Apple's next big product launch, plus another good sign for Street dealmaking
Investment
CNBC

Apple's next big product launch, plus another good sign for Street dealmaking

Why This Matters

Every weekday, the Investing Club releases the Homestretch; an actionable afternoon update just in time for the last hour of trading.

August 26, 2025
06:35 PM
5 min read
AI Enhanced

Every weekday, the CNBC with Jim Cramer releases the stretch — an actionable afternoon , time for the last hour of trading on Wall Street. Market : Stocks are slightly up on Tuesday ing Monday's dip.

Industrials, health care (thanks to Eli Lilly ), and nology stocks are outperforming, while energy, consumer staples, and communication Services are lagging.

Most of the news over the past few days has come from Washington rather than corporate activity.

There's been no major market reaction to President Donald Trump saying he fired Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.

She said she won't resign, and her attorney said they are filing a lawsuit challenging the action.

In other news, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on CNBC's "Squawk Box" that the administration is considering acquiring an equity stake in defense companies Lockheed Martin due to their reliance on federal contracts.

The market will return its focus to how companies are doing in the middle of the week when we get earnings from several retail names and big companies, including Nvidia Wednesday evening.

Skinny iPhone? Apple said it will host a duct event on Sept. 9, when it is widely expected to introduce the iPhone 17.

The upcoming smartphone lineup is expected to feature a slimmed-down version, along with the usual camera and battery upgrades.

The 17 will bably be viewed once again as evolutionary versus revolutionary, but newer features are on the horizon.

Bloomberg reported Sunday that Apple is planning to release a foldable iPhone in 2026 and a curved glass iPhone in 2027.

IPO market keeps humming : Another high-file initial public offering (IPO) is heading to market next month, which bodes well for investment banking divisions within holdings Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo .

Swedish lender Klarna is eyeing a valuation between $13 billion and $14 billion for September, according to a Reuters report Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the deal.

s sold in the IPO could be priced as early as this week at between $34 and $36 apiece.

Klarna previously paused its plans to go public in April after President Donald Trump's "recical" tariffs caused financial to whipsaw.

Goldman was named a lead underwriter earlier this year, but it's un if that is still the case. If Goldman remains on the deal, this means more revenues for its crown jewel IB division.

Zooming out, it's also another good sign for the rebound in Wall Street deals broadly — which was a key reason why we initiated a position in Goldman late last year and swapped out Morgan Stanley.

The company derives the majority of its revenues from this division, which also includes advising mergers and acquisitions (M & A), and has maintained its dominance in the industry.

Case in point: Goldman was ranked No. 1 in overall global M & A activity for the first seven months of 2025, according to LSEG data.

Imvements in IB are favorable for Wells Fargo too because the firm can now expand its dealmaking division even further after regulators lifted its long-standing $1.95 trillion asset cap in June.

These efforts diversify Wells' revenues so the company is less reliant on interest-based revenues that are at the mercy of the yield curve.

Overall, 2025 is on track to be a far better year for IPOs than last year. There have been 139 IPOs priced year to date, Renaissance Capital said on Tuesday, a 58% increase from 2024.

One reason why we've seen an explosion of IPOs versus last year is that many companies have seen their stock prices soar in the first few days of trading.

However, the outperformance has been fleeting with many down significantly from their euphoric highs. For example, Figma s are down nearly 40% since tripling on their IPO day on July 31.

Meanwhile, stablecoin issuer Circle has lost 50% of its value from the stock's highest close in late June, which was only a couple weeks after its public debut.

Up next: Okta , MongoDB , and PVH report after the closing bell on Tuesday. Before the opening bell on Wednesday, we'll see earnings from a bunch of retail and consumer names.

Kohl's , Abercombie & Fitch , Williams-Sonoma , and JM Smucker report earnings. The weekly mortgage applications is the only data release.

(See here for a full list of the stocks in Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust.) As a r to the CNBC 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 a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade.

THE ABOVE 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 VIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE . NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR FIT IS GUARANTEED.

FinancialBooklet Analysis

AI-powered insights based on this specific article

Key Insights

  • The Federal Reserve's actions could influence market sentiment across sectors
  • Earnings performance can signal broader sector health and future investment opportunities
  • Merger activity often signals industry consolidation and potential valuation re-rating for similar companies

Questions to Consider

  • How might the Fed's policy stance affect borrowing costs and economic growth?
  • Could this earnings performance indicate broader sector trends or company-specific factors?
  • Does this M&A activity signal industry consolidation or strategic repositioning?

Stay Ahead of the Market

Get weekly insights into market shifts, investment opportunities, and financial analysis delivered to your inbox.

No spam, unsubscribe anytime