CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Wednesday discussed several companies whose stocks have recently seen declines, explaining whether they can turn around their business.
“Look, we can bemoan companies that can’t shoot straight. Or we can look at, say, what Larry Culp did when he came in and saved GE from collapse. We can see the immediate faith the market places in Brian Niccol to turn around Starbucks,” he said. “This can be done — the companies have to stop fighting it, though.”
Cramer first considered Starbucks, saying companies that want to improve need a major change at the top, stressing that the coffee retailer “is going to become the model” for success after announcing Tuesday that it had tapped Niccol, CEO of Chipotle, to lead the company. The stock soared on the news. To Cramer, it had become clear that Starbucks was a “great company with loyal customers and not-so-hot management.”
Disney is also “salvageable,” because it has many valuable franchises and, with the right management, can succeed, he argued. But when it comes to former Dow Jones Industrial Average stock Walgreens, he said the company may be too damaged to execute a turnaround. Despite his faith in CEO Tim Wentworth, Cramer said the executive may have been tasked with the impossible.
Meanwhile, Boeing has so little competition that Cramer said the plane-maker can afford to make “endless mistakes.” He said it can succeed, it just needs solid management. Boeing’s new CEO, aerospace veteran Robert “Kelly” Ortberg, officially took the reins last week. Wall Street has been skeptical of Boeing after a door plug that was missing key bolts blew out of a new 737 mid-flight early this year. The company had spent years trying to convince investors its planes were safe to fly after two fatal crashes in 2018.
“It’s going to take a lot of time to turn around Boeing. I think it’s probably too soon to buy the stock given the balance sheet’s so hideous, but Ortberg has horse sense,” Cramer said. “Given that this is a duopoly where America needs Boeing to do well, I bet he does pull it off.”
Walgreens declined to comment. Disney, Starbucks and Boeing did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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