In this piece, we will look at the stocks Jim Cramer recently discussed.
In a recent appearance on CNBC’s Squawk on the Street, Jim Cramer discussed public interest in nuclear power stocks. Nuclear stocks have been quite popular ever since AI infrastructure companies became interested in nuclear power to generate clean energy for data centers. Cramer discussed the sectors that the public is interested in and lamented that not enough attention was being paid to these sectors. The CNBC host has also been a critic of quantum computing stocks because just like nuclear, he believes that quantum computing companies might not be able to generate revenue in the immediate future.
According to Cramer:
“But you know David, the public, we’re not conscious enough about what the public’s buying. I mean they’re buying every single nuclear company cause of this TVA project, right. They’re buying quantum because Jensen said we gotta have some quantum. They’re buying anything brokerage. They’re buying anything that is the second tier of the data centers. . . .no I’m just saying that we don’t spend enough time on our network analyzing what the younger people are buying through Robinhood.”
Another topic that Cramer discussed is rare earth metals. These metals have become a bone of contention between the US and China. Cramer discussed alternatives to the Chinese rare earth supply. One country that’s caught his attention is Mexico. “There’s a reserve in Mexico, of, of these rare earth,” he shared. The reserve is “never talked about. It’s there. Why don’t we have, like a plan,” he added.
Our Methodology
To make our list of the stocks that Jim Cramer talked about, we listed down the stocks he mentioned during CNBC’s Squawk on the Street aired on June 10th.
For these stocks, we also mentioned the number of hedge fund investors. 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).
11. McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q1 2025: 75
McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) is a frequent feature of Cramer’s morning show. The fast food giant’s shares have lost 1.7% year-to-date primarily due to 5% since mid-June. McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD), like other food companies, is at the risk of its business being disrupted or shrunk due to GLP-1 drugs as they help users control their hunger. The shares fell in June after a downgrade from Redburn. Commenting on stock downgrades, Cramer outlined:
“[On a third downgrade based on a lower value proposition than before in case of a recession] They’re gonna be wrong. They are gonna be wrong. Okay Kempczinski is under fire because of the chicken strips and then next week we’ll all get chicken strips with the wraps. You want to see how ugly chicken strips are, they’re ugly, they don’t look like, I don’t know what they look like. . .but I know that Chris will kill that if it doesn’t sell . . . And people are really underrating Chris. He is a great CEO. McDonald’s has a history of getting rid of CEOs if they don’t work, getting rid of dishes if they don’t work.
“I think that McDonald’s is going to shrug off every one of these downgrades and you have to buy the stock. Because Kempczinski’s just not gonna sit there and say oh man these strips are bad but let’s just keep jamming them down the throat of franchisees. . .He watches the show, he’s saying hey man I don’t know, that’s the fourth downgrade. . . he’s smart, he’s not Oklo!”
Earlier, Cramer discussed Morgan Stanley and Loop Capital downgrading McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD)’s stock:
“It amazes me that analysts refuse to learn from their mistakes that some stocks should not be taken off the buy list. Today, Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock of McDonald’s, saying it’s arguably too expensive and that it will probably not be insulated from some structural pressures on fast food. Now, with the stock at 25 times earnings, consensus estimate’s too high. Morgan Stanley moved [it] to Equal Weight or Hold. [The] stock dropped $2 and 58 cents or 0.84% on that.
Now, it would not have made much of an impact on me if McDonald’s hadn’t also been downgraded by Loop Capital on Friday, again, concerned that it won’t beat the consensus numbers. Look, I understand the downgrades. Stock’s up 5%. It’s holding its own, but I think that in the long run, it has never paid to downgrade Mickey D’s. It’s the king. It offers good value and it’s incredibly well run…
The main thing Loop cites for what they think will be a shortfall is negative reaction to the new chicken strips launch… I say, wait a second, this is McDonald’s. Do you think this company is stupid? Do you think that CEO Chris Kempczinski doesn’t pay attention to these things? Do you think he ignores the franchises? Do you think he doesn’t know the product’s ugly? Do you think that he’ll bet everything on a product that people don’t like?
