Real earnings season begins next week, Jim Cramer told his Mad Money viewers Friday. That is when we will begin to see the real impacts of inflation and economic reopening. Sure, inflation is negative, Cramer said, but the reopening is so strong it will probably take us out.
Cramer’s game plan begins Monday, when we get Coca-Cola winnings (KO) – Get the report, United Airlines (UAL) – Get the report and IBM (IBM) – Get the report. Coca-Cola has no snack business, but it should do well to reopen restaurants. United will win as the journey resumes. As for IBM, it’s still too early to tell if the business is spinning.
Then on Tuesday, Cramer was bullish at Abbott Laboratories (ABT) – Get the report and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) – Get the report, who said he was unjustly punished. Procter & Gamble (PG) – Get the report it faces difficult comparisons with rising inflation. But Netflix (NFLX) – Get the report it should frankly exceed expectations of what Cramer called the funniest conference of the season.
Wednesday gets Verizon gains (VZ) – Get the report, but Cramer preferred T-Mobile (TMUS) – Get the report. It has positive things to say about Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) – Get the report and Lam Research (LRCX) – Get the report.
On Thursday, we’ll be listening to Cramer’s favorites, Union Pacific (UNP) – Get the report, Dow Chemical (DOW) – Get the report, Danaher (Sr.) – Get the report, Nucor (New) – Get the report and Boston beer (SAM) – Get the report. The only negative of the day, Intel (INTC) – Get the report, which Cramer said should only be bought for weakness.
Finally, on Friday, the week ends with more Honeywell bullish news (SHE) – Get the report and American Express (AXP) – Get the report, along with a day of Bristol-Myers Squibb analysts (BMY) – Get the report, all in all it should be fantastic.
Cramer and the AAP team are looking from earnings and politics to the Federal Reserve. Find out what they tell the members of the investment club and join the conversation with a free trial subscription to Action Alerts Plus.
Executive decision: Metromile
In his first “Executive Decision” segment, Cramer spoke with Dan Preston, CEO of Metromile MILE, the digital insurance provider customers pay for their car insurance per mile instead of a standard flat rate.
Preston told Metromile that insurance is tailored to each person and that low-mileage customers can discount up to 47% of traditional fixed fares.
Traditional insurance is a staple, Preston added, which is why insurance companies spend billions to keep their name in mind. At Metromile, most of your business comes from referrals, which drastically reduces your cost. The product experience speaks for itself.
Executive decision: QuantumScape
For his second “Executive Decision” segment, Cramer also spoke with Jagdeep Singh, president and CEO of QuantumScape (QS) – Get the report, the manufacturer of solid-state batteries that was the subject of fire by a research company, Scorpion Capital, which characterized the company as a “pump and discharge” scam. QuantumScape immediately responded to Scorpion’s allegations, responding to all of its concerns.
Singh said QuantumScape has always been very transparent about what they have and the work that still remains to be done. He said that while they have solved some of the major problems that kept batteries in a solid state so far, they have only been able to produce single-layer, four-layer cells. They have to keep working to produce cells with dozens of layers.
Singh cited the Volkswagen (VLKAY) $ 100 million recent investment as proof that your business is real. He said the investment with VW required his cells to exceed certain milestones and recently sent cells to Germany that exceeded those milestones.
When asked about his opinion of Scorpion Capital, Singh politely pointed out that short sellers invest in high-value stocks and try to reduce them, so it’s no surprise that they become a target. He noted that nothing in his 188-page report was original research and that most “was simply absurd.”
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Off the tape: the zebra
In the “Off The Charts” segment, Cramer consulted with his colleague Keith Melnick the chart of Zebra Technologies, an insurance comparison service.
Melnick, who came from the Kayak Travel Comparison Service, said there are many similarities between the two industries. He said they were both fragmented, complicated and opaque in the way they value their services.
Before The Zebra, people were forced to waste time buying multiple vendor websites or shopping on lead generation websites that offer comparisons to just a handful of sellers. Melnick said The Zebra took a long time to resolve the issue and that his company now maintains relationships with hundreds of companies across the country.
China-US tensions
In his “No Huddle Offense” segment, Cramer commented on the deteriorating US-China relations. He said that when President Biden took office, everyone, including him, expected relations to cool and diplomacy to prevail. But so far, Biden has not backed down from any of Trump’s tough stances on China.
The remaining point remains Taiwan, which has enjoyed autonomy but not absolute independence from China. In recent months, tensions over Taiwan have risen as two superpowers fight for relevance and dominance.
This is a worrying trend, concluded Cramer, who has no end in sight.
Round Lightning
Here’s what Jim Cramer said about some of the actions callers offered during the “Mad Money Lightning Round” Friday night:
Lithia Motors (A LOT) – Get the report: “This is a stock of smoking. I would buy it right here.”
World wrestling entertainment (WWE) – Get the report: “This is a very well run company. I think you are in good hands.”
Innovative industrial properties (IIPR) – Get the report: “I’m a big believer in this.”
Fiverr International (FVRR) – Get the report: “I’m a giant believer in business, but stocks are pretty expensive. I’ll bless you, along with Wix.com (WIX) – Get the report. “
Advanced (UPST) – Get the report: “This is hugely short. People try to bring it down all the time. I think it’s a good situation.”
United Natural Foods (UNFI) – Get the report: “This stock is moving. I would wait for it to cool down.”
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At the time of publication, Cramer’s Action Alerts PLUS had a position in HON, ABT.