Jim Cramer, the host of Mad Money, on Thursday, shared his thoughts on the market’s volatility following President Donald Trump’s tariff announcements and provided insights into which sectors and stocks could weather the impact of these new trade policies.
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“President Trump is out there fighting inflation every day except not the way we want him to do it. He’s fighting inflation, not in the mall, not in the supermarket, but in the stock market.
He’s trying to give us everyday lower prices. He is rolling back stock prices point by point and if he keeps it up, he will indeed get us back to pre-COVID levels.”
He pointed out that Trump is attempting to reduce prices in the market by gradually bringing down stock values, noting that if the current trend continues, we may eventually see stock prices return to pre-COVID levels.
Cramer also identified stocks he believes could be relatively insulated from the negative effects of these tariffs. He emphasized that these are the companies whose values are not directly impacted by the primary reason many stocks are struggling, tariffs. The protected stocks, according to Cramer, can maintain their worth even if additional tariffs are imposed on other countries. Cramer’s list was aimed at those seeking stability in an uncertain market environment, where the next country to be hit with tariffs remains unclear. He went on to say:
“Starting with tech first. Nothing that can be sold to China has a chance to get out of this thing unscathed. Nothing that has parts made in Taiwan can hold its value. Nothing that’s crafted in China can stay up. If we can’t be sure where the next tariff is gonna land, we can’t own these stocks until they go lower and then we can.”
Turning to the transportation sector, Cramer was blunt in his assessment. He pointed out that transportation stocks are closely tied to global commerce, which in turn is directly affected by tariffs. With tariffs raising the cost of goods, Cramer argued, global trade will slow, which will negatively impact businesses across the board. He highlighted the general economic principle that raising prices leads to reduced sales, making the transportation sector vulnerable to these market shifts. When it came to the auto industry, Cramer described the situation as a tough one.
Our Methodology
For this article, we compiled a list of 13 stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer during the episode of Mad Money aired on February 27. We listed the stocks in the order that Cramer mentioned them. We also provided hedge fund sentiment for each stock as of the fourth quarter of 2024, which was taken from Insider Monkey’s database of over 1,000 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 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
Jim Cramer Said These 13 Stocks Can Hold Their Value Amid Tariffs
13. Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 51
Highlighting that Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) is the “best steel maker”, Cramer said:
“And now I want to give you the number one name in the entire S&P 500 and that one, number one name is Nucor, the best steel maker in the land, if not the world. It’s the one that’s been targeted the most… aggressively by China. But, but, the tariffs means that China’s steel transshiped from Mexico, they’re not gonna get it anymore.”
Nucor (NYSE:NUE) produces and sells a wide range of steel products, catering to customers throughout North America. Earlier in January, Cramer discussed steel dumping and explained:
“I thought Nucor was bottoming. It’s been very, very tough to own this great steel maker. I really gotta see what, look, the material stocks are all weaker and there’s a lot of dumping of steel from China, yet they, all they do is hack and dump and hack and dump and they get away with it. So that’s what’s hurting the stock.”
12. Texas Roadhouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:TXRH)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 52
Texas Roadhouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:TXRH) is a popular casual dining restaurant chain with locations throughout the U.S. and abroad. The company stock was one of the only two restaurant stocks on Cramer’s list of stocks that can uphold their value amid tariff chatter as he said, “Texas Roadhouse… may be the most American of any restaurant chain, Texas and Roadhouse.”
In December 2024, commenting on Texas Roadhouse (NASDAQ:TXRH), Cramer stated:
“At the same time, there’s the other consumer who only seeks absolute bargains. The under $11 meal at Chili’s owned by Brinker and at Texas Roadhouse, the same deal. Incredibly attractive… Texas Roadhouse overwhelms you with fabulous food at a price that seems like they forgot to put one of us on the bill.”