In his latest appearance on CNBC’s Squawk on the Street, Jim Cramer analyzed the extraordinary market turnaround following President Trump’s unexpected 90-day tariff reprieve. Cramer explained just how abruptly the momentum changed:
“The word that I kept hearing about is failed, that it would be a failed auction. It wasn’t. And therefore, it was a save. Once that save was made, in part because what the president did, you overrun what was the easiest trade of the year, which was the short Mag 7, short technology, short semiconductors, and everything reversed. Now, see, today, if you’re short – and the shorts are more or less the motif – they’re feeling good because it’s down, but they’re going to cover. They’re going to cover because they got hurt so badly yesterday that their bosses are saying, we want your books more. That’s historically what happens in these situations. So you may see all these down, but they’re not going to go back to where they were because we’re building in estimate cuts for everybody. And once they’re all built in, then it’s like 87. They’re all built in, and then you got to start figuring out. He was building too low.”
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He also painted the market as a high-stakes showdown between short sellers and bulls, warning that the tide may have turned decisively:
“It’s a great day for the longs, bad day for the shorts. […] What I’m talking about is that it’s a battle between longs and shorts. And the shorts are trying to keep their jobs after being victorious for so long. And the longs are revelling in what happened here because the 10%, except for, of course, what you talked about, which is the embargo.”
Finally, Cramer credited a single Trump tweet with flipping the entire market narrative:
“Yes, we are, given the fact that we should be in a hot seat estate, which is, we’re on a recession territory, ground, so whatever you want to say, until the tweet. Is that not insane? That a tweet came out and we went from being a recession to being up. […] The guy gave you the best call I’ve seen in my career, and yet there are people who are critical of that. I mean, come on. He got the Nasdaq to have the greatest single day ever, and he let you in. How many strategies have that kind of power? […]
We have to acknowledge that it was one of the greatest rallies in history. I should have said that right up front. And you were allowed in it. You got the call.”
Our Methodology
To make our list of the stocks that Jim Cramer talked about, we listed down the stocks he mentioned during CNBC’s Squawk on the Street aired on April 10th.
For these stocks, we also mentioned the number of hedge fund investors. 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 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
8. Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)
Number of Hedge Fund holders: 115
During a discussion on the impact of tariffs and the need for domestic manufacturing, Jim Cramer emphasized the importance of building supply chain resilience within the United States. He used Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) as a prime example of how American companies can execute rapid and efficient factory construction in response to geopolitical and trade-related risks. Here’s what he said:
“Let’s talk about building a factory. Eli Lilly built the fastest factory I’ve ever seen. It’s a North Carolina factory in Concord. It was supposed to take about five years, typically. They did do it in two and a half years, but they’re a pretty well-run company. Two and a half years is record time, sir.”
7. Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 51
While talking about earnings reports, Jim Cramer focused on the weakness in alcohol consumption and a surprising slowdown in beer demand. Cramer used Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) as a case study in this changing consumer behavior. Here’s what he said:
“A rather shocking guide down. Beer will be flat no longer 7% to 9% two years. They got Modelo, which is the number one brand. What this says is, without a doubt, that alcohol continues to slow. Consumption continues to slow. We don’t know. Now, this company over-indexed for Hispanics. There’s always a chance that perhaps Hispanics are unfortunately laying low because of what’s ever happening in our country. That’s what’s happened before. But what’s more important is GLP-1. The craving for beer is no more than the craving for sparkling water. So I’d rather have a sparkling water. There’s big studies going on right now that show that. And no one in the industry is willing to admit it. […]
So for me to just say, you know what, people have decided, I don’t like the taste of that, no. There’s no craving. And I think that when you look at these beer numbers from Constellation and you see what’s happening to the deterioration in their numbers, you understand why this stock is down. […]
[Asked about whether they were hit by any tariffs on Mexico] No, they’re going to be OK. They’re going to be all right. But what matters is consumption, and consumption is not good. Now, once again, no one in the industry will admit what I just said, but I’m in the damn industry, so I don’t really care what they said. That’s what I do for, well, it’s what my wife does for a living. I see the numbers of these other kinds of alcohols, and they’re shocking.”
6. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 223
Jim Cramer and his co-host revisited the AI and semiconductor trade and NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) was brought up. Cramer talked about a major transition in data center demand from hyperscalers to smaller, specialized buyers. Here’s his analysis:
“Okay, here’s my theory. And so far, okayed by the powers that be. There is a shift from hyperscaler to others who need the latest and greatest. What does that mean? And by the way, Grace Blackwell sold out, which is the current ship, sold out. […] And I will tell you that if you’re a robot maker, you need all the ones that you can possibly get. Self-drive, you need all these. These are not hyperscale. […] I think what you find is that people who have felt that NVIDIA was an easy short, maybe not so easy.”
