beautiful day in new york, call it a rainout on poping day >> it was supposed to rain >> come on >> that's a very insensitive comment and reckless comment >> bristol myers >> thank you for watching "fast. have a great weekend "mad money" with jim cramer starts right now "mad money" with jim cramer starts right now my mission is simple to make you money. i'm here to level the playing field for all investors. there's always a bull market somewhere, and i promise to help you find it. "mad money" starts now hey, i'm cramer. welcome to "mad money. welcome to cramerica other people want to make friends i'm just trying to make you some money my job not just to entertain you but to educate and teach you call me at 1-800-743-cnbc. or tweet he me @jimcramer. we still haven't gotten closure on this regional banking crisis. we don't know if the jobs market is going to take a major hit tomorrow we're unclear on how much the

federal reserve's accomplished in its war on inflation. yet everybody seems sure that the fed needs to keep jamming up rates in order to cool down a massively overheated economy i'm calling it an unholy situation. even though today it was all right. dow inching up three points, in the advancing .36% nasdaq strangely gaining .76%. we'll explain it it's tomorrow that's important because tomorrow may be date we get the first clearly soft employment number. and if that's how it goes and we're going to start worrying about whether the fed will keep pressing its anti-inflation bet at the same time as the economy's slowing, well, that's going to cause a lot of problems why don't we do this let's go to our game plan for next week which starts actually with tomorrow's labor report remember, we're not here tomorrow because the market can't process that data until monday wall street's expecting about 230,000 jobs created but what if -- jobs away from services, travel and entertainment. that would be a clarion call that there's a slowdown coming you need to know that monday will be all about picking apart

tomorrow's non-farm payroll numbers. at the same time we're in a moment where everyone's frightened and they all worry there will be another bank failure. or maybe at least a shotgun wedding style merger to prevent one of these troubled regionals from going under at this point i'd actually be surprised if none of them fail ones strong today but we must wonder if commercial real estate is choosing uninsured depositors and treasury rates make exiting a bank to the sidelines compelling who wants to keep money in a place where you have to keep checking to see if it's doing well not me, not you. which brings me to how this slowdown story will impact your portfolio. when the economy slows, the big money doesn't leave the table. it just shifts into a different sector right now i see lots of money flowing back into tech because tech stocks tend to outperform in a normal slowdown without much inflation it won't be all of tech, though. it will be anything touching artificial intelligence or tech firms that help businesses replace expensive workers with cheaper software in a relentless

drive for efficiency efficiency that's the word mark zuckerberg fixated on when he decided to call nearly a quarter of meta's workforce not that long ago. most it can companies particularly the software plays only know how to hire and hire some more and delve out huge gobs of stock to anyone and everyone zuckerberg recognized early on that the economy was slowing down he was the first to aggressively trim the bloat now meta's sales are going higher instagram up 300 basis points its costs are going down no wonder that stock seems unstoppable since he started firing people in november and dropping people off the front pages. that's history i expect to see a lot of tech stocks going higher in a banking crisis in an environment that suits them just look at what happened the week silicon valley bank collapsed. tech became must own and it's only growing stronger. and now we understand that the next gen start-ups will be still-born because they can't raise money in the stock market which won't allow ipos

that's even better for the incumbents i see their stocks thriving, especially if they have an ai kicker tuesday morning we get results from carmax one of the largest car dealers in the country i bet there's still plenty of demand but you can't expect them to do well with the cost of financing double what it was a year ago the year over year comparison will be horrible fed wants to hear that used car prices are plummeting. they're not going to get their wish we also hear from albertson's which is trying to merge with kroger i don't know about that. but i do know i want to hear about inflation. has any food, any aisle, anything gone down year over year i've got to know that. you've got to know that. and i don't see it so far. here's a treat we have two fed speakers who are both very, very outspoken. and in a good way np neal kashkari and austan goolsbee, rational, logical, not fiery, not dogmatic and they are well aware of what could happen if the fed keeps tightening in a downturn on wednesday we get the minutes

