SOTS 2nd Hour: Tech Trade Latest, & Pepsico, Citizens Financial CEOs 4/16/26

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

What does running your business feel like? With Avalara, the agentic AI platform for global tax and compliance.

You don't hover over the submit button. You don't ask for a second opinion. You don't wake up thinking about a filing. Because Avalara's agentic AI handles it. Calculating, filing, validating. With the accuracy and audit defensibility, your team can stand behind.

Avalara, agentic AI tax and compliance with confidence.

SPEAKER_2 (0:30)

She loves it hot. He loves it cool. The Pod by 8 Sleep is a smart mattress cover that fits on your bed and keeps each side at the perfect temperature all night long.

By staying comfortably warm or cool, the Pod helps you sleep deeper and wake up feeling more rested. Every morning, you get daily health insights and a sleep fitness score. However you sleep, the Pod by 8 Sleep adapts to you. Try it at eatsleep.com.

Sara Eisen (1:03)

Good Thursday morning, welcome to Squawk on the Street. I'm Sara Eisen with David Faber. We are live as always from Post 9 of the New York Stock Exchange. Carl has the morning off. Coming up on today's show, first on CNBC interview with Pepsico CEO Ramon LaGuarda as the company tops quarterly estimates driven by a return to volume growth in North America. Plus in a big week for bank earnings, we'll talk to the CEO of Citizens Financial Group who asked out with results this morning, noting that credit is trending favorably even amid this heightened macro uncertainty. And we'll take a look at what's driving a major jump in quantum computing stocks this week with a number of names of 40% or more just since Monday's open.

But first, David, you know, I'm still reflecting on Invest in America, this big conference that we held and some of the key takeaways when it comes to the macro environment and the investing landscape that people should be aware of. So first of all, this warning from Treasury Secretary Scott Besson. We talked a lot about oil. He thinks that core inflation is coming down and spike in oil prices is temporary. And he issued a pretty interesting warning for some of the gas stations. Listen to this.

Scott Bessent (2:11)

I think the gas prices will start coming down pretty quickly. You know, we've had the big declines in the past two weeks.

We'll be looking at Treasury to try to keep the retail gas stations honest, that you did this on the way up, better be doing this on the way down. And I'm sure the president will call out anyone who's a bad actor.

Sara Eisen (2:34)

That was a threat to the gas stations. He's adding another task for his Treasury team.

David Faber (2:39)

That Exxon on Main Street, you're not playing ball.

Sara Eisen (2:42)

Yeah, I mean, it's a big deal for consumers.

David Faber (2:45)

But without a doubt and have gas prices retreated markedly of late?

Sara Eisen (2:49)

Yes, they're coming down and they and he expects them to come down further because we've seen the price of oil come down over the last few weeks.

We're sort of steady around the $4 low 410, 411 Doesn't look like they've really come down. But they should, you know, they should be because look, where's the price of oil right now?

David Faber (3:06)

The price of oil has, but my point is he said they're coming down. They haven't yet come down.

Sara Eisen (3:10)

They will come. I think he was mentioning the fact that oil prices will come down 20% over the last few weeks. And so that will come into the filter through and filter through into the gas prices. You know, also got a chance to talk to the FedEx CEO. We got a Philly Fed Regional Manufacturing Survey today that was a lot better than expected. And FedEx is, you know, it's a window into the industrial economy and and they're spinning up.

David Faber (3:34)

We just, Jim and I literally just mentioned he did, you know, the spinoff of freight, which is a few months away.

Sara Eisen (3:41)

They've done very well. You know, FedEx has surpassed UPS. I mentioned this in the interview yesterday quietly in terms of market cap and volume growth. And, you know, you would have thought tariffs would have been a huge deal. And it was. I mean, they had to pay the tariffs, of course, because they're a shipping company. But, you know, who would have thought the stock would have been up so much at a time where we have all these tariffs? Listen to what CEO Raj Subramanian said about the whole tariff strategy and what they're seeing now.