Barry Diller: Media Deals & Election Day Votes 11/4/24
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What's next for amErica the morning after breaking election results critical insight from campaign insiders how voters are thinking about the economy workbox wednesday is special time. Five A, M, R, C, N, B C.

bring in show music, please.

Hi M C N B C producer katy cramer today on square pot, media mogul berry diller on the election and the fate of our country.

The one thing I really want really badly is for you to be decisive. I wanted to be over tomorrow night.

He's chairman of eeda and I ac, and he's weighing on the media deals making headlines.

I think contest is Better with them, but if they do spin all these off, then be a really solid enterprise plus .

the rest of the news that got us squash like another big stock sale. IT were in buffs burked her half way.

What do you think he is getting ready for?

And to shake up in the double Jones industrial average that pushes chipmaker intel a key beneficiaries of the chips and science act of the blue chip index with .

the government of Better on myspace, the instance is where they have the government is Better than just market forces is very rare.

It's monday, november forth, twenty twenty four. One day, left squared begins. Right now.

stand back to buy in three.

two, one killer.

Good morning, everybody. Welcome to square box right here on cnbc. We are alive from the nance act market site in time square. I'm back in quick along with joe kern and Andrew rusk. And IT is election week and markets are gearing .

up getting things ready to the shake up the stocks benchmark, adding video Williams and booting intel and double ink S M P W Jones, the industry, which manages the average, saying the changes made to ensure a more represented exposure to the semiconductor, a material sector change will be effective prior to the open of trading on friday. And of course, is also not only a boon to one video, but a knock .

to remember talking that they should do this.

Come on. IT shouldn't .

perfect position know. In the past, we said while apple already made IT to move.

while they do IT now and then and apple continue.

it's hard to imagine and in video goes double aware is .

but but it's it's not expensively prised. No, what an intel .

is no longer the bell weather. There's no way you can argue that intel, the bell weather for chips in the us. sure.

When Williams I was shot, I think his players were like, way the second did, what did I hear that? Were you ninety ninety billion? I was surprised that of inquest still there. So it's good.

Seven, nine reported the policymakers and washington a, and have begun quietly discussing scenarios if intel ls should need more assistance beyond the billions and government funds that company is slated to receive from the chips act.

Intel has already allocated eight point five billion dollars in grants and eleven billion dollars low interest of loans, but the summer four reports saying that top of officials at the commerce department and lawmakers, including center of mark Warner, have discussed whether intelligence more help talks were described as precautionary but show that until is now viewed as strategically important, one option could be a private sector merger encouraged by the government. Reports say that there is little appetite for a two thousand eight style billowed. And this goes to the whole idea of how much government funds have gone to intel, the idea of picking winners and losers. Industrial policy? No, we said .

along, you know.

IT was always going to be A A tough.

a tough road. The chips I was IT seemed a good IT seemed .

like intel could be .

the one I was.

Whether you need to make to me the thing that I always thought was that you need to make a lot of bets, meaning you couldn't just put all your bets, someone firm. The problem was that this issue of of chip making is not is like a couple game. IT literally is a money game.

It's you can start building. You can't have twelve fabs, are twelve companies with fabs because it's just too expensive. And so you almost have to bet on one or two or three companies to do IT. Maximum is really not them. Any more .

question is why they didn't do IT to amazon was five years ago. It's our leading tip. But look at that. Show you how quickly technology changes. I mean, in video is it's three trillion versus ninety billion.

It's just I was in favor of this at the time with chips act because the idea of having local IT was so important from not just pricing but in an american manufacturing, but from national security defense. I wonder in hindsight, if that would be Better if we would have offered massive tax incentives to do IT instead of cash? Or could you would would would have work if you have done that?

I think in of money, I think the way some of this is tax incentives and some of that they haven't got ten IT. I mean, that's the other piece of IT. You wonder if they will get IT. The only good news here is that the money was is given out in tranches and the credit to give out in tranches based on performance. The issue at this point is that intel is not going to be able .

to to perform just the instances were with the government of Better myspace. The instances where they've the government is Better than just market forces is very rare and IT goes away that I mean, I pencilled you know go back to seventy and seventy six gets tiresome to hear about free markets being more effective, that they really do work Better in just allocating capital. And it's very difficult.

