(This is a wrap-up of the key money moving discussions on CNBC’s “Worldwide Exchange” exclusive for PRO subscribers. Worldwide Exchange airs at 5 a.m. ET each day.) Investors are looking at opportunities in financials after blockbuster earnings and they’re looking ahead to the retail sales report after several companies in the industry raised their guidance. Worldwide Exchange Pick: Digital Realty (DLR) Malcolm Ethridge of Capital Area Planning Group sees Digital Realty Trust outperforming the S & P 500 this year as big tech companies increase their capital expenditure spending. DLR 1Y mountain Digital Realty Trust, 1 year “We have seen an appreciation for the need to house all that data for large language models the hyperscalers are running,” said Ethridge on Worldwide Exchange. “You can compare this company to Nvidia as there is a lot more demand than they have supply and that shapes up to be good economics. Microsoft alone is planning to spend $80 billion in 2025 on data center space… that is potentially going to go to Digital Realty.” Digital Realty Trust reports on Feb. 13. Worldwide Exchange Pick: Goldman Sachs (GS) Sevasti Balafas of Goalvest Advisory sees a strong year ahead for Goldman Sachs after earnings on Wednesday, citing their strong M & A advisory business. GS 1D mountain Goldman Sachs, 1 day “They are going to be a beneficiary of deregulation once the new administration comes in… in a pro-growth, deregulation environment, pro-business environment… they are in the best position.” December Retail Sales Dana Telsey of Telsey Advisory Group expects December retail sales to surprise to the upside after talking with more than 30 companies at the ICR conference this week. The Telsey Advisory Group estimate is 1% compared to the consensus estimate of 0.5%. “What we saw at the [ICR Conference] sales increases were greater than the profits,” said Telsey on Worldwide Exchange. “More sales got done during the holiday. The compressed season lead to a sense of urgency and newness and production innovation drove demand.” Telsey added that retailers are preparing for potential tariffs and price increases are likely: “It’s a headwind… last time everyone diversified their sourcing away from China. They are going to do that in an ever more aggressive pace this time. “
