On Monday, Jim Cramer, host of Mad Money, offered his thoughts on the market’s response to President Trump’s tariffs news. He recalled how, during the presidential campaign, Trump had promised to impose tariffs on several countries, including China. Cramer expressed his surprise that people seemed to have convinced themselves otherwise, considering the president’s long-standing position on the matter.
Cramer highlighted one aspect of the tariffs that took him by surprise in a more positive light. He had expected that China would bear the brunt of the tariffs, with Canada receiving the lowest impact due to its strong relationship with the U.S. However, the 25% duty on Canadian goods struck Cramer as unexpected, especially given that there was not a significant issue like fentanyl or migration at the Canadian border.
“It seemed relatively innocent as far as trade policy goes, but President Trump said over and over again that Canada was taking advantage of us. So they got hit.”
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Cramer then drew attention to Claudia Sheinbaum, the president of Mexico. According to Cramer, Sheinbaum had a clear understanding of the situation. She recognized that Trump was going to shift the rules, and she knew he had the upper hand in the negotiation and understood his goals of curbing illegal immigration and fentanyl trafficking. Sheinbaum understood that a trade war with the U.S. would not be in Mexico’s interest, so she was prepared to adapt and engage with Trump accordingly. Cramer added:
“I think the Chinese will see the 10% number go higher if they recalcitrate. To me, this one’s obvious. The president told me there could be some good news with China when I interviewed him on the floor of the exchange after the election. I have no idea why he went so easy on the Chinese, but it’s possible that he might want to try to extend an olive branch to China, at least to start.”
By starting with the lower tariff, Cramer noted, Trump left himself significant room to maneuver in the future. If he had begun with a 25% tariff, he would have had less flexibility in dealing with China. Now, with more space to negotiate, Cramer believes China recognizes it is receiving a favorable deal.
12 Stocks on Jim Cramer’s Radar
Our Methodology
For this article, we compiled a list of 12 stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer during the episode of Mad Money aired on February 3. We listed the stocks in ascending order of their hedge fund sentiment as of the third quarter, which was taken from Insider Monkey’s database of 900 hedge funds.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
12 Stocks on Jim Cramer’s Radar
12. BigBear.ai Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BBAI)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 7
A caller asked about BigBear.ai Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BBAI), noting the stock’s gains last year while citing short interest. Here’s what Cramer said in answer:
“No, no, you got to go with Palantir. Palantir is not done. This guy is amazing, Karp. I mean, I can’t say enough good about them other than the fact that everybody else is saying it… so you don’t really need me. That’s the one to be in.”
BigBear.ai (NYSE:BBAI) offers AI-driven decision intelligence solutions, including services for national security, supply chain management, digital identity, and biometrics, along with data processing, machine learning, predictive analytics, and visualization. Cramer’s preferred PLTR stock went up over 520% over the last 12 months while BigBear.ai (NYSE:BBAI) gained over 210% during the same period.
11. Beyond, Inc. (NYSE:BYON)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 16
When a caller asked about Beyond, Inc. (NYSE:BYON), Cramer noted its recent acquisition and said:
“Yeah, BYON… they’re buying everything. [They] bought Buy Buy Baby too… Look, I actually like their stock. I thought Container Store was poorly run. I thought Buy Buy Baby was poorly run. Maybe it can make it better.”
Beyond (NYSE:BYON) is an online retailer offering a wide range of home products, including furniture, bedding, décor, and small appliances, through its e-commerce platform and mobile app. On January 8, Barclays analyst Seth Sigman reduced the price target on the company stock from $8 to $7 while maintaining an Equal Weight rating on the stock, as part of the firm’s 2025 outlook for the broadlines, hardlines, and food retail sectors.
While the firm is more optimistic about retail in 2025, it does not expect “recovery” growth. According to Sigman, discretionary goods are emerging from a period of weak demand and underperformance relative to GDP. Barclays believes the sector has moved past its worst phase and expects growth this year, though it highlights ongoing cyclical and structural challenges. Over the past year, Beyond (NYSE:BYON) stock has declined over 55%.