Jim Cramer recently broke down all of the Magnificent 7 stocks and categorized them into tiers, based on their strengths and weaknesses. He categorized NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) in the “second tier”, but defended the company’s long-term value and financial strength, saying:
“NVIDIA is down 36% from its highs. Just 3 weeks ago for instance, that Nvidia GTC event occurred where there was no sign at all that this AI theme was slowing but investors want to throw in the towel so there’s just been a freight train of selling in anything AI. Maybe you just have to step back and let the selling play out for Nvidia. Let me give you some good news, it sells for just 21 times this year’s earnings. This is the highest quality company in the world. It’s also less than half its average valuation over the past 5 years; that’s cold comfort. I think the stock will fly.”
5. CarMax, Inc. (NYSE:KMX)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 57
In a brief segment on recent earnings results, Jim Cramer called out the disappointing performance of CarMax, Inc. (NYSE:KMX). He criticized the company’s inability to meet expectations and suggested that even the CEO’s commentary failed to inspire confidence:
“This stock is down a lot. Net revenues were $6 billion. They were up 6.7%. They pulled their guidance, and they didn’t do the number. They missed bad. They didn’t have anything. [Talking about the CEO’s commentary] Bill’s usually better than that.”
In recent weeks, Jim Cramer talked about CarMax, Inc. (NYSE:KMX) again, advising his viewers not to invest in autos in case of a recession:
“Now anyway, we just profiled a company called CarMax the other night that reports Thursday and when new cars get tariffed, used cars become a lot cheaper by comparison, which should spur sales for CarMax. The stock’s no longer cheap, selling at 23 times this year’s earnings, but I think this might be a real investment given the fact that the president seems unwilling to back down. Then again, if we get a recession, it doesn’t really matter. You don’t want to own anything connected to autos in a recession.”
4. The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 74
During the show Jim Cramer pointed to The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) as a clear retail winner. He noted that TJX benefits from oversupply at traditional department stores and consumer bargain-hunting behavior. Here’s what he said:
“TJX was the only one that hit a high yesterday. […] But I will say this, TJX is going to be the beneficiary of all the department stores that were over ordered in order to have enough merchandise so they have to offload it to TJX and that’s what that says.”
Jim Cramer has praised The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) in a recent show, saying the following:
“The best, you know what’s the best? TJX. A ton of retailers will have to order a lot of inventory to be able to get through the holidays, too much inventory, and they’ll then have to offload their unsold merchandise to TJX. There is a reason this stock keeps finding itself on the new all-time high list, other than the fact that I’m next door to one and I go there all the time.”
3. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 81
While previewing upcoming bank earnings, Jim Cramer analyzed Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS), suggesting that its current valuation may already reflect investor pessimism. Here are his remarks:
“Well, the only reason I mention is Goldman’s about to report, okay? And David, Goldman is at the fulcrum of everything. It’s down 20 today. It was up big yesterday. It sells at 11 times earnings. And what I’m getting at is that maybe at 11 times earnings, if they miss the number, it doesn’t go down that much. […] So maybe instead of doing 12, maybe they do 11 and the stock doesn’t get hit. Because it’s selling at nine times next year’s earnings. So this is what I’m talking about. Right now, at this moment, people are recalibrating and maybe they say, you know what, I knew Goldman was going to be bad. It was bad. Okay, next.”
2. Applovin Corp. (NASDAQ:APP)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 95
While discussing digital advertising and the potential sale of TikTok, Jim Cramer highlighted Applovin Corp. (NASDAQ:APP) as a serious player in the tech space. He praised the company’s leadership and issued a warning to those betting against it, saying:
“They do have a great audit committee run by a Craig Billings from Wynn, who’s really a serious guy. Those who are short that stock, another invitation to their funeral.”
1. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 166
In the context of escalating tariffs and U.S.–China tensions, Jim Cramer examined the production risk facing Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). He argued that if Apple was given a long-term exemption or exit strategy, it could be a major blow to China while preserving Apple’s dominance. Here’s his analysis:
“Last I heard, they still make most of their iPhones in China. They do, and some sent to Vietnam, but there are people in the White House who think that’s just trans-shipment. Put some screws in from China, and then, you know, boom. So you have the regular part, and then the screws, you know. They’re trying to make a discussion right now about exemption and Apple. It would be devastating to the Chinese if they gave Apple a year long extension to be able to move away because then Apple wouldn’t be hurt and Apple would know it have to leave. And that point we get to 2000. I mean what I hear is engineers who are crucial to Apple’s development and making [inaudible] they don’t want to let them leave.
[…] I’m saying that if you gave them a glide path to get out, the Chinese would lose 2 million workers. That’s about how many it would be. Apple would not be hurt. Apple again would become prominent.”
AAPL is a stock Jim Cramer recently discussed. While we acknowledge the potential of AAPL 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 time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. 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 this cheapest AI stock.
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