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The big unanswered question is how long there can be such terrific opportunities outside tech before it dawns on those overweight the sector. View More

We're in one of those markets where it seems like nothing is working. The pain starts early with the evening S & P and Nasdaq futures giving you a double dose of crimson. But the trusty S & P Short Range Oscillator isn't oversold enough to hold your nose and buy something. So you just feel like sitting on your hands. The relevant word in my first sentence, however, is "seems," because there are actually many things working — so many that it calls into question what's actually wrong with this market. Consider the case of Wells Fargo , a stock with a price-to-earnings ratio of 12 that had a quarter that was roundly disliked by the analyst community, despite some perfunctory price target increases. When I talked to CEO Charlie Scharf, I was so excited that he was going for broke, using his franchise strength to expand into mergers and acquisitions, as well as initial public offerings. Why not? In 2008, Wells Fargo bought Wachovia, which had previously merged with Prudential, A.G. Edwards, and First Union; the latter had actually bought Wachovia but kept its name, as it was considered a better brand. These brokerages were all very good and did a great deal of business. But they disappeared with the Great Recession and the consolidation of all of them under the roof of Wells Fargo, which would soon be dealing with so many regulatory issues. Even as the bank had a national footprint, it did little M & A to speak of, arguably less than outfits like Centerview Partners and Lazard, and you don't think of Wells as much as an underwriter, either. That's unacceptable to Scharf, who knows everyone in the business and recognizes that there is poachable talent at rival banks. JPMorgan , for one, has lots of executive talent that was passed over because CEO Jamie Dimon — with whom Scharf worked for 24 years — decided to stay at the helm far longer than anyone thought he would (20 years and counting). Charlie knows that in the new world of artificial intelligence, you can do far more with less. He has eliminated roughly 23% of the workforce, has become far more efficient, and has recognized the limited value of brick and mortar even as his bank has a more local feel to it. So what he has been doing is putting together a team of very senior bankers who could have run JPMorgan or any firm if there were an opportunity, and telling them to build out M & A and underwriting, which have much better margins and lower risk than lending. It's working. He's getting deals, and he's moving up in the global mergers and acquisitions league table. I bring all of this up because Wells Fargo's stock went down on the analyst commentary and then went up when smart people who talked to Charlie directly, not through the filter of the NIM-NII obsessed analysts, recognized that he is going to give Bank of America and Citigroup at least a run for the money. In two years, we will laugh at how wrong the analysts were. In a bad market, this kind of resurrection doesn't occur. And yet, nobody's focusing on what's going on at Wells Fargo. J.B. Hunt is a similar story. We have been monitoring the trucking and logistics recession, both its depth and its length, and marveling at the group's lack of resilience. But over time, the cycle played out as it usually does, with weaker players going under and then pricing firming to the point where J.B. Hunt reported a terrific upside surprise this week. Even as the stock anticipated the blowout, you still made money. That's a big reason why we have been emphasizing FedEx Freight and added to our position earlier this month. The company, spun off from FedEx on June 1, has the cyclical wind at its back. Or consider the biotechs, a group that almost never fails to disappoint. Not this time. The best biotech ETF, SPDR S & P Biotech , is up more than 27% this year, even as most pros say inflation is accelerating. There is a very large wave of biotech acquisitions underway, and not all of them involve companies being bought by Eli Lilly . This is a bull market group, and while it is nowhere nearly as important as the chipmakers, it is important to recognize that a biotech rally is the hallmark of a very positive trend in stocks. Or consider something seminal that's been totally overlooked amid the multi-tech wreck: Stripe's offer to acquire PayPal . We always hear about how great Stripe is doing, so I have no idea why it feels the need to buy PayPal, which is in some sort of morbid spiral. But consolidation in that fintech space could be incredible for a market that has way too many players: Fiserv , Global Payments , Toast , Fair Isaac , Block , Affirm , and the like. We get that M & A activity going, and we can sop up at least some of the new stock that's been coming to the market. Finally, if you have an even half-decent story to tell in retail, as with Target , or in the rails, as with Union Pacific , or with the airlines, as with Delta and United , you are going to get a good percentage gain to help out your overall performance for the year. Which brings me to the real issue of what's going on in this tape right now. The fact that I can reel off a half dozen positives occurring right now, compared to what's going on in tech, tells me the market is trying hard to exert some discipline on tech companies. Think of it like this: right now, with seven days' worth of earnings under our belt, if you report a good number, your stock goes higher, and if you report a number initially not perceived as good, your stock can still go higher; think of Wells Fargo or even — egads — PepsiCo . But anything you touch in tech could doom you. Consider the hyperscalers. It seemed, for a moment, that we were going to see a trade where hyperscalers would start to go up because component stocks were peaking. It seemed too good to be true, and it was. We had a couple of good days that suckered you back into Microsoft , Amazon , and Google . They then started their journey down again and could continue to go down — something I discussed during our July Monthly Meeting on Thursday. I had debated going with this very thesis for the meeting, but when I saw how much money was made in that sweetheart SK Hynix trade, I thought I might be wrong, and there was still quick money to be made in IPOs even after the SpaceX and Cerebras deals. But it turned out that SK Hynix was one off — others can call it fixed — and anything related to data centers will still have a tough run. Some of the pain comes from the huge amount of leverage that is being used right now to be in anything involving memory, including Seagate , which was curiously up on Friday, along with