Key economic data and Big Tech earnings

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Friday walked investors through another busy week in the thick of earnings season, pointing out reports from tech titans Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta, and the release of key economic data.

Cramer stressed that tariff policy still hangs in the balance, and there must be some trade deals next week —especially if Wall Street is going to weather any weak quarterly reports.

“This is a really consequential week ahead. We’re about to get into the weeds with tariffs, and we have to sort out what’s real and what’s just mandated by the president,” he said. “Most important, we need to see some trade deals, please. With them, the market can absorb some earnings disappointments. But without them…things could get really ugly very quickly after the run up we just had.”

Pope Francis’s funeral will be held in Vatican City this weekend, and Cramer noted that President Donald Trump will be in attendance, along with a slew of other world leaders. He wondered if Trump might use his time in Europe to negotiate trade policy. Monday brings earnings from Nucor, which Cramer said is in entangled in two of Wall Street’s most pressing issues — tariffs and recession worries. He’ll be interested in what the company has to say, noting that the domestic steelmaker actually stands to benefit from tariffs.

General Motors, which reports Tuesday, is also at the epicenter of these issues, Cramer added, saying it’s unclear by how much tariffs will inflate the cost of vehicles. UPS might give further insight into the tariff landscape when it releases earnings that day, he continued.

Also on Tuesday are reports from consumer-oriented companies Coca-Cola, Starbucks and Spotify. Cramer will be waiting to see if the soda maker maintains its momentum, saying it’s the only one in its cohort still hanging in after a tough week for the group. With Spotify’s lucrative subscription model, Cramer claimed the music streamer can compete with Netflix. He also said he’s anticipating new Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol will lay out the coffee chain’s domestic and international strategies.

Caterpillar is set to report Wednesday, and Cramer said he wants to hear how much money is left from the Biden administration’s infrastructure grants, noting the stock has taken a hit recently. He noted that Wall Street is split on what Wednesday reports from Meta and Microsoft will look like. Some investors are worried about Meta’s advertising business, but Cramer said solid figures put out recently by Alphabet should somewhat assuage those fears. He said he thinks Microsoft needs to show that its artificial intelligence business is gaining traction, the cloud arm is doing well and data center spending is substantial, but not too much.

More Big Tech names report on Thursday — Apple and Amazon. Cramer said he’s confident Apple can eventually get through issues caused by its heavy presence in China now that trade tensions are boiling over. He said he’s expecting CEO Tim Cook to lay out a trade strategy that involves India. While Cramer said he’s bullish on Amazon — lauding both its retail and advertising arms — he conceded that it also faces tariff woes.

Healthcare outfits CVS and Eli Lilly will also post earnings Thursday, and Cramer indicated that he’s fairly optimistic on both companies. Eli Lilly is benefiting from its popular GLP-1 drug, he continued, adding that he expects CVS’s health insurance business to be performing well. McDonald’s will report that day, and Cramer said he expects the burger maker to put up solid results. While some restaurant chains are performing poorly because of high-priced products, he suggested customers find McDonald’s more affordable.

On Friday, Chevron and Exxon Mobil will report, and Cramer said he thinks the oil giants might not relay good news because of how low oil prices have fallen. The Labor Department will release nonfarm payrolls on Friday. Cramer said the report needs to show weaker figures in order for the Federal Reserve to consider cutting rates.

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Disclaimer The CNBC Investing Club Charitable Trust holds shares of Starbucks, Apple, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and Eli Lilly.