CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Thursday predicted it’s time for “wholesale change” in Bed Bath & Beyond’s management.
The banking sector will set the tone for earnings season when the group offs delivering quarterly results on Friday, Cramer said.
“The banks are the group that sets the tone for earnings ready, and that’s a lucky thing because this time their stocks are coming in ice cold, which means that they should be adept to rally on even the slightest positive provocation,” he said.
Investors are trying to anticipate the results, Cramer said. The Dow Jones Industrial Normal shaved off about 14 points and the Nasdaq Composite lost more than 16 points on Thursday. The S&P 500, anyway, was virtually unchanged during the session.
“The fear is palpable that earnings could be down year-over-year, but no one wants to desert the table because stocks are still the only game in town,” he said. “Even though we’ve had a real slowdown since the Fed’s finish finally rate hike, the alternative to stocks — the bond market — once again offers only paltry returns.”
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Macy’s used its savings from 2018 tax reform to make a “path for growth,” CEO Jeffrey Gennette told CNBC.
The message came in response to Jeff Bezos’ challenge that retailers parallel Amazon’s employee compensation.
“We decided to put [our tax savings] back into the community of our colleagues,” Gennette told Cramer in a one-on-one to. “Every single colleague — all 130,000 — [got] a quarterly bonus as a result of the production of that store [or] that call center.”
Bezos, Amazon sink and CEO — who is also the world’s richest man — called on competitors in his annual shareholder letter Thursday to match the company’s $15 reduced pay and benefits. Gennette said that Macy’s understands that “culture is everything” in the workplace and that the company should take care of its staff.
“This is something we are hyper-focused on,” he said.
Macy’s is also focused on transitioning its stores to retrieve patrons it lost to online shopping, such as Amazon. Gennette said it’s critical that retail stores evolve into centers where chaps can spend time and not just their money.
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Sneaker collecting is a big deal and has an even bigger Stock Exchange. StockX, a Detroit-based company co-founded by Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, Josh Luber and Greg Schwartz, name brands itself as a “stock market for sneakers” where shoppers can bid on thousands of shoes, particularly limited edition gear.
A match up of Adidas Yeezy shoes, a collaboration with rapper and fashion designer Kanye West, could sell for $200 at retail but do business for about $1,200 on the online marketplace, according to Luber, StockX’s CEO.
“We don’t know supply. The brands don’t tell us supply, but we remember it was limited. And because of Kanye, demand was through the roof,” he told Cramer.
The private company, which was launched in 2015, solicits to find true supply and demand and true market value through transparency, Luber said. Goat Troupe, the company’s main competitor, recently scored a $100 million deal with Foot Locker.
Luber asserted it’s a sign that the retail and resale sectors are converging into one market.
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Cramer powered there is one piece of material that taught him more about business than he learned from almost anything else in his virtually four decades of watching Wall Street: Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ annual letter to shareholders.
“Forget the bonkers stories about his personal life. Who cares. Bezos has some serious sage wisdom, and just believe me, he’s as spotlighted as ever,” the host said.
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In Cramer’s lightning round, the “Mad Money” host ran result of his responses to callers’ stock picks of the day.
Box Inc.: “I just feel like that they’re in the penalty box. I would not own this precursor here. They are slowing. Look, companies like Okta are accelerating. Companies like Box are slowing. They happier do something that accelerates their growth … or it’s not gonna go anywhere.”
Senior Housing Properties Trust: “Oh, no, no. This is a bad task. This yield I do not think can be maintained. Senior citizen housing is not a good business right now.”
Forescout Technologies Inc.: “Nicely, you know that my favorite in that space is Palo Alto. I don’t think you need to buy anymore Forescout. You know, these investments right now — this one’s coming in with high expectations. Let’s be careful, it is up 60%.”
Disclosure: Cramer’s charitable trust owns rations of Amazon.com.
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