Play Video The Apple quarter is just so important to the markets, says Jim Cramer
A blowout quarter from Apple could save the broader stock market, which saw the Dow plunge more than 5 percent and the S&P 500 nearly 7 percent last month, CNBC's Jim Cramer said Thursday.
"I don't want to put too much pressure on Tim Cook, but holy cow," Cramer said on "Squawk on the Street." Apple is expected to later report fiscal fourth-quarter results after the bell. "It's got to have a big number."
Cramer said companies that have reported quarters in line with estimates this season have been met with a "tsunami of selling."
Apple has largely bucked the recent trend of plunging technology stocks, finishing October down about 3 percent.
Wall Street analysts are expecting Apple to report revenue of $61.57 billion and earnings per share of $2.78, according to a Refinitiv survey. Analysts will also be watching the rising average selling price of the iPhone.
In recent weeks, Cramer has blamed the Federal Reserve for the market's recent turmoil, agreeing with President Donald Trump, but for different reasons, that rate hikes should be halted.
The central bank has already raised rates three times this year, and one more is expected in December. Last month, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said rates are a long way from so-called neutral.
Cramer, whose charitable trust owns shares of Apple, said earlier this week that he could be a believer in a possible year-end stock market rebound if Apple turns in a positive earnings report.
"This is the most binary thing I have seen" in a long time, the "Mad Money" host said Wednesday. "If Apple's good, there's nothing left between us and the end of the year," barring the unexpected.
— CNBC's Steve Kovach contributed to this report.
Disclaimer