Inflation takes center stage with retail earnings

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Friday previewed next week’s earnings slate and other pivotal market events, including congressional testimony from Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell.

Given the calendar, the “Mad Money” host said he believes Wall Street’s primary focus will shift from Ukraine to the economy, specifically price pressures.

“Fortunately, even after today’s run, the averages remain somewhat oversold, but unfortunately inflation is sky-high right now,” Cramer said.

All earnings and revenue estimates are courtesy of FactSet.

Workday

• Q4 2022 earnings release after the close; conference call at 4:30 p.m. ET Monday
• Projected EPS: 71 cents
• Projected revenue: $1.36 billion

Cramer said Workday’s “problem” is its stock is expensive based on earnings, so it may get hit even if its quarter is solid.

HP Inc.

• Q1 2022 earnings release after the bell; conference call at 5 p.m. ET Monday
• Projected EPS: $1.02
• Projected sales: $16.52 billion

Cramer said investors need to be careful with HP ahead of the print because its rival in the PC industry, Dell Technologies, reported Thursday night and was hurt by supply chain issues.

Zoom Video

• Q4 2022 earnings after the close; conference call at 5 p.m. ET Monday
• Projected EPS: $1.11
• Projected revenue: $1.25 billion

“You have to be concerned about their business and whether it holds up as the pandemic recedes,” Cramer said.

Target

• Q4 2021 earnings before the bell; conference call at 9 a.m. ET Tuesday
• Projected EPS: $2.85
• Projected revenue: $31.34 billion

While Target shares jumped 4% Friday, Cramer said it’s hard to know which type of retail story the company will tell when it reports. It’s unclear whether it will say that business is going great, or if it will speak largely about supply chain and inflation challenges, Cramer said.

Kohl’s

• Q4 2021 earnings before the open; conference call at 9 a.m. ET Tuesday
• Projected EPS: $2.11
• Projected sales: $6.59 billion

Predicting Kohl’s quarter is even more difficult than it is for Target, Cramer said, noting the department store chain has been the target of takeover talks.

Domino’s Pizza

• Q4 2021 earnings before the bell; conference call at 10 a.m. ET Tuesday
• Projected EPS: $4.28
• Projected sales: $1.38 billion

Domino’s shares have been hit hard in recent weeks, Cramer said, simply because its performance is seen as consistent, not spectacular. “If Domino’s doesn’t blow the numbers away this time I think investors will decide that it was merely a Covid winner, not a post-Covid winner, even though it has many years of going higher. I disagree. I don’t make the rules, though,” he said.

Salesforce

• Q4 2022 earnings after the close; conference call at 5 p.m. ET Tuesday
• Projected EPS: 75 cents
• Projected sales: $7.25 billion

Cramer said he thinks the “relentless, ruthless selling pressure” on Salesforce’s stock may have…