of the last fed meeting. they've got to start thinking a bit more flexible. wednesday morning the march consumer price index numbers i think they'll run okay not great. last night we heard from conagra, classic pantry and freezer section play ceo shawn connelly went out of his way to explain there's still plenty of inflation. but he managed to stay ahead of the posse. the fed's job won't be done until we start hearing the word deflation. and we are not hearing that word right now. another good reason to buy a year of efficiency tech stocks we've also got a huge oil event wednesday. one of the most coherent and best outlooks always comes from conoco phillips. i like their vision. i like their worldview i bet they start talking about stepping up exploration production with crude above 80 there's another one that could produce some real fireworks. it's the warner brothers discovery meeting. they're hosting a streaming productivity press event if this media event had been held a few months ago there would be nothing but tears now it's all about efficiency there too. and i think the term will be well received. media's fascinated by ceo david

zas-love who's a colorful character. i expect him to make a good impression might want to buy some of that stock ahead of time. thursday morning we get the producer price index i think you'll hear the producer prices are starting to head down there may be some pressure on some of the companies who buy these things to roll back. so many have raised prices in anticipation of higher costs that maybe won't materialize judging from this report this number may cause the fed to wonder if they're being maybe too aggressive because they're winning in the war against inflation. we'll have to see. earnings season kicks off thursday with delta airlines the airlines haven't been able to capture all the profits they should be reaping. look, we all know every time we go to a plane it's full. but if there's anybody that can do it i think it might be delta. then finally after delta the deluge wells fargo, citigroup, jpmorgan all report at once i predict wells will have a very strong number. nice update today this morning including a safe bond portfolio. jpmorgan always a winner and i don't know at 127, 128, 129 maybe make some money.

certainly the safest place to put your deposit should make up for the lack of investment banking business. s for citigroup their tangible book is much greater than their stock price. we have to find out what this is about. i do hope they address it. it's nearly double the stock price. something is wrong there i want to know what's wrong. now, we get results also from blackrock. this could be a good number you but inflows might be so-so that said i'd be a buyer of this if it comes down because the asset manager know a compelling long-term winner then united health which might be the most consistent beat and raise company in the dow jones industrial average this is a stock i would buy ahead of the quarter if it comes down because of all these things that we hear early on. the government releases aggregate retail sales on friday too. i think that's going to support my -- i can't believe i came up with this. long on money short on time thesis which means people will buy less stuff but spend more on

services, largely travel and leisure. bottom line, earnings season will be a tale of two tapes. a slowdown generated by bank issues on one tape and decent earnings particularly from tech in the other that should prove to be the best sector this earnings season because alas tech's exactly what you buy at this point in a fed-induced slowdown but i'm begging please, please only buy the most efficiently managed tech companies because this is the year of efficiency, which i know isn't as much fun as the year of magical thinking, but it reads a heck of a lot better for your portfolio. paul in minnesota. paul >> caller: hey, jim. i'm a club member and today i'm calling about a company that is one of my biggest holdings this company has a fantastic balance sheet, a diverse business portfolio, continued growth in cloud computing. it's expanded their gaming business while also adding ai capabilities to their software and services via their $10 billion investment in chatgpt. jim, should i continue to bet my family farm on microsoft happy easter and -- >> i think microsoft -- while not an inexpensive stork -- first of all, thank you for

joining the club we write endlessly about this. people should join i know it sounds like a hard sell i'm spending so much time on it. but here's the deal. i think microsoft is actually a consistent stock that people want to own. it is up a great deal so far and i think it's going to continue to go up why shouldn't it hit -- i think it's going to hit a new high let's go he to john in new york. john >> caller: what's up, jim? >> what's going on >> caller: second time talking to you in two months i feel like we're becoming friends. >> there you go he we're probably neighbors too who knows? what's happening >> caller: what do you think about call qualcomm? >> i don't like qualcomm i made a mistake, i got too enthu enthusiastic i called it boyish enthusiasm. and i regret that. we're hoping it goes above 130 so we can sell the stock and own more of other stocks we like a lot more let's go to greg in my home state of new jersey. greg >> caller: hi, jim boo-yah. this is greg from wildwood -- >> boo-yah >> caller: this is greg from wildwood crest some of the most fantastic beaches on the east coast.