Western Digital , Sandisk , SK Hynix, Micron , Arm , AMD , and Intel . This trade is being unwound at such a furious pace that we had to back away from trying to be disciplined buyers of Intel because the sellers are endless and forced, and I can't tell when they will finish. Believe me, Intel is a terrific buy here, but if the hedge fund community is trying to bust those borrowing to buy these stocks, it can still fall. We added to our position twice last week. As confident as I am that Intel will work, I don't like being down that fast on a trade. I would actually rather buy it on the way up. I know I am not alone on this. The unwind is a form of discipline. If you look at what has happened to SpaceX, for example, you can just be grateful that the underwriters did their best to make everyone money. They priced it as requested and put it in good hands, as requested, but then it was hijacked by memesters that actually thought they could manipulate one of the Top 10 largest stocks through overnight buying. Welcome to the real world, fellas! SpaceX in itself speaks to some discipline. Usually, when you have a brand new security, it can't or shouldn't be shorted. Often, brokers will tell you they can't locate stock to lend you to sell short. But that doesn't seem to be the case this time. If anything, it looks as if the underwriters have a good handle on where all the soon-to-be-unlocked stock is and are allowing short sellers to pair their shorts with shares that will be unlocked over time. So it's not technically a short sale then, so it is legal, or at least OK with this government. The decline in SpaceX's stock, amazingly, seems orderly, like some of Tesla's earlier sell-offs, where true believers relished the opportunity to buy more at better prices. It has not led to some much larger sell-off involving space, energy, or self-driving cars. The big unanswered question is how long there can be such terrific opportunities outside tech before it dawns on those who are overweight in tech that they aren't making enough money and that it simply isn't worth the risk. There is no bubble in tech. The possibility of a 2027 breakout for those with extra memory, like Amazon or Meta, could explain what we are seeing. But I understand if we continue to see easy money made in other sectors during this earnings season, money will leave the tech sector. If you are a bull on tech right now, you have to be concerned that each day seems so perilous. It seems like tech is tied to the railroad tracks and somehow gets free right before the locomotive hits, only to be tied up again the next day. Eventually, you realize you'd rather be on the train than trying to avoid getting hit by it. To which I say: all aboard. (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.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with CNBC, TSMC's Wendell Huang said the fresh investment comes on the back of robust customer demand. View More

Wendell Huang, chief financial officer of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), during a news conference in Taipei, Taiwan, on Thursday, July 16, 2026. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images TSMC is racing to accelerate capacity at its Arizona factory as the company continues to see a "multi-year demand mega trend" from its customers, Chief Financial Officer Wendell Huang told CNBC.TSMC, or Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., is scaling up its mega investment in Arizona by committing an additional $100 billion to aggressively expand its U.S. chipmaking footprint amid a surging multi-year structural demand for AI. The fresh commitment raises TSMC's total investment pipeline in Arizona to $265 billion, underscoring a massive AI-driven capacity buildout that also fueled an upward revision to the company's full-year capital expenditure to between $60 billion and $64 billion.Speaking in an exclusive interview with CNBC's Emily Tan, TSMC's Huang said the fresh investment comes on the back of robust customer demand in the U.S. market and strong government support. "We're seeing this strong-structure, multi-year demand, and we do not plan to leave any food on the table for anybody else," Huang told CNBC. "As long as the megatrend is right, then we're able to continue to deliver the profitable growth to our shareholders," he said. Surging demand In order to meet surging customer demand, TSMC is aggressively optimizing its leading-edge capacities, including a fast conversion of its 5-nanometer capacity to the advanced 3-nanometer node to support customers, Huang said.The nanometer figure refers to the size of each individual transistor on a chip. The smaller the transistor, the more of them can be packed onto a single semiconductor. Typically, a reduction in nanometer size can yield more powerful and efficient chips.When it comes to TSMC's U.S. expansion, phase one, using 4-nanometer technology, is already up and running, the CFO told CNBC. "It's going to be bigger and bigger in the next few quarters," Huang said, framing the 2-nanometer technology as the company's newest revenue driver heading into the third quarter, following its initial revenue generation in the second quarter.   U.S. fab construction costs are four to five times higher than in Taiwan, however, Huang said that while the initial dilution will widen as the scale of overseas operations grows, the expansion will ultimately further foster the development of the U.S. semiconductor ecosystem."It will be both the front-end wafer fabs and back end advanced packaging fabs," Huang said regarding the deployment of the fresh $100 billion investment.TSMC shares ended the day up over 1% after it posted earnings, however shares slumped 7% on Friday. The stock is up around 48% year-to-date. Stock Chart IconStock chart iconTSMC shares year-to-date. Responding to the company's share price performance, Huang said TSMC does not have any control over the financial markets. "What we can do is really to focus on fundamentals of our business," he said, adding that while the sector faces hefty price increases in components, the company sees minimal impact due to its strategic focus on the high-end market.Aside from market factors, TSMC is also managing its regulatory footprint. On China, Huang said that TSMC continues to comply with all export controls while serving its Chinese customers, who contribute about 8% of total revenue. The chipmaker is expanding its focus toward future expansion drivers. Regarding the prospects of physical AI, he added that the company's recent joint venture with Sony for image sensors is part of its strategic commitment to supporting long-term customer growth in specialty technologies.— CNBC's Arjun Kharpal helped contribute to this story. Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.

