On Wednesday’s episode of Mad Money, host Jim Cramer discussed a theme he considers essential to successful investing: the idea that real wealth is being built today by individuals who own just one exceptional stock.
“It is a central thesis to How to Make Money in Any Market, the need to marry some individual stocks with index funds.”
READ ALSO: Jim Cramer Talked About These 18 Stocks and Jim Cramer Weighed In on These 9 Stocks.
Cramer mentioned that he is not trying to make the process sound overly simple or guaranteed. He acknowledged that what he is experiencing is not just a wave of nostalgia for earlier market periods. Instead, he feels a growing awareness among individual investors, people like himself and his audience, that meaningful gains are being achieved in real time, every day.
Cramer went on to say that this current environment is not about chasing greed; it is about being alert and recognizing what is happening in front of us. He warned against sitting passively in index funds when tangible profits are being generated in specific names right now.
“Here’s the bottom line: It’s about a return to the days before the dot-com craziness. Days, when if you kept your eyes out, you could find yourself an NVIDIA… In other words, those early days of Squawk Box feel a lot like the market we’re in right now, and it’s a welcome return to form. I miss those days, but maybe they have returned and we could all be the better for it.”
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 10. 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 Put These 7 Stocks Under the Microscope
7. Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 62
Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer put under the microscope. Cramer mentioned the stock during the episode and said:
“In the third place, there’s Ross Stores… which saw just 1% same-store sales growth in the first half. In the most recent quarter, their same-store sales came in a little light… These guys had pulled their full-year forecast earlier in the year in response to the Liberation Day tariffs, but now they got a better handle on the situation, so management reissued their full-year earnings guidance with the upper end of their range just above Wall Street’s consensus estimate, basically inline numbers, so the stock did rally just 1% the next day.
Now, the fact that Ross actually wasn’t slaughtered… for doing a little bit less than some people expected shows you just how much Wall Street really likes this whole group. Now that we know how all three off-price apparel companies are doing, what about paying for numbers?… Alright, in terms of cheapness, Ross Stores leads the way, trading just 22 times next year’s earnings estimates. That is very cheap, much cheaper than Burlington at 25 and then TJX at roughly 28 times next year’s numbers…
Ross Stores is at 2.2 (PEG ratio)… They bought back 260 million of their own shares last quarter, maintaining their plan to repurchase $1.05 billion of stock for the year. That’s not bad… While Ross Stores noted that their top priority will always be providing high-quality merchandise at outstanding value, they just don’t have the scale advantage that TJX has. But given all the other factors I just mentioned, I’m happy to put Ross at second.”
Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) operates off-price retail chains providing apparel, footwear, accessories, and home fashion products to value-focused consumers.
6. Burlington Stores, Inc. (NYSE:BURL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 41
Burlington Stores, Inc. (NYSE:BURL) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer put under the microscope. Cramer noted that the company had a strong quarter. He commented:
“Second on the list is Burlington Stores, which saw roughly 2.5% comparable sales growth in the first half because… I… have come to expect more than that, but they have flat growth in the first quarter, but 5% growth in the second, well ahead of the 1.5% number that Wall Street was looking for. Burlington also had a strong quarter. Despite softer trends in May, they were able to beat expectations as business got back to normal in June and July. We care about that cadence. Overall, it was a solid quarter… although management struck a more conservative tone with their full-year guidance, not as optimistic as TJX.
Because Burlington’s got more exposure to outerwear than others, their numbers are more sensitive to variations in the weather. We got a warm winter and their sales got hit hard. That’s why they were more concerned about the second half. Although Wall Street mostly chalked up that to management being cautious and the stock still rallied more than 5% in response to the quarter. I thought that was a gift…
Now that we know how all three off-price apparel companies are doing, what about paying for numbers?… Alright, in terms of cheapness, Ross Stores leads the way, trading just 22 times next year’s earnings estimates. That is very cheap, much cheaper than Burlington at 25 and then TJX at roughly 28 times next year’s numbers… Burlington has a PEG ratio of 1.4… Burlington repurchased just $26 million worth of stock last quarter. In the previous quarter, they did buy back over a hundred million dollars.
Management doesn’t guide to a full-year repurchase target, but if you just assume that the second half will match the first, that comes out to be about $250 million for the buybacks, that’s roughly 1.7% of the company’s market capitalization… As for Burlington, it’s really hard to put any of these companies in last place, as they all have a lot going for them in this environment. But Burlington’s latest guidance was fairly tepid, so if anyone comes in last, it’s got to be Burlington.”
Burlington Stores, Inc. (NYSE:BURL) is a retailer that provides branded merchandise across apparel, footwear, accessories, home goods, baby products, beauty items, and more.
