CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Friday urged investors to make careful, considered decisions regarding their portfolios when the brand new earnings season kicks off next week.
“It is a pivotal week. First of three. Be in your toes. Hearken to the calls. Don’t take any motion unless you are certain. It’s extremely hard to make certain about anything that is just reported,” he said, reiterating a few of his five rules for earnings season.
The highly anticipated earnings season will see the most important corporations in tech, retail and consumer goods report their quarterly financial results.
Cramer previewed the slate of quarterly reports. All estimates for earnings, revenue and economic data are courtesy of FactSet.
Tuesday: General Electric, 3M, Union Pacific, Microsoft
General Electric
- Q4 2022 earnings release at 6:30 a.m. ET; conference call at 8 a.m. ET
- Projected EPS: $1.15
- Projected revenue: $21.25 billion
The corporate should “show us why we’d wish to be in its energy division. That is the following spinoff after health care, but all we actually need is the booming aerospace business,” he said.
3M
- Q4 2022 earnings release at 6:30 a.m. ET; conference call at 9 a.m. ET
- Projected EPS: $2.37
- Projected revenue: $8.04 billion
Cramer said that 3M’s roughly 5% dividend yield is not enough, considering the litigation risk from lawsuits against the corporate.
Union Pacific
- Q4 2022 earnings release at 7:45 a.m. ET; conference call at 8:45 a.m. ET
- Projected EPS: $2.78
- Projected revenue: $6.31 billion
The corporate’s earnings call should give insight into the state of American commerce, Cramer said.
Microsoft
- Q2 2023 earnings release at 4:05 p.m. ET; conference call at 5:30 p.m. ET
- Projected EPS: $2.30
- Projected revenue: $53.13 billion
Investors will “learn whether those layoffs Microsoft announced this week are grounded in disappointment or prudence,” he said.
Wednesday: Boeing, IBM, ServiceNow
Boeing
- Q4 2022 earnings release at 7:30 a.m. ET; conference call at 10:30 a.m. ET
- Projected EPS: 22 cents
- Projected revenue: $20.24 billion
Cramer said he expects a solid quarter from the corporate.
IBM
- Q4 2022 earnings release at 4:08 p.m. ET; conference call at 5 p.m. ET
- Projected EPS: $3.59
- Projected revenue: $16.13 billion
He said he likes the stock going into the quarter since it’s a defensive play with a powerful 4.7% yield.
ServiceNow
- Q4 2022 earnings release at 4:10 p.m. ET; conference call at 5 p.m. ET
- Projected EPS: $2.02
- Projected revenue: $1.94 billion
The earnings call will show whether beaten-down enterprise software stocks will discover a reprieve this 12 months, he said.
Thursday: Dow, Southwest Airlines
Dow
- Q4 2022 earnings release at 6 a.m. ET; conference call at 8 a.m. ET
- Projected EPS: 58 cents
- Projected revenue: $12.05 billion
Cramer said the corporate’s stock “looks like a buy.”
Southwest Airlines
- Q4 2022 earnings release at 6:30 a.m. ET; conference call at 12:30 p.m. ET
- Projected loss: 7 cents per share
- Projected revenue: $6.22 billion
The corporate isn’t any longer one in all the best-run airlines, he said.
Friday: American Express
- Q4 2022 earnings release at 7 a.m. ET; conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET
- Projected EPS: $2.23
- Projected revenue: $14.23 billion
“American Express is a terrific ‘life-is-too-short’ play,” he said.
Disclaimer: Cramer’s Charitable Trust owns shares of Microsoft.
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