In this piece, we will look at the stocks Jim Cramer recently discussed.
In his latest appearance on CNBC’s Squawk on the Street, Jim Cramer had a lot to say about a lot of stocks. Along with stocks, he was also full of comments about the new Trump administration and how it’s different from the previous one. Cramer shared, “If you go back over the councils that were disbanded post-Charlottesville, what you would see are a lot of traditional industrialists and drug companies.” According to him, “These were the people that were not drawn to, by Elon Musk. Elon Musk has changed the equation” to increase the role that technology companies and executives are playing this time around.
Commenting further on Musk, Cramer shared, “Now, by the way, there’s a lot of talk now about where is Elon Musk?” This means wondering where he is “in terms of having people in powerful positions say, in the Defense Department.” Cramer believes that Musk “doesn’t seem to have them” and added, “If Musk wants to be meaningful, I don’t want a seat at the table, I want a table.”
The CNBC host also mentioned some industries that will benefit from AI. As part of a discussion about the returns from the multiple billions of dollars that firms have invested into AI, Cramer cautioned not to “forget healthcare.” He believes “Healthcare’s gonna be a very big, very big part of AI. David, it’s not yet. And we need that, well-meaning people who believe in the industry have to have what people who are more than just trying to figure out how to make it so there’s a call center that’s better.”
Cramer also shared his thoughts about the breadth of market performance during the day. While markets were rising, he noted, “Yet the S&P oscillator I follow, [inaudible] is slightly overbought, there’s a lot more room.” Cramer believes “there’s a considerable part of the market that has done nothing. Nothing for years. And that’s coming on.” He doesn’t like small-cap stocks either. “And I’m not a small cap aficionado,” Cramer commented. He believes, “That stuff doesn’t work. People always try to chin that up. And then somebody sells a big small cap derivative.” The host added that instead of small-cap stocks, he likes “companies that frankly, what we, you know we didn’t think all that much of the second tier tech companies that are really taking off. The semis that haven’t done anything lately.”
As for President Trump, Cramer believes that he needs to look at insurance costs that affect a large number of Americans. According to him:
“The President has to take a look at these issues. Because this is where the, the copay, your insurance, your group insurance, your property, casualty insurance. That’s where the President’s going to put it. If he wants to put a stake in the inflation. He goes after the pharmacy benefits managers.”
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 January 22nd.
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).
18. Ford Motor (NYSE:F)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 36
Ford Motor (NYSE:F) is one of the oldest and largest car manufacturers in the US. While broader economic sluggishness has hurt the American car industry, the firm’s primary rival, General Motors, has managed to weather the storm well. As a result, Ford Motor (NYSE:F)’s poor share price performance, evident through the stock being down by 11.8% over the past 12 months, is more of the firm’s own doing. At the heart of its troubles are large warranty claims that it is stuck with due to high inflation. Here’s what Cramer said about Ford Motor (NYSE:F):
“Well I wanna talk about Ford. First all it was downgraded by a very good analyst over at Barclays whose basically saying they [inaudible] make the numbers. Looks like it was inventory issues. But David there’s two markets right now, there’s two economies. There’s the housing market which we are not getting that great numbers from and there’s autos, which the numbers are terrible. Okay, including by the way On Semi, NXP, those are the semis connected with auto. And then there’s this Ford downgrade which is emblematic to me of the fact that there are still parts of the economy that the Fed can help. And we’re not focused on that right now. We’re focused on all the exciting things going on in Washington. But remember, these companies employ a lot of people. I think the President wants to make it so that Mexico loses some of the manufacturing investing and it goes up to America. But that would actually be there for high cost, and so in the crosshairs is this value trap called Ford.
