Mad Money w/ Jim Cramer 10/28/26

Microsoft

Across the shows: 23 speakers in other episodes, 20 bullish and 1 bearish calls, past 30 days

• Jim Cramer · CNBCBullish

  Microsoft is the best of the hyperscalers, with Azure beating and capex discipline stronger than peers.

  Microsoft beat on every line. Total revenue grew 19% and earnings per share rose 32%, beating consensus by 19 cents. Azure grew 48% year over year against an expected 45%, and the AI tailwind keeps improving. Capex came in much lower than Cramer expected, and he says Microsoft shows a degree of spending discipline that sets it apart from other hyperscalers. That discipline is why he thinks Microsoft will be the best of the hyperscalers. He caveats that the stock is not out of the woods until the conference call, focused on capex plans and guidance, ends. He says the results justify the big move the stock made off its June bottom. He owns it for the Charitable Trust.

  “Microsoft on the other hand, wow. Great story, beat on every single wide. ... Azure business grew 48% year over year. We were only looking for 45% growth.”at 6:44

Alphabet

Across the shows: 24 speakers in other episodes, 21 bullish and 5 bearish calls, past 30 days

• Jim Cramer · CNBCBearish

  Alphabet may be overvalued after a weak quarter, despite its enormous size and market cap.

  Alphabet posted a double miss on revenue and earnings and shares fell sharply after hours. Search, about half of sales, came in roughly a billion dollars below expectations, reigniting debate about whether AI is eating Google's core business. Free cash flow was negative about $9.1 billion, unusual for a company that used to spew cash with a pristine balance sheet. Cloud revenue roughly doubled and Gemini passed a billion monthly users, but that did not offset the core weakness. Capex came in below expectations, though the company signaled a significant increase next year. Cramer still owns the stock for the Charitable Trust for its body of work, but he is concerned that a company can be the size of an aircraft carrier and still be overvalued, and he thinks that could be the case after this report.

  “I am concerned that that could be the case with Alphabet after Google's poor showing tonight.”at 7:52

McCormick & Company

• Jim Cramer · CNBCNeutral

  McCormick shareholders should hold: the Unilever deal damage is done and the stock is already down.

  A caller who is about break even asked whether to add or sell McCormick after it fell back near its 52-week low. Cramer says at about $46 investors cannot walk away. McCormick made an acquisition from Unilever that Cramer says it paid too much for. He argues the damage has already been priced in, since the stock used to be very high and no longer is. He advises staying with it rather than selling, so he sees the position as a hold rather than an add.

  “I think down here at 46, you can't walk away. They've made an acquisition. They paid too much for it, from Unilever. But at this point, I think that the damage has been done.”at 8:51

Argan

• Jim Cramer · CNBCBearish

  Argan is not a buy yet: its chart is the worst Cramer has seen, despite the power-demand thesis.

  A caller pitched Argan, a contractor that builds natural gas power plants, as a buy based on high return on capital and equity, consistent sales growth and secular demand for power generation for AI and other uses. Cramer accepts the fundamental story but says it does not make the stock a buy because the stock is still falling. He calls the chart the worst he has ever seen, so he does not want to own it on the thesis alone until the price action improves.

  “You know, I gotta tell you that hasn't certainly made it be a buy because it's still going down. ... This is the worst chart I've ever seen. Period. End of story.”at 10:05

Chipotle Mexican Grill

Across the shows: 3 speakers in other episodes, 0 bullish and 3 bearish calls, past 30 days

• Jim Cramer · CNBCBullish

  Chipotle's same-store sales beat expectations, a positive sign for restaurant demand despite margin pressure.

  Same-store sales rose 2.1%, better than investors expected, and both customer visits and average check increased. That was the third straight quarter of positive transaction growth, in a difficult restaurant environment. Earnings came in 2 cents short and restaurant margins fell slightly short. Cramer did not like the margin reversion to 23.3% from 25.2% last quarter, but he said same-store sales are the most important metric and he was encouraged by them. He found the CEO's explanation of market-level performance dispositive on the category concern.

