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 the trade deficit, interest rates, and apprehensions about the US budget deficit. He commented on the divide in thinking between older and younger people. While younger people prefer Bitcoin due to ballooning deficits, older people are more relaxed. According to the CNBC host:
“I think that older people just kind of laugh at this. And just say, I’ve been through this. They’re not going to make any changes in Congress. So it’s gonna be one-off. It’ll be down. Then some people say to me, hey listen, this is going to be the Achilles Heel for the President. If they don’t get this, if rates keep going, then we’re gonna get into a whole new thing about inflation. Look rates should [be] higher, judging on the deficit. But again what you said, is where are they gonna go?”
However, Cramer’s also disappointed in the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce the deficit. While Elon Musk is adamant that his DOGE department has reduced spending, Cramer thinks otherwise as he remarked: “I just thought that we were going to have the budget cut because of DOGE. It’s obviously didn’t work.”
Another bit of financial news that rocked markets recently was Moody’s decision to cut America’s credit rating from a perfect AAA to AA+. Cramer wasn’t surprised as he remarked:
“I mean, I look at it as someone who just says, how could they not try to cut this deficit? How could they continue to be part of the problem. So I understand the downgrade, but I also understand the notion that if the Republican Party is no longer the party of fiscal responsibility, who is? Who is responsible?”
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 19th.
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).
12. Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 91
Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) is an American digital bank whose shares have gained 14.8% year-to-date. Over the year, the stock is up by 61% due to the firm being acquired by Capital One. Cramer has commented on the deal multiple times, and he is quite optimistic about it. In his previous remarks, he termed the deal as “totally disruptive.” This time around, he explained the potential disruption in detail:
“I think, I think that Richard Fairbank, the genius who runs Capital One, could very well use the Discover network to go against Mastercard, Visa, and American Express cause it has a lower [inaudible]. How do you like that? They have a hundred and twenty million cards! They have a hundred and twenty million cards! Why couldn’t they have their own network? Why couldn’t they just tell the retailers look this is what we’re going to use from now on and we’re gonna save you a lot of money.”
11. The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 91
The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW) is one of the biggest banks in America. Its shares are up by a strong 20% year-to-date on the back of strong gains since late April which saw the stock gain 17%. Ahead of the jump, The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW)’s shares sank by 12% earlier in the month during the tariff selloff. In his earlier remarks, Cramer appreciated the firm’s financial report. Here are his latest thoughts:
“[On US downgrade and impacts on regional banking] I remember when Schwab had that. . .how about the greatest single buying opportunity for Schwab. These things roll over. Bank of America had it, people didn’t like Bank of America.”
10. Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 96
Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) is a mega American grocery retailer. Cramer frequently discusses the stock in his morning show, and his remarks are nothing but full of praise. He believes Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) is key to lower grocery prices in America as the firm uses its scale to negotiate great prices for consumers. In recent remarks, Cramer commented that Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) had a better model than Walmart because of its card. Here are his latest thoughts:
“Walmart has a line, that of five dollar food. That is quite good. And I think that no one can compete with them. And I wish the President had realized that Walmart is the lowest prices as it is. Maybe Costco.”
9. Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 116
Cramer discussed mega-retailer Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) the most during this particular show. The stock was at the center of the CNBC host’s attention because of President Trump’s intent to keep the firm on his radar due to potentially higher prices resulting from tariffs on American imports. Cramer commented on Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in quite a bit of detail:
“I mean I think that some of that ties into what Bessent talked about with Walmart. Now you better keep your prices down. Now Walmart, where I think that they’ve gone wrong, is that Walmart has actually tried very hard. They had their own brand which is very inexpensive. But if you’re Target, which is the number three retailer, of the brick-and-mortar, you know they have 400,000 people at Target, Target can’t go against Walmart! On food. Walmart’s just huge scale. I’m worried. . .but they’re the best!
“Well they weren’t blaming the tariffs, what they were saying was we’re gonna keep our prices down, the tariffs make it harder. Who doesn’t think that?
“Yes but if there was, the customers are watching they’re gonna be thrilled. Because customers can go to other places. You wanna go to Dollar General, fine! You wanna go to Target? Fine! You can go to Amazon, same-day for some things. But do they know that Walmart’s prices are appreciably lower than the rest!”
