Earnings from Nvidia, Dell, Costco and Salesforce

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Friday guided investors through next week on Wall Street, saying quarterly reports from Nvidia, Costco, Dell and Salesforce have the potential to move their respective sectors and the rest of the market.

He also warned that stocks’ performance can depend on action from President Donald Trump.

“We’re headed into a fickle week, one that will no doubt be punctuated with presidential postings about our trading partners, their intransigence, their negligence, their perfidiousness,” he said. “Of course, the market ultimately shrugged off the real negative postings from this morning and, instead, focused on the endless obsession, the ten-year, which was steady enough to trump President Trump and his renewed call for high tariffs. I hope that can continue next week, but I’ll tell you something, I wouldn’t count on it.”

AutoZone and Okta are set to report on Tuesday. Cramer said the auto parts retailer’s stock has been a solid performer lately, and investors should buy the stock if it takes a hit, noting that management is also implementing aggressive buybacks. He mentioned that there’s been excitement on Wall Street about cybersecurity name Okta, and he thinks the quarter will be strong.

On Wednesday, retailers Dick’s Sporting Goods and Macy’s will report. Cramer called Macy’s a “chronically underperforming department store chain.” Dick’s will need to explain the rational behind its plan to buy Foot Locker, he continued, saying much of Wall Street thinks the deal is a bad idea — and its stock has taken a hit since the announcement.

Wednesday night brings earnings from two heavy hitters, Nvidia and Salesforce. Nvidia’s stock has been “in no man’s land,” according to Cramer. But he predicted the AI giant will discuss its growing software arm during earnings, adding that the business could explain why the stock has more upside. Salesforce is “a very tough call here,” Cramer continued. Wall Street is split on whether its agentic AI platform will boost revenue, he said. He also pointed out that on Friday, rumors swirled that Salesforce is back in talks to buy data management name Informatica. Investors bristled last year when reports first surfaced that the company was interested in the acquisition, Cramer added.

Costco will post its latest quarter on Thursday, and Cramer said that although the big box retailer reports consistent earnings, its stock tends to drop after the quarter — even if the numbers are strong. He advised investors to wait and not buy ahead of the quarter. Retailers Gap and Ulta Beauty are also scheduled to report Thursday. He praised Gap CEO Richard Dickson’s efforts to reinvent the apparel maker, telling investors they can buy the stock if it comes down before the quarter. Cramer said some analysts are betting Ulta will post solid results — but he said the retail sector is tough to game right now and advised owning, not trading, the stock if investors believe in the business.

Also on Thursday are reports from Marvell Technology, Dell and Zscaler. Cramer said Marvell Technology and Dell are both “integral parts of the data center.” There has been speculation that the former will disappoint, but Cramer said he’s not convinced of that He also said he’s confident Dell will report strong results. Cloud cybersecurity company Zscaler has gotten into a habit of reporting upside surprises, Cramer added

The Labor Department will release an important inflation metric, the personal consumption expenditures report. Cramer said it’s imperative that inflation cool down, but that’s hard to do when new tariffs are raising the prices of many goods.

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Disclaimer The CNBC Investing Club holds shares of Nvidia, Costco and Salesforce.