>> i met a guy who's making a development in wildwood crest on a plane. that place has come back i am a summer's point guy from way back, but you have it going there. what's happening >> caller: my stock is jnj snack food a local south jersey company that makes a wide variety of snack food >> i know jj snack well. my uncle did a lot of business with them and i've got to tell you it's a winner. i can't believe it's still independent. why somebody hasn't bought them. because oh doctor is that a good $3 billion company let's take one more. andrew in alabama. andrew andrew >> caller: yes >> you're up >> caller: all righty. hey, jim how are you doing? >> i'm doing fine, thank you how about you, andrew? >> caller: i'm doing good. i've got a quick question about ibm. what do you think as far as going into q2? do you think -- >> it's a show me situation. we need blowout numbers from

ibm. i'm not talking about manufacturers -- i'm talking about a top line number that is just wow we need a wow from ibm we've not gotten a wow yet i want a wow am i clear about what i want wow. this company earnings season will be a tooil of two tapes a slowdown generate bid banking and decent earnings in the other especially from tech including of course ai "mad money" tonight last week i handed in my homework on von tier and he with like the story i sit down with the ceo to hear directly from the company. and constellation brands popped on earnings but i know there are sellers all over the place sellers, listen to me. you don't know what you're talking about. stay tuned for the segment and then levi's plummeted over the quarter. the ceo, what do you do with this $15 stock stay with cramer >> announcer: don't miss a second of "mad money." follow @jim cramer on twitter.

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for 18 years i've been saying it, now 19. we've got the smartest audience in all of basic cable. every night we open up the phone lines and take your questions and every now and then you give us some really great ideas last friday we caught up with an industrial technology company called von-tier. this is a spinoff a spinoff. used to be part of ford. useded to be part of cramer fave danner i told you there's a lot to like turns out von-tier's management saw our breakdown and wanted to give you a chance to learn more. we can certainly not teach as

well as the company. we have mark morelly, president and ceo of von-tier. welcome to "mad money. >> thanks for having us. >> we're absolutely thrilled to have you we are always looking for things to go from internal combustion to ev. there are a lot of companies that lose a lot of money they've been able to take advantage of federal subsidies that really are just what i regard as money losers forever you are the exact opposite you're a real company making real money in this business. i'm going to give you the floor. >> yeah. jim, look, i think that's the thing that people really miss and they don't understand with our story. and your viewers touch our products every day whether you're at a convenience store, 250,000 convenience stores, not only are we refueling hardware and software, but also the convenience store software and we're the number one seller of control systems for car washes in the united states, a huge growing segment as well and then when you talk about

alternative energy we are already the number one dispenser of compressed natural gas for fleets and we're into electric charging we've got 35,000 plugs under management not only that, fleet management is a big category for us we have half a million fleets under management we have the operating system software we power the mobility ecosystem. we're very excited for folks to see that >> people want hydrogen. there's a company i don't want to mentionthat present tdself as the hydrogen fuel cell company. it went from 35 to 9 if we do hydrogen in this country it will be you >> yeah, you know it's interesting because compressed natural gas is a stepping stone for hydrogen you have to be able to dispense at high temperature. you've got a lot of regulations. you've got a lot of safety issues there's real technology barriers to doing that well our customers have pulled us into that space because of demand and europe already is beginning to adopt this infrastructure so not only do we have a right

to play, we have a right to win. >> so i see more and more tech in your company. we've always looked for these companies that wow, they're digitizing that's you >> absolutely. you know, we love connected hardware but more and more we're doing work flow software and we're managing and scaling what we call the mobility ecosystem. that's what -- everything is touched by the roadway all these data points are out there. let me give you an example because you look at what's happened in the nordics. and in europe they're leaders in electric charging infrastructure and the buildout of that and what's really compelling is we go out we do strategy work we spend time in the nordics because 80% of all the vehicles sold are electric vehicles the car parts already -- the fleet of vehicles on the road -- >> you studied them in order to be able to make it so you're ready. >> not only that we have 75% of all electric charging networks in the nordics under management

today. and that's a scaling opportunity. when it comes to the united states and you know what? these mobility hubs, these convenience stores, they've got better food choices. they've got places you want to spend time at. and you know, if you're charging your vehicle you want to go in somewhere. and so that kind of infrastructure, these mobility hubs are building out. >> so where are you in terms of penetration in this country? when i look at -- we were running vildio while you were talking which showed you basically -- some people would just call it a truck stop and to me is now a truck tech hub how many of them are you in? how many more of the interstates would you be able to put up something like this where you do all this great stuff >> we're highly penetrated we're the number one seller of retail fueling equipment, and we're the number two seller of point of sale software in the united states. we're the number onesaler of car wash solutions so the lech electric charging

