On Thursday, Mad Money host Jim Cramer pushed back against growing skepticism around Big Tech’s aggressive investment in artificial intelligence, especially by major cloud players often referred to as hyperscalers.
“We keep hearing that all the AI spending by the hyperscalers, the nation-state companies… has to stop eventually. It’s not worth the price. They’ll regret it. They aren’t getting a lot out of it.”
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But Cramer pointed to Alphabet’s most recent quarterly update as a strong rebuttal to that line of thinking. The company not only continued its heavy investment in AI but expanded it, boosting its capital expenditures by $10 billion on top of an already staggering $75 billion. As per Cramer, it was a clear sign that those dismissing the value of AI spending might be missing the bigger picture.
Cramer stressed, “As long as the spending continues to make sense… it seems like these investments are both urgent and needed.” He went on to say that this kind of capital deployment is part of what is allowing the broader market to maintain its current strength, even in the face of uncertainty.
“My conclusion: these companies aren’t overspending on AI, they’re actually underspending on AI, underspending. See, this is a winner-take-all, loser-take-none situation. The only reason to spend less is if you don’t believe you can win. Bottom line: That’s the reason why NVIDIA’s the largest company in the universe… and it’s why Google is still in the conversation and might even end up winning the battle for AI just like it won the battle for search.”
Our Methodology
For this article, we compiled a list of 15 stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer during the episodes of Mad Money aired on July 24. We listed the stocks in the order that Cramer mentioned them. We also provided hedge fund sentiment for each stock as of the first quarter of 2025, which was taken from Insider Monkey’s database of 1,000 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 Shed Light on These 15 Stocks
15. Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 117
Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer shed light on. Cramer recommended buying the stock, as he remarked:
“Now these aren’t flash. When Bank of America announced a $40 billion buyback the other day and nobody even notices, I regard that as a terrific sign. We want boring, we want no flash, we want gray flannel suits, and that’s just what we’re getting to fuel this rally. So yawn away, but be sure to do some buying.”
Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) provides financial services, including personal banking, loans, credit cards, wealth management, and investment solutions. The company also offers corporate lending, treasury services, capital markets expertise, and global trading and risk management products. During the July 11 episode, Cramer discussed the company’s low valuation, as he said:
“Let me ask you something. Why is Bank of America stock still just selling at 13 times earnings? The franchise has been putting up consistently terrific earnings. Brian Moynihan’s doing a great job. I think the stock’s cheap because of the relentless selling from Berkshire Hathaway. One day, Berkshire will finish selling, and when that happens, you’ll be paying a much higher price-to-earnings multiple for this fine bag. My advice: Don’t wait for them to finish. There’ll be a good quarter.”
14. Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 47
Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer shed light on. During the episode, Cramer made positive comments, as he said:
“I like the action in Huntington Bancshares. It feels like a return to the old days when this was a market leader every time the spotlight turned to the regionals.”
Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) provides banking and financial services, including consumer and business lending, deposits, payments, and wealth management. Additionally, the firm offers digital tools, investment services, equipment financing, and capital markets solutions. On July 14, Cramer discussed the company’s recent acquisition. He commented:
“This morning, we had a real bank merger, one of my favorites, Huntington Bancshares, the Ohio-based regional bank, announced that it’s buying the Texas-based regional bank Veritex in an all-stock deal that values the target just under $2 billion. Now, in the grand scheme of things, and this is a small transaction, I didn’t even know Veritex, but it helps Huntington grow in Texas, a market where it was already expanding aggressively.
Plus, the company also pre-announced most of the key lines of its second quarter earnings report… Look, numbers look pretty darn good. When you back out some one-time items, Huntington posted solid earnings with better-than-expected net interest income and fine-looking credit quality metrics.”
13. Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 88
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer shed light on. Cramer mentioned the stock’s rebound after earnings, as he commented:
“Now, how about this? Wells Fargo. Now, here’s a company that actually guided lower when it reported. Charlie Scharf, the CEO, talked about the need to invest in the company’s business after seven years of pretty much being on hold because of regulatory straitjacket.
Normally, in this market, a company would be penalized for spending money on anything but a buyback or dividend boost, but Wells Fargo stock is now up from when it reported, a tacit admission that when things are good and getting better, it’s worth investing heavily in your own business. And that’s exactly what Wells is doing. We own this one for the Charitable Trust. Stock’s rebound from last week’s lows. Total vindication.”
Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) delivers financial services, including banking, lending, investment, and wealth management solutions for individuals, businesses, and institutions.
12. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 129
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer shed light on. Cramer mentioned the stock during the episode and said:
“A rally with JPMorgan… means we’re looking at a wave of commerce that will spur strong business formation and expansion. JPMorgan is the leader, well, many others will follow. Ooh, I like that.”
JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) provides financial services, including banking, lending, payments, and investment solutions for individuals, businesses, and institutions. The firm also delivers wealth management, asset management, and advisory services. During the July 16 episode, Cramer discussed the company’s latest earnings. He remarked:
“JPMorgan, the biggest bank on earth, hey, by the way, three times bigger than the next, I mean that’s kind of crazy, isn’t it, reported on Tuesday morning, delivering a clean top and bottom line beat, loan and loss provisions were lower than expected, although their net interest income came in a tad light. CEO Jamie Dimon proclaimed that, ‘Each of the lines of business performed well.’ Though technically the two largest segments, consumer and community banking, and the commercial and investment… beat expectations handily, while the smaller asset and wealth management business was basically in line with expectations. Nothing wrong with that.
At the same time, JPMorgan raised its full-year net interest income forecast by $1 billion. Also raised its expense guidance by $500 million… Jamie Dimon had good things to say about the US economy taking up the big beautiful budget bill, but also throwing some cold water… citing risks from tariffs, trade uncertainty, and the budget deficit, fed independence.
What else? JPMorgan just announced a $50 billion buyback last month after the stress test results were released, and they could do more, but would rather not if the stock gets too high… Yeah, look, the shares dropped two bucks yesterday, but there was nothing really wrong here at all. It was another good, solid quarter from the industry leader, JPMorgan.”
11. Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 85
Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer shed light on. During the episode, Cramer discussed the company’s merger talks. He said:
“This morning, we got confirmation that Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern are in merger talks. I mean, this is the biggest test we’ve ever seen of the antitrust regime, at least in my life. Okay, we have so few railroads in this country, and we want them to compete with each other. We always want them to compete with each other.
Under President Biden or honestly any previous president, I think the advisory firms would say, don’t even bother doing this deal. But under Trump’s regulators, it’s an open question. I think the advisors want to test the waters. If they get the go-ahead, that means big fees and a giant green light to any company that wants to merge with a competitor.”
Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) provides freight transportation services, moving goods including agricultural products, energy resources, industrial materials, and automotive shipments.
10. Nebius Group N.V. (NASDAQ:NBIS)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 51
Nebius Group N.V. (NASDAQ:NBIS) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer shed light on. When a caller asked about the company during the lightning round, Cramer stated:
“Look, I totally get Nebius Group, but I am through and through a CoreWeave person. And because I’m a CoreWeave person, can’t own them both, but we got, we kicked the tires on Nebius, and we went all in CoreWeave, and I’m not going to change my view.”
Nebius (NASDAQ:NBIS) develops full-stack AI infrastructure, including GPU clusters, cloud platforms, and developer tools. The company also operates businesses focused on data services for AI, tech education, and autonomous vehicle technologies. On July 15, a caller inquired about the stock, and Cramer replied:
“Okay, Nebius, I checked them out when I was at GTC… at the big NVIDIA trade show. And I came back and I said, CoreWeave, just buy CoreWeave. Don’t deviate, buy CoreWeave. And so far, that’s been very right.”
9. Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 36
Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer shed light on. During the lightning round, a caller inquired about the company, and Cramer said:
“No, ET got its act together a long time ago. It’s a really, really good stock. I’m going to give him a twofer because I really like this fella. Yeah, I think ONEOK is real good too, alright. So, you get the ET and the ONEOK, both good to go.”
Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) provides energy services, including natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquids transportation, storage, and processing across extensive pipeline networks. During a June episode, Cramer called it a “pretty well-run company,” as he remarked:
“Natural gas is very hard to tell. I think that 3 to 4 is probably where it belongs. ET had a problem. They’ve got some ethane issues. The government’s holding up the ethane from China because we’re trying to say, listen, you won’t give us rare earth materials, we won’t give you ethane.
Now I think that’s a little misjudgment on… [the] part of our government because ethane is actually kind of a broad commodity that anybody can get anywhere. That has hurt ET. It will make it so the numbers may not be as good, but the fact is, it’s got a great yield, and I think it’s a pretty well-run company. I like Enterprise Products Partners, too, but they, too, have the same ethanol problem.”