And I even blaming the government. No one probably could have known five years ago what was going to happen in, in, in, in video. But it's just like try I mean, I guess you can maybe you right if they could have just made IT so that the winner in the marketplace had an easier time or had some assistance. I just not .

like the tax incentives was IT enough because it's so expensive to build these things. I don't you could set that .

up and incentivize IT.

But even with all that help in is, well.

the start of the problem, not next. But here, I think the problems I remember talking to leaders of companies like amazon and microsoft and google, all of them, by the way, are call of making their own chips, but then not really making their own. They are designing their chips. And then, and IT was never clear that any of those companies wanted to make their own ships on their own.

because the econo than they never great there are. People didn't, but they might know smes, not here, right?

PS, okay. Who does Michael?

Someone there are other founders.

T. S.

That they .

are getting money .

to was .

the only that's problem.

American.

when everything moved out of the country because it's a commodity business, you try to bring you back. No one is obviously no one really left .

its fed week. What I would some point, by the way, on the flip side, someone is going to go look at intel and they are going to look at all the lobby money that was spent to get that money, because they also probably had, and probably by a long shot, had had the greatest lobbying effort, get that money for themselves .

in buffer t burked .

your health way. So another big chunk of its apple stick downsizing its biggest equity holding for four quarters in a row. That's according to berkshire quarterly results, which were released on saturday morning. And total berkshire has sold about sixty seven percent of its apple stake since the end of the third quarter last year. Burker has also reached more than ten billion dollars since may july from offloading its long time bank of american investment.

Overall, if you're looking at that cash, ward a burks are sold more than thirty six billion dollars and stock in the third quarter, and IT didn't buy back any burker shares during the quarter. As a result, that cash file grew to a record three hundred and twenty five billion dollars. So they have now more in cash than they have in their entire portfolio a lot.

and they get a lot out of a lot of apples. I mean, that is what you say. They sold two thirds.

sixty seven percent of .

what do you think he is getting ready for?

No idea.

I mean, this is like when you building the arc, that's what that looks like to me. I don't know what else to think .

reminds me of something .

reminds .

you opposed two thousand and one when he thought markets were ever valued and had a lot of cash.

I I don't know, I don't know it's macro or apple either apple.

not just apple. It's back america.

Well, I mean in technology, I mean apple, what's going to happen? No more iphones. There is an A I going to a just make IT even more important to go to the.

by the way.

we should point out even after sixty seven percent of IT stocking. So it's still the largest position they have in anything by far .

american express the need of amErica .

into technology, into A I and to all these things is an apple onna be .

a main part of buffets? Never been to investor.

He looked at apple is well, why is that no longer is going to consumer products play.

That's a lot to say you the argument yeah what the phone is, the phone is not the rapid sort of changes are just not going to be there. People are owning their phone for three and four and five years now. But that that should .

make a different in the things that really .

may be often are .

speculation that's been out there is that he's selling a lot because he's made so much money on IT. If there are tax changes that come in, tax policy changes.

you would be paying much more potential in capital gains. Next you to say that i'm just saying .

this is what's out there and speculation.

And if you are thinking something, doing something, I wonder. No, I mean, you about IT, you may be right. I don't know. And I know that this is there's .

a bunch speculation. I read everything over the weekend. There's a bunch of different lines of speculation.

What I could be people point to that. They point to potential changes that you've seen overall in the portfolio. And again, this is still his biggest position. So and by the way, at the annual meeting in may, he said ABS in something really crazy. This would still be his largest position. This may and IT is I don't think people anticipated just how much they have sold because before I was at a round number, that round number is still there.

but it's a much lower around talk ough about so proud of that. Isn't that the one with .

the the paint all is that it's going .

all the globe when all is painting that IT looks like the globe that you're going na suffocate .

because there are.

do they do I made all the household eminent building play, and it's Better .

than dings via ly gg, you know, who came up with .

IT or went, I find them came up with who came up with a great logo. In greek media, a company and ten, a group is in talks to acquire time from sales force cofounder mark benioff, sources tell nbc news, uh the deal talks are still early, may not come uh to fruition, being off a quiet time in two thousand and eight for one hundred and ninety million dollars. Source to say the talks of anti na with antenna have sent her around the Price below that about one hundred and fifty million dollars.

