Jim Cramer, the host of Mad Money, recently discussed a number of companies that have surpassed $100 billion in market capitalization this year, noting how these companies seem to reflect the current market mood. According to Cramer, it used to be a significant achievement for a company to reach the $100 billion mark, as most companies would never attain that level of market cap.
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He emphasized the immense effort and determination required to achieve such a feat. However, Cramer pointed out that in today’s market, the $100 billion threshold has lost some of its significance, given the recent surge in stock valuations. He highlighted that, as of the market close last Friday, 18 companies had crossed the $100 billion mark in 2024, a notable increase that speaks to the current market dynamics.
Cramer acknowledged that stocks, like everything else, had to contend with inflation, which remains a persistent issue. He went on to say:
“I know we’re experiencing a heightened market, with expectations really running so hot that you can’t believe that a presidential rally, or, let’s say, an end-of-the-year rally and a stock shortage rally are all in play at once. Many of these stocks got clocked today as part of a sell-off that seemed to infect the year’s best performers. I don’t know how long it’ll last, maybe some great buying opportunities already.”
Cramer concluded that the massive influx of capital into the market is a clear driver behind the rise in companies reaching the $100 billion valuation.
“But bottom line: When you get this much money coming in, you can see how all these companies can reach $100 billion, creating a huge amount of wealth, at least on paper. One more reason why it wouldn’t be so bad if some of the winning investors in this market took something delicious off the table.”
Jim Cramer Discussed 18 Companies That Hit $100 Billion in Market Cap in 2024
Our Methodology
For this article, we compiled a list of 18 stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer during the episode of Mad Money on December 9. 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).
Jim Cramer Discussed 18 Companies That Hit $100 Billion in Market Cap in 2024
18. Arm Holdings plc (NASDAQ:ARM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 38
Cramer highlighted that under the leadership of its CEO Rene Haas, Arm Holdings plc (NASDAQ:ARM) stock has roared and its market cap reached $100 billion in 2024.
“We are having a tough time getting IPOs to market, which means the ones we do get tend to be priced too low thanks to a paucity of buyers and that’s what I think happened with the stock of Arm Holdings, the semiconductor architecture company that’s partnered with Nvidia for all sorts of gizmos and it’s all over the cell phone and servers too. Arm’s growing incredibly fast and CEO Rene Haas has steered the company’s stock to an 87% return, joining the hundred billion dollar pantheon.”
Arm (NASDAQ:ARM), a key player in the semiconductor industry, specializes in designing and licensing central processing unit technology and related components. Rather than manufacturing chips itself, it generates revenue through licensing its processor designs and collecting royalty fees from companies that integrate its technology into their products. With the rise of advanced technologies like AI, the company expects to see increased demand for its chip architectures, as the complexity of chips grows to accommodate these emerging technologies.
In line with this trend, the company reported significant growth in its licensing business. By the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2025, the company had secured 39 Arm Total Access licenses, up from 33 in the previous quarter. Additionally, the number of Arm Flexible Access licensees increased from 241 to 269, reflecting a broader adoption of its technology. This expansion in licenses directly correlates with increased royalty revenue, as the chips created using these licenses are sold and used in a variety of devices and systems.
Earlier it was disclosed that Nvidia’s largest investment of $147.3 million was in Arm (NASDAQ:ARM), which it failed to acquire due to an antitrust issue two years ago. Additionally, CEO Rene Haas, highlighted a shift in the company’s business model, explaining that in the past, it would have seemed unrealistic for Arm to charge $100 per system-on-a-chip (SoC).
However, with its pricing now set between 50 cents and $1 per core, Arm is generating over $100 per SoC when multiple cores are included. Haas pointed out that this new pricing structure reflects the growing value of Arm’s technology in the burgeoning AI and cloud computing sectors.
17. Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE:PLTR)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 43
Cramer noted that Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE:PLTR) is favored due to its high-profile government contracts and the buyers’ belief in it to reshape the U.S. defense budget.
“Next up is an enterprise software company, Palantir, which exploded on the scene this year with some big contracts and some big growth. Palantir came public via direct listing in 2020. It kind of hung out doing nothing until its sales finally took off and then man, this thing was just a rocket ship. Palantir is the brains behind much of the military that we don’t know about.
They’ve been rallying against the big five military defense contractors. They don’t like that gang. They think it frustrates everybody else. The firm uses advanced data analysis and artificial intelligence to help the Pentagon see patterns, process data… Again though, I think Palantir’s loved because it’s trying to upend the defense department, potentially saving tens of billions of dollars and saving the lives of those who might be on the front line such as precious pilots in very expensive jets. Buyers think that Palantir will reinvent our entire defense budget, which is entirely possible because these guys are tight with President-elect Trump.”
Palantir (NYSE:PLTR) is a developer of advanced software platforms and is known for its work with government agencies. Earlier in the year, it secured a $480 million contract with the U.S. Department of Defense to develop the Maven Smart System, set to be completed by 2029. In November, it also partnered with Anthropic and AWS to offer U.S. agencies access to Claude AI models, enhancing data processing and decision-making capabilities.
More recently, on December 9, the company expanded its contract with the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) with a one-year, $36.8 million deal to support the Mission Command System (MCS) and enhance technology for U.S. Special Operations Forces globally. The deal includes deploying AI capabilities and fast-tracking software deployment using Palantir’s Ontology Software Development Kit.
Additionally, on December 6, Palantir (NYSE:PLTR) announced that the company and Anduril Industries are launching a consortium to help the U.S. lead in artificial intelligence, focusing on developing infrastructure to transform AI advancements into next-generation military and security capabilities.
The partnership aims to address two main challenges: data readiness and processing data at scale. To tackle the latter, they will use Palantir’s AI Platform (AIP) for cloud-based data management and AI development, meeting both commercial and national security needs.
