10 Stocks Jim Cramer Discussed As He Questioned Official Data

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 the recent controversy surrounding the Labor Department, where fresh jobs data made President Trump fire the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Cramer believes that the data gathering needs to be outsourced:

“Yeah I mean I always read these and I think, okay, I’ve learned to question everything since the Labor Department. We got everything. It’s jumped ball on everything. And I just think that if you shop at the wrong place, you’re gonna pay more. I mean, for instance, furniture up, Wayfair, go to Wayfair, go to Ikea. . .I mean you can do things to minimize this and I think that this is why I keep saying, it has to be outsourced. Because I don’t think these people seem to know that if you go to the wrong places, it’s expensive, if you go to the right places, it’s not. But it doesn’t seem to matter. And I think it’s therefore somewhat of an irrelevant number. We all trade off of it. But it doesn’t really matter. David, I think we all are starting to come around to the idea that all these numbers need to be, rethought.”

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. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q1 2025: 212

The latest controversy surrounding NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) involves reports claiming that the Chinese government is asking local companies not to rely on the firm’s chips. These concerns stem from worries about potential backdoors and about becoming too reliant on American hardware. Cramer discussed the reports in detail:

“[On reports of Chinese authorities looking to stop companies from buying the H20 AI GPUs] They can go open, they can have Jensen Huang go over there and have him rip open one of those things. There’s nothing. I mean, look you either trust Jensen or you don’t. I trust Jensen just because he has to give the government 15%. I mean he has said, listen we don’t have tracking. So, therefore, I am a believer in him. I don’t want to actually believe, believe it or not, the PRC. I actually don’t know if the PRC is all that reliable. Not like the BLS, I mean it’s different. BLS doesn’t have a chance, they’re very strapped, they’re tired, they’re poor, they’re huddled masses. . .but this, you know why this is not right? Because they don’t have anything that’s as good as the H20. If you wanna go do something that’s like on one of these versions of Intel, that got Pat Gelsinger fired. . . .

“Yes you can [run inferences on it] and what I’m telling you is that the government was very hot to get these. So now the government’s not because they’re tracking, there is no tracking. There’s no tracking. We can believe their nonsense but there’s no tracking. I’ve heard all day, well because of the tracking. Okay so Jensen Huang is. therefore what? He’s clueless?

“[On The Information’s report saying Chinese big tech has been told by the government to not buy NVIDIA chips] I rely on The Information, you’re [David Faber] a legendary Wall Street funny man.They got you out of NVIDIA, as much as I got you into NVIDIA, they got you out of NVIDIA. Who has the cards? . . .I’m trying to get people to say, maybe before I sell NVIDIA because of all these different stories, maybe the stories maybe propaganda? I think we have every right to question, in a period where The Information has attacked NVIDIA twice. They’ll say we didn’t attack, we reported. Perhaps our reporting was not as strong. That’s okay. You can say whatever you want in this business and that’s exactly the problem.”

9. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q1 2025: 159

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s shares have entered a period of strong performance after the firm smoothed over its frictions with the Trump administration. It announced an additional $100 billion investment in American manufacturing, and the shares have gained 14.8% since CEO Tim Cook was well-received by President Trump in the White House. More recently, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)s App Store came under fire from Elon Musk after he accused the company of favoritism when it came to OpenAI. Musk believes that his Grok AI is being disadvantaged in the App Store and has sued Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). Here is Cramer’s take on the affair:

“It wasn’t clear, although, I would tell you that I don’t believe, I think that, it’s pay to play, to be at the top. I tried to load DoorDash today and Grubhub came up. Pay to play, above DoorDash, that’s the way it works. This is, did anyone say that this is, that there is like a Truth In Lending here or anything? You can do whatever you want.”

Previously, the CNBC TV host discussed Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s share price performance and the potential drivers:

“I kept hearing that Cook and the president didn’t get along because he wouldn’t commit to making the iPhone in the United States. The drum beat grew so loud that I even asked Tim in my private chat… is it possible for you to work with the president?… He came back and he said that he has good relations with the president…. Tim Cook, if he says the relationship is good, then it’s good, and that gave me the guts to tell you to stick with it. Now, with the stock at $220, nicely above where it was when the company reported, I need you to think about what has happened in the last 24 hours…

Could Apple go from being the most expensive to being the cheapest, the best one for the phone companies to offer, so they can get new accounts? Isn’t that what the stock’s monstrous move from 203 to 220 in just two days is telling us?…

Apple, don’t fool around with it. Don’t trade it. I say it because this is a company that always seems to get it right in the end… Of course, there’s a reason with Apple. It’s a confident company with the best products on Earth, that’s run by one of the greatest value creators on Earth, rivaled only by Jensen Huang at NVIDIA.”

8. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q1 2025: 91

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC)’s shares have stabilized this week after CEO Lip-Bu Tan met with President Trump to assure him of his loyalty to America. Trump had demanded last week that Tan leave his role as Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC)’s CEO due to his ties with Chinese companies. Cramer commented on the developments and on reports of disagreements within the firm’s board:

Thank you for bringing that [story about differences in Intel’s board] up because I was going to go over that story, now I don’t have to. But it’s totally overblown.

“They’ve got to fix the balance sheet. They have to fix the balance sheet. They have to. The balance sheet is in tatters. They only took two billion from the government.

“[On how while Intel had taken $2 billion from the government, additional payments were contingent on milestones] But he doesn’t want to build that stuff. I don’t blame him. Gelsinger was building, he had one of these, if you build it, they will come. He forgot first of all that they cause many billions of dollars. The second that there was no reason to come because the stuff was already obsolete by the time it would have finished.

“Don’t you think it’s interesting that Gelsinger was one of the presenters for Lip-Bu Tan when he won the 2022 Noyce Award. And then, what happened? He resigned from the board, remember in protest to Gelsinger’s stuff, Lip-Bu Tan. And now he’s running it. And news outlets have the story that there’s dissension? When I can’t find a single dissenter? I can’t!

7. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q1 2025: 187

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) isn’t a frequent feature of Cramer’s morning show despite the fact that the firm is the world’s largest contract chip manufacturer. His previous remarks about the company have pointed out that most of its revenue gains are due to orders from NVIDIA. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) is playing a key role in bringing chip manufacturing to the US through its multi-billion-dollar facilities in Arizona. However, the firm has faced some troubles, such as rising costs and cultural differences. Here is what Cramer said about Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM):

“By the way, Taiwan Semi is saying it costs a huge amount of money to build here versus Arizona.”

Previously, the CNBC TV host discussed Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM)’s earnings and financial performance:

”Yeah look, Taiwan Semi reports overnight. It’s an unbelievably good number but understand it’s really unbelievably good number because of high performance computing. In other words, it’s a good number because of NVIDIA.

“[Whether he was thrown off by a warning about Q3 margin]. Not at all. Not at all. I think that this is a company that still uses classic underperform, overdeliver. I meant underpromise, overdeliver.”

6. monday.com Ltd. (NASDAQ:MNDY)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q1 2025: 64

monday.com Ltd. (NASDAQ:MNDY) is an Israeli software company that develops and provides enterprise-focused products. Its shares have lost 22.8% year-to-date on the back of a stunning 29.8% drop in August, which underscores the brutal sentiment surrounding enterprise software in the age of AI. monday.com Ltd. (NASDAQ:MNDY) earnings were a negative catalyst, as even though the firm beat analyst and revenue estimates, the fact that its Q3 midpoint revenue guidance of $312 million missed analyst estimates of $313 million along with a conservative guidance hike and a weak Q2 beat were devastating for the shares. Here is what Cramer said about monday.com Ltd. (NASDAQ:MNDY):

“What I have here in my hand, Josh Baer . . .who upgrades, Morgan Stanley upgrades after, brutal, look at that, that’s actually a decline. Now, why was Monday down? Monday is a company that does work processes. . . it’s like a junior ServiceNow if you want to. Now it happened to have the misfortune of reporting on the same day that Ben Reitzes introduced the AI eats software, now actually a year and a half ago he actually coined that term so I don’t know why people are thinking that he just did it. But this is all part of this, enterprise software revulsion. We don’t want enterprise software, we want semiconductors. . .and I think that people should recognize that these companies are all being viewed as, let’s say carrion, because what’s happened is this that you can develop your own stuff that is better.

“Look I just got to tell you I think that all these stocks are going to be shrinking in price-to-earnings multiples. You shouldn’t be thinking about misses.”

5. Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q1 2025: N/A

Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL)’s shares have gained 84% year-to-date due to its place in the stablecoin industry and favorable legislation for the digital tokens. However, the stock is down by 25% over the past month on the back of several catalysts such as the firm’s announcement to raise capital through a share sale. Cramer’s previous comments about Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL) have outlined that while it does have the benefit of being an early mover in the industry, the lead might not last due to no competitive advantage. He maintained the sentiment this time as well:

“Well I just think, I still believe and I know that Circle, does not like my analysis, necessarily. They’re . .actually very forthcoming guys and they have a good rap. But, I just think that other companies can do it. They do, David, have a tremendous first mover advantage. And it does matter. Coinbase did too, I mean it’s just first mover advantage.

Here are his previous thoughts about Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL):

“Next up, the larger deal was Circle Internet Group. The IPO market was starting to heat up… by the time Circle came public in early June. But even though Circle upsized its deal significantly and raised its offer price range and then still priced well above the high end of the range, it wasn’t ambitious enough. Deal priced at 31, but the stock opened for trading at 69. Within three weeks, it was nearly at 300. It’s since cooled off around, they’ve come down to 165, but that’s still probably way too high. I think winners from CoreWeave rolled their take into Circle and turned it into a meme stock.”

4. Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q1 2025: 99

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)’s shares jumped by 1.8% earlier this week after the firm announced that its bladder cancer drug Padcev helped improve bladder cancer survival rates when combined with Merck’s well-known cancer treatment, KEYTRUDA. The gains were a much-needed boost to the stock, which is still down by 5.6% year-to-date, as the firm has struggled to grow revenue in a turnaround effort led by CEO Albert Bourla. Cramer lamented that Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)’s stock didn’t move higher on the news:

“Bladder cancer. Now that is left over from the Seagen. The Seagen deal, that was supposed to be very, very important. They spent a fortune on Seagen. And I thought the [inaudible] I thought would be a little more just positive. People are not buying the stock. People just feel like, Pfizer comes up with good thing, good thing, good thing, and no one seems to, David, take it as gospel.”

Cramer discussed Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) ahead of its earnings:

“There’s another one, that I’m not so sure of, reporting at the same time, though, Pfizer. We need to see some really dramatic results here from the clinical trials like the ones that Pfizer picked up when they bought the Seagen at the end of 2023. It’s enough time to see more than we’ve seen already, I gotta tell you that. And they better hurry up because the shareholder base is getting very restive, and who knows what the president has… against this industry.”

3. Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q1 2025: 93

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)’s shares have lost 16% year-to-date as investors continue to be disappointed by the dropping revenue of its GARDASIL HPV drug in China. They are also worried about the patent expiration of the firm’s mega cancer drug KEYTRUDA and wondering whether Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) will be able to follow up with an equally successful successor. However, the shares did gain 3% this week after Pfizer announced that its bladder cancer drug PADCEV improves survival rates when paired with KEYTRUDA. Cramer was impressed as he commented:

“Look at Merck. I mean, Saint Merck. What a tough, what a tough.”

Here are his earlier comments about Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK):

“Well, this GARDASIL, when is it? The Chinese are not really helping them sell, because you would have thought the Chinese would. . .and then you’ve got the KEYTRUDA, you know the patent cliff coming up. . .it’s amazing, but they are talking about their animal division. When you’re talking about your animal division you don’t have enough [inaudible] to talk.”

2. Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q1 2025: 140

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s shares have lost 28% year-to-date as the firm has struggled to retain investor attention in the age of AI. Like monday.com, investors are hawkishly watching its revenue pipeline and revenue commitments for the rest of the year – a fact which led the stock to dip 5% in May after its fiscal first quarter earnings. Cramer discussed the sentiment surrounding enterprise software stocks and CEO Marc Benioff’s attempts to counter it:

“. . .and I think that people should recognize that these companies are all being viewed as, let’s say carrion, because what’s happened is this that you can develop your own stuff that is better. Now Marc Benioff is doing some pushback on that by the way, he’s saying that if you’re doing process stuff, you’re not going to be able to, maybe creative, that would be Adobe. But not, Salesforce. So Marc’s pushing back Salesforce. . .”

Here are his previous remarks about Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM):

“Okay, so Salesforce is a little tough right now because right now, the enterprise software companies are all coming down. I have not been recommending the stock hard. I want to see what happens with the quarter. I wish I could be more definite, but sometimes it’s better just to say I don’t have a handle on it.”

1. Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q1 2025: 60

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) is an American healthcare company whose shares have gained 25.5% year-to-date. However, the stock would have been higher had it not been for a 7.2% dip in August. Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)’s shares fell after the firm missed fourth quarter analyst revenue estimates. Cramer discussed the earnings:

“[On guidance raise] Oh my god. I wanted to holler the Hollar. The Hollar was good. I’ve had Hollar on the show many times. He’s the CEO. And holy cow, they didn’t do the number. They didn’t do the number. This man is like, same thing like a McKesson. . .except for they added a lot of high value added things. And it’s not working. That was a tremendous blow. I had that one nailed as being something that would have a good quarter. Thank heavens I didn’t put money on it for my trust. Wow. That is something. David, that is something.

“Jason Hollar has reinvented that company, and I’ve had him on and he’s, by the way, not [inaudible] does he ever miss numbers, but he’s blown away the numbers time and time again. This was not a blow away. I was very surprised.”

The CNBC TV host was quite optimistic about Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) earlier. Here is what he said:

“Carl, one of the companies that has been unbelievable is Cardinal Health. They’ve been saying look we’re not just the middleman, not just the McKesson doing badly or Cencora. But this company, uniquely, Jason Hollar is making it into a very important healthcare company. And I think on June 12th, when they do the analyst conference, wow, you’re going to love it. You should love it today ahead of the analyst conference. It’s going to be unbelievable.”

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READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires.

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