In this piece, we will look at the stocks Jim Cramer recently discussed.
In a recent appearance on CNBC’s Squawk on the Street, Jim Cramer discussed whether inflation reports were correct. Cramer’s remarks came after the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest jobs report sent shock waves through the White House and Wall Street. The report slashed jobs figures for May by an unbelievable 258,000, which created significant concerns about the health of the US economy and whether the Federal Reserve was acting too cautiously when it came to lowering interest rates.
While the report was for the jobs data, Cramer remarked that he didn’t trust the inflation figures either. The CNBC TV host shared that inflation figures for several items are different depending on where you shop:
“Why should I trust these numbers? I look at the numbers and I can build it up from the bottom. I can look at the furniture from Ikea, and from Wayfair, and from Costco, I can look at any clothes from Costco, I don’t think they know the difference between Costco and Bob’s.”
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 August 11th.
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).
10. Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q1 2025: 39
Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F)’s shares have gained 18.6% year-to-date to significantly outpace the gains of its peer and rival, General Motors. The firm has benefited from investor attention due to its manufacturing base in the US, while General Motors has suffered due to its reliance on the Mexican supply chain. Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) recently announced that it would invest $2 billion in the US and launch new EVs. However, the shares are up by a measly 2.7% since then. Cramer commented on why Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F)’s shares didn’t rise:
“People want to see earnings. That’s the [inaudible] they want to see earnings, they want to see a decline in warranties and that would matter.
“If it were as big, as Jim said, I think somehow Ford stock would have moved.”
Here are his previous thoughts about Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F):
“And yet Ford stock is going from 10 to 11 in a quarter. What that says to me is that what we’re reading is not right. That stock does not easily go up. A 10% move in that stock is like, that’s glacial. . .I just think that Ford’s going to get a break here.
“I just think that Ford has the most made in America. Of these manufacturers. So that’s why I think that Ford’s up actually. Somehow I think they feel that they could get some relief. Because they are the largest makers of autos in this country. So why are they the most hurt? It is a little counterintuitive. And I think that their case will not be special pleading. I think it will be something the President will endorse. Not that, I wasn’t in the White House, but I think Jim Farley has a very good case that he should not have to bear the brunt because he makes the most in this country.”
9. Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q1 2025: 54
Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) is a car retailer that rang the opening bell on the day this program was aired. The firm’s shares have lost 9.7% year-to-date. However, the shares have gained 8.7% since the firm’s investor presentation and earnings report at July end. The results saw Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)’s earnings per share of $9.24 beat analyst estimates of $10.24 but miss revenue estimates of $9.69 billion by posting $9.58 billion. As the firm rang the opening bell, Cramer recalled that he had bought a car with Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD):
“By the way I actually bought a car at Lithia, so I’m like a, Lithia’s a metaphor, it’s a town. . .that’s where Brian Deboer’s from, he lived very close to my daughter. But my daughter did not live in the same style of Brian Doboer, the CEO of Lithia. . .she lived in a tent, she lived outside.
“Okay I’m just saying that the company that rang the bell, I bought a car from, for my daughter. Because she lived in Ashland.”
River Road Small-Mid Cap Value Fund discussed Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) in its Q4 2024 investor letter. Here is what the firm said:
“Another top contributor during the quarter was Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) one of the largest global automotive retailers operating in North America and the United Kingdom. In late June, the auto industry was impacted by a cyberattack on CDK Global’s dealership management system, which runs all back-office functions at Lithia as well as over 85% of all franchised dealers in the United States. In its Q2 2024 earnings release, LAD reported a -6.4% decline in same-store sales, driven primarily by a -4.7% decline in new vehicle units as LAD was not able to process sale transactions late in the quarter due to the CDK outage. Despite lower same-store sales, LAD outperformed expectations as its cost reduction initiatives and a shift in capital allocation resulted in sequential margin improvement and a lower share count. The company achieved its $150MM in annualized cost savings target ahead of schedule and now expects to double these savings by the end of 2024 through further inventory optimization and reductions. This will result in the all-important SG&A as a percentage gross profit declining to the mid-60s range and in line with LAD’s long-term target. Acquisitions have added $27B in annualized revenues since 2020, ahead of LAD’s goal of adding $25B in acquired revenues by 2025. Given the current high private market multiples for auto dealerships, LAD’s management has shifted its capital allocation toward share repurchases, buying back 2.9% of the company in Q2. With low net leverage of 2.3x and year-to-date free cash flow of $740MM, we expect management to continue repurchasing shares aggressively. During the quarter, we added to the position prior to its Q2 results.”