8. Shutterstock, Inc. (NYSE:SSTK)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 22
Shutterstock, Inc. (NYSE:SSTK) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer shed light on. When a caller questioned the stock’s and Getty Images’ future in the AI era, Cramer replied:
“Look, one of them is making money, Shutterstock. One of them is losing money, Getty. I think Shutterstock’s better, but doesn’t really have the growth that I’d like to see. But you can pick up the yield, maybe to get some growth, but it’s really been, frankly, it’s been a labor of not like, and I’m not, I don’t like laborers of not like.”
Shutterstock (NYSE:SSTK) provides a platform for businesses and creators to access high-quality content, including images, videos, music, 3D models, and AI-generated visuals. Cramer discussed the company in a January episode, as he said:
“Next, early yesterday morning, we learned that Getty Images in Shutterstock, two of the leading purveyors of stock photos and videos, are joining forces in a merger of equals. Of course, in reality, there’s no such thing. Getty’s buying Shutterstock and their shareholders will own 55% of the combined company. This one’s pretty straightforward. You got two major players in the same industry combining to give themselves a lot more leverage versus their customers. Something they need in this age of AI-generated content… Getty Images and Shutterstock. Now they’re fighting for their life in a world where generative AI systems can create images from simple text prompts. They’ll certainly be stronger together and they’ll be in a better position to negotiate with the software developers who want to license their photos to train their AI models. By the way, they’re also gonna benefit from widespread adoption of the latest NVIDIA platform, Blackwell, which works wonderfully with video.”
7. The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 74
The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer shed light on. A caller asked if it was a good time to invest in the stock, and Cramer replied:
“I want you to wait until UnitedHealth makes a clear vision of what’s really going wrong. So UnitedHealth’s going to report, and that’s going to be coming up, and then once they report, we then look at the downside for the rest of the group, and we make decisions. Now, that’s only five days away, so let’s make sure we wait bat on shoulder and then we’ll make our move.”
Cigna (NYSE:CI) provides health and insurance services, including medical, pharmacy, behavioral, dental, and Medicare plans for individuals and organizations. Moreover, the company offers pharmacy benefit management, care solutions, and insurance products for employers and individuals working across borders. Parnassus Investments stated the following regarding The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:
“The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI), a manager of health care plans, benefited from the market’s perception that it is a more stable investment option than other health insurance companies in the current environment, given its minimal exposure to federal government spending and relatively low exposure to insurance risk.”
6. Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 117
Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer shed light on. While discussing the stock’s condition over the past couple of years, Cramer showed a positive sentiment toward the stock, as he said:
“Now, we bought this one in early 2022… I expected the business to stabilize and the stock to make a comeback like that. But for one reason after another, Danaher never really found its footing… When Danaher reported on Tuesday morning, it almost gave me a heart attack because the stock immediately got clobbered. The company actually delivered a pretty good set of numbers, a healthy revenue beat, steady organic growth, and better than expected margins, all leading up to a 16-cent earnings beat off $1.64 basis. I like that…
… Putting aside China, I think there was far more good news than bad news in this quarter. For example, while all three of Danaher’s core segments reported better than expected results, their highest margin biotechnology segment led the way, that had 8% sales growth. That’s 150 basis points of operating margin expansion and operating income of more than 12%. Wow, that’s very good…
… Here’s the bottom line: It’s been very tough to be a bull on Danaher for the past couple of years, and the company’s still not perfect. But I think we’ve finally reached the tipping point here now that the core bioprocessing business is on the rebound. That’s why we’re sticking around for the Charitable Trust and why you have my blessing to pick up some of the stock right here.”
Danaher (NYSE:DHR) provides products and services used in biotechnology, life sciences, and diagnostics. The company’s technologies include lab instruments, bioprocessing tools, genomic products, and diagnostic systems for healthcare and research.
5. Honeywell International Inc. (NASDAQ:HON)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 75
Honeywell International Inc. (NASDAQ:HON) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer shed light on. Cramer discussed the company’s latest report and the potential breakup of the company. He remarked:
“Alright, help me here. What in the world just happened to the stock of Honeywell, the iconic industrial that’s in the process of breaking itself up? This morning, the company reported what sure looked to me like a good quarter, top and bottom line beat, management raising the full year sales and earnings forecast. That’s what I always like to see.
The stock was climbing in pre-market trading, yet it ultimately got hit and finished the session down 6%. And look, the quarter wasn’t perfect. There was some margin pressure, especially in the aerospace business, but much of the raised guidance comes down to a weak dollar, maybe some acquisitions. Still, I think it’s crazy that the stock pulled back this hard when we are getting so close to a three-way breakup that could really unlock a lot of value for you.”
