Cramer's gig economy roundup: Where he stands on Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and Instacart

Contents

Don’t miss these exclusives from CNBC PRO Jim Cramer’s Guide to Investing

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Monday provided his take on four major stocks in the gig economy sector: Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and Instacart parent Maplebear.

“After hearing from all of these companies, what I see is a confusing situation: Uber, DoorDash and Instacart are all lower after earnings, while Lyft managed to gain a bit of ground,” he said. “But the reality’s a lot more complicated than that.”

Uber: Cramer said Uber’s recent quarter yielded solid results, but the ride-share company did report some weakness in bookings. To Cramer, that’s what sent shares plummeting post-earnings last week, stoking Wall Street’s fears about cash-strapped consumers. The stock has yet to recover, but he said he’s still fairly bullish on Uber, feeling good about the company’s growing profits and cash flow. But Cramer added that investors should monitor the company to see whether it has problems with affordability.

Lyft: Lyft reported a good quarter, and Cramer noted that, unlike archrival Uber, it actually saw higher-than-expected bookings. He said it seems like Lyft is “finally on a more competitive footing,” no longer steadily losing share to Uber, and the stock jumped in extended trading after the earnings report. Cramer said he is pleased with how CEO David Risher is managing the company’s turnaround, saying he’s optimistic the stock can continue to perform well.

DoorDash: Cramer said DoorDash’s quarter was decent, but weakened guidance sent its stock plunging. He indicated that the food-delivery service “deserves the benefit of the doubt” as it spends money to grow business. Although Cramer said he has faith in the stock, he warned that its performance might be unpredictable until DoorDash demonstrates earnings improvement, saying investors shouldn’t expect a warm reception from Wall Street anytime soon.

Maplebear: Although he was impressed with Maplebear’s recent quarterly report, Cramer said he’s hesitant to recommend the Instacart parent because he’s not sure how the grocery-delivery landscape will look in the long run. Amazon continues to try to gain dominance in this sector, he said, adding that it’s not necessarily a good idea to compete with the tech behemoth.

Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and Maplebear did not immediately respond to a request for comment.