We recently published a list of Was Jim Cramer Right About These 23 Stocks? In this article, we are going to take a look at where Shake Shack Inc. (NYSE:SHAK) stands against other stocks that Jim Cramer discussed 12 months ago.
In the most recent Mad Money episode, Jim Cramer shared his thoughts on the current state of the market, especially about AI stocks. He noted that despite the enthusiasm surrounding AI, investors are no longer willing to pay high prices for stocks tied to this technology. Cramer explained that on days like Tuesday, people in the market are feeling what he referred to as “painful shrinkage.”
“In this business, shrinkage means paying less for the same earnings that you were willing to pay up for only just a week or two ago.”
READ ALSO: Jim Cramer’s Thoughts on These 5 Stocks and Was Jim Cramer Right About These 23 Stocks?
He pointed out that this phenomenon is commonly known as price-to-earnings multiple compression, a widespread trend across the market. Cramer asked why this is happening, especially when it seems like nothing has changed with the companies themselves. He explained:
“Look, when everyone’s terrified that a piano’s about to fall on their heads, they don’t want to get hit by the baby grand and right now they don’t want to own the falling stocks either. So they sell but they can’t get a good price anymore because too many people want out for the same reasons. They think that stocks are overpriced versus when we consider what could lay ahead.”
Cramer further elaborated that there is a strong sense of apprehension in the market right now, with investors bracing for potential economic challenges. Despite good news that may come out about companies or the economy, people are reluctant to hold onto stocks because they are anticipating weakness down the road.
He said that even though they cannot see it clearly, the ongoing concerns about the economy and the administration’s messaging about necessary economic adjustments create a climate of fear. As Cramer put it, “If the administration keeps talking about how we’re transitioning, how the economy needs to make some painful adjustments, then any big rally that we had Friday and yesterday will become magnets for sellers.”
“Here’s the bottom line: This latest round of multiple compression came on a day of wonderment about artificial intelligence, and even with Jensen’s fabulous speech, multiple compression was just much more powerful. You know what? It’s going to stay that way until we get through this environment, either because the White House backs off, or because stocks come down to the point where we simply get used to it.”
Methodology
For this article, we compiled a list of 23 stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer during the episode of Mad Money on March 26, 2024. We then calculated their performance from March 26th, 2024, market close to March 18th, 2025, market close. We have also included the hedge fund sentiment for the stocks, which we sourced from Insider Monkey’s Q4 2024 database of over 900 hedge funds. The stocks are listed in the order that Cramer mentioned them.
Please note that this article mentions Jim Cramer’s previous opinions and may not account for any changes to his opinions regarding the stocks that are mentioned. It is primarily an examination of how his previously provided opinions have panned out.
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).
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Shake Shack Inc. (NYSE:SHAK)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 43
A caller had a question for Cramer about Shake Shack Inc. (NYSE:SHAK), the fast-casual restaurant chain with a growing footprint in burgers and modern American cuisine. Cramer offered cautious optimism about its leadership at the time.
“I will tell you we have liked Rob Lynch historically. We think he’s a terrific CEO. He has come in there, I think it’s a breath of fresh air […] I do think this stock needs a bit of a pullback because it sells at a very, very high price-to-earnings multiple, but I like where you’re going because I like the management.”
Shake Shack Inc. (NYSE:SHAK)’s stock price has decreased by 15.23% following Cramer’s commentary.
On the 27th of January, Cramer said he believes the company’s CEO is capable of turning the stock’s fortune around:
“[how market viewed ex-Mag 7 on the day of the sell off] I mean, it is interesting, by the way, that Rob Lynch moved over to Shake Shack, and he’s done a great job. But I will say that not the right day to ring the opening bell, in the sense of its line of focus. But a good sense that he’s brought the company to a growth pattern that’s far in excess of we thought it was going to have. He, Papa John’s, turnaround guy,
Overall, SHAK ranks 11th on our list of stocks that Jim Cramer discussed 12 months ago. While we acknowledge the potential of SHAK 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 time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than SHAK but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the 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.
