Mad Money w/ Jim Cramer 10/29/26

Microsoft

Across the shows: 32 speakers in other episodes, 28 bullish and 4 bearish calls, past 30 days

• Jim Cramer · CNBCBullish

  Microsoft's cash-flow-positive discipline and strong Azure and Copilot results make the stock set to soar.

  Microsoft reported a strong quarter with Azure cloud growth of 48%, above the expected 45%. Copilot started slowly but is now a fast-growing enterprise AI product that is sticky, unlike consumer businesses. Microsoft kept spending within its means, stayed cash-flow positive, and indicated it will remain so for the rest of the year. The market had punished its conservative style earlier, but that discipline is now rewarded versus Alphabet's heavy spending. Cramer says Microsoft is a buy here after an unnecessary dip and calls it going to be number one. His trust owns the stock.

  “Copilot started slow, but it's becoming a screaming success. One of the fastest growing AI products in the enterprise, which is incredibly sticky and not like the physical consumer business.”at 4:36

Alphabet

Across the shows: 36 speakers in other episodes, 26 bullish and 15 bearish calls, past 30 days

• Jim Cramer · CNBCBearish

  Alphabet's stock won't rally: negative cash flow, slowing search and ongoing stock sales weigh on it.

  Search growth slowed, which Cramer calls something that hasn't happened in ages, and YouTube growth also slowed. Only the cloud business was strong. Alphabet went cash flow negative for a second straight quarter and could spend even more next year. It still has about $27.6 billion of its at-the-market stock sale program left, and Cramer says companies with ATM offerings weigh investors down. He also says Alphabet pays about $920 million per month to SpaceX for compute because it doesn't have enough chips. He says he doesn't want to buy more Alphabet and that the stock won't rally, and his trust owns the stock.

  “Alphabet went cash flow negative for the second straight quarter.”at 5:45

Amazon.com

Across the shows: 25 speakers in other episodes, 28 bullish and 6 bearish calls, past 30 days

• Jim Cramer · CNBCBullish

  Amazon is a buy: AWS growth and record margins outweigh the retail miss and sell-off.

  Amazon missed on top and bottom line, with weak domestic and international retail, and its fourth-quarter outlook disappointed. Cramer argues the quarter was stronger than the headlines. AWS is a $180 billion run-rate business growing 39%, and he cares much more about it than low-margin retail. Operating income was nearly $2 billion above consensus, and the 13.9% operating margin was the highest in company history. The EPS shortfall came from higher interest expense after heavy debt issuance. He calls Amazon a buy and says his trust owns it.

  “I care much more about AWS, a $180,000,000,000 run rate business, growing an astounding 39... than I care about the low margin retail businesses at this point.”at 7:03

e.l.f. Beauty

• Jim Cramer · CNBCBearish

  e.l.f. Beauty is expensive at a P/E near 150; trim the position by a third.

  A caller who bought e.l.f. Beauty after Cramer recommended it at about $15 to $17 is up around 475%. The caller says the P/E is about 150, which is a red flag. Cramer agrees the stock is now expensive, just as he had warned. He recommends the caller cut the position by a third and let the rest run.

  “...And now it's expensive, just like you said. I want you to cut the position by a third.”at 9:23

Brinker International

• Jim Cramer · CNBCBullish

  Selling Brinker after its strong quarter was a mistake; Chili's comps show upside.

  Brinker shares rallied all summer, but investors took profits as oil prices and interest rates climbed and consumer stocks got nervous. Cramer calls that a big mistake. Brinker then reported a quarter that shot the lights out, driven by Chili's, which posted 10% comparable sales. That beat even the highest Wall Street bar, and Brinker raised its full-year sales and earnings outlook. The shares jumped more than 12% on the report.

  “Yesterday morning, Brinker reported its latest quarter and shot the lights out. Excellent quarter driven by another remarkable result from Chili's, which had 10% comps in the period...”at 14:50

The Hartford Insurance Group

• Jim Cramer · CNBCBullish

  Insurers like The Hartford are steady stocks that don't swing wildly like others.

  Cramer says that at an uncertain time, investors might consider steady property and casualty insurers like The Hartford. After a solid Monday report, he says he likes the insurers because they don't go up and down crazy like many stocks on the screen. He points to The Hartford's steady business over the last several years and its stable execution.

  “I happen to like the insurers. You know why? Because they don't go up and down crazy like so many of the stocks that you're watching your screen right now.”at 31:23

Vertiv Holdings Co

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

• Jim Cramer · CNBCBullish

  Vertiv's big beat and raise, with 55% organic growth, shows its business is strong despite sentiment.

