Jim Cramer, the host of Mad Money, recently shared his thoughts on stocks that could perform well regardless of who ends up running the White House. On Tuesday, Cramer observed that the day’s market performance gave the impression that every stock could go higher no matter who secures the presidency.
He pointed to significant gains across various sectors, including aerospace, housing, retail, and healthcare. Cramer noted that this broad-based rally resulted in strong performances on Tuesday, with the Dow climbing 427 points, the S&P rising by 1.23%, and the NASDAQ soaring by 1.43%. However, he tempered his optimism by adding that days like Tuesday might prove to be outliers in the coming weeks.
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Cramer took the opportunity to highlight ten stocks he believes will thrive and said:
“I want to highlight ten stocks that I believe will do well under either candidate, a who’s who of acclamation, companies that almost have to do well because of seismic trends and savvy managements. Companies that no White House would get hung up on, either because they’re beneath notice or they’re perceived as good corporate citizens by both sides. Stocks in industries that neither Trump nor Harris have ever targeted in the past.”
He also raised an important question for the viewers: “If you had the results of the election in hand, would you really know what to buy or sell?” According to Cramer, answering that question is far more complicated than it seems. He emphasized his list of stocks that can thrive regardless of the election outcome. These are companies that have no clear political adversaries in Washington, making them relatively safe bets. Cramer acknowledged, however, that many stocks that seem like obvious picks for one candidate or another often have hidden dynamics that don’t get enough attention.
“In the end, this presidential prognostication game is meaningless until we start hearing about cabinet appointments, those will tell us a lot. Then, we can figure out really who the winners and losers are. Right now, though, there are just too many political angles to every single stock story.”
Jim Cramer Talked About 10 Stocks That Could Perform Regardless of the Administration Change
Our Methodology
For this article, we compiled a list of 10 stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer during the episode of Mad Money on November 5. We listed the stocks in ascending order of their hedge fund sentiment as of the second quarter, which was taken from Insider Monkey’s database of more than 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).
10. Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE:PLTR)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 44
Cramer praised Palantir Technologies Inc.’s (NYSE:PLTR) CEO and mentioned that the stock is a “crowd favorite”.
“Palantir brags about making its clients more lethal and judging by the numbers, which included accelerated revenue growth and phenomenal margins, they’re clearly accomplishing that goal. How strong were these results at Palantir? I’m gonna quote CEO Alex Karp, who is… indomitable… ‘Given how strong our results are, I almost feel that we should just go home.’
Now there’s a guy who’s got bravado… I like the bipartisan nature of not spending as much on defense hardware and training and instead relying on Alex and friends to get it right for you. And that’s what they’re doing. This one’s a real crowd favorite, by the way. It’s now up 198% for the year, and I bet it keeps running regardless of who takes the White House. Congrats to Alex and friends.”
Palantir (NYSE:PLTR) is a prominent developer of software platforms specializing in complex data integration and decision-making. The company primarily serves government agencies, particularly in the intelligence sector, as well as commercial clients.
After recently joining the S&P 500, Palantir (NYSE:PLTR) delivered a strong third-quarter earnings report. It reported revenue of $725.5 million, marking a 30% increase year-over-year and outperforming estimates. In addition to the revenue growth, the company also saw a significant improvement in its profit margins. The company reported a nearly 20% increase in profit margin from the previous quarter and a striking 275% rise compared to the same period last year.
9. Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 46
Cramer loves Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS). During the episode, he emphasized its business model of serving small businesses. Here’s what Mad Money’s host had to say:
“… I love these guys. It’s the company that supplies more than 1 million businesses with uniforms, restroom supplies, fire safety equipment, some other stuff. You know why I love this one so much? Because it caters to small businesses and neither the Democrats nor Republicans can resist talking about how small businesses are the backbone of the American economy.
You hang around politicians enough, you can’t believe how many times they talk about this issue. Nobody ever lost an election in this country by pandering too hard to a small business. Of course, they approach it different[ly]. Republicans want to cut back regulations, they make it difficult to operate a small enterprise. The Democrats wanna give them small loans or big loans. Who’s right? That’s not my job. My job is to tell you how to profit from the bipartisan embrace of small business and you can do that by purchasing the stock that’s called Cintas.”
Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) provides corporate identity uniforms and a range of related services, including uniform rentals, restroom cleaning, first aid, fire protection products, and more, serving both small businesses and large corporations through a local distribution network. It has built a strong reputation for customer loyalty, driven in part by continuous product development across its uniform rental and various other business lines.
