Mad Money

Cramer: Boats, bikes and snowmobiles, baby!

What do a motorcycle, yacht and snowmobile have in common?
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What do a motorcycle, yacht and snowmobile have in common?

Heading into the holidays, Jim Cramer likes to stop and take the temperature of the American consumer. What better way to do that than to think about yachts, snowmobiles and motorcycles?

So what the heck do these three things have in common? They're all expensive, and they're probably the things you least need on this planet.

"These are essentially playthings for the rich, as well as extreme enthusiasts who are happy to shell out all their savings if it means they can have an amazing bike or terrific boat," Cramer said.

Three discretionary stocks that are on fire right now will tell us exactly how to gauge the holidays: Harley-Davidson, maker of motorcycles; Brunswick Corp., top manufacturer of yachts; and Polaris Industries, which is all about snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles.

These stocks also tell a powerful story: This holiday season is going to be fabulous for gift giving.




A 2014 Harley-Davidson CVO Breakout motorcycle sits on display at the Starved Rock Harley-Davidson dealership in Ottawa, Illinois.
Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Things are looking up for Harley Davidson, as U.S. dealer inventory levels remain near their lowest point in more than five years. This is good news for Harley, because it means that they won't have to discount to move goods. In addition, Harley reported a terrific quarter, and are focused on growing its overseas exposure.

Brunswick is the No. 1 maker of recreational boats on Earth and also reported a fabulous quarter with higher than expected sales growth in every category. Though the stock has been volatile for most of the year, it is up 22 percent in the last five weeks alone.

As we are in the middle of winter boat season, Cramer thinks this stock has some major legs to run. This company has the right products hitting the market at just the right time.

Polaris, the maker of high-performance off-road vehicles, snowmobiles and motorcycles, is making a killing as well. Just like the other two stocks, this one has roared in the past five weeks. This is mainly because of wealthy consumers opening up their wallets, but Polaris also reported a great quarter.

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The CEO of Polaris, Scott Wine, raised his full-year revenue and earnings forecast, which is good news since the company has a history of giving cautious guidance.

By watching the sales of things that people want to buy, rather than have to buy, Cramer thinks you can tell a lot about the pulse of the American consumer. Not only is the high-end consumer about to have a happy holiday season, but Cramer thinks the owner of these stocks could also be a happy camper.

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