BUSINESS

As the cast heads into Monday’s reunion special, breaking down how several Islanders have used their newfound platforms.

The President is unhappy with suggestions by the host of “Meet The Press” that his endorsements are becoming less effective as his poll numbers slump.

Wall Street’s registers have continued humming through August, making it tough for investors to call when to take profits. 

According to Yahoo Finance data, the S&P 500 gained around 3% since July 31, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 4.1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average 2%, and the Russell 2000 1.4%. With winners piling up, Jim Cramer feels investors need discipline and reveals a specific 20% rule for handling big gains.

The momentum survived another choppy stretch.

Nvidia’s (NVDA) earnings powered a tremendous tech rally, which led to the S&P 500 and Dow rising 0.5% for the week and the Nasdaq gain 0.8%. Year to date, the S&P 500 is up 12.7%, the Dow is up 11.4%, the Nasdaq is up 13.6%, and the Russell is up 19.8%.

The pullback on Friday, Aug. 28, underscored why profit-taking has become timely. Reuters reported that Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s Jackson Hole remarks bumped September rate-hike odds from about 35% to nearly 60%.

Against that evolving backdrop, in the latest episode of “Mad Money,” Cramer offers investors a framework for trimming winners, without abandoning the businesses they still believe in or sacrificing future upside potential.

Cramer’s 20% rule puts discipline ahead of conviction

Cramer’s 20% rule is best described as a risk-management system that addresses a couple of problems with winning stocks: protecting part of a gain and preserving enough exposure if the rally continues to impress.

“When your stocks surge higher, use that opportunity to ring the register just on part of your position,” Cramer said. “After a 20% move or more, you need to take something off the table.”

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A caller then quizzed Cramer on how much to sell and when to get back in the game.

He said investors can continue trimming after the first 20% bump, removing 5% to 10% of the holding. And if the stock jumps another 20%, he would make another similar trim. “Discipline must always trump conviction,” he argued.

This, in turn, creates a repeatable process.

Selling a slice prevents a paper gain from being exposed to a potential reversal, but keeping that core position avoids missing more upside. Cramer warns that “most gains occur in concentrated bursts,” which makes a full exit dangerous for investors who might not reenter before the next rally.

The cash also has a second job. 

“When your stocks get hit, put that cash to work buying more shares at lower prices,” Cramer said. That creates a cycle that involves trimming into strength, building liquidity, and redeploying during weakness.

The rule also fits Cramer’s broader philosophy of “buy and homework.” 

That involves investors continuing to analyze the company, because a deteriorating business warrants a sale rather than an automatic dip purchase. His strategy is effectively less about predicting tops than ensuring that success in one stock doesn’t amount to excessive portfolio risk.

Jim Cramer tells investors when to trim winning stocks and raise cash.Noam Galai/Getty Images

3 hot stocks that illustrate Cramer’s 20% rule 

Cramer’s rule is dependent on an investor’s entry price, so no stock automatically becomes a sell after a big gain. Still, here are three recent winners to quickly show how the framework might play out. 

CNBC reported that Salesforce (CRM) jumped 22.6% in a single session after raising its sales guidance and reporting stronger demand for its powerful AI products. A shareholder might trim 5% to 10% following the move, locking in profits while retaining the position if Agentforce continues to drive growth.

CrowdStrike (CRWD) offers a setup. Yahoo Finance reports that its shares surged 20.5% after results, including 26% sales growth and a 25% increase in annual recurring sales. The rally crossed Cramer’s first threshold, but cybersecurity fundamentals continue to support a core holding rather than selling outright.

Marvell (MRVL) is a longer-term example. Even after a 10% post-earnings drop on Aug. 28, as reported by Reuters, shares remained up 155% in 2026. Investors who trimmed during earlier 20% rallies would have protected gains and created cash that could be redeployed during the pullback.

Cramer’s broader playbook for spotting risk and protecting retirement 

Cramer’s warnings form a unified framework.

The veteran stock market pundit’s formula involves ignoring crowd emotion, looking for counterintuitive evidence, and anchoring long-term money in a structure that doesn’t involve perfect stock picking.

Cramer calls it “the most useless thing you can do as an investor” to worry about what others are eating. Once a concern becomes universal, the big institutions often reposition and push that expectation into prices. An economic slowdown or a sluggish earnings season could still occur without resulting in the sell-off investors expect.

That doesn’t mean investors should ignore the market’s behavior.

