In this piece, we’ll look at the stocks Jim Cramer talked about ahead of January’s biggest AI event.
In his appearance on Squawk on the Street the day CES took place in Las Vegas, Jim Cramer commented on the stock market division that persisted throughout 2024 and is present in 2025 as well. The division has seen technology stocks perform well, while other rate-sensitive sectors such as industrial and materials stocks have languished. Cramer commented on the reasons behind it: “I think that’s because people perceive that the rest of the market is hostage to rates. And that tech is not hostage to anything. So I’m aware of that and I’m just concerned that you have this speech tonight, nine-thirty Jensen Huang, everyone’s, we’re really kind of, whatever he says, is going to move things.”
In fact, this division is so prevalent that some of the biggest asset managers in the world have also been unable to remain immune to it. Mentioning a piece in the Financial Times, Cramer shared that it commented about “private equity and private equity trying to get into the 401(k) business.” He added and mentioned, “Marc Rowan CEO of Apollo says, I jokingly say sometimes we levered the entire retirement [inaudible] to NVIDIA’s performance! So [inaudible] we’ve got the NVIDIAs of the world which everybody likes and on the other hand, there’s these stocks are, they really are hostage to rates and no one wants them!”
However, even though technology stocks have stood the test of high interest rates, they might falter in some circumstances. One of these can be bond yields, and if the thirty-year yield spikes to 5%, then Cramer believes “that will start interfering with this tech rally that seems to be motivated by a lot of analysts coming out and saying this is the time, there’s now reacceleration in tech spend.”
The CNBC host also speculated on what Jensen Huang might end up talking about at CES later in the day. He stated “I think that one of the things that Jensen is going to talk about today are all the new use cases. This is tonight’s CES talk. It wouldn’t surprise me if we start hearing about robots. It wouldn’t surprise me if we didn’t hear a lot about Tesla. Tesla and self-driving cars. Tesla and the neural network that is based on NVIDIA!”
Along with industrial and material stocks, another sector that’s caught Cramer’s attention is banks. Mentioning a recent investment bank note about the sector he believes that “one of the groups that I think we have to focus on, there’s a really interesting, uh, Barclays piece on the banks. Darkest before dawn. Raising the group for the first time since 2019, emphasis here on Citi.”
Cramer also outlined that while technology valuations might appear to be overstretched, this isn’t the case with banks. He shared “This is a group that when you look at it, they’re selling at 11 times 2026 numbers. So the idea that you have this valuation problem in the market, well look at these stocks! There’s no valuation problem with materials. Or with banks.” He added “The valuation problem is with the stuff that keeps getting upgraded, which is enterprise software. So there’s a little duplicitous nature among the top people who work at these firms because they should be saying look, there are two markets. There’s the inexpensive market and we’re warming up to it, and the expensive market, and we don’t know what to do.”
Our Methodology
To make our list of the stocks that Jim Cramer talked about, we listed down all the stocks he mentioned during CNBC’s Squawk on the Street aired on Monday.
For these stocks, we also mentioned the number of hedge fund investors. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds invest in? 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).
29. Cerence Inc. (NASDAQ:CRNC)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 10
Cerence Inc. (NASDAQ:CRNC) is a specialty software company that sells AI-based virtual assistants for the automotive industry. Its shares are up by 138% so far in January primarily due to the fact that the firm has secured a deal with AI heavyweight NVIDIA. Through this deal, Cerence Inc. (NASDAQ:CRNC)’s AI software will rely on NVIDIA’s hardware and software products to expand and build on AI capabilities. The firm is yet to turn a profit though, and Cramer commented quite a bit on the firm’s CEO Brian Krzanich:
“I’ve got Cerence. Now this is in honor of a tie up with, yes with NVIDIA. This is a company that’s run by Brian Krzanich, before that CDK and then of course the CEO of Intel. During a period where I still think Intel had some greatness.
“But I think the key thing about Cerence is that we have AI and there isn’t any limit to where it is. Hence AI is a multiple enhancer.
