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Stocks jumped for the second straight week and reached record highs Friday as Washington trade and shutdown drama took a back seat to cooler inflation data and stronger earnings. The S & P 500 and Nasdaq rose 2% and 2.3%, respectively, for the week. In fact, the S & P 500 on Friday peaked above 6,800 for the first time ever before closing just below that level. Both stock benchmarks finished Friday with record-high closes. Propelling stocks on the final day of the trading week was an encouraging read on the consumer price index for September , which was released 10 days late due to the federal government shutdown. Headline CPI rose 0.3% month over month and 3% year over year. The increases were not as much as expected. The core rate, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 0.2% from the prior month and 3% from the year-ago period. Again, both gains were less than expected. The CPI report was well received because it left the door wide open for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates again when central bankers gather next week. .SPX .IXIC 5D mountain S & P 500 and Nasdaq weekly performance The CPI was also the only official economic data released during the government shutdown, which was headed into its fourth week. The Senate adjourned Thursday and won’t reconvene until Monday afternoon. As the shutdown dragged on, there was a lot of talk about President Donald Trump ‘s decision Friday to cancel trade talks with Canada, which ran an advertisement featuring former U.S. President Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about tariffs. On the more positive side of the trade ledger, the White House confirmed that Trump’s visit to Asia next week will include a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping . Neither the trade headlines nor the shutdown impasse moved markets. What did support the stock market, in addition to the inflation data, was a continued stream of great earnings reports , with roughly 30% of the S & P 500 posting quarterly results so far. In fact, 87% of those names beat earnings expectations, according to LSEG, which is much higher than the typical 67% beat rate. Club names Danaher, Capital One, GE Vernova , Honeywell , and Dover all followed that trend when they each released their numbers this week. On Tuesday morning, Danaher posted a beat on the top and bottom line as the life sciences company issued an upbeat initial forecast for its next fiscal year. Shares, in turn, surged. Investors cheered the much-needed positive news for Danaher after an extended period of underperformance. DHR YTD mountain Danaher YTD “Danaher has tested our patience in recent quarters as the post-pandemic recovery proved challenging for companies that serve the biotech and pharmaceutical industries; a material presence in China added another hurdle to overcome,” Zev Fima, portfolio analyst for the Club, wrote in his earnings analysis. “But a market reaction like we’re seeing Tuesday is why we were willing to stay invested in Danaher, once a reliable outperformer.” The Club maintained its $240-per-share price target but downgraded the stock to a 2 rating , meaning we would consider buying more shares on a pullback. That doesn’t mean a change in our Danaher thesis. Rather, shares have advanced over 22% since late September, when we last added to our position. Danaher rose nearly 6.7% for the week and was No. 2 on our weekly leader board. Capital One posted a sizable quarterly earnings beat on Tuesday evening. Our biggest takeaway from the nation’s largest credit card issuer was its better-than-expected credit performance. During Friday’s Morning Meeting, Jim Cramer said Capital One was still his “favorite stock in the portfolio, even though it’s come up huge from when we bought it.” COF YTD mountain Capital One YTD “Credit has become a hot topic in the market lately due to the notable collapses of auto parts manufacturer First Brands Group and the subprime auto lender Tricolor Holdings. Since Capital One has a large exposure to the subprime market, some investors weren’t quite sure how its loans were holding up,” wrote Jeff Marks, director of portfolio analysis for the Club. “That’s why it was so important to see Capital One once again report strong credit metrics, with better-than-expected net charge-offs and provisions for credit losses.” The Club maintained its buy-equivalent 1 rating and $250 price target. Capital One’s weekly advance of nearly 6.5% put it fifth among our winners for the week. On Wednesday, GE Vernova reported strong earnings and robust backlog growth. Although management delivered on the most important line items, shares