The market should've bounced Thursday, with interest rates taking a breather, but instead the volatility continued. That's why Jim Cramer told his Mad Money viewers that they must never stop looking for opportunities, because there are plenty of stocks that can handle an economic slowdown.
One of those stocks is Molson Coors (TAP), which is why Cramer checked in with president and CEO, Gavin Hattersley, to learn how the company is faring.
Hattersley said sales of their core beer brands, like Miller Lite and Coors Lite, continue to be strong and are still growing in the market. Molson also has a stable of other strong brands that are all exceeding expectations.
Molson has partnered with Coca-Cola (KO) to bring Simply Spiked Lemonade to the market and Hattersley confirmed that sales will kick off next month and orders are already very strong. In the spiked seltzer category, Topo Chico remains at the top of its game, as does Zoa energy drinks.
While Molson Coors is not immune to inflation, Hattersley said the company is well hedged against excessive cost inflation. Even in a recession, Molson Coors is positioned for success, he said.
Executive Decision: Affirm Holdings
For his second "Executive Decision" segment, Cramer also spoke with Max Levchin, founder, chairman and CEO of Affirm Holdings (AFRM), the buy now, pay later provider that's seen its share plunge from $176 to just $18 along with the broader averages. Share spiked 23.3% Thursday, however, after the company reported another quarter of strong results.
Levchin said consumers are still alive and well and are spending, and paying, according to Affirm's plan. "The business is performing very well," he said.
Affirm has a number of great partnerships, Levchin added. Their most recent tie-up with Shopify (SHOP) has been "fantastic," while older deals with Walmart (WMT) and Amazon (AMZN) also remain strong.
Levchin noted that Affirm has never charged consumers a penny in late fees or deferred interest, instead choosing to work out new payment plans for delinquent buyers. Affirm is just about honesty and responsible lending, he said.
When asked about investor fears that rising interest rates could derail Affirm, Levchin said the company's cost of capital is still lower than 2019 levels, and their delinquencies also around 2019 levels.
Executive Decision: Diamondback Energy
In his next "Executive Decision" segment, Cramer checked in Travis Stice, CEO of Diamondback Energy (FANG), the oil producer that recently changed its capital distribution strategy to include a new variable dividend model.
Stice said the oil industry has shifted from being capital consuming to a distributor of capital to its shareholders. Diamondback, like others, is now growing in a sustainable manner, initiating stock buybacks and offering variable dividends as market conditions allow.
This new model makes increasing production difficult however. Stice noted that shareholders don't want the company to return to their old ways and drill more at any cost. This will make replenishing America's Strategic Petroleum Reserve a challenge later this year.
Executive Decision: Micron Technology
For his final "Executive Decision" segment, Cramer talked to Sanjay Mehrotra, president and CEO at Micron Technology (MU), the semiconductor maker that trades at just five times earnings despite rallying 11% today after the company's annual investor day.
Mehrotra repeated that all of Micron's end markets remain very strong, and they're both diversified and secular growers. Those markets include the data center, now Micron's largest segment, along with cell phones, PCs, autos and IoT devices.
When asked about slowing cellphone sales in China, Mehrotra reminded investors that while user growth in smart phone is leveling off, the transition to 5G wireless means there are more, and more profitable, chips in each device. Some manufacturers are making adjustments in China, he said, but Micron is not seeing any major impacts.
Mehrotra concluded by noting that Micron is a U.S.-based memory and storage company.
Lightning Round
In the Lightning Round, Cramer was bullish on Devon Energy (DVN), Talos Energy (TALO), Snowflake (SNOW) and Huntington Ingalls (HII).
Cramer was bearish on Harley Davidson (HOG), AT&T (T), Jumia Technologies (JMIA) and Goodyear Tire & Rubber (GT).
History Lesson
In his "No Huddle Offense" segment, Cramer struggled to find the proper comparison for our current situation. He said typically, there would have been a snapback rally by now, like there was in 2018 and at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020.
But back then, the Federal Reserve was helping the markets, not trying to slow it down. Today's market is also not like 2015, when there was inflation, but nothing like what we're seeing today.
Today's market also isn't like the declines we saw in 2011, or during the financial collapse in 2008. That led Cramer to travel all the way back to the dot-com collapse in 2001 for an accurate frame of reference. Back then, as with now, the best companies, the blue chips, survived, but everything in technology, and everything speculative, was crushed.
That's why Cramer again urged investors to "high grade" their portfolios by selling their losers to fund their winners. It's far better to upgrade, he said, than selling your winners to fund your losers.
To sign up for TheStreet's free Daily Booyah! newsletter with all of the latest articles and videos please click here.
