Cramer says not all stocks are struggling to start 2022: ‘You just need to know where to look’

CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Wednesday he believes it’s possible for investors to build a successful portfolio despite Wall Street’s tough start to 2022.

“Real companies doing real things with tremendous brand loyalty are what will triumph in this environment— you just need to know where to look,” the “Mad Money” host said, after the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite closed Wednesday’s session in correction territory, meaning it’s down more than 10% from its most recent high, which was recorded in November.

The S&P 500 fell nearly 1% Wednesday, putting its year-to-date decline at 4.9%. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average also slid almost 1%, bringing its losses to 3.6% so far in 2022.

While Cramer said there are real headwinds such as inflation worries that are weighing on the stock market, investors need to look past the big picture and focus on the characteristics of successful companies.

“It’s not the broken supply chain, it’s who can triumph over the broken supply chain,” Cramer said. “It’s not the jump in raw costs, it’s who has the brands that allow them to pass those costs onto the customers. It’s not the inevitable rate hikes from the Fed, it’s who can thrive in a higher interest rate environment.”

For example, Cramer pointed to Procter & Gamble as one example. The consumer products giant saw its stock rise 3.36% Wednesday after it reported better-than-expected second-quarter results.

“Even though it had $2.8 billion in commodity, freight and currency headwinds, it could pass those costs onto you, the customer, without batting an eyelash, because not all brands are created equal. Procter’s are created better,” he said.

Bank of America, which beat quarterly profit estimates Wednesday morning, is another example of the kind of company investors should consider owning in this current environment, Cramer said. “This is an institution that thrives off rate hikes. So, when we see the numbers it reported today, I think it deserved to rally a lot more than it did, frankly, because 2022 could be the year of Bank of America.”

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