Our economy may be in lockdown, but our elected officials are pulling out all the stops, Jim Cramer told his Mad Money viewers Thursday. Right after we learned that 6.6 million people filed for unemployment, the Federal Reserve announced another round of stimulus to help keep money flowing to people and businesses who need it. Unlike 2008, when the government was asleep at the wheel, this time, the feds are thinking big and acting big.
With the markets closed Friday ahead of the Easter holiday, Cramer laid out his game plan for next week’s action.
He said all eyes will be on the latest COVID-19 numbers on Monday. But on Tuesday, earnings will begin with JPMorgan Chase (JPM) – Get Report, Wells Fargo (WFC) – Get Report and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) – Get Report. Cramer was a fan of owning the banks for their dividends, but said that J&J is worrisome because many elective medical procedures are being delayed.
Wednesday brings earnings from more banks, including Bank of America (BAC) – Get Report, Citigroup (C) – Get Report and Goldman Sachs (GS) – Get Report, as well as UnitedHealth Group (UNH) – Get Report. Cramer was a fan of UnitedHealth and noted that Citigroup still trades below its tangible book value.
Rounding out the week on Thursday is Abbott Labs (ABT) – Get Report and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) – Get Report, followed by oil service giant Schlumberger (SLB) – Get Report on Friday.
Cramer remained bullish on Abbott Labs as they continue to ramp up COVID-19 testing, but he said Intuitive Surgical will likely be challenged by fewer surgeries. As for Schlumberger, this company is in a tough spot no matter where oil prices go from here.
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Nancy Pelosi on the Pandemic Response
In a special interview, Cramer welcomed back House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, to discuss Washington’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pelosi said this crisis has brought about a newfound sense of cooperation and mutual respect in Congress. Everyone is working together with the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve to make sure that Americans have access to the money they need to weather this storm. Pelosi was encouraged by the response to many of the programs already passed and she hoped that more community banks take advantage of these programs.
Pelosi added that while this crisis is a huge challenge for entrepreneurs, it will also prove to be an opportunity for America to rebuild itself in fair and equal way.
When asked when our economy might reopen and whether it could perhaps open in phases, Pelosi responded by saying that science and data will dictate how and when that happens. She said we are flying blind until testing ramps up and until we can test everyone, we simply don’t have the data we need. We also don’t yet know if people infected with the virus can get reinfected, which is something we need a definitive answer to.
Executive Decision: Box
For his “Executive Decision” segment, Cramer spoke with Aaron Levie, co-founder and CEO of cloud-services provider Box (BOX) – Get Report, which reported a strong quarter in February and has seen its shares rally 80% from their lows.
Levie said Box started 15 years ago under the premise that everyone should be able to securely access and share their files from anywhere. Now, we’re seeing the world more spread out than ever before and more people are discovering Box as a result. Once the lockdown ends, Levie said he expects companies to move even faster to the cloud and many of these work-from-home trends will continue.
With so many new tools in the market helping to promote more dynamic ways of working, Levie said it’s unlikely we’ll go back to our old ways. That’s why Box continues to add new services, like malware detection, to help customers embrace new ways of working safely and securely.
When asked why so many tech companies are stepping up to help the greater good, Levie said social change has been bred into many of the largest companies in Silicon Valley, and Box is one of many companies giving back to their local communities.
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Fed Steps Up
Cramer told viewers that he was stunned by Thursday’s actions by the Federal Reserve, which created a $2.3 trillion facility to buy high-yield bonds and offer corporate credit to keep our economy solvent through the shutdown.
After today, even the shuttered airlines will be able to issue debt and not have to worry if credit will be available. Cramer said there’s simply nothing to be gained by letting retailers go under, which is why this action was so necessary to ensure that more than just Walmart (WMT) – Get Report, Target (TGT) – Get Report and Costco (COST) – Get Report survive.
Cramer praised the newly-created payroll protection plan as well. He said the program is far from perfect and it has seen its share of initial missteps, but it is both huge and ambitious. Once the kinks are worked out, Cramer said these programs will do wonders to ensure that business has a fighting chance to recover when the lockdown ends.
Executive Decision: Domo
In his final “Executive Decision” segment, Cramer also sat down with Josh James, chairman and CEO of analytics provider Domo (DOMO) – Get Report.
James highlighted Domo’s involvement tracking the COVID-19 crisis. He said they maintain a national dashboard of cases on their website which is powered by real-time data. Domo also works with the state of Utah, compiling data from multiple sources to track the state’s supply of beds, ventilators and protective equipment.
James highlighted another customer, a regional grocery chain, that was able to hook up real-time inventory information that allowed it to reorder and replenish their shelves faster than any of their competitors, ensuring that customers had all of the supplies they needed.
When asked about their business, James said that Domo now has $160 million a year of recurring revenue and continues to cut costs to bolster the bottom line. He was confident that his company did not need to raise additional funding before reaching profitability.
Lightning Round
Here’s what Jim Cramer had to say about some of the stocks that callers offered up during the Mad Money Lightning Round Thursday evening:
Stryker (SYK) – Get Report: “I think you need to let go of it. There is not a lot of room in the hospitals for their procedures.”
Plug Power (PLUG) – Get Report: “No, too speculative. They had their move.”
Exxon Mobil (XOM) – Get Report: “If you want to own big oil, you own Chevron (CVX) – Get Report.”
Polaris (PII) – Get Report: “I think that’s an interesting opportunity longer-term.”
Calithera Biosciences (CALA) – Get Report: “This is a speculative stock but a good spec.”
Capital One Financial (COF) – Get Report: “This one always comes back, but why not go with Wells Fargo WFC for eight times earnings.”
Granite Point Mortgage Trust (GPMT) – Get Report: “This one got oversold and now they’re bouncing back. But I’d rather see you with some growth with a stock like Tesla (TSLA) – Get Report.”
Apache (APA) – Get Report: “No, I don’t like the oil stocks. Chevron or Diamondback Energy (FANG) – Get Report and maybe EOG Resources (EOG) – Get Report.”
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At the time of publication, Cramer’s Action Alerts PLUS had a position in JPM, JNJ, C, GS, ABT, COST.
The Curve: Cramer"s "Mad Money" Recap (Thursday 4/9/20)
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