My top 10 things to watch Friday, Jan. 2 1. S & P 500 futures are up early this morning as the market readies to kick off its first trading session of 2026. The broad market index gained more than 16% in 2025, its third consecutive annual gain. The Dow and tech-heavy Nasdaq are on track for positive opens, too, after stellar years. 2. Warren Buffett has officially handed over the Berkshire Hathaway CEO role to Greg Abel following his legendary six-decade run. With Buffett at the helm from 1964 to 2024, the conglomerate delivered a compound annual growth rate of 19.9%. That’s roughly double the S & P 500’s performance over the stretch. 3. The Trump administration announced that it would delay a tariff hike on upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinets, and vanities for another year. The order, which was signed on Wednesday, will maintain the 25% tariff rate that Trump imposed in September on those goods. 4. Argus hiked Ulta Beauty ‘s price target to $700 from $650, and reiterated a buy rating on the cosmetic retailer’s shares. The new PT represents nearly 16% upside to 2025’s closing price. 5. Keefe Bruyette increased its price target on Club name Capital One to $290 from $260, and kept its buy rating. The updated target represents nearly 20% upside to the prior close. 6. Casino revenue in Macao increased 14.8% in December year-over-year. Bodes well for the U.S. casino operators with large exposure to the region, including Wynn Resorts , LVS , and MGM . 7. The Financial Times reported that SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI could all look to go public as soon as this year. The deals combined could exceed the total proceeds from the approximately 200 IPOs we saw in 2025. That’s certainly a positive for Goldman Sachs’ investment banking division. 8. Vertiv shares surged nearly 5% premarket after Barclays upgraded the stock to a buy from hold, and raised its price target to $200 from $181. Analysts predicted “substantial upside potential” relative to consensus earnings estimates for 2026 and 2027 and noted that Vertiv could catch up with other AI names such as GE Vernova . 9. Raymond James resumed coverage of Apple with a hold rating and no price target. Analysts said that there’s limited upside in the iPhone maker’s shares because its current valuation already fairly reflects its strengths. We maintain our “own, don’t trade” thesis on this Club stock. 10. Shares of Taiwan Semi are higher in premarket trading after receiving a one-year license from the United States to import chipmaking equipment into its China operations. Sign up for my Top 10 Morning Thoughts on the Market email newsletter for free (See here for a full list of the stocks at 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.
The Club’s top 10 things to watch in the stock market Friday
Jan 2, 2026
