We recently compiled a list of the Jim Cramer Talked About These 11 Stocks Recently. In this article, we are going to take a look at where United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) stands against the other stocks Jim Cramer talked about recently.
Jim Cramer, the host of Mad Money, recently shared his thoughts on the surge in cruise stocks, offering a perspective that diverges from the usual focus on the tech sector. According to Cramer, the excitement over DeepSeek’s impact on technology has caused many to overlook simpler, more accessible opportunities. While questions about power plants, data centers, and the future of companies like Nvidia are complex, Cramer finds comfort in identifying opportunities that are easier to grasp. One such opportunity, he pointed out, is with the cruise line operators.
Cramer cited a comment from the CEO of a cruise operator who mentioned that the current macro environment favors experiences over material goods as spending on leisure and travel continues to rise and said:
“Hey, to me it means the cruise lines were cyclical stories before Covid, but now they’ve become genuine secular growth plays and they may stay that way for a generation.”
He emphasized that many investors are still struggling to accept the rapid growth of cruises in such a short time span, despite travel being a massive $2 trillion industry. Cruises, within that context, offer significant value, Cramer noted.
READ ALSO 7 Stocks on Jim Cramer’s Radar and Jim Cramer’s Game Plan: Top 14 Stocks to Watch
He also highlighted an important factor that has changed the cruise industry since the pandemic: many cruise companies have become far more disciplined in managing their capacity. Unlike before, when too many ships would flood the market, operators are now taking a more cautious approach, which has made the industry more resilient. This shift, according to Cramer, has strengthened the position of cruise lines moving forward. Despite this, he observed that travel and leisure stocks remain undervalued, as many analysts continue to doubt the staying power of the cruise industry.
While Cramer acknowledged that there are still underperforming companies in the market, including a struggling airline stock he pointed out, he firmly stated that he would prefer to own shares in the worst cruise line over the best airline.
Our Methodology
For this article, we compiled a list of 11 stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer during the episode of Mad Money on January 28. 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 bird’s eye view of a large commercial jetliner taking off from an airport runway.
United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 54
United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) is a major airline offering air travel services for both passengers and cargo. Cramer mentioned that he liked the company and said:
“Of course, not everything is rosy in travel. While I like Delta, United, and Alaska Airlines, ways to play travel, there’s still some laggard, haggard companies out there that can act like skunks at a profits party.”
Patient Capital Management stated the following regarding United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) had a strong fourth quarter, gaining 70.2% in the period. The company benefitted from continued strong demand that surprised the market as well as the initiation of a buyback program, the first since COVID. There continues to be strong travel demand from both retail and business travelers. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), global air passenger travel is still below the pre-COVID implied trend path despite reaching a new all-time high this year. United’s focus on the customer over the last few years has led to strong improvement in net promoter scores (NPS) which should continue to flow through the model via better TRASM (total revenue per available seat mile) and higher cash flows and earnings. As of today, United alone accounts for ~30% of the overall industry’s profits. We expect this market share to grow and be defensible as we transition to an environment where customer service becomes the differentiating factor, and scale provides unparalleled ability to reinvest in the customer experience.”
Overall UAL ranks 9th on our list of the stocks Jim Cramer talked about recently. While we acknowledge the potential of UAL 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 UAL 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.
