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 recent employment data which covered nonfarm payrolls, the unemployment rate, and other details. The figures revealed that nonfarm payrolls grew by 177,000 in April which handily beat economists’ forecast of 133,000. Additionally, despite worries about a growth slowdown, recessionary fears, and high interest rates, April’s unemployment rate sat unchanged at 4.2%.
Cramer gushed about the data and shared that it was the only data that mattered when it came to considering whether there would be a recession. He commented:
“Really strong numbers and it’s one of those this right now the President has that, uh, Truth Social squib, about the Fed should cut. I think the difficulty is a positive difficulty. These are really good numbers and it’s not like they’re red hot in terms of inflation. I like the fact that a lot of them we haven’t seen layoffs yet, from severance, remember from government, that was minus 9,000. The healthcare’s up, it’s just a good number! I mean, it’s a number you expect and like to see when we’re, you know kind of worried about a recession! It’s a take the recession off the table number!”
While the CNBC host admitted that some regions of the economy were weak, he nevertheless remained optimistic:
“We’re supposed to have a pullback. We’re just not getting it. Look there are spots that are weak but they tend to be aligned with outfits that aren’t doing that well. . . I like these numbers, they make me feel like that the President should have said, uh, it’s going to make it so that we might not have to cut rates but hang in there. Maybe things will not be so good so. I mean what does he, don’t box yourself Mr. President. . .”
Another theme that Cramer has discussed quite a lot in his morning show this year is the rally in the European stock market. In an April appearance, he remarked “I think a lot of people say you know what, I keep sending money over there, and I win. So I’m gonna keep sending money over there. Those economies are being juiced by a wartime. . you know they’re spending a lot.” This time around, he pointed out that the US was back. “You know everyone’s still talking about the big European rally, said Cramer. He added: “Hello? It’s been a US rally! Let’s stop it already. That European rally it occurred, dynamite, I’m going over to Europe, I’ll check it out myself.”
Cramer then continued to gush about the jobs report. In fact, he called the reports the North Star of investing:
“I hate to be so simpleminded, but I’ve done, for one of my books I did this thing about what is the one statistic that you need to know. Over the past forty years. And the statistic is, this Friday. Once a month, you need to know this number. And if this number is true, and you have good employment growth, then you can just take it to the next three weeks. . . .take anything negative off the table because this is the number that is the North Star.”
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 May 2nd.
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).
10. Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE:KSS)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 26
Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE:KSS) is a diversified retailer that sells apparel, home products, and other items. Its shares have lost 52% year-to-date as the firm has struggled with same-store sales and revenue. Cramer has regularly discussed Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE:KSS)’s operations in his morning appearances. He has remarked that the firm has been helped primarily by its Sephora brand when it comes to sales. Here are his latest thoughts:
“No there are issues with what’s going to happen and it’s another reason, uh and I’m a small business champion, but another reason to buy Amazon. Because Amazon has, they have scale. Walmart has scale. When you talk to Amazon they say listen, we got, Walmart’s coming on.
“The biggest win here is if they have a, no one does well in a recession. But this maybe a Costco country. A Walmart country. And Amazon country. And then nothing. It is a possibility that we have a big three and yes, CVS will do, stay in game because of Aetna. But you know what I’m thinking about the Nordstorm’s of the world, the Kohl’s of the world, what Brian Cornell has to hope at Target is that he stays relevant. And doesn’t have too much China. These companies cannot negotiate. And Amazon can basically tell China, here’s the way it’s going to be guys.” “Kohl’s is a particular disaster. A man made disaster. . . they were talking about taking it private then they were trying to make it go real estate play. I am so glad I am not on the board of Kohl’s I don’t know what I would do. What a tough situation. . . .they tried to do the right thing, this was an embarrassment. When we talk about what people do wrong, we don’t know cause the jury’s out on what this previous CEO did. But let me tell you. Read the articles. Because I don’t even want to go. . .but it’s terrible. It’s corporate America at its absolute worse.”
9. The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 33
The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) is an American fast food brand known primarily for its burgers. The shares have lost 25% year-to-date and have struggled primarily in the aftermath of President Trump’s Liberation Day tariff announcements. In his previous comments, Cramer criticized the firm’s dividend for being too high and recommended that viewers buy Texas Roadhouse shares instead. Here are his latest thoughts:
“Dividend cut, that’s not so good there. Tough industry.”
8. Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 36
Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) provides businesses with different services such as payroll processing and regulatory compliance. As a result, its stock is dependent on overall economic activity and particularly the labor market. Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)’s shares have gained 9% year-to-date after having recovered their 11% dip after the Liberation Day tariff announcements. Here’s what Cramer said about the firm:
“[On telling GDDY being a proxy for small business] Again, by the way, they [GDDY] are fantastic, at what they do, so, if I didn’t see the small business index and Paychex do so well, I would say this. This is kind of like ADP. I mean was ADP a head fake? Was it a misdirection play yesterday? Maybe GoDaddy’s a misdirection play, when I see this, the Paychex data.”
7. Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROKU)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 37
Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROKU) is an American entertainment hardware and software provider. As has been the case with other stocks, the shares have struggled this year primarily due to post-Liberation Day drops. Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROKU)’s shares have lost 18.9% year-to-date and dipped by 22.6% after the tariff announcements. The firm has also struggled by providing cautious guidance to investors. Here is what Cramer said:
“I was surprised there [ROKU] too and I think some of these are intrinsic.”