network is at its infancy. but companies like ev go use our software and you think about fleets and the opportunities of fleets. look, we all know with covid fleet management delivers everything to our home we have the software that enables fleets and fleet management as well so all of this we have a big stake already in the mobility e ecosystem. >> we haven't even talked about repair solutions you've got a terrific growth map, people see the trucks i don't know if you have enough money to be able to build that out at the same time but that's another touch. >> you know matco has been part of the franchise for a long time and we have a tremendous brand with matco we're the number two seller of tools to technicians in auto shops. and the reason why we love that business is that the complexity of repair -- because we're talking about energy transition. we're at this incredible moment in time where the xwlex complex everything's going up because of this massive energy transformation and mobility's

changing more in the text ten years than all of our lifetime but it's difficult to repair these vehicles and as more and more of them are on the road, you have more of an aged fleet, more sensors, require more diagnostics, repairs are more complicated a business like matco has very high vitality. what that means is every year they bring about 25% of products new to market every year so they solve the problems that auto techs have. and that's exactly what's happening to the fleet of vehicles out there it's more complex, jim >> one last question you mentioned point of sale. there was a moment where everybody was involved in the restaurant business, they became public, point of sale. their valuations were insane i had a restaurant, i was ripping those systems out, putting them in. ripping them out i mean, your valuation is giving no credit to your point of sale whatsoever how do you -- how does a ceo that's busy running the company on a day-to-day business actually get to show people what this company is really worth >> what we've done in the last

two weeks is resegmented the business and we wanted to offer transparency to investors so they can actually see our environmental fueling business they can see our repair solutions. and they can see our mobility technology business already at scale. so when they see and understand that hey, this is almost a billion-dollar business, high recurring revenue, high margins already, it's not like we're talking about a future that doesn't exist. it's already momentum into these. we're leveraging our positions from strength. so i think with that segmentation it's going to help. >> i am going to do this during our lightning round when people call about these companies that are losing money but they're so excited about the transition, i'm just going to say von-tier >> i appreciate that >> it's very easy to do. that's mark morelli, president and ceo of vonto-tier. i like this company. coming up this round's on me a dividend boost has investors raising a glass to this stock. cramer pulls up a stool. next

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dad: approved! what's it going to take for the stock of constellation brands, giant brewer, to get its groove back? this is a chaertable trust name, has been for a long time it's been held back by all sorts of distractions like huge stock sales from the company's founders and changes in the way it accounts for its ill-fated investment in canopy growth, a canadian cannabis outfit they took a big stake in in the previous era i've stuck with constellation because i'm a big believer in the core business, especially their mexican beer brands, corona, modelo, pacifico they reported a solid set of numbers. small revenue miss and the company ultimately delivered a 15-cent earnings beat of a $1.83 basis and that was even bigger if you back out the losses from the canopy investment at the same time they gave a pretty good forecast sounded optimistic about the beer business. what's not to like about that?

even as the wine and spirit segment isn't doing that well. that's why the stock rallied more than three bucks today. it's still a long way from last year's highs i've got to wonder if this isn't incredibly undervalued let's see if it can keep rebounding let's goal deeper request bill newlands, ceo of constellation brands welcome back to "mad money". >> thank you >> it's obviously on premises is doing incredibly well. can we have a consistent runway back to where we have to just expect you guys are going to beat quarter, beat quarter, beat quarter because of on prem and also in the store? >> we're certainly starting to see some of that behavior, jim as you know, on premise is finally getting back to something close to what we saw before the pandemic. and it really gives us a lot of opportunity because we can really improve our position in draft. and we spend a lot of time making sure that's going to

happen and we certainly are excited by the resiliency of our brands >> so talk to me about where modelo can go. those beers are everywhere, bill you're in very few locations yet. you've got i'm sure a road map that can make it so new place, new place, new place where two years from now could you be >> i'll give you a perfect example. when i spoke at cagney six weeks ago we only had two markets, california and nevada, where we had a double-digit share despite the fact we have the second largest beer in dollars in the u.s. even today we're two markets more, texas and new jersey joined california and nevada so despite the fact that we're such a huge player the upside is tremendous and we're planning to go get it. >> texas, florida, these are my liquor neighborhoods i know where the money's spent those could be gigantic for you. >> they can. in fact, they're off to a very