And there's been a lot of spending during IT, too. So there's additional losses. If you get one hundred fifty million four, I don't know the extent of the losses .

during the ownership period.

right? It's tough. It's tough. But this has been the issue at me between jeff bas is by the washington post now who's losing, we say, fifty one hundred million dollars year.

Mark benning, off doing this at part business, didn't buy IT to make money. And well, that's the question I to make money. I know I think most people are trying to trying to do this peculating break even and keeps keep these iconic institutions. In business that I think the goal I cans .

aren't what they used to be. I'd I don't know what this great company would want time either, and they don't use a drag more. I give one hundred and million drink more, maybe, maybe.

Not this will be .

next coming up on school pot, our full interview with media mogul barry diller. He ran a studio in his thirties, later ran twenty of century fox and now serves as chairman of eeda and of iac, which owns about twenty five media brands. He talks big media, merger and politics. And he's got a request to voters still on offense about the economy.

Please splitter ticket, vote democratic. And splitter ticket showed that the economic part of this can be protected.

plus a special cell phone. Camo.

this is my life. I guarantee you .

that's just iconic fashion designer deon first and burg very dealer er's wife. You never know what you're going to get on. The box will be right back.

What's next for amErica the morning after breaking election results critical insight from campaign insiders how voters are thinking about the economy swag box wednesday special time five A M E R C N B C.

This is square straight .

on beachy, three, two, one up on Becky q.

You're watching squats right here on C. M, B, C. I'm Becky quick, along with joe carnon and Andrew ross sorkin.

big guest to join us right now on set to talk business and tomorrow is election barry deler, icc and expected chairman and senior executive. You have been quite out spoken about .

the selection to a lot of .

different folks on all a different sides of the IO, and i'm curious where you think things stand right now.

And here I know, I, I, I tell you what, I am incredibly optimistic. I'm optimistic for twenty eight, for eight.

Yep.

that is where my optimism lies. Because if if trump prevails, IT will reform the democratic party. And I think that would be extraordinary, healthy. And on the other side, IT will send him to the dust heap of history, which is what I would prefer but that's a personal characterization, which is not befitting the level of this discussion.

You what about you are to speak out the way you have as publicly, uh, against a former present.

present, consistent with me going fairly way back.

Well then no, I ask because we were talking with jeff re santon fold last week who has this piece and a lot of them said that fortune five hundred CEO, uh, may be voting for kala Harris, but do not want to say anything publicly out of out of fear and whether that's a distinction or difference from the way the world worked A A decade two or three decades .

ago yeah I think that look there there's reason there's rationally behind being somewhat afraid because of the retaliation comments they're been made by the previous president trump. So I can totally understand why people are worried about that .

but you don't speak out about anything.

Well, of course they work by the way. In a way.

why should they .

be um I mean, I think that they can sometimes make distinctions when there are great events at work that they ought to speak on. But generally, those CEO represent their companies and their companies should be a political is.

Is this a great event? Yeah that that should require IT.

This is a great event. IT is, i'm afraid so or not i'm afraid so. I'm glad.

So I actually, the one thing I really want really badly is for IT to be decisive. I wanted to be over tomorrow night. I wanted to be over.

And I want a five point spread for whoever was. Yes, I know that that's probably unlikely, but oh my god, for all of us, wouldn't that be the best possible thing to happen? The absolute decisive.

a great event. But but still, it's such a close election. If you're running a public company, half half your customers are going to be changed. If you do, it's gonna .

be seventy, thirty on some issues, thirty, seventy. So any time you take any position, if you're in charge of a public company themselves to consumers, you've got no business taking .

position that I don't again.

unless it's some there's a lot.

a lot, maybe less this time, but there are also very few C, E, O that would speak up for prompt four years ago. Very few that would speak up for .

because certainly a lot of them more pilot on now.

always your reaction, I knew your friends with them a to the washing post and jeff basis this decision not to endorse the candidate.

I think that was absolutely principled. Now, jeff, very well and and I talk with him about IT. The mistake they made, and IT was a mistake admitted by him, was timing.

