Cramer’s week ahead: Retail giants report earnings, stay away from ‘toxic’ stocks

CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Friday that he’s breathing a sigh of relief as beaten-down stocks ‘have already taken enough hits,’ allowing investors to trade in a safer environment next week –  though they still need to tread carefully.

“When we’ve been beaten down to these levels, we reach a point where stocks that would normally be clubbed have already taken enough hits, and that alone has allowed them to have at least a short covering rebound, which is what today might have been,” the “Mad Money” host said.

“Many stocks have finally come down to the point where it’s safe to be constructive, as long as you stay away from the most toxic areas, so I’m breathing a sigh of relief here,” he added.

Stocks rose on Friday to conclude a volatile week of trading, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 1.47% while the S&P 500 increased 2.39%. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 3.82%.

Cramer noted he is watching for St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard’s comments on inflation next week.

“He’s a hawk’s hawk — he’s also my kind of hawk. Bullard knows it is only going to get harder to break the cycle of inflation if the Fed doesn’t act decisively right now,” Cramer said.

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

Monday: Weber, Warby Parker

Weber

• Q2 2022 earnings release before the bell; conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET
• Projected EPS: 18 cents
• Projected revenue: $659 million

Warby Parker 

• Q1 2022 earnings release before the bell; conference call at 8 a.m. ET
• Projected EPS: $0
• Projected revenue: $154 million

Cramer said that both Weber’s and Warby Parker’s earnings will reveal the market’s sentiment toward companies that recently went public.

Tuesday: Home Depot, Walmart

Home Depot

• Q1 2022 earnings release at 6 a.m. ET; conference call at 9 a.m. ET
• Projected EPS: $3.69
• Projected revenue: $36.7 billion

Walmart

• Q1 2023 earnings release at 7 a.m. ET; conference call at 8 a.m. ET
• Projected EPS: $1.48
• Projected revenue: $138.84 billion

Wednesday: Lowe’s, Target, Cisco

Lowe’s 

• Q1 2022 earnings release at 6 a.m. ET; conference call at 9 a.m. ET
• Projected EPS: $3.22
• Projected revenue: $23.77 billion

Target 

• Q1 2022 earnings release before the bell; conference call at 8 a.m. ET
• Projected EPS: $3.07
• Projected revenue: $24.46 billion

“[The market’s] so beat up that all of them might work here. I see these retail stocks as barometers of the consumer,” Cramer said of Home Depot, Walmart, Lowe’s and Target.

Cisco

• Q3 2022 earnings release at 4:05 p.m. ET; conference call at 4:30 p.m. ET
• Projected EPS: 86 cents
• Projected revenue: $13.34 billion

“In order for this one to work, the company needs to speed up its shift from hardware to software, or else the stock is going to get clobbered,” Cramer said.

Thursday: Kohl’s, Palo Alto Networks

Kohl’s 

• Q1 2022 earnings release at 7 a.m. ET; conference call at 9 a.m. ET
• Projected EPS: 71 cents
• Projected revenue: $3.68 billion

“I think this could be a three-down, ten-up situation because the stock’s fallen so far from its highs,” Cramer said. “I like those odds.”

Palo Alto Networks 

• Q3 2022 earnings release after the close; conference call at 4:30 p.m. ET
• Projected EPS: $1.68
• Projected revenue: $1.36 billion

Cramer said he thinks the company could be “the single best story of the week.”

Friday: Deere

• Q2 2022 earnings release before the bell; conference call at 10 a.m. ET
• Projected EPS: $6.69
• Projected revenue: $13.23 billion

Deere stock “tends to react poorly to the headlines and then rebound at the end of the conference call,” Cramer noted. “Patience is a virtue.”

Disclosure: Cramer’s Charitable Trust owns shares of Cisco and Walmart.