With a customer base exceeding 1 million corporate clients, the company benefits from a highly diversified revenue stream, as no single client accounts for more than 1% of its total revenue. This broad customer base helps mitigate the risks associated with client concentration, ensuring that the company’s success is not overly reliant on any single account. The company’s uniform rental and facility services segment makes up the majority of its revenue, contributing more than three-quarters of total sales.
In its first-quarter results for fiscal 2025, released on September 25, Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) uniform rental and facility services segment, in particular, saw a 5.9% increase in revenue, rising to $1.93 billion from $1.83 billion in the previous year. Additionally, its “other” business segment, which includes services outside of uniform rental, performed even better, showing a 10.1% increase to $567.7 million, up from $515.5 million the previous year.
8. The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 56
Cramer called The TJX Companies, Inc.’s (NYSE:TJX) prices “ridiculous” and commented that it is his go-to chain for clothing.
“I like TJX, the parent company of T.J. Maxx and Marshalls. These retailers have done tremendous work pushing back against inflation by using their scale to push costs down then passing on the savings to you, the customer. Neither candidate can mess with that proposition… TJX is such a go-to chain for clothes that I have spent a lot of time perusing aisles for anything my size, whether it be belts or shirts, or slacks… Their prices are so ridiculous that you can’t pass this stuff out…
All three of these retailers work. Even if President Trump installs high tariffs, none has any meaningful foreign exposure that can hurt them even as they all have overseas operations.”
TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) is an off-price retailer offering a wide range of family apparel, home goods, jewelry, and other merchandise. Its brands include T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods. The company’s business model is centered around its ability to source branded products at significant discounts, allowing it to pass savings on to customers. This competitive advantage has helped it maintain a strong presence across multiple regions.
In the last earnings call, CEO and President Ernie Herrman expressed satisfaction with the company’s performance, noting a key achievement during the quarter: the opening of its 5,000th store, a significant milestone in the company’s growth.
For fiscal 2025, TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) management expects its full-year comparable sales growth to reach approximately 3%, with profit margins averaging around 11.2%. The company projects full-year earnings per share to fall between $4.09 and $4.13.
7. T-Mobile US, Inc. (NASDAQ:TMUS)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 64
Cramer commented that T-Mobile US, Inc. (NASDAQ:TMUS) is the best value wireless carrier, pointing out the company’s strengths and praising its CEO.
“If you want a wireless carrier, the outfit that’s taken the market by storm, the best value is T-Mobile, which is why they seem to report great numbers every quarter. T-Mobile has the best retention, the lowest churn… They were the ones that said Apple sales are good, plus CEO, Mike Sievert hates to lose. That is a great quality in a chief executive officer.”
T-Mobile (NASDAQ:TMUS) is a prominent telecommunications company offering a range of services, including voice, messaging, and data plans to millions of customers. In the third quarter, CEO Mike Sievert highlighted that the company achieved significant growth, adding 1.6 million postpaid customers, which was the highest increase in the sector. This strong performance was accompanied by record-low churn rates, a key indicator of customer retention, which contributed to its outsized financial results.
During the earnings call, Sievert highlighted that the company is now halfway toward its long-term goal of adding 12 million customers by 2028, a target that demonstrates the company’s ambitious growth plans. Sievert emphasized the 5G network as a major factor behind T-Mobile’s (NASDAQ:TMUS) impressive performance. During the quarter, its 5G network was recently recognized by Opensignal as having the best 5G availability in the world.
6. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 66
Cramer commented that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) is competitive with its peers and highlighted the rampant cyber crime that is occuring these days.
“Hey, speaking of hating to lose, the CEO of Palo Alto Networks, that’s Desh Aurora, and the CEO of CrowdStrike, that’s George Kurtz, are both extremely competitive. They know how to stop cybercrime better than anyone. I know it hurts our diversification efforts, but the Charitable Trust owns both these stocks because I’m a huge believer in cybersecurity and I’m not gonna be left behind by a great stock here. There’s so much crime happening online. These companies literally can’t handle all the business. Imagine that, I call that a high-quality problem.”
Palo Alto (NASDAQ:PANW) is one of the largest cybersecurity companies, offering a comprehensive range of security solutions. As cyber threats continue to escalate, it has positioned itself as a key player in the fight against cybercrime, a sector that, according to Cybersecurity Ventures, is expected to grow by 15% annually, reaching an annual cost of $10.5 trillion by 2025.
Nikesh Arora, the company’s chairman and CEO, highlighted in a recent appearance on Fortune’s Leadership Next podcast that the company covers approximately 80% of the cybersecurity landscape, a significant leap from the 10-15% share it had just six years ago. Arora also noted that cybersecurity, once a relatively overlooked area of technology, has now become a major focus for businesses as incidents like ransomware attacks have become increasingly frequent.
