Jim Cramer decided to get his hands dirty, digging into the Dow Jones industrial average to figure out if the move to 20,000 was justified.
As of this point in earning season, 15 Dow members have reported earnings. Of the 15, Cramer found at least 13 with numbers that indicate the rally is the real deal.
"This move is not alchemy, it is not animal spirits. It is the earnings, which is the best reason to rally," the "Mad Money" host said.
No. 1 was American Express, which went down after reporting earnings. Cramer thinks this is a big mistake, and expects it to head back to the $90s.
No. 2 was Boeing, whose results impressed Cramer, especially with its profitable Dreamliner.
No. 3, DuPont, reported a very strong quarter, leaving Cramer simply amazed. He attributed the success to CEO Ed Breen, who is in the process of merging with Dow Chemical.
No. 4, General Electric, missed out big time, Cramer said. He was disappointed with the execution and confused by moves made with oil and gas, along with its shortfall in the turbine business.
"Don't look for GE for help now that we have broken out above Dow 20,000," Cramer said.
Goldman Sachs checked in at number 5, and is in a great position to benefit from deregulation and rate hikes. The last quarter was reported before these elements were even implemented, so Cramer could only salivate over what it could deliver once the backdrop improves.
IBM was sixth, and traded down initially on its conference call—making Cramer convinced sellers were insane. Forty percent of IBM's business is growing like a young startup. He thinks it's time to pay more, not less for the stock, and said it could go to $200.
No. 7, Johnson and Johnson, did not have a weak quarter, despite what naysayers believe, Cramer said. In a world that is less reliant on Donald Trump and less cyclical, he said it is a buy.
JPMorgan, which just delivered the best quarter it has ever reported, was number 8. On virtually every metric, the company simply has no peer, Cramer said. Yet the stock is still cheap at only 13 times earnings.
No. 9 was McDonald's, making Cramer feel lonely for liking the stock on the conference call. He said the stock is just fine, and doesn't agree that the company is done reinventing itself.
No. 10, 3M, is so innovative, Cramer wouldn't be surprised to see if it led the way higher from here as consumers snap back.
Procter & Gamble, at number 11, was ready when the dollar strengthened and had a large boost from earnings, large gains in market share and restructuring that is paying off. If the stock comes down, Cramer said it will be bought.
No. 12, Travelers, just delivered a clean beat when it earned $3.20 a share when Wall Street was only looking for $2.81.
"Look for this insurance company's investment portfolio to give you some real vig this year as rates go higher on risk-free securities. Travelers hates risk," Cramer said.
At number 13, UnitedHealth has a pattern of blowing away numbers, followed by the stock falling into a funk as investors assess the quarter. Cramer believes that this stock is on the right side of President Donald Trump, because of its criticism of Obamacare.
No. 14 was United Technologies, which delivered again. The numbers were so superb, investors didn't notice the couple of pennies per share Trump knocked off the company's earnings by keeping jobs in Indiana.
Verizon, which logged in at number 15, was terrible, Cramer said. It was losing share all over the place, and was by far the worst in show.
"If the numbers from the other 15 Dow stocks are even close to this good, we could have a lot more room to run," Cramer said.
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