Cramer focuses on unusual reactions. When a stock “refuses to go lower on bad news,” he argued, it may be “putting in a bottom.” On the flip side, when a business delivers an excellent quarter and robust guidance but shares drop, investors might be treating it as the last great quarter.

“When your stock falls on positive news,” Cramer warned, “you may be looking at the top.”

His advice on retirement investing applies the same preference for discipline instead of prediction. 

Responding to a caller whose retired girlfriend had $600,000, paid a 1% management fee, and was trailing the market, Cramer recommended putting “two-thirds of it in an S&P index fund.” He would use the remaining third for six to 10 individual stocks, with two or three bigger positions, mostly from the Magnificent 7.

That mindset offers risk control.

The index fund offers diversification, selected stocks offer upside, and counterintuitive market reactions offer warnings. The goal is to build a portfolio that could survive even when the consensus proves wrong. 

Related:  5-star analyst drops jaw-dropping Nvidia stock price target

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Why we love this deal

If ever there was an occasion to invite a lot of people over, it’s during football season. That said, you’ll want your guests sitting on a nice living room set. We found an excellent deal on one at Wayfair, and we think the discount will have you doing quite an endzone dance. If you want to wow your friends and family as they take in the game, then this is the deal for you.

The Red Barrel 3-Piece Reclining Living Room Set is on sale at Wayfair for only $1,400, which is an almost unbelievable 73% off the regular price of $5,240. You may never have another opportunity to get a full living room recliner set at such a deep discount. 

Red Barrel 3-Piece Reclining Living Room Set, $1,400 (was $5,240) at Wayfair

Courtesy of Wayfair

Shop at Wayfair

Why do shoppers love it?

This is the ultimate living room set for those who appreciate comfort and style in equal measure. It includes a single armchair, a full-sized sofa, and a two-person loveseat. All three pieces have a manual recline feature, so you can easily put your feet up anywhere you may be in the room. It’s the perfect living room set for entertaining guests or for lounging on the weekend with the entire family.

With incredibly soft microsuede upholstery, this set is the epitome of comfort. The upholstery is also stain-resistant and mold-proof. The set has thick foam and cotton filling that maintains its shape even after rigorous use. The frame is constructed from highly durable manufactured wood, ensuring that this furniture will last for years to come. The tufted design adds a plush feel and an elegant look to each piece, making this beautiful set the complete package for anyone looking for an upgrade to their living space. 

One of the biggest benefits of this incredible set is its size. The largest piece, which is the sofa, measures 83.1 inches long by 39.8 inches wide by 39 inches high. The loveseat and chair have the same width and height, though they have lengths of 61.8 inches and 36.9 inches, respectively. While the set comes in two different colors, one has already sold out, so we recommend getting yours while you still can.

Related: Walmart’s $500 velvet sectional sofa is on sale for $199

Details to know

Upholstery: Ultra-soft microsuede.

Construction: Manufactured wood with foam and cotton fill.

Sofa dimensions: 83.1 inches long by 39.8 inches wide by 39 inches high.

Included: Sofa, loveseat, and armchair.

Wayfair shoppers were very excited about this set. One buyer said they “love it,” adding that it was the “perfect size for me. Color is gorgeous and it’s comfortable.” Multiple reviewers also praised the soft feel of the microsuede fabric.

Shop more deals 

Wade Logan Carmencita Square Arm Loveseat, $296 (was $460) at Wayfair

Ebern Designs 3-Piece Living Room Set, $530 at Wayfair

If you want to impress your guests with championship-level seating, then the Red Barrel 3-Piece Reclining Living Room Set is for you. This 73% off deal might end up being the best $1,400 you’ll ever spend. 

Doha will unlikely receive any of these aircraft for at least a few years. Nevertheless, one can already reasonably speculate why it opted to buy them now.

It was an evening of classic ’80s New Wave by this triple bill at Radio City Music Hall.

Taco Bell is making an unexpected comeback in a market it left more than a decade ago, reviving a piece of its international footprint as the fast-food chain looks to accelerate global growth.

The Yum! Brands-owned chain is seeking to reestablish its presence in a once-abandoned market as it expands beyond the U.S. and looks for new opportunities around the world.

The return gives Taco Bell another foothold in a region where its parent company already has a foothold.

Taco Bell returns to the UAE

Taco Bell is coming back to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after exiting the market in 2012.