And the reasons underlying that timing were mechanical. They weren't determinative. They made a blunder. IT should have happened months before and IT didn't. And that's the issue with that. But I absolutely well, I thought for those who who wonder about why he did IT whatever whatever he did, write a really expensive piece up at in the post that I think.

explained IT you think you wish as he didn't .

buy the post that .

I don't know when you think about the economic side of this, know we had a conversation, I think, in uh, paris where I asked you about the regulatory and environment, a con. You made some comments about leader that you were. I think that you are well.

because I was stupid. IT was like, right? I said she's a doubt just because my flip brain went out on IT. And I certainly .

should said that for .

one things. I got a reset for .

trying .

to come on the set french police is trying .

to to where you also did something quite extraordinary during the uh the shutdown of mgm resorts, which we are a big position in SHE happened to come through the doors of mgm in law Bakers to register and this was when everything was shut down and they were doing everything by hand.

And SHE comes up to the desk and they say, we watch your identification please and you know what, I don't have to do that and they said, well, uh, you really, you know, you have to do that. And SHE went through this registration process, and three days later, mgm got, whatever the official thing is, an inquiry about them taking terrible advantage of people who were coming to the and the end, the the ftc cause an action against mgm because he didn't personally like that. These people who were frantically trying to help people asked for something.

But you have to show your identification.

every hotel you ever. I don't know. I just telling you what .

the reason I raised, the reason I raised in a country .

that's just a little antic for the taste of the moment.

There's a whole bunch of folks, including john, paul, son and others who've come on who are supporting for present trump who say, you know what that there disregarding the characters, which I think is the main issue for you. And they are saying from a policy perspective, economic policy, perfect regulatory perspective, taxes go through the list that a they believe that he will be A A greater benefits of the country than her.

I find trump a, uh, very caring person. He cares about the american people. He works incredibly hard.

A personally, he's a very warm and kind individual. I can see why he's angry. He's had to spend over two hundred million a year defending himself against government lawsuits. Most all the most, all of them totally experience. So I I think you know there is a sense of anger or him in him, about the weapon zone of the justice department on the state and federal level, pursuing him as a political opponent. And I can understand he's anger about that.

What do you think about? I listened to mr. Paulson who listen. I certains understand what he's doing. He's running for treasury secretary, so he's running for office. He's not like a this passionate person he made mean, he's running for office. But i'm amazed that when the character issue is brought up that they IT is not responded to. I mean that whenever you ask this question or press IT, there's basically no answer other than that is a kind and emotionally available person but every statement he makes is not one of those. So I don't know how you .

just discount IT and .

therefore, you know I I always have this argument with .

in I .

know what about ism and I can point to character issues in I am like I don't I don't want to get in to that game. I don't want to get in to that game with joe biden, with come Harris with .

in a way at least have to to this, which is i'm not extolling a candidate Harris ah and i'm not saying of anything about her quote examples character here or joe biden but they are and have always been decent people who went in to public services. That was what they .

I don't agree you don't .

think that .

I don't agree. I agree how they got to wear there. I don't agree in terms of job. I and I ve looked at his entire career. It's littered with character problems all the way back to the plagiarism .

to cheating minute.

I mean, mean, I don't care about that. I don't care about not I .

don't care about the pointer either. What I do care about is the statements that he has made that I have of those .

have been taken out of context. The time the one about the china that was just not the one about the blood bath, the media doesn't constantly.

they forget the media.

Let's do me. Did you also build clinton twice?

Oh yes, yes.

And by the way, problems with character .

issues there. As far as his decency.

yeah, as far as I need a broader c or paul joe h you .

want I can you talking about why?

With regards to sexual .

escapades.

with the sin of man.

with what guys do OK and characters, are we talking about because? User, we talk about aging. Carol.

no, are not talking. Daniel, I don't. I think all of that who we are, I think a lot of where are wrong, but I think there's just simply no question.

I mean, how can you even actually argue? You can say, actually I don't care because as president, his record as president is that none of those terrible things happened last time, but they may happen this time. So you have to deal with that.