In fiscal 2024, Palo Alto (NASDAQ:PANW) generated $8 billion in total revenue, marking a 16% increase from the previous fiscal year. This growth reflects the ongoing demand for cybersecurity solutions, particularly in the area of next-generation security. The company’s annual recurring revenue from its platform-based customers surged by 43% in the final quarter of fiscal 2024, reaching $4.2 billion.
The company is optimistic about the future of its platform-based model. It expects that this revenue will more than triple to $15 billion by 2030, with a projected 3,500 of its top 5,000 customers expected to adopt this platform-based approach by then.
5. CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 69
Cramer said that he is a big believer of cybersecurity, which is why his trust owns CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) stock.
“Hey, speaking of hating to lose the CEO of Palo Alto Networks, that’s Desh Aurora, and the CEO of CrowdStrike, that’s George Kurtz, are both extremely competitive. They know how to stop cybercrime better than anyone. I know it hurts our diversification efforts, but the Charitable Trust owns both these stocks because I’m a huge believer in cybersecurity and I’m not gonna be left behind by a great stock here. There’s so much crime happening online. These companies literally can’t handle all the business. Imagine that, I call that a high-quality problem.”
CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD) offers cybersecurity solutions. It is known for its Falcon platform, a comprehensive suite of endpoint security solutions. Despite facing challenges earlier this year due to an outage that temporarily impacted its reputation, the company continues to be regarded as a top player in its field. During the fiscal 2025 second-quarter earnings call, which ended on July 31, CEO George Kurtz acknowledged that the outage caused some prospective customers to delay signing contracts.
However, he emphasized that most of these deals remain active in the sales pipeline, indicating that the company’s position in the market is still strong. Its Falcon platform offers a wide range of security tools, with 28 modules available to customers. In the second quarter of fiscal 2025, 65% of its customers were using at least five of these modules. The number of deals involving eight or more modules saw a significant increase, up 66% compared to the same period last year.
CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD) uses generative AI to detect threats and respond to potential breaches more rapidly. The company claims to have “the industry’s most complete AI-native defense,” positioning its technology as highly advanced. Its AI models are trained on data from more than 2 trillion incidents every day, enabling them to continually improve in terms of both speed and accuracy. This sophisticated approach to threat detection is central to the company’s value proposition and has helped maintain its reputation as a leader in endpoint security.
4. Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 71
Cramer pointed out Costco Wholesale Corporation’s (NASDAQ:COST) business model and how it makes money.
“I like Costco… These retailers have done tremendous work pushing back against inflation by using their scale to push costs down then passing on the savings to you, the customer. Neither candidate can mess with that proposition… Costco’s got a business model where they make most of their money off the membership card. The model’s about getting as much volume as possible, not taking as much price as possible and that’s why everybody loves it. That and of course, the free samples… We love going down the aisles, just imagining how much more we’d have to pay at some other store…
All three of these retailers work. Even if President Trump installs high tariffs, none has any meaningful foreign exposure that can hurt them even as they all have overseas operations.”
Costco (NASDAQ:COST) operates membership-based warehouses, offering a wide range of branded and private-label products, as well as various services including gasoline, pharmacies, and online business delivery. Its membership model is a key component of its business, offering a consistent revenue stream that directly benefits the company’s profitability. This model has proven to be highly effective, with membership renewal rates consistently hovering around 90%.
The company’s success with this model is also evident in its continued expansion as it is one of the few large brick-and-mortar retailers still opening new stores. In fiscal 2024, which ended on September 1, the company opened 30 new warehouse locations, bringing the total number of warehouses to 890. Of these new openings, 23 were in the U.S., with the rest in international markets.
Additionally, Costco (NASDAQ:COST) management recently raised its membership fee, increasing the cost of a basic annual membership from $60 to $65. This fee adjustment comes as part of the company’s ongoing efforts to drive revenue and strengthen its business model.
3. GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE:GEV)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 92
Cramer pointed out GE Vernova Inc.’s (NYSE:GEV) range of offerings and its management’s clear comments about the company’s nuclear capabilities.
“Next up, everyone wants some environmental play that can work with either party, right? Good luck finding one, but the best I can draw is GE Vernova. The stock’s up so much, but in this new regime, whatever that is, you can assume that it’s something to offer for every utility and hyperscaler. I know we’re all falling in love with nuclear power, right? I get that. And one day, it’ll be important again. I mean, maybe in the next decade. Right now though, if we want more electricity, we’re gonna need it from natural gas, wind, and solar. GE Vernova has natural gas turbines…, windmills, and the best possibilities of nuclear. Although the company would tell you, you shouldn’t get your hopes up for nukes anytime soon because it takes too long to build these… I like the fact that they’re upfront about that. That’s terrific.”
