Mad Money w/ Jim Cramer 4/23/26

Thu Apr 23 2026

Listen to Jim Cramer’s personal guide through the confusing jungle of Wall Street investing, navigating through opportunities and pitfalls with one goal in mind - to help you make money. Mad Money Disclaimer

Summary

Mad Money w/ Jim Cramer – April 23, 2026

Host: Jim Cramer
Producer: CNBC
Episode Overview:
Jim Cramer navigates a volatile market landscape, dissecting steep declines in tech and software stocks, exploring “unloved” value in health care, breaking down the impact of Middle East turmoil on the chemicals sector with Dow’s CEO, examining market overreactions to earnings from utility and science companies, and warning retail investors about the dangers of parabolic stock moves. Notable guests include Jim Fitterling (Dow), Mark Casper (Thermo Fisher), and Patty Poppe (PG&E). The episode also features the trademark Lightning Round with rapid-fire stock picks and takes.

Episode Theme & Purpose

Main Theme:
Market volatility and sector rotation, with a focus on:

The vulnerabilities of tech/software stocks in the AI era
Opportunities in battered health care and value stocks
The impact of geopolitical events on chemicals and utilities
Investor discipline in the face of overheated stocks
In-depth interviews with top CEOs across sectors

Cramer’s mission: Entertain, explain, and help everyday investors make informed decisions in turbulent times.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Market Volatility and the AI Overhang (01:01 – 09:30)

Software Sector Rout: Cramer unpacks the staggering 17% drop in ServiceNow after a “perfectly good quarter,” linking it to broader fears that AI advancements (Anthropic, OpenAI) could disrupt enterprise software business models, generating a “stench” in the whole sector.
- “The market’s changed, the buyers turned into sellers. Doesn’t mean ServiceNow isn’t a great company. But institutional money managers ... won’t pay up as much for that kind of greatness when it’s an enterprise software vulnerable to the great disruptors.” (Jim Cramer – 04:45)
Microsoft and Meta Layoffs: Workforce reductions spooked markets, but Cramer insists, “That’s his [Zuckerberg’s] style. The pin action hurt a lot of stocks.”
Tesla: Cramer is bullish, seeing Elon Musk’s robot ambitions as “revolutionary,” but notes that “selling the future” is currently out of favor with the Street.
Intel Surprise: Celebrates Intel’s “magnificent” results as potentially signaling a reversal for some tech darlings.
Investor Takeaway:
- “Maybe you have to have like the super future. Let’s hope that Intel with magnificent surprise top and bottom line tonight can turn things around.” (Cramer – 07:10)

2. Seeking Shelter: The Case for Health Care Value Plays (09:30 – 11:59)

Rotation to Health Care:
With tech and software facing pressure, Cramer spotlights health care as the new “value” play—an industry marked down already, and now with “unbelievable” bargains.
Specific Picks:
- CVS Health: Trades at 7–11x earnings, benefits from consolidation in drugstore chains.
- Cardinal Health: “Filling a gap” in services for independent medical orgs, down from $233 to $204.
- Johnson & Johnson: “Best pipeline of potential blockbusters of any pharmaceutical,” less than 20x earnings.
- UnitedHealth Group: Recently reported strong numbers, CEO Steve Hemsley returning—“the man is just getting started.”
Investment Rationale:
“If they come down further, you can just keep buying them...when they go down, they actually get cheaper. Cannot say the same thing about...tech stocks, particularly software.” (Cramer – 10:50)

Notable Quote:

“I think these quality health care names help to balance out your portfolio right now, giving you something that can’t be savaged by a displacement that I can’t tell.”
— Jim Cramer (10:58)

3. Viewer Questions: Home Depot in a Rate Cut Era (10:29 – 11:59)

Nick (Connecticut): Asks about Home Depot.
- Cramer’s take: Home Depot is a “template” stock to own when rates are being cut, has been a winner since 1987.
- “You don’t buy Intel when you get rate cuts...You don’t want to get burned endlessly by Software Enterprise or SaaS.” (Cramer – 10:54)

