We recently published a list of Jim Cramer’s Latest Lightning Round: 7 Stocks in Focus. In this article, we are going to take a look at where FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC) stands against other stocks in focus in Jim Cramer’s latest lightning round.
On Tuesday, Jim Cramer, host of Mad Money, spoke about the declining consumer confidence, which has been attributed to various factors, including tariffs, job losses, and other concerns.
“Big thing, this morning, the Conference Board’s consumer confidence index may be blanched. The expectations index based on consumer’s short-term outlook dropped 9.6 points to 65.2. That’s the lowest level in 12 years. You know it’s worse than Covid times?”
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He explained that the index is now well below the critical 80 threshold, which typically signals a recession. It marks the fourth consecutive month of declining consumer confidence, a trend Cramer finds very concerning. While acknowledging the severity of the situation, Cramer also pointed out a silver lining: the Federal Reserve can see these numbers and might take action if necessary. However, he also noted that the Fed’s future moves have become less predictable.
“When I see these numbers though, I think maybe the Fed can’t afford to wait until they see how much inflation the tariffs cost. We simply don’t want a recession here if it’s avoidable, but let’s address the consumer confidence issue head-on.”
Cramer went on to highlight several reasons why consumer confidence is eroding. He explained that many people in the U.S. are concerned about the White House’s actions, including layoffs and partial government shutdowns, which are contributing to fears of job insecurity. He noted that people are worried not only about layoffs but also about automation taking over jobs. Furthermore, Cramer noted that people are also anxious about the tariffs. In particular, there has been a lack of clarity from the White House on the necessity of some tariffs, leaving the public uncertain about the long-term effects.
As consumer confidence continues to erode, Cramer warned that people start to retreat, cutting back on spending, staying home more, and avoiding activities that contribute to economic growth. Cramer said that this is evident in the struggles faced by major retail companies, which are suffering due to reduced consumer activity.
“Is there anything the President can do about this? I think it might be time that he actually talks to people in a calm way about how many jobs could be created by cracking down on our so-called trading partners. Time to bury the hatchet with Mexico and Canada too, and don’t bury it in the head of Mark Carney, the new Canadian Prime Minister.”
Our Methodology
For this article, we compiled a list of 7 stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer during the episode of Mad Money aired on March 25. We listed the stocks in ascending order of their hedge fund sentiment as of the fourth quarter of 2024, which was taken from Insider Monkey’s database of over 1,000 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 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
A laboratory technician carefully mixing chemicals in a laboratory.
FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 48
A caller asked if FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC) is a buy and Cramer replied:
“I was very depressed by FMC… They, they came out and they were like, I mean they dropped the ball. It’s very rare to see a fumble like, that was so bad… It was like a pick-six against them. I want you to stay away from FMC. They have a lot to prove. That was a terrible quarter.”
FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC) is a company focused on agricultural sciences, providing products for crop protection, plant health, and pest control to enhance crop productivity and quality, along with pest management solutions for non-agricultural industries. During an episode of Squawk on the Street in February, Cramer remarked:
“There’s a company called FMC. And that’s an agricultural company. It’s an old food machinery company, it’s based in Philadelphia. And the stock is down 35% today because they have inventory problems. Too much of the crop chemicals used for . . . corn, potatoes, and sorghum. I just remind that there certain industries that are in this economy that are seemed to just, I don’t know we have to stay close to ag. That’s a very very bad number. And I’m kind of shocked because it’s a pretty reliable company. But the ag business maybe not as great as we think judging from the fact that they have a lot of insecticides, herbicides. So, stay close to ag.”
Overall, FMC ranks 3rd on our list of stocks in focus in Jim Cramer’s latest lightning round. While we acknowledge the potential of FMC as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than FMC but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