Yum! Brands’ (YUM) subsidiary, Taco Bell UK and Europe Ltd, has signed an exclusive development agreement with restaurant operator Americana Restaurants to bring the chain back to the UAE, with plans for phased expansion into additional Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

Americana Restaurants describes itself as the largest out-of-home dining and quick-service restaurant operator in the Middle East and has had a longstanding relationship with Yum! Brands, operating brands including KFC and Pizza Hut across the region.

The first Taco Bell location is expected to open in the UAE as part of the phased expansion, marking the brand’s return to the market after 14 years.

“We’re excited to continue our strong international momentum in the UAE, to connect with a new generation of fans, and bring the creativity, innovation and unmistakable Taco Bell experience that only our brand can deliver,” Taco Bell CEO Sean Tresvant said in a company announcement.

Taco Bell International Managing Director Ankush Tuli said the UAE represents a significant growth opportunity for the brand and that Americana Restaurants is well- positioned to lead the expansion.

“Their operational excellence and proven track record of driving growth give us great confidence as we grow Taco Bell in this vibrant market and build the brand for long-term success across the region,” Tuli said in a statement.

Taco Bell returns to the UAE.whitemay / Getty Images

Taco Bell’s expansion plan

Taco Bell has accelerated its international expansion over the last several years.

Most recently, the company partnered with Applegreen, a major petrol retailer, to open its first-ever restaurant in Ireland in summer 2025.

Taco Bell now has more than 9,000 restaurants across over 40 markets around the globe.

The expansion is part of the brand’s Relentlessly Next-Generation Growth (R.I.N.G.) strategy, which focuses on menu innovation, greater value, an enhanced customer experience, digital transactions, technology, and international expansion.

The initiative aims to increase Taco Bell’s footprint to 3,000 restaurants outside the U.S. by 2030. The company has also identified nine new countries for potential expansion, including France, Greece, and South Africa, while seeking to accelerate growth in existing markets in the U.K., Spain, Australia, and India.

The UAE agreement gives Taco Bell another opportunity to build on that international strategy while returning to a market it previously exited.

Why Taco Bell is expanding internationally

Taco Bell has been a standout within Yum! Brands’ portfolio, with the chain continuing to post strong sales growth in the U.S. and internationally.

During the second quarter of fiscal 2026, Taco Bell reported:

System sales: Increased 4% year over year

Same-store sales: Climbed 7%

U.S. system sales: Rose 9%

International system sales: Up 13%

International same-store sales: Grew 5%

Taco Bell opened 54 gross new restaurants across 15 countries during the quarter, bringing its total restaurant count to 9,046.

The brand accounted for 43% of Yum! Brands’ divisional operating profit and outperformed the broader QSR industry in same-store sales for the ninth consecutive quarter, according to the company’s latest earnings call.

That performance helps explain why international expansion remains an important part of Taco Bell’s growth strategy. Yum! Brands can leverage the chain’s strong momentum while relying on established local restaurant operators such as Americana Restaurants to enter and develop markets.

Rivals expanding internationally

Taco Bell is not the only major American restaurant chain pursuing international growth. Several fast-food rivals have also entered or returned to markets outside the U.S.

Here’s some of my previous coverage on fast-food chains expanding internationally:

TGI Fridays: Relaunch in the U.K. on July 4, 2025.

Chipotle: Opened its first-ever restaurant in Mexico on July 16, 2026.  

Dunkin’: Returning to Puerto Rico in 2027.

Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers: Opened its first-ever restaurant in Canada on June 3, 2025.

Chick-fil-A: Opened its first global restaurants in the U.K. and Singapore in 2025.

Taco Bell’s comeback adds another example of major U.S. restaurant brands looking overseas for opportunities to expand their footprints and reach new customers.

Related: 17-year-old Mexican restaurant chain closes all locations

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While Las Vegas is not typically thought of as one of the top places to have Japanese food in North America, the casino and entertainment capital is home to hundreds of sushi, omakase and izakaya restaurants at different price points both on and off The Strip.

For an upscale option, Mizumi at the five-star Wynn hotel is set around a 90-foot waterfall and koi pond built in the style of a traditional Japanese garden that is lit up in vibrant red, gold and indigo blue LED lights after dark.

Chef Jeff Okada Ramsey earned his first Michelin star at the Tapas Molecular Bar in Tokyo’s Mandarin Oriental hotel and was the first non-Japanese chef to receive the prestigious “Master of the Art of Sushi” recognition from the country’s All Japanese Sushi Association.

