Trade Tracker: Kevin Simspon buys Eagle Materials, TopBuild Corp and sells Caterpillar and RTX

Watch on YouTube ↗  |  January 23, 2026 at 18:15  |  4:08  |  CNBC
Speakers
Kevin Simpson — Investment Committee Member
Scott Wapner — Host, CNBC

Summary

Kevin Simpson, founder and CIO of Capital Wealth Planning, joins CNBC's Halftime Report to detail his latest growth-strategy trades. He bought Eagle Materials and TopBuild as building-products suppliers tied to the multi-year buildout and AI-adjacent data-center spending, and he pitched QXO as a proven-compounder consolidation story. He also sold covered calls on Caterpillar and RTX to harvest volatility, while the panel discussed broadening market themes including infrastructure and materials.

  • Kevin Simpson bought Eagle Materials (EXP) and TopBuild for the building-products/supplier theme.
  • He sees the building sector as a strong multi-year opportunity set, with suppliers benefiting from the buildout.
  • He pitched QXO as a consolidation story led by a proven compounder with XPO, GXO and United Rentals experience.
  • Simpson sold covered calls on Caterpillar to harvest volatility in a hot AI-adjacent sector.
  • He sold a covered call on RTX to monetize event-driven single-stock volatility.
  • Panel discussion touched on broadening market leadership, transports and possible factory/infrastructure spending.
  • The transcript cuts off during Simpson's explanation of the RTX covered call.
Ideas
Kevin Simpson Investment Committee Member 0:12
Buying building materials supplier for AI buildout.
Simpson says Eagle Materials is a new buy in his growth strategy. It is a US-focused building materials manufacturer that expands the portfolio beyond residential Home Depot exposure into multifamily and commercial. He likes the concrete and supply business tied to data centers and infrastructure, noting the stock trades at 17 times forward earnings and generates lots of free cash flow. He views materials companies as AI-adjacent beneficiaries of the buildout and does not think he is late.
Kevin Simpson Investment Committee Member 1:11
Buying insulation supplier for building sector growth.
TopBuild is another new buy under the same building-products theme. Simpson says it focuses more on insulation, has somewhat higher multiples, and offers a very strong opportunity set in the building sector. He expects suppliers to be tremendous beneficiaries if the multi-year buildout occurs.
Kevin Simpson Investment Committee Member 1:22
Liking building suppliers amid multi-year buildout.
Simpson says he likes the building sector a lot and sees a very strong opportunity set there. He expects suppliers to be tremendous beneficiaries if the multi-year buildout happens, making this a growth-strategy theme outside the Mag Eight.
Kevin Simpson Investment Committee Member 2:10
Betting on proven compounder's consolidation story.
Simpson presents QXO as another growth-strategy name. The thesis is a consolidation story run by a proven compounder who takes inefficiencies out of the companies he buys, as he did with XPO, GXO and United Rentals. The stock has hit a new high and Simpson thinks it can continue to move.
Kevin Simpson Investment Committee Member 3:30
Selling covered calls to harvest volatility.
Simpson sold a covered call on Caterpillar. He says CAT stays with his AI-adjacent theme and was the number-one performer in the Dow last year. The covered call is a way to harvest volatility surrounding a very hot sector; the stock pulled back since he wrote the call, making the trade look smart so far.
Kevin Simpson Investment Committee Member 3:34
Selling covered calls on presidential-tweet volatility.
Simpson sold a covered call on RTX to harvest event-driven volatility. He points to single-stock risk when a president tweets or posts about individual companies, which creates extra volatility around the shares. He uses the covered call to monetize that volatility, though the transcript cuts off before he completes the explanation.
Up Next

This CNBC video, published January 23, 2026, features Kevin Simpson discussing EXP, BLD, Building materials suppliers, QXO, CAT, RTX. 6 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.

Speakers: Kevin Simpson  · Tickers: EXP, BLD, Building materials suppliers, QXO, CAT, RTX