Ever the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) bull, Jim Cramer is nothing but ecstatic about the firm’s recent fortunes. With a market capitalization of $4.90 trillion when Cramer made his remarks, the firm was the most valuable company in the world once again after losing the place to NVIDIA. Most of the debate surrounding Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) has focused on its AI initiatives. While most big ticket tech firms such as Alphabet and Meta have gone ‘all in’ when it comes to the new technology, the consumer electronics firm has taken a more cautious approach. Yet, its massive user base has also allowed Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) to play a key role in the sector. Cramer has commented on these aspects regularly. He has gone as far as to joke that the firm is a ‘freeloader’ when it comes to AI and defended it from critics of the AI strategy. With Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) now once again the world’s most valuable company, the CNBC TV host relished in the development in his Monday morning remarks:
“Apple the winner, repeatedly. Apple the winner, Apple the winner, Apple the winner. And they’re the ones that all the really so called smart people told us, they didn’t have AI right. Well I guess it was good not to have AI.”
The bulls and bears, when it comes to Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), are also split across AI monetization. While the bulls believe that the firm’s massive user base and strong product launches provide it with plenty of room to support earnings expansion and keep its margins strong through pricing measures, the bears are uncertain whether Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s user base can allow it to sufficiently monetize AI initiatives. Cramer is solidly in the bullish camp, as his remarks suggest that he views the firm as an ‘AI safe haven.’ Yet, this same status has led the bears to question valuation multiples as they wonder whether a high forward P/E of 35x can leave any room for error when it comes to delivering on the earnings front.
Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s latest earnings report saw the shares dip 6% in aftermarket trading. During the earnings call, another key topic in the debate, i.e., the impact of high component costs, came into focus. Management cited supply constraints to hold back on their optimism for guidance. Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) guided its revenue growth for the current quarter to sit between 9% and 11%, while analysts had estimated 12%. Yet, Cramer remained a bull as he tweeted:
“Apple’s issues are all memory and currency…”
However, he also agreed with the bearish caution about the multiple being too high for any financial weakness and tweeted:
“. . .Apple’s stock has run too much to charge higher.”
During Q4 2025, 169 out of the 1,041 hedge funds part of Insider Monkey’s database had owned Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s shares. This figure jumped to 170 out of 1,022 in Q1 2026. The largest stakeholder was Berkshire Hathaway with its $57.8 billion stake while D E Shaw bumped its stake by 29% to sit at $1.7 billion. On the flip side, Ron Baron’s BAMCO Inc. exited its stake.
While we acknowledge the potential of AAPL to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than AAPL and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None.
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