good start this year both of those markets are up double digits as is new york to start our new fiscal year. we're very excited about the runway for this coming year. >> i happen to love your wines but is there a certain point where you just say we're going to be the best beer company on earth and we don't necessarily need spirits >> we still think that the wine business is doing great things to transform itself. the business today is much more driven by the high end in fact, it's about 20% more of the business is driven by the high end than what it just was a few years ago. we've also done very well with things like betterment kim crawford illuminate and naomi wright are two examples of lower cal products that are really beginning to dominate in their sectors. we still believe that the wine business can be a very important part of the overall business >> i want to talk about wellness for a second i see that there's a level in the system right now where dry january actually did turn out to be a little more dry february than i thought do you think there's any secular

change because i know you've got a non-alcohol drink that is selling so well and it makes me think maybe there's a new cohort -- i want the taste i don't want to get hammered >> we're seeing more and more that people are interested in betterment and that's why we're doing things like kim crawford illuminate meiomi bright. modelo oro which is one of our new introductions. and corona non-alcoholic we're positioning ourselves for individuals who want to do that so they can come with us and be part of our brand franchise. >> you did something i know all shareholders -- this is a big position in my charitable trust. welcomed which is the rearrangement of the two classes. we love sands but it's also a good thing to move on and to have a better executive pay package so to speak. when do we make it so there's so little debt you can just really go on the offensive? because i know you raised that dividend more than i expected.

i thought that was the beginning of a new sign of returning capital to shareholders. >> as you probably know, we returned more than 5 billion we said we would do 5 billion by the end of last year we actually did 5.4 billion including some opportunistic buys after the last quarter we bought 300 million of stock back in q4 of last year. but what our capital allocation priorities have been quite clear. we want our debt to be right we want to return money to shareholders we want to invest in our beer business and we want to stay investment grade. and in the position that we're in today it puts us in position to do all of those things because this is a very cash generative business. >> all right you know for our charitable trust i have a giant position. and jeff marks who works with me on the portfolio we both saw the numbers and we said these are great numbers. but there just seems to be ennui to the category. people just don't seem to want to pay up. molson's had decent numbers. they're not paying up for those. and i'm trying to figure out is

there some sort of newfound aversion every ceo wants their stock much higher but i can see your stock be at 270, 280 and it would make as much sense as 220 i am confused about what's happening here >> i think you're right, and i think it should be at those numbers. when you look at the consistent growth profile that we put up with exceptional margins, best of class margins, and you recognize that 4 out of the last 6 years we were the number one cpg growth company, we certainly feel like you'd be hard pressed to find a better investment than ours particularly at the prices where we are today >> are you ready for a giant cinco de mayo, if it looks like we're going to have one? >> absolutely. i think we're ready in our beer business, we're ready in our tequila business and we think the consumer's going to have a great time during cinco. >> was it -- would you consider this to be the breakout quarter for pacifico it's been good the whole time but to me it looks like pacifico could become a number two or three in this country.

>> no question pacifico had a great year last year we're up 30% think about that it's already the number six beer in the state of california and the upside is immense. we call that one of our emerging brands but it's well on its way to being a critical part of our future success >> i think, bill, a lot of people are looking for good stocks that are not at their high and i think we have one right here with constellation brands bill newlands, thank you so much president and ceo of constellation brands good to see you, sir, as always. >> thanks, jim you too. >> "mad money" will be back after the break. >> announcer: coming up, with a change at the top imminent should investors zip away from this stock or is levi strauss rugged enough to survive an indigo dip more next. let's-a go. [ ominous music playing ] yeah! i know the markets have gone up and down,

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watt heck just happened to the stock of the storied brand which is levi strauss and company? this morning the iconic jeans maker reported what should look like a solid quarter better than expected sales, better than expected earnings. yet the stock plunged 16%. why? whenever you see good results and a lower stock the culprit's almost always the forecast in the case of levi's they did lower their full-year gross margin outlook substantially while management left their earnings guidance unchanged. that was only because they were being bolstered by a lower than anticipated tax rate on top of that the forecast for the current quarter was discouraging with levi's talking about a high single digit to low double-digit decline in sales. management decided things will get better in the second half but that's an ugly number. we've got to accept that did the stock deserve to decline 16%? maybe an overreaction? let's check in with chip berg, the president and ceo of levi strauss. welcome back to "mad money."