“[F is a value trap] Because it sells at a multiple, lowest multiple in the S&P. Now I mean, you could say wait a second even the banks are a value trap. JPMorgan sells at 13 times earnings. Wells at 13. I’m not talking about [that], I’m talking about literally a situation where you would think this is what you want to buy. You got a president that’s coming in, economy’s getting exciting again. This is the kind of thing that could really do well. And the answer’s no. There’s also a big warranty problem. GM was up yesterday. I think that was about as far as you’re going to get. The steel companies aren’t going up. The copper companies aren’t going up. The auto companies aren’t going up. The housing companies aren’t going up. That’s a big part of the economy. Consumer part of the economy.
“I’m just saying that be careful. Not everything’s being lifted here. And a lot of it, the reason why they’re not doing well, I think some of it is because when the Fed cut rates, loan rates went up!”
17. The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 37
The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) is a New York-based property and casualty insurance provider. While continuous climate disasters have disrupted the insurance industry, the firm has done well recently since its shares are up by 16.9% year-to-date. The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV)’s stock has gained since high premiums in the insurance industry have enabled the firm to beat earnings estimates in 2024. Cramer’s remarks for the firm were more sarcastic, as he went on to comment on high insurance costs and the need for President Trump to tackle them in order to help Americans. When told that The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) CEO had shared that it was too early to estimate the damages from California’s wildfires, Cramer replied:
“[On CEO saying it’s too early to estimate the impact from California fires] Is it too early to put a number on how far our insurance bills have gone up?”
16. Arm Holdings plc (NASDAQ:ARM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 38
Arm Holdings plc (NASDAQ:ARM) is one of the most important semiconductor design companies in the world. Not only are its product designs used in the majority of smartphone processors sold worldwide, but the firm is also playing a growing role in the data center industry. Arm Holdings plc (NASDAQ:ARM)’s chip designs power custom data centers, and it was at the center of President Trump’s $500 billion Stargate AI announcement. During his show, Cramer interviewed Arm Holdings plc (NASDAQ:ARM) CEO Rene Haas and commented:
“Rene has been, by virtue of the fact that Arm is a crucial partner here. It’s one of Stargate’s first technology partners.
“When you think about Arm, these are all ancillary plays that are making fortunes. Now no one really wants to be an ancillary play.”
15. GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:GEHC)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 50
GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:GEHC) is a healthcare firm that sells ingredients used to make medicines and medical devices. As has been the case with other medical device companies, the firm has also struggled with China’s economic slowdown and crackdown in the medical industry. For the nine months ending in September 2024, GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:GEHC)’s China revenue dropped by 17% annually. Over the past twelve months, its shares have gained 18.5%, primarily on the back of an 11.4% year-to-date gain. Cramer believes that China continues to be a problem for GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:GEHC):
“GE Healthcare’s still having a problem with China.”
14. United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 54
United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) is one of the biggest airlines in the US. The firm’s shares have been among the top performers in 2024 as it benefited from a recovery in international travel demand on the back of a stronger US dollar and the release of pent-up demand. Over the past 12 months, United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL)’s shares are up by 166.7%. The firm continued its strong performance in Q4 and beat analysts’ earnings estimates of $3 by posting $3.26. Cramer’s comments for United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL), while brief, were quite telling:
“I never thought I would see the day when an airline is a secular grower and not cyclical. And that’s on you [the CEO]. And it’s a big deal.”
13. Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE:DELL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 60
Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE:DELL) is a computer hardware company whose shares have been on a roller coaster in today’s AI era. They have gained 40% over the past 12 months and 31% since their bottom in August. The bottom came after Wall Street doubted Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE:DELL)’s ability to generate profit from its AI servers. Then, they rose after it projected robust demand for the same products. Here’s what Cramer said:
“Take a look at Dell for instance. Dell has been like a horrible stock. Not like Dell is like a great stock.
“Dell up a quick five, I’ll take that any day of the week.”
12. The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 68
The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) is a global consumer goods giant. Its shares have gained a modest 7% over the past year as the hit to consumer spending from inflation has dented the firm’s revenue and profitability. The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) has also suffered from an economic slowdown in China which has pushed price-conscious buyers to alternative brands. In the US, the firm is busy targeting all strata of consumer spending by pushing products in Costco, Dollar Tree, and other retail outlets. Cramer’s comments about The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) covered the firm’s latest earnings report:
“[PG organic growth] Yeah I saw China was a little bit better. That was interesting. China’s hurt them a last couple of times. I think this is by comparison. The numbers are not gigantic. But they are better than we thought.
