Cramer’s week ahead: Fed decision on Wednesday could let the bulls ‘party on’

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Friday said that Wall Street’s recent gains could continue next week depending on the Federal Reserve’s actions.

“A decision not to raise rates at all might show too much weakness. A quarter point with a statement that they’ll remain vigilant will allow the bulls to party on,” he said.

The central bank is set to conclude its first meeting of the year on Wednesday, which Wall Street largely expected to beget a quarter-percentage point interest rate hike. 

Cramer said he’ll also have his eye on the January non-farm payrolls report set to be released Friday. “If wage inflation’s very strong, the-quarter point move will be criticized. If it’s weaker, we’ll be hearing all about that hard landing,” he said.

All estimates for earnings, revenue and economic data are courtesy of FactSet.

Monday: Whirlpool

• Q4 2022 earnings release at 4:05 p.m. ET; conference call on Tuesday at 8 a.m. ET
• Projected EPS: $3.23
• Projected revenue: $5.08 billion

He predicted that the company will report abating supply chain headwinds and a more frugal consumer on its conference call.

Tuesday: Caterpillar, Pfizer, Advanced Micro Devices

Caterpillar

• Q4 2022 earnings release at 6:30 a.m. ET; conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET
• Projected EPS: $4.02
• Projected revenue; $15.82 billion

He said the company will likely report a solid quarter.

Pfizer

• Q4 2022 earnings release at 6:45 a.m. ET; conference call at 10 a.m. ET
• Projected EPS: $1.05
• Projected revenue: $24.44 billion

There’s more to the company than unsustainable earnings from its Covid vaccine, despite what Wall Street believes, Cramer said.

Advanced Micro Devices

• Q4 2022 earnings release at 4:15 p.m. ET; conference call at 5 p.m. ET
• Projected EPS: 67 cents
• Projected revenue: $5.51 billion

“AMD’s got a great portfolio now, and they keep taking market share,” he said.

Wednesday: Meta Platforms

• Q4 2022 earnings release at 4:05 p.m. ET; conference call at 5 p.m. ET
• Projected EPS: $2.26
• Projected revenue: $31.54 billion

“All I know is the stock’s had a real run and while we own it for the Charitable Trust, we’re not pounding the table on this one. Not here,” Cramer said.

Thursday: Ford Motor, Apple, Amazon, Alphabet

Ford

• Q4 2022 earnings release at 4:05 p.m. ET; conference call at 5 p.m. ET
• Projected EPS: 62 cents
• Projected revenue: $41.39 billion

He said he isn’t worried that price cuts from Tesla will affect demand for Ford’s electric vehicles.

Apple

• Q1 21023 earnings release at 4:30 p.m. ET; conference call at 5 p.m. ET
• Projected EPS: $1.94
• Projected revenue: $121.81 billion

Investors should hold onto their shares of the iPhone maker, according to Cramer.

Amazon

• Q4 2022 earnings release at 4:01 p.m. ET; conference call at 5:30 p.m. ET
• Projected EPS: 17 cents
• Projected revenue: $145.64 billion

Amazon stock will soar if the company lays off 100,000 employees, he predicted.

Alphabet

• Q4 2022 earnings release at 4 p.m. ET; conference call at 4:30 p.m. ET
• Projected EPS: $1.18
• Projected revenue: $76.17 billion

Cramer said that Alphabet also needs to downsize its workforce.

Friday: Regeneron Pharmaceuticals

• Q4 2022 earnings release at 6:30 a.m. ET; conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET
• Projected EPS: $10.1
• Projected revenue: $3.14 billion

He said he likes the stock.

Disclaimer; Cramer’s Charitable Trust owns shares of Apple, Amazon, Advanced Micro Devices, Caterpillar, Ford and Meta.