The Club’s 10 things to watch Thursday, June 25 1. The tech-heavy Nasdaq is set to rally today , led by semiconductor stocks after memory chipmaker Micron signaled supply still can’t keep up with growing AI-fueled demand. S & P and Dow futures are also positive, but to a much smaller degree. U.S. benchmark WTI crude is hovering below $70 a barrel. 2. Micron is up over 16% this morning after another monster quarter. Earnings per share (EPS) of $25.11 trounced analyst estimates of $20.86. Guide for the August quarter: EPS of $30 to $32 versus $25.72 expected. The company expects tight conditions to persist beyond calendar year 2027, and said it doesn’t have a line of sight into when supply catches up with relentless demand. It’s also signed 16 strategic supply agreements with defined price (fixed or subject to floor and ceiling) to provide visibility. 3. Qualcomm is up almost 10% after unveiling ambitious revenue targets at its investor day. The chipmaker raised its fiscal 2029 non-handset revenue target to $40 billion, which is roughly double its prior target from its 2024 investor day. The big lift is coming from its new data center AI infrastructure strategy, which is targeting more than $15 billion of revenue by fiscal 2029. It announced a multiyear deal with Meta to supply data center CPUs. 4. Club name Intel was initiated with a hold rating at Goldman Sachs and a $150 price target. Analysts believe in the agentic AI story and see upside from the company’s role as a “U.S. champion” with its foundry (manufacturing) business. However, they think the stock, which has more than tripled this year, reflects these tailwinds and prefer Nvidia , Broadcom , and AMD for their better revenue viability. We own Nvidia and Broadcom. 5. All the major banks pass the Federal Reserve’s annual stress tests. It’s not the same catalyst that it used to be, but it allows the big banks to return more excess capital to shareholders. JPMorgan increased its quarterly dividend to $1.65 from $1.50 and approved a new $50 billion buyback program . Club name Goldman Sachs increased its quarterly dividend to $5 from $4.50. 6. Wall Street firm Jefferies issued a second-quarter earnings report a little below estimates. Asset management fees and investment return revenue fell 35% year over year. That segment ran into trouble last year with exposure to collapsed auto-parts supplier First Brands. On the bright side, Jefferies’ investment banking revenue grew 57% year over year, thanks to the dealmaking boom that Club name Goldman has dominated this year. 7. Darden Restaurants reported fiscal Q4 earnings of $3.66 per share, a 3-cent beat. Total comparable store sales were up 4.6% versus 4.1% expected. Olive Garden was softer than expected, but LongHorn Steakhouse comps were strong. Fiscal year 2027 EPS guidance was a little light, which helps explain why the stock is off 3% this morning. 8. Spice maker McCormick beat on revenues and adjusted EPS of 80 cents topped estimates of 70 cents. Organic sales growth of 1.7%. The company, which also owns the Frank’s RedHot and Cholula brands, reaffirmed its full-year adjusted EPS outlook. Shares are up less than 1% premarket. 9. Shares of Google parent Alphabet are down more than 1% this morning after reports late Wednesday that two more leading AI researchers plan to leave the company for Anthropic. Last week, we heard about engineers leaving for OpenAI and another who departed for Anthropic. 10. Affirm was downgraded at Morgan Stanley to hold and removed as a “top pick” after a big run off its March lows. Shares of the “buy now, pay later” firm have soared over 80% since the March 27 close. Sign up for my Top 10 Morning Thoughts on the Market email newsletter for free (See here for a full list of the stocks at Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
