Thursday's rally showed the power of stock picking, Jim Cramer says
- In a week jam-packed with earnings, Cramer said days like Thursday validate "the very concept of stock picking."
- Index fund proponents likely wouldn't have urged anyone to take some of Thursday's big winners.
In a week jam-packed with big earnings reports, there's no harm in putting stocks on your shopping list and waiting to buy until after earnings-related jumps have died down, Jim Cramer said Thursday.
While plenty of experts might advise against stock picking and suggest instead to put your bets on an index fund or ETFs that bundle sectors together, Cramer stressed that days like Thursday highlight the potential payoff of picking winners.
"On the densest day of earnings season, the day where we get numbers from the most companies in one session, I find the whole day to be a giant celebration of the ingenuity of executives and their teams," Cramer said. "It's a validation not just of how good our companies are, and the CEOs are, but of the very concept of stock picking over indexing."
"Index fund 'evangelistas'" likely wouldn't have urged you to take any of the big winners, he added.
Shares of Meta Platforms soared Thursday after the company reported earnings and revenue that beat analyst expectations the day before. The Facebook parent's shares are up 170% since November, despite the company previously reporting three straight quarters of sales declines.
Microsoft was up after surpassing expectations on the top and bottom lines and reached a 52-week high Thursday. And Eli Lilly shares rose more than 3% as the company lifted its full-year guidance and beat revenue estimates.
"I think all of these winners, every one, is still a buy," Cramer said. "There will be many reversals in this market, especially if the debt ceiling doesn't get extended in time, so you're going to get your chance."
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