Honeywell (NASDAQ:HON) provides technologies and services across aerospace, industrial automation, building systems, and energy solutions. The company’s offerings range from aircraft systems and smart factory tools to energy-efficient building controls and carbon management technologies.
4. Snowflake Inc. (NYSE:SNOW)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 94
Snowflake Inc. (NYSE:SNOW) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer shed light on. A caller asked if they should trim or sell their position in the stock, and Cramer commented:
“Okay, Snowflake. Well, Sridhar Ramaswamy came on our show and broke the story of that much better than expected quarter, and I say you just hold onto this. There’s going to be ups and downs. Maybe it takes a little fluff out of it, but Sridhar is good for it, and I think that could be a great long-term position. I like the stock of Snowflake.”
Snowflake Inc. (NYSE:SNOW) provides a cloud platform that helps organizations bring all their data together, analyze it, build applications, and share insights easily. The company uses AI to help solve real business problems. In a June episode, when a caller inquired about the stock, Cramer responded:
“Oh, Snowflake…. I mean, it is just, you know, I was thinking about this, but Ramaswamy first comes in, not sure, then he takes off, and why? Because the guy is cerebral, and he’s got a real good closing sense. And man, does he ever have momentum? He is project momentum.”
3. Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 68
Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer shed light on. A caller inquired about the company’s long-term growth potential in light of Q2 program charges, cash flow issues, and ongoing development and legacy program challenges despite higher defense demand. In response, Cramer said:
“Look, I know Jim Taiclet. I know he is going to figure this out, but everybody tells me, every single research note told me that you have to buy Northrop Grumman… when it comes to the weapon, the big defense procurement. And I still like AeroVironment, AVAV, I mean, it was AVAV… he broke the story, Nawabi broke the story about why things were so great there, and that stock is up about 90 points since he came on the show, and I’m sticking by it.”
Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) develops aerospace, defense, and security technologies across air, land, sea, and space. The company’s products include combat aircraft, missile systems, space solutions, and integrated mission technologies.
2. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 212
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer shed light on. Cramer praised the company and its chips during the episode, as he said:
“When you hear about the spending, you should be thinking one thing: NVIDIA. You can’t be dominant in search unless you buy the latest and greatest chips from Jensen Huang, the CEO of NVIDIA. The naysayers tell us that spending’s a big waste of money, but if you listen to Jensen, he says his best hardware and software stacks can give you four times your money’s worth.
Given what Alphabet said last night, you know what? I think it probably works out to about four times now. NVIDIA is not a tax on the system. It’s an expander. It’s a force multiplier. That’s why it is so important for the US government to allow China to have a version of NVIDIA’s AI technology. You know, we tend to assume that China makes everything we want while needing nothing from us, aside from those NVIDIA semiconductors. That’s not really true… Here’s what I do know: The more new chips you have from NVIDIA, the less likely your AI will get things wrong.”
NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) develops graphics, computing, and AI-driven solutions used across gaming, data centers, professional visualization, and automotive applications. The company also provides platforms and services that support robotics and cloud-based AI adoption.
1. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 227
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer shed light on. During the episode, Cramer called Sundar Pichai, “visionary CEO of Alphabet,” and said:
“Last night, I listened to Sundar Pichai, he’s the visionary CEO of Alphabet, talk about AI and how much it means to his company. I’ll just give you one quote here, ‘AI is positively impacting every part of the business, driving strong momentum. This quarter, Search delivered double-digit revenue growth.’ But then he goes on to say, ‘AI Overviews now has over 2 billion monthly users across more than 200 countries and territories and 40 languages.’
Now, if you don’t use Google, these AI Overview gives you the summary that appears at the top of the search pages. It’s a game-changer that makes people want to keep coming back to Google Search, even as many like me worry that Search may go the way of the dodo. I mean, why do you search, I figure, when you can just go right to one of the major chatbots, avoiding Google Search entirely? They’re not, they’re going there more than ever. Pichai explains they’re not mutually exclusive. It’s easy to just stick the AI results in there because, well, he’s got the leading global network of AI-optimized data centers.
In other words, he who spends the most money on AI wins. I am sure we’ll hear something similar next week from Meta and Microsoft and Amazon… So my take is that Google is upping its spending because the most accurate chatbot will be the winner, just like how Google Search won to begin with. The bots that are wrong too often will lose. And just like Google Search, if you win the AI race, you can end up with a near monopoly and hundreds of billions of dollars in profits.”
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) provides a wide range of digital products and services, including advertising, cloud computing, and enterprise collaboration tools. The company also invests in ventures involving healthcare and advanced internet technologies.
While we acknowledge the potential of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that 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.
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