Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: Buy Coke's Regeneration

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Jim Cramer capped off a weeklong series of "Transformational CEOs" Friday by naming Coca-Cola's (KO) Neville Isdell as the fifth member of a pantheon of chief executives who are turning around their companies.

When Isdell arrived, Coke was in danger of becoming a "has-been" company, Cramer told viewers of his "Mad Money" TV show. The sodamaker generated flat sales because it had "bet the house" on carbonated beverages, where the growth was not present.

Coke even had the opportunity to buy Quaker Oats, but it gave it up, passing up on an opportunity to acquire Gatorade, Cramer said. Instead, PepsiCo (PEP) swooped it up.

Pepsi was "eclipsing" Coke because of its smart decision to diversify to food and noncarbonated beverages. Coke bottomed soon after Isdell joined, but it has moved up significantly in the last two years. "Its last quarter was a wonder to behold," Cramer said.

Although Coke doesn't have any growth in the U.S., it has "serious" international exposure, he added. Plus, it has introduced new products, such as Coke-Zero, which Cramer called a "success story."

Isdell is finally trying to get this "lazy company" to diversify beyond soda. Isdell is "injecting new energy" into Coke. The chief executive, according to Cramer, "is a man you can count on." Isdell took an "overconfident" company and got it running to different countries.

This is just the beginning for Coke, and as long as Isdell is at the helm, this is a stock to buy, Cramer said.