The success of investing can often come down to timing. Jim Cramer warned investors that if they think short term, they can sometimes avoid pain, but it is more likely that they will miss out on opportunity.
Sometimes, a little short-term pain can put an investor into a position to rack up long-term gains.
related investing news
"Stocks don't always get it right short term, and if you play the short-term game I think that you might not get it right, either," the "Mad Money" host said.
Cramer illustrated his point by reviewing Facebook, which has been under pressure after a Deutsche Bank research note said that it could disappoint when it reports earnings at the end of April.
Despite a strong history of delivering better than expected results, Cramer noted that after the last eight quarters, Facebook's stock has closed down 50 percent of the time. In a week following its earnings report, shares traded lower 63 percent of the time.
With that pattern, many could find it tempting to sell Facebook.
The reason why Cramer believes in Facebook for the long term is because it has appreciated an average of 9 percent from one quarter to the next. Thus, the quick sell-off in the stock after reporting has proven to be a time to buy.
"The initial skepticism provides a rare buying opportunity, not a selling opportunity. Yes, renting and flipping Facebook has proven to be a sucker's game versus just flat out owning it," Cramer said.
Read More Cramer: The secret to trading Facebook
Cramer is always thrilled when earnings play out like they are supposed to. This new dynamic only began when the market bottomed in February, and could be a very good sign for earnings season.
"Companies that do well are being rewarded with higher stock prices, and that is something that hasn't happened in a very long time," the "Mad Money" host said.
This dynamic was evident to Cramer when he looked at the airlines. Delta reported a strong quarter on Thursday morning that reflected passenger growth and lower costs and a huge buyback.
Despite the robust earnings, Delta was not happy with unit revenues, which fell 4.5 percent. It expects that it will decline by less than that this quarter, yet there was no relief in sight.
"These guys are running scared like they are losing money, not walking around fat and happy because they are making money," Cramer said.
Read More Cramer: New dynamic signals big earnings season
One way to understand the full character of the market is to take a look at the companies that are leading it higher. One stock that hit a new 52-week high was the Rubicon Project, a play on programmatic ad buying.
Essentially, Rubicon has taken the process of purchasing and selling digital advertising and automated it with one of the industry's largest real-time cloud-based big data computing systems. The company has collected a large quantity of data to help its clients gain effectiveness with their money.
With competition from firms like Google, Rubicon still remains the largest independent automated solution for selling and buying mobile ads.
Cramer spoke with Rubicon Project's COO and CFO Todd Tappin, who explained the primary differences between his company and Google.
"An agency or an advertiser can now reach their audience; any type of inventory across any type of media, whether it be display or video. And they can do that across any type of platform," Tappin said.
Cramer believes that the key to investing is being able to hold a stock for the long term.
"That is why diversification is so important, as this market occasionally goes off the deep end," the "Mad Money" host said.
Diversification can provide the most gain for the least amount of pain, he added. The first portfolio consisted of Apple, Starbucks, Boeing, Disney and Facebook.
"Oh no, Apple and Facebook? What we are going to have to do here is trade out of one of these. I hate to do this because my charitable trust owns both," Cramer said.
To further diversify, Cramer recommended adding Bristol-Myers to the portfolio.
Read More Cramer: Facebook or Apple? How to diversify
Many videogame retailers have struggled, as the industry they have specialized in for years has suddenly gone into a long-term secular decline.
GameStop is facing this situation now, as more people continue to download games from the internet. Cramer attributed the stock's Thursday decline to $31 to GameStop's gloomy guidance for next quarter.
Increasingly, GameStop has attempted to resolve the videogame dilemma by moving away from that market. It has built a business on collectables, and has a chain of Apple retailers called Simply Mac.
"Lately GameStop has been one of the most heavily-shorted stocks out there, but at these levels … you could make the case that it represents real value here," Cramer said.
To learn more, Cramer spoke with GameStop's CEO Paul Raines, who noted that the company just attained a record net-income year.
"GameStop is in great shape in our GameStop branded stores. But of course, we are in a software business cyclical and there is some migration of digital and we recognize that," Raines said.
In the Lightning Round, Cramer gave his take on a few caller favorite stocks:
Nordic American Tanker: "The tone of business at Nordic American Tanker is very good and the tanker business in general is strong, and the 11 percent is safe. So there is why I am on that company."
Williams Companies: "I've decided that deal is too hard to opine on. The personal fighting and rancor there is difficult for me to fathom, frankly."