4. Dow Chemical CEO Jim Fitterling: Geopolitics and Chemicals Boom (13:58 – 22:27)

[Interview Segment: 13:58 – 22:27]

Key Points:

Strait of Hormuz Closure Impact:
- 20% of global oil capacity, 50% of global ethylene/polyethylene impacted.
- “We haven’t seen this kind of uplift in prices for well more than a decade. This may be record territory.” (Jim Fitterling – 16:03)
Price Spread Effects:
- Naphtha price spike in Asia/Europe, U.S. ethane (key petrochemical feedstock) “essentially stayed flat.”
- “Our ethane prices have essentially stayed flat. They’ve moved maybe a penny.” (Fitterling – 17:50)
Disruption Timeline:
- Even if straits reopen immediately, “just to clear the logistics logjam...is going to take 275 days, maybe more now.” (Fitterling – 16:30)
Earnings Outlook:
- “12 billion of revenue and 2 billion of EBITDA [Q2]. That really puts us on a trajectory for something like a $6 billion year, well above anything anybody’s got in the projections.” (Fitterling – 16:50)
Succession Planning:
- Karen Carter named incoming CEO (July 1), Fitterling to executive chairman.
Environmental Initiatives:
- On the “Path to Zero” project: “Alberta is going to be a low cost footprint. If we had Alberta running right now, it would be printing money...annuity every year to shareholders.” (Fitterling – 21:30)

5. Thermo Fisher CEO Mark Casper: Earnings, Biotech, and the Golden Age of Biology (24:19 – 32:27)

[Interview Segment: 24:19 – 32:27]

Earnings Miss Or Market Overreaction?
- Despite top and bottom-line beats and a raised full-year outlook, “the stock got obliterated...down nearly 20%” due to slightly weak guidance and soft organic growth (1%).
End Markets:
- Strength in pharma/biotech, “mid single digit growth,” positive order trends.
- “High conviction” in full-year guidance: 3-4% organic, 6-8% total revenue growth.
China Headwinds:
- Funding for Chinese healthcare/diagnostic spending is “very tight,” but “pharma and biotech in China really picking up.” (Casper – 29:48)
Collaboration with Nvidia (AI & Autonomous Labs):
- “We’re actually getting to the point you’re seeing autonomous labs...AI is driving which is the next experiment.” (Casper – 31:05)
- AI accelerating biological discovery—potential for breakthrough innovation.
Cramer’s Take:
- “I think that the market has this wrong...the market’s right. I just did not think the reaction to your report today had anything to do with what your company’s doing.” (Cramer – 31:56)

6. PG&E CEO Patty Poppe: Growth, Grid Hardening, & Clean Energy (32:52 – 40:05)

[Interview Segment: 32:52 – 40:05]

Beating Expectations, Lowering Rates:
- “We have reduced the rates for our most vulnerable 23% last two years, 13% for everybody else...by transforming our business and reducing operating costs, improving financing and growing demand.” (Patty Poppe – 34:04)
Grid Hardening/Wildfire Prevention:
- Over 1,200 miles of lines buried, aggressive plan for another 5,000 miles, reducing risk on 76% of high-risk lines.
- “We’ve increased reliability by 19% in the last year. We’ve increased our wildfire safety. We’ve reduced our rates. The transformation is on track at PG&E.” (Poppe – 35:30)
Powering Data Centers:
- Enormous power demand from Silicon Valley; 4.5 GW in final engineering, 10 GW in pre-application phase.
- “...Every gigawatt we add will reduce rates by 1% or more.” (Poppe – 37:00)
Nuclear Extension:
- Diablo Canyon nuclear plant life extended through 2030; license extended to 2045.
- “If the legislature so decides, we will be ready to go.” (Poppe – 39:14)
Key Roadblock: Wildfire liability reform pending in legislature; “single issue stock.”

