On Wednesday’s episode of Mad Money, host Jim Cramer pointed to the third quarter’s strongest performing stocks as a potential indicator for how the market might shape up during the remainder of the year.
“You can tell an awful lot about a market by looking at the winners and losers of a quarter that was just put to bed. Right now, the news of the day is all about that government shutdown and its implications. But to me, the shutdown may not be all that meaningful to the stocks you own.”
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Cramer acknowledged that while historical trends do not always repeat, they can provide useful patterns. He explained that the stocks that outperformed in the third quarter often attract fresh attention in the fourth quarter from institutional investors, especially money managers looking to adjust portfolios to highlight successful positions ahead of year-end reporting.
“Here’s the bottom line: I learned a long time ago, don’t fight the tape. If you want to embrace the tape, I think the third quarter’s winners are a terrific place to be. I’m betting most of these can keep rallying through the end of the year, but the biggest gains may, indeed, have already been made.”
Our Methodology
For this article, we compiled a list of 10 stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer during the episode of Mad Money aired on October 1. 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 on Q3 Noteworthy Stocks: 10 Stocks in Focus
10. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 68
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) is one of the noteworthy Q3 stocks Jim Cramer was focused on. Highlighting losers that could make a comeback, Cramer mentioned the stock and said:
“And how about the biggest losers for the quarter? As I scrutinize the list, I see a couple that could make a comeback. Chipotle’s the best of these losers, having been hammered relentlessly like many other restaurant chains. The current numbers are indeed nothing to write home about, but this company has a habit of bouncing back after management gets it right. Down 30% last quarter, Chipotle seems like a decent reversal candidate.”
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) runs a network of restaurants serving burritos, bowls, tacos, quesadillas, salads, and sides with drinks. Cramer mentioned the company during the September 10 episode and said:
“Oh boy, alright. There’s a lot of fundamental stories going on in the restaurant industry that is making it so it’s hard to buy any of these, and a lot has to do with the price of beef. I keep thinking that cattle is going to break down. That is a big cost that they have, and you know what? I thought it was going to break. I talked to my friend Carley Garner; she felt that it’s going to break, but what happened? This thing, which goes into so much of Chipotle’s food, is just no quit. So until cattle really breaks, I’m going to have to say, let’s just keep it on the radar screen.”
9. Invesco Ltd. (NYSE:IVZ)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 41
Invesco Ltd. (NYSE:IVZ) is one of the noteworthy Q3 stocks Jim Cramer was focused on. Cramer mentioned the stock during the episode and commented:
“Finally, there’s a stock that makes a ton of sense given how well the market’s doing, and that’s Invesco. That’s a money management firm with a stock that’s up 45% for the quarter.”
Invesco Ltd. (NYSE:IVZ) is an investment management firm serving clients through mutual funds, ETFs, private funds, and customized equity and fixed income portfolios. On October 2, BofA raised its price target on the company stock to $25 from 23 while maintaining a Neutral rating. The firm noted that price targets are being increased across all traditional asset managers under coverage in a preview for the group. In addition, it should be noted that TD Cowen’s Bill Katz raised the price target for Invesco Ltd.’s (NYSE:IVZ) stock on September 18 and maintained a Buy rating.
8. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 82
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) is one of the noteworthy Q3 stocks Jim Cramer was focused on. Cramer called the company’s CEO a “legendary semiconductor investor,” as he said:
“Then there’s an amazing comeback story in the list, and it’s the story of Intel. Here’s a company where fortunes are changing on the fly, thanks to a phenomenal new CEO, Lip-Bu Tan. He’s a legendary semiconductor investor and the man who turned around the wayward Cadence Design Systems. Under his reign, the stock appreciated some 3,200% over a 13-year period. When he came in, he realized that Intel was even worse off than anyone thought.
So what did he do? He did the right thing. He decided first to fix the balance sheet, managed to wrangle $8.9 billion from the federal government in return for a 10% stake. He also raised $2 billion from SoftBank and $5 billion from NVIDIA, where Jensen Huang is an old friend. He saw real potential despite the fact that at one point, well, Intel tried to put NVIDIA out of business. Even as the fruits of all this money are so elusive, the stock still rallied almost 50% last quarter.”
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) produces processors, chipsets, GPUs, FPGAs, memory, storage, networking, and software solutions for workloads including AI, security, and cloud computing. In addition, it provides advanced manufacturing technologies, autonomous driving systems, and edge platforms that enable digital transformation.
7. Robinhood Markets, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOOD)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 85
Robinhood Markets, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOOD) is one of the noteworthy Q3 stocks Jim Cramer was focused on. Cramer called it a “relentless performer” and remarked:
“Robinhood, this has been a relentless performer in 2025. It pulled away from the pack by becoming the young person’s brokerage house. I wrote How to Make Money in Any Market… largely to help the boomers and their children handle the ongoing $100 trillion wealth transfer from one generation to the next. I don’t know, my work says that neither group really seems to know how to handle a handoff, so it was worth it to do this.
Robinhood’s been the most forward in its appeal to those who want to own pretty much anything, especially crypto. While other firms turned up their noses at crypto, Robinhood made this class of assets a central portion of its business. So smart. They may have created a lifelong affinity from that. You can only congratulate them for a job well done. That app itself may be a cheap selling point for the younger generation at this point. No wonder it rallied almost 53% for the third quarter. It’s been a remarkable performer.”
Robinhood Markets, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOOD) provides a financial services platform that allows trading in stocks, ETFs, options, gold, and cryptocurrencies, along with features such as fractional shares, margin investing, cash management, and retirement accounts.