>> jim, good to be here. thank you for having me. >> all right why don't we do this let's start at the highest level. can you give us just an update on the brand itself and where the denim business is both domestic and internationally in your mind? >> well, first of all, the brand is really, really healthy. the levi's brand was up 9% in constant currency this quarter we grew on men's and women's men's bottoms were up 9% women's bottoms up 18% we grew share during this period we get quarterly share here in the u.s. we are a market leader with the critical 18 to 30-year-old and in the u.s. on both a past 12-month and past three-month basis we're growing share on women's, we're knocking on the door of being the share leader here in the u.s. we were number three when i joined the company over a decade ago. so we're really knocking on the door of being market leader

there. so the levi's brand is really, really strong. and probably the best proof point of that is our direct to consumer business. our retail stores were up 16% this quarter globally. comp store growth was positive in every region of the world and you know, the brand is really resonating. the 501, which is our most iconic item, and we're celebrating the 150th anniversary of the 501 this year, that was up 25% this quarter, topping 50% growth a year ago so you know, i kind of stepped back the reaction to the stock and our earnings and we can talk about gross margin and inventory and a couple of other things that i think did have an impact on the stock. but when i look at the levi's brand, jim, the future is really, really bright. this brand is very, very strong. arguably has never been stronger one other data point, our

a.u.r.s despite a very promotional environment our a.u.r.s were up 3% this quarter. the brand is really, really healthy. it's resonating. we're winning in the marketplace, building share and growing in our own stores. >> let's think about this. if indeed the second quarter guide was lower than people thought but with he go to the tale of two cities that you talk about, the second one being good and you do have $680 million remaining in your current share repurchase, why wouldn't you go in and start buying the stock as soon as you're able to i know you've got a big debt load but you can certainly just sop up the volume, so to speak this is from when i used to be a trader just sop it up, chip, because by second half you'll have bought a lot of stock and you'll be off to the races >> i'll quote you on that with the board here in the next couple of days, jim. seriously, harmit and i were just talking about this. the stock does represent a great value. we do have some debt

we had to tap into our revolver this past quarter. we do have an issue with inventory overhang right now our inventories are still 33% ahead of a year ago. but we do have this tale of two cities we are comping an incredibly strong first half, which makes the results -- it kind of depresses the actual results and the second half we're up against much weaker results. and so i think a lot of people are looking at our forecast a little bit superficially without really digging in and understanding the comp periods that we're up against and the reasonable's in of our forecast. and i will -- we'll go back and have another conversation about share buybacks >> chip, sometimes i think, well, pvh has been tough ralph lauren put up good numbers. stock didn't go up that much underarmour's been struggling. even nike. and i wonder if people think you know what, that apparel category is just too hard to invest in, i'm going to wait till there are some clear winners and losers

and just stay away till then almost like a boycott of the sector, not of the individual stocks >> there's no question the sector's been hammered since the fear of recession and the impact of inflation started you know, the core levi's consumer is a $50,000 income and up household and that consumer's still demonstrating real resilience. and i think that's why when we take a look at our results in our own retail stores our results are so strong. but there's no question that the entire sector's been hit pretty hard over the last year. valuations have come down, multiples have come down across the board with all of the strong companies. i keep coming back to let's take a look at the strength of the brand. the consumer's still there consumer's still buying. and our future's really, really bright and the stock really is a great value at today's close >> let's look at it in a more

ethereal way michelle goss is about to take over she's inherited a company that's already said the next quarter's not going to be that good but look out what's your advice to her about what happened today and whether this is a situation where -- that people think the company's troubled or they just don't understand the company >> well, she and i have been kind of joined at the hip for the last 100 days and she's off to a great start, jim, and i'm super optimistic as i told you before, she brings a different skill set than i do. she has 30 years of retail experience and she and i have been out in the markets over the last three months and in a lot of stores. she just has a different take of our business like me she has a ton of confidence in our future she sees how the brand is resonating with the consumer you know, you can't live and die with the stock move every single day. we've run this business for the long term. we're continuing to invest our retail business delivers a

