We recently compiled a list of the Jim Cramer’s Game Plan: Top 14 Stocks to Watch. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stands against the other stocks.
Jim Cramer, the host of Mad Money, recently shared his thoughts on the upcoming earnings season, emphasizing that investors should tread carefully and avoid making any big moves.
“When people think about an exciting time for stocks, they think of the next two weeks, that’s when some of the most important consequential companies on Earth report, practically at the same time. Throw in the actions of the new president and all I can say is, we’re not gonna have any idea what the heck we’re doing until we have time, probably at night to sift through all the data points and study all the conference calls.”
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Cramer stressed that the current week, in particular, is too difficult for snap judgments. He warned that the Federal Reserve’s decision on Wednesday will only add to the uncertainty. At one point, it seemed like the market could expect a rate cut, which would push stocks higher, but then Amex reported that its customers were spending at a rapid pace. He said:
“But when American Express says today that its millions of customers are spending like mad, the Fed can’t possibly give us a rate cut, can it?”
He added that if the Fed does lower rates on Wednesday, it would likely be because Chairman Jerome Powell has caved to President Trump’s demand for immediate cuts. In this complex situation, Cramer advised investors to just sit tight and not act, pointing out that it would be a “no-win situation” for Powell.
As if the pressure of earnings reports and the Fed’s decision were not enough, Cramer also noted that this week would feature the release of the Fed’s favored inflation measure, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index. However, Cramer does not expect good news, given the high level of consumer spending.
“The exhausting bottom line: Look it’s a sheer hell week. Our heads will be spinning, swivel-like, lazy Susan even, as each day you can expect a flood of earnings and a sound bite from President Trump that upsets whatever order there might be. Like I always say, don’t try to make decisions during this part of earnings season, just listen. It’s too hard and I don’t want you to lose money just because this is one of eight super exciting weeks of the year.”
Our Methodology
For this article, we compiled a list of 14 stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer during the episode of Mad Money on January 24. 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 wide view of an Apple store, showing the range of products the company offers.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 158
During the episode, Cramer talked about Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), and here’s what he had to say:
“After the close, we have the most widely anticipated disappointment that I’ve ever seen. I’m about to be facetious. I want you to hear this. It’s facetious but here’s what we’re gonna hear. Let’s see. We have horrendous Chinese cell phone orders, no lift from new AI, a surprising slowdown in service revenues, lackluster Vision Pro sales, and of course, a radical chop to the forecast for the rest of the year, all way below the consensus. There, that’s everything I’ve heard about Apple for the last two weeks.
Since the year began, I just keep hearing that over and over again but if everyone knows it’s gonna be worse than expected, can it still be worse than expected? How could it be a surprise if everyone expects the worst and we get the worst? Will the stock still get clocked? Kind of, yeah because Apple’s priced for slightly better-than-expected set of numbers and we won’t get one but so why not dump it?”
Cramer advised against trading the stock, urging investors to hold onto it instead. He noted that Apple is an exceptional company with outstanding management and that any issues the company faces will eventually be addressed, even if the timing remains uncertain. Cramer emphasized that historically, it has been more beneficial to simply hold Apple stock rather than trying to trade it.
He also pointed out that his Charitable Trust has seen a remarkable performance with Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) precisely because the company has control over its own future, which he said is easier to maintain when management is excellent and products are of the highest quality.
Overall AAPL ranks 11th on our list of stocks to watch according to Jim Cramer. While we acknowledge the potential of AAPL 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 time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than AAPL 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 was originally published at Insider Monkey.