7. Lightning Round (40:25 – 43:15)

Highlights & Stock Takes:

Critical Metals: Prefers MP Materials over Greenland rare earth play.
SoundHound AI: “We don’t want to be in sexy. ...Elks cannot be in SoundHound.” (41:20)
Dave (fintech): “I like Dave bars [energy bars] more than I like Dave [the stock].”
Rivian: Surprised at good quarter, believes “they’re going to make it.”
Tesla: Remains bullish; “Those who don’t like Tesla...come see me, and they’re probably short Intel.”
Insulet: Too expensive, threatened existentially by weight-loss drugs (GLP-1s).

8. Investor Discipline: Beware the Parabola (43:34 – End)

Parabolic Moves = Danger:
- “If you have a parabolic move on your hands ... you need to take profits because parabolas quite often lead to crashes.”
- Uses Mega Fortune Co (up 2,000% in a month), Avis (from $100 to $800 to $229 in weeks), and others as cautionary tales.
Sell at Least Cost Basis:
- “You don’t make money until you ring the register.”
- “If you own a stock that’s up more than 50% this month, do some selling tomorrow. Maybe take out your cost basis. Maybe cut the position size in half.”
Timeless Cramerism:
- “Remember, bears make money, bulls make money. But hogs? They get slaughtered.” (46:51)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

“The stench of enterprise software...even the best kind of cologne or perfume can’t cover it.” (Cramer, 08:30)
“We live in the golden age of biology.” (Mark Casper, Thermo Fisher CEO, 28:39)
“We have reduced the rates for our most vulnerable 23% last two years, 13% for everybody else. ...I don’t know anybody else who’s lowering prices in California, but PG&E is.” (Patty Poppe, PG&E CEO, 34:04)
“If they come down further, you can just keep buying them hand over fist. ...When they go down, they actually get cheaper. Cannot say the same thing about the vast majority of tech stocks.” (Cramer, on health care value stocks, 10:50)
“If you have a stock that’s up so much in such a short time, please at least sell enough to recoup your cost basis ... because parabolas quite often lead to crashes.” (Cramer, 44:12)

Important Timestamps

Market Overview & ServiceNow Meltdown: 01:01 – 09:20
Health Care Value Stocks, Portfolio Strategy: 09:30 – 11:59
Home Depot, Rate Cuts Q&A: 10:29 – 11:59
Dow Chemical (Jim Fitterling Interview): 13:58 – 22:27
Thermo Fisher (Mark Casper Interview): 24:19 – 32:27
PG&E (Patty Poppe Interview): 32:52 – 40:05
Lightning Round: 40:25 – 43:15
Investor Discipline & Parabola Lecture: 43:34 – 47:42

Episode Summary

Jim Cramer dives into the heart of market turbulence in spring 2026, arguing that artificial intelligence is turning tech darlings into market pariahs, while health care value names present rare opportunities. Through candid CEO interviews with Dow, Thermo Fisher, and PG&E, he exposes the interplay between geopolitics, secular growth trends, and market misperceptions. Cramer’s signature energy, memorable metaphors (“stench of software,” “hog gets slaughtered”), and practical warnings on parabolic moves make this episode a classic guide for any investor seeking clarity amidst chaos.

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Transcript

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Jim Cramer (1:01)