  Vertiv delivered a big beat and raise. Revenue jumped 61%, including 55% organic growth versus the roughly 35% Cramer expected. Adjusted earnings beat estimates by 39 cents, and management raised its full-year outlook. Even after the rebound, shares were still down 35% from their May high, though up about 52% for the year. Cramer notes that data centers are unpopular with many people, yet Vertiv's business is as strong as ever.

  “Yesterday before the bell, Vertiv delivered a big beat and raise... revenue jumped 61%, including 55% organic growth, which we were just looking for 35%.”at 31:43

AMC Entertainment Holdings

• Jim Cramer · CNBCBearish

  AMC should be sold because its heavy debt outweighs the appeal of its low share price.

  Cramer acknowledges that a $3 stock looks attractive on price, but says AMC carries a very bad debt position. He will not recommend a stock carrying that much debt, so the stock should be sold regardless of time horizon. The argument is the leverage risk, not the business or box-office trends.

  “Long term, short term doesn't matter. I think that this stock is... Should be sold. [...] They have a very bad debt position.”at 41:24

Netflix

Across the shows: 16 speakers in other episodes, 9 bullish and 13 bearish calls, past 30 days

• Jim Cramer · CNBCBearish

  Netflix's stock can't lift because its content is scattered across rival platforms, hurting viewer loyalty.

  Cramer says the stock has been unable to rally and that he watches Netflix all the time, yet people no longer reliably know which service carries a given movie, such as a Ben Affleck film. Because a show could be on Amazon, HBO or Apple instead, viewers don't default to Netflix. He calls this Netflix's biggest problem. The support is anecdotal and he gives no subscriber or engagement data.

  “And that's Netflix's biggest problem. [...] Maybe it's on Amazon. Maybe it's on HBO. Maybe it's on Apple. I mean, like, who even knows?”at 42:12

Fortinet

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

• Jim Cramer · CNBCBearish

  Fortinet is a legacy firewall appliance business losing share, so its weakness is company-specific.

  After Fortinet's soft quarter sent the stock down about 20%, Cramer argues the sell-off is a Fortinet problem, not a sector one. He says Fortinet offers a very limited set of defenses, is primarily a legacy firewall appliance business, and his work shows it has been a share donor. Enterprises buying a broader platform are shifting away from point appliances and multi-vendor patchworks. He cites this to dismiss the idea that cybersecurity demand is slowing.

  “Fortinet offers a very limited set of cyber defenses. It is primarily a legacy firewall business. Basically, it's an appliance.”at 45:09

Palo Alto Networks

Across the shows: 1 speaker in other episodes, 1 bullish and 0 bearish calls, past 30 days

• Jim Cramer · CNBCBullish

  Palo Alto is not guilty by association; its broad platform makes it a buy after the Fortinet sell-off.

  Cramer says Palo Alto has moved beyond its original firewall business through organic development and acquisitions into a platform with a firewall and much more, including strong defenses for companies. Customers who would otherwise assemble a patchwork of vendors can get a one-stop shop there. He says the trust is buying it, and the stock's drop of about 3.5% rests on a faulty premise. Cramer is treating the sell-off as a buying opportunity.

  “Not only are Palo Alto and CrowdStrike not guilty by association, but [...] Their stock should be bought, not sold.”at 45:46

CrowdStrike Holdings

Across the shows: 2 speakers in other episodes, 4 bullish and 0 bearish calls, past 30 days

• Jim Cramer · CNBCBullish

  CrowdStrike is not guilty by association; its full product suite makes it a buy after the sell-off.

  Cramer argues CrowdStrike offers a full suite of products and advice that makes it a mainstay of the industry, so customers consolidating cyber spending gravitate to it. He says that is what is happening in the real world and what the charitable trust is doing. He calls the stock's roughly 2% drop an unfair guilt-by-association move from Fortinet's weak quarter, and says the stock should be bought.

  “Not only are Palo Alto and CrowdStrike not guilty by association, but [...] That's exactly what we're doing in the charitable trust.”at 45:46

Salesforce

Across the shows: 1 speaker in other episodes, 1 bullish and 0 bearish calls, past 30 days

• Jim Cramer · CNBCBullish

  Salesforce's decline is overdone; its consumption-based Agentforce AI product is red hot.

  Cramer says Salesforce has introduced consumption-based pricing for its Agentforce AI product, which he calls red hot, even as its seat-based model covers other business lines. He covers the company closely and argues its drop today is driven by ServiceNow's weak read-across, not Salesforce's own business.