This is the first time that local residents in India are raising their concerns about the digital infrastructure. View More

Eli Lilly's acquisition of psychedelic drug maker AtaiBeckley extends Big Pharma's embrace of a stigmatized class of medications for treating mental health. View More

Psilocybin mushrooms stand ready for harvest in a humidified "fruiting chamber." John Moore | Getty Images Thursday's announcement that Eli Lilly will acquire AtaiBeckley, a clinical-stage maker of psychedelic drugs, for up to $3.8 billion indicates Big Pharma's increasing embrace of a long-stigmatized class of medications as alternatives for treating an array of mental health conditions. The news comes on the heels of positive clinical trial results of several different psychedelics, as well as President Trump's executive order in April fast-tracking reviews of such drugs by the Food and Drug Administration. AtaiBeckley's lead asset, BPL-003, is a synthetic form of 5-MeO-DMT — derived from the venom of Sonoran Desert toads —administered as an intranasal spray for treatment-resistant depression, a severe form of the illness that ​does not improve after standard treatments, which affects around four million Americans. A year ago, Atai reported results of its Phase 2b study of BPL-003, which demonstrated rapid and durable reductions in TRD symptoms. AtaiBeckley is developing several other psychedelics, including one related to MDMA, colloquially known as ecstasy. BPL-003 has been granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation by the FDA, a program that expedites drug development and review, and is currently in Phase 3 trials. "Phase 3 success by early 2029 could open up a $1-2 billion opportunity in TRD," Jefferies analysts wrote in a note. More generally, they wrote, "our KOLs [key opinion leaders] confirm psychedelics could represent the biggest change to psychiatry and are possibly a paradigm shift, with patient demand already seeming insatiable." 5-MeO-DMT joins several other psychedelic substances — LSD, psilocybin (aka magic mushrooms), MDMA, ayahuasca and ibogaine — that biopharma disrupters have formulated and are successfully testing to treat depression, post traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, eating disorders and alcohol and drug addiction. Psychedelic drugs appear to temporarily loosen the brain's rigid patterns of communication, allowing regions that don't usually "talk" much to connect in new ways. In that more flexible state, especially when paired with therapy, people may be able to revisit trauma, depression or addiction from a different perspective and form healthier mental pathways. Some experts refer to this process as "rewiring" the brain. "There's enough data generated so far that suggests that this class of drugs can deliver something more meaningful than what the orals have been able to do so far," said Ami Fadia, a biotech analyst at Needham, referring to SSRIs and SNRIs, medications widely prescribed for more than three decades to treat a broad range of psychiatric illnesses. "A few years ago, some investors would not want to touch [psychedelics], but now I rarely hear that," she said.  watch nowVIDEO2:5302:53Eli Lilly makes deal to buy psychedelics makerFast Money Indeed, it's been a long, strange trip for psychedelics. Psychiatric scientists began studying them in the 1960s, producing promising results. But they also became popular recreational drugs among the counterculture (next month marks the 57th anniversary of Woodstock), leading Congress to pass the Controlled Substances Act in 1970. Psychedelics were designated as federally outlawed Schedule I drugs deemed to have no medical benefit. Research projects came to a halt. After languishing in the R&D doldrums for years, the drugs found their way back into researchers' labs and clinics beginning in the late 1990s and early 2000s, a reemergence documented by nonfiction author Michael Pollan in his 2018 best-seller, "How to Change Your Mind," in which he wrote that "after several decades of suppression and neglect, psychedelics are having a renaissance."Recent clinical trial boost for psychedelicsThe clinical trial path of psychedelics has featured notable stumbles in recent years, most notably in August 2024 when the FDA denied approval of an MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD developed by Lykos Therapeutics. This marked the first time the agency had considered a Schedule I drug for medical use, so the denial was not only a blow to Lykos but to the wider movement to bring psychedelic drugs into mainstream. "It's a huge blow to the field," said Dr. Boris Heifets, an anesthesiologist at Stanford University whose lab studies psychedelics, at the time. Despite that setback, clinical trials for psychedelics have continued apace with positive outcomes. For example, Definium Therapeutics released positive results from its Phase 3 clinical trials of the company's LSD-based drug, DT120, showing that it significantly helped patients with major depressive disorder. The biopharmaceutical startup's shares skyrocketed by 50%.  The data's "effect size is the largest I've ever seen," said Jefferies analyst Andrew Tsai. "What's special about Definium is that that same drug, LSD, has already shown very profound anxiety data as well, and we're going to get two more Phase 3 studies [for general anxiety disorder] this month and in September," Tsai said. If those results prove to be similarly robust, the company can file what's called a New Drug Application with the FDA within the next six to nine months, said Definium CEO Robert Barrow. "Even under an expedited review," he said, referencing the president's executive order, "the review lasts about eight months." Importantly, because LSD is still a banned Schedule I drug, Definium also will need the Drug Enforcement Administration to reclassify it. Barrow expects that DT120, "presumably with all its safety controls in place, to be scheduled certainly below Schedule I," he said. Individual states will have to reclassify LSD in this case as well. Another hurdle in bringing psychedelics to market is having them covered by insurance, which requires coding for each drug, a process overseen by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. "Coverage is going to be necessary for patients to get treatment," Fadia said. "Each company will need to negotiate with payers about the cost of the drug." J&J's ketamine blockbuster sets the standardWhile ketamine is not considered a traditional psychedelic, Fadia pointed to J&J's Spravato — a nasal spray for adults with a major depressive disorder that is difficult to treat and which is derived from the drug — as the market model. In its quarterly earnings last week, J&J reported Spravato sales were up 40% year-over-year for a total of $584 million. The drug was first approved by the FDA in 2019 for treating major depressive disorder and treatment resistant depression and analysts estimate that Spravato will generate more than $2 billion in sales this year. "They did a lot of heavy lifting to make it happen," Fadia said, "but they've proven that it can happen." Besides Definium, founded in 2019 under the name MindMed, and AtaiBeckley, several other public and private startups have been launched over the past decade, including Compass Pathways, Transcend Therapeutics, Helus Pharma, GH Research, Psyence BioMed and the nonprofit Usona Institute.  