No one ever made a dime panicking, Jim Cramer reminded his Mad Money viewers Thursday. During wild weeks like this, Cramer said it helps to remember the words of Warren Buffett -- who famously said the time to be fearful is when others are greedy and the time to be greedy is when others are fearful.
Buffett appeared on CNBC just two weeks ago with similar sentiments, Cramer recalled. And while the markets have plunge 10% since Buffett's most recent comments, his ethos still applies. You will never time the bottom perfectly. But history has told us that the long-term trend for stocks is higher, even if they may be markedly lower a day, a week, or a few months from now.
Buffett made similar comments in 2008 at the beginning of the financial crisis. The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 23% in the weeks that followed. But since the eventually bottom, Wall Street has seen a remarkable bull market, just like it will see again after our current crises pass.
Our financial system is a lot stronger now than in it was in 2008, Cramer said, and he has confidence that our scientific community will eventually have a vaccine for this latest coronavirus. "Don't bet against our scientists," he urged.
Cramer's bottom line was to buy on the way down, buy gradually and -- above all else -- don't try and time the bottom.
Cramer and the AAP team are looking at everything from earnings and tariffs to the Federal Reserve. Find out what they're telling their investment club members and get in on the conversation with a free trial subscription to Action Alerts Plus. Off-price or Online
If you want to win in retail these days, you need to either be off-price or online, Cramer told viewers. Nowhere was that more evident that in this quarter's retail earnings.
Today, the off-price retailer Burlington Stores( BURL ) - Get Reportdelivered same-store sales up 3.9% when analysts were only looking for 2.9%. Meanwhile, rival Kohl's Stores( KSS ) - Get Report, which really isn't off-price nor online, delivered only inline earnings that sent shares plunging 8.2% by the close. Department stores like Macy's( M ) - Get Reportcontinue to struggle, while drugstores like CVS Health( CVS ) - Get Reportclearly have already reinvented themselves.
Cramer said he continues to worry about Walgreens Boots Alliance( WBA ) - Get Report, but is worrying less about Kroger( KR ) - Get Reportthese days. He still likes Costco( COST ) - Get Reportand Dollar General( DG ) - Get Report, and still has a wait-and-see attitude toward Dollar Tree( DLTR ) - Get Report, which has yet to complete its turnaround.
On Real Money, Cramer keys in on the companies and CEOs he knows best. Get more of his insights with a free trial subscription to Real Money.
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