. So we'll start with OpenAI. Sources now telling us this company brought in about$10 billion in the third quarter.

11:21That's in terms of revenue. It was up nearly 50 % from the previous quarter. Compare that to its rival Anthropic, which is set to list on the Nasdaq next week. The latest investor materials that we got this week showed roughly$17 billion for the same period. Their quarterly growth rate is pretty similar. So it's about 47 % for Anthropic and both growing at a similar pace. But Anthropic, we should mention, is starting off of a larger base. If you look at some of the top line numbers. Anthropic did disclose its October revenue, or at least the run rate. So it's $81 billion for that run rate in the month.

11:54Compare that to OpenAI's reported$50 billion revenue run rate at the end of September. These are, of course, snapshots of recent business activity. They're projected over a year, and they're not entirely apples to apples until we get to see OpenAI's full financials. The bigger divide here, though, Scott, may be on profitability. So Anthropic reported third quarter losses or an operating loss of 567 million. OpenAI, on the other hand, reportedly lost about 10.9 billion. That is according to the Wall Street Journal. We haven't confirmed that number. OpenAI's adjusted margins, operating margin, according to the same report, it was negative, 109%.

12:32It was better than the negative 150%. But Anthropic is working with positive adjusted margins. It's about 15%. And Scott, these adjustments are just a big open question. Anthropics figures do include stock-based compensation. There's things like non-cash charitable contributions as well. So you got to think about the adjustments. And once both these companies are both public, we'll be able to kind of compare them a bit better. But that's what we know.

12:57Scott Wapner: We'll be there soon. We'll talk to you many times between now and then as well. Kate, thanks. That's our Kate Rooney. We'll go back to the panel. Dan, the idea that Malcolm puts forth, this has to go well for the market, don't you think? Yeah, I think, yes, it would be very helpful if the largest IPO in human history went pretty well. I agree with you entirely. But I don't think there's really much of a risk of it not going well. There's a million people who get paid lots of money to ensure that it does go well. And to Malcolm's point, CoreWeave told you, as if you didn't already know, that there's still enormous demand for AI coming from all quarters.

13:30CoreWeave just said their demand capacity ratio was basically 10 times in favor of demand. So I think this will go well. It may not go as perfectly as, to Malcolm's point, it might have a month ago or three months ago. But it's going to go fine. I mean, it's incredibly important. You want to buy it? No. I'll tell you why. Because I own SpaceX and Meta.

13:49Scott Wapner: Well, that's why I asked you if you want to buy this. Well, no, because I own SpaceX and Meta, and those are two big customers for Anthropic. So I already have Anthropic exposure in space. You think you'll be too leveraged to that, too concentrated? Too concentrated right now. And not only that, though, but, I mean, it is, you know, the profitability metric is kind of concerning. And I think they're going to probably be struggling in that regard for the next several quarters, maybe even years. Who knows? So I just think it's good that it gets off. I think it's really good that it didn't come in at$2 trillion.

14:23It's$1.18 to$1.3 trillion is a much better valuation, Scott, than$2 trillion. So I think they're setting themselves up for it to be a success. But I just have exposure elsewhere.

14:36Scott Wapner: How are you feeling about speaking of exposure elsewhere to the power trade, which you have been in big in early and conviction doesn't seem to have wavered at all? Interesting. The Sixth Street CEO today warning the A.I. race rife with, quote unquote, speculative behavior. That was in comments he made. There's about 200 billion dollars of chips sitting in warehouses because the data centers aren't ready. There's a risk because chips can depreciate rapidly. Rapidly, I thought it was interesting, too. Howard Marks this afternoon, his latest memo comments on data centers. Quote, the key here is that data centers aren't a quote unquote layup.