  “Same store sales rose 2.1%. ... I like that. It's better than expected. ... That makes three consecutive quarters of positive transaction growth.”at 13:03

ServiceNow

Across the shows: 3 speakers in other episodes, 4 bullish and 0 bearish calls, past 30 days

• Jim Cramer · CNBCBullish

  ServiceNow's 2-cent miss is not a real problem; revenue, RPO and new customers matter more.

  ServiceNow's results were strong though not perfect. Revenue and bookings looked good, and the company's remaining performance obligations (RPO) were terrific. The company missed by 2 cents on earnings, but the CEO attributed that to interest on the companies it recently acquired. Cramer thinks investors are fixating on the miss and not on revenue growth and RPO, and he agrees with the CEO's explanation. He sees the stock as a comeback candidate along with other software names, so he wants investors to focus on what matters.

  “I thought you explained the 2¢ very well. They should be looking at the at the things that you and I know what really matter, is RPO revenue growth, new customers, all those going your way.”at 30:51

Waste Management

• Jim Cramer · CNBCBullish

  Cramer isn't worried about WM's dip: fuel costs are outside management's control and the outlook was reiterated.

  Waste Management reported a mixed third quarter, with higher fuel prices weighing on results, and the stock fell over 4%. Cramer is not too worried because the fuel headwind is outside management's control. He also values that WM reiterated its full-year outlook, which he says is what he cares about. He sees the dip as an overreaction to a cost factor the company cannot control.

  “Last night, the company reported third quarter results delivered what looked to be a mixed set of numbers, thanks in large part to higher fuel price. ... I'm not too worried. The higher fuel price headwind is out of the company's control. Plus, WM also reiterates full year outlook with the quarter, which is what I care about.”at 31:58

Planet Labs

• Jim Cramer · CNBCBearish

  Planet Labs won't rally until rates fall definitively, since it is unprofitable and punished by higher rates.

  A listener says Planet Labs is down over 70% from its spring high. Cramer attributes this to the company not making money. He says the concept stocks he likes are being shredded, and they will not rally unless rates have a definitive move down. He presents falling rates as the trigger the group needs and gives no sign that the business will turn around first.

  “I think because it's not making money. ... They're not gonna rally unless rates have a definitive move down.”at 40:52

Vicor

• Jim Cramer · CNBCUncertain

  Vicor is still a winner, but its high multiple is contracting as investors lose interest.

  Asked whether Vicor is still a winner after being named an emerging AI infrastructure winner months earlier, Cramer says yes. He then points to its valuation: the stock sells at 52 times earnings, and people no longer want high-multiple stocks like it. He calls the stock's decline a multiple contraction, which is the mechanism he sees behind the price weakness, while the business case stays intact.

  “Yes. It is. ... it's a high multiple stock... it sells at 52 times earnings. People don't want it anymore. Multiple contraction.”at 42:24

SK Hynix

Across the shows: 3 speakers in other episodes, 2 bullish and 0 bearish calls, past 30 days

• Jim Cramer · CNBCBullish

  SK Hynix's low multiple, big beat and sold-out outlook make it a bullish signal for the chip complex.

  Cramer calls SK Hynix the most important company most people have never heard of, the number one supplier of high bandwidth memory with over 50% share, and a beating heart of the data center, perhaps more so than Nvidia, because even Nvidia's rivals still need DRAM. He cites a stock trading at about three times next year's earnings estimate, revenue about 6% above expectations, a gross margin of 85.7% versus an 84% estimate, shipment growth guided to accelerate to the mid-20% range from 10%, and effective sell-out through 2029. He also notes roughly $75 billion of shareholder returns this year and capacity purchases that show confidence demand will outrun supply. He reads the strong report and the 13% rally in US-listed shares as a signal that the whole American chip complex can rise.