Mizumi at The Wynn serves up top sushi cuts around an illuminated koi pond

With the dining room serving over 400 guests each night, Mizumi offers a top-tier sushi and sashimi menu from premium fish cuts like red snapper, sea urchin and toro as well as modern Japanese appetizers and traditional robatayaki and teppanyaki grilled meats.

The cocktail menu is also full of treats for Japanese flavor fans such as the sweet and sour notes of the Kawaii made with oolong tea and passion fruit or the Sakura in which grapefruit and rose-flavored vodka is combined with notes of Haketsuru Plum Wine and lychee liqueur.

Related: This Western city just got its first two-star Michelin restaurant

More Japanese restaurant options in Las Vegas include the Tekka Bar serving handrolls, beer and sake inside The Cosmopolitan and the Sushisamba at The Venetian that fuses traditional Japanese sushi and tempura with Brazilian churrasco and Peruvian ceviche (both countries are home to large Japanese immigrant communities that helped develop unique cuisines influenced by local ingredients).

Off-strip, Izakaya Go is a local Chinatown secret that offers guests a menu of both traditional sushi rolls and izakaya classics like grilled whole squid and salmon collar.

Mizumi is an upscale Las Vegas Japanese restaurant serving premium sushi and sashimi cuts.Mizumi

New omakase restaurant and a viral ramen hotspot will also come to Las Vegas by 2027

And even with hundreds of Japanese restaurants in the city, more are on their way. Tenshou, a Japanese omakase chain that began out of West Hollywood, and a second location of Silverlake Ramen will open inside the three-story retail and entertainment complex across from the Waldorf Astoria in the fall of 2026.

The latter, which developed a cult following for its “The Blaze” extra-spicy ramen broth, is expanding beyond its original Chinatown location to its first spot on The Strip.

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Tenshou will, meanwhile, have an outpost of the glitzy Bar Centifolia in Tokyo. Located in the city’s upscale Azabu-Juban neighborhood (forever made famous as the home of the “Sailor Moon” childhood series), the bar is known for theatrical cocktails (at equally theatrical prices) in which the visitor gets a drink created on the spot with the help of everything from controlled flames and illuminations to liquid nitrogen and vessels that the bartender carves out of ice in front of you.

Related: The latest wave of Italian restaurants has come to NYC

PayPal (PYPL) investors spent much of the summer pricing in the possibility that somebody else will swoop in and fix the company’s valuation problem.

The option is now gone.

A consortium of payment company Stripe and private-equity firm Advent International has withdrawn its bid for PayPal after previously offering $60.50 a share, or about $53 billion. PayPal shares fell 12.7% to $53.66 Friday as the deal premium was quickly sliced out of the stock.

The selloff was pretty vicious. Some 36 million PayPal shares changed hands, more than twice the stock’s recent average volume.

But the more important number might be $60.50.

The consortium’s original offer was deemed inadequate by PayPal’s board. Bernstein analysts told Reuters they believed management was unlikely to accept a price that wasn’t “meaningfully above $70.”

Now PayPal trades nearly 11% below the $60.50 offer it didn’t take.

That puts a much brighter spotlight on CEO Enrique Lores’ turnaround. PayPal has to demonstrate that continuing on its own can ultimately create a lot more shareholder value than the deal that just evaporated.

PayPal lost nearly $8 a share in one day

The market reaction helps to put a price on how much takeover optimism was priced into PayPal’s valuation.

PayPal ended Aug. 28 at $53.66, off $7.81, or 12.71%. The intraday low was $52.62. Volume was about 36 million shares.

The stock had gained nearly 30% since reports first emerged regarding the Stripe-Advent bid. The buyers were walking away just as word came that PayPal closed at $61.47, Axios reported, actually above their $60.50 offer.

So the failure of the transaction takes away a big support for the shares.

There was also a lot of disagreement behind the scenes on valuation.

Stripe and Advent have offered to buy PayPal at $60.50 per share, valuing the company at about $53 billion. PayPal’s board had considered the first offer too low, and analysts doubted the consortium’s ability to fund a much higher offer.

Regulation might be another barrier.

Related: PayPal stock jumps as two unlikely buyers circle with billions

There is a remarkable historical parallel lurking in those numbers.

PayPal was worth about $360 billion at the height of the pandemic-era digital-commerce boom in 2021.

The abandoned $53 billion proposal valued the business at about 85% below that peak.

And that’s how high the bar has been set for investors’ PayPal expectations.