My mission is simple to make you money. I'm here to level the playing field for all investors. There's always a bull market somewhere and I promise to help you find it. Mad Money starts now. Hey, I'm Kramer. Welcome to Mad Money. Welcome to Kramer Market. Other people make friends just trying to save a little money over here. My job. Entertain, explain. Call me 1-800-743-CBC. Tweet me at Jim Cramer. Some like it Cold, right? That's a little twist on a famous movie, Some like it Hot. But it's also a formula for investing that's going way out of style. I think it could return soon, maybe sooner than you might expect. See, the averages got hit today. Dow dipping 180 points, S&P sliding point for 1%. Nasdaq losing 0.89%. But we know that certain parts of this market are. That is hot as a just fired pistol. Tonight, though, I want to praise the other parts of the market, the parts that have been marked down already, which makes them less vulnerable to surprises. And I'm talking about health care. A group that used to represent safety always has some growth but is now considered poison. These are now unbelievably. Health care is a value stock right now. And I like value, especially when it's attached to a growth industry like health care. We need growth because it seems like, well, it's slowing in some very unlikely places, at least historically. It's caused me to rethink some kinds of growth and gravitate towards others. Why? Let me explain. Especially if you watch the show, you know what I'm talking about. Last night we had Bill McDermott, CEO of Service. Now on the shelf for a perfectly good quarter, one that passed the August rule of 50 revenue growth rate plus profit margin equals more than 50 very good sign for a cloud software play. There were huge signups. Many clients embraced their AI controller model, letting them automate their workforce and more. But here's the problem. In an era where artificial intelligence can mimic very good software businesses, it's hard for ServiceNow stock to get a decent valuation. Too many on Wall street are terrified that this kind of company has no future. Hence today's staggering 17% decline for this stock. ServiceNow, this stock is now down a ghastly 44% for the year. 44% plus. Even though surface now stock has already been pummeled, that doesn't necessarily mean it's gotten cheap. As Ben writes it, Melius tells us, lots of their employees get stuck its compensation. If you were to treat that as real cash compensation, as you and I might then even after today's dramatic fall 103 to 84 and change, stock sells at 37 times earnings. Much more expensive than most of the S and P. Now, I've gone over everything that McDermott told us about a half dozen times. Here's my conclusion. ServiceNow is doing exactly what it's done for years, but it's no longer going to be given that same price during these multiple because artificial intelligence is cheaper. And even if it doesn't wipe them out, it can put pressure on pricing and you don't get a premium model multiple. If your company's pricing is under pressure, the markets change, the buyers turned into sellers. Doesn't mean ServiceNow isn't a great company. It is. But institutional money managers who determine the prices that you see won't pay up as much for that for that kind of greatness when it's an enterprise software vulnerable to the great disruptors we talk about all the time. The stunning decline in the stock rocked the software index, taking almost every one of these down as holders believe that their software stock could be the next victim of anthropic or open AI. Probably an exaggeration. Some groups, like cybersecurity, have a lot less AI displacement risk. Private equity groups got crushed too, as they own the debt of many cloud software companies that have gone private in the past. That debt's now under suspicion for the same reason ServiceNow got rocked. It could be unfair, but no one's going to let you get your money back from these things. These aren't vacuum cleaners, people. There's no warranty and certainty. Certainly no returns. How about this For a stock caveat empty. At the same time we got hit by big layoffs and matted. Today came midday. But I think Mark Zuckerberg is being efficient. When the market heard that it's firing 10% of its workforce, it read that is meaning that the business must be faltering. That's completely untrue. That's his style. But the pin action hurt a lot of stocks. They didn't overcover. He's sufficient. There's, he's efficient. It's like that. All right. Microsoft's offer also offered buyouts. All right, that stock got hit too. We can't presume anything anymore. But we do know the software stocks got wobbed not just by ServiceNow but by Microsoft. We're not used to seeing the sector get hurt like this. This sector has been charmed since 1985 and if these stocks have didn't have any fluff in them then. Fluff? Then it wouldn't be so hard now some of this markets just play negative. I mean look, Tesla reported, all right, I liked everything they said and I'm not, you know, I'm sound like you hang out with Elon Musk, but I will tell you that what he's going to do with robots is revolutionary. You