  “Hynix is probably the most important company you've never heard of. It is a South Korean giant and it is beating heart of the data center, perhaps even more so than NVIDIA.”at 43:52

Oracle

Across the shows: 21 speakers in other episodes, 3 bullish and 20 bearish calls, past 30 days

• Jim Cramer · CNBCBullish

  Oracle told a good story about capping data-center costs and boosting profitability.

  Cramer says Oracle, a builder of data centers, told a good story at its meeting. Management is talking about capping costs and becoming more profitable than people thought. He cites this as a positive in a complex that the market has been punishing, which he calls unpopular and expensive.

  “Although Oracle, a builder of data centers, told a good story today at this meeting, and they're talking about capping costs and becoming more profitable than people thought.”at 44:43

Micron Technology

Across the shows: 15 speakers in other episodes, 8 bullish and 6 bearish calls, past 30 days

• Jim Cramer · CNBCBullish

  Micron is a buy at under five times earnings, though a delayed buyback is a concern.

  Cramer says his charitable trust owns Micron, which trades for less than five times next year's earnings, low enough that SK Hynix's strong report could push Micron higher. He argues Micron thinks the spot memory market will stay hot and has long-term customer deals with room for more upside. He expects Micron to be more of the same after the Hynix rally, making it a buy despite its already strong track record. He is concerned, however, that Micron has a deal with the federal government not to make a large buyback until after December 9. He wants to see a bigger buyback plan before its next report, which comes after that date.

  “I make a mental note of that because we own for the charitable trust Micron, which trades for less than five times next year's earnings.”at 44:43

US rates & the Fed

• Jim Cramer · CNBC

  Cramer expects another Fed rate hike in December because the current tightening is working.

  The Fed chair said inflation is still too high and that spending looks too strong, fed by excess spending by consumers and corporations and by oil prices. Cramer heard the chair say inflation will not fall to the 2% target with this much spending. He notes some companies have already become more discerning in their spending since the last quarter-point hike. He does not expect big spending decisions to be deferred, but he thinks the rate increase is working. From that, he expects another hike in December.

  “I sense another rate hike in December.”at 4:46

Oil & fuels

• Jim Fish · WM

  Diesel prices will not keep rising; Fish expects them to eventually reverse course.

  Diesel rose about 80 cents, roughly 15%, in September, driven partly by the war in Iran. Waste Management has a fuel surcharge that offsets the cost, but there is a lag, which made the quarter harder. Even so, Fish does not think diesel goes up forever and expects it to eventually reverse course. He gives no timeline, and the lag between prices and the surcharge is the company's near-term exposure.

  “I don't think diesel goes up forever. I think part of it is driven by this, you know, kind of the the the war in Iran”at 35:50

Airlines & aviation

• Jim Cramer · CNBC

  The aerospace complex looks weak now, so a listener shouldn't buy Beta yet despite a possible rally.

  Cramer says the whole aerospace complex looks so weak right now that he won't put a listener into what he calls a lion's den. He thinks the group could rally, but for now it is a lion's den. He advises waiting, which is a near-term call on the sector rather than a long-term view.

  “The whole aerospace complex right now is looking so weak. I'm not gonna put you in that lion's den yet. It could rally, but right now, it's a lion's den.”at 40:29

AI infrastructure & data centers

• Jim Cramer · CNBC

  Market is unfairly punishing data-center stocks even after strong results, like GE Vernova's.

  Cramer says there is tremendous skepticism about data centers and they are viciously unpopular, with worries about their high cost and companies built just to build them that might not last a couple of years. Because of that, he says, stocks in the complex can fall even when results are good. He cites GE Vernova, which failed to rally after a very good quarter, and calls the market's judgment capricious, if not downright wrong. He sees the same pattern at Oracle, which reported strong results, and argues the complex is still being punished.

  “Right now there is tremendous skepticism about the data center. They are viciously unpopular... I found the market's judgment rather capricious, if not downright wrong.”at 44:16