Sometimes, finding the market winners means looking no further than what it is telling you to buy. One secret to Jim Cramer's success over the years is being able to figure out what is driving things. Once you know what caused all the action, then you have a real recipe for success.
Three stocks that caught Cramer's attention were among the best performers of the market on Thursday. The "Mad Money" host thinks investors should take another look at Snap-On Tools, Domino's Pizza and Skechers.
"What do they all have in common? How about four characteristics that define what wins in this market," Cramer said.
These winning stocks may not appear that they have anything in common, at first. One sells pizza, another sells shoes and the other sells tools. What the heck could they all share?
There are four attributes that define a winner, and Cramer sees all of these characteristics in these companies.
First, they have huge sales and earnings power. Domino's just posted 19 percent earnings growth, along with 14 percent same store sales in the U.S. Wowzer! The second attribute of a winner is the surprise factor. The good ones always find a way to come through. Cramer thought for sure that Snap-On would have yet another consistent delivery this quarter and was completely surprised by its amazing sales and organic growth—all from selling tools!
The third ingredient to a successful stock in this kind of a market is an insane amount of innovation. Cramer even dares to argue that all three companies are actually technology stocks in disguise. Snap-On takes the time to listen to its clients, and then delivers with new tool inventions to meet their needs.
The fourth characteristic of a top stock is the lack of excuses. All three companies have franchises overseas. Have you heard them complaining about the strong dollar or lack of demand overseas?
"If you have the right goods, the strong dollar can't derail you. That, in itself, may be the most amazing thing about these three companies."
Speaking of innovation, Cramer considers Domino's to have the best mobile and online technology out of anyone in the restaurant industry. Additionally, it continues to expand with an amazing international growth story.
The stock is up more than tenfold since the "Mad Money" host started recommending it in 2010. Will it stay on fire for the year? To find out, Cramer spoke with Domino's Pizza CEO J. Patrick Doyle.
"It was a pretty remarkable quarter. It really was the fundamentals working. The food is right, the technology is working, the category is starting to grow a little bit, the consumer continues to get healthier and job growth plays into ordering more pizza," Doyle said.
Cramer also reignited his passion for the Cheesecake Factory and finds it ridiculously easy to love this kind of a stock right now.
The "Mad Money" host is naturally up at 3:30 a.m. to monitor China's PMI, S&P Futures, Euro zone news on Greece and any other newsworthy event that could impact the day. Yet, when Cramer walks by the Cheesecake Factory in his local mall, patrons certainly are not worried about these things. They simply want a good food in a clean restaurant that has delicious cheesecake.
"I say you get what you pay for, and with Cheesecake you get a good tasting meal, and a great tasting stock. Quite an antidote to the craziness that happens overseas between 3:30 and 5:30 every morning of our investing lives," Cramer added.
Cheesecake Factory released earnings on Wednesday, and Cramer was drooling over the stock afterward. It delivered 4.2 percent comparable-store sales growth, which was much better than analysts expected. Additionally, costs were under control, as it reaped the benefit from lower natural gas costs that usually eat up a chunk of operating costs.
The company that really stunned investors when it reported on Wednesday night, was Skechers. It delivered a 9 cent earnings beat from a $1.01 basis and announced higher than expected revenues, up 40.5 percent year over year.
It also had strong guidance, as management predicted accelerated growth throughout the year.
And while Skechers did have an amazing quarter, management confirmed that it faced significant headwinds including a strengthening U.S. dollar, unseasonably cold weather in many markets, a slow-down in the West Coast ports and a distribution center in Europe that operated less efficiently.
Given these difficulties, could Skechers have obtained an even better number without them? To find out, Cramer spoke with Skechers CFO and COO David Weinberg.
"The number could have been significantly higher just from the currency, and obviously if the port had been more efficient for us we could have had an extra turn. It seems we are very strong going into the back half of this year, and things are still looking pretty good," Weinberg said.
Read More Skechers exec: 'We could have gone much higher'
The third of the triple threat trio of the day was Snap-On Tools. Cramer knows that if you continue to bet on well-run companies that have a history of strong execution, that won't let your portfolio down.
Snap-On is the leading maker of hand and power tools for auto repair shots, aerospace, agriculture, construction, mining and power generation companies. However, it seems that the stock can't stop going higher, as it rallied again on Thursday.
Does it have more room to run? Cramer sat down with Snap-On's chairman and CEO Nick Pinchuk to hear more about the quarter and where it could be headed.
"One of the big tailwinds behind Snap-On is the changing technology in the marketplace. We go into those workplaces and see what will make work easier for mechanics, technicians and professionals and we translate that back to our product development people, and it brings out new products," Pinchuk said.
In the Lightning Round, Cramer gave his take on a few caller favorite stocks:
Noble Energy: "I think Noble is right here. I've been buying some of these down and outters, and Noble is very well-run. They already did the equity offering, and it's in good shape."
Kroger Co: "Kroger is down 10 percent in a straight line. That to me says that is the pullback we have been waiting for and it is time to buy some Kroger."