of the natural gas turbine manufacturer still tumbled amid weakness in speculative areas of the energy trade. GEV YTD mountain GE Vernova YTD The Club maintained its buy-equivalent 1 rating, though, encouraging members to buy shares the following session. We also reiterated our $700 price target on GE Vernova. After all, the unprecedented demand for more power because of increased AI data center investments is a financial windfall for energy stalwarts like GE Vernova. On Friday, Jim said, “This stock is a rocket ship,” comparing GE Vernova’s chart pattern to those of Alphabet , Advanced Micro Devices , and Oracle before those names mounted major rallies. While GE Vernova fell 2.6% this week and was our worst performer, the stock is still the second-best in the portfolio year to date, with an over 77% increase. Honeywell posted a stellar quarterly report Thursday that outpaced expectations on sales, earnings and organic growth. Management also hiked the industrial conglomerate’s full-year guidance. What’s most notable to us, however, is the rebound in the company’s aerospace division. The earnings report comes ahead of Honeywell’s spinoff of Solstice Advanced Materials on Oct. 30. The split of the remaining aerospace and automation division will be completed in the second half of 2026. HON YTD mountain Honeywell YTD “These spins stand to support further growth and drive shareholder returns as they will allow each of the three new entities to operate in a more focused and efficient manner,” Zev wrote in his earnings analysis Thursday. The Club reiterated its buy-equivalent 1 rating and $255 price target on Honeywell stock. Honeywell shareholders of record as of Oct. 17 will get one share of Solstice for every four shares of Honeywell. We plan to keep our Solstice shares and our Honeywell shares, which were our fourth-best this week, with a nearly 6.5% advance. Dover gave investors a reason to stick with the lagging stock after the company’s better-than-expected third-quarter profits on Thursday. Management also hiked its full-year earnings guidance, and highlighted Dover’s potential to benefit from lucrative trends like the AI buildout. DOV YTD mountain Dover YTD Dover stock had its second-best day of 2025 as a result. The Club reiterated its buy-equivalent 1 rating and price target of $210. After all, even with Thursday’s pop, Dover shares are still trading at a steep discount to its industrial peers. Dover was our third-best weekly performer — rising nearly 6.6% over the past five trading days. Ten portfolio names are on the docket next week: Amazon, Apple , Bristol Myers Squibb, Boeing , Corning , Eli Lilly, Linde, Meta Platforms, Microsoft , and Starbucks. Through it all, we’ll examine our thesis for each one, which can result in changes to our ratings or price targets. To be sure, quarterly earnings aren’t the only time we do that. Texas Roadhouse was a prime example this week. We downgraded Texas Roadhouse on Tuesday from a buy-equivalent 1 to a 2 rating. Rising beef prices continue to pressure margins for Texas Roadhouse, a headwind that’s likely to continue through 2026 as well. Making matters more complicated, management can only slowly pass through beef inflation with menu price increases as well. Still, we’re sticking it out in the stock for now. Texas Roadhouse was one of many portfolio moves made this week. We executed three trades, too. On Tuesday, the Club started a position in Corning . The company – known for manufacturing specialty glass, including fiber optic cables – will be a beneficiary of the AI buildout. That’s because the rise of AI will increase demand for those same connectivity products since they’re inside data centers. We also like Corning stock because of its Apple partnership. Club holding Apple previously announced a $2.5 billion commitment to Corning, which makes the cover glass for all iPhones and Apple Watches. That same session, the Club booked profits in Wells Fargo after the stock’s big post-earnings advance to record highs. We realized a gain of roughly 170% on shares purchased in January 2021. The sale, however, doesn’t reflect a change in our long-term bull thesis in the bank. On Friday, we sold some Eaton shares — capitalizing on the electrical equipment maker’s recent rebound. Eaton has rallied back up since management’s third-quarter guidance in early August came in below expectations and whacked shares. We thought the post-earnings selloff was unwarranted, given the success of its Electrical Americas business, which heavily benefits from the AI boom. (See here for a full list of the stocks in 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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