CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Monday said that this week’s economic data releases and retailer earnings reports will give important insights into the state of the American consumer and, in turn, inflation.
“This week is a referendum on the consumer,” he said.
The “Mad Money” host said he’s watching for the release of the Federal Reserve’s July meeting notes on Wednesday, since that will shed more light on the central bank’s plans for future interest rate increases.
He also said he’s watching for retail sales numbers this week to glean more information about whether inflation can continue to come down.
“Only way inflation can keep coming down is to stop the endless buying,” Cramer said.
However, he said this week’s earnings will reveal more about the state of the consumer than macroeconomic data. All earnings and revenue estimates are courtesy of FactSet.
Tuesday: Walmart, Home Depot
- Q2 2023 earnings release at 7 a.m. ET; conference call at 8 a.m. ET
- Projected EPS: $1.62
- Projected revenue: $150.99 billion
- Q2 2022 earnings release at 6 a.m. ET; conference call at 9 a.m. ET
- Projected EPS: $4.95
- Projected revenue: $43.36 billion
Wednesday: Lowe’s, Target, Analog Devices, TJX Companies, Cisco
- Q2 2022 earnings release at 6 a.m. ET; conference call at 9 a.m. ET
- Projected EPS: $4.58
- Projected revenue: $28.12 billion
- Q2 2022 earnings release at 6:30 a.m. ET; conference call at 8 a.m. ET
- Projected EPS: 79 cents
- Projected revenue: $26.03 billion
“For the longest time, Home Depot was better than Lowe’s, and Walmart was better than Target. Now, Home Depot’s better for professionals and Lowe’s is better for do-it-yourself-ers. To me, that means own Home Depot and avoid Lowe’s,” Cramer said.
- Q3 2022 earnings release at 7 a.m. ET; conference call at 10 a.m. ET
- Projected EPS: $2.43
- Projected revenue: $3.06 billion
Cramer recommended that investors own the semiconductor play.
- Q2 2023 earnings release at 9:30 a.m. ET; conference call at 11 a.m. ET
- Projected EPS: 67 cents
- Projected revenue: $12.05 billion
Cramer suggested that investors pick up some shares of TJX, which operates stores including T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, after it reports, since discount retailers tend to do well when regular retailers need to dump their excess inventory.
- Q4 2022 earnings release at 4:05 p.m. ET; conference call at 4:30 p.m. ET
- Projected EPS: 82 cents
- Projected revenue: $12.73 billion
Cisco’s stock will spike if there’s any good news on the quarter, Cramer predicted, adding that he expects the stock to hold at its current level even on bad news due to its dividend.
Thursday: Kohl’s, Estee Lauder
- Q2 2022 earnings release at 7 a.m. ET; conference call at 9 a.m. ET
- Projected EPS: $1.12
- Projected revenue: $3.95 billion
Cramer said he’s looking to see if the company will slip into irrelevancy or show a sign that it’s changing for the better.
- Q4 2022 earnings release between 6:30 a.m. and 6:45 a.m. ET; conference call at 9:30 a.m. ET
- Projected EPS: 32 cents
- Projected revenue: $3.42 billion
He said he’s watching for news on whether the company will buy Tom Ford.
Friday: Deere
- Q3 2022 earnings release at 6:45 a.m. ET; conference call at 10 a.m. ET
- Projected EPS: $6.65
- Projected revenue: $12.93 billion
Cramer said he’s worried that supply chain problems that Deere and other companies might be facing will be a hurdle in the Fed’s fight to tamp down inflation.
Cramer’s Charitable Trust owns shares of Cisco.