But you mean in terms of not leaving office or well.

in terms of anything, in terms of all to stack up the statements .

the people take late and gary kone, john paul son running, maybe you have a one off for each one of those, but it's a very close election. Then we're back to where you either are judging half the country is either being stupid or being .

non virtual. judge. I just judging as progressive ism and elitism gone wrong for a long period.

know about people who are .

able to do all that.

everything you know about trump, everything you know about trump, many people know everything you know about trump and still choose the support yeah.

because I think bitter about the the way this government for the last twenty or thirty years has actually, I think this appropriated progressive in many.

You I think you .

don't think there .

are bad people for supporting someone. So a moral or or or four no.

I don't I think I, but I do think that you that that actually what I would like to happen, no ability to change anybody y's anything. But for people who are worried, because I think most people who are voting for trump are going to voted on economic for economic reasons and worries .

about and worried .

it's worries about the ministration, please split your ticket, vote democratic and split your ticket so that the economic part of this can be a protected then we get the best of a fairly poor period, meaning we get we don't get him because I do think it's a bad thing and we'll live through four years. And what will happen out of that, by the way, i'm kinder. Okay, either way, i'm really not but I say IT but I think that if in fact trump wins, the democratic party will will will redo itself and put up a solid candidate and twenty flip .

size is true if um the democrats win that the republican party changes my or that the .

yeah oh you do .

so I don't think .

the trump run again. I just wonder whether you think whatever you think the renders of the maga movement are.

whether that becomes the central movement. I think it's I mean, even I think if he disappears.

there is no movement and not just now. I look at the way we have handled iran and in the middle east for the past four years has been a pig, whatever you want to call IT. It's been an an absolute disaster. That's why we're in this mess right now, when trump, that would IT ended with the Abraham accords, moving the the rusalem for the the embassy that .

silly knows with the north korean leader.

Okay, let your back. The world was a much safer place. Much.

the world is much for place because ukraine and the middle east blue and who .

would have predicted that you say that that you can .

say it's definitely .

not linked making .

the way about one is that he has a republican uh for sure as uh uh and somebody with real foreign policy chops as A A defense. And I would like a elan musk to be asked, given that he is an american patriot, right, to come into this administration .

and cut .

costs is really good at. Is that do you think that either that any well.

I do think he has said he will appoint a republican to the cabinet. I hope it's not for commerce secret.

I knew i'd like to see her a point. If he wins a point you mask.

absolutely call him and say, you know what, mr. Mosque, you are truly a great cutting executive. Look at what he did with twitter, right? A come in, help our government. You've got absolute authority cut everywhere that makes what what do .

you think about his roles in this selection?

Well, I ve said before, I think he is a deserved meglio ian, he deserves me a meglio. Ia, because he's, he, he because of what he is able, what he he has accomplished, able to be accomplished, unable to and I think that is therefore coming on center stage and jumping up is like, weird, but okay, because he's a melomaniacs, but he deserves to be what .

do you think you talking about the eat and and everybody else in this sort of divide? What do you think about just this perception now that there is, Frankly, billionaire on each side of this campaign that are, and the candidates are many of.

so what I don't understand for for anybody with wealth, you know, anybody with real that kind of heavy wealth, how they could do anything that benefits their so economic interest as a, as a means of judging anything is beyond .

you think that .

a dollar for a rich person.

But do you believe that? So A A lot of times you hear a democrats or folks on the left say, you know what the folks are supporting trump are doing IT for their willet. It's all about the money.

That's all IT really is. Is that way you think? Because I think what i've had conversations with the spokesman less you think i'm completely polyana about this, that there are so many other issues .

that that not only .

that they point .

to voting and on you think that's all IT is I know I don't lue, I think that, but I think it's the vast majority of IT IT can't these are people who do understand the differences, the issues of character and other issues.

I get over you to a power. I mean, the proximity to power is power. And so some of those folks who've alive them.

they're all delusion there, right? Anybody who thinks that they because they do anything, they are going to be able to influence or be close to quote, to power, close quote, they might get .

buy IT to what they are. Many are voting for what they see is everybody's wallet. Because real income rose much more quickly during the trip.

The first trump administration and the real income is still down from when you I took office. People feel like they have this real income surging. Look at this economy for me, very for me.

I had to pay. You can't be talking about me because I had to pay much more after after two thousand seventeen, much more, much more because of not being able to the short cap. What has nothing to do with, but I do believe, just maybe you don't .

think proper in general.

