Sep 30, 2026 · 44 min
Cramer weighs frozen housing against AI’s power boom
Mad Money w/ Jim Cramer 9/30/26
The episode connects high borrowing costs, business judgment, and the infrastructure demands reshaping markets and corporate strategy.
- 1High mortgage rates are keeping homeowners in place and pressuring homebuilders and the broader housing supply chain.
- 2Danny Meyer argues that strong partnerships, honest failure analysis, and hospitality-centered hiring help businesses endure.
- 3Cramer favors caution on sharply risen AI infrastructure stocks while seeing Microsoft’s Azure and Copilot growth as a durable turnaround.
Don't miss
Danny Meyer explains why closing Tabla became a necessary acknowledgment that a business decision was not working.
The brief
Jim Cramer opens with a housing market frozen by high mortgage rates, as homeowners cling to cheap loans and the resulting gridlock spreads through homebuilding and related industries.
Danny Meyer discusses scaling culture from fine dining to Shake Shack, choosing partners, and recognizing when a restaurant such as Tabla should close rather than consume more resources.
Meyer also traces Chisiamo’s pandemic-era origins and weighs food inflation, pricing, quality ingredients, tipping, and the responsibility to stand for something good.
Cramer turns to AI infrastructure, weighing Bloom Energy’s data-center opportunity, Nebius against CoreWeave, and whether investors should chase stocks after sharp gains.
The lightning round favors MPLX and Kinder Morgan for income and valuation, keeps Cramer bullish on GRAIL, rejects Poet Technologies, and gives StandardAero a qualified view.
Microsoft closes the market discussion: Azure growth, paid Copilot adoption, a healthier OpenAI relationship, and data-center investment have changed its outlook.
What was said on this episode
38 statements · 22 positive · 15 negative · 1 mixed
A major market rally requires war resolution, lower oil, and lower interest rates.
“We won't get the big rally I'm looking for until we learn to let it go.”
Listen at 0:59
Surging mortgage rates prevent many low-rate homeowners from moving.
“But now that mortgage rates have surged, they literally can't afford to move.”
Listen at 1:57
QXO is suffering because housing weakness hurts homebuilding suppliers.
“The stock was at twenty seven dollars and change earlier this year. It's now at 11 and change because this is a miserable time to be a supplier to the homebuilders.”
Listen at 3:26
Weak housing demand harms businesses across the housing supply chain.
“The weakness in this industry spreads throughout the entire housing food chain.”
Listen at 3:55
Housing weakness is contributing to poor recent performance at Walmart and Costco.
“Why? I think part of it's housing.”
Listen at 4:33
RH is highly exposed to weakness in the housing market.
“RH, the old Restoration Harbor, is a housing trap.”
Listen at 4:35
The IPO market is currently frozen.
“The IPO market is frozen”
Listen at 5:20
Without IPOs and mergers, major banks are largely limited to fee income.
“Without IPOs or M&As, the huge banking cohort is frozen except for fees.”
Listen at 6:10
Political opposition may reduce expected data-center industry growth.
“it's difficult to see that industry, let's say, have the growth that we thought it would have.”
Listen at 6:54
Micron’s earnings are unlikely to thaw the broader market narrative.
“I am not seeing anything particularly balls out of Micron's earnings tonight to defrost the story.”
Listen at 7:03
War resolution and easing inflation could trigger a sharp bull-market move.
“And we get a face-ripping, lung-snapping bull market move that would bury the short sellers.”
Listen at 7:19
Cramer recommends avoiding another Nike purchase after his prior loss.
“I don't want to go back to the well.”
Listen at 8:16
Bloom Energy fuel cells can power data centers with limited local opposition.
“This is a great way to keep data centers running without angering the locals.”
Listen at 22:44
Bloom fuel cells can provide data centers power with minimal disruption.
“Bloom's fuel cells can get you there with minimal disruption.”
Listen at 23:59
Cramer views Bloom Energy as potentially exceptionally valuable.
“I think this thing may be a national treasure.”
Listen at 24:04
Bloom sells dependable, low-disruption power access that helps data centers operate profitably.
“Bloom is selling dependable access to power on a schedule that helps data centers make money with very little hassle for the rest of the community.”
Listen at 24:39
Bloom Energy’s fuel-cell solution currently outperforms nuclear power for data centers.
“Bloom's running rings around nuclear.”
Listen at 25:30
Bloom Energy is not excessively expensive relative to its growth rate.
“I don't think it's all that expensive versus the growth rate.”
Listen at 27:39
Bloom Energy’s stock will experience a pullback.
“Wait for a pullback because you're going to get one.”
Listen at 28:43
A Bloom Energy pullback would create an attractive long-term buying opportunity.
“that pullback will be another gift for long-term investors.”
Listen at 28:46
Cramer prefers Bloom Energy for investing in AI-related electricity demand.
“If you want exposure to electricity powering the AI build-out, Bloom Energy remains my favorite way to play it.”
Listen at 28:49
Bloom Energy’s stock can rise substantially over the next few years.
“Long-term, I think this one can still go much higher over the next few years.”
Listen at 29:00
Cramer prefers CoreWeave over Nebius.
“I actually like CoreWeave more than I like Nebius.”
Listen at 29:40
Nebius’s large recent gain makes its stock concerning to Cramer.
“Nebius, it's had such a move, I find it troubling.”
Listen at 29:58
Cramer permits only a small speculative position in Reformation.
“you have got my blessing to put on a small position on this one, but only again for speculation”
Listen at 36:55
MPLX yields 7.6% and can cover its dividend.
“It's a stock yield 7.6% and they can cover that dividend and then some.”
Listen at 38:01
GRAIL’s stock can rise further after FDA approval.
“I think this thing can go higher.”
Listen at 38:39
Cramer will not recommend money-losing stocks.
“I'm not recommending stocks that are losing money.”
Listen at 38:59
Kinder Morgan is currently undervalued.
“I think Kinder Morgan is a stock that's now undervalued.”
Listen at 39:19
Cramer recommends buying Kinder Morgan.
“I'm a buyer of KMI.”
Listen at 39:26
StandardAero’s next stock move is likely downward.
“You got to accept the fact that the next move down.”
Listen at 39:49
Investors previously believed Microsoft Azure growth had slowed.
“We thought Azure's web services business had slowed down.”
Listen at 40:30
Concerns about Microsoft’s Azure, Copilot, and OpenAI exposure proved unfounded.
“All of these worries turned out to be either wrong or false.”
Listen at 40:47
Microsoft Copilot has 30 million users, and users are paying.
“Copilot has 30 million users and growing. They're paying.”
Listen at 40:57
Microsoft Azure growth is accelerating.
“Azure is accelerating, not contracting.”
Listen at 41:00
Microsoft is beginning to recover its data-center investment.
“Microsoft is beginning to recoup its monster data center investment.”
Listen at 41:12
Microsoft data-center spending may be peaking as profitability approaches.
“data center spending might be even peaking and profitability is beckoning.”
Listen at 41:22
Microsoft’s data centers will last long enough to justify their investment.
“those data centers will last a lot longer than people thought, making the investment more than worth it.”
Listen at 42:04
Statements are attributed to the speaker as said on the episode and reflect their view at the time, not PodLume's. They are not advice.
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