CNBC financial analyst Jim Cramer took time to offer viewers an emotional on-air apology on Thursday after he wildly misjudged a key stock price, likely causing investor losses.
Cramer nearly broke down in tears for getting Meta stock wrong. Meta is the parent company of Facebook.
The apology comes after Meta shares plunged 24 percent Thursday following the company’s third-quarter earnings report, which then led analysts to predict a weak fourth quarter, CNBC reported. Meta’s profits overall dropped by more than half, or 52 percent, to $4.4 billion, the report added.
The financial news network’s “Squawk on the Street” hosts were analyzing the data and played a clip before Cramer began to apologize profusely for his past forecasts.
“There are a lot of things going on right now in the business and in the world and so it’s hard to have a simple, we’re going to do one thing and it’s going to solve the issues,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in the clip. “There’s a lot of competition, there are challenges especially coming from Apple and then there’s some of the longer term things that we’re taking on expenses because we believe they’re going to provide greater returns over time.”
“By expenses, he means operating expenses up 19” percent, said co-host Carl Quintanilla.
“Cash flow last year, $9.5 billion, now less than $1 billion,” Cramer responded.
“Let me say this, fellas. I made a mistake here. I was wrong, I trusted this management team. That was ill-advised. The hubris here is extraordinary. I apologize,” he added, emotionally.
“Okay, um, what did you get wrong?” co-host David Faber asked.
“I had a belief that there was a recognition that there is an amount that you can’t spend. Contrast that with Jim Farley, who took a project that was his, and closed it, because it was not ready. It was not near enough. This situation is almost a rogue situation,” Cramer continued.
“I thought there would be an understanding that you just can’t spend, and spend through free cash flow, that there had to be some level of discipline, and I didn’t get it but, David, what did I get wrong? I trusted them, not myself, for that I regret. I’ve been in this business for 40 years, and I did a bad job. I’m not proud. I’m not proud,” Cramer added.
WATCH:
The markets, generally speaking, under President Joe Biden and a Democratic Congress have been losing ground for much of his term, and Americans are blaming him for the decline in the economy, inflation, and losses on Wall Street.
Just weeks out from the November midterm elections, according to a new survey from CBS News, Republicans are likely to retake control of at least the House as a majority of respondents put the blame for higher prices on Biden.
“The CBS/YouGov Battleground Tracker poll surveyed 2068 registered voters between October 12th and 14th, asking a number of questions about the upcoming elections, the overall state of the economy, and whether or not they were satisfied with the direction the country was heading,” The Daily Wire reported, citing the outlet’s survey data.
A new CBS News poll shows Republicans are still favored to capture the House, with an estimated 224-seat majority. Democrats had been narrowing the gap, but that momentum has stalled. @debraalfarone is in Washington with details. pic.twitter.com/cTeZ3fntvA
— CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil (@CBSEveningNews) October 16, 2022
“The worst news for Democrats came from the questions about the economy, as 65% of those polled said that they felt like the United States economy was getting worse compared to only 15% who believed it was getting better. Another 20% said that the economy was staying the same,” The Daily Wire added.
Gas prices have begun rising again in many parts of the country, and that’s not helping Democrats or Biden, either, as 63 percent of those surveyed said they see increases again, while just 13 percent said fuel prices were falling where they live. In August, by comparison, 53 percent said prices were tumbling, and just 16 percent said they were rising.
Democrats were also getting most of the blame. The survey found that nearly half — 48 percent — said Democrats and Democratic policies were to blame for the inflationary economy, while fewer than one-third, or 29 percent, said Dem policies were helping. Meanwhile, more than two thirds, or 68 percent, said Biden could be doing more to combat inflation while just 29 percent said he was already doing what he could.
GOP operative Nathan Brand tweeted out some of the survey’s results: “NEW CBS Poll: Voters hold Biden responsible for the state of the economy. 71% say he bears a lot or some responsibility for an economy that 65% of voters say is getting worse.”
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