We recently published a list of Jim Cramer Says Tariff Pain Isn’t Over Yet And Reviews These 9 Stocks. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) stands against other stocks that Jim Cramer discusses.
In his latest appearance on CNBC’s Squawk on the Street, Jim Cramer dissected the market’s recent rally and reminded his viewers to not mistake short-term optimism for resolution. As major indices bounced earlier in the day, Cramer warned that some deeper structural uncertainties remain unresolved, saying:
“Well, I think that those who are running companies are saying, what the heck is going on here? We’re trying to run our companies. Suddenly, we find that a country that we’ve dealt with for a long time, we have to just say, wait a second, we’re going to put a surcharge on. We’re going to pass through. So the issue is, who can pass through and who isn’t? Who has pricing power? It’s often like that. Who has scale? Who has pricing power? Who can tell the Chinese, listen, we’re going to go away, of which then you have out-of-stock parts. And who says, OK, we’ll split the tariff.
When it comes to money managers, I think money managers are looking at this snapback and saying, listen, just ignore it. Or use it to get out. Because tomorrow is decision day. And China’s not going to blink. Japan will blink, by the way. I think a lot of people feel that, wait a second, if Japan’s willing to blink, then China should. But China’s not going to. So when we come in tomorrow, it’s going to be, well, China isn’t blinking. Let’s take numbers down. And numbers down, move stocks lower.”
READ ALSO: Jim Cramer Got These 10 Stocks All Wrong and Jim Cramer Warns of a 36% Market Drop & Reviews These 9 Key Stocks.
Cramer acknowledged the bullish hopes circulating among traders and policymakers that quick deals with allies like Japan, Mexico, and Canada could offset the trade war’s damage. But he was clear that these deals, while politically useful, won’t erase the inflationary burden already being felt by companies and consumers:
“[Talking about expectations about the White House reaching deals with other countries] There’s going to be a deal. They’re very excited about Japan and the administration. Exactly. They’re very excited. By the way, they like Korea. […] Yeah, I think that Mexico, they are very much expecting it’s going to be a better deal. Canada, and they’re going to be able to trumpet a few days from now. Look what we’ve done by being really tough. And you know what? The Chinese are going to fold. They believe that the Chinese will fold.”
At the heart of Cramer’s analysis was a question he believes investors need to ask themselves:
“So, then the question becomes at a certain point, do you believe in everything else about President Trump that you’re willing to overlook the inflationary aspects? Do you believe the social aspects, are they so important to you? Do you believe the commitment he’s made to try to cut the budget deficit? Do you believe President Trump just decided, I’m not going to focus on the inflation? Because that’s really been unusual to not focus on inflation.”
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 8th.
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).
A stylishly dressed man wearing jeans and a jacket from the company, smiling confidently.
Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 31
Despite the tariff headwinds that are shaking global apparel makers, Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) remains as one of Cramer’s favorite. He emphasized the company’s resilient earnings, strong direct-to-consumer pivot, and upbeat analyst upgrades, suggesting it may be an overlooked opportunity amid broader retail weakness.
“[Talking about the CEO of Levi Strauss] She’s trying to figure out what to do where. But what matters is they have tremendous organic growth. Management reiterated their earnings per share guidance of $1.20-$1.25. Our friend Matt Boss has a terrific piece out saying it’s the early innings. Upgrades to overweight. Don’t forget they have a 3.8% yield. And denim is doing incredibly well. And you come into stocks at 10 times earnings. This is the kind of thing that I like. Stock that is just being crushed where the fundamentals are actually improving. And there are enough out there that you just have to find them. So I like Levi Strauss very much. And look, I think that their direct-to-consumer initiative is very strong.”
Here’s exactly what Jim Cramer said during his Mad Money program about Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) the day before:
“Levi Strauss is a great American company that should not have been able to deliver such a great number if things are so bad. […] We had a strong quarter, a very strong beat on EPS […] All regions around the world and all categories were positive this quarter, and it is a testament and a proof point that these strategies are working.”
Overall, LEVI ranks 6th on our list of stocks that Jim Cramer discusses. While we acknowledge the potential of LEVI 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 LEVI but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
