In this piece, we will look at the stocks Jim Cramer recently discussed.
In his latest appearance on CNBC’s Squawk on the Street, Jim Cramer discussed the trade negotiations between the US and its trading partners including Europe and China. The CNBC host bemoaned misinformation floating around the trade talks and commented that the US might find regions or avenues to replace its dependence on China’s supply chain. He remarked that one alternative could be Mexico, but wondered if the government had a game plan when approaching China regarding the alternatives. Cramer commented:
“There was a lot of misinformation, I’ve seen it even in an interview this morning here, they were giving stuff to Germany and Japan. There was absolutely just a total stranglehold on the US. Let’s not forget that. It was not done in a way that was in a vacuum where everybody was hurt. Second, there has to be some sort of way during this period where we develop something that will take their place. Mexico could be the way to do it. It is just shocking to me that we didn’t have a game plan. No game plan. So the final thing I say is David, uh, there may be a deal. And there may be students involved. But we don’t know what there’s going to involved with semiconductors.”
Cramer also commented on America competing with Europe and President Trump:
“Look, all I want is us to be as good as the European countries. And I think the President, uniquely, must be saying, are you kidding me, Spain? We can be every bit as good as Spain.”
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 11th.
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. The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q1 2025: 37
The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) is one of America’s largest food products companies known for its well-known brands such as Folgers and Dunkin. The stock has bled 14% year-to-date primarily on the back of an unbelievable 15.6% share price drop in June. The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)’s shares tanked after the firm’s midpoint annual earnings per share guidance of $9 missed average analyst estimates of $10.23 by a wide margin. During the call, the firm’s management warned that its green coffee supply could be impacted by tariffs and added that it expects to continuously face demand and inflationary pressures. The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)’s quarterly revenue of $2.14 billion also missed analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. Cramer was shaken by the results:
“But the Smucker disaster yesterday was jarring. Including the gigantic charge they took on Hostess Twinkies. Mark Smucker should not have bought that.”
Ahead of the earnings, Cramer warned that The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) was going “nowhere”:
“But let’s look at the other way. Let’s talk about what old folks were interested in. There’s a company called J.M. Smucker. It makes coffee jams and pet food, Uncrustables, Twinkies. It’s covered by 15 different firms… It’s real. We’ve all bought their stuff. Two years ago, right at the time that the GLP-1 drugs came of age and we went nuts for the weight loss shots, J.M. Smucker didn’t seem to notice. They ran into the fire, they bought Hostess, that’s right, Hostess, maker of Twinkies, for $5.6 billion in November of 2023. Today, they took a $980 million impairment charge for that transaction. I doubt that’ll be the last one, as Twinkies and Ho Hos may not turn very well. Let’s just say they’re going nowhere. They also took a big hit from tariffs and higher coffee costs. Smucker’s talking about a 20% boost in coffee prices. That’s not going to help demand. In the wake of the news, the stock plunged more than 15%. Nearly every analyst who covers it had tough things to say about the business, all major firms.”
11. Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q1 2025: 82
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) is one of the largest networking and communications products companies in the world. In today’s era of AI-driven stock market returns, the firm’s shares have gained 8.4% year-to-date despite a 13% drop after the Liberation Day tariff announcement in April. Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)’s shares gained 5% in mid-May after the firm’s fiscal 2025 midpoint revenue and earnings guidance of $56.6 billion and $3.78 surpassed previous estimates. The revenue guidance also beat analyst estimates of $56.5 billion. In his earlier remarks about Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO), Cramer outlined that he preferred the firm over rival Arista Networks. Here are his latest thoughts:
“Last night I spoke with Chuck Robbins. He is positioning himself as being now the backbone of the internet with AI. It reminded me very much about John Chambers being the backbone of the internet. He began to get Cisco having its big move. But you also know David, remember the customers. The customers of Cisco, the telcos, its got a little telco feel to it. I think.
“Now I’m putting it as the cheapest AI story there is. It’s a combination of Splunk and the traditional Cisco.
“See what’s interesting Carl, in the old days there would be 15 companies that followed Cisco and they all raised numbers on this. Now it’s not like that because Cisco’s large cap. And people want to know, should I take a shot at GitLab, down here. Is it time to by DataDog? This may be the moment for Oklo. David, I don’t know.”