“I have Brian Krzanich on tonight. Now he’s Cerence, and of course that’s what we’re gonna talk about. Because of a deal with of course NVIDIA. But he knows the auto business. Cerence is auto, uh, AI, and I want to ask him what the hell happened. Because at the previous job he had was CDK software which was bought up by Brookfield in a leveraged buyout. This man knows about cars. He knows about semis. Something’s going on that makes it so cars are too expensive to repair. And it’s really hurting the working person.”
28. Paychex Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 20
Paychex Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) is a software-as-a-service firm that caters to the human resource management needs of businesses. It allows customers to manage their payroll and other associated business processes. Paychex Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)’s shares are dependent on the state of the labor market, with more hiring and business expansion leading to more business for the firm. The stock is up by a modest 16.6% over the past twelve months since the broader labor market has struggled in the wake of high interest rates. Here is what Cramer said:
“Now, one of the things, it’s not a big deal, and it’s not a confirmed deal, but Paychex, a company that I have owned quite a bit, merging with Paycor perhaps. Now this is fifty billion with three billion, but what I wanna say is it doesn’t matter. The FTC fought Activision Blizzard merging with Microsoft. The FTC would have probably fought Paycor because it’s a rival of Paychex. This is the kind of deal that we are all going to have to get used to. Our colleague David Faber is going to have to chase down a lot of deals because there are a lot of deals that were never going to happen, that suddenly are on the grid. Why would Paychex want to alienate the FTC? Well this FTC would love this.”
27. General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 30
General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) is one of the biggest consumer food companies in the US. The firm makes and sells a variety of products such as yogurt, snack bars, cereals, and hot snacks. General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) has struggled lately with the stock down by 5.80% over the past 12 months. This is primarily because high food inflation has forced consumers to cut down on their food spending. In response, General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) has had to run promotional prices which have hurt its bottom line and forced it to cut profit outlooks. Here’s what Cramer said:
“I do think that even some of the more domestic ones in this group are going down. General Mills is a domestic company. And that stock was at $75 and now it’s at $62.”
26. Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 32
Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) is a steel company that has been dragged down due to broader industrial troubles and an economic and industrial slowdown. Steel prices touched new lows in the US in 2024, and in several appearances, Cramer hasn’t held back on ascribing a lot of the blame on cheap Chinese steel. Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE)’s shares are sensitive quite a bit to the Fed’s rate cut cycle. As a result, they’re 16% over the past month after the Fed signaled in December that it would cut rates twice instead of an earlier four times. Cramer’s latest comments for Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) also mentioned China:
“. . . . .I believe is because of Mexican transshipment of Chinese steel. That’s what the Nucor people would tell you is keeping things down. Nucor guiding down again, a fine company that really I think it is spot on when it says that it’s Chinese steel depressing the market.”
25. Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 36
Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) is a well-known American and global car company. With high rates impacting car loans, the firm’s shares have struggled along with its industry peers. However, while GM’s stock is up 41.63% over the past twelve months, Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F)’s shares have lost 18.5% over the same time period. This has primarily been due to quality control problems with its car models from 2016 and 2021 which have led the firm to book high warranty costs and hurt its bottom line. Cramer mentioned these problems as he stated:
“Thank heavens because those stocks have been in a bear market of outrageous proportions. Ford can’t get out of its own way. Now a lot of that is people worried about warranties. They gave you a lot of longer term warranties. And the cost of fixing a car now versus five years ago is probably something in, the CPI would tell you it’s up the most of anything, including insurance. It’s the cost of fixing a car that is dramatically higher.”
24. Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 36
Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) is an alcohol company that sells well-known spirits and beers such as Corona. Its shares are down 13.51% over the past twelve months as overall demand in the wine and spirit market has declined due to high inflation. While its shares dropped by 1.6% in January after the Surgeon General’s recommendation to place cancer warnings on alcoholic beverages, they gained 2.49% after Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)’s fiscal third-quarter profit per share of $3.19 beat analyst estimates of $3. Here’s what Cramer said:
“Sometimes I like to mention things that I do wrong because I can also mention things that I do right if I do wrong. We have been buying Constellation Brands, and it’s basically the Mariana’s Trench. I mean we just keep going down, down, down. We were looking for, we were, all we were looking for were tuna! And what we got, was a stock that makes beer in another country. This would make it so that you would not have a tariff on beer. I don’t think it’s a very popular thing to say, you know what working person, the price of beer is going up, which by the way, Lina Khan in her last action suing distributors, when I speak to distributors and I’m very close to them, that last one was a universal increase in the price of alcohol.
“Completing her completely misdefined notion of making it so that anything that is good is bad. They report Friday and it’s been wrong because we know from Diageo, we know from Brown Forman that when you do everything including [inaudible] putting a sticker which says it causes cancer, you really have a revulsion of alcohol of historic proportions. I come back and say that alcohol is a cyclical business. It’s not a secular business. And people will come back to drinking. But GLP-1 against drink, surgeon general against drink, cannabis against drink, but maybe not tariffs against drink.”
23. RH (NYSE:RH)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 39
RH (NYSE:RH) is a home furnishing products company whose shares are dependent on interest rates due to the nature of the home building industry in the US. Therefore, the stock’s performance depends on the Fed’s interest rate cut cycle. This dependence makes it unsurprising that RH (NYSE:RH)’s stock is up by a modest 2.90% over the past month as the central bank has reduced its rate cut guidance for 2025 to two cuts from an earlier four. Cramer commented on Barclays upgrading the shares to Overweight from Equal Weight and hiking the price target to $515 from $383:
“By the way, I’m looking at retail. RH catches a critical upgrade. That’s the old Restoration Hardware. Things look good there, I’m just a little surprised.”
22. Coterra Energy Inc. (NYSE:CTRA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 39
Coterra Energy Inc. (NYSE:CTRA) is an American energy company that produces oil, natural gas, and associated fuels. The shares are up by a modest 2.5% over the past six months as weaker commodity prices have hurt the firm’s top-line revenue. However, Coterra Energy Inc. (NYSE:CTRA) is preparing for the future and expanding its presence in the lucrative Permian basin to grow production. The firm signed two deals worth $3.95 billion in November to acquire new assets. Despite weak performance, Cramer continues to hold Coterra Energy Inc. (NYSE:CTRA)’s shares:
“We own Coterra for the charitable trust. And that has the least expensive natural gas because of the old capital [inaudible] gas. It’s been a disappointment as has anything energy. Um maybe the the weather was what was needed, I don’t know, energy has been a real bear.”
21. Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 40
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) is an American steel company that’s been caught smack in the middle of a major controversy in the industry. This controversy has seen the Biden Administration block Japanese Nippon Steel’s acquisition of US Steel, an occurrence that Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF)’s CEO predicted well in advance. However, now that the deal is blocked, some are wondering whether Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) will buy US Steel instead. Cramer’s remarks surrounding the firm covered the controversy as he shared:
“Well I mean Cleaveland Cliffs has said, uh, over and over again, they’re gonna get it [US STEEL], Cleaveland Cliffs is gonna get it. Now he’s going silent here, I’m speaking of Lourenco Goncalves, he’s just going silent. I’ve been trying over and over to get him on air, because he’s very, I’d say effusive about what’s been going on. But Lourenco Goncalves has told me again and again after they do the Steelco deal he has the room to be able to do this. Meantime his stock has just been clubbed. So I don’t think people necessarily want the stock, but the steel stocks all together have just been horrendous and a lot of that I believe is because of Mexican transshipment of Chinese steel. That’s what the Nucor people would tell you is keeping things down. Nucor guiding down again, a fine company that really I think it is spot on when it says that it’s Chinese steel depressing the market.”
20. Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 43
Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR) is one of the hottest data analytics companies on Wall Street. The firm’s shares have gained 316% over the past twelve months on the back of investor optimism over AI and its ability to benefit from a push in reduced defense spending and cater to the US business sector. However, year-to-date Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR)’s shares have lost 10.5% on the back of Ark Invest selling $36 million of stock and Morgan Stanley set an Underweight rating and a $60 price target. Here is what Cramer said:
“I think that you live in fear. Anyone who downgrades Palantir, look over your shoulder, please.
“I alluded to this call, but I think it’s kind of symbolic of where we are. Palantir is probably the most highly valued enterprise software data analytics company. You see this, it’s kind of also been captured [in] retail. Some people say this is the GameStop of our era. I just, I totally rebel on that. I think what it really is, this [is a] very very high-growth company. And we really don’t know how to value it. We don’t know how to value it because Alex Carp, uh the CEO, is basically saying, listen, our valuation is confused. We’re the fastest growing, but we’re not really gonna tell you everything that we do. I am a believer in Alex Carp. I ordered his book. I read, I’ve seen his video and I think that what he’s got here is something that’s much more special than Morgan Stanley talks about. It is the early stage of AI, and Alex Carp really gets it. It’s both defense but it’s also consumer, and I’ve growing respect for what the company’s trying to do. And I think that even though it seems hundred times earnings, it may turn out to be much less in terms of the multiple. It is the highest, got the highest so-called Rule of 40, about its growth and margins of any company. And my hat’s off to these guys. You go back and read the last couple of analyst reports. It really is the exciting AI company of our era.
“I think if it weren’t for the fact that you have people like Elon Musk who are aware of what he is doing, Peter Thiel behind the scenes, I would say it’s a negative. But now I think it’s a positive, and the main reason why, is because the Defense Department would be rationalized. They understand the procurement process. They would really take out a lot of the cost of the defense department. Because they think that what’s really at stake is cyber, not necessarily hardware, and I agree with that. I find myself agreeing with Alex again and again. Even as he’s certainly an abrasive personality.”
19. Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 49
Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) is a discount retailer that has suffered in the ongoing consumer pinch from inflation. While it offers off-price products too, the firm has lost market share and consumer spending to rivals such as Walmart. Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)’s stock dropped by a whopping 21% in November after its Q3 comparable sales grew by 0.3% which was well below analyst estimates of 1.4%. The retail sector has seen a lot of attention from Cramer during his shows as he believes that this is one sector that is struggling even as the tech segment of the market enjoys AI returns. Here’s what he had to say about Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT):
“And I’m also surprised at the endless strength in Target. Target buyers are so persistent, it’s [sic]up you know we don’t talk about the fact that we’re seeing buyout interest in this group, the Nordstrom interest, we have Saks, I keep thinking you know what anything retail. Again, the Dollar Tree, Dollar Tree caught a semi-upgrade today. Retail is down there with materials. There’s things that you don’t want to own.”
18. Reddit, Inc. (NYSE:RDDT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 52
Reddit, Inc. (NYSE:RDDT) is a social media company that is the youngest on the stock market. Since its listing in March, the shares are up by 241%. Reddit, Inc. (NYSE:RDDT) is one of the more unique social media platforms as it enables users to engage with each other through communities specific to their interests. Its treasure trove of user data has served the firm well in today’s AI era as firms are eager to use this data to train their algorithms. Deals surrounding AI have helped Reddit, Inc. (NYSE:RDDT) beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates. Cramer is also impressed by the firm’s performance:
“And this is a Reddit, Dutch Bros market. I mean Dutch Bros caught a very late upgrade today, unless you believe it’s the next Starbucks. Reddit was up huge last week, it seems to not be able to be contained by anything.”