5. The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 73
The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer put under the microscope. Cramer called it the highest quality operator in the space, as he remarked:
“Which represents the best value? Given that these are retailers, why don’t we start with the same store sales? That is the key retail metric… TJX… led the way. First half same store sales growth of 4%, which is really miraculous… As club members know well, we own it for the Charitable Trust. But with accelerating revenue growth in all four of its divisions along with healthy gross margin expansion, it is easy to see why the stock’s traded up after earnings…
Now that we know how all three off-price apparel companies are doing, what about paying for numbers?…
Alright, in terms of cheapness, Ross Stores leads the way, trading just 22 times next year’s earnings estimates. That is very cheap, much cheaper than Burlington at 25 and then TJX at roughly 28 times next year’s numbers… TJX is… truly expensive, 2.7, but there’s a reason. TJX investors are willing to pay up for quality. TJX is the highest quality operator in this space. I gotta tell you, I have liked this story literally since 1987… TJX repurchased $1.1 billion worth their own shares in the first quarter, followed by another $500 million in buybacks in the second. Management says they expect to repurchase somewhere between 2 to $2.5 billion worth of stock for the current fiscal year. That’s not too shabby…
Subjective, but arguably the most important differentiator. Here, I gotta give the edge again to TJX. Again, that won’t surprise people… This is a key reason that TJX has had the strongest same-store sales performance so far this year and why they’re able to offer what people call the treasure hunt experience that I know I love; they have the best merchandise. It’s why I always urge club members to buy some more TJX whenever it’s down and to go to TJX, so you know why I like it so much.”
The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) is an off-price retailer providing apparel, footwear, accessories, home fashions, furniture, décor, and seasonal merchandise through its stores and e-commerce platforms.
4. Klarna Group plc (NYSE:KLAR)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: N/A
Klarna Group plc (NYSE:KLAR) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer put under the microscope. Cramer said that he likes the company stock at this price and commented:
“So, how does Klarna’s valuation look now? Well, when the Klarna deal priced above the range of $40 per share last night, the company was being valued at just over 15 billion. With the stock opening in the 50s today, that was closer to 20 billion. After the pullback, it’s now valued at over 17 billion, slightly higher than what the venture capitalists were paying earlier this year. I gotta tell you, I kinda like Klarna at this price. I really do.
Using some back-of-the-envelope… let me give you these numbers: I’m expecting Klarna to put up $3.23 billion in sales this year, up 15% from last year. That was its growth rate in the first half, and I’m just kind of projecting it forward. I think that’s reasonable. Using that assumption, stock’s now selling for roughly 5.4 times this year’s sales. Okay, remember this… This is sales. The nice thing is that we have some good publicly traded analogs. Affirm, the best-known buy now, pay later outfit, trades at just under seven times sales. Sezzle, which is more of a second-rate player if you don’t mind, is right around the same level at 6.9 times sales.
Unlike Klarna, those two are profitable though, but Klarna is heading in the right direction. The bottom line: While Klarna roared right out of the gate, the stock hasn’t gone to an insane valuation yet. I think the numbers look good. So I think it can be bought at these levels, even as I make no secret about it, I’ve liked competitor Affirm and its creative CEO Max Levchin for ages. And even up here, I prefer Affirm to Klarna.”
Klarna Group plc (NYSE:KLAR) is a payments technology company that provides solutions in digital banking, advertising, and retail commerce. Its Klarna App serves as an integrated shopping and payment platform.
3. Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 55
Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer put under the microscope. A caller asked Cramer whether the stock, despite recently beating earnings estimates, might be a strong short candidate over the next 12 months due to rising AI competition, user dissatisfaction, and Apple’s new live translation feature integrated with AirPods 3. In response, he said:
“Whoa, whoa. No. It’s too good a company to short. I would sell it because I do like what Apple’s come up [with] in terms of translation. I go overseas quite a bit, do a lot of business, particularly my wife does, and we just need the buds now. That’s all we need. We don’t need the Duolingo. We tried [it]… It’s really hard. But anyway, that’s my thinking.”
Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL) operates a mobile learning platform. It provides courses in dozens of languages. In addition, the company provides digital English proficiency assessment through its app.
2. AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 83
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer put under the microscope. A caller asked if they should hold onto their position in the stock, and Cramer replied:
“Yes, I want you to hold on to it. This fellow Stankey is doing a great job. He’s still got almost 4% yield. They are executing at an incredibly high level, and congratulations. Well done.”
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) delivers telecommunications and technology services, including wireless, broadband, and managed solutions. Cramer mentioned the company in a July episode. He remarked:
“Now remember, I infamously didn’t like it at 22. So you could say, what are you doing liking it at 28? But I did change my mind at 24. Now, here’s what you need to know: I read a piece today, of research, that said that basically this is the best in the industry, and you know what? I like T-Mobile, but boy, this thing is a really good situation…”
1. Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 124
Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer put under the microscope. During the episode, Cramer discussed the stock’s returns, as he said:
“Oracle, which shot up a stunning 36% today. That’s a monumental move. Now, I want you to think of it like this. Let’s say you like the stock of Oracle, okay? Do you know that if you had bought, say, let’s do this, 10 shares of Oracle at its lowest close in April, putting to work roughly $1,200, it would now be worth almost $3,300? Do you know that’s a 167% return in less than five months? An individual stock gave you that bang for your buck in less than half a year. Think about what a difference that could make in your life. Oh, and can you imagine if you had more money than that to put to work? It could change your life… And this is not some fly-by-night speculative operation you’ve been buying.
It is one of the largest software companies on earth. It’s almost a trillion dollars. I mentioned that remarkable Oracle move, largely based on a forecast about gigantic data center growth that the company gave you on last night’s astonishing earnings call, and…. I mean, I couldn’t believe it when I heard it. I thought they were making this stuff up. It was incredible…”
Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) provides enterprise software, cloud applications, databases, and hardware solutions. Moreover, the company offers consulting, support services, and advanced technologies, including AI, IoT, machine learning, and blockchain.
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