15:13Scott Wapner: The intelligent investor has to find opportunities that are insulated from the uncertainties and won't be subject to overbuilding and thus oversupply of compute. As in all forms of investing, there'll be successful data center investors and less successful ones. Given the dynamics, however, I think the successes of the winners and the failures of the losers may be even more pronounced than is usual in quote-unquote infrastructure. You want to deal with that? I mean, there are always winners and always losers, right? I think the ones that I've highlighted are the winners, and they've done quite well.

15:47I mean, they're still up double digits year-to-date, but here's the thing. So maybe we're not going to spend$7 trillion on data centers between now and 2030. That was what we were projecting. Maybe it's$3 trillion to$4 trillion. That's still a lot of money. and you really don't have enough supply out there at all. I mean, you do not have enough stuff. We are short compute. We are short memory. We're short people, Scott. So to me, I think we're going to continue to spend a trillion plus on the grid. And that's what I own mainly, Qantaservices.

16:22Scott Wapner: Qantas, Eaton, if I recall, Vernova. Vernova, Vertiv. I mean, you're right in the sweet spot of this trade. Yeah, so it's the grid, but I think you're also going to spend a trillion dollars plus on power because we don't have enough power. So that's the whole thing. Like, I don't worry about those two pieces of it, even if the data center spend comes down, because we still need those things. You know, I've been saying this for years. The grid is like 75 percent of the grid is over 25 years old. The grid was built in 1950 to 1960. It has a shelf life of 50 to 80 years. So there's a lot of things that are pressing on the grid now.

16:57And I think that that actually builds well for. And to that point, we are so concerned about what the new Texas governor, the new Ohio governor is going to do about data centers, to the extent that we believe that they are rational actors. All they're trying to do is extract compensation from these private sector players. And so to Steph's point about grid obsolescence, we'll call it, that's what's going to happen. These private sector players are going to have to pony up money, which are going to be used to improve the grid, which are going to reduce, let's say, the 40 gigawatts of capacity that we don't have coming online in the next couple of years.

17:26And that's going to make it easier for these types of companies to do well and be profitable. And, again, we're focused on these guys, on the governors, as if they're going to see state-centered construction. They are most likely just trying to extract rents from the private sector to shore up exactly what Steph is talking about.

17:40Scott Wapner: Malcolm, how do you see this trade? Do you think it's influenced at all by how well even an anthropic goes, for example? I don't think you own very many, if any, of these pure-play AI power names. Yes, and I also don't want to, especially not here. I actually disagree to some degree with what both Dan and Stephanie are saying related to the power play not being directly influenced by data centers entirely. And I think, yes, that's probably true in terms of its practical use. We do need to refresh the grid and really make up for a lot of what hasn't been done from an infrastructure spending perspective.

18:18But that has absolutely nothing to do with how much credit the market is giving these companies for the money that's being spent with them for the data center build out and nothing else. So if we do get any sort of pullback on spend or expected spend from any of the hyperscalers that's been doing all of this for the last four years, they're not going to be getting benefit of the doubt that the companies will still be willing to spend or the local governments will still be willing to spend to refresh the grid. it's all going to be based on expectations for the next data center being brought online and that next gigawatt of power being brought to the end user, which is ultimately one of these hyperscaler companies.

19:01These companies are sold out, Scott, until 2030. They can't meet demand. They're pulling forward backlog numbers. So you have a lot of visibility to this particular theme. And as I said, if data center spend goes negative, if it's not even$3 trillion to$4 trillion, if it's like$1 trillion, if it's a lot more disappointing, well, then we can have another conversation. But I think you're going to continue to see that spent.

19:28Scott Wapner: Lastly, the market today dealing with the possibility of even more rate hikes than it had expected. That's after the inflation report, some hawkish Fed speak this week, and at the same time, new information exclusive to CNBC on the state of the consumer. Our senior economics correspondent, Steve Leisman, delivering that for us as well. Hi, Steve. Hey, good afternoon, Scott. Consumer spending states subdued in October, still growing, but showing some signs that higher gas prices were taking a toll. The CNBC NRF retail monitor, our exclusive data powered by real credit card and debit spending from Affinity Solutions shows October spending rising just 0.15 for the headline.