Cramer has also previously commented on Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)’s partnership with NVIDIA:
“People are talking about NVIDIA. And there is a nice deal this morning with Cisco. I think it’s actually much more important than people realize. Cisco’s the first to qualify. It’s going to be a real partnership. And that uh Chuck Robbins working closely with Jensen. But there is an overwhelming sense that this market keys on NVIDIA at a moment when we have no idea what the federal government’s gonna do to NVIDIA.”
10. Talen Energy Corp (NASDAQ:TLN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q1 2025: 80
Talen Energy Corp (NASDAQ:TLN) is a midsized American energy company that primarily produces and sells electricity. Its shares have gained 31% year-to-date as they have benefited from several catalysts such as analyst ratings and industry partnerships. Talen Energy Corp (NASDAQ:TLN)’s stock jumped by 13% in March after investment bank Morgan Stanley initiated coverage and set a $243 share price target and an Overweight rating. More recently, the stock jumped by 7.7% after the firm announced that it would power an Amazon data center with nuclear power. Here are Cramer’s latest comments on Talen Energy Corp (NASDAQ:TLN):
“You’re going from 2.5 growth to now 5. Rusty Brazil, my guy on energy is just saying, listen we do not have enough turbines. But anybody that has turbines is going to work. I recommended Talen last night as part of a wholesale belief that you know what. . .I said yeah, Talen is a good one. . .I’m capitulating on the idea that we need more power, I just, there’s nothing I can do.”
Cramer had previously commented on Talen Energy Corp (NASDAQ:TLN) in January. Here is what he’d said:
“I think Talen Energy Corp (NASDAQ:TLN), you know they got that setback the other day from FERC. It doesn’t matter, they’re in good shape. I like it very much, and I would encourage you to own at least one of these with a Constellation with the Talen Energy Corp (NASDAQ:TLN). I think these are good.”
9. GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE:GEV)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q1 2025: 111
GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE:GEV), an industrial equipment provider, caters to the needs of the power generation industry. Before investors were shaken by the DeepSeek selloff in January, it was one of Cramer’s top nuclear power stocks. In fact, the CNBC host promoted only GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE:GEV) as he believed that nuclear power rollout is a long-term play with few short-term yields. More recently, Cramer has maintained his belief that the firm is the only one in the industry with the sound technical and engineering capabilities to build a nuclear power plant. Here are his latest thoughts about GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE:GEV):
“You’re going from 2.5 growth to now 5. Rusty Brazil, my guy on energy is just saying, listen we do not have enough turbines. But anybody that has turbines is going to work. . . .I’m capitulating on the idea that we need more power, I just, there’s nothing I can do. Anyone who’s in it Now there’s GE Vernova, that’s the one.
“Ooh GE Vernova was one of those moments where I said, this is the big rollover, because it’s had such a move. These are all parabolic moves. At the same time, there isn’t a day goes by that people don’t say I need more power. And GE Vernova, by the way is not building new plants. They’re not doing that. Because everybody’s been burned so many times. . . but I think this is the time you want to do it. I think you have to build out there.”
GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE:GEV) has also factored into Cramer’s analysis of President Trump’s negotiations with China. For instance, during a recent Mad Money episode he remarked:
“So, how could the president turn around these negotiations with the Chinese? Okay, so I’ve been thinking about this. I always like to be constructive. I’m a constructive fella… Hey, how about turbines from power players? GE Vernova has installed 240 gas turbines in China, there you go, for about 50 million a pop. Just servicing these turbines gives us some cards to play.
China needs these, especially if anyone maybe just realizes that they’re making all these coal plants and does something to try to stop it. Now, those aren’t low cards. They’re kind of, I don’t know, maybe 8s and 9s. You can split them if the dealer has a 4, but I don’t think Xi’s got a 4. He’s got a king showing. Now there are some other things that could work out… GE Vernova might have room to expand its capacity, but there’s so much demand from the American hyperscalers that they might not have time for China.”
8. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q1 2025: 187
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) is one of the most important companies in the world primarily due to the fact that it is responsible for manufacturing most of the world’s advanced AI and personal computing chips. The firm’s leading-edge chip manufacturing technologies are used by the world’s leading technology companies such as Apple and NVIDIA. Crmaer’s previous comments about Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) have compared the firm to NVIDIA especially since the latter relies on it for making its GPU chips. His latest comments maintained the opinion:
“Taiwan Semi was the proxy, as that went up you could buy NVIDIA.”
Cramer’s previous comments about Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) concerned the firm’s valuation particularly due to the impact of its location in Taiwan:
“Okay so I’m gonna give you, how to read that, you can dismiss it, but I’ll give it to you. Taiwan Semi, discount versus NVIDIA is how you look at it. The Taiwan Semi, the discount, it’s 17 versus 23 times earnings, that is simply the discount of, a, I don’t wanna say it, takeover, because that gets people scared. But an encroachment by the People’s Republic of China.”
“[On whether he thought there was a risk premium in chip stocks] Yes, because I was inquiring on why shouldn’t we be buying Taiwan Semi, and, the person said well yeah, why do you want that? You’re going to be watching every ship, every aircraft carrier, every drone and that’s why that’s 17 times earnings. It’s not just some aberration, it’s that there it is, that is the discount. And I think it’s a good way to look at it. I think that when you try to get certainty David, I like to find PE certainty. Because it’s like all we can count on. And there it is, like it’s bad.”
7. Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE:COF)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q1 2025: 93
Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE:COF) is an American regional bank that has been in the news this year due to its acquisition of digital bank and financial technology firm, Discover. The stock is up by 7.9% year-to-date after recovering from a 17% Liberation Day drop as investors fretted about the future state of the US economy. However, Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE:COF)’s shares have dipped by 2% over the past month amidst broader market concerns. Here are Cramer’s latest comments about Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE:COF):
“But let’s go the other way. Capital One which is the largest issuer of credit cards for people who are questionable credit. Although not with Richard Fairbank, cause he’s a lot smarter than we are. I mean that stock is breaking out here. That’s after the merger with Discover Financial. I still think they can [inaudible] up with a credit card that does not charge, the restaurant does not put a 3% charge on.”
Cramer has discussed Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE:COF)’s Discover merger in quite a bit of detail. Here are his recent thoughts:
“I’ll give you a regional [bank] that I love David, let’s see if you can guess it. . . .How’s that stock [COF] doing?
“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.
“Why is the stock down now? Stock’s down. I love the stock. It was going to be up big today. I thought it would be up ten.”
6. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q1 2025: 40
J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) is one of the biggest logistics and transportation companies in America. Its shares are dependent on broader economic performance and react negatively to market news such as tariffs. As a result, J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)’s shares have lost 18% year-to-date as investors have continued to worry about the impact rates and tariffs on the broader, non-tech economy. Cramer’s comments about J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) revolved around recent retail investors’ interest in the stock and how it related to sentiments about the economy:
“Well what people wanted frankly, they’re buying the transport, they’re buying JB Hunt. They’re buying the most pedestrian of things. Which I’ve got to tell you is really rather amazing again. It’s an indicator of people are really, really bullish. They think that there’s going to be return to trade. That they were too negative during this period.”
In his earlier remarks, Cramer commented on J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)’s earnings report:
“Once again, J.B. Hunt gives this conference call and you’re just, it’s like I come in hot, the number’s good, it looks okay, 21 times earnings. And by like the fifth paragraph, I want to slit my throat. They have got to get their act together in terms of happiness. They do. What’s up with Dan? What’s the guy’s name? They have an order for 10% happiness. I’m going to send them copies in that board. Every board member is going to get a copy of Dan Harris.”
5. Norfolk Southern Corporation (NASDAQ:NSC)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q1 2025: 49
Norfolk Southern Corporation (NASDAQ:NSC) is one of the biggest railroad transportation companies in America. The firm’s performance depends on economic activity, and therefore, the firm’s 13.5% share price drop after the Liberation Day tariffs were announced was unsurprising. Cramer’s previous remarks about Norfolk Southern Corporation (NASDAQ:NSC) have lumped the firm together with transportation stocks and praised its management. Here are his latest thoughts:
“You know look at Norfolk Southern. The run in Norfolk Southern is just breathtaking. I just think that we are so the opposite of where we were. Everything changed. Everything changed. Liberation Day may turn out to be the bottom. We may look at Liberation Day and say you know that was when they realized, wow, are we ever on the wrong track. The market has spoken and we’re wrong.”
