Jim Cramer, host of Mad Money, recently pointed out some unexpected trends in the stock market this year, spotlighting a group of companies that have largely flown under the radar. These stocks, often overshadowed by the heavily discussed “Magnificent Seven”, the dominant tech giants, are making significant gains without the fanfare. Cramer called them “quiet winners,” emphasizing that many of these stocks, particularly those outside the tech sector, are not getting the recognition they deserve from Wall Street.
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Cramer elaborated further on this point, noting that the leading stocks in 2025 have emerged from an unexpected mix of sectors, making this trend all the more interesting. Cramer remarked that it is clear that there is a shift happening in the market, with industries beyond tech making significant strides, yet remaining largely underappreciated by the broader investing community.
“So far this year, we’ve had many very big winners outside of tech, and I bet most of them can keep quietly working their way higher.”
He also pointed out that the insurance industry has experienced a particularly strong few years, noting its impressive pricing power, which has translated into higher premiums. This, in turn, has allowed insurance companies to invest those premiums in the bond market, generating significant returns.
Additionally, Cramer argued that the market often gets the most obvious things wrong, which ends up costing investors dearly. In his usual candid style, Cramer emphasized that while no investment is entirely foolproof, certain stocks show more resilience than others. “The key is to buy them when they’re down because they won’t stay down for long,” he advised.
He continued, acknowledging that some stocks have stumbled recently, but he believes that many of the non-tech winners from this year still have room to grow. His message to investors was clear: focus on these quieter, non-tech stocks, as they have the potential to deliver strong returns even as the tech sector struggles with occasional setbacks.
Jim Cramer’s Thoughts on These 9 Stocks
Our Methodology
For this article, we compiled a list of 9 stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer during the episode of Mad Money aired on February 6. 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).
Jim Cramer’s Thoughts on These 9 Stocks
9. Fastly, Inc. (NYSE:FSLY)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 14
When a caller noted that Fastly, Inc. (NYSE:FSLY) looks good fundamentally and financially, Cramer steered them toward Cloudflare instead.
“No, I mean they’ve missed a quarter too often. If you want to be in that, you wanna be in CloudFlare, which just reported tonight. Matthew Prince, doing an absolutely terrific job.”
Fastly (NYSE:FSLY) provides an edge cloud platform that helps customers build, secure, and deliver digital experiences by offering services like content delivery, video streaming solutions, network optimization, and security features such as DDoS protection, bot management, and API protection. Cramer has been bearish on the company for a while now as he commented in 2023:
“They haven’t pivoted to profitability and I’m not gonna recommend a stock that hasn’t pivoted to profitability, that has a very high price to sales analysis.”
Since then, Fastly (NYSE:FSLY) stock declined over 45% while Cramer’s recommended NET stock gained over 185%.
8. Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 15
When a caller asked if it was too late to buy Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN), Cramer replied:
“No, Banco Santander is very inexpensive still. Ana Botín is doing a great job…. I know I just, endlessly pounded the table. But at $5, I still think it’s a great situation.”
Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) offers a wide range of financial services, including banking, loans, mortgages, asset management, insurance, and digital payment solutions, along with corporate and investment banking services and online financial offerings. The company reported its full-year 2024 earnings result on February 5. Executive chair Ana Botín, highlighted record financial results for the third consecutive year, pointing out growth in revenue, profitability, and returns.
Banco Santander’s (NYSE:SAN) income rose by 8%, driven by the addition of eight million new customers. Return on tangible equity improved to 16.3%, and cash dividends per share increased by 39%. The company posted an attributable profit of €12.57 billion for 2024, marking a 14% increase compared to 2023. Earnings per share also saw a significant increase of 18%, reaching €0.77.
7. A10 Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ATEN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 20
Discussing A10 Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ATEN) during the episode, Cramer said:
“A10. Okay. Look, A10 is up in a straight line. It’s a parabolic move. It’s a good company, but I can’t recommend parabolic stocks. Let that one come in a little.”
A10 (NYSE:ATEN) offers networking solutions focused on traffic management, security, and DDoS defense, with tools available in both hardware and software formats. On February 5, according to TipRanks, Craig-Hallum increased its price target for the company to $18 from $16 while maintaining a Hold rating on the stock.
The firm highlighted that A10’s (NYSE:ATEN) quarterly revenue slightly exceeded expectations, with earnings surpassing forecasts due to gains in short-term investment sales and lower-than-anticipated operating expenses. Looking ahead, the company plans to raise its operating expenses to focus on investments in AI and cybersecurity. Consequently, Craig-Hallum has kept its 2025 estimates unchanged.
6. IES Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:IESC)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 25
Cramer was enthusiastically bullish on IES Holdings, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:IESC) CEO and called him a “winner”.