really strong return on invested capital. we opened 25 new doors this last quarter. be five main line doors here in the u.s. and we're going to continue to invest in retail and invest in technology and our e-commerce business that's going to continue to drive revenue. so we're going to stick to our strategy and it's clearly working and we're going to continue to invest in growing this business profitably into the future >> and you what's your next move? >> we can talk about that in a few months, jim. i have no idea i'm still doing -- i'm still doing a job full-time and i am all in right now michelle and i are both really committed to making this transition being one that others want to role model and we're working together great. and she's going to be a great ceo. there's no question about it and the minute she steps into the ceo chair will be the minute i first start thinking about what i'm going to do next. but the first thing i know i'm going to do is i'm going to take

a break for a little while >> well, good for you, chip. thank you for coming on. i am mystified why people would be so upset given the fact that the brand is still the best brand in the entire industry that hasn't changed at all maybe it's gotten better you want to thank chip bergh, president and ceo of levi strauss. chip, it's great to see you again. okay >> thank you, jim. great to be here thank you for having me on >> absolutely. "mad money's" back after the break. coming up, cramer takes your calls and the sky is the limit it's a fast-fire lightning round. next

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it is time it's time for the "lightning round. play until you hear this sound then "lightning round" is over are you ready, skee-daddy? time for the "lightning round" on cramer's "mad money." start with joseph in new york. joseph >> caller: hello mr. cramer, thank you for taking my call. >> of course, joseph, what's happening? >> caller: yeah, my stock is freeport mcmoran it's off of its highs. is it a buy? >> no. i tell you, it's too risky it's too sink or swim. i'm against the sink or swim names. i think you've got to go with something more steady and that's got more secular growth. let's go to jim in new jersey. jim. >> caller: hey, jim, how are you doing? >> i'm doing well. how about you, jim >> caller: i just want to tell you something, brother i've been watching you for ten years. and i am retired because of you. so if you ever question your validity and everybody else who's a talking head, you do

touch people and you change their lives. i wanted to -- >> thank you, my man i've been at it for a long time. thank you. how can i help you right now >> caller: all right so listen, i rode up the ev craziness a few years ago. so i bought a stock that was like $1.75, rode it to 65, sold a third of it, bought tesla. got a good portfolio now, this particular stock named nio has drifted back >> i think you can hold it what's happening with some of these stocks in china is that the government runs them they say okay, listen, let's take that stock up they did it in japan, by the way, between '87 and '91 it was a very strange thing. i think the chinese are doing that now i want you to hold on to it till the government runs it and then you can sell let's go to daniel in new york >> caller: hey, jim. fyi, when i was in college i sold kitchen knives door to door and your wife was nice enough to buy a few knives from me >> the cutco

she still loves them we used them just last night they are still sharp i thank you for coming by. it's terrific stuff. >> caller: happy to hear that. as it relates to the stock market, my observation is that men spend quite a bit of money to meet attractive women and the match group is at all-time low is it a buy here at 36 >> the quarter wasn't that good but i like their concept of buying it cheap because there is a level i regard as -- consistency once things got better after covid people got a little too excited about the stock. i would not sell the stock at 35 i think that could be a mistake although i have to admit the numbers are not that great and thank you again for the cutco. that stuff's incredible. i also like the handle you can wash it a million times. let's go to wendy in connecticut. wendy! >> caller: hey, jim. thanks for taking my call. >> sure, wendy, what's happening? >> caller: greenwich, connecticut. >> all right beautiful up there >> caller: i've got a question for you on the stock burford bur.

i've held it for -- >> there's some craziness going on there sometimes you just have to say i don't understand why that stock did what it did. i wish i did so i could be more helpful but i can't be i'm sorry. >> let's go to kevin in idaho. kevin. >> caller: professor chill i've been -- >> the chill man's here. >> caller: -- watching you for 30 years so it's a pleasure and an honor to finally speak with you. >> only my mom has seen me longer what's up? >> caller: jim, i have some shares of a company that's paid me great dividends for many years but i'm just sick watching the price drop and drop. not sure that now is the time to sell and realize my losses jim, what the heck is the deal with verizon >> it's being crushed by t-mobile i mean eviscerated i mean just amazing, what a beatdown i do have to tell you that this is not the level to sell it. it's got a good yield, 6%. i do trust that yield. they have not demonstrated to me any real growth. and that is a shame. and they've got to start doing that or maybe we need a couple