In his previous comments, the CNBC host mentioned Norfolk Southern Corporation (NASDAQ:NSC)’s recent remarks about railroads:
“On the other hand, you got groups like the transports. They’re just getting clocked. At a conference call today, Norfolk Southern, one of the big East Coast railroads, traced out a soft picture.”
4. Robinhood Markets, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOOD)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q1 2025: 76
Robinhood Markets, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOOD) is one of the more frequently discussed stocks on Cramer’s morning and evening shows. He believes that the firm’s software and trading platforms are far superior to any other offerings in the industry. The CNBC host also believes that Robinhood Markets, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOOD) is efficiently gaining market share among younger users and has captured the retail trading wave in America. His latest thoughts also mirror these sentiments:
“Look it’s been such a run, they’re doing, they have a really greay IRA up. They have a great IRA deal if you switch over. You know, you got Vlad Tenev, is sitting there thinking, how can I take away everybody under 30 from everyone of the firms. And all the rest of the firms are saying, well he won’t get us, he won’t take those away. They are watching the future evaporate.”
In his previous comments about Robinhood Markets, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOOD) Cramer discussed the firm’s business model in quite a bit of detail:
“If you include Robinhood Markets, we have three publicly trading platforms that are incredibly popular with younger people… Robinhood, that’s our returning champion… We introduced them first, to be honest, because I love their app… On a more subjective note, I think management’s really matured. When we spoke with [the] CEO of Vlad Tenev earlier this year, I was struck by how big he’s thinking. I wish more people in this industry thought as big as Vlad did…
So, how do these three brokerages, the platforms, stack up against each other? First, let’s take scale because scale is often what dictates what’s going to win in a brokerage area. At the end of the first quarter, Robinhood had 25.8 million funded customer accounts, 180 billion in assets under custody… Robinhood obviously is much bigger than the other two platforms… Now, what about the financials? We just want to look at revenue growth and some measures of profitability. But comparing the three companies… is surprisingly challenging because they all use different key metrics.
For Robinhood, we’re going to use the company’s total net revenues result… For Robinhood, we see really impressive numbers across the board. I mean, they’re doing so well… First thing you notice, Robinhood is head and shoulders above the rest in terms of both revenue growth and profitability…
Putting it all together, Robinhood remains the clear best of breed. What can I say?… So Robin and eToro are the only two I’d even consider. Robin has a better business… The truth is, as much as I like the overall Robinhood story and you know I do, I guess I get a little nervous about a stock that’s just run 192% and another 95% gain year to date. I mean, hold on, that’s too much…
Look, you know, I’m too tough on Robin. I think Robinhood is terrific. It’s just that… this stock price, it just doesn’t stop, and that gets me worried. But man, the company’s good. Here’s the bottom line: For the long term, I think Robinhood’s the safest way to play it, even as I prefer to wait for a pullback before pulling the trigger.”
3. Chewy, Inc. (NYSE:CHWY)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q1 2025: 55
Chewy, Inc. (NYSE:CHWY) is an American eCommerce company that deals in pet products. Its product base and customers make the firm primarily a discretionary firm that performs well when consumers can spend freely. Chewy, Inc. (NYSE:CHWY)’s shares are up by 23% year-to-date despite suffering from an 11% drop in June. The stock dipped after the firm’s first-quarter results disappointed investors on the cost and guidance fronts. Chewy, Inc. (NYSE:CHWY)’s fiscal 2025 revenue guidance sat at a midpoint of $12.375 billion while analysts had penciled in $12.42 billion. Higher costs were reflected through an annual 0.1 percentage point drop in gross margins to 29.6%. Here’s what Cramer said:
“At 19 he [CEO] called the bottom on the show. The stock has had a big run. I mean I find Amazon cheaper now, what can I say? Get the stuff from Amazon.
