The great American industrial renaissance has arrived, Jim Cramer announced to his Mad Money viewers Thursday. If you want leadership in a choppy stock market, look no further than our American manufacturers.
America had long lost dominance in autos, surrendering to Germany, Japan and China. But then came Tesla (TSLA), which is the best manufacturer of electric vehicles in the world and is dominating in both Germany and China. America once again has auto bragging rights, Cramer said, and the stock's 3.2% move higher Thursday is totally justified.
America also used to be the leader in steel, before being surpassed by Japan, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Korea. But thanks to smart tariffs and a ton of innovation, Nucor (NUE) has emerged as the low-cost leader in a host of steel products.
We're now leading in chemicals thanks to our abundant, cheap natural gas supplies. Dow Inc. (DOW) surged 2.9% Thursday to a new 52-week high. And after decades of being an oil importer, the fracking revolution has given the U.S. an abundance of oil and natural gas, making us the leading exporter of liquified natural gas and the only ones able to help Europe break from Russian energy.
Even in aerospace, where Boeing (BA) continues to struggle, companies like Raytheon (RTN) and General Electric (GE) are best of breed. You can also find American dominance in soft drinks, consumer packaged goods, agriculture and semiconductor equipment.
All of these great manufacturers deserve a spot in your portfolio.
Too Soon for Tech Stocks
It's still too soon to invest in high-growth tech stocks, Cramer told viewers. At this point in the economic cycle, Wall Street just isn't willing to pay up for future earnings. But that doesn't mean we can't get our shopping list ready for when interest rates are done going up.
At times like these, we'd typically turn to the "Rule of 40," which adds a company's growth rate to its operating margin. Anything over 40 is considered investable.
But in today's market, the Rule of 40 isn't enough. Stocks like Twilio (TWLO) have a growth rate of 54% and operating margins of -3%, which gives it a score of 51. But that hasn't stopped shares from falling from $412 to just over $125 today.
Cramer's "new" Rule of 40 still requires a score of 40, but also at least 20% revenue growth and 20% operating margins. Using this screen, he came up with just eight companies that should be added to your shopping list for when growth comes back into favor.
Both Salesforce.com (CRM) and ServiceNow (NOW) made the list, along with smaller names like ZoomInfo ZI, Paycom (PAYC) and Paylocity (PCTY). When it comes to payroll however, Cramer said Paychex (PAYX) can be bought today.
Continuing down the list was Pubmatic (PUBM), the ad tech company with 25% growth and 25% operating margins, as well as Definitive Healthcare (DH) and Clearwater Analytics (CWAN) . Cramer said all of these stocks should be on your list.
Carvana Shares Driven Down
Shares of CarMax (KMX) fell last week after a horrible quarter. Today, it was Carvana's (CVNA) turn, with shares plunging 10% after the company reported a 56% increase in revenues, but gross profits per unit down 22.5% year over year.
Cramer called the results "disastrous" for the used car seller, culminating in a $2.89 per share loss for the company. Carvana also threw out their guidance for the rest of 2022.
It's likely the used car market is going to get a lot worse before it gets better, Cramer concluded, as used car prices are now high enough that many buyers simply cannot afford them.
Executive Decision: Huntington Bancshares
In his "Executive Decision" segment, Cramer spoke with Stephen Steinour, chairman, president and CEO of Huntington Bancshares (HBAN), the Ohio-based bank that's poised to profit from rising interest rates.
Steinour said things are going great at Huntington, with loan growth and deposit growth rising, credit quality improving and net interest margins among the best the company's ever seen. Shares of Huntington currently yield 4.5%.
Huntington is one of the country's largest auto lenders, and Steinour noted that with their super-prime strategy, their loan business will remain strong no matter what happens with auto prices.
Steinour was also bullish on their home state of Ohio, which has secured the first of hopefully many semiconductor foundry projects as semiconductor makers bring more manufacturing back to America. Steinour called these foundries "seismic opportunities" for Ohio that will bring a lot of economic activity to their region.
Lightning Round
In the Lightning Round, Cramer was bullish on American Airlines (AAL), United Continental (UAL) and Marvell Technology (MRVL).
Cramer was bearish on OptimizeRx (OPRX), ZIM Integrated Shipping (ZIMCF) , SoFi Technologies (SOFI) and Solid Power (SLDP) .
Bright Outlook for Lululemon Athletica
In his No-Huddle Offense segment, Cramer said many companies claim to be in the "early innings" of their growth, but Lululemon Athletica (LULU) is one company that actually is in their early innings.
Lulu's management aims to double their revenue over the next five years. And while this may seem like a lofty goal, Cramer said the company can probably do it. Lulu only has 25% brand awareness here in the U.S., compared to rival Nike (NKE) with 88% awareness. Lulu has plenty of room to grow both in men's apparel and internationally.
Lulu also recently acquired Mirror, a connected fitness device with monthly subscriptions to rival Peloton (PTON). With hybrid workouts gaining in momentum, Cramer said Lulu's stock is likely in its early innings as well.
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