Jim Cramer is telling investors to buy WMT stock right into the weakness. On Mad Money, he said Walmart Inc. had become an incredible buying opportunity after the shares were pummeled and then fell another 18% from their high.
That call matters now because the stock has already absorbed a sharp reset, and Cramer is arguing that the market is still misreading the business. He said Walmart is one of the greatest companies on earth and that Wall Street does not understand what is happening inside a retailer that sells groceries, everyday essentials, home goods, apparel, electronics and more through stores, warehouse clubs and online platforms.
The core of his case is simple: when shoppers are under pressure, Walmart can draw them in. Cramer said it is an ideal destination for shoppers all the way up to the $100,000 category, describing it as a trade-down play that wealthier people have discovered has a lot of incredible value. In his view, that makes the selloff look disconnected from the business itself.
He did not pretend the latest quarter was flawless. Cramer said it was not perfect, but he rejected the idea that the results justified the stock’s 18% decline. That is the friction point in his argument: a quarter that was good enough for him to call the stock cheap, yet apparently weak enough to let the market turn cautious. He said some of the pressure came from a sense of malaise created by super high oil prices, which had also weighed on the broader consumer backdrop.
Now he thinks that pressure is easing. Cramer said Walmart stock should get a reprieve because oil is back down to reasonable levels, a move he sees as important for both shoppers and the company’s near-term mood. The unresolved question is whether investors agree that the pullback was overdone, or whether the market still wants a more convincing quarter before giving NASDAQ:WMT another look.