I would like free markets more than socialism. I would like less government intervention, less regulation, lower taxes, lower core protect is lower capital. All those things not about my wallet because I think it's Better for the for everybody's wallet. Not it's not personal, I think so I don't think .

he's understand. But I was using this argument as a class of billionaire, which I don't class of bill, I don't think you reason to you.

no, but you have. But we're not .

a lot to say very does does expedia, uber does a tie up make sense for uber?

I get out in as an industrial combination. Sure.

but it's not gonna happen. Stop not you're in A D okay, that's good. We're getting we talk to dara on the broadcast last week and go fall on.

I'm sure that you will be shot. Uh, to know that we're definitely not commenting on any particular deal on where the other for us, our focus right now organic growth. And when you have a business that's growing top line at twenty plus percent, uh, you've got bottom line growing at fifty plus percent.

Uh, we have free cash low now that we're allocating more and more to buying back on shares. So you combine kind of the compounding of bottom line and reducing share account that we expect to start doing next year. You get very, very high returns for shareholders.

So frost, right now, the bar for any kind acquisition, uh, has never been higher. And the focus is really on organic growth. To the extent that we go out and do ema, IT will tend to be, at this point, smaller deals that are much more kind of a closer to home in terms of what we do. An example that is a proposed deal to buy food pan taiwan.

It's just not gonna en.

Let me ask a different question. You think that there is a sense that this company will get acquired or merged with somebody else?

yes. No, I don't think because well, one well, I couldn't say one. First of all, I don't think it's an expedia into media is now beginning a period, I think, of real growth and read and is now for I think the first time in some time has now got a great leader who's who's doing every right thing with the company. So I think if ever there's a wrong time for expedia to actually exchange a chairs, IT is now so that, that is the big reason, a small reason, which is whatever is I don't want to do IT and the sound I don't want to do IT like because I don't want to do IT, I don't think that expedia should be sold and I have enough shares voting shares that I could I probably can't get anything done. But I can certainly stop something .

for being would you be interested in a beautiful basket of shiny cable companies all put in one little um entity to be able to I wish I hope they don't .

do IT because I don't think cast I think comcast is Better with them. But if they do spin all these off, that be a really solid surprise.

Why you hope that they don't do IT?

Because I think that they're so well hedge, this is a company that this got really the best hand because they've not only got the great this is my I .

guarantee you, Robert, you want to take IT.

No, I think you should say hello at dion. Hi, i'm on camera.

Watch T, V right now. Will call you back. You are we .

are you we .

are right now .

and you're .

she's .

she's in she's in .

fanis .

by h athens .

athens. You are in venice .

four hours ago and 我的 成人。

The question of the world.

So you are saying that you hope that they don't do IT because this this is not cast .

spending off the because because I think they're so well hedged in so many areas of media that I think those baLances are really good for each other. And I do not believe, listen, cable is going to continue to decline. IT is going to decline. Do nothing. There is going to be we are in a process of rebuff.

Ling, we've gone from bumbling over here with full table right to to this period, which is about a probably a tenure arc of going to direct connect for individual services, which let me just make the sorry, which we will watch this, we will get right back to total rebundling. Ling, so when that happens, all of these, not all of them, the key ones, your cnbc, other key cable properties will be part of a reconnected bundle. So I would never get rid of them. But whatever everyone to think.

I think advocates would say that they are thinking that the spin off could actually be the bangalore of those things. But that's a longer conversation for another. Very dear.

Thank you so much for being here. We will see where the election heads and hope talk to courts afterwards. Thank you all.

What's next for amErica the morning after breaking election results critical insight from campaign insiders how voters are thinking about the economy money swag box wednesday special time five A M E R C N B C.

And that is squad pod for today, this election eve. Thanks for listening. Square box is hosted by carnon, mci quick and Andrew ross sorkin tunin weekday mornings on C N, B, C at six y sten to get the smartest takes and analysis from R, T, V show right into your ears. Follow squaw wherever you get your podcasts. We'll meet you right back here tomorrow.

Now we are clear. Thanks, guys.

What's next for amErica the morning after breaking election results critical insight from campaign insiders how voters thinking about the economy SAT box wednesday special time by A M E R C N B C.