20:07That excludes auto and gas. That's down from a 0.28 gain in September. Year over year rate falling to 3.6 from 4. Core retail, we take out restaurants for that, rising a healthier 0.26 percent, but on par with September. Yearly gain dropping to 3.4 from 3.7. National Retail Federation saying Halloween spending was strong and sales benefited from some early holiday promotions, but consumers are being careful to stretch their dollars, they said. Gas station sales rising 5.5 percent. Third month in a row north of 5, 31 percent year over a year. Building and garden supplies bounced back from a couple of weak months.

20:40Sales at general merchandise and sporting goods and hobby stores, they were healthy. Furniture stores, though, they continue to struggle with a troubled housing market. Clothing, electronics, store sales and restaurants and bars all came in flat to negative. On the Fed, no trade today in fixed income markets, but they closed yesterday betting on consecutive hikes now in December and January after the hot inflation and jobs reports. Goldman on board with a second hike, but says March instead. Chicago's Austin Goolsbee saying last night, yesterday's inflation report was, quote, borderline disturbing, Scott.

21:10Scott Wapner: That got a lot of attention, did Mr. Goolsbee's comment. Steve, thank you very much for that. That's our Steve Leisman. This is a key part of your entire market view. The consumer needs to hang in there. The consumer is hanging in there. Credit card data from Bank of America, third best month in four years last month. So that's the data that I pay attention to monthly. and as long as the consumer has a job, and we have a lot of various different outlets that are telling us that the labor market is still very healthy. As long as the consumer has a job, wages are growing 3.5%, 4.5%. Job switchers are getting 5%.

21:46As long as that happens, the consumer will continue to consume.

21:48Scott Wapner: What if the Fed does hike more than we thought? What do you think, Dan, about that? Then the impact directly on the market. Sure. You want conviction? The Fed's not hiking 50 basis points at the next meeting. That's what I'm looking for. It's not that difficult. Yeah, so the Fed's not hiking 50-bases. He says to himself. Says to nobody. Yeah, I mean, this is important for the market. We've had some version of this conversation on this show for a few years now. What's more important, the AI trade or the Federal Reserve? And my answer, at least, has consistently been the AI trade is considerably more important to some of the points that Malcolm just made earlier and, in my mind, just the obviousness of it.

22:26So the Fed's going to keep hiking rates, whether they should or shouldn't, There's a whole separate conversation. As investors, is another 25 basis point going to be a shock to the market in December? No. What if there are two more 25s? I think December and January might be a little more difficult for the market to handle than December and March, to Goldman's point. But I don't think, and the larger point I've been making, 25 basis points here, 50 basis points here. Yes, I know that Chair Warsh is looking at a name like Correville, that he didn't say it, and said, sure, our rate hikes are having some effect on the margin, and that's true.

22:58But the nucleus of this, the hyperscalers, are not affected by 25 or 50 basis points. And as long as the Fed is not prepared to hike, let's say, the 100 or 200 basis points necessary to bring about inflation as they see it back to normalized levels, then I don't think the market should be too concerned about it, especially if the AI investment story remains on track, which to the Corby report appears to be the case. Malcolm, the last word goes to you. Yeah, I think Dan's pointed about the Fed not being willing to do the thing that we all know is what is required to get a real handle on inflation is the reason that the market keeps rotating back to green day after day.

23:39If we really had the confidence that they were going to pour cold water on this thing from January or March, then we know that that's going to impact the fixed income market, which is obviously going to impact the hyperscalers' ability to borrow, to continue to build out, which obviously has an impact on earnings. But since none of that is going to happen, already on.

24:00Scott Wapner: We'll leave it there. Thanks, everybody. We're just getting started. Coming up next, today's top movers, including the buyback buzz, sending one retail name back towards all-time highs. We're live at the New York Stock Exchange, and you're watching Closing Bell on CNBC.

