Cramer’s week ahead: There could be ‘real signs’ for the Fed to slow down

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Friday said that next week’s jam-packed week of earnings and economic data releases could result in good news for the Federal Reserve’s battle against inflation.

“This market’s trading like next week, we’ll see some real signs that the Fed’s winning its war on inflation, and they can, therefore, ease up on the rate hikes going forward… I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the market got it exactly right,” he said.

Cramer named two important economic events he’s watching next week: the FOMC’s next meeting, which is expected to conclude with a 0.75 percentage point interest rate increase, and the nonfarm payroll report.

“You can’t get a reduction in wages until you see many people losing their jobs, and that’s what the Fed needs to see,” he said.

Cramer also previewed next week’s slate of earnings. All earnings and revenue estimates are courtesy of FactSet.

Tuesday: Eli Lilly, Uber, Devon Energy, AMD

Eli Lilly

• Q3 2022 earnings release at 6:25 a.m. ET; conference call at 9 a.m. ET
• Projected EPS: $1.91
• Projected revenue: $6.89 billion

The company has the chance to shine now that health care stocks are some of the new market leaders, he said.

Uber

• Q3 2022 earnings release at 7:05 a.m. ET; conference call at 8 a.m. ET
• Projected loss: loss of 18 cents per share
• Projected revenue: $8.11 billion

Cramer said that if the company reports that there are plenty of drivers but customers can’t afford rides, that’ll be great news for the Federal Reserve.

Devon Energy

• Q3 2022 earnings release at 4:05 p.m. ET; conference call on Wednesday at 11 a.m. ET
• Projected EPS: $2.12
• Projected revenue: $4.16 billion

While the company is doing well, investors shouldn’t buy shares of oil companies when the economy is weakening, he warned.

AMD

• Q3 2022 earnings release at 4:15 p.m. ET; conference call at 5 p.m. ET
• Projected EPS: 70 cents
• Projected revenue: $5.69 billion

Cramer said he’s interested in knowing if AMD is losing market share to Intel.

Wednesday: Humana, CVS, Qualcomm

Humana

• Q3 2022 earnings release at 6:30 a.m. ET; conference call at 9 a.m. ET
• Projected EPS: $6.27
• Projected revenue: $22.82 billion

CVS

• Q3 2022 earnings release at 6:30 a.m. ET; conference call at 8 a.m. ET
• Projected EPS: $2
• Projected revenue: $76.74 billion

“I fear that CVS is considered a Covid play. Humana is a post-Covid darling,” Cramer said.

Qualcomm

• Q4 2022 earnings release at 4 p.m. ET; conference call at 4:45 p.m. ET
• Projected EPS: $3.14
• Projected revenue: $11.33 billion

He said he wouldn’t be surprised if the stock went up even on a guidance cut, given how much shares of Qualcomm have declined this year.

Thursday: Starbucks, PayPal, DoorDash

Starbucks

• Q4 2022 earnings release at 4:05 p.m. ET; conference call at 5 p.m. ET
• Projected EPS: 72 cents
• Projected revenue: $8.32 billion

He said he expects the company to report a solid quarter.

PayPal

• Q3 2022 earnings release at 4:15 p.m. ET; conference call at 5:30 p.m. ET
• Projected EPS: 96 cents
• Projected revenue: $6.81 billion

“I think PayPal has a chance to regroup here, as their flagging days have probably ended,” Cramer said.

DoorDash

• Q3 2022 earnings release at 4:05 p.m. ET; conference call at 5 p.m. ET
• Projected loss: loss of 59 cents per share
• Projected revenue: $1.63 billion

He said that DoorDash is “inviting skepticism” since people aren’t getting their food delivered as frequently as they did during the height of the Covid pandemic.

Disclaimer: Cramer’s Charitable Trust owns shares of Eli Lilly, Devon Energy, AMD, Humana, Qualcomm and Starbucks.