CNBC's Jim Cramer on Monday looked back at the top five performers in the Dow Jones Industrial Average over the last quarter.
"When you look at the Dow's five top performers last quarter, most of them were, let's say unexpected, at least by Wall Street, and at least for the quarter, the ugliness in the bond market didn't create the kind of havoc that some of us would've expected," Cramer said. "While the companies knew they were getting better, the market misjudged them. I wouldn't be surprised if they give us more strength now that we're in the fourth quarter, but only if we see an end to 10-year tyranny, which after this historic rise, is always a possibility."
- Amgen: Biotech company Amgen has made real inroads in cancer treatments in some of the largest markets, and some studies have indicated positive results with its anti-cholesterol drug, Cramer said. Amgen's successful acquisition of drugmaker Horizon Pharma has also allowed its stock to roar, he added.
- Caterpillar: Going into the quarter, industrial equipment manufacturer Caterpillar was marred by assumptions that its success relied on economic growth in China, Cramer said. But its CEO put forth a different scenario, that the company was levered more to data centers and oil drilling than to China, Cramer added. The company also suggested its dealer network actually won't have enough inventory once the federal government's infrastructure plan gets put into action.
- Chevron: Judging purely on the price of oil, Cramer said Chevron should have been the Dow's No. 1 performer last quarter. But oil stocks haven't been as strong as crude itself, he added. Oil's current power stems not from organic demand, Cramer said, but from a "geopolitical chess match" where foreign suppliers like Saudi Arabia and Russia have cut back production to raise prices, and the U.S.'s own production hasn't increased significantly as home suppliers don't want prices to come down either.
- Intel: Cramer said he thinks Intel's stock has been able to run because it's not doing as badly as it has done in the past. Intel isn't as prominent in the tech world as its peers, he added.
- UnitedHealth Group: UnitedHealth has had a "remarkable" comeback since voicing concerns about an unexpected spike in operations post-Covid, Cramer said. But its run has shown that these concerns are history, he added.
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Disclaimer The CNBC Investing Club Charitable Trust holds shares of Caterpillar.
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