Lilly is not the only Big Pharma company to jump onto the bandwagon. Japan's Otsuka Pharmaceuticals acquired Transcend for $1.2 billion in June and AbbVie purchased Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals' next-generation psychedelic compound last year for $1.2 billion. The psychedelic drugs market size was valued at $4.08 billion in 2025 and is estimated to grow from $4.63 billion in 2026 to reach $8.75 billion by 2031, at a CAGR of 13.55%, according to market analysis firm Mordor Intelligence.  Compass has created a psychedelic drug, COMP360, a synthetic form of psilocybin, that earlier this month scored strong Phase 3 results for treating TRD. The company plans to release its final Phase 3 results in the fourth quarter. Compass is one of the three biotechs that Trump's executive order granted a so-called Commissioner's National Priority Voucher from the FDA to accelerate its approval. "We will be launch-ready by the end of this year," said CEO Kabir Nath, "in the sense that all the commercial preparation will be done." That includes educating providers and the general public about the drug and assembling a sales and marketing field force of "somewhere around 250-300 people," Nath said. If all goes well, the product will be on the market "in the first part of 2027," he said. COMP360, under a brand name that Nath declined to reveal, would thus become the first psychedelic to hit the market. "That in and of itself should draw meaningful interest across the institutional retail space," said Tsai, who expects COMP360 to produce "about $50 million in sales for the full year." Transcend is in clinical trials with its TSND-201, a formulation of methylone, to treat PTSD. Methylone is similar to MDMA, but also has distinct properties, said John Kraus, chief medical officer for Otsuka, Transcend's new parent company. Results of its Phase 2 trial, released in February, found statistically significant, rapid and durable improvements in symptoms of severe PTSD.  "I haven't seen results that are as encouraging as [those]," Kraus said, comparing methylone to the only two approved drugs for PTSD, Paxil and Zoloft. Like Compass, Transcend has also received a fast-track voucher from the FDA. "It will help our engagement with the regulatory authorities in terms of trying to get this [drug] to patients as quickly as possible, if indeed the Phase 3 studies perform as we would expect," Kraus said, adding that the Phase 3 trials are underway. "I'm hoping for data at least by early next year," he said, though wouldn't speculate on when the drug might be on the market. The only psychedelic substance identified in the president's executive order and the Oval Office signing event was ibogaine, a naturally occurring compound found in the roots of the African shrub iboga and used for centuries in spiritual and healing ceremonies. It's recently gained interest from researchers for its potential to treat substance use disorders, but unlike other psychedelics, ibogaine has not undergone large-scale clinical trials.  (L/R) Former FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., media personality Joe Rogan, W. Bryan Hubbard, CEO of Americans for Ibogaine, and former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell look on as President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on April 18, 2026. The executive order aims to further federal medical research and clinical trials for certain psychedelic drugs.Jim Watson | Afp | Getty Images Several biotechs are studying ibogaine and derivatives, including AtaiBeckley, Gilgamesh, Psyence and DemeRx. DemeRx founder and CEO Deborah Mash has developed non-hallucinogenic noribogaine, the active metabolite of ibogaine. The company's immediate plan, Mash said, is to complete a small alcohol-interaction study and then begin a Phase 2 trial with patients with alcohol use disorder. The FDA, Mash said, has allowed DemeRx's noribogaine studies under an IND [investigational new drug] authorization. To proceed with additional trials, "the agency has to have successful Phase 2 data, demonstrate that there's a robust efficacy signal and that the drug is well tolerated," she said. Natural ibogaine has gained attention lately for its use in treating veterans with PTSD. A 2024 study by Stanford Medicine showed an 88% decrease in PTSD symptoms among a cohort of 30 special operations veterans with a history of traumatic brain injuries. Last year, Texas allocated $50 million in state funding for ibogaine clinical trials. Nonetheless, critics have warned against serious cardiac risks associated with ibogaine treatments. Mash said she is keenly aware of that caveat, adding that the company has conducted extensive cardiac testing with noribogaine and has not found clinically significant QT prolongation, a delayed heart reset between beats. "We know that ibogaine has a cardiac risk," she said, "but we also know that the benefits may outweigh the risks when noribogaine is administered safely." That, of course, will need to be proven in the drug's ongoing clinical trials to the satisfaction of FDA reviewers.The National Alliance on Mental Illness, citing federal data, reports that 23.4% of U.S. adults — or about 61.5 million people — experienced some type of mental illness in 2024. That creates tremendous opportunity for makers of psychedelic drugs to offer alternatives to traditional medications currently being prescribed.  But that doesn't necessarily translate to cutthroat competition within the psychedelics sector, Tsai said. "Big picture, I don't think this is a winner-take-all market by any means. When you look at history, multiple SSRIs can become blockbusters, multiple antipsychotics can be become blockbusters. So I do think multiple [psychedelics] players can win," he said. "This is a very big market."  Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.