17. United States Steel Corporation (NYSE:X)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 57
United States Steel Corporation (NYSE:X) is the steel company that has been at the center of controversy lately. Its bid to be acquired by Nippon Steel was dealt a setback in January after the Biden Administration’s veto. Following the decision, United States Steel Corporation (NYSE:X)’s shares fell by 8% as its CEO came out with hard-hitting comments criticizing the President. The firm has also struggled due to low steel prices in the US which have hampered profitability for steel producers amidst a broader interest rate-driven downtrend in industrial stocks. Here’s what Cramer said about United States Steel Corporation (NYSE:X):
“Well, there’s two comments here, one is Nippon Steel, it’s very statesman-like. And the other is US Steel, the CEO of US Steel, David Burritt, quote that says “Biden’s action is shameful and corrupt. It’s political payback to a union boss.” That “Chinese communist party leaders in Beijing are dancing in the streets!” Now I’m not quite familiar whether they even know how to dance, [inaudible] guy I’ve seen dance over there is Elon Musk. But it does seem to be a very uh contentious and ugly fight that won’t seem to end even though it’s a very small company, it’s symbolic of, well frankly, it’s kind of little Macbeth-like, it’s full of sound and fury signifying nothing.”
16. Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 60
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) is an IT hardware company that sells products such as networking switches and hardware. Over the past year, its shares have gained a modest 18.6% due to the firm’s exposure to broader non-AI IT spending which has struggled in today’s high interest rate era. However, Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)’s fourth quarter marked the beginning of a turnaround of sorts after it guided Q1 revenue at $13.75 billion which was above analyst estimates of $13.71 billion. Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)’s stock has accelerated recently as it is up 29% over the past six months. Here’s what Cramer said about an upgrade from Melius Research:
“Going back and forth with Ben today, Ben Reitzes, and I’m [inaudible] friends with his dad. I am friends with his dad, he was a great chemical analyst at one time. And I think that Melius has got a beat on this. And I think there are a lot of people that realize that Ben is not a cynic. That Ben is looking for [an] opportunity. I think Chuck Robbins has so many things going in Cisco, in part because they’re kind of reformulating their whole business. But the Splunk acquisition is proving to be good!”
15. Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 63
Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) is a British industrial gas company that has gained prominence primarily because of its presence in the hydrogen market. The shares are up by a lackluster 3.26% over the past year since high interest rates have sapped the shine out of clean energy stocks. Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) has also suffered due to an industrial slowdown which has impacted its broader product portfolio. Cramer’s comments about the firm were part of his remarks about the broader interest rate-driven weakness in the industrial and materials sectors. Here is what he said:
“Well I mean, clean energy, hydrogen is Linde. Now Linde was recommended this morning. A club name that by the way has just been one of the great performers of the year, but has like all the materials companies, has gone down! The materials companies are, again I’m focused on them because that’s [the] real economy. And the real economy is quite weak. So for those in the Fed who want to talk about how we’re worried about inflation, again they should be saying we’re worried about inflation in ‘the’. Because if they’re worried about inflation in the data center, well I mean the data center costs are actually coming down because that’s basically steel and old technology that is doing quite well. But if you look at Linde I mean that’s a company that I expect to have revenue growth. It hasn’t. It’s just had tremendous margin expansion. And yet you can’t give, you know, no one wants that stock. You can’t give it away.”
14. Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 63
Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) is a diversified oil company with a presence from the oil field to the pump. The firm is currently struggling to complete its $53 billion buyout of Hess Corp. which would enable it to expand production in the US and increase its presence in Guyana. However, Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX)’s oil rival Exxon and Hess are currently engaged in arbitration over Hess’ Guyana operations. Cramer commented on the firm’s stock struggling despite returning capital:
“Chevron being a classic example of a company that’s been returning a lot of capital and it’s just been a dog. Which is amazing cause Mike Wirth is a fantastic CEO.”