24:38$1 ,500 in purchases. That's 5 % cash back at different places each quarter, like grocery stores, on gas, and at restaurants. It pays to discover. Terms apply. See discover.com slash 5 for details.

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25:23Scott Wapner: Computers are getting smarter, Silicon Valley's getting weirder, and AI is taking over. At least that's what everyone keeps telling us. Welcome to Machine Gods, a new NPR podcast that will be your field guide to the AI-powered future. We're veteran tech journalists with front row seats to the industry. And twice a week, we'll make sure you get smarter about AI, so you know what's real, what's hype, and what might come next. Listen to Machine Gods from NPR on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

25:55We're back.

25:56Scott Wapner: Let's get to some of today's big movers. We're starting with Costco. Shares moving higher. Brandon Gomez joins us now with exactly what is going on. Hi there. Hey, Scott. Yeah, shares up one and a half percent after the company announced a special dividend of$30 a share. That's double the last one paid in 2024. Costco has done these every few years, but this is one of the biggest ones yet, totaling about$13.3 billion. This will be payable on December 4th. Now, investors must be a shareholder of record by the end of the day on November 24th. If so, for those looking to pile in, there's still some time.

26:27Now, the board also reauthorized a stock buyback of up to$4 billion running through November of 2030. That replaces the current program under which Costco has already bought back over$3 billion in stock. It was set to expire in January. And then you have Joe Terranova said with you earlier today, Scott, this is about confidence with strong cash flow generation.

26:47Scott Wapner: The stock now coming back to its May highs. All right. Giving Joe T a shout out, Brandon. We appreciate that. Brandon Gomez. Now to Pippa Stevens, who's looking at some big downgrades today in energy. What do you see? Well, Scott, energy is the top sector on the year by a long shot. But as oil prices tumble, Bernstein says it's time to be more selective, especially since the firm believes investors could profit taken to year end or rotate into beaten down sectors, pressuring energy equities. They take drillers Conoco, Diamondback and Devin down to market perform and suggest a barbell with Exxon at outperform.

27:17That's exposure to the largest integrated player with a large downstream division, as well as gas-focused names Expand Energy and EQT, both of which are outperform. Now, these names don't have the same geopolitical premium that oil has that could unwind. And Bernstein said now is an attractive entry point with Henry Hubb around 325. The names have vastly underperformed the broader energy sector this year, with Expand dropping some 20 percent. Scott?

27:41Scott Wapner: All right, Bippa Stevens, thank you very much for that coming up. A new era for world team tennis. New names, new teams, a major revamp. We're serving up what's ahead for that league as it gets ready to make its debut on CNBC. We're back after this.

28:02With the Discovered Cashback Card, it's payback time when you earn cash back on everyday purchases. Activate and earn 5 % cash back at different categories each quarter on up to$1 ,500 in purchases. That's 5 % cash back at different places each quarter, like grocery stores, on gas, and at restaurants. It pays to discover. Terms apply. See discover.com slash 5 for details.

28:303 o 'clock. Kids are home. Your to-do list isn't done. New Kraft Mac & Cheese Power Mac was made for days like this. Kraft Mac & Cheese Power Mac packs the same irresistible creamy, cheesy flavor you love, Now with 17 grams of protein and 6 grams of fiber. Fuels you up, keeps you going. Because your day doesn't stop. Kraft Mac and Cheese Power Mac. Find it at your favorite retailer. The best thing ever keeps getting better. AI is here, transforming how we work, live, and lead. And the women I talk to aren't waiting for the future, they're shaping it. I'm Julia Boorstin, Senior Media and Tech Correspondent at CNBC.

29:11This is CNBC Changemakers, where I talk with the female leaders transforming business as AI reshapes the world. Follow and listen to CNBC Changemakers, women leading in the age of AI, wherever you get your podcasts.

29:29Welcome back.