Cody Berman, author of 'Retire by 30', used house hacking to achieve financial independence by investing in real estate. By renting part of his home, he reduced his housing costs and generated passive income. View More

Zoe De La Paz made her own luck to transition from her corporate engineering job to pursue sewing full-time. View More

Zoe De La Paz believes in making your own luck. That mentality helped her gather the courage to quit her corporate day job in Chicago, break into the costuming field, and move to Yellowstone National Park to work as a seamstress — a path she hopes will eventually take her to New York City to work on Broadway and in film productions.Until recently, De La Paz, 26, was living in Chicago and working as a drafter for an engineering construction company. She'd started sewing in high school for fun and, creatively unfulfilled in her day job, took up odd gigs on nights and weekends at nearby music venues. Her plan: Connect with the people who oversee touring productions' wardrobes and possibly land some sewing work.De La Paz worked her way up from taking tickets and fulfilling catering orders to stocking visiting artists' dressing rooms; once in those rooms, she connected with people who were in charge of the performers' wardrobes.Her first wardrobe assisting job came "genuinely by luck," De La Paz tells CNBC Make It: She was catering a concert for The Weeknd in Detroit. When it came time for the tour to move on to their next stop in Chicago, a crewmember mentioned needing a seamstress there to help repair the backup dancers' costumes. Zoe De La Paz began sewing costumes as a hobby in high school. She didn't consider pursuing it as a career until recently.Courtesy of subject "Cue me scrambling to write my number down on a napkin and telling them that I have sewing experience," De La Paz says. "It was luck because I happened to be there at that place and at that time," she says, adding that she believes "you can manufacture luck in your life."In this case, she says, "I knew that if I wanted to be in wardrobe, I needed to figure out a way to be in the same room with people that were in wardrobe." Taking her sewing skills to Yellowstone In January, De La Paz says she felt ready to ditch her 9-to-5 desk job for a full-time sewing gig. "It was really scary to be leaving corporate and chase [my] dreams, and do the thing the adults are telling you, 'you shouldn't do that,'" she says. She remembered a trip to visit a friend working a seasonal job at Yellowstone a few years ago and how much the opportunity changed their life. De La Paz looked online and found a seamstress role in the uniform department with Xanterra Parks & Resorts, a concessionaire that operates hotels, lodges, restaurants and other businesses in Yellowstone. She applied, took a phone interview, and was hired.The young seamstress stood out for her prior sewing experience and ability to juggle multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment, according to Jeanne Holmes, 73, a retired educator and fellow seamstress at Yellowstone who helped hire De La Paz. Holmes says her first season at the park in 2023 involved hemming over 1,000 pairs of pants. It was really scary to be leaving corporate and chase [my] dreams, and do the thing the adults are telling you, 'you shouldn't do that.'Zoe De La Paz "She had really good instincts," Holmes says, which De La Paz demonstrated when discussing her approach to several situational interview questions."Every mending project is different," Holmes says, and the role requires ingenuity and passion. In addition to caring for employee uniforms, for example, the department upcycles old or damaged inventory into new projects, like turning old backpacks into fanny packs for staff. "[De La Paz] showed me some of her projects, and I could see that she's very creative," Holmes says, "and that was going to be a plus."De La Paz started the role in June and now spends her days sewing patches, fixing snaps, and replacing buttons and zippers on uniforms for Xanterra's thousands of employees, from housekeepers to security officers to food and beverage workers. Life in the park: 'I would have never dreamed' of this De La Paz works 40 hours per week as a seamstress, on Mondays through Fridays, from roughly 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day with breaks. She now spends her free time outdoors, whether it's horseback riding, hiking, or enjoying one of the many free or low-cost activities put on by employee groups at Yellowstone.She makes $19.25 an hour and gets subsidized employee housing and meals. Despite the lower hourly rate compared to her former corporate salary, De La Paz says she feels like she's able to save more money compared to when she lived in Chicago, thanks to having fewer expenses and boundless free entertainment. Zoe De La Paz spends her free time hiking, horseback riding, and enjoying all that Yellowstone National Park has to offer.Courtesy of subject De La Paz will work at Yellowstone until around October. The seasonal job is part of her plan to eventually move to New York City and pursue her dream of working in wardrobe and costuming for Broadway, film and other productions.It's a dream De La Paz thought she'd given up after trading her high-school hobby for a "serious" college degree and career. Now she spends her days doing something she loves and can see it turning into long-term opportunities. "Two years ago working in corporate, I would have never dreamed [this] would have happened," she says.Want to get ahead at work? Then you need to learn how to make effective small talk. In CNBC's new online course, How To Talk To People At Work, expert instructors share practical strategies to help you use everyday conversations to gain visibility, build meaningful relationships and accelerate your career growth. Sign up today! Take control of your money with CNBC Select CNBC Select is editorially independent and may earn a commission from affiliate partners on links.The new housing bill won't provide fast relief. These mortgage tools can help you right nowAre rewards debit cards the new credit cards? A brief history and the best options to considerThe best way to pay off debt is situational. Use this flowchart to find the right tools for youThe maximum Social Security benefit in 2026 — and other ways to fund your retirementWhen do you pay back a reverse mortgage? Plus, best lenders to consider

Projects launched in Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Mumbai View More

This question can get you "stuck in a communication rut," says Amy Morin, author of "13 Things Mentally Strong Couples Don't Do." Here's what to ask instead. View More

