We recently compiled a list of the Jim Cramer Talked About These 11 Stocks Recently. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) stands against the other stocks Jim Cramer talked about recently.
Jim Cramer, the host of Mad Money, recently shared his thoughts on the surge in cruise stocks, offering a perspective that diverges from the usual focus on the tech sector. According to Cramer, the excitement over DeepSeek’s impact on technology has caused many to overlook simpler, more accessible opportunities. While questions about power plants, data centers, and the future of companies like Nvidia are complex, Cramer finds comfort in identifying opportunities that are easier to grasp. One such opportunity, he pointed out, is with the cruise line operators.
Cramer cited a comment from the CEO of a cruise operator who mentioned that the current macro environment favors experiences over material goods as spending on leisure and travel continues to rise and said:
“Hey, to me it means the cruise lines were cyclical stories before Covid, but now they’ve become genuine secular growth plays and they may stay that way for a generation.”
He emphasized that many investors are still struggling to accept the rapid growth of cruises in such a short time span, despite travel being a massive $2 trillion industry. Cruises, within that context, offer significant value, Cramer noted.
READ ALSO 7 Stocks on Jim Cramer’s Radar and Jim Cramer’s Game Plan: Top 14 Stocks to Watch
He also highlighted an important factor that has changed the cruise industry since the pandemic: many cruise companies have become far more disciplined in managing their capacity. Unlike before, when too many ships would flood the market, operators are now taking a more cautious approach, which has made the industry more resilient. This shift, according to Cramer, has strengthened the position of cruise lines moving forward. Despite this, he observed that travel and leisure stocks remain undervalued, as many analysts continue to doubt the staying power of the cruise industry.
While Cramer acknowledged that there are still underperforming companies in the market, including a struggling airline stock he pointed out, he firmly stated that he would prefer to own shares in the worst cruise line over the best airline.
Our Methodology
For this article, we compiled a list of 11 stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer during the episode of Mad Money on January 28. We listed the stocks in the order that Cramer mentioned them. We also provided hedge fund sentiment for each stock as of the third quarter of 2024, 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).
A commercial passenger jet in the sky, performing its daily flight duties.
Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 28
Cramer mentioned Alaska Airlines, a subsidiary of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK), as he said:
“Of course, not everything is rosy in travel. While I like Delta, United, and Alaska Airlines, ways to play travel, there’s still some laggard, haggard companies out there that can act like skunks at a profits party.”
Alaska Air (NYSE:ALK) runs airline services, providing scheduled air travel for both passengers and cargo using Boeing jet aircraft. It has subsidiaries, including Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Holdings, Inc., Horizon Air, and McGee Air Services. The company had a successful end to 2024, posting record revenues of $11.7 billion. The year marked a significant shift for the company as it integrated Hawaiian Airlines into its operations, kicking off a plan aimed at generating an additional $1 billion in pretax profit over the next three years.
The full-year net income for 2024, excluding special items and other adjustments, was $625 million, or $4.87 per share, an increase compared to 2023, when net income, also excluding special items, stood at $583 million, or $4.53 per share. Additionally, Alaska Air (NYSE:ALK) generated $1.5 billion in operating cash flow for the full year, signaling strong financial health and growth.
Overall ALK ranks 10th on our list of the stocks Jim Cramer talked about recently. While we acknowledge the potential of ALK 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 ALK 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.