13. T-Mobile US, Inc. (NASDAQ:TMUS)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 66
T-Mobile US, Inc. (NASDAQ:TMUS) is one of the biggest telecommunication carriers in America. The firm has performed well lately despite the broader telco industry struggling with subscribers. T-Mobile US, Inc. (NASDAQ:TMUS) added 865,000 new postpaid subscribers in Q3 due to its strong 5G packages. It secured another win in November after the FCC granted its application to expand coverage with SpaceX’s Starlink to provide internet access to remote areas. Cumulatively, these, and other developments have led to the stock gaining 32% over the past twelve months. Here is what Cramer said:
“T-Mobile downgraded today at two different firms. They came after, you know, that’s that fixed wireless that everybody’s worried about, there’s valuation with T-Mobile. The coming collision of people trying to get into your house is going to be monumental and happening sooner than people expect it.”
12. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 66
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) is the beleaguered American chip giant whose shares have lost a whopping 58.6% over the past year. The firm’s inability to capture the AI market and its struggles in the personal computing market has dented its revenue. These troubles have led to rivals such as Taiwan’s TSMC and chip designer AMD gaining a share in markets such as global chip manufacturing and consumer and enterprise computing CPUs. Cramer believes that it is necessary to help Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) navigate through its troubles:
“Intel by the way must be preserved. We need to think about Intel as a national treasure with a really bad balance sheet.”
11. The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 68
The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) is one of the biggest consumer goods companies in the world. While this exposure to essential consumer spending often proves to be a bellwether in a tight economy, The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s shares are up by a modest 8.6% over the past year. The stock has struggled due to the competition that the firm is facing from rivals in the US and China. High inflation has dented consumer spending and created an opportunity for The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s rivals to eat its market through lower prices. Here’s what Cramer said:
“Witness the fact that Procter & Gamble is down huge. You know this is a good company, the multiple is shrinking. Now some of that could be what’s going to happen with the ten and thirty years [10YR and 30YR bonds]. We gotta keep track of this auction. But some of it is just a belief that you know what these are stocks that will be hurt by materials costs and maybe their prices are going to come down. Their end market prices.”
10. Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 72
Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) is a mega-American media company with a presence in the broadband, broadcasting, and production markets. Like its peers, the firm has struggled in an era where the Internet has allowed streaming companies like Netflix to prosper and steal customers from traditional media. Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA)’s shares are down 14% year-to-date amidst a flurry of news such as a potential spin-off of legacy television networks such as CNBC. Here’s what Cramer had to say about Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA):
“Now, we have a deal with Starlink in the Italian government. Well, we have Starlink when it comes to WiFi, when do we have Starlink when it comes to cable and telco in this country? There was an article in Barron’s about the parent company that we work for Comcast. And they threw the book at it. The proverbial cyber book since there’s no phonebook anymore. But the one thing I would say is they didn’t talk about Starlink. And the existential crisis that’s coming given the fact that Starlink, at least in Italy, presents a rate card that’s so below the normal rate card that you just have no choice but to take it. And the payback is in three months. So we have to be recognizing that Musk, and I think the next thing you’re going to hear about, is Starlink versus ATT, Verizon, T-Mobile, which had two downgrades today, and the wireless companies.
“Look I think, I don’t wanna just sit here and say the cable companies don’t have a problem, I think they are, that they’re, let’s say complacent. Because they are doing things. But Elon Musk operates, he’s operating at light, and they’re operating at the speed of sound.”
9. Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 75
Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) is a discount retailer whose shares are up by 39% over the past twelve months. Over this time period, the firm has battled with dropping consumer purchase power. The reduction has eroded Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)’s margins as consumers have put off high-priced purchases that are margin-friendly. The firm’s fiscal first quarter was a surprise as it saw the retailer’s $62.15 billion in revenue beat analyst estimates of $62.08 billion as consumers bought in bulk and availed discounts. Here’s what Cramer said:
“Witness the fact that Costco is really pushing these prices down. I don’t think people realize the force that is Costco, and the force that is Walmart. And the force that is Amazon. These are the inflation fighters, but you, if you’re President Biden the last thing you want to do, is say you know what I’ve been talking to Walmart and they’re doing the right job. It doesn’t happen in this country.”