"We just don't talk anymore." That's one of the most common complaints I hear in my psychotherapy office from couples stuck in a communication rut. They often say they feel more like roommates than romantic partners. There's nothing wrong with asking "How was work today?" But repeating it day after day rarely gets you past surface-level conversation. Whether your partner gives you a one-word answer or responds with a long list of complaints, these exchanges can leave you feeling distanced rather than close.As a therapist and the author of "13 Things Mentally Strong Couples Don't Do," I've taught countless couples to build a bank of alternatives that foster better communication — and help them grow as individuals and couples. Here are seven questions that will make you mentally stronger and help you stay connected. 1. 'What was the best part of your day?' We're wired to remember what went wrong more readily than what went right. So if you and your partner have gotten into the habit of complaining about the worst parts of your day, ask for the highlight instead. It can help build optimism and gratitude — which are good for mental health — and lead to a pleasant conversation you both engage in.Kick things off by volunteering your highlight: "The best part of my day was finally finishing that report. What about you?"  2. 'What's something that didn't go as planned?' Rather than ask about the worst part of your partner's day — which can invite a rant — normalize the fact that plans sometimes go off the rails. Asking this question also shows you're invested in hearing about your partner's challenges.They might say, "My big presentation got bumped to next week, so all that prep is on hold." You'll learn how they rolled with the unexpected, and you might get a glimpse into their emotional state. Often, the best thing you can do is listen, without offering advice. 3. 'Who made your day easier?' This question can create a much-needed shift from complaining about unreasonable bosses or annoying coworkers to recognizing the people you appreciate.Some days, you might get the chance to name each other: "When you picked the kids up, it took a lot of pressure off me to get out of work early" or "You brightened my day when you sent that text at lunch." Over time, it can motivate you to make each other's days better. 4. 'What are you feeling hopeful about?' Hope is good for us. Research links hope to a stronger sense that life is meaningful, which can get you through tough times.  It works on any scale, too, big or small. The answer might be, "I'm hopeful I'll have more time to relax once the sales conference is over tomorrow."  5. 'What would make for a good night for you?' After a long day, it's easy to let work bleed into the evening until you're both scrolling on opposite ends of the couch. This question protects your connection, even when you don't have the energy for a long, in-depth conversation.Ask it generously, without an agenda. Your partner might want company on a walk, or suggest takeout and an episode of a good TV show. Asking means you don't have to guess. 6. 'What can I take off your plate tonight?' Strong couples function as a team, and one of the best ways to be a good teammate is to ask what you can contribute. Instead of tossing off a vague "Let me know if you need anything," get specific and take initiative, like "Want me to be in charge of dinner tonight?" You might hear, "Yes, please. I don't want to make any more decisions today — not even about what to eat." Don't act like you're doing your partner a favor. The goal is to show you're invested in sharing the load. Some nights you'll do more and other nights your partner will. That give-and-take without keeping score keeps the relationship strong. 7. 'What's something you did today to grow mentally stronger?' Maybe your partner spoke up in a meeting, set a boundary, or just got through something they dreaded. Identifying their inner strength reminds them of their resilience. Make it a shared ritual to discuss examples of mental strength. Celebrate what you both did today, and ask curious questions again tomorrow — because if you go beyond "How was work today?" your nightly conversations will never go stale. Amy Morin is a psychotherapist, clinical social worker, and host of the "Mentally Stronger" podcast. She is the author of several bestselling books including "13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do" and "The Mental Strength Playbook." Her TEDx talk "The Secret of Becoming Mentally Strong" is one of the most viewed talks of all time. Follow her on Instagram and LinkedIn.Want to get ahead at work? Then you need to learn how to make effective small talk. In CNBC's new online course, How To Talk To People At Work, expert instructors share practical strategies to help you use everyday conversations to gain visibility, build meaningful relationships and accelerate your career growth. Sign up today! Take control of your money with CNBC Select CNBC Select is editorially independent and may earn a commission from affiliate partners on links.The new housing bill won't provide fast relief. These mortgage tools can help you right nowAre rewards debit cards the new credit cards? A brief history and the best options to considerThe best way to pay off debt is situational. Use this flowchart to find the right tools for youThe maximum Social Security benefit in 2026 — and other ways to fund your retirementWhen do you pay back a reverse mortgage? Plus, best lenders to consider

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The carrier is working on improving reliability, investing in more premium seats and lounges, and considering Boeing and Airbus for a new wide-body plane order. View More

In this articleAALALGTSPCXALKFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT Robert Isom, chief executive officer of American Airlines Group Inc., speaks during a Bloomberg Television interview in New York, US, on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025.Christian Monterrosa | Bloomberg | Getty Images FORT WORTH, Texas — American Airlines CEO Robert Isom has a math problem.The carrier is flying about 6,500 flights per day this year — nearly an entire Alaska Airlines more worth of travel more than its closest competitor, according to Cirium — yet American's profit gap has grown. United Airlines brought in about $3 billion more than American last year, and U.S. profit leader Delta Air Lines made nearly $5 billion more. In an exclusive interview with CNBC late last month, Isom said American and its nearly 140,000 employees want "to be best at everything that we do." He said that carrier's "long-range plan is certainly making up the margin gap," but he didn't put a timeline on that goal.American's top executives at the carrier's headquarters late last month outlined new initiatives to CNBC: bigger, more luxe airport lounges, a new wide-body aircraft order, and fresh interiors for even more of its long-haul fleet to attract big spenders.Isom described the carrier's identity as "a premium global airline with the largest footprint in North America."American has more decisions it needs to make — and soon — to close the gap. Perhaps its biggest challenge is getting customers to shell out more to fly, something Delta and United zeroed in on years ago.American has mastered running an efficient business but "what we will measure over time is: Are we closing this revenue gap and closing the unit revenue gap?" American CFO Devon May said. (function(){function e(){window.addEventListener(`message`,function(e){if(e.data[`datawrapper-height`]!==void 0){var t=document.querySelectorAll(`iframe`);for(var n in e.data[`datawrapper-height`])for(var r=0,i;i=t[r];r++)if(i.contentWindow===e.source){var a=e.data[`datawrapper-height`][n]+`px`;i.style.height=a}}})}e()})(); Cabins, planes and lounges The carrier's executives reiterated that American's plan rests on growing its ever-more important loyalty program, improving customers' experience, expanding its network and increasing higher-end revenue. The airline is forecast to earn 64 cents a share this year, on an adjusted basis, which would be up almost 80% from last year, according to analyst estimates. It will give an updated forecast when it reports second-quarter results on Thursday.United and Delta earlier this month reported bookings are still strong. The surge in fuel prices have both helped and hurt the industry this year: The sudden run-up in prices because of the Iran war took carriers off guard, though they're passing more of those costs along to travelers, and executives don't expect fares will drop much anytime soon.Wall Street is optimistic American will continue to improve, expecting it to quadruple adjusted earnings in 2027 to $2.58 a share.American is now remodeling cabins across the fleet and taking deliveries of new planes with interiors that feature new amenities and more premium seats. Executives have said they're considering but haven't decided on bringing back seatback screens to much of its narrow-body fleet, though American recently joined the ranks of airlines that are adding satellite Wi-Fi from SpaceX's Starlink.Customers who are willing to pay more for premium seats or other perks like lounge access have been a bright spot across the industry, and everyone from profit leader Delta to now-defunct budget carrier Spirit Airlines has tried to woo those travelers as airlines rush to get fancy, new seats — small but profitable real estate — in the air.Isom told CNBC that work to refresh cabins will soon expand to American's Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners. Its revamped cabins on its largest planes, the 777-300ERs, could debut in the next few weeks. Each business-class, lie-flat seat can bring in close to $10,000 on some long-haul international routes compared with $2,000 or even much less for a seat in the back. (function(){function e(){window.addEventListener(`message`,function(e){if(e.data[`datawrapper-height`]!==void 0){var t=document.querySelectorAll(`iframe`);for(var n in e.data[`datawrapper-height`])for(var r=0,i;i=t[r];r++)if(i.contentWindow===e.source){var a=e.data[`datawrapper-height`][n]+`px`;i.style.height=a}}})}e()})(); Keeping up high-touch service levels could be a challenge, the airline's flight attendant union said, as the 70-seat business class soon comes online. American has been phasing out planes with separate first and business classes."Now, as American introduces 70 Business Suites and markets a premium international experience, they're expecting a reduced number of Flight Attendants to deliver significantly more personalized service," Julie Hedrick, president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, said in a statement. (American reduced flight attendant staffing on those aircraft from 13 to 11 in 2020. Other carriers have made similar moves.) "The result will be longer service times and a customer experience that falls short of what passengers expect."In another lure for premium travelers, Chief Customer Officer Heather Garboden told CNBC that American is going to build the biggest Admirals Club lounge in its network, at 37,000 square feet, at its sprawling Dallas Fort Worth International Airport hub in Terminal C. Dallas Fort Worth International Airport under construction, American Airlines' largest hub, June 2026.Leslie Josephs/CNBC At the under-construction Terminal F at that airport, American is also planning a grab-and-go Provisions airport lounge, as well as a Flagship check-in area in Terminal D. The entire airport, American's largest hub, is undergoing a $12 billion makeover, and the carrier recently unveiled new gates in Terminal C, which will expand further. American and others have been upgrading and expanding airport lounges for the spendiest customers around the U.S.But United has had a roughly decade head start at catering to higher-paying travelers, while Delta has close to two decades of experience. In the late 2000s, Delta was giving away about 90% of its domestic first-class seats through free upgrades for frequent flyers, but now it says it sells the vast majority, with customers paying cash or redeeming miles, now a trend among big carriers, though American wants to increase buy-ups.Under Isom, American has been upping its game in premium investments. American's commercial team is working on technical changes that aim to offer customers more opportunities to buy pricier seats.Aside from its of fortress hubs, American's chief commercial officer, Nat Pieper, said the airline needs to win in so-called jump-ball markets like Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, D.C. He said American continues to grow sign-ups for its lucrative credit card program in some of those, including New York.American said it's flying is split about 80% domestic versus 20% international. International flights often carry a high premium compared with domestic routes — and the planes serving them generally have more luxurious seats on board. Isom said the airline's network breadth is a major strong suit and will continue to be. While American and other airlines rely on alliances and partnerships to expand reach, United is flying a lot of that itself.United flies more internationally than Delta and American, and made its geography quiz-like network a calling card and , adding dots on the map from Mongolia to Galicia, Spain. 