WHEN: Today, Thursday, January 8th
WHERE: CNBC's "Fast Money"
Following is the unofficial transcript of a CNBC interview with Mark Cuban on CNBC's "Fast Money" today. Following is a link to the interview on CNBC.com: http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000345035&play=1.
All references must be sourced to CNBC.
MELISSA LEE: YOU KNOW THIS IS A VERY SPECIAL SHOW. WE HAVE A LOT OF SPECIAL SURPRISES AND IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE A VERY SPECIAL GUEST PHONING IN FOR OUR EIGHTH ANNIVERSARY. MARK CUBAN IS ON THE FAST LINE. HEY, MARK HOW ARE YOU?
MARK CUBAN: CONGRATULATIONS!
LEE: THANK YOU. AND THANK YOU FOR BEING SUCH A LONG-TIME GUEST ON THE SHOW.
CUBAN: OH ABSOLUTELY. I MEAN I LOVE THE SHOW, YOU GUYS – IT JUST KEEPS ON GETTING BETTER AND BETTER. AND YOU KNOW, YOU GUYS HAVE MADE ME SO MUCH MONEY I BOUGHT A JET.
LEE: GLAD IT WORKED OUT FOR YOU. SO MARK, IT IS OUR EIGHTH ANNIVERSARY. YOU HAVE TO GIVE US A PRESENT, RIGHT? GIVE US YOUR TOP TRADE IDEA RIGHT NOW.
CUBAN: YEAH. THE TOP TRADE IDEA IS IF YOU HAVE TO ASK FOR IDEAS, DON'T TRADE.
LEE: I JUST ROLLED MY EYES IN CASE YOU MISSED THAT, MARK. SO, ARE YOU GOING TO GIVE ME AN IDEA OR WHAT?
CUBAN: NO, SERIOUSLY. I LITERALLY – I CAN'T FIGURE OUT THIS MARKET. I MEAN, WHAT I HAVE BOUGHT – I STILL HAVE MY NETFLIX, I DON'T TRADE A WHOLE LOT, RIGHT? AND SO I TRY TO FIND COMPANIES THAT ARE MARKET LEADERS AND I LOOK FOR THINGS THAT ARE CHANGING. AND IF THE STORY DOESN'T CHANGE I STAY WITH IT AND I TRY TO ADD MORE. AND IF THE STORY CHANGES – LIKE RIGHT NOW, MAYBE GOOGLE IS A SHORT. AND I KNOW YOU GUYS HAVE TALKED A LOT ABOUT IT, WHAT IS GOING ON AND THE REALITY IS WHEN YOU LOOK AT GOOGLE, EVERYTHING THAT IS HAPPENING IN OUR LIVES GIVES US LESS REASON TO GO TO A SEARCH BAR AND TYPE SOMETHING IN AND LOOK FOR IT. AND THEN WHEN YOU WANT TO START LOOKING FOR THINGS, ARE WE REALLY LOOKING FOR THE SAME THINGS WE USED TO? YOU KNOW, GOOGLE HAS BECOME – GOOGLE IS A GREAT PLACE TO LOOK FOR THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR AWHILE. BUT IT IS NOT A GOOD PLACE TO LOOK FOR WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW. AND SO THAT IS PART OF THE CHALLENGE IT IS FACING. AND IT IS EXTENDING INTO OTHER THINGS WITH GOOGLE NOW AND IT IS DOING SOME COOL THINGS, BUT YOU KNOW YOUTUBE DOESN'T HAVE ANY MOMENTUM RIGHT NOW, GOOGLE SEARCH DOESN'T HAVE MOMENTUM RIGHT NOW, YOU KNOW, TWITTER IS ACTUALLY A BETTER SEARCH ENGINE. I USE TWITTER PROBABLY TEN TIMES MORE AS A SEARCH ENGINE THAN I USE GOOGLE RIGHT NOW. BECAUSE I AM MORE OFTEN LOOKING FOR CURRENT THINGS AND CURRENT INSIGHTS ABOUT WHAT I'M DOING NOW. SO, YOU KNOW I THINK MAYBE THINGS ARE CHANGING FOR GOOGLE AND THOSE ARE THE TYPES OF CHANGES I LOOK FOR WHEN I MAKE A TRADE.
