Cramer's week ahead: Big week for earnings, even bigger week for vaccines
- Vaccine news will paint stock market activity next week, CNBC's Jim Cramer said.
- "Big week for earnings. Even bigger week for vaccines. They hold the key, not companies," the "Mad Money" host said.
- "We'll pay more for the earnings of the non-Covid companies if The Lancet publishes some good news from AstraZeneca's vaccine trial," he said.
With earnings season in earnest, vaccine news will paint the market more than the top- and bottom-line results companies are scheduled to post next week, CNBC's Jim Cramer said Friday.
The Lancet, a respected weekly medical journal, is set on Monday to publish phase one data from a vaccine study performed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, which are currently undertaking a phase three human trial. Cramer is convinced that the news could be bigger than results Moderna published on its own study earlier this week.
"Big week for earnings. Even bigger week for vaccines. They hold the key, not companies," the "Mad Money" host said. "We'll pay more for the earnings of the non-Covid companies if The Lancet publishes some good news from AstraZeneca's vaccine trial. End of story."
Trading was mixed Friday in a relatively sedate day on Wall Street. The Dow Jones slipped almost 63 points, or 0.23%, to 26,671.95 during the session. The S&P 500 rose 0.28% to 3,224.73, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.28%.
Cramer revealed the earnings reports he has circled on his calendar in the week to come. All projections are based on Factset estimates:
Monday: Vaccine studies updates; IBM earnings
IBM
- Q2 conference call 5 p.m.
- Projected EPS: $2.08
- Projected revenue: $17.4 billion
"The company's got a new CEO" in Arvind Krishna, "though it's too early in his reign to expect radical changes," Cramer said. "That said, we want to hear that IBM's winning some lucrative cloud business."
Tuesday: Lockheed Martin, Coca-Cola, Texas Instruments, Snap, United Airlines earnings
Lockheed Martin
- Q2 conference call: 11 a.m.
- Projected EPS: $5.72
- Projected revenue: $15.2 billion
"Lockheed has a new CEO, Jim Taiclet … formerly of American Tower. He's one of the best execs I've ever met," Cramer said. "At the same time, two brokerage firms cut numbers this morning from Lockheed. That's called de-risking; I like the de-risking. I don't want to put on a whole position until Jim speaks, but maybe half before, half after."
Coca-Cola
- Q2 earnings release: 6:55 a.m.; conference call: 8:30 a.m.
- Projected EPS: 40 cents
- Projected revenue: $7.2 billion
"It'll be difficult for them to blow away the numbers," he said. "Coke's well-run, but what can you do if restaurants are shut down and convenience stores don't get as much business?"
Texas Instruments
- Q2 earnings release: 4:01 p.m.; conference call: 4:30 p.m.
- Projected EPS: 87 cents
- Projected revenue: $2.95 billion
"This company actually had an erratic post-earnings track record as of late," he said. "We want to know about demand, especially since their rival, Analog Devices, recently announced that it's acquiring Maxim Integrated."
Snap
- Q2 conference call: 5 p.m.
- Projected losses per share: 23 cents
- Projected revenue: $437 million
Cramer said he is expecting an upside surprise from Snapchat parent Snap "because there are only so many good places to advertise online, and that's what people want these days. All the advertisers dig this thing now," he said. "Snap's really gotten its act together. I only wish the stock hadn't run so much going into the quarter."
United Airlines
- Q2 earnings release: aftermarket; conference call: Wednesday, 10:30 a.m.
- Projected losses per share: $8.96
- Projected revenue: $1.3 billion
"The day traders keep betting on the airlines, so watch out when United Airlines reports," he said. "These companies are losing a fortune, people. I say take a pass. Just say no to most of the airlines."
Wednesday: Microsoft, Tesla, Chipotle, CSX earnings
Microsoft
- Q4 2020 earnings release: aftermarket; conference call: 5:30 p.m.
- Projected EPS: $1.38
- Projected revenue: $36.4 billion
"I expect a gigantic quarter that could send the stock back to the old highs. That's up 14 points from here," Cramer said.
Tesla
- Q2 earnings release: aftermarket; conference call: 5:30 p.m.
- Projected losses per share: 14 cents
- Projected revenue: $5.1 billion
"I love Tesla, but it can't possibly live up to the 250% run it just had this year. Still," the host said, "if it goes down on the quarter, remember that Battery Day beckons on Sept. 22" and "I bet Elon Musk has a new battery that can last 10 hours up his sleeve, making this a buy into weakness."