6. Dominion Energy, Inc. (NYSE:D)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 39
Dominion Energy, Inc. (NYSE:D) is an American electricity utility and natural gas provider. The shares have gained a modest 1% year-to-date as stocks with US exposure have fared well in the current tariff-induced market uncertainty. Cramer rarely comments on the share, and Dominion Energy, Inc. (NYSE:D)’s shares fell by a massive 11.7% after the Liberation Day announcements and are yet to fully recover their gains. In his remarks, Cramer was surprised about the firm’s performance and attributed it to recent strength in utility stocks:
“Look the utilities have outdone everybody here. Even Dominion yesterday had a good number. Wow.”
5. Exelon Corporation (NASDAQ:EXC)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 47
Exelon Corporation (NASDAQ:EXC) is one of the largest utilities in America. It operates through six utilities that provide power to New Jersey, Delaware, and other states. Exelon Corporation (NASDAQ:EXC)’s shares have performed well in 2025 and have gained 21% year-to-date. The stock has benefited from the firm beating analyst estimates and raising its annual guidance. Cramer’s previous thoughts have focused on the firm’s consistent earnings and wondered whether investors prefer earnings stability during economic uncertainty. Here are his latest comments:
“Well, I find that when I have a utility on which is doing better than everybody but we’re gonna take a look at some things that were oddities this week where people can still buy things. Calvin Butler does a fantastic job, the CEO of. . .ComEd. Look the utilities have outdone everybody here.”
4. GoDaddy Inc. (NYSE:GDDY)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 52
GoDaddy Inc. (NYSE:GDDY) is an internet company that enables businesses to build websites, optimize their search engine performance, and conduct other operations. The stock has lost 8% year-to-date primarily because of a steep 14% drop in February. GoDaddy Inc. (NYSE:GDDY)’s shares fell in February after its fourth-quarter revenue dropped. The shares then dipped by 8% in May after multiple analysts reduced its price targets following Q1 results. Here’s what Cramer said about the earnings:
“As did by the way GoDaddy. . . I have GoDaddy on, I was kind of like, wow, that happened fast.
“[On telling GDDY being a proxy for small business] I can, I had them on and I had to believe that some what of an execution issue. Again, by the way, they are fantastic, at what they do, so, if I didn’t see the small business index and Paychex do so well, I would say this. This is kind of like ADP. I mean was ADP a head fake? Was it a misdirection play yesterday? Maybe GoDaddy’s a misdirection play, when I see this, the Paychex data.”
3. Airbnb Inc (NASDAQ:ABNB)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 54
Airbnb Inc (NASDAQ:ABNB) is a travel accommodation provider that is one of the biggest firms in the business. With the travel market depending on economic activity, the firm’s shares have fluctuated in accordance with these trends in 2025 and are down by 5% year-to-date. Cramer discussed Airbnb Inc (NASDAQ:ABNB)’s latest earnings call and financial results:
“One of the things that came up on the AirBnb call last night, we’ll see that stock down, is that travel bull market over. I mean we know Booking’s didn’t have a perfect number.
“Okay so Brian Chesky has this annoying habit, I happen to like Brian from 2008, he has this annoying habit of finding something that’s wrong. Let the analysts do it Brian! You don’t have to do it. I liked the quarter. He did have this, you know there’s this, not a lot of bookings done, in this one window, and that indicated to him that something’s wrong. This guy goes out of his way to keep a Sell on his own stock. Brian take your, take your view of AirBnb, take it to a Hold. . . I want to like wring his neck, I like him so much.
“I just think that the issue with AirBnb is just that as long as hotels are very expensive, then you go AirBnb. Brian’s gotta stick to that script. And I like him so much I’m joking about obviously, but he does have this kind of bent about him to find the negatives. I would have come up with the other, which is that boy I’ll tell you, if we do have a slowdown, remember how well we do. And remember even in COVID people used to go from one place to another. My daughter she was teaching English in Spain. On the weekends, she would go from one part of Spain to another cause that’s what you did! That’s gonna come back. Brian’s gotta get a little more positive.”
2. Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 56
Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) is one of the biggest discount store operators in America. Despite the fact that such retailers typically do well in periods of economic uncertainty, the shares are down by 28% year-to-date. Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) has struggled due to falling sales and competition from larger retailers such as Walmart. Cramer’s previous comments about the firm have remarked that it could be hurt by tariffs. Here are his latest thoughts:
“No there are issues with what’s going to happen and it’s another reason, uh and I’m a small business champion, but another reason to buy Amazon. Because Amazon has, they have scale. Walmart has scale. When you talk to Amazon they say listen, we got, Walmart’s coming on.
“The biggest win here is if they have a, no one does well in a recession. But this maybe a Costco country. A Walmart country. And Amazon country. And then nothing. It is a possibility that we have a big three and yes, CVS will do, stay in the game because of Aetna. But you know what I’m thinking about the Nordstorm’s of the world, the Kohl’s of the world, what Brian Cornell has to hope at Target is that he stays relevant. And doesn’t have too much China. These companies cannot negotiate. And Amazon can basically tell China, here’s the way it’s going to be guys.”
1. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 57
Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) is a business services provider that allows firms to make payments, manage human resources, and conduct other operations. Its shares have gained 6% year-to-date as the firm has benefited from beating analyst revenue estimates despite overall souring business sentiment. Cramer commented on the firm in the context of GoDaddy’s recent results:
“[On telling GDDY being a proxy for small business] I can, I had them on and I had to believe that somewhat of an execution issue. Again, by the way, they are fantastic, at what they do, so, if I didn’t see the small business index and Paychex do so well, I would say this. This is kind of like ADP. I mean was ADP a head fake? Was it a misdirection play yesterday?”
ADP is a stock Jim Cramer recently discussed. While we acknowledge the potential of ADP 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 ADP 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. Insider Monkey focuses on uncovering the best investment ideas of hedge funds and investors. Please subscribe to our daily free newsletter to get the latest investment ideas from hedge funds’ investor letters by entering your email address below.