LEE: SO IS THIS A PAIR TRADE, MARK? ARE YOU GOING SHORT GOOGLE, LONG TWITTER?
CUBAN: NO, NO, NO. I'M NOT READY TO GO LONG TWITTER AT ALL. I MEAN, I THINK TWITTER HAS GOT SOME REAL CHALLENGES. I THINK WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN WITH TWITTER IS THAT THEY HAVE A PLATFORM WHERE THEY CAN DRAMATICALLY INCREASE REVENUE. BUT IT IS ALMOST GOING TO BE LIKE THE ANTI-YAHOO IN SOME RESPECTS WHERE YAHOO'S GOT A BOAT LOAD OF TRAFFIC, BUT DOESN'T REALLY HAVE OBVIOUS WAYS TO INCREASE REVENUE. TWITTER ON THE OTHER HAND, HAS GOT A STABLE USER BASE, IT'S NOT GROWN ALL THAT RAPIDLY, USAGE ISN'T GROWING ALL THAT RAPIDLY, BUT BY ADDING VIDEO LIKE THEY HAVE DONE, BY IMPROVING THEIR SEARCH AND REALLY FOCUSING MORE ON WHAT PEOPLE CAN DO WITH SEARCH, THEY CAN INCREASE THEIR REVENUE YOU KNOW, ALMOST AS MUCH AS THEY WANT TO. SO YOU KNOW, IF YOU SEE THAT AS A TRADE, THAT IS A POSSIBILITY. BUT I DON'T THAT THAT IS A REASON FOR ME TO JUST JUMP IN AND BUY IT BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO GET IN THERE AND TRADE EVERY DAY.
GUY ADAMI: HEY MARK, LET'S TALK SOMETHING YOU ARE OBVIOUSLY PASSIONATE ABOUT – YOUR TEAM. NOWITZKI IS AGELESS, TYSON CHANDLER'S PLAYING – HE IS REJUVINATED. AND THE RONDO TRADE WAS BRILLIANT. I KNOW YOU ARE GOING TO SAY YES, BUT CAN YOU CHALLENGE IN THE WEST AND CAN YOU MAKE IT TO THE NBA FINALS AGAIN?
CUBAN: I MEAN, I NEVER MAKE PREDICTIONS, BUT I THINK WE HAVE GOT A SQUAD THAT – YOU KNOW, WE HAVE GOT TO KEEP ON GETTING BETTER, WE HAVEN'T PLAYED TOGETHER ENOUGH. I MEAN, YOU KNOW, THE TEAMS THAT HAVE BEEN HOT – DETROIT, AND ATLANTA – WE HAVEN'T BEEN GETTING UP FOR. SO WE'VE GOT TO GET THAT PISS AND VINEAGAR IN US A LITTLE BIT MORE. YOU KNOW, WHEN WE PLAYED OKLAHOMA CITY, WE GOT IT. AND SO I THINK WE ARE STILL DEVELOPING OUR IDENTITY I GUESS IS WHAT I'M SAYING. AND AS WE GET THROUGH THAT, I THINK WE WILL HAVE A BETTER FEEL. BUT DO WE HAVE THE TALENT TO DO IT? ABSOLUTELY. DO WE HAVE THE GUYS WITH THE HEART TO DO IT? ABSOLUTELY. DO WE HAVE THE TEAM CHEMISTRY? ABSOLUTELY. NOW WE JUST GOT TO DO IT, RIGHT? THAT IS WHAT TEAMS ARE ALL ABOUT.
LEE: MARK, THANKS SO MUCH FOR PHONING IN. WE DO APPRECIATE IT.
CUBAN: CONGRATULATIONS YOU GUYS. I KNOW I GIVE YOU A HARD TIME, I LOVE TO WATCH THE SHOW. IT'S A GREAT SHOW. CONGRATS ON EIGHT YEARS.
LEE: THANK YOU, MARK CUBAN.
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