want to sell that stock, you're selling robots, you're selling full self driving cars. You're selling the future. But go ahead, sell the future. I'm not a sell the future, I'm a buyer. The future. Now apparently, apparently that's no longer good enough. Maybe you have to have like the super future. Let's hope that intel with magnificent surprise top and bottom line tonight can turn things around. What an amazing quarter from Lip Bhutan has been there for one year and one month and it's almost a mirror. It is a miracle. It's a miracle. It's a miracle. I'm looking at my staff as helm. It's a miracle. They're talking about a miracle too over there. All right. Now it can't cover the stench of enterprise software though. I don't think anything can cover the stench of enterprise software. Even like the absolute best kind of cologne or perfume. Or like Chanel. I think Chanel is still good, right? I mean, what else people use these days? All right, anyway, so how. Chance. My wife likes chance. So how do you protect your portfolio from these kinds of brutal declines? I got an idea. Why not own some stocks that have already been polar pulverized, already been gaffed, already been filleted even as they represent very good companies. Why not some health care. Let me give you some examples. Let's start with a solid company with a stock that sells at 7/11 times earnings. CVS. I'm all buying it for the Chapel Trust, but we held off because we have too many positions. CBS owns Aetna, which I think is a pretty good. Well, it's not as maybe as good as UnitedHealth. A pretty darn good company. Reported tremendous quarter earlier this week. But UnitedHealth is certainly the ballpark. I think Aetna is good. CBS owns 8,932 drugstores. Not that long ago there were three big drugstore chains. Rite Aid, Walgreens and CVS. Rite a buy Walgreens got taken privates now pulling back from a huge number of stores. They may not even be a factor at this pace a few years from now because they're private that we don't really know what it is. But I know something. CBS CEO David Joyner gave you a terrific quarter last time. I think it's only going to get better as the competition disappears. I prefer CVS to service now. Okay, I'm out there. Next. I'm a huge believer in Cardinal Health with the stock that's just been annihilated or that I reason I think a vicious rotation out of health care. Cardinal is down from 233 to 204. Speed the quarterly estimates repeatedly shifts its model from being a pure middleman to be a drug and drug wholesaler to be a manager of services to its clients offer. Given the complexity of large independent medical organizations. Cardinals filling a gap in management for some specialty chains that really don't know how to run their own business. I think there's maybe many more to come. High growth that now trades at less than 20 times earnings to be Cardinals is steel. Although we've been buying for the travel Trust and admittedly I started early. Some would say wrong. Okay. Or how about a stock they talked about earlier in the week that's doing nothing? J and J Johnson Johnson triple a balance sheet one of only two. The other being Microsoft changes the best pipeline of potential blockbusters of any pharmaceutical company yet it sells a little less than 20 times earnings. These are just. These are discounts. Okay. Finally we're going to get to the one that you're going to buy tomorrow. Right? UnitedHealth Group. Here's a company that just reported its first solid beat and raised quarter in a very long time. Returning CEO Steve Hemsley, who turned UNH into a juggernaut before he retired in 2017, is back and he's doing the same thing he did for years the last time he was CEO. Produced the best earnings and biggest upside surprises. In the real they're not ty miracle, they're not made up. And none of that jack stuff. Yet after all that, after putting up the best managed care earnings I've seen in ages, stock still sells for just 19 times earnings. But this group is hated. The man is just getting started. The stock deserves to be much higher. Okay, here's a little clue. Unh. We do a little Cinema Verte here. You know, I like the Cinema Vertex. The UNH is at 354. This stock was at $600 last April. April of 2025. You know why I like these stocks so much? Because if they come down further, you can just keep buying them hand over fist. Because you know what? When they go down, they actually get cheaper. Cannot say the same thing about the vast majority of the tech stocks, particularly software. Bottom line, I think these quality health care names help to balance out your portfolio right now. Given you something that can't be savaged by a displacement that I can tell good balance. Something tells me you're going to need it. And the stench of software. I have to ask my executive producer. You got anything like a perfume? No, no. No perfume. All right. I tried. I tried to help the group. Don't have it. No perfume. All right. Let's go to Nick in Connecticut. Nick. Hey, Jim, it's Nick from Connecticut. How are you doing? I am doing well. How about you, Nick? Beautiful spring day here in Connecticut. Listen, I'm a longtime listener and club member.