Big Tech earnings and the Fed
CNBC’s Jim Cramer warned investors on Friday that next week will be a big one for Wall Street, pointing to the heavy lifting of quarterly earnings and the Federal Reserve meeting.
“Make no mistake, next week is important,” Cramer said. He later added, “The bottom line? Mag Sevens. Momentum is paying off. Angry industries and the Fed meeting. It’s all ahead of you. Keep your heads up, [there’s] Many more to come.”
Monday brought profits to the steel producer nucorThe company Cramer describes as “the best steel company in the world.” Even though Nucor posted a weak mid-quarter update in December, the stock has still rallied since then; This was partly because investors hoped interest rate cuts would help spur economic growth. Investors should consider buying on weakness if Nucor takes a hit, Cramer said after Monday’s announcement.
on tuesday Boeing’s And General Engines will announce the results.
Boeing shares have risen significantly over the past two months, so Cramer believes investors shouldn’t expect another big increase after the report. But don’t sell the shares yet, he said, because this is only year one of the plane maker’s turnaround story. Meanwhile, Cramer said General Motors CEO Mary Barra doesn’t get enough credit for all she’s done to revamp the company. If the stock loses value on earnings day, it might be a good time to buy, Cramer said.
Wednesday is a particularly busy earnings day. Corning, Danaher, Starbucks, GE Vernova, Meta PlatformsAnd Microsoft – All holdings in Cramer’s Charitable Trust, the portfolio used by CNBC Investing Club, will report results.
Cramer doesn’t expect a big boost from GE Vernova when the gas turbine maker’s results are released Wednesday morning. “I like it long term, but the expectations are too high right now,” Cramer said. “I think you need a better entry point.” Shares of GE Vernova, which nearly doubled in 2025, are up less than 1% so far in 2026. Like GE Vernova, Corning is another great stock to own for the long term because it benefits from AI tailwinds, particularly the replacement of copper with fiber optics, Cramer said.
In the case of Danaher, Cramer said he believes this could be the company’s first truly strong quarter in years. The resurgence in biotech orders is a boon for Danaher, which provides picks and shovels used in drug discovery and production.
Cramer said he’s concerned that Starbucks is heading for “wildly overbought” revenues, which means it will need “wildly strong” numbers to keep shares higher. However, “I love long distance, [and we’re] “We’re not going anywhere,” he said.
Cramer said he believes Microsoft shares — along with the rest of the software group — are under earnings pressure due to risks of disruption from AI. But Cramer described this as an idle concern. Meanwhile, when Meta reports, Wall Street will be keeping a close eye on what CEO Mark Zuckerberg has to say about the return on the Facebook parent company’s investment in artificial intelligence.
There will be news from Wall Street on Thursday Honeywell’sIt is one of the industrial stocks that has been on the rise lately. It’s a difficult setup that could lead to a disappointing stock reaction, he argued, especially considering investors still expect the conglomerate to break up later this year.
Later that day, Apple will publish the results. Technology stocks have fallen for eight straight weeks, partly due to concerns about higher memory costs squeezing Apple’s margins. But Cramer isn’t changing his “own it, don’t trade it” view on Apple.
Along with all the earnings, the Federal Reserve will announce its final interest rate decision on Wednesday afternoon. The Central Bank is expected to keep interest rates unchanged According to CME Group’s FedWatch tool. In addition, Cramer said that there is a possibility that President Donald Trump will announce the person who will replace Fed Chairman Jerome Powell on Wednesday, and he believes that this could mobilize the market more than the interest rate news itself.
