Next week marks the start of the real earning season, Jim Cramer told his Mad Money viewers on Friday. That’s when we start to see the true impact of inflation and the economic reopening. Inflation is certainly negative, Cramer said, but the reopening is so strong it’s likely to help us.
Cramer’s game plan starts Monday, when we get revenue from Coca-Cola KO) – Request report, United Airlines UAL) – Request report and IBM IBM) – Request reportCoke doesn’t have a snacking business, but should do well when restaurants reopen. United will win when the journey resumes. As for IBM, it’s too early to tell if things are turning.
Subsequently, Cramer was optimistic about Abbott Laboratories on Tuesday ABBOT) – Request report and Johnson & Johnson JNJ) – Request report, which he said was unfairly punished. Procter & Gamble PG) – Request report faces difficult comparisons with rising inflation. But Netflix NFLX) – Request report should frankly exceed expectations of what Cramer called the most fun conference call of the season.
Wednesday will generate revenue for Verizon VZ) – Request report, but Cramer preferred T-Mobile TMUS) – Request reportHe has positive things to say about Chipotle Mexican Grill CMG) – Request report and Lam Research LRCX) – Request report
Then we’ll hear from Cramer favorites Union Pacific on Thursday UNP) – Request report, Dow Chemical DOW) – Request report, Danaher Mr.) – Request report, Nucor Naked) – Request report and Boston Beer SAM) – Request reportThe only negative of the day, Intel INTC) – Request report, which Cramer said should only be bought for weakness.
Finally, on Friday, the week ends with more bullish news from Honeywell THEY) – Request report and American Express AXP) – Request report, along with a Bristol-Myers Squibb analyst day BMY) – Request report, all of which should be fantastic.
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Executive decision: Metromile
In his first “Executive Decision” segment, Cramer spoke with Dan Preston, CEO of Metromile MILE, the digital insurance company whose customers pay for their car insurance per mile instead of a flat standard rate.
Preston said at Metromile that insurance is tailor-made for the individual, and low mileage customers can get up to 47% off traditional flat rates.
Traditional insurance is a commodity, Preston added, which is why insurance companies spend billions to keep their name high. At Metromile, most of their business comes from referrals, which drastically cuts their costs. The product experience speaks for itself.
Executive decision: QuantumScape
For his second “Executive Decision” segment, Cramer also spoke with Jagdeep Singh, Chairman and CEO of QuantumScape QS) – Request report, the manufacturer of solid-state batteries that has come under fire from a research firm, Scorpion Capital, which has characterized the company as a “pump-and-dump” scam. QuantumScape immediately responded to Scorpion’s allegations and answered all of their concerns at length.
Singh said QuantumScape has always been very transparent about what they have and the work that remains to be done. He said that while they solved some of the major problems that had held solid-state batteries to date, they could only produce single-layer and four-layer cells. They have to keep working to produce cells with tens of layers.
Singh mentioned Volkswagen’s VLKAY recent investment of $ 100 million as proof that his company really exists. He said the investment with VW requires their cells to meet certain milestones and they recently sent cells to Germany that have passed those milestones.
When asked for his opinion on Scorpion Capital, Singh politely noted that short sellers invest in high-value stocks and try to downsize them, so he’s not surprised they became a target. He noted that nothing in their 188-page report was original research and most of it was “just absurd.”
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Off the Tape: The Zebra
In the “Off The Charts” segment, Cramer checked with colleague Keith Melnick on the chart from Zebra Technologies, an insurance comparison service.
Melnick, who was from the travel comparison service Kayak, said there are many similarities between the two industries. He said both were fragmented, complicated, and opaque in the price of their services.
Before The Zebra, people were forced to waste time shopping at multiple carrier websites, or to shop at lead generation websites that offer comparisons from just a handful of suppliers. Melnick said it took The Zebra a long time to resolve the issue and that his company now has relationships with hundreds of carriers across the country.
Tensions between China and the US.
In his “No Huddle Offense” segment, Cramer took the view of 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 reversed any of Trump’s harsh positions on China.
The bottleneck remains Taiwan, which has enjoyed autonomy but is not completely independent from China. Tensions over Taiwan have intensified in recent months as two superpowers battle for relevance and dominance.
This is a worrying trend, Cramer concluded, one without end in sight.
Lightning round
Here’s what Jim Cramer had to say about some of the stocks that callers offered during Friday night’s “Mad Money Lightning Round”:
Lithia Motors BOY) – Request report: “This is a good stock. I would buy it here.”
World Wrestling Entertainment WWE) – Request report: “This is a very well run company. I think you are in good hands.”
Innovative industrial properties IIPR) – Request report: “I’m a big supporter of it.”
Fiverr International FVRR) – Request report: “I have a huge belief in the company, but the stock is pretty expensive. I’ll bless it, along with Wix.com WIX) – Request report
Upstart ABOVE) – Request report: “This is hugely shorted. People are trying to take it down all the time. I think it’s a good situation.”
United Natural Foods UNFI) – Request report: “This stock is in a tremendous movement. I would wait for it to cool.”
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At the time of publication, Cramer’s Action Alerts PLUS held a position in HON, ABT.