Jim Cramer’s top 10 things to watch in the stock market Friday

1. Wall Street was looking to close May on a positive note. Stocks were looking higher across the board Friday after the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge rose as expected in April. It was a good report for the bulls. For the week, the S&P 500, the Nasdaq and the Dow are all in the red.
2. Dell expectations got too high ahead of earnings over server work with Nvidia’s upcoming Blackwell chip platform. Shares dropped roughly 16.5% after the company’s quarter didn’t wow. Earnings guidance was below estimates. Management said on the call, “We remain bullish on the coming PC refresh cycle and the longer-term impact of AI on the PC market.”
3. Don’t be fooled by the dip in the stock, Costco‘s quarter was excellent, and it’s still keeping inflation low. I like the new management team, and they are going to be better on tech. Costco got multiple price target increases from Wall Street analysts and the Club. We went to $875 per share from $800.
4. Best Buy shares were higher after Thursday’s nearly 13.5% post-earnings increase. It was a mixed quarter, but management’s optimism about the AI-driven personal computer and smartphone refresh did the trick. Forty percent of new PCs will be dedicated to Club name Best Buy. The weight has been removed in terms of soft appliance sales because of new PCs from Dell and HP Inc., as well as new phone cycle.
5. Club name Foot Locker got price target hikes from the Street and the Club after Thursday’s nearly 15% post-earnings surge. Shares were higher again Friday. The stock came out of the doghouse on signs CEO Mary Dillon’s turnaround plan turned the corner. We gave it our 2 rating, which means considering buy on a pullback.
6. Gap had a much better quarter, and the stock surged nearly 25%. CEO Richard Dickson has it firing on all cylinders: Old Navy, by far the biggest, very strong; Gap nameplate strong; Banana Republic better; Athleta still very small and not a threat to Lululemon, but doing better.
7. Ulta Beauty‘s quarter was not as bad as feared, which was good for a roughly 9.5% early Friday pop. Ulta is up to nearly 1,400 stores and more than 43 million active members. It took share in mass market but lost share in prestige. Ulta cut full-year earnings and revenue guidance.
8. Nordstrom acknowledged right up top that the April 18 announcement of exploring all options is very real. The department store chain reported a wider-than-expected loss but beat on revenue. The stock lost more than 3.5%. Management said on the post-earning call that On Holding running shoes, Sam Edelman and Birkenstock were featured brands in the quarter.
9. Bank of America raised its Qualcomm price target to $245 per share from $180. Qualcomm has been an unheralded star of the mobile/PC show, with shares already advancing 41.6% year to date. An exclusive partnership with Club name Microsoft to use its chips for AI PCs is a key driver for the company.
10. MongoDB shares dropped more than 20% after the developer data platform’s guidance came in below expectations. The economy hurt business and execution was not nearly as crisp as they would like. This is an example of a company that had been secular and is now cyclical.

Sign up for my Top 10 Morning Thoughts on the Market email newsletter for free

(See here for a full list of the stocks at Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust.)

As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade.

THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY, TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER.  NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB.  NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.