Jim Cramer: Meta Platforms (META) Was “Better Than Microsoft” — Zuckerberg “Cracked the Code”

We recently published a list of Jim Cramer Says Big Tech is Back And Deep Dives Into These 8 Stocks. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) stands against other stocks that Jim Cramer discussed.

During the latest episode of Mad Money, which aired on the 1st of May, Jim Cramer dove straight into the recent tech earnings reports and celebrated the fact that some of the biggest names reported great earnings, saying:

“Sometimes you forget why you ever like something in the first place. Take the super stocks, the hyperscalers, the tech titans, I don’t care, whatever you want to call them. These stocks all got lumped together because of their size, their gigantic market caps that dwarf the rest of the market and then they lost their juice. […] We’re reminded of how the mega caps got so big to begin with. It’s their scale, their smarts, their moats, their balance sheets, and their sensational products.”

READ ALSO: Did Jim Cramer Hit or Miss On These 13 Stock Predictions? And How Did Jim Cramer’s 12 Bold Predictions Play Out?

He then emphasized how quickly the market turned around on the back of those great earnings reports:

“Couple weeks ago, the formerly magnificent seven felt impossible to own. But days like today remind you why you avoid these stocks at your own pearl. You got to have a couple of them. These companies are endowed with tens of billions of dollars. They’re like nation states. They don’t flinch at spending tens of billions to compete in artificial intelligence. They have the flexibility to pivot to what’s necessary. […] They’re run by seasoned hands who are incorruptible and bold and can course correct if they missed the mark the previous quarter. They are marvellous gems.”

Voicing his support for the big American tech companies, he said:

“This is why I take every chance to harangue public officials and urge them to stand up for these companies which because of their size have become honeypots for lawsuits by foreign governments who never stop hitting them up for money. But in the end, their optionality knows no bounds. Save tariffs. Something that they could not have seen coming and snuck up on them very fast. Snuck up on everyone. This has been the roughest stretch for these amazing companies that I can recall. “

Finally, he gave his nod of approval to these resilient companies, before beginning to analyze their recent earnings reports:

“But the bottom line, if we’re in for lean times, you know what? It’s quarters like these that remind me that these mega caps were built to prosper, built to make money in any kind of market, and they’re truly ready to excel when things turn south for everybody else, including Apples.”

Our Methodology

For this article, we compiled a list of 8 stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer during the episode of Mad Money aired on May 1. We listed the stocks in the order that Cramer mentioned them. We also provided hedge fund sentiment for each stock as of the fourth quarter of 2024, which was taken from Insider Monkey’s database of over 1,000 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: Meta Platforms (META) Was "Better Than Microsoft" — Zuckerberg "Cracked the Code"

Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 262

Jim Cramer considered Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) the standout among big tech earnings, even outperforming Microsoft in his view. He was particularly impressed with Meta’s strength in digital advertising, WhatsApp monetization potential, and the overall momentum of the business. Here’s what he said:

“[Talking about the market’s gains] Led by two of these mega caps, the Microsoft and Meta platforms, we’re reminded of how the mega caps got so big to begin with. It’s their scale, their smarts, their moats, their balance sheets, and their sensational products. […] Meta Platforms jumped $23, 4.23%. Spectacular gains, tremendous outlooks, tremendous! […]

As good as Microsoft was, believe it or not, I thought Meta was better. Mark Zuckerberg has cracked the code in terms of trying to make digital advertising work for anyone, any company. […]  He’s so confident when I heard that I wanted to start a new business just to see if it worked.

Even better, I could see where any company that advertises on television would be best off just giving a huge chunk of those ad dollars to Meta, not linear TV because it’s true. The performance is clearly better. […] because spending patterns and brand loyalty start with the teens.

A teen lead can be worth 10 times the lead of an older person. If you want to reach teens, you got to go to Zuckerberg. You got to go to Meta. So, if you’re a big consumer package goods company, you can simply give all your money to Meta, fire most your internal ad people, drop your expensive ad agency, and save yourself a fortune. […]

It was just incredible. Not only that, but Zuckerberg talked about monetizing the asset that’s potentially the best thing Meta owns. WhatsApp! More than three billion people use this as a principal communications platform and it costs nothing. That could change, and it could give the company a gigantic new revenue stream. This was an all systems go quarter.”

Here’s what Nightview Capital said about Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:

“Meta’s platforms—Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Messenger—reach nearly half the world’s population daily, making it one of the most powerful advertising ecosystems globally. With investments in AI and augmented reality (AR), we believe Meta is also creating significant optionality for long-term growth.

Thriving Core Platforms: In Q3, we saw Meta achieve a 23% YoY revenue growth,—a testament to strong user engagement across its ecosystem. The advertising landscape as a whole continues to evolve and we believe Meta’s existing platforms offer a defined advantage in this new world. Existing platforms in the age of AI continue to be the most powerful indicator of future success in our opinion.

AI Leadership: Meta’s AI capabilities and the Llama AI model are driving efficiency and product innovation. In our view, these assets have been under-appreciated by the market while enhancing Meta’s ability to further scale and innovate its leading advertising business.

Wearables: The success of Ray-Ban AI glasses and progress on Project Orion signal Meta’s growing influence in smart wearables, positioning it as a leader in the next wave of consumer technology.

Meta’s unparalleled reach and advertising expertise, combined with AI-driven product innovation, provide a durable competitive moat. As the company continues to optimize monetization and invest in next-generation technologies, it is at the forefront of growth in the evolving digital advertising landscape.”

Overall, META ranks 7th on our list of stocks that Jim Cramer discussed. While we acknowledge the potential of META as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than META but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this 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.