“Well I just think, look he’s done a remarkable job.
“I would ask him frankly about Nvidia. And how I fed Nvidia using Chewy.”
Nvidia here refers to Cramer’s dog and not the AI chip company. In his previous comments about Chewy, Inc. (NYSE:CHWY), the CNBC host commented:
“Now, two companies give us earnings of interest on Wednesday. Before the bell, we hear from Chewy, the online pet food retailer, which offers a lot of accoutrements that pet owners love. It’s been a real winner. By the way, this CEO called the bottom on our show. I thought it was pretty great. I’m going to, I think you can continue to win.”
2. Urban Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ:URBN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q1 2025: 35
Urban Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ:URBN) is an American firm that sells apparel, home items, and other products. Its shares are up by 19% year-to-date, with the gains helped by a massive 22.8% jump in May. The stock soared after a strong first-quarter earnings performance which saw Urban Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ:URBN)’s earnings-per-share of $1.16 smash analyst estimates of $0.83 out of the park. The firm’s revenue of $1.33 billion also beat estimates of $1.29 billion. Here’s what Cramer said about the firm:
“Dave & Buster and Urban Outfitters are the two outliers. People forgot about them, they let them forget, and that’s just wrong. Urban’s great.”
Cramer discussed Urban Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ:URBN) in detail after its earnings report. Here’s what he said:
“Urban Outfitters is made up of its eponymous flagship store along with Anthropologie and Free People. They’re all doing incredibly well.
But when I listened to the call, I am struck by one particular division Nuuly…. This is Urban’s apparel rental business for women, and it’s growing at a stunning 60%… Now, every single one of the divisions have positive same-store sales, but up 60% even on a small base, that is stunning. For 98 bucks a month, Nuuly lets you rent six items a month, and you can buy them at discounted prices if you like them after you wear them…. At a time when clothes can eat up a huge chunk of your disposable income, I think this is the answer, that’s value…”
1. Dave & Buster’s Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAY)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q1 2025: 23
Dave & Buster’s Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAY) is an American hospitality company that owns and operates dining venues. The shares are flat year-to-date as the firm struggles in an economy driven by inflation and consumer wariness. However, Dave & Buster’s Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAY)’s stock surged by 17.7% in June. The share price rise was rather surprising as the firm’s first-quarter earnings, which led to the surge, saw its revenue of $567.7 million beat FactSet estimates of $566.8 million by a hairline and its $0.76 earnings fall short of $1.01 in estimates. Investors were impressed by management commentary which indicated that its revenue, operating income, and cash flow would improve in the coming months. Here is what Cramer said about Dave & Buster’s Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAY):
“Dave & Buster’s actually had a nice little run here. It’s become a little more fat. Dave & Buster and Urban Outfitters are the two outliers. People forgot about them, they let them forget, and that’s just wrong.”
Patient Capital Management mentioned Dave & Buster’s Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAY) in its Q1 2025 investor letter. Here is what the firm said:
“Dave & Buster’s Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAY) trended lower over the first quarter as the market continued to worry about revenue visibility. The company had a disappointing 2024, culminating in the abrupt departure of then-CEO Chris Morris. Founded in 1982 in Dallas, Texas, the company has expanded to over 200 venues in North America across two brands (Dave & Busters, and Main Event). The company is in the middle of a multi-year transformation focused on reinvigorating growth through store remodels, store expansions, and technology upgrades while enhancing margins through cost optimizations and synergies. Despite the efforts, the results haven’t yet materialized in the numbers as the challenging macro environment continues to weigh on consumer expenditures. In the meantime, an activist, Hill Path Capital, has built up a position in the company and taken two board seats. With the Chairman of the Board stepping in as CEO, we are already starting to see improved results with the focus on a back-to-basics strategy delivering better than expected results in March and April. While the timing of business model inflection remains uncertain, what’s clear is the stock is trading at an all-time low valuation of 6.8x forward earnings. As the company works to improve its operations, they’ve been actively returning cash to shareholders through buybacks, repurchasing 12% of shares outstanding over the last 12 months.”
While we acknowledge the potential of PLAY 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 PLAY and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
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