8. The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 76
The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) is a global media and entertainment giant. It owns and operates television channels, production houses, and theme parks. Like other mega-media companies, The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) struggled in 2024 from stiff competition from the streaming industry. As a result, its efforts to navigate the troubled waters are key to the share price performance. The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)’s prominent CEO Bob Iger is currently leading the charge, and his efforts appear to be yielding results as the firm’s streaming division turned a profit for the first time in Q3. Cramer’s comments surrounded the firm’s recent deal with Fubo:
“Right well I’m not sure exactly at whether that’s a needle mover for Disney, just for Fubo. But I do think that Bob Iger. . . .but one of the things that’s certain is that this stock has done absolutely nothing lately. Even as I think the situation has been improving, and improving, and improving. Movies have been terrific. The cruise not. . . .yet, but will be. I think the theme parks starting to do well. I think Iger would tell you that linear’s no longer hurting the situation.
“I think that Disney is a kind of undiscovered gem because of the way Iger’s positioned it. Hugh Johnston, the CFO has had a handle on it. I think that it’s a very rationalized company.
“I think the parks are going to come back in part because I think that Universal’s gonna open a. . . and I think a lot of people are holding back to be able to catch both. Jessica Reif Cohen had an interesting piece talking about how maybe theme parks will not be asterisks anymore when it comes to Comcast. I think that Orlando is going to have a resurgence but you want to wait for that new park. Why would you go down there ahead of that? I think that’s on people’s minds.”
7. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 81
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) is a diversified healthcare and general wellness firm with a presence in the pharma, medical devices, and other markets. Its shares are down by 12% over the past year as higher costs from inflation have increased its spending to develop new drugs. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) is also battling its talcum powder cancer lawsuit which amounts to more than $6 billion in claims. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s stock was dealt another setback in January after it paused shipments of its heart device. Here is what Cramer said:
“So let’s keep track of the healthcare stocks, a lot of that is IRA. JNJ fighting this tooth and nail. Merck having a total multiple collapse. These are great American companies. But they are not trading like that. They are trading as value traps. I’d question how long that can go on, but I recognize we’ll know at the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference.”
6. Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 86
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) is a global pharmaceutical company with a key presence in the specialty pharma market. Some of its best-known products are the KEYTRUDA cancer vaccine and its HPV vaccine GARDASIL. GARDASIL’s importance to the share price and hypothesis was clear in July 2024 when Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)’s shares fell by 9.8% following the firm’s second-quarter earnings. The results saw the HPV-cancer medicine’s sales drop in China which led to its overall $2.48 billion in sales missing analyst estimates of $2.53 billion. Here is what Cramer said:
“So let’s keep track of the healthcare stocks, a lot of that is IRA. JNJ fighting this tooth and nail. Merck having a total multiple collapse. These are great American companies. But they are not trading like that. They are trading as value traps. I’d question how long that can go on, but I recognize we’ll know at the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference.”
5. Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 99
Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) is the world’s largest pure-play electric vehicle manufacturer. However, unlike other EV companies like Lucid Motors and Rivian, Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s narrative is broader and depends on other factors such as robotaxis, assisted-driving technologies, and its CEO’s relationship with the incoming Trump Administration. The EV slowdown drove Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s in 2024 up until the November election. Ahead of the election, the stock was up by just 1%, but since then, the shares have gained 57%. Cramer also commented on the non-EV factors ‘driving’ Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s stock as he shared:
“Now one of the things is this existential crisis of robotaxis. It’s so convoluted I have no idea what’s going to happen but the new Street piece about Tesla, is saying listen don’t regard Tesla, as an auto company. . . . it’s about robotaxis, it’s about hands-free driving. You know the one thing that we have to recognize is that there are a lot of people behind the scenes that are saying, that Musk ultimately will prevail with the president and say, wow, the president, president-elect, there’s so much data that’s actually been computed, that how can we not let Tesla jump ahead of Waymo? And we have the federal interstate highway system, let’s just let it self-drive.
