Don’t count America out just yet, Cramer told viewers during Wednesday’s “Mad Money.” And don’t believe the skeptics who say we’re a service-based economy and no longer one that is at least partly driven by manufacturing. We still make things here—“the best stuff on earth,” he said. We are, in fact, a nation of best-of-breed manufacturers that dominate their markets globally.
To prove his point, Cramer dedicated an entire show to highlighting these American greats. Because while the emerging markets may get all the attention, it’s important to remember just who’s selling to the Chinas, Brazils and Indias of the world. So don’t for a second think the US is being left out of the booms taking place overseas.
Who among the great Stateside manufacturers does Cramer like? Caterpillar and Deere were the first two on his list.
Spanning all equipment categories, Caterpillar is the world’s largest manufacturer of construction and mining machinery. It also has a great engine business with an “unparalleled” global distribution network, Cramer said.
While this is a quintessential American company, headquartered in Peoria, Ill., of all places, just 35 percent of sales come from North America. On the other hand, 26 percent come from Europe, the Middle East and Africa; 22 percent from Asia; and 17 percent from Latin America, making this a truly international business.
CAT plans to rack up $60 billion in revenues in 2012 and earn up to $10 a share. It also has a 20-percent long-term growth rate and a decent 2-percent dividend yield. Cramer said he likes this one on any pullback.
John Deere also qualifies as a buy on any weakness. This company, the biggest maker and distributor of agricultural equipment on earth and the market leader in all kinds of large farm equipment, does get 60 percent of its sales from the US, but that’s “nothing to be afraid of,” Cramer said.
That’s because there’s a global ag bull market taking place as a result of the huge demand for basic foodstuffs from developing countries. And the US produces close to 40 percent of the world’s corn and soybeans. Farming is all about increasing the yield, getting more crops out of the same amount of land, which means using sophisticated machinery from Deere.
“The greater the demand for crops, the more farmers are willing to invest in producing more of them. And, at the moment, that demand is getting increasingly enormous.”
Cramer likes Deere as a play on this trend, in addition to its great Brazilian business as well.
Cramer's bottome line— put CAT and Deere on your "best of breed" industrial shopping list.
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