PayPal now has to prove it was worth rejecting $60.50

The problem with PayPal is not that the company has stopped making money.

That investors haven’t been convinced about its long-term growth.

Shares are trading at about 10.9 times forward earnings, compared to an industry median of nearly 15 times, Refinitiv data shows, according to Reuters.

That works out to a discount of around 27% to the industry median.

More importantly, that discount comes even as PayPal recently upgraded its profit guidance for 2026 and detailed further cost-cutting measures.

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Lores addressed the takeover matter indirectly on PayPal’s July earnings call.

He declined to comment specifically on the reported Stripe-Advent proposal but said PayPal would look at opportunities or strategic alternatives that management believed could better shareholder value.

That standard now works both ways.

If management felt $60.50 was too low for PayPal, investors have a pretty clear benchmark to judge the turnaround by.

PayPal would need to rise about 13% from its Friday close of $53.66 just to return to the price of the offer it rejected.

A rise to $70, the level Bernstein said management might need to see before it gets really interested, would require a roughly 30% jump.

PayPal’s stock crash leaves management with a $60.50 problemBloomberg / Getty Images

PayPal is fighting Apple and Google for the checkout button

The drama of the takeover can mask the operating problem that led to PayPal’s low valuation in the first place.

PayPal had an odd strength in online checkout. Then the pandemic turbocharged digital commerce and helped its valuation toward $360 billion.

Competition has increased since then.

Apple (AAPL) and Alphabet (GOOGL) have integrated their digital payment services into the heart of their smartphone ecosystems, and Shopify’s Shop Pay has emerged as another major competitor in checkout. Reuters said the homegrown payment options have eaten into PayPal’s core market position.

This is especially important as PayPal’s branded checkout business is higher margin.

Reclaiming market share there will be critical to accelerating PayPal’s growth, Hooper said.

The consumer can easily comprehend the challenge.

Today someone shopping for sneakers or booking a hotel online might see Apple Pay, Google Pay, Shop Pay, credit cards, buy-now-pay-later options, and PayPal on the same checkout screen.

PayPal is no longer simply trying to persuade people to pay digitally. It is fighting to remain the digital button they choose.

PayPal is making a $1.7 trillion AI bet

Another possible growth area that wasn’t around when PayPal hit its pandemic valuation high: agentic commerce.

AI agents could increasingly do parts of the shopping process for consumers, rather than consumers manually searching websites, comparing products, and completing checkout themselves.

PayPal says its existing relationships with consumers and merchants could give it an advantage.

Research referenced in the report estimates the market for agentic commerce could grow to $1.7 trillion by 2030. PayPal surveyed 498 U.S. merchants as part of its effort to understand how businesses are preparing for the transition.

Infrastructure is already being built around the idea by the company.

In August, PayPal announced a “Know Your Agent” concept at the Ai4 conference to extend the same identity-verification principles that support Know Your Customer and Know Your Business to transactions undertaken by AI agents.

PayPal says its decades of experience in identity, fraud prevention, and payments could be valuable if consumers eventually allow autonomous software to spend money on their behalf.

Raymond James analysts told Reuters they believe agentic commerce could be a meaningful opportunity for PayPal given its existing relationships with consumers and merchants, though adoption is still early and competition is nascent.

That opportunity is big, but it doesn’t solve PayPal’s immediate issue.

PayPal’s stock now has to stand on its own

The failed takeover has created a remarkably clean test for investors. Stripe and Advent put an approximate $53 billion valuation on PayPal. PayPal’s board effectively said that wasn’t enough.

Now the stock market values the company at about the same $53 billion, only without a buyer behind that valuation.

Management must therefore show why the business should be substantially more valuable.

There is reason for optimism. PayPal lifted its profit forecast last month, and some analysts have commented positively on Lores’ early moves to turn things around, while agentic commerce could provide another big opportunity in payments.

There are also measurable reasons for caution.

PayPal trades at a big discount on an earnings multiple basis to its industry; branded checkout faces more competition, and its market value of roughly $53 billion is a fraction of the $360 billion investors once placed on the company.

Those problems weren’t created by Friday’s 12.7% decline.

That ruled out the possibility of Stripe and Advent paying to fix them.

For PayPal shareholders the takeover story is over and has been replaced by a much less speculative story: earnings growth, checkout market share, margins, and execution.

Now those numbers will have to justify the price PayPal apparently thought Stripe and Advent weren’t willing to pay.

Related: PayPal’s latest quarter leaves a bigger question