Chipotle
- Q2 earnings release: 4:10 p.m.; conference call: 4:30 p.m.
- Projected EPS: 23 cents
- Projected revenue: $1.3 billion
"I expect another terrific quarter during a perilous time for the restaurant industry," he said.
CSX
- Q2 earnings release: aftermarket; conference call: 4:30 p.m.
- Projected EPS: 64 cents
- Projected revenue: $2.3 billion
Thursday: AT&T, Union Pacific, Tractor Supply, Twitter, Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, Intel, Skyworks, Boston Beer earnings
AT&T
- Q2 earnings release: 7 a.m.; conference call: 8:30 a.m.
- Projected EPS: 79 cents
- Projected revenue: $40.96 billion
"You don't get an almost 7% yield unless something is pretty wrong. I call that a red flag," Cramer said. "It might be a buy, but I certainly don't want to anticipate it."
Union Pacific
- Q2 earnings release: 8 a.m.; conference call: 8:45 a.m.
- Projected EPS: $1.56
- Projected revenue: $4.38 billion
"Even though we're in a recession, the railroads have been on fire … with Union Pacific leading the way," he said. "I'm expecting some decent numbers here, but the stock's run so much I think the bar might be too high."
Tractor Supply
- Q2 earnings release: before market; conference call: 10 a.m.
- Projected EPS: $2.49
- Projected revenue: $2.9 billion
"It's one of the most reliable retailers for gardeners everywhere, and gardening is ascendant due to Covid. The stock's up 50% for the year," the host said.
- Q2 earnings release: 7 a.m.; conference call: 8 a.m.
- Projected EPS: $0
- Projected revenue: $698 million
"It's been a disappointment of late, and I don't know of any upcoming events that can stir interest unless sports can come back," he said.
Southwest Airlines
- Q2 earnings release: 6:30 a.m.; conference call: 12:30 p.m.
- Projected losses per share: $2.72
- Projected revenue: $930 million
"If you insist on owning or even trading [an airline], it's Southwest," he said. "That's the best … It's the most profitable, and I doubt it will need help from the government."
American Airlines
- Q2 conference call: 8:30 a.m.
- Projected losses per share: $7.70
- Projected revenue: $1.4 billion
"I can't say the same thing about American Airlines, which reports on the same day," he said. "That's the worst of the bunch, yet the day traders keep piling into it because it has a low-dollar amount per share."
Intel
- Q2 earnings release: aftermarket; conference call: 5 p.m.
- Projected EPS: $1.11
- Projected revenue: $18.5 billion
"Intel seems like it's taken a step back, here. It's been getting clobbered by AMD lately," he said.
Skyworks
- Q3 fiscal 2020 earnings release: aftermarket; conference call: 4:30 p.m.
- Projected EPS: $1.13
- Projected revenue: $691 million
"Skyworks, on the other hand, is a fantastic 5G play. I expect a blowout," he said.
Boston Beer
- Q2 earnings release: 4:15 p.m.; conference call: 5 p.m.
- Projected EPS: $2.33
- Projected revenue: $422 million
"Because of its sparkling seltzer brand, Truly, this might be a very good quarter. I want you to be careful here," he said. "Constellation Brands has easily entered the fray with Corona seltzer. I don't like going up against them."
Friday: Honeywell International, American Express, Verizon earnings
Honeywell International
- Q2 earnings release: before market; conference call: 8:30 a.m.
- Projected EPS: $1.21
- Projected revenue: $7.29 billion
CEO Darius Adamczyk "is reinventing this company as more of a large scale tech play, software play, that helps companies solve ecological [and] logistical problems [with] a big aerospace kicker," Cramer said.
American Express
- Q2 earnings release: 7 a.m.; conference call: 8:30 a.m.
- Projected losses per share: 4 cents
- Projected revenue: $8.1 billion
"Can American Express somehow triumph over the travel and leisure shutdown and a tough environment for small business lending? I think that might be too much to ask," he said.
Verizon
- Q2 earnings release: 7:30 a.m.; conference call: 8:30 a.m.
- Projected EPS: $1.15
- Projected revenue: $29.84 billion
"Verizon should report a fine number that everyone will like," he said. "This stock acts like more of a bond and it will continue to be a core holding for anyone who wants solid income from a rock-solid dividend."
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