GE Vernova (NYSE:GEV), a leading company in the energy sector, focuses on a broad range of products and services related to electricity generation, transmission, orchestration, conversion, and storage. As of September, the company announced that it has secured the capacity to deliver between 70 and 80 heavy-duty gas turbines per year starting in 2026, an increase from the 55 turbines it has been producing in recent years.
In addition to this, the company has seen its equipment backlog increase significantly over the past two years. By the end of 2024, the company expects to more than triple its backlog, which stood at just over $6 billion at the end of 2022. During the latest earnings call, CEO Scott Strazik shared insights into the company’s approach to nuclear energy.
He emphasized the importance of the existing installed base of nuclear plants, noting that in the U.S. alone, GE Vernova’s (NYSE:GEV) equipment is already installed in 65 plants. Strazik pointed out that there is potential for at least 3 gigawatts of incremental nuclear capacity to be added through upgrades to these existing plants.
2. Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 95
Cramer likes Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) and highlighted the company’s various strategies including low-priced products, wage hike, and more. Here’s what he had to say:
“I like Walmart… These retailers have done tremendous work pushing back against inflation by using their scale to push costs down then passing on the savings to you, the customer. Neither candidate can mess with that proposition. Walmart’s tried to hold the line on prices in all sorts of aisles, but especially the food aisle. Have you seen these $5 selections? They have, it’s called the Great Value Offerings. They’re incredibly cheap and particularly loved. No, the stock itself’s not cheap. But ever since Walmart upped its game by improving wages, giving managers more discretion for what their stores carry, and sneaking high fashion in the $15, I’m not kidding, the $15 aisle, oh, it has been a huge win…
All three of these retailers work. Even if President Trump installs high tariffs, none has any meaningful foreign exposure that can hurt them even as they all have overseas operations.”
Walmart (NYSE:WMT) operates a global retail and eCommerce business, offering a wide range of products, including groceries, health and wellness items, home goods, apparel, electronics, and private label merchandise. Its size and scale give it a competitive edge, enabling it to maintain its position as one of the largest retailers in the world. According to Walmart U.S. CEO John Furner, more than two-thirds of the company’s annual product spend is directed toward goods that are either made, grown, or assembled in America.
This focus on domestic sourcing has been a key element of the company’s business strategy, particularly in recent years. Walmart (NYSE:WMT) market presence is strengthened by its ability to offer competitive prices across a broad range of categories, something that has been central to its success. The company has consistently made strides in driving value for customers, and its pricing power is amplified by its sheer size.
This has allowed the company to keep costs lower than many other competitors in the retail space, making it a go-to destination for both budget-conscious shoppers and bargain-seeking upper-income households.
Management has pointed out that, in recent months, these customers have been increasingly frequenting its stores, contributing to the company’s growth in market share within the retail industry. This trend is particularly evident in categories such as hardlines, home goods, and fashion, where Walmart U.S. has seen significant sales growth in the most recent period.
Additionally, the company has invested in services designed to improve convenience for its customers. For example, the company offers free delivery on orders over $35 for members of its Walmart+ program, a service that aims to enhance the overall shopping experience and add value for frequent shoppers.
1. Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 103
Cramer called Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) a great bargain and remarked that it will not take a hit in the coming days.
“Netflix is one of the world’s greatest bargains, and because they make programming for all sides of the aisle, you know that it’s not gonna get hammered by whoever comes out ahead tonight or this week or next month, whatever. There’s no percentage in going after Netflix.”
Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) is a leading provider of entertainment services, offering a vast variety of streaming content to millions of subscribers around the world. In October, the company reported its financial results for the third quarter, showing a 15% increase in revenue compared to the same period in the previous year.
This growth was accompanied by the addition of over 5 million new subscribers. Spencer Neumann, Netflix’s (NASDAQ:NFLX) Chief Financial Officer, highlighted that there are still “hundreds of millions of households that aren’t members,” suggesting significant untapped potential for future growth. A key factor driving this expansion has been its advertising-supported subscription tier.
Management indicated that the membership for the ad-supported plan grew by 35% year-over-year in the third quarter, though there were some challenges. The company is projecting total revenue for the full year 2024 to exceed $38 billion. Its management also provided guidance for 2025, anticipating revenue to reach between $43 billion and $44 billion, which would represent an approximately 11% year-over-year increase.
While we acknowledge the potential of Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) 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 NFLX but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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