“That’s, that’s, that’s Jeffrey Gendell’s company. He is a, just an amazing man. He’s had a long history in understanding about this kind of business and I salute him. Gendell is a buy, okay. That’s the way I look at IESC, it’s Gendell and he’s a winner.”
IES (NASDAQ:IESC) specializes in designing, installing, and maintaining electrical and technology systems, serving various sectors such as residential, commercial, and industrial. Cramer’s enthusiasm about the company’s CEO is not new because he expressed a similar sentiment during an episode aired in November 2024 as he remarked:
“This is a terrific infrastructure play. We know it and one of the things I didn’t know about it is it’s Jeff Gendell’s company. He’s a terrific money manager. He’s really fabulous. He gets everything. This is just [a] fantastic stock.”
5. Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 65
Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) was mentioned during the episode and here’s what Cramer had to say:
“You know what? Look, it’s the best house in a bad neighborhood and we don’t want to be in bad neighborhoods and I’m so sorry, really great company, but I don’t want to recommend the stock.”
Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB), a player in carbon management and energy systems integration, tackles multiple aspects of the global energy sector. While Cramer recently advised to stay away from the company, that was not the case in October 2024 when he said:
“SLB has not gone up nearly as much as I would’ve expected. Given the fact that oil’s up, I would buy the stock right here. It is the best of breed.”
Since then, Schlumberger’s (NYSE:SLB) stock went down over 10%.
4. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 68
A caller asked if there was any hope left for Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) and Cramer said:
“You know what? Look, Intel does have a very good CFO, now CEO, one of the two CEOs… I wouldn’t bet against it. I think it is a great institution, but I don’t want to be in the stock.”
Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) develops and produces computing products, such as processors, memory, and artificial intelligence technologies. Cramer’s intent to stay away from the stock is not something new as he highlighted the challenges the company faces as he explained in early January:
“Intel is a national treasure people, it can’t be allowed to fail. Too dire a possibility? I don’t think so. Its balance sheet is a mess, its product line isn’t good enough, I don’t know if it can deliver on many of its promises to [the] government. Sure, nice guy messianic former CEO Pat Gelsinger is gone but so what? Intel needs a plan in 30 days, so the stock will keep coming down even after last year’s staggering 60% decline. Intel’s too big to be bought, too indebted to be finessed… The risk is existential.”
3. NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 69
Cramer was bullish on NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) during the episode as he commented:
“I like them. I think it’s good. I think it’s a growth utility. I wish it had a little bit better yield, but that’s because the stock has moved so much. I think you’ve got a good one.”
NextEra (NYSE:NEE) generates and sells electricity using a mix of clean energy sources, including wind, solar, and nuclear, while also developing and managing long-term contracted clean energy projects, battery storage, and electric transmission facilities. The stock currently has a yield of 2.98% and has gained more than 20% over the past 12 months.
Madison Investments stated the following regarding NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:
“The top contributors in the quarter were NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE), Oracle Corporation, Progressive Corporation, Equifax Inc., and United Healthcare. NextEra has continued to perform well given its strong position in the renewable energy space, increasing demand for power, its transmission capabilities, as well as a tailwind from lower interest rates.”
2. Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 86
A caller asked if Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) was still the greatest of all time but Cramer recommended being in Chevron instead.
“You know, look, frankly, I’d rather see you in Chevron if you could do that… but I, no, we wanna stay away from Exxon… It’s just, it’s, it’s not where the action is.”
Exxon (NYSE:XOM) engages in the exploration and extraction of crude oil and natural gas. In September 2024, Cramer expressed disappointment with the stock as he said:
“Devon is actually cheaper than Exxon Mobil Corporation. Exxon is expensive, with only a 3.4% yield. It’s not much better than Chevron, which yields 4.7%. It’s not a good time to own oil. Demand was never there, and prices are finally falling.”
It is worth noting that over the past year, Exxon (NYSE:XOM) has risen over 7% while Chevron stock has gained less than 1%.
1. Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 98
Cramer noted that Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) turned out to be bad for him and expressed disdain about management’s attitude during the latest earnings call.
“Danaher’s been bad for me… I’ve known the company for so long, but that last quarter was terrible and frankly, they were very smug on the call talking about how good it was and that was a very ill-advised strategy that they adopted and I don’t like it.”
Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) designs and manufactures a broad range of products and services across several industries, offering solutions for therapeutic development, clinical diagnostics, and laboratory research. Discussing a factor that has been impacting the company, Cramer recently commented, “The one… sharp as a tack people, actually Danaher, who’ve lost their way and don’t even know it, have been bashed by China.”
While we acknowledge the potential of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) 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 DHR 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 was originally published at Insider Monkey.