  “Salesforce [...] has introduced consumption based models for its red hot agent force AI product.”at 46:46

Workday

• Jim Cramer · CNBCBullish

  Workday's business is strong, and its decline reflects ServiceNow's read-across, making it a buy.

  Cramer says Workday is smoking hot in human resources and corporate finance, which he links to the AI transition. He covers it closely and says its decline today reflects ServiceNow's weak read-across, not anything about Workday. He reports that the CEO told the show business is great, and says he has been itching to buy the stock for his charitable trust.

  “I have been itching to buy the stock of Workday from my chapels trust after talking to CEO, [...] who told us that business is just great.”at 47:15

Micron Technology

Across the shows: 15 speakers in other episodes, 9 bullish and 6 bearish calls, past 30 days

• Jim Cramer · CNBCBullish

  Micron's sell-off on Samsung's conservative outlook is unjustified; its HBM book is stronger.

  Micron fell today after competitor Samsung gave a conservative outlook. Cramer argues the drop is unwarranted because Micron's book of high-bandwidth memory orders is much stronger than Samsung's. He says Micron is a buy, so the stock is being punished for a rival's guidance rather than its own fundamentals.

  “A conservative outlook by Samsung caused the stock of competitor Micron to drop today, even as Micron's book of high bandwidth memory is much stronger than Samsung's.”at 47:31

US consumer

• Kevin Hochman · Brinker International

  US diners trim add-ons like alcohol and dessert but still keep going out to restaurants.

  Hochman describes check management: customers are pulling back on purchases such as alcohol and dessert. They still want to go out to eat, but they buy more of the three-for-me value options or skip dessert. He says the company therefore needs to be there for guests with value offerings that need no coupon or app, which is why price certainty helps it win share.

  “customers are pulling back a little bit on all the things that they purchased, whether it's alcohol or dessert. They're literally saying, I still want to go out to eat.”at 20:06

US inflation

• Chris Swift · The Hartford

  Insurance pricing reflects broad economic inflation, so insurance is not a major inflation driver.

  Swift disagrees with the view that insurance is a major driver of inflation. The cost of the product reflects the economy, with inflation in lumber, bricks, and labor. Litigation, which is out of control, is also reflected in prices. He notes that severe convective storms have increased across most of the country, adding to losses. Insurance costs are therefore a reflection of broader inflation rather than a cause of it.

  “It's false. ...our cost of goods sold or the cost of our product is a reflection of the economy in general.”at 27:37

AI infrastructure & data centers

• Giordano Albertazzi · Vertiv

  Data center costs keep falling as efficiency improves, so total cost of ownership keeps improving.

  Albertazzi argues the industry keeps getting more productive at the chip level, uses electricity better, and gets more efficient. Data centers should be assessed on total cost of ownership, and that is being improved constantly. Cramer calls this an economic rule that applies here. Albertazzi frames this as an ongoing improvement rather than a point-in-time price drop.

  “So we should look at the data center in terms of total cost of ownership and the total cost of ownership is being improved constantly.”at 35:00

Cybersecurity

• Jim Cramer · CNBC

  Cybersecurity demand is not slowing; Fortinet's weak quarter is company-specific, not a sector signal.

  Cramer notes that enterprises are prioritizing cybersecurity spending above most other IT priorities because AI models keep uncovering new vulnerabilities. He concedes Fortinet's slowing growth looks like a warning, but argues the broader market is misreading it as a sector-wide slowdown. He says the sell-off also hit CrowdStrike and Palo Alto, which he thinks is unjustified because their businesses are much stronger.

  “Enterprise customers are scrambling to keep up prioritizing cybersecurity spending over most other IT priorities. [...] Fortinet's weakness is not a tell about a slowdown in cybersecurity.”at 44:18

Software & SaaS

• Jim Cramer · CNBC

  The SaaS sell-off is overblown; ServiceNow's small miss should not sink companies with different models.

  ServiceNow's slight earnings miss, after a near doubling in its stock, was read as a sign that all SaaS companies are in trouble. Cramer says SaaS firms have different structures and some are changing their models for the AI era, such as Workday's human resources and finance products and Salesforce's consumption-based pricing for its Agentforce AI product. He argues the declines in Workday and Salesforce stemmed from ServiceNow's weak read-across, not their own businesses.

  “Its weakness was viewed as a sign that all SaaS companies are in trouble. Even as these companies all have a particular kind of structure, they can do very different things.”at 46:28