Quick Read
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Cramer calls Oracle too risky for an IRA and urges avoiding all liquor stocks, with Diageo down 49% over five years.
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Cramer’s late-2026 sector picks include banks and pharma, with JNJ up 55% and JPM up 22% over the past year.
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Cramer’s 1-2-3 ranking rule directs investors to sell any holding ranked three immediately, naming Oracle and liquor stocks as clear threes.
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Don’t wait: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just revealed his top 10 AI stocks. See the full list FREE now.
Jim Cramer delivered a blunt message to investors during the member Q&A on Friday, July 17th’s episode of CNBC Mad Money Investing Club.
He said: sell Oracle, avoid liquor stocks entirely, and lean into cyclicals, defensives, and select semiconductors for late 2026.
Why Cramer Says Sell Oracle
A member asked what to do with Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) after holding it for two years. Oracle has fallen about 6% over the past 2 years, although the stock does pay a 1.6% dividend yield today. Cramer’s answer ignored that the caller might be down on their position: “I don’t care where you bought a stock. I care where it’s going to, and I think that stock is going down. It doesn’t fit in for what I would consider to be an IRA. I think it’s too risky. I think you should sell it.”
Oracle’s Q4 FY2026 filing shows Cloud Infrastructure revenue jumped 93% year over year to $5.79 billion and remaining performance obligations exploded to $638 billion, up 363%. Full-year free cash flow was negative $23.69 billion, against capex of $55.66 billion, with management planning to raise roughly $40 billion in FY2027 through debt and equity. The stock fell 47.64% over the past year and 33.43% in the past month to $126.78.
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Avoid Liquor Stocks, Including Diageo
On spirits, Cramer was categorical: “I know this liquor business is cold… I would not touch any liquor company right now. There are a lot of ones, the gins, the vodkas, the browns, they’re all doing terribly. You don’t need to try to call a bottom.”
Even Diageo (NYSE:DEO) fits the warning, with reported net sales rising only modestly in fiscal Q3 2026 while North America, the company’s largest region, weakened materially and US Spirits contracted. Management has flagged North America as its biggest challenge, citing soft market conditions and the need for a more competitive offer. The stock is down 49.1% over the past five years.
Cramer’s Favorite Sectors for Late 2026