“And I think that one of the things that Jensen is going to talk about today are all the new use cases. This is tonight’s CES talk. It wouldn’t surprise me if we start hearing about robots. It wouldn’t surprise me if we didn’t hear a lot about Tesla. Tesla and self driving cars. Tesla and the neural network that is based on NVIDIA! [On Stifel setting a $492 price target for TSLA] That was a very interesting piece!”
4. Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 116
Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) firm that provides customer relationship management software and products. In today’s AI-driven stock market, the firm’s shares initially struggled as investors fretted about AI’s ability to replace customer management teams and businesses through tools such as chatbots. However, Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) has recovered since then as its Agentforce product has elicited strong approval in the market. Cramer is also appreciative of Agentforce as he commented on a bearish Guggenheim note:
“And interesting[ly], the Salesforce [bearish analyst note] you mentioned, is the, one of the few where there’s not to be acceleration. I think that is dead wrong. I think that analyst has missed the whole move, I think Agentforce is incredible. It’s starting to really make for my work. Agentforce is coming on very strong. [inaudible] post this morning by Marc Benioff, saying it’s really going after healthcare. And the easy one there is Viva. And I think Viva is a really high multiple stock, I think Marc sees a lot of opportunity in that. Agentforce represents an acceleration of sales at Salesforce, and I’m saying that my research is necessarily better than that analyst. I am saying that I’m close enough to recognize it. Agentforce ads are working. And that Agentforce is doing quite well in different verticals that have eluded Salesforce.”
3. Netflix, Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 121
Netflix, Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) is the leading player in the highly growing global streaming market that has put mega-media companies such as Paramount and Disney on the back foot. 2024 was a great year for the stock as Netflix, Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) benefited from several catalysts such as live streaming a fight between Mike Tyson and streamer Jake Paul. Its shares are up 81.5% over the past twelve months, and Cramer believes that Netflix, Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) is the only company truly enjoying the consumer push towards streaming:
“Only Netflix seems to have it. I mean you always start by saying oh what’s on, and then you . . .gravitate toward Netflix. And I think that is because it’s still water cooler. It’s water cooler.”
2. Uber Technologies, Inc (NYSE:UBER)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 136
Uber Technologies, Inc (NYSE:UBER) is the leading player in the US ride-sharing market. It commands 76% of US ride-share spending, and as a result, is dependent quite a bit on bookings to maintain its valuation. Uber Technologies, Inc (NYSE:UBER) has also expanded its business to cover food delivery and inked a deal with GM to roll out a robotaxi service. Its shares are up by a modest 7.7% over the past twelve months as they have been hampered by the effects of slowing consumer spending on bookings. Here’s what Cramer said about Uber Technologies, Inc (NYSE:UBER):
“Uber has been a company that has been left behind even by Airbnb. I’ve studied that list of the companies that came public in the last five years. And this is a Reddit, Dutch Bros market. I mean Dutch Bros caught a very late upgrade today, unless you believe it’s the next Starbucks. Reddit was up huge last week, it seems to not be able to be contained by anything. But yes, uh Uber has fallen behind! And I think it makes sense to buy it.”
1. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 279
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is one of the biggest technology companies in the world. While it was one of the first firms to benefit from investors’ interest in AI stocks, the momentum has cooled off since July 2024. Investors are in a wait-and-watch mode for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s stock as they evaluate whether the billions of dollars it has spent on OpenAI will lead to profitability for its Azure Cloud computing division. Cramer’s comments for the firm surrounded a recent AI blog post by Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s vice chair and president Brad Smith:
“Brad Smith’s, his blog entry, it’s really much more than that. He’s talking about an AI manifesto. And the reason why I say it’s important is cause a lot of people say listen he’s talking about $80 billion in spend, so what. No he’s not. He’s talking about the new industrial revolution. Which is what you should be hearing tonight from Jensen. The new industrial revolution is such that you can’t afford to not spend. Not because you’re worried about what other people are doing, but because it’s so bountiful.”
MSFT is a stock Jim Cramer recently talked about. While we acknowledge the potential of MSFT as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some 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 MSFT but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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