'Never been deterred' Robert Isom, chief executive officer of American Airlines Group Inc., center, following a news conference at the US Department of Transportation in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, May 8, 2025. Samuel Corum | Bloomberg | Getty Images A mechanical engineer by education who took his first flight at about age 4, Isom rose up the ranks at Northwest Airlines and America West Airlines, which through mergers became modern-day Delta and American, respectively.The airline industry is one of the most insular. In part, because of the safety-critical and specific knowledge needed to keep thousands of planes on track every day, airlines don't often hire from other industries, especially at the top.The executive team that long worked at American is split between that carrier and United. The CEO of United, Scott Kirby, used to work at American, until he was fired almost exactly 10 years ago. United announced it hired Kirby as president the same day.Isom, 62, took over the top role at American in March 2022, after the airline industry had been rocked by the pandemic."I've never been deterred, no matter what the challenges that we face," he said.He took over in a quarter when American lost $1.6 billion."I'm clear-eyed about the challenges in this business," he said, pointing to an industry that has been through everything from the 9/11 terrorist attacks, to the financial crisis, bankruptcies, mergers and wars and disease.American ranked sixth of 11 U.S. airlines in punctuality in the first half of the year, according to Cirium data that pointed to with a 76.6% on-time rate, while Delta and United took the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, respectively. Under Isom and COO David Seymour, the carrier is working to improve its on-time rate, spreading out its schedule instead of jamming chaotic connecting banks in major hubs, and using artificial intelligence to predict maintenance problems. On top of that, the carrier's earnings are still hamstrung from its $35 billion debt load though American has slashed that from around a $54 billion peak coming out of the pandemic, with balance sheet improvement a major priority."They're a giant — with a limp," said Dennis Tajer, spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association, which represents American's 15,000 aviators. Earlier this year, the APA and the flight attendants' union called Isom's leadership into question. Underperformance from the broader company means less profit-sharing for staff.Getting customers to notice improvements could take time."Changing a service culture is hard, but not impossible," said Jay Barney, a professor of strategic management at the University of Utah David Eccles School of Business. To alter overall brand perception, he said, "You have to make the changes obvious and visible, to current customers and potential customers."One issue is that flyers are often locked in because the biggest airlines have such overwhelming market share at major hub airports, he added. What airlines might be trying to do is "charge more to their current customers," Barney said. Wide-body planes An American Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner approaches for a landing at the Miami International Airport on December 10, 2021 in Miami, Florida.Joe Raedle | Getty Images American might be behind in its premium game, but Isom said customer satisfaction scores are rising. Chief Commercial Officer Pieper, an airline industry veteran whom the company appointed last fall as the carrier was recovering from a failed corporate sales strategy in 2024, said demand is strong across the board.Buying new wide-body planes will be key to the airline's next phase, Isom said. An order is on the table for this year, with both Boeing and Airbus in the mix, he said.American's more than 1,000 planes make up the youngest fleet of the three largest U.S. airlines, according to 2025 annual filings, thanks in part to a more than 400-airplane order it made about 15 years ago for new Boeing and Airbus narrow-body planes, but dozens of its Boeing 777 wide-bodies average more than two decades old. American's refresh of those older planes, Boeing 777-200s, are next, Isom said, but the carrier is shopping for new planes."I think that Airbus could play a big role" in the new order, Isom said. American's wide-bodies are all currently Boeing planes. American declined to say the size of its planned order. New aircraft for American would likely arrive in the early or middle of the next decade.Up in Chicago, rival United — which has been duking it out with American at O'Hare International Airport — snatched up delivery slots for more than 100 Boeing Dreamliners in the last four years. A future without United As Isom lays out his vision for the future of the airline, there's one path he says the carrier doesn't see as feasible.United CEO Kirby suggested this year a merger with American, an idea the airline rebuffed."I spoke with Scott," Isom told CNBC. "Given history, given law, given past mergers, there wasn't anyone that we talked to, our advisors, interested parties, politicians, that said that there was any chance of this happening."At the end of the day, we spend time looking at things that have a chance of happening. We don't spend a lot of time pursuing impossibilities," he said.United has a partnership with JetBlue (American had a more involved one with JetBlue in the Northeast but it was blocked by a judge on antitrust grounds in 2023). But Kirby has repeatedly said this year he's not interested in acquiring that New York airline. He also acknowledged that a merger with American won't happen without a willing partner in that carrier's management.United, meanwhile, gets several slots at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport as early as next year under the JetBlue deal."Why buy the cow if you're getting the milk for free?" said Brett Snyder, who writes the Cranky Flier blog.Isom gave a standard line from executives when CNBC asked his own appetite for possible mergers and acquisitions, saying the carrier is always on the lookout for opportunities to serve the company's customers.For now, though, Isom said he is firmly focused on American's new chapter.He said he gravitated toward the industry "to be involved with something where you can make a difference."This is this one that you never wake up in the morning or going to bed at night thinking: Did I do good for somebody or something?" he said. "You certainly had the chance to in this business." Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.