Jim Cramer On 9 Stocks That Are Rallying Despite Tariff Worries

4. McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 60

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) is a global brand that operates and franchises restaurants with a wide variety of food and drinks. Cramer noted that despite the tariff worries, MCD stock went up recently.

“There’s some real crazy stuff that happened today. If you offered a value meal, your stock went up higher. Brinker, Darden, Dutch Bros, McDonald’s, Starbucks, they all moved higher.”

In July 2024, while Cramer appreciated McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) efforts to lower the prices, he also mused on the fact that it has become discretionary:

“If you listen to McDonald’s conference call from earlier in the week, you can tell what’s going on in America. As Joe Erlinger, the president of McDonald’s USA said, ‘Our restaurants in upstate New York have been running a local $5 meal deal that was highly successful, performing well with lower income customers and driving overall incremental sales.’ He goes on to say, ‘By leveraging learnings from within our system, we brought this to life for customers across the US. We’ve seen a lot of enthusiasm and the number of $5 meal deals sold are above expectations. Trial rates in the deal are highest among lower income consumers and sentiment towards the brand around value and affordability has begun to shift positively.’

… Rather than being a value staple for those who can’t afford to eat out elsewhere, Mickey D’s has incredibly now become what Wall Street elite calls the discretionary category. Something that’s discretionary is something that’s no longer essential, something you can do without. It’s right up there with vacations, travels, and hobbies. The fact that this happened, that McDonald’s food got so expensive that it could be done without, wasn’t something anybody expected, but it’s a reality that many companies are now fretting about.”