29:30Scott Wapner: CNBC, proud to be the new home of World Team Tennis, makes its debut on this network on December 1st. The league has undergone a significant revamp with new clubs, new players, including some of the world's best. Stephen Armitage's World Team Tennis CEO, John D 'Agostino, is head of institutional strategy at Coinbase, which is WTT's presenting sponsor. It's good to have you both here. Thanks so much. We're really excited about this. I mean, it's been around for a long time since Billie Jean King co-founded it in the 70s. Yeah. What's different about this iteration? Yeah, it's a great question.

30:04Thanks for having us today, Scott. So, look, I mean, we have a completely revamped league. It has the IP and the foundation of World Team Tennis that it's always had. So, you know, a mixed gender team competition based on gender equity and innovation. And so for us, the next layer of that is having moved the dates to December, new format that's shorter in nature, adding in technology. And we're just so excited today to announce Coinbase as our presenting sponsor for the league's 47th season.

30:34Scott Wapner: This is the announcement actually happening literally as we speak, right? Yeah, the announcement happening as we speak. Exactly. So World Team Tennis presented by Coinbase is going to be live here on CNBC on December 1st, live from Barclays Center. As you said, some of the best players in the world competing in it. Coco Gauff, Jess Pagula, Francis Tiafield. Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, Mboko, Shapovalov. You got a bunch of good players. I mean, you have to have good players. We have to have good players. We're stacked, and it's amazing. It's going to be what we feel like is the most fan-friendly and engaging format within the sport.

31:04And just couldn't be more fired up to bring it live here on CNBC. Why did this make sense now for Coinbase? Scott, we fell in love with WTT at the first meeting. It's the perfect match. So if you think about kind of what they're trying to accomplish, opening up the architecture of tennis to more participants, improving the relationship with the fans, Granting the players, granting the stakeholders ownership and control over their own participation. Those are exactly the principles behind blockchain technology. So it just made all the sense in the world.

31:38Scott Wapner: The baseline assumption is just that the customer or the fan gets the advantage at the end of the day. Coinbase has pretty big relationships with sports, right? I mean, the NBA, the WNBA, Golden State Warriors, just to mention a team that's so prominent. And why, in general, do sports make so much sense for you guys? So I think certain sports give off that spirit of you can respect history. You can respect the iconic nature of this building we sit in right now, that even the New York Stock Exchange recognizes that it continually needs to be updated. And they're announcing blockchain-based trading along with every other major exchange.

32:16So we like competition. We like rugged individualism. And we like entities like WTT that understand the history they came from, but understand the requirement to maintain it and update it at the same time.

32:29Scott Wapner: John sort of mentioned this, the new ownership model, player ownership. Yep. Players are going to get equity in this league. Yep. It's not only a first in tennis. You don't see that too often. How did you come to that decision? How did you market that to the players, and what was their reaction? Yeah, it's a great question. Look, I've spent a long time in this sport. My family has been, my dad and uncle's played in the first iteration of World Team 1070s. My wife is a longtime WTA player, U.S. Olympian. And just seeing the opportunity for the players themselves to get rewarded in the upside of what we would say is an emerging league.

33:14similar to what unrivaled women's basketball has done, similar to what TGL Golf has done, was just a natural choice. So they are our partners in the league, and we're very excited to make them owners as well.

33:24Scott Wapner: What kind of prize money are we talking about here? Yeah, look, I mean, all the players are given a base fee, and then they're given bonuses for their wins. I mean, it's meaningful in the fact that they take time out of their schedules to be able to play in markets and really, truly an amazing team setting. It's very rare in an individual sport to have a short-form team format, both men and women competing equally, to the overall outcome of the league. And so for us, there's a difference that they all wanted to buy into from just the format perspective. Was it a hard sell for some of these stars?

33:55Scott Wapner: Not really. I mean, because the season's long. Yeah, the season is long. It's one of the things that they always complain about, is the season's really long. They're traveling all over the world. Many are literally just returning from the end-of-year championships. championships. Many were just in Asia. Now they're over in Italy and wherever, you know, they're going. And now they're coming back here and then their schedule is still full. I mean, you have a pretty good sell to make, don't you? Yeah. I mean, look, I think that the players themselves were, you know, excited about what this represented.