“I think Procter had a good quarter, not a great quarter.”
11. Marvell Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRVL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 70
Marvell Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRVL) is a chip company that sells products such as signal processors, network adapters, and storage controllers. The shares are up by 77% over the past year primarily on the back of investor enthusiasm about the firm being able to cater to the demand for custom AI processors. Cramer has also commented on this belief in previous shows. According to him, products from Marvell Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRVL) are not a replacement for NVIDIA’s GPUs. Instead, he believes they will augment big tech’s AI portfolios. Here are his latest remarks which mentioned ‘traveler’ stocks that have benefited from the AI boom:
“But then when you go to Marvell, now here’s a great example of what we’re talking about. Take Marvell Technology. Here’s a 108 billion dollar company. The CEO bought billion dollars worth of, the stock was in the seventies, it’s 125. Again, you could say these are fellow travelers. You could say these are in the data room, Eaton’s in the data room . . . these are stocks that had been paused. Vertiv was on pause.”
10. 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 has been somewhat of a regular feature of Cramer’s morning show. Most of the host’s remarks have covered The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)’s CEO Bob Iger and Cramer’s belief that the firm is on the right track with a turnaround as it struggles to gain a foothold in the streaming market and stabilize cable networks. The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)’s shares are up by 16% over the past twelve months primarily on the back of a 12% jump in November which came as the firm’s streaming division finally turned a profit. Here’s what Cramer said:
“Disney, I’m worried about the Disney numbers ahead of the Feb 5th, I thought there’s going to be a guide down. But there’s a nice piece [from Citi] today about Disney saying you should buy.”
9. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 81
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) is a global healthcare giant. While the firm has faced a lot of turmoil in 2024, primarily because of a multi-billion dollar talcum powder lawsuit, it has nevertheless managed to grow. So far, 2025 has been an eventful year for Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ). The firm kicked off the year by announcing a massive $14.6 billion acquisition attempt of a neuropsychiatric drug manufacturer. Then, its shares fell by 4% despite Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) beating Q4 analyst expectations for revenue and earnings. The shares fell as a 25-cent hit to projected 2025 earnings surprised investors. Here is what Cramer said:
“But they [Procter & Gamble] are better than we thought. You know versus JNJ which is still having a problem with China.
“Because right now it’s China, until today, I have felt that if you have done a lot of business in China I just have to count you as having a bad year-over-year. And I think JNJ’s being hurt by that. And I don’t think JNJ’s being hurt, I think it’s a little unfair, I think that stock’s down too much.
8. Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 86
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) is a pharmaceutical company whose been in the news for the past year or so because of a handful of drugs. These include its cancer treatment KEYTRUDA and HPV vaccine GARDASIL. Cramer’s previous comments about the firm have appreciated its GARDASIL drug. Like other healthcare companies, Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) has also struggled due to troubles in China. The firm’s GARDASIL distributor in the country has reduced inventories due to low demand. Cramer’s comments about the firm also revolved around China:
“And I thought that it was very encouraging, that, that Procter is seeing a turn there. It could also encourage Merck. Merck needs to have China be less of our enemy.”
7. GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE:GEV)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 89
GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE:GEV) is an industrial equipment company that caters primarily to the needs of the power generation industry. The firm is a key player in nuclear power generation, and it has been a standout stock for Cramer when it comes to benefiting from growing nuclear power demand from data centers. In his previous remarks, Cramer has stressed multiple times that GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE:GEV) is the only viable nuclear play despite the fact that it doesn’t expect returns from nuclear before the next decade. His latest comments built on this opinion:
“I think that one of the most important things that came out of it that’s not been talked about, he, Scott’s just basically said, he didn’t take back his nuclear stuff, being that it’s 2032-2033. He did say that the orders they are getting now to reboot these decommissioned [nuclear plants] are extraordinary. There’s going to be a renaissance. And it’s ahead of schedule. I asked him, I said listen, don’t do this to me, I’m going to go all heavy on this ship. I don’t, hold me back, hold me back. And he goes, okay, you see [inaudible] five gigawatts of nuclear power in the US between existing facilities and restarting existing fleets of approximately sixty five plants. Five gigawatts would power approximately four million US homes. They’re talking about South Carolina, they’re talking about doing a Diablo Canyon. They’re going to Japan! Where Japan is recommissioning after Fukushima. To London. It is a nuclear renaissance and it is now.
“[on South Carolina] And that’s going to be them. They have the capability of bringing these back online. And it’s cause of the data centers. This is a real good story.”
6. Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 91
Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) is an enterprise resource planning software provider that is the second biggest player in its industry. It has also taken a key role in the AI industry by hosting hardware that other firms use for AI workloads. The firm’s Oracle Cloud Infrastructure business aims to host hundreds of thousands of GPUs for AI workloads, and Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) rose to prominence in January following President Trump’s $500 billion Stargate AI project. Cramer shared a lot of important implications from the firm’s role in Stargate:
“And then you realize, you know what there’s something big going on, bigger than you think which drives Oracle up 16, not because of meme guys coming in and saying you know what, hey this could work, because we already knew Oracle was going to do this. But maybe because there’s a reshuffling of the alliance. And the alliance could be in play David..
“And I think that I like people to understand, the fluid nature of things here is rather extraordinary. I mean you get up you try to figure out, you parse these things, you parse that meeting that happened at 6 pm. But I think, Bank of America has the right call on it. Says partnership provides potential scale benefits to Oracle. In March Reuters said Microsoft and OpenAI were planning to launch a joint venture dubbed Stargate. Involving a hundred billion dollars of joint funding for data center capacity. If true it appears that Oracle might have replaced Microsoft in an OpenAI joint venture. This would be extraordinary. And you know Carl, I don’t know whether Ellison was doing a dance yesterday because he was so happy about this announcement. Or because he may have a real coup here. And betting against Ellison has been one of the biggest fools game in history. Man he was on his game yesterday.””And to think that they wrote him off. And how about they laughed at him when he said he needed thousands of data centers. They’re not laughing now about Larry Ellison. And where is Safra? Who I think is fabulous.”
5. Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 121
Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) is the largest streaming company in the world. Its shares have increased 94% over the past year as the firm emerges and solidifies its position as the number one streaming platform in the world. 2024 was an important year for Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) as it demonstrated that it could steal users away from traditional media when it came to programming such as sports events. In his show, Cramer commented on the firm’s latest earnings:
“The engagement once they got in, as opposed to some other companies that bought individual games and it amounted to nothing. David we have to go back to this because we know linear was taking the shots, the shots they took at linear were brutal.
“[on NFLX saying they don’t have to manage the decline of linear] Right in front of me too. We have a good and improving product. It was devastating to me. It was like I thought you could walk and chew gum. They’re basically saying, if you ever spend a fortune on programming and sports which isn’t really going to generate a great return, then you don’t really know how to do. And you don’t know how to do programming. Then you know what, you’re Ford, you’re GM. We’re Tesla. See you later.
“You didn’t think it’s possible and yet they’re still talking about, they’ve captured six percent, only six percent of the world. Seven hundred and fifty million broadband households, excluding China and Russia thank God. They have so much runway, more number one shows in the weekly streaming top ten charts than all the other streamers combined.”
4. Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 128
Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) is a semiconductor firm whose modems and other chips are used in a wide variety of consumer electronics products worldwide. Its partnership with Apple, through which it provides modems for the iPhone, plays a key role in the hypothesis. Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)’s stock has gained 96% over the past year primarily on the back of a stunning 38% jump in December. This jump occurred after management revealed that it could earn as much as $90 billion from selling AI chips in 2027. Cramer believes that Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)’s popularity isn’t in line with its value:
“Now I mean the one that has been my go to, that I think does really well in this market is Broadcom. Up again another four. Look at Broadcom. I like to point it out, why David, cause it’s a 1.1 trillion dollar company that no one has ever heard of!”
3. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 158
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has been a regular feature of Cramer’s morning appearances this year. He believes that investors who evaluate the stock primarily through the lens of China smartphone sales are missing the broader picture. Cramer also dismissed Mark Zuckberberg’s comments in Joe Rogan’s podcast which claimed that innovation had stopped at Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) since Tim Cook took cover. More recently, he believes that the firm will post disappointing quarter results. Here is what he said:
“I said last night it’s going to miss. We sold some stock because it became too big a part of our portfolio. I think it’s going lower, I think they’ll miss the quarter. I think there’s another two or three analysts are going to try to downgrade it ahead of time. So they can upgrade it after they report the quarter. I do think it’s a longer term, the stock is up thousands of percent since every single time it gets downgraded people sell it. That’s all I’m saying. That’s all I’m saying.”
2. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 193
Over the past two years, NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) has shaped into one of the most dominating technology companies in the world. Its newfound glory is entirely due to its GPUs, which form the backbone of global AI computing. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)’s latest AI GPUs, the Blackwell lineup, have dominated its narrative recently. Investors have differed over whether the firm can ship them regularly and sufficiently to maintain market dominance. Cramer believes that NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is ushering in a new industrial revolution. Here are his latest remarks:
“Well had there been a doubt in people’s minds about NVIDIA, which is at the same price it was in June. That NVIDIA may not have the orders it needs. Well that was ended yesterday. Because obviously this team up would want everything it could. I also think that the whole sovereign nation kerfuffle that Biden put in at the last minute with 18 friends who can get NVIDIA. That’s going to be put aside. I don’t think that there is any sense that there is any water being held by that. By the way, NVIDIA maybe crucial in something that we haven’t thought of. The President wants a smaller trade deficit with China. One way to do it is to have them have all the NVIDIA chips they want, provided they’re not used militarily. Now, you could argue how could that ever be. I think this President is trying to get everybody’s trade deficit to go to a surplus for us. And NVIDIA is the crucial way to do it.
“When you are as visible with NVIDIA as I am, you’re like a magnet. Someone came up to me, a very well capitalized outfit, saying look, we’ve got something it goes ten times faster than NVIDIA. And I you know well that’s terrific. I remember when Intel had the 386 and they were companies that had something that was ten times faster and I don’t even know where those companies went to. I think it’s scale, I think it’s the ability to be able to manufacture, 45 plants going on right now. And the idea of the payback which seems to be left out of the equation all the time. How many times has Jensen Huang said the payback is four to one the moment you get Blackwell versus my friend Michael Cembalest yesterday who’s still talking about it being a big drag on free cash flow. I am a believer that you make money when you get a NVIDIA Blackwell.”
1. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 279
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is one of the largest technology companies in the world. It was one of the first major players in the AI industry, courtesy of its partnership with OpenAI. However, President Trump’s $500 billion Stargate announcement, which also included Oracle, led Cramer to speculate that perhaps the team-up between Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and OpenAI is entering a new phase, so to speak. He also commented on industry views that the firm’s CoPilot AI software isn’t gaining popularity. Here are Cramer’s full remarks:
“Initially, you see these things and you think well it’s for show. . . and then you step back and you say now wait a second, OpenAI is the partner here. You see Sam Altman up there. And you think well wait a second. I thought he was Microsoft’s guy. And then he’s not.
“If true it appears that Oracle might have replaced Microsoft in an OpenAI joint venture. This would be extraordinary.
“On Microsoft there was very key note from Morgan Stanley. Cutting price target but still saying it’s good. I’m staying on that one. I’m questioning, how good Microsoft is because ever since Benioff did this, with that clippy two thing, he’s out there he’s slamming it everywhere. I’m worried about it.”
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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