“The scale. Look, Walmart sells a lot of clothes. . . .Walmart’s what about two-thirds domestic, but a lot of that is grown here. Walmart has a line, that of five dollar food. That is quite good. And I think that no one can compete with them. And I wish the President had realized that Walmart is the lowest prices as it is. Maybe Costco.”
“I love Walmart. I think Walmart offers great prices. Well I mean like anyone who has actually been to Walmart and I don’t know how much time the President has spent at Walmart, would realize very quickly that wow, this place is so much cheaper than everybody else. But they don’t think like that. And then Walmart didn’t really give a projection. They didn’t know what they were going to earn.
“I think that these people all feel that they are part of a, like Bessent was a fund manager for 35 years. You’ve got the President who’s aware of Walmart. And you also have a lot of like, hold it if I’m gonna tell Apple they shouldn’t be an idiot, I can call these guys and tell them they ought to lower price.”
8. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 123
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) is the largest private bank in the world in terms of assets. Its shares have gained 10.9% year-to-date and have recovered all of their losses in the immediate aftermath of the Liberation Day tariffs. Cramer’s recent remarks aimed at JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)’s CEO Jamie Dimon and described his views as “jaundiced” and “saturnine.” He kept at it this time around and expanded his vocabulary:
“By the way, JPMorgan, I heard a lot of people talking about what he’s going to say and why he’s such a downer. People think he’s a downer. They think he’s saturnine and gloomy. Well he just comes out and basically says well you know it’s got to be. . .you know, trouble.
“Yeah, fortress [JPMorgan’s balance sheet].”
7. Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 126
Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) is the world’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer. The shares have performed tumultuously in 2025 as CEO Elon Musk’s politics and weak vehicle deliveries have weighed on them. However, despite the turmoil, Cramer has maintained that Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) is a technology company instead of a car company even as analysts value the firm’s short-term potential on its vehicle deliveries. This time around he commented on Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s pickup truck Cybertruck:
“[On high Cybertruck depreciation] Yeah they’re not great but I do think again that it’s a technology company.”
6. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 150
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) is the largest healthcare benefits manager in America. The firm roiled markets in May as its shares dipped by 18% after it missed first-quarter earnings and reduced its guidance. The shares traded close to five-year lows after a report that the firm was being investigated. Cramer’s previous remarks shed light on insider purchases and maintained that if there was an investigation then the stock purchases wouldn’t occur. He reiterated the sentiment in his latest comments about UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH):
“People sell things for many reasons, right. They get divorced, I don’t know about that. They get maybe something happens in their family, they need money. But David, why do they buy? Sometimes they buy because there’s a bargain. Now typically these insiders, maybe they buy like 1500 shares. Well how about if you bought, you’re Stephen Hemsley, returning CEO, who acquired 86,000 shares at 288. That’s pretty, you know 25 mil.
“And then, Kristen Gil, director, what, 3700 shares. Timothy Patrick, director, 1553. The CFO, come right in, the CFO’s in there buying the heck out of it too. 5 million. So I just say to myself, if they really knew, like the Journal says that they’re being investigated criminally, that’s a very big buy that would obviously go away.
“Absolutely, but remember it is a fine company. I don’t think the franchise, unless it’s indicted, is going to go away. So let’s just say [inaudible] I was convinced that maybe we’re too negative. At the 300 level.”
5. Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 151
Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is one of the biggest payment platform providers in America. Its shares have gained 11% year-to-date as the firm has benefited from strong earnings and analyst upgrades. Cramer’s previous remarks about Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) have advised viewers to watch for the bottom as financial technology stocks bottom before mainstream financial stocks. His latest remarks came in the context of Capital One’s Discover acquisition:
“I think, I think that Richard Fairbank, the genius who runs Capital One, could very well use the Discover network to go against Mastercard, Visa, and American Express cause it has a lower [inaudible]. How do you like that? They have a hundred and twenty million cards! They have a hundred and twenty million cards! Why couldn’t they have their own network? Why couldn’t they just tell the retailers look this is what we’re going to use from now on and we’re gonna save you a lot of money.”
4. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 166
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is the world’s largest consumer technology company. It is a frequent part of Cramer’s morning show, and during most of his appearances, the CNBC TV host has remained an ardent follower despite share price weakness. He has speculated about the difficulty that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) might face in reshaping its supply chain and criticized investors for punishing the firm because of troubles with the Siri platform. Here are Cramer’s latest thoughts about Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL):
“The company I’m most worried about is Apple. . .I think it is [their AI falling behind] and then we know that the President doesn’t really care about their Indian plant. But I don’t know if they can specifically say we’re not gonna accept Apple out of India.