6. Teradyne, Inc. (NASDAQ:TER)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 60
Teradyne, Inc. (NASDAQ:TER) is one of the noteworthy Q3 stocks Jim Cramer was focused on. Cramer said that it has always been an “incredibly well-run” company. He stated:
“Next, Teradyne, another old-line tech company. This one makes test and measurement equipment for the semiconductor industry, among a host of others. Teradyne has always been an incredibly well-run company, and it’s been a spawning ground for some incredible execs. Stock was up 53% for the quarter.”
Teradyne, Inc. (NASDAQ:TER) supplies automated test equipment for semiconductor devices across industries such as automotive, communications, consumer electronics, and computing. The company also provides collaborative robots, mobile robotics, test instrumentation, and wireless testing solutions for manufacturing and industrial applications. During the April 3 episode, when a caller inquired about the stock, Cramer replied:
“No, not yet, no. Teradyne not yet because we are not going to buy semiconductor test equipment in this.… right now when the semiconductors are lagging so badly, we can’t go there.”
Since the above comment was aired, the stock has gained almost 90%.
5. Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 70
Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) is one of the noteworthy Q3 stocks Jim Cramer was focused on. Cramer noted that he has been watching the company closely for the Charitable Trust. He said:
“When you reach number six of the best performers this quarter, you get to a company that I’ve had my eye on for the Charitable Trust, and that company is Corning. This is the finest glass maker in the world. I recently spent a nice chunk of time with Wendell Weeks, he’s the CEO, at this Harrodsburg, Kentucky facility that we went to, where they make the cover glass for your iPhone and Apple Watch.
The Apple contract matters tremendously, but you know what’s driving things right now? The stock’s trading on the fiber optic glass. That’s the best way to move information around in a data center. Glass doesn’t burn so hot, so it’s an ideal conductor. I think it’s almost a foregone conclusion that one day Corning will replace the copper inside the immense clusters of semiconductors, NVIDIA product, in the data center. That would solve some of the heat problems, and it’s why Corning stock rallied 56% in the quarter.”
Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) develops optical fiber, cables, and related hardware for telecommunications, and produces glass substrates for displays used in TVs, computers, and mobile devices. Moreover, it supplies specialty materials, emission control products, and laboratory equipment.
4. Paramount Skydance Corporation (NASDAQ:PSKY)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: N/A
Paramount Skydance Corporation (NASDAQ:PSKY) is one of the noteworthy Q3 stocks Jim Cramer was focused on. Cramer pointed out the company as one the the best performers of the quarter, as he commented:
“We’ve heard it (WBD) could be getting a big bid from the fifth-best performer, Paramount Skydance… Paramount’s run by David Ellison. He’s the son of the second-richest man in the world, Larry Ellison, founder of Oracle. I think you could combine the two entertainment companies, create an unrivaled studio business, and maybe… spin off the rest into another business itself, which I don’t know, could combine with another legacy TV company that’s out there.”
Paramount Skydance Corporation (NASDAQ:PSKY) is a media and entertainment company that operates broadcast and cable networks, streaming platforms, and television studios. The company also produces and distributes films, series, and digital content. On September 29, the company announced its long-term media rights deal with TKO Group, making Paramount+ the exclusive streaming home of Zuffa Boxing in the U.S., Canada, and Latin America beginning January 2026. The agreement will launch with 12 live cards in its first year, with plans for expansion.
3. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 67
Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) is one of the noteworthy Q3 stocks Jim Cramer was focused on. Cramer discussed the company’s past underperformance and recovery, as he commented:
“The third winner is Warner Brothers Discovery, which had been a long-time underperformer, but it came alive this quarter past, rallying over 70% thanks first to an improved balance sheet and a better box office, and then of course to takeover chatter… David Zaslav, the CEO of Warner Brothers Discovery, has been tempted to unlock value by separating the Warner Brothers studio and HBO Max streaming platform from the Discovery Global television assets. A takeover bid would front-run that change. We haven’t seen one develop yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a big auction for Warren Brothers Discovery if Paramount makes its move.”
Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) is a media and entertainment company that produces films, television, and streaming content, while also providing gaming, home entertainment, and themed experiences.
2. Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 74
Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) is one of the noteworthy Q3 stocks Jim Cramer was focused on. Cramer recalled his bullish sentiment around the company from his hedge fund days. He remarked:
“The second best performer’s Western Digital, up almost 88% for the quarter. It’s in data storage along with Seagate Tech in fourth place, up nearly 64%. Now, we know this market craves data center plays like the more familiar Micron, up big now, well above where it reported, but few companies are pure plays on storage than Western Digital and Seagate.
These companies have been around the block. You know, a quarter century ago, I ran a hedge fund, and I always thought Western Digital was a terrific undervalued company that would one day get credit for its excellent technology. I actually took a 5% position in the business, but it never really did much. It’s good to see the market giving the stock its due, even if it’s 30 years too late for me.”
Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) designs and supplies data storage solutions, including internal and external hard drives, portable drives, data center platforms, NAS systems, and related accessories.
1. AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 109
AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP) is one of the noteworthy Q3 stocks Jim Cramer was focused on. Cramer highlighted it as the best-performing S&P 500 stock of the quarter. He said:
“The best performing S&P 500 stock from the third quarter is one that seems unstoppable, and that stock is AppLovin. This stock’s a quandary because it’s far from a household name. AppLovin’s a mobile technology company that helps app developers make money by selling advertising space within their apps.
The stock rallied 105% in the third quarter alone. It’s been an extraordinary performer that remains relatively unknown because it’s not consumer-facing. We just don’t see it. I would not bet against this AppLovin stock, even as it’s been the target of short sellers who have been run over by the buyers, and I think it’s going to stay that way.”
AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP) provides a software platform that supports advertisers and publishers with tools for app discovery, real-time ad bidding, analytics, and connected TV distribution. In addition, the company develops and operates free-to-play mobile games.
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