Earnings season is in full swing on Wall Street, and CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Monday that investors would be wise to take a wait-and-see approach to stocks of companies that will report quarterly numbers.
“In this environment, it’s always going to be fragile on the upside and light on the downside because the bears … have the upper hand. Just be aware that you should never buy this market when it’s up. It’s a fool’s game .I want you to wait for weakness like we had [Monday] before you ever pull the trigger,” the “Mad Money” host said from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, the show’s new broadcast home.
“If you’re thinking of buying something that’s going to be reported, why not wait until you hear what they have to say?” Kramer continued. He pointed to IBM as a prime example.
As of Monday’s close, IBM was one of only seven stocks in the 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average to be higher from a year ago. However, shares fell nearly 4% in extended trading on Monday after the company lowered its cash forecast for 2022, even as its second-quarter results beat on the top and bottom lines.
“If you bought it before the quarter, you rolled the dice in a casino that isn’t blind-roll friendly,” Cramer said.
With that in mind, Cramer predicted a number of other big earnings reports that are scheduled for the rest of this week. All revenue and earnings estimates are provided by FactSet.
Tuesday: J&J, Halliburton, Lockheed Martin and Netflix
Johnson & Johnson
- Q2 Earnings Release 6:45 AM ET; conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET
- Estimated EPS: $2.54
- Estimated sales: $23.77 billion
Cramer, whose Charitable Trust owns shares of J&J, said he expects to see good numbers from the pharmaceutical giant even as the company works to split itself into two different entities. He noted that J&J shares have lagged peers this year, including Bristol-Myers Squibb and Merck.
Halliburton
- Q2 earnings release before the bell; conference call at 9 a.m. ET
- Estimated EPS: 45 cents
- Estimated revenue: $4.7 billion
“Halliburton’s earnings are growing, yet its stock is crushed. … I think it’s time to reevaluate this and realize that earnings could be big for Halliburton not tomorrow, but for years to come,” he said. Cramer.
Lockheed Martin
- Q2 earnings release before opening; conference call at 11:00 a.m. ET
- Estimated EPS: $1.88
- Estimated sales: $15.98 billion
Netflix
- Release of second quarter earnings after the close; conference call at 6 p.m. ET
- Estimated EPS: $2.95
- Estimated revenue: $8.03 billion
Cramer said he hopes to hear a more “thoughtful” earnings call from management after this quarterly print, compared to the streaming giant’s weak first-quarter report. In particular, Cramer said investors want more information on Netflix’s recent deal with Microsoft, which is part of Netflix’s development of an ad-supported subscription tier.
Wednesday: Abbott Labs and Tesla
Abbott Laboratories
- Q2 earnings release before opening; conference call at 9 a.m. ET
- Estimated EPS: $1.12
- Estimated sales: $10.29 billion
Tesla
- Second Quarter Earnings After the Bell; conference call at 5:30 pm ET
- Estimated EPS: $1.81
- Estimated revenue: $16.52 billion
Cramer said he believes Tesla’s earnings report is the most important this week. “The ratings are all over the place. There are a lot of sell ratings and just as many buys. [CEO Elon] Musk is still expanding like crazy. … However, if Tesla can beat even the lowest estimates, the stock goes much higher.”
Thursday: AT&T, Freeport-McMoRan, Dow Inc., Union Pacific, DR Horton, Snap, Mattel and Boston Beer
AT&T
- Q2 earnings release before the bell; conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET
- Estimated EPS: 61 cents
- Estimated revenue: $29.53 billion
Freeport-McMoRan
- Q2 earnings release before opening; conference call at 10:00 a.m. ET
- Estimated EPS: 64 cents
- Estimated sales: $6.14 billion
Dow Inc.
- Q2 earnings release at 6 a.m. ET; conference call at 8 a.m. ET
- Estimated EPS: $2.14
- Estimated sales: $15.55 billion
Cramer said chemical firm Dow Inc., along with copper miner Freeport-McMoRan, should provide insight into the trajectory of economic growth.
Pacific Union
- Q2 earnings release at 7:45 a.m. ET; conference call at 8:45 a.m. ET
- Estimated EPS: $2.85
- Estimated revenue: $6.13 billion
Cramer said he is concerned that railroad operator Union Pacific may be warning of a slowdown in its business.
DR Horton
- Q3 earnings release at 6:30 a.m. ET; conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET
- Estimated EPS: $4.49
- Estimated sales: $8.81 billion
As with Union Pacific, Cramer said he is concerned that homebuilder DR Horton may be warning of a slowdown in cancellations. “House deals are not closing; trust in the house [is] down big. Rising mortgage rates tend to do that,” he said.
Snap
- Second Quarter Earnings After the Bell; conference call at 5 pm ET
- Estimated EPS: loss of 20 cents
- Estimated revenue: $1.14 billion
Mattel
- Release of second quarter earnings after the close; conference call at 5 pm ET
- Estimated EPS: 6 cents
- Estimated sales: $1.1 billion
Boston beer
- Q2 earnings release after the bell; conference call at 5 pm ET
- Estimated EPS: $4.61
- Estimated revenue: $612 million
The parent of Sam Adams and Truly has struggled recently thanks to a slowdown in hard seltzer sales, and Cramer said he’s expecting more of the same with this edition. He said he prefers shares of Corona parent Constellation Brands, which his Charitable Trust owns, to Boston Beer.
Friday: American Express, Verizon, Schlumberger and Twitter
American Express
- Q2 earnings release at 7 a.m. ET; conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET
- Estimated EPS: $2.42
- Estimated sales: $12.51 billion
Cramer said he expects spending from small businesses and consumers to help American Express report solid results.
Verizon
- Q2 earnings release at 7:30 a.m. ET; conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET
- Estimated EPS: $1.22
- Estimated revenue: $33.73 billion
Schlumberger
- Q2 earnings release at 7 a.m. ET; conference call 9:30 a.m. ET
- Estimated EPS: 40 cents
- Estimated sales: $6.28 billion
Cramer said he expects good numbers from oilfield services provider Schlumberger, as he does with Halliburton.
I tweet
- Q2 earnings release at 8 a.m. ET; no conference call is scheduled
- Estimated EPS: 15 cents
- Estimated revenue: $1.33 billion
Twitter is not holding a conference call to discuss its second-quarter numbers, citing the “pending acquisition” by an entity linked to Elon Musk. The two parties are currently engaged in a legal relationship regarding the agreement.
Disclosure: Cramer’s Charitable Trust owns shares of HAL, JNJ, MSFT and STZ.
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