Bet against ‘superstar’ executives like Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Cook at your own peril, Jim Cramer warns

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Thursday advised investors to trust big-name executives – especially those at the helm of the major companies that just reported quarterly earnings.

“You bet against these superstar CEOs and CFOs at your own peril. … [they] don’t win every game, but over the long haul they win a lot more often than they lose, and counting them out is rarely a smart decision,” the “Mad Money” host said.

“Too often stocks go down because people who haven’t done the homework are knocking them down for reasons that make no sense. Just because a stock is down, that doesn’t mean the decline is justified,” he said.

Cramer singled out five well-known business executives whose companies reported quarterly results recently, acknowledging that investors shouldn’t trust every business leader with a big reputation. 

“The world’s complicated, people are fallible, no executive deserves your blind faith,” he said.

Here are his thoughts on each company:

Alphabet

“That’s [chief financial officer] Ruth Porat. Titan. If she says the quarter’s great and she explains it, you don’t just dismiss it. … You dismiss the clowns selling the stock,” Cramer said.

Meta

“Facebook put aside billions to defeat TikTok; [CEO Mark] Zuckerberg only spent a fraction of that and he’s already created something better. … This is the guy the bears want to bet against? You can’t be serious,” he said.

Ford

“Ford stock is one of the cheapest in the S&P 500. I’d be a buyer,” Cramer said.

Microsoft

“Buying Microsoft into that foolish dip … was like stealing candy from an adult,” Cramer said.

Apple

“A lot of people traded around the stock of Apple as usual because we heard bad things about supply problems, and China, and drab phones and slowing services. That’s people betting against [CEO] Tim Cook. … It’s Tim Cook, for heaven’s sake,” Cramer said.

Disclosure: Cramer’s Charitable Trust owns shares of Alphabet, Apple, Ford, Meta and Microsoft.