of changes you know, we delivered -- if you and i delivered those numbers, believe me, every day we've been waiting for a pink slip. let go to -- i never -- i fired and i've been fired. never once did i get it in pink. let's go to tim in michigan. tim. >> caller: i bought a company with no debt, impressive growth, providing a product that's demand and prices are holding up and promised to in the long term grow >> so far i'm liking what i'm hearing. i'm liking what i'm hearing. >> caller: p/e of 4.5. and yet the momentum is not good on this one. i took a little initial bite last week and at the risk of catching a falling knife i got a little bit of a bleed. what say you about encore wire, wir? >> it's a cutcore situation. i'm not going to tell you to sell it here because it does have real earnings but i have to tell you it is exactly like my series that i

did this week. very hard to figure out a way to get that stock running and that, ladies and gentlemen, is the conclusion of the "lightning round"! >> announcer: the "lightning round" is sponsored by td ameritrade coming up, costco got it wrong can the stock pivot back to best of breed status? stick with cramer. lily! welcome to our third bark-ery. oh, i can tell business is going through the “woof”.

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most people don't believe it, but companies can change their stripes. good ones do while it's very difficult, it does happen. look at costco a company we own shares of for the charitable trust last night this best in show retailer reported a surprisingly weak month with hard goods coming in very disappointing especially on furnishings. lots of people blew out of the stock in response to that, sent the stock down 11 bucks. they figured costco has the wrong merchandise and won't be able to see itself out of this anytime soon i think they're dead wrong you see costco's a company that always tries to get the best possible goods and charge the lowest prices. so you'll renew your membership card where the real money is so i'm betting this problem will be cured in a couple months and you'll see a lot of soft goods with the big screen tvs and electronics that aren't selling that well used to be costco's too well run to take a beating for more than a couple of months. they'll pivot to sell what people want causing same-store sales to pick up we've seen this story so many times before and the sellers almost always end up kicking

themselves i have known costco well as both a customer and a supplier. they will switch out and give customers what they really want. and don't put it past them to raise fees and then award you a special dividend and that is worth hanging on to in itself. not all management teams can do this, though in fact, most executives seem to think you just have to ride it out, whatever ride it is, and take the hand that you've been given and wallow in it they don't believe it's important to do anything short-term or they think short-term's long-term and they confuse the two. but their version of short-term might be years and in retail unless you pivot away from the noxious items quickly or get them off your sheets through aggressive discounting they will define you. the gap, for example, has renovated a lot of banana republics. i think they look amazing. but that's the smallest division, won't move the needle. the flagship gap brand continues to disappoint to no real avail that's an existential situation going on there i don't know how they get that of course it's not just retailers. the once mighty medtronic no longer seems like it's in control of its own destiny they used to be the dominant innovative medical technology

company. now i think big-time innovation actually eludes them 3m, it keeps going down in dribs and drabs. why? because it's basically become a law firm, on the defense against groundwater desecration and faulty earplug lawsuits with the earplug cases hitting especially hard because the plaintiffs are veterans who served in iraq and afghanistan. i have no idea how 3m gets out of this litigation but i can tell you i don't see their case ending anytime soon. maybe 3m can take its cue from j&j. compromise, major settlement let's just say maybe they don't have the money to do it. the food ompanies, they used t just sit there and take it now they're in constant reinvention mode i like j.m. smucker and campbell soup they're changing into more modern companies with a heavier snack component. and general mills was the first of the major pantry plays to fully embrace pet food big growth there blue buffalo still we told investing club members to stick with costco today because management knows they got those aisles wrong, they're not just sitting there saying what's going on if they change up those aisles and put up more soft goods in this quarter, even in this quarter, i mean it, i'm betting the numbers will improve because they are not going to take down

numbers as their destiny that's not their dna but if you wait on the sidelines for them to fix the problem i think you'll pay a heck of a lot more than today's $485 stock price. what a discount. what an opportunity. i like to say there's always a bull market somewhere, i promise to try to find it for jim kcramr see you monday "last call" starts now hi, i'm brian sullivan tonight, you got to spend money to collect money that is the new irs plan. protesters storm blackrock's office in paris and set fire to restaurant restaurants. all because they want to raise the retirement age by two years. small businesses are going bankrupt at a higher rate than during the worst of the pandemic the author of a shock report is here to tell you why. can chicago be saved one of the city's top business leaders joins us on the massive challenge