34:22You know, it's in the time in December that they usually are training. They wanted a short format, the ability to compete in major markets. And so, you know, to put them in a setting where they can be part of a team is just something that I think is attractive to them and that we had a lot of success with.

34:36Scott Wapner: It's more than just sort of putting the Coinbase name on the entity as well as a presenting sponsor. I mean, how are fans going to see what you're doing related to what you see on TV, some of the innovations that you might bring that are enhancing this whole product overall? As you say, you have to continue to innovate. Yeah. So we don't just slap a sticker. We are truly partners. So to begin, the funding is coming in the form of USDC. It's a native currency. We'll have the digital coin toss to start things off. And over time, we'll start to see integration of functions like prediction markets, which help fans gain consensus around their views for matches or elements within a match.

35:19There's potential for athletes to be paid in cryptocurrency, et cetera, et cetera.

35:23Scott Wapner: So this is the beginning of a fully integrated relationship, and we just couldn't be happier. Not going to let you out of here without a direct Coinbase-related question. I'm curious as to your view, the company's view on the future of the Clarity Act, now that you've had the midterms. I'm wondering how you're thinking about that. I see headlines that say Democrats are pushing for a rewrite, maybe expanding the SEC powers. Can you speak to that? So what I can say is that we have the Genius Act, which goes into effect January 2027. We've seen the commensurate increase in stablecoin interest. So it's a real shame that Clarity died in letter, but is living on in spirit through very, very rapid rule setting by both the SEC and CFTC.

36:08So whatever happens in the future relative to that, we think that the popularity of the asset class plus those rules that be put in place will govern the way that our country reacts to blockchain and crypto assets. So we're excited about that. You still think it has a possible future? I'm an eternal optimist, Scott. So I'm going to say yes. I think the smart money's on clarity being dead in letter, alive in spirit.

36:33Scott Wapner: But anything could happen. All right. We'll leave it there. Gentlemen, I appreciate you spending time with us. Thanks for being here. Thank you. Thank you, John. Thanks to you as well. We'll follow. We can't wait to see it on our network. Live coverage of WTT airs across CNBC and Fandango with events in New York, Toronto, Miami begins at the Barclays Center December 1st, 7 p.m. Eastern. Don't miss that. Coming up next, we track the biggest movers into the close. Pippa's back with that. What do you see? Hey, Scott, one biotech stock is pacing for its best day in more than three years. The name that's up 20 percent coming up next.

37:07Scott Wapner: We're almost 10 to the bell. Let's get back to Pippa now for the stocks that she's watching. Tell us more. Hey, Scott, first up is Corning. It is in the green after Jeffries initiated coverage of the materials company with a buy rating and 134 target. Analysts saying the company sits at the center of an AI driven fiber shortage with multi-year hyperscaler and carrier contracts underpinning growth. Those shares are up 7 percent. Azenta is surging after reporting earnings ahead of estimates and issuing stronger than expected guidance for fiscal year 2027. The life sciences firm is pacing for its best day since August 2023 and is up some 21 percent.

37:42Finally, nuclear name Oklo adding 3 percent after the U.S. Department of Energy gave it a green light for unrestricted research, testing and operations at its Grover isotope test reactor in Texas. Scott?

37:54Scott Wapner: All right, Pippa, thank you. Pippa Stevens coming up next. Apple is within striking distance of a fresh all-time high today. We're watching that as we head towards the close. An update in the Market Zone, which is next.

