My top 10 things to watch Thursday, Oct. 30 1. Stocks were headed for a modestly lower open this morning following the Fed’s second interest rate cut of the year and China trade progress emerging, with agreements on fentanyl tariffs and rare earths on the table. Tech stocks were on the move after megacap earnings last night, which were all about AI spending. 2. Alphabet spent just enough and grew enough to thread the needle for a post-earnings stock advance of more than 8%. The Google-parent topped $100 billion in quarterly revenue for the first time ever. The company increased its outlook for capital expenditures. 3. Meta Platforms also hiked its guidance on capex , with CEO Mark Zuckerberg adopting Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s attitude: AI spending will always be worth it. The Club stock was sinking more than 9% this morning. The nearly $16 billion one-time tax charge also confused people. Major long knives are out for Meta, with lots of price target cuts. Piper Sandler was among them, taking Meta to $840 from $880, but called the stock dip a buy. 4. I saw nothing wrong with Microsoft ‘s quarterly report, except that the stock had already rallied since its blowout report three months ago. Just this week, the Club stock gained another 3% heading into the print after management announced its latest deal with OpenAI. The strong beat, however, just wasn’t enough to lift the stock further. It was down 2% this morning. Wells Fargo lifted its price target to $700 from $675 apiece, citing signs that demand for its products and services is accelerating. 5. Starbucks reported a mixed quarter last night, but we saw plenty of signs that CEO Brian Niccol’s turnaround plan is working, including an improvement in same-store sales in the U.S. and in China. The stock isn’t reflecting that progress yet. Piper lowered its price target on the Club stock to $100 from $105. Too many PT cuts to rally? Starbucks shares were falling roughly 3.5% this morning. 6. Barclays cut Chipotle ‘s price target to $38 from $43, citing weaker guidance during its last night’s earnings report. The stock sank more than 18% this morning. Barclays cut Brinker’s price target to $135 from $145, citing a tempering of margin guidance in yesterday’s results. Brinker CEO Kevin Hochman described the quarter as “phenomenal” and brushed off pessimism during ” Mad Money ” last night. Shares of the Chili’s parent closed down more than 7%. It was steady this morning. 7. Eli Lilly shares jumped more than 3.5% this morning after the drugmaker delivered big beats on quarterly earnings and revenue. The GLP-1 powerhouse, which sees strong demand for obesity treatment Zepbound and diabetes drug Mounjaro, also raised its full-year guidance. 8. Novo Nordisk , the Lilly rival behind diabetes and weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, has thrown Pfizer ‘s acquisition of obesity biotech Metsera a curveball. The drugmaker made a counteroffer of up to $9 billion. Novo Nordisk shares, which have been struggling this year, were dropping 2% this morning. 9. Club name Bristol Myers Squibb posted a better-than-expected quarter this morning. Management also raised its revenue outlook for the fiscal year. Shares were up 1.5% as a result. We want to hear good news on schizophrenia drug Cobenfy during the post-earnings conference call, which is underway. 10. Deutsche Bank downgrades Boeing stock to a hold from a buy rating, citing the aircraft maker’s $4.9 billion non-cash charge during its quarterly earnings report Wednesday. I disagree. This analyst doesn’t recognize that Boeing’s positive free cash flow is what really matters. 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.
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