Listen, McDonald’s is an amazing company. It didn’t become amazing because it stuck with bad ideas… The strength of McDonald’s is that they don’t fight battles they can’t win. When something doesn’t work, they just dump it and they move on. Which is why I say you downgrade a stock like McDonald’s at your own peril.”
10. The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q1 2025: 37
The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) is a major American food products company. As has been the case with other food companies, such as Pepsi, investors are worried about the firm suffering in the aftermath of the GLP-1 wave in America. The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)’s shares have lost 12.9% year-to-date primarily due to a disastrous 15.6% dip in June. The shares fell after the firm’s latest earnings report disappointed investors on the guidance front. The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) guided $9 in midpoint full-year earnings while analysts had penciled in $10.26. In his remarks, Cramer discussed an overlooked factor behind the earnings disaster:
“[After Faber pointed out the shares were down 6% and the firm had missed guidance] Yeah I didn’t really uh, that was quite opaque . . it’s not clear what it is. I’ll tell you what is clear. 980 million dollar impairment charge for Hostess Twinkies bought for 5.6 billion at the beginning of what is called GLP-1. I told them not to do it!”
The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)’s management warned about tariffs in its latest earnings call. Here is what they said:
“As a domestic food producer, we are relatively less exposed to tariffs compared to other industries. That said, the current U.S. tariff impact on green coffee is our largest exposure that we will manage on top of navigating record-high costs for the commodity. Green coffee is an unavailable natural resource that cannot be grown in the continental U.S. due to its reliance on a tropical climate. We currently purchase approximately 500 million pounds of green coffee annually, with the majority coming from Brazil and Vietnam, the 2 largest coffee producing countries. Outside of coffee, the vast majority of our U.S. production is sourced domestically. However, there is some sourcing of finished goods and ingredients that are subject to tariffs as things stand today.
This has been factored into our outlook, and we are working to mitigate these cost increases through a combination of alternative sourcing strategies, supply chain optimization, and responsible pricing.”
9. Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q1 2025: 70
Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX), particularly due to its CEO Brian Niccol, is one of Cramer’s top stocks. Niccol is currently in the midst of a turnaround strategy at the firm. Cramer’s previous remarks about Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) have seen him stress to investors to give Niccol a chance and not write off the firm too soon. Another aspect of the firm that’s caught his attention is China. Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX)’s business in China leaves it vulnerable to actions against American firms by the Chinese. Additionally, the firm is also struggling to grow its sales in China as it struggles to compete in a tea-drinking nation that’s facing an inflationary pinch. So naturally, Cramer was enthused by reports of Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) reducing prices in China:
“[On cutting prices in China] I think it’s a brilliant move. They’re way off the mark!”
In his previous comments about Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX), Cramer discussed earnings reaction and the China business:
“Last quarter, Starbucks, Brian Niccol, people thought he laid an egg. It was awful. Stock broke to 75. We stuck by it, David, and I just think this is what happens if you stick by quality management with a quality product. This morning, the FT has a piece that says Starbucks had received a lot of interest, according to Brian Niccol, in the sale of a stake in the China business and it’s very very bullish and it talks about how there are a number of people who would like to buy a stake. The good news, they’ve got a lot of interest, a lot of interest, said Niccol and I’m going to leave it to you on your M&A front to see well what could this mean. But I think that it’s very positive.
“I thought that you [David Faber] would like to hear that. Because what it says is that this man is taking action. He’s not just sitting back and saying I’m going to get my head beat in. So I really, really like this story. 7,758 stores. I like the call. I think it’s a buy. There you go.”
8. Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q1 2025: 119
Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) is one of the most frequently discussed stocks on Cramer’s morning show. He is a fan of the firm not only due to its lead in the weight loss market but also due to its drug pipeline. During his earlier appearances, Cramer has commented on Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)’s plans to establish manufacturing facilities for its products and its plan to introduce a weight loss pill. This time around, he commented on Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) in the context of Novo Nordisk and activist fund Parvus taking a stake in Novo:
“[On activist fund Parvus building a stake in Novo] How could they be so far behind? You know they were first, they were first mover. And then Lilly came along, Lilly by the way, still a great stock. But maybe this is going to shake up Novo.
“How about better science?. . . Because they fell behind Lilly!
[LLY]”David Ricks, if you spend time with him, has a view, of what should be done, that ends with the pill that you take every day, no shot . . but everyone’s thinking that he doesn’t have anything in the hopper. He’s got heart coming up, he’s going to have Alzheimer’s coming up, oh buy.
“It’s going be a trillion-dollar market cap, Ken Langone told me that. He’s one of the largest investors in Lilly. He knows.
“Oh my god I think that the heart failure stuff that’s coming out, I think that the blood pressure stuff that’s coming out, will they talk about liquor? I think that they don’t want to, but the craving of liquor is suppressed gambling is suppressed, biting nails is suppressed! Well, I’m just saying. But there’s going to be, I think even dementia in the end.”
In his previous remarks about Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY), Cramer discussed weight loss drugs:
“I want you to buy more… The reason why you want to buy it is because there was definitive data that came out last night about Novo Nordisk not being anywhere near as good as Eli Lilly when it comes to weight loss, which is what a lot of people are in the GLP for. And it was not reflected because the things were so crazed because of what the president announced. I think the stock could be up a hundred points when people realize, wait a second, it is definitively better than Novo. I would buy Eli Lilly hand over fist.”
7. Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q1 2025: 60
Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) is a Danish pharmaceutical giant that is a key player in the weight loss drug market. The firm’s shares have lost 15.7% year-to-date. Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) has struggled primarily due to investor fears about Eli Lilly overtaking the firm in the weight loss drug market. Other news, such as a surprise departure of the firm’s CEO hasn’t helped the stock pare back its losses either. Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)’s stock lost 6% in March after its CagriSema weight loss drug fell short of the firm’s estimates. While it had expected the drug to help users lose 25% of their body weight, the trials led to a 15.7% weight reduction. Cramer commented on activist investor Parvus taking a stake in the company:
[On activist fund Parvus building a stake in the company] How could they be so far behind? You know they were first, they were first mover. And then Lilly came along, Lilly by the way, still a great stock. But maybe this is going to shake up Novo.
“How about better science?. . . Because they fell behind Lilly!
In his previous comments about Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO), Cramer commented on the firm in the context of Eli Lilly:
“Okay, Eli Lilly. We bought some just the other day for the Charitable Trust. Why did we do that? Because it’s down very big and yet it’s been beating Novo Nordisk over and over and over again. So I just think this is a decent level to start a position if you don’t have any.”
6. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q1 2025: 273
Social media giant Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is one of the best-performing mega-cap technology stocks in 2025. The firm’s shares have gained 13.8% year-to-date as the firm has benefited from strong performance in the advertising market and robust cost-cutting initiatives. Cramer frequently discusses Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in his morning show. Most of his recent remarks have been about the firm’s AI platform. While Cramer is a fan of Elon Musk’s Grok AI bot, he believes Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) can do a lot more to improve its products. His recent comments maintained the opinion:
“On Zuckerberg assembling a team of experts to achieve AGI] Maybe he recognizes that Meta AI is the worst. I mean other than if I want to find out who won the Tonies, forget about it.
“He ought to get rid of the intelligence group while he’s getting the super intelligence group cause the intelligence group is not cutting it. I mean I’m trying to do calculation, really hard calculation, I don’t even include Meta AI because it’s just a waste of my time to input the calculation.
“[On why the stock is the best-performing mega-cap tech stock in 2025] No but that has to do with the disruption of the advertising market. Disruption of it. Disruption of it.”