38:09Scott Wapner: We're now in the Closing Bell Market Zone. Mike Santoli and Northern Trust Eric Friedman are here to break down these crucial moments of this trading day. Oliver Rennick standing by live from the Civo Global Markets in Chicago for some options action. Seema Modi pushing ahead to applied materials earnings tomorrow. Mackenzie Cigalos, record Apple watch as the stock does hit its all-time high. We'll get to that in a second. But, Michael, I'll begin with you because the first word is yours. Yeah, I mean, we've sort of extended a pretty respectable rebound rally. It's going according to kind of textbook rhythms, I would argue, where you get, you know, super oversoul conditions, the fever breaks, You get a spike in volatility, and then everyone sort of waits to see if there's going to be any more forced selling.

38:51That didn't happen on Friday, so Monday we're able to build on it. I do focus on kind of how far back in time we're going. And for the S &P 500, we're back to like four trading days ago. And for the semis and NASDAQ, you're back to a little longer than that, but basically the beginning of this month or so. So it just shows you it's the beginning of it. I absolutely respect the action. I think you did reset positioning enough with that wipeout last week in some of the tactical funds to have people feel like they need to quickly add exposure today. And that's what things like Apple tells me and the fact that the hardest hit groups are now leading the way, the AI hardware food chain.

39:32Scott Wapner: Doing it without Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet. That's that's impressive. Yeah. And I think that reflects the continued sort of rotation. They outperformed in the tough pullback. And so, therefore, nobody needs to buy as much of those things. So I think it's going according to what you might expect in terms of the cadences of what's working and what's not. There was a bit there where Alphabet wasn't participating enough, and it was starting to seem conspicuous. Now we're up 2 % on there. So it seems like it's fine. I do think that you have to understand that you're just back up to at the S &P 500 levels we first got to in the beginning of June.

40:10So we continue to fight out this range.

40:13Scott Wapner: What do you got coming up in about six minutes or so? Well, we have, you know, we've got the Nomura chief strategist. We're going to talk about all these issues. He actually thinks it's time to play for value and small and the stuff that's not working today. So we'll get his take. Yeah. All right. Well, Rach may have something to say about that. Mike, thanks for seeing just a bit. To Oliver in Chicago, where are we playing options action today? Nebbius earnings tomorrow. Scott Bulls hoping they can get a back-to-back win for the neoclouds after Corweave today. Nebius is up 17 % today, and options are pricing an almost 12 % move after tomorrow's earnings, which is big compared to the past two years.

40:55Compared to the last year, it's about the same. It's also rallied after five of its sixth earnings since going public, which is interestingly the opposite of Corweave's earnings story prior to today. More calls were bought than puts today in Nebius, and about twice as much premium was traded in the calls. So it does look like traders are leaning neutral to bullish. One popular bet was buying the 177.5 strike call expiring Friday that costs$3.50 roughly and needs another 16 % rip by Nebius into the weekend.

41:29Scott Wapner: All right. Be closely watched as well. Oliver Rennick at the SIBO in Chicago. Thank you very much for that. to Seema Modi now, who takes a look at AMAT, which is ahead tomorrow and important. Yeah, it is, Scott. Applied materials rallying today along with its semiconductor peers. And for AMAT, it's really a demand story, an important read on whether AI continues to lift wafer fabrication equipment over the coming years and how a market like China is holding up with about 20 percent of its revenue derived from that market. Shares have fallen about 45 percent from its recent high, largely driven by these ongoing supply constraints.

42:06We'll see if earnings can change the story going forward, Scott.

42:10Scott Wapner: All right, team, appreciate that. Yes, we will. Big eye on the chip equipment names. All right, Mackenzie, tell us more about this move in Apple, which did hit an all-time high. Yes, you got the holiday season set to deliver another record quarter, Scott, for Apple, but higher prices, not more phones will be driving back growth. UBS expects iPhone revenue to climb 12 % to$95 billion, even as unit sales fall 3%. Now, Apple itself forecasts total holiday quarter revenue growth of 7 % to 10 % coming out of earnings last week. New data from UBS tracking more than 30 markets shows iPhone 18 Pro demand patterns largely in line with last year.