“It’s a parade of horribles for them right now. We obviously know that Amazon may not be able to write them a 20 billion dollar check. I’m sorry, Alphabet. I also know that I think that look I think that Epic Games could be worth thirty cents. That Epic is, not in the revenue stream for Service. These are really important. And that look the stock going down, I think you gotta let it come down.
“But they don’t want to put out product until it’s perfect. The product has to be perfect. And once it comes out everyone gets excited. The product is still the best in the world. I think that does matter.
“[when asked if the Vision Pro was perfect] There are some industrial uses of Vision Pro that are working. . . I thought it was interesting that during the debate, the ill-fated Biden debate, Dana Bash was using and Tapper was using the Apple iPad.”
3. Visa Inc. (NYSE:V)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 181
Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) is the largest payment card company in America. Its shares have gained 16% year-to-date as the firm has benefited from robust consumer spending and strong earnings reports. In his previous comments about Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) Cramer has called the firm a terrific investment and shared that he owns Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) rival Mastercard for the charitable trust. His latest remarks concerned the changed payment market following Capital One’s Discover acquisition:
“I think, I think that Richard Fairbank, the genius who runs Capital One, could very well use the Discover network to go against Mastercard, Visa, and American Express cause it has a lower [inaudible]. How do you like that? They have a hundred and twenty million cards! They have a hundred and twenty million cards! Why couldn’t they have their own network? Why couldn’t they just tell the retailers look this is what we’re going to use from now on and we’re gonna save you a lot of money.”
2. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 223
AI GPU giant NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) has been one of the most volatile stocks in 2025 so far. The shares are down by 2.8% year-to-date as they have recovered most of the losses since the DeepSeek selloff and other market turmoil. Cramer’s previous comments about NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) have remained optimistic as he continues to believe that the firm is heralding in a new industrial revolution. His latest comments followed a similar tune:
“Look, it’s a great, an enjoyable keynote. If you want to find out why everyone loves him, you can get it all on that. Because he’s talking about how, look I want people to by some of us, they don’t have to buy all of us. . . He’s making some available to companies that don’t use his stuff. Who [are] in the data, in the cloud. So I thought it was very very positive. I mean look he has this string of companies, and once again if you wanted to buy what’s most impacted it would be Dell. I thought Marvell was mentioned very positively. Cisco, was mentioned. These were companies that can link it to other companies that may not right now be using him. But I think overall what he’s saying is look, this isn’t a revolution. It’s an information management revolution. We’ve never seen anything like it. David he talks about, there was electricity was the first okay. And then the internet. And now this. And he’s the leader of this. And I don’t know. That felt comfortable. Obviously people bid it up, they knew there was going to be a some sort of announcement, which was major countries. We didn’t get that.
“True, but I know that there are big countries over there that want to have sovereign AI. But I guess they didn’t feel that they had to, they had the permission to get it yet. Remember everything was led by. . . .but the the sovereign AI was very significant and the stock moved up greatly on that.
“I just thought, overall, this was not a speech about how we’ve got to change the rules. It was more of a speech of we got a lot of things going. Was it breakthrough? I mean, I was listening to it. Man it was on from 11 to one fifteen, I shifted it to three thirty after checking in with his people.
“He talked about DeepSeek. And what a great partner they can be. And I thought that was really interesting. Because he’s saying listen, we work with DeepSeek all the time. And they work with everybody. And I think once again you come and you say dominant player in this era, Carl.
“And that’s why Jensen says look it’s a worldwide revolution. Because everybody, nothing works without it. By the way he had those robots, he did hint that we’re all gonna get a robot. He also said that they drive dogs crazy.”
1. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 234
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is one of the worst-performing big tech stocks this year. The shares have lost 13% year-to-date on the back of multiple headwinds such as a Justice Department investigation and weak cloud business performance. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) has struggled despite robust search engine performance. Cramer’s previous comments have speculated that perhaps the firm is earning less revenue per click. His latest comments covered Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s partnership with Apple:
“It’s a parade of horribles for them right now. We obviously know that Amazon may not be able to write them [Apple] a 20 billion dollar check. I’m sorry, Alphabet.”
GOOGL is a stock Jim Cramer recently discussed. While we acknowledge the potential of GOOGL as an investment, 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 GOOGL and that has 100x upside potential, 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.
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