Previously, Cramer discussed Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s current quarter and a potential catalyst:
“I like your thinking very much. I think Meta’s having a great quarter. I also think that they are without a doubt the best advertising bet. What happens if he actually starts, Mark Zuckerberg starts to want to, let’s say, monetize WhatsApp? Do you know how much that darn thing’s worth? I think you got horse sense. Good level to buy.”
5. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q1 2025: 77
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) is one of the largest investment banks in the world. The shares have gained 11.5% year-to-date as investors look to increased capital markets activity. The investment banking industry has been suffocated for quite some time as high rates and sluggish economic activity have raised the stakes for firms to go public or conduct mergers and acquisitions. 2025 has seen a couple of IPOs hit the market, and The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)’s shares are reflective of the easing market. Cramer commented on these trends:
“I think that it’s project momentum over at Goldman. I think that they’re doing incredibly well. I know David had been tepid about the deal flow and that you also said that IPOs really don’t matter.”
In his earlier remarks about The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS), Cramer discussed the IPO market and the government’s policies:
“If you take a step back for a second and consider the theme in the aggregate, it’s a very easy time to play an uptick in IPOs, just buy the investment bank that’s the best under the sun and that’s Goldman Sachs. Now, of the big banks, they’re the most levered to investment banking, and that includes IPOs and underwriters. We’ve owned Goldman Sachs for the Charitable Trust since late last year, primarily because I thought we’d see an uptick in deal activity this year as the Trump administration replaced the Biden administration.
Now, that got temporarily derailed by the president’s tariffs but now that those have mostly been paused or rolled back, and if they don’t rear their ugly head again, I think the IPO revival is back on schedule, and yes, indeed, I did work at Goldman Sachs in the 80s. Now, Goldman stock’s started this year strong, climbing to a new all-time high in the 670s in mid-February, right around the time the broader market started all over.
But as it became clear that the new Trump administration was going to prioritize tariffs over its more pro business policies, that’s a real negative for both IPOs and M&A, this thing pulled back hard, only falling nearly 35% from peak to trough by the time it bottomed at $440 [on] April 7th. Since then, though, Goldman’s been rallying hard in part because of the IPO market bouncing back and also because there’s been a pickup in mergers and acquisitions….
Of course, the stock got hit today after JPMorgan executives lowered expectations for their investment banking business at an investor day event. But… I’m not worried about that. I think you can buy Goldman on the weakness.”
4. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q1 2025: 284
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), a key player in the AI market, has seen a lot of changes this year. 2025 kicked off with the firm’s partner OpenAI joining forces with Oracle as part of President Trump’s $500 billion Stargate AI initiative. The development led Cramer to speculate that perhaps there was friction between Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and OpenAI. 2025 has also seen a turnaround in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s shares. The stock is up 14% year-to-date primarily on the back of improving profitability of its Azure cloud computing business which had disappointed investors earlier. Cramer’s recent remarks about Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) mentioned the friction between the firm and OpenAI:
“We didn’t even talk about Microsoft and the war that must be going with ChatGPT.
“[On whether they’ve become pure enemies from frenemies] Yeah I think so, they got the US-China situation.
“Microsoft’s stock has done quite well. Incredible. But it’s [OpenAI] worth about a hundred billion of Microsoft’s market cap.”
Earlier, the CNBC host discussed Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) important earnings report and the aftermath:
“Well Microsoft had guided, so suddenly you get on this call and they just crush it. They guide higher and there’s glee on the call. It’s glee. Amy Hood is happy. Satya Nadella is happy. They correct people if anyone is less happy. It was just, David, a happy call. Happy call.”
“Oh my god, remember how Amy Hood at one point said that was non-AI, that was looking good she corrected a wayward analyst who just didn’t get the memo.”
“And they’re, both Microsoft and Meta have one single problem that the liars who used, who come on air all the time, maybe they’ll realize they’re lying, maybe they’re just brainwashed. These guys all need more NVIDIA, They all need more data center. I mean that was the theme. I thought the theme was there’s too much NVIDIA and there’s too much data center. David, there was a false narrative that started ever since. . . the DeepSeek Sputnik. And now you have Jensen Huang, explaining to President Trump, how you have to be able to have more countries and we don’t know whether he’s going to win.”
3. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q1 2025: 227
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) has been one of the worst-performing mega-cap stocks in 2025. Its shares have been weighed down by weak cloud performance and antitrust action. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s shares have lost 12% year-to-date as the stock has tried to factor in a loss of business with Apple. Apple pays Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) billions of dollars to make its search engine the default on Apple devices. However, investors are worried that Apple might start to look at alternatives soon. Cramer’s previous comments about Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) have speculated that its recent strong quarterly performance was primarily due to the success of its AI video application. However, quizzically, he wondered recently whether he sold the stock too soon:
“I don’t know [on how much OpenAI is worth] but I sold Alphabet too soon.”
Recently, Cramer wasn’t convinced about Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s merits:
“I am in the Ben Reitzes, Melius, skeptical camp because it’s too expensive. . . stock’s not expensive because the plan may not work!
“Stunning innovation, but then next paragraph says look I don’t know if it’s gonna work. You see that? These tools were awesome. Yeah, okay. Ahead of Adobe, but they did say look it’s a little too expensive. . . monetization of AI research is all that matters.”
2. Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q1 2025: 60
Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) is an American healthcare company. Cramer has started discussing the stock quite frequently as of late. He is positive about the firm and its CEO as he believes that the market has Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) as a healthcare middleman. Healthcare middlemen have become controversial recently due to the widespread belief that they are responsible for high healthcare costs in America. Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)’s shares have gained 38% year-to-date on the back of strong catalysts such as consistent revenue performance. Cramer is a fan of CEO Jason Hollar as he remarked:
“Carl, one of the companies that has been unbelievable is Cardinal Health. They’ve been saying look we’re not just the middleman, not just the McKesson doing badly or Cencora. But this company, uniquely, Jason Hollar is making it into a very important healthcare company. And I think on June 12th, when they do the analyst conference, wow, you’re going to love it. You should love it today ahead of the analyst conference. It’s going to be unbelievable.”
Hollar isn’t a “villain,” Cramer commented earlier:
“Okay, you know I got a company, I mentioned it yesterday, Cardinal Health. These, it’s not a middleman. Everyone thinks it’s just a middleman. Jason Hollar’s carving out a real place to make healthcare, let’s say better, streamlined, and cheaper. I just think this guy’s terrific, and I’m happy to have him on the show. He’s not a villain.”
1. Casey’s General Stores Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q1 2025: 35
Casey’s General Stores Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) is a convenience store chain. The firm’s shares have gained 27% year-to-date primarily due to a 14% jump in June. The share price performance makes Casey’s General Stores Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) a rare stock in today’s market which is worried about consumer spending and wary about most retailers apart from Walmart and Costco. Cramer has discussed the retail industry quite a lot in his morning show. He believes that while Walmart and Costco can leverage their scale to lower prices for Americans, others, such as Target, have to lower prices in order to be competitive. During this appearance, he fawned about Casey’s General Stores Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) :
“Okay so I’ve got a company that makes breakfast pizza. People love it. . . it’s called Casey General. CASY. If you take a look at it today, I have them on. This guy is a genius, okay? This is the kind of company, why are we not covering Casey General? The stock is up 70 today. Alright. Look at that. That’s what you call money.
“. . . .I don’t know guys there are just companies that are making people fortunes here and I want to try to cover everyone and they’re really hard. Because they’re just so opaque.”
After discussing the firm on Mad Money, here’s what Cramer said the next day:
“Now I had an outfit on last night that has lowered the prices and that is just crushing it. And that’s Casey’s, Casey’s General. David’s laughing. But Casey General is a convenience store that happens to have a breakfast pizza that is darn good. The numbers are extraordinary. The stock has had an incredible run, it’s up 25% for the year. Casey General is where people want to be. They only cater to rural territory.”
While we acknowledge the potential of CASY 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 CASY and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
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