We recently compiled a list of the Jim Cramer Discussed 18 Companies That Hit $100 Billion in Market Cap in 2024. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) stands against the other companies that hit $100 billion in market cap in 2024.
Jim Cramer, the host of Mad Money, recently discussed a number of companies that have surpassed $100 billion in market capitalization this year, noting how these companies seem to reflect the current market mood. According to Cramer, it used to be a significant achievement for a company to reach the $100 billion mark, as most companies would never attain that level of market cap.
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He emphasized the immense effort and determination required to achieve such a feat. However, Cramer pointed out that in today’s market, the $100 billion threshold has lost some of its significance, given the recent surge in stock valuations. He highlighted that, as of the market close last Friday, 18 companies had crossed the $100 billion mark in 2024, a notable increase that speaks to the current market dynamics.
Cramer acknowledged that stocks, like everything else, had to contend with inflation, which remains a persistent issue. He went on to say:
“I know we’re experiencing a heightened market, with expectations really running so hot that you can’t believe that a presidential rally, or, let’s say, an end-of-the-year rally and a stock shortage rally are all in play at once. Many of these stocks got clocked today as part of a sell-off that seemed to infect the year’s best performers. I don’t know how long it’ll last, maybe some great buying opportunities already.”
Cramer concluded that the massive influx of capital into the market is a clear driver behind the rise in companies reaching the $100 billion valuation.
“But bottom line: When you get this much money coming in, you can see how all these companies can reach $100 billion, creating a huge amount of wealth, at least on paper. One more reason why it wouldn’t be so bad if some of the winning investors in this market took something delicious off the table.”
Our Methodology
For this article, we compiled a list of 18 stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer during the episode of Mad Money on December 9. We listed the stocks in ascending order of their hedge fund sentiment as of the third quarter, 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).
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Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 71
Cramer highlighted Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) and said:
“Now it was a big cluster with gains in the mid-fifties. First up it’s Fiserv, the transaction processing company.”
Fiserv (NYSE:FI) provides a range of payments and financial services technology, including merchant acquiring, mobile payments, fraud protection, digital banking, card transaction processing, and various network services. The company operates with extensive reach, serving nearly every U.S. household.
As per Marc DeCastro, research director at IDC Financial Insights, the company has maintained its position as the largest global provider of technology solutions for the financial services industry, as recognized in the 2024 IDC FinTech Rankings. The global financial services industry is forecasted to spend more than $800 billion by 2026, further showing the significance of Fiserv’s role in this market.
In 2024, Fiserv (NYSE:FI) experienced noteworthy financial performance, with adjusted revenue increasing by 7%, reaching $14.22 billion in the first nine months of the year compared to the same period in 2023. Organic revenue growth was particularly strong, rising by 17%, driven by a 29% increase in the Merchant Solutions segment and a 6% rise in the Financial Solutions segment.
The company’s adjusted earnings per share grew by 18%, reaching $6.29 during the same period. Additionally, the company saw a 23% increase in free cash flow, which totaled $3.34 billion for the first nine months of 2024, up from $2.72 billion in the previous year.
Overall FI ranks 8th on our list of the companies that hit $100 billion in market cap in 2024 according to Jim Cramer. While we acknowledge the potential of FI 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 FI 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.