Cramer's week ahead: Coronavirus will be the focus as Disney, Clorox and others report earnings

KEY POINTS

• The main focus during a busy earnings week will be the coronavirus, CNBC's Jim Cramer said.
• Without the outbreak, Wall Street would have had its attention on generally strong quarterly earnings reports, he said.
• Companies such as Google parent Alphabet and Disney report next week.

In a different world, the conversation on Wall Street this week would have been about generally strong quarterly earnings, CNBC's Jim Cramer said Friday.

Instead, it's been about the deadly coronavirus, as fears around the fast-spreading illness pushed the major indexes into the red Friday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average had its worst day since August on Friday, falling 2.1%, and the other two major indexes were down more than 1.5%.

"We hoped to take the temperature of the moment," the "Mad Money" host said. "We didn't realize the only temperature this market cares about is one that's well north of 98.6 degrees, because right now Wall Street only has eyes for the coronavirus."

The fixation on the illness, which has spread to roughly 10,000 people across the globe, is likely to remain over the weekend and into next week, Cramer said.

Monday

One certainty heading into Monday is the number of people who have contracted the coronavirus will be higher than it is Friday, Cramer explained.

Another certainty is that Google parent Alphabet will report quarterly earnings, which may serve as a "true litmus test of this actual moment," Cramer said. Alphabet doesn't have major exposure to China and is flirting with a trillion-dollar market cap, he said.

"If the results are good, it might actually be worth buying on Tuesday" if more market stability takes hold, Cramer said.

The Iowa caucuses are also set for Monday, and Cramer said a potential victory by Sen. Bernie Sanders could translate into a "double-edged sword" for the stock market.

"If Bernie Sanders wins, the market could get hit because Bernie is the anti-wealth candidate and the stock market is wealth," Cramer said.

However, Cramer said there also could be a group of investors who bid up the stocks of pharmaceutical and health-care companies based on the belief that Sanders would be "easy pickings" for President Donald Trump in a hypothetical general election in November.

But in general, trying to make investment decisions based on political predictions right now feels like a "sucker's bet," Cramer said. "Too many wild cards."

Tuesday

Tuesday presents a variety of different earnings reports that should all, in their own way, provide insight into the coronavirus situation, Cramer said.

There's Clorox, which makes bleach, a product that kills everything, and there's also Royal Caribbean.

Clorox makes products that are "among the best weapons against the coronavirus," Cramer said, whereas Royal Caribbean's cruise ships are considered less-than-ideal places to be during an epidemic.

An industrial company such as Emerson Electric will also shed light into the state of supply chains and the labor force in China, Cramer said.

"How's demand? ... How's the global economy holding up? We're going to find out," Cramer said.

Disney reports after the bell, and while the focus may have otherwise been on the number of subscribers to Disney+, it will instead be on the impact of the coronavirus-induced shutdowns of its theme park in China, Cramer said.

Wednesday

Cramer said his theory on the pharmaceutical stocks — that they can keep climbing — will be put to the test when Merck reports.

"I expect a strong quarter from Merck and more good news about its breakthrough cancer treatment," he said.

General Motors also reports, and Cramer said the focus will be on its car sales in China, which has been the company's "bellwether market."

Cramer said he predicts sales in that market are "going to be very, very weak."

Two consumer stocks report earnings after the bell: Yum China and GrubHub.

Yum China is, of course, doing business in the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, and its management will "most likely be grilled and grilled hard about whether anyone is going out at all."

Cramer said he's interested to learn whether any coronavirus-related fears have increased demand for GrubHub's food delivery.

"Or is it too soon to be worrying about that?" he said.

Thursday

Cramer said he wants to learn more about the state of Bristol-Myers Squibb's acquisition of Celgene and hear CEO Giovanni Caforio weigh in on the coronavirus, too.

Estee Lauder's earnings will also provide insight into the consumer market in China, Cramer said. He noted that fears about Estee Lauder's exposure in Hong Kong, due to the protests, proved to be overblown because sales in China remained strong.

But Cramer said he doesn't think the sales will be able to hold up, because of the coronavirus. He added he thought the company could cut its forecast as a result.

Friday

The Labor Department will release nonfarm payroll numbers, which otherwise would be among the biggest focuses, Cramer said.

They still matter, but if not for the coronavirus, "we would looking for where Boeing's 737 Max issues might be hurting employment or if Amazon's unbelievable quarter came at the expense of hard-goods retailers," Cramer said.

Finally, Cramer said if Friday rolls around and the market is significantly oversold, he recommends buying shares of biopharmaceutical company AbbVie.

"I think it can withstand even a ferocious amount of selling," he said.

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