Embrace the Jerry Jones playbook and think long-term

As one of the biggest weeks of earnings season kicks off, investors should take notes from the playbook of long-time Dallas Cowboys owner and General Manager Jerry Jones, CNBC’s Jim Cramer said on Monday. 

Jones thinks big and embraces headwinds, Cramer said, and this week, especially, investors should play the long game and not be swayed by short-term worries.

“Ask yourself ahead of earnings: Are you one foot out the door already because neither you nor management sees anything but short-term results and troubles?” Cramer said.

Alphabet and Microsoft are two rival stocks that investors should consider for their long-term value, rather than their immediate desirability, Cramer said. The two tech giants report after the bell on Tuesday. 

“I can’t stress this enough, because there will be stocks — like a Microsoft or an Alphabet or maybe even a Meta Platforms, all of which report this week — and they have disappointed before and could do it again,” Cramer said. “Can you steel yourself?”

The tech-heavy Nasdaq slipped on Monday as investors awaited big tech earnings. Microsoft shed 1.4% and Meta Platforms also fell. Alphabet closed the day higher.

“Microsoft almost seems too easy, but remember, you aren’t owning it for the present, you are owning that stock because its embrace of artificial intelligence might allow them to save their languishing search engine, Bing, and make it genuinely competitive versus Google,” Cramer said. “I think they can do it, but you won’t see it this quarter.