42:51The Pro is available almost immediately, while the Pro Max has an average delivery window of seven days. The$2 ,000 foldable iPhone duo remains much harder to get. Delivery delays have eased by seven days, but orders still won't arrive until late January. And that pricing power, a big part of what's helping Apple remain Wall Street's most valuable company. Its market cap still firmly above$5 trillion, poised to hit a new record at the close. And that lead over NVIDIA widening to roughly$900 billion in trade today as investors favor Apple's lower exposure to the AI infrastructure spending boom.

43:25Scott?

43:26Scott Wapner: Mac, thank you. Extending its lead over every other mega cap two on the year to date, up 31 percent, trouncing everything else. Eric Friedman is sitting next to me here. Big sigh of relief today in the market, you think, for what core we've had and NVIDIA's positive? Yeah, big sigh. I think you look at the financing, it's got to just continue. Everyone says, hey, this web of, you know, let's call it shadow financing is going to at some point break. Until it does, we still think the bias is higher. Are you seeing revisions, not just to hyperscalers, but also now the second and third tier players just continues to be better?

43:58So, again, we think this is still a market you have to own until you're proven otherwise.

44:02Scott Wapner: What about tech itself? Is that going to be the driver? Do we get a more broadening trade like some are hoping for? Yeah, I think a great point earlier on interest rates, we think that broadening will happen. We do think the bias for rates is probably slightly higher. But, again, we still would really favor tech. We do think things like RSP, things that, again, are taking that more equal weighted opportunity set, we think is still a worthwhile thing for clients. Can you get a real broadening with interest rates parked, say, the 10-year near 5 % again? I think if we're sub 5.25, that for us would be like the line of demarcation.

44:32You see the 10-year hover at 5.25 and then come back down, you're okay. North of 5.25, we start talking about commercial real estate, we start talking about regional bank considerations.

44:40Scott Wapner: So that's a litany we really don't want to go through. Not on NVIDIA itself as an individual name, but the importance of it as it's going to report earnings next week, given everything that's going on, does that ratchet up the importance of that report at this particular time? Yeah, you have two big events. You have Anthropic, and obviously you've got what's happening with NVIDIA. So, again, the ecosystem, we still think has that bias towards more demand versus supply. Scott, we think that continues. Again, if there's a kink in the armor, if you will, from the NVIDIA report, suggesting that maybe supply is even more further delayed out in the future, that would be problematic.

45:15But again, we still think that that bias is higher for tech and more of a positioning issue than anything else.

45:21Scott Wapner: You make a good point, too, about obviously anthropic and expectations that it's going to go well. It has to go well. And maybe some of the sentiment in the market today as we learn more about its financials presumes that that actually is going to be the case. The Fed, how are you thinking about that in terms of you have, you know, an extra hike built into your own projections? And what do you think the reaction is on the market? Yeah, we think the two to two and a half for next year is probably the right number. You know, the Fed has to get ahead of some of the second order inflation effects.

45:53You've heard that from the Bank of England. You've heard that from the ECB and other central banks saying, hey, we're worried about expectations getting unhinged. As long as that doesn't happen, Scott, we think the Fed is probably contained at two and can be in more of a wait and see, let's call it data dependent mode, which is what markets want to see.

46:07Scott Wapner: All right, we'll leave it there. I appreciate you being here. Thank you, because they're going to ring the bell to end the regular session on this Veterans Day on Wall Street. We're going to go out green, and you know what? That's the way it should be on a day like today as well. NASDAQ is going to be the big winner, up 1.5%. The video gets a bounce, and so do many of those pure play AI games. I'll send you into overtime with Noah Mike.

46:39AI is here, transforming how we work, live, and lead. And the women I talk to aren't waiting for the future, they're shaping it. I'm Julia Boorstin, Senior Media and Tech Correspondent at CNBC. This is CNBC Changemakers, where I talk with the female leaders transforming business as AI reshapes the world. Follow and listen to CNBC Changemakers, Women Leading in the Age of AI, wherever you get your podcasts.