On Wednesday, Jim Cramer, host of Mad Money, cautioned investors against making significant market decisions based solely on the Federal Reserve’s actions regarding interest rates.
“If people were expecting the Federal Reserve to give us fireworks, they were sorely disappointed. Fed chief Jay Powell’s not given to hyperbole. He’s trying to balance price stability with job growth… As Powell told us today, the labor market is really cooling off. So the widely expected quarter-point rate cut made a ton of sense.”
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Despite how predictable the move was, markets responded with mixed signals, something that puzzled Cramer. The Dow climbed 260 points, while the S&P 500 slipped by 0.1% and the Nasdaq fell 0.33%. Cramer said the market’s behavior might have given investors the impression that the Fed’s decision came as a surprise, even though it had been clearly telegraphed in advance.
“The market’s reaction tells me two things. One, there are people who actually believe we’d get something bigger, and two, there are people who think that stocks are overvalued without big rate cuts.”
Cramer pointed directly to Powell’s comment that there was no “widespread support for a 50 basis point cut today” as a signal that some selling pressure was inevitable. He suggested that a portion of the investor base might have convinced themselves the Fed would cave to political pressure and approve a 50 basis point cut. Not mincing his words, Cramer said that they are “delusional.”
“While we could have gotten more dovish language from Powell, of course, a tad disappointing to equity investors, no big themes were upended. No longer-term gains were put on hold. In the end, everybody with half a brain knew we’d get a quarter-point cut. So it shouldn’t have done nothing to the market.”
Our Methodology
For this article, we compiled a list of 7 stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer during the episode of Mad Money aired on September 17. We listed the stocks in the order that Cramer mentioned them. We also provided hedge fund sentiment for each stock as of the second quarter of 2025, which was taken from Insider Monkey’s database of over 900 hedge funds.
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).
Jim Cramer Commented on 7 Stocks and the Recent Fed Meeting
7. United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 53
United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer commented on, along with the recent Fed meeting. Highlighting the stock’s high dividend yield, Cramer commented:
“I’m even more concerned about United Parcel with its 7.8% yield. That yield’s too high, may not be sustainable even as management keeps saying otherwise. Fairly or unfairly, when you see that kind of high yield that… this stock market is saying, don’t trust the dividend.”
United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) provides transportation, distribution, and contract logistics services. The company also handles ocean and air freight, customs brokerage, and insurance. On September 15, Cramer remarked:
“I am worried about United Parcel. I’ll tell you why. It’s down 33% for the year. Because when I see a yield of 7.8%, it worries me because there’s not a lot of yields in the S&P that are that high. The highest yielders tend to be troubled. They do not tend to be reasons to buy, maybe for Verizon when it was… or an ATT, because they’re utilities. But this is of grave consternation to me on UPS. I wish I could be more positive, but that’s how I feel.”
6. FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 67
FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer commented on, along with the recent Fed meeting. Expressing his concern about the company, Cramer said:
“I’m concerned, for example, about FedEx, which reports tomorrow. 25 basis point cut won’t change things in time for this great shipping company.”
FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX) offers transportation, e-commerce solutions, and business support services. Its services include express shipping, small-package deliveries, freight services, and other business-related services. Earlier in September, Cramer said:
“After the close, FedEx reports and the analysts have been lowering numbers and lowering numbers because of an expected decline in Chinese packages, now that they no longer have that tariff exemption.”
5. The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 93
The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer commented on, along with the recent Fed meeting. Expressing hesitancy about interest rate-sensitive cyclicals, Cramer said:
“I don’t see any real reason to get excited about the interest rate-sensitive cyclicals, including the housing stocks. Those are the stocks you’d buy if we heard that the Fed had a very serious debate about whether to have a double rate cut. We didn’t get that. Now, for instance, we own Home Depot for the Charitable Trust. It’s been a big winner and I’m not surprised that it got dinged today, down 1%.
You need to hear something about bigger cuts to get that stock higher, and it didn’t happen. It’s going to be slower. It’s still going to go higher, though. I don’t feel great about the cyclicals in general, even though Caterpillar hit an all-time high today, unless they have something to do with the data center or with aerospace.”
The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) is a home improvement retailer that supplies building materials, home décor, lawn and garden products, and maintenance items. The company also provides installation services, tool rental options, and digital platforms that support homeowners, professional tradespeople, and contractors.
4. Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 52
Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer commented on, along with the recent Fed meeting. Highlighting that the stock was hit, Cramer said:
“The market turned on the travel leisure stocks again. Oh God, they keep doing that, even as I continue to tell you that COVID changed the industry permanently. Marriott was crushed today, which makes no sense at all, especially when American Express was up 3% to hit an all-time high.”
Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR) operates and franchises hotels, residences, timeshares, and yachts worldwide under several well-known brands. Artisan Partners stated the following regarding Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:
“We exited Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR), a multinational hospitality company, after a successful multiyear investment campaign. Marriott is a prime example of how we aim to use volatility to our advantage by investing in quality businesses at lower prices. When we initiated our position in March 2020during the COVID crash, its P/E multiple had collapsed from the mid-20s to the high teens, which offered a sufficient margin of safety, in our estimation, to take on the position in an iconic, long lived global franchise with competitive advantages to peers, value conscious management, a flexible financial structure and cash producing capabilities. At the time it was tough to see travel picking up again, though we believed it was only a matter of time. Since that time, travel has been one of the strongest areas of the economy, and Marriott’s stock price is up more than three-fold from its March 2020 lows.”
3. Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE:COF)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 132
Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE:COF) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer commented on, along with the recent Fed meeting. Cramer was bullish on the stock, as he commented:
“And you can get even more buying of Capital One… The credit card bank, which will make a fortune now that it’s merged with Discover. Very few defaults in Capital One, far fewer than I thought there would be at this point in the cycle. As J. Powell said, households are in good shape, and that’s not about to change.”
Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE:COF) is a financial services holding company that provides credit cards, loans, and banking services. The company also delivers advisory services and capital markets solutions. Earlier in July, Cramer said:
“Whenever the averages are near their all-time highs, even after today’s pullback, all sorts of people come out of the woodwork to claim that great stocks have become overvalued, but sometimes these stocks have a lot more room to run. Take Capital One Financial, the bank with a huge credit card business that we own for the Charitable Trust… Now, since we first bought this one for the trust on March 6, we’re already up over 28% but we’re sticking with it. Why? Because I think it’s got a tremendous growth story. It’s not done anywhere near here. The recent run is all about Capital One’s acquisition of Discover Financial in an all-stock deal valued at $35.3 billion…
In simple terms, this acquisition gives Capital One ownership of the Discover Global Network, allowing them to scale up to become a truly global payments platform… There’s a lot more going on here. For starters, Capital One expects to realize $1.5 billion in cost synergies from this deal in 2027. They see another $1.2 billion in network synergies… All told, management believes this deal’s going to boost their earnings per share by 15% once we get to 2027, and that is substantial. I mean, this is a bank, you usually don’t get that kind of growth. The Discover deal also creates new opportunities for Capital One… After this merger, the combined company is the largest credit card company as measured by outstanding customer balances…
… Put it all together, and it’s easy to see how capital stock could keep being rewarded with a higher price-to-earnings multiple. Right now, the stock sells for just 11 times next year’s earnings estimates, which makes it incredibly cheap versus American Express at 20 times earnings. I use Amex because it’s the closest comparison now that the Discover deal is closed…
So here’s the bottom line on this stock that, even though I know it’s about nitty gritty, but it is very exciting for me. Capital One stock has already had a major run this year, but that’s because the Discover acquisition is incredibly positive. So I’m betting the stock has a lot more room to run. Even though the stock’s within spitting distance of its all-time high, listen to me, I think it’s still way too cheap here at a mere 11 times next year’s earnings, and I think it is poised to have multiple years of outstanding growth.”
2. Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 75
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer commented on, along with the recent Fed meeting. Recommending the stock, Cramer remarked:
“As I mentioned yesterday, the banks are still looking good as short rates go down. They borrow at the short end of the yield curve and then, which fell by the way because of the rate cut, and then they lend long, much higher. When short rates drop and long rates rise, well, I gotta tell you, that’s when you buy the bank stocks. At tomorrow’s noon CNBC Investing Club meeting, I’m going to talk about this. I’m going to tell club members that I intend to stick with the banks even though we have huge profits. If you don’t own any, then still you can buy Wells Fargo, which is stalled here in the $82 range.”
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) is a global financial services firm that provides banking services, investment products, mortgage lending, and other financial solutions.
1. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 235
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer commented on, along with the recent Fed meeting. Commenting on the events of the day, Cramer said:
“We had something very strange today, a story about how the Chinese government wants a full stop in buying NVIDIA’s artificial intelligence chips for some of the biggest clients. Those are the ones, they’re are made for China. We thought they’d be welcome there. Very confusing, very fluid story. Now, I have to tell you that the Chinese narrative has become the defining story with NVIDIA, and I think that is dead wrong. There’s lots of positions in play here.
You could argue that this is a ploy, something that can change on a dime when the president talks with President Xi about the People’s Republic… You could argue that NVIDIA looks like it’ll be shut out of the market, that’s worth about $50 billion in sales per year. Right now, NVIDIA has no China numbers… so don’t expect number cuts. That’s why I don’t think there was a reason to sell here. Me? Well, shocker. I say own NVIDIA, don’t trade it. And if you can get some in at the 160 level, oh boy, I’d be a buyer.
NVIDIA’s at the heart of AI. The new chips that are coming out are way ahead of the current ones. The Chinese government needs to be mindful not to shoot itself in the foot. Other countries will get these chips, which will take AI to levels where it can truly surpass humans in many different kinds of problem-solving and surpass all those Chinese companies, too. NVIDIA now has the worst-case scenario in China. Everyone knows that. I think that’s your best chance to buy.”
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) develops computing solutions spanning graphics, AI, data center platforms, networking, and cloud services, with applications across gaming, robotics, autonomous vehicles, and enterprise AI.
While we acknowledge the potential of NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that 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 NVDA and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
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