When McDonald's reported earnings last week in the throes of a marketwide breakdown and the stock surged higher, CNBC's Jim Cramer took notice.
"Thanks to the resulting rally, McDonald's was one of the top five performers in the Dow last month, with the stock up 5.7 percent," Cramer said on "Mad Money."Â "Why does this matter? Because if a stock can rally when everything's falling apart, imagine what it can do when the dust settles."
Since CEO Steve Easterbrook took the helm of the fast-food chain, he's revamped the menu, introduced delivery via a partnership with Uber Eats and begun a store remodeling program aimed at attracting customers.
Cramer, a big Easterbrook fan, said the moves have paid off in droves and have extended the runway for both the company and its stock.
"Here's the bottom line on this remarkable story: We know McDonald's is firing on all cylinders, and this company has no need to worry about the trade war or the Federal Reserve, which is why its stock could go higher today when the rest of the market was pulling back," he said. "I think McDonald's has a lot more room to run."
Cramer's game plan: Stay on your toes
Cramer wants investors to be prepared for the week ahead after days of news-driven swings in the stock market.
"This market punishes you for having too much conviction," he said on Friday. "When we get too negative, we're blindsided by positive developments. When we get too optimistic, we get hit with days like today. I bet next week gives us more of the same."
Cramer pointed to some recent : on Friday, stocks opened higher after a report saying President had requested his cabinet members to prepare for a trade deal with China.
Shortly thereafter, Trump's chief economic advisor, that story on CNBC, sending the market lower. Then, Trump reiterated his optimism and stocks started climbing again, at least until a positive employment report seemingly renewed the need for to combat inflation with more interest rate hikes.
"It was all very confusing," Cramer said. "I'm just surprised we didn't go down even more, especially since stock got eviscerated ... even though the an upside surprise."
But even though shares of Apple continued their slide on Friday, the "Mad Money" host stood by the stock, saying that Apple will be "buying back boatloads of its stock next week" and advising investors to "join in."
Click here to see his game plan for next week.
Apple: Time to take a bite?
management may have botched the way it announced a change to its , but investors shouldn't give up on the company's stock, Cramer said Friday.
In , the iPhone maker said it would stop breaking down the sales results for its individual products.
"My advice now is to let this stock settle down. Give the sellers who don't believe [CEO] Tim Cook's explanation a couple more days to get out. Then, if you don't own it, I'd start buying it," the longtime Apple bull advised. "Remember, Apple has the world's biggest buyback and next week I bet you they will be in there repurchasing this stock right alongside you."
Click here for his full take.
Paul Tudor Jones talks bear market potential, social change
Hedge fund billionaire Paul Tudor Jones knows that the stock market is facing a reckoning as continues its cycle of raising interest rates to combat inflation.
"Obviously, what typically starts bear markets is interest rates get so high they click it," Jones told CNBC on Friday in an interview with Cramer. "We're clearly going through a tightening cycle. At some point, they're going to stop."
Jones said he uses the 1999-2000 dotcom bubble and the financial crisis as references when faced with the question of whether stocks could enter a bear market. Click here for his full take and to watch the interview.
The billionaire also addressed the private sector's responsibility to lead social change. Click here to read more about how he's pushing for social progress and to watch his interview.
Foursquare CEO: On par with Google and Facebook?
Few companies have the capacity to take on Foursquare, a location discovery platform that leverages its massive database to provide users with personalized recommendations, Foursquare CEO Jeff Glueck said Friday.
"Other than Google and Facebook, we are the Switzerland," Glueck said in an exclusive interview with Cramer.
"We are the sort of platform that everyone who's not Google or Facebook want to use because we understand the whole world's places and we understand different floors of buildings, where you go in malls," he continued. "It's very hard technology, and so really only Google, Facebook and Foursquare have this precision globally."
Click here to watch and read more about his interview.
Lightning round: PBI in the house of pain?
In Cramer's lightning round, he shared his take on callers' favorite stocks:
: "It's an $8 stock that has not proven itself. And I've got to tell you, when they haven't proven themselves long term, I am not going to get behind it. I will say this: if they want to come back on and they want to tell us why that last quarter looked pretty good, they are always going to be welcome. But I've got to tell you, it's been a real bad stock."
: "I'm going to give you a three-fer: I like Ross, I like and I also like , which was downgraded today by mistake."
Disclosure: Cramer's charitable trust owns shares of Apple.
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