In this article, we will look at Jim Cramer’s stock calls as he discussed the bullish AI investment thesis amid the Iran conflict. On Monday, the host of Mad Money spoke about oil prices, the broader market, and developments in technology.
From the stock market’s perspective, the most dangerous day in this entire war was when Israel struck an Iranian oil facility. That unleashed attacks on all the surrounding countries’ oil infrastructure. That cemented higher prices in our minds. But Trump has now decided to lay off Iran’s oil industry and even let them export their oil. He’s making a point that he isn’t going to attack Iran’s oil infrastructure. I’m not saying he won’t change his mind… But he seemed to be ready for whatever happens, including an end to the war. Traders seemed to welcome his swagger.
READ ALSO: Buy, Sell, or Hold? Jim Cramer Evaluates 14 Stocks and the Fragile Food Market and Jim Cramer Answered Questions About 13 Stocks: Eli Lilly, Meta, and More.
Cramer also said the conversation is already moving toward the next phase of artificial intelligence, citing NVIDIA’s upcoming Vera Rubin chip. He said the new generation could enable AI agents to reason at levels comparable to those of humans and, in some instances, even surpass human capabilities. He emphasized that once tensions tied to Iran begin to ease, attention will return to fundamentals such as earnings and sales, which ultimately drive stock prices. He described NVIDIA as the most profitable company he has ever seen and pointed out that its stock is still trading at $183.
I know a lot of you aren’t willing to think past the war, I get that, but if you’re going to manage your own money, I’m urging you to look further into the future… When this market can look past Iran, it’s going to buy AI and everything in it because this is the future. You just can’t see it because so many things are going wrong in the world, but it’s only when things go wrong that the bargains surface. Here’s the bottom line: Stop, listen, and learn. The opportunities are all around me.
Our Methodology
For this article, we compiled a list of 6 stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer during the episode of Mad Money aired on March 16. We listed the stocks in the order that Cramer mentioned them.
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 498.7% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 303 percentage points (see more details here).
Jim Cramer’s Bullish AI Investment Thesis Amid Iran Conflict: 6 Stocks in Focus
6. ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW)
ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) is one of Jim Cramer’s latest stock calls as he discussed the bullish AI investment thesis amid the Iran conflict. Toward the end of the lightning round, a caller inquired about the stock, and here’s what Cramer had to say in response:
Well, I have to tell you, I’m never going to bet against Bill McDermott, certainly not down here. But I don’t know if it’s long-term, but I do think that the company represents actual value at these prices.
ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) provides a cloud platform that supports digital workflows through AI, automation, low-code tools, analytics, and a suite of IT, security, customer service, and employee experience products. While discussing potential undervalued software buys during the February 6 episode, Cramer mentioned the company and said:
ServiceNow, which we had on the show last week, is also starting to look good, down over 50% from its high. They’re expected to grow earnings by 19% this year. And though you’d have to still pay a slight premium with the stock selling for nearly 24 times this year’s numbers, that’s down from nearly 70 times forward earnings at the end of 2024. ServiceNow also announced a big buyback last week, including a $2 billion accelerated buyback. So you have to assume that they’ll be right there buying along with you.
5. Zeta Global Holdings Corp. (NYSE:ZETA)
Zeta Global Holdings Corp. (NYSE:ZETA) is one of Jim Cramer’s latest stock calls as he discussed the bullish AI investment thesis amid the Iran conflict. Answering a caller’s query about the stock during the lightning round, Cramer said:
Oh, Zeta Global, oh, man. That’s right in the crosshairs of what nobody likes right now. I’m not willing to go there. I would say that Salesforce did well in that bond offering, though.
Zeta Global Holdings Corp. (NYSE:ZETA) provides a cloud-based platform that helps businesses manage consumer relationships through data intelligence and marketing automation. The company uses AI-powered tools and messaging services to analyze behavioral signals and deliver targeted advertising. We recently discussed the company’s latest earnings report. You can read about it here.
4. Arm Holdings plc (NASDAQ:ARM)
Arm Holdings plc (NASDAQ:ARM) is one of Jim Cramer’s latest stock calls as he discussed the bullish AI investment thesis amid the Iran conflict. Cramer noted that the company is becoming “increasingly important” to the semiconductor industry, as he stated:
As we celebrate all things AI at NVIDIA’s annual conference, I want to highlight a company that’s become increasingly important to the entire semiconductor industry: Arm Holdings. This semiconductor design company cut its teeth providing CPU designs that maximize energy efficiency, especially for smartphones. That expertise has made Arm the preferred partner for many AI systems, including NVIDIA’s. That said, for some reason, the stock has been stuck in a rut, trading sideways for the past couple of years. Can it get its mojo back? Because I gotta tell you, it’s got the earnings back… The stock is up since the last quarter, but nowhere near reflecting the kind of book of business that Rene has just outlined for the next year and a half.
Arm Holdings plc (NASDAQ:ARM) designs and licenses CPU architectures, system IP, and software used across automotive, computing, consumer, and IoT applications.
3. Synopsys, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNPS)
Synopsys, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNPS) is one of Jim Cramer’s latest stock calls as he discussed the bullish AI investment thesis amid the Iran conflict. Cramer showed bullish sentiment while discussing the company during the episode, as he said:
Since we’re at NVIDIA’s GTC event, it’s time to take a closer look at some of the AI kingpin’s most important partners. Take Synopsys, that’s a leader in electronic design and automation for semiconductors and electric components. It’s now a big player in engineering, simulation, and analysis following its acquisition of Ansys last year. Not only are they a key part of the chip food chain, but they also rely heavily on AI and accelerated computing to help their clients design better products. Now, this stock’s come in pretty significantly since last summer. This is off 35% from its highs last July… Long a company we have championed since the beginning of Mad Money.
Synopsys, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNPS) provides design and verification solutions for the semiconductor and electronics industries. It offers digital design tools, AI-driven software, and silicon-proven IP products that assist with the creation and manufacturing of integrated circuits. We recently mentioned the stock while discussing the best NASDAQ stocks to buy according to hedge funds. You can read more here.
2. Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) is one of Jim Cramer’s latest stock calls as he discussed the bullish AI investment thesis amid the Iran conflict. While Pfizer was not relevant for the AI theme, when a caller inquired about the stock, Cramer said:
Okay… Pfizer is not an espresso. Pfizer is more like Nescafé, but that’s okay. It’s at $26. It yields 6.4%. It’s got a lot of stuff in the pipeline.
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) develops and sells medicines and vaccines for several health conditions, including heart disease, infections, COVID-19, and rare diseases. Cramer talked about the stock during the Squawk on the Street episode aired on January 12, as he commented:
Pfizer, you know, principal vaccine company in the country. I think we have to accept Carl that the vaccine business is under fire. I don’t think that Dr. Bourla is ready for a fight with RFK Jr. I think RFK Jr. wins on this. Let’s see what Pfizer has to say, cause they actually have a lot of important vaccines that maybe should be called into question.
1. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is one of Jim Cramer’s latest stock calls as he discussed the bullish AI investment thesis amid the Iran conflict. Cramer highlighted the company CEO’s keynote speech at the company’s GTC event, as he remarked:
Let’s call it a quasi off switch… a pause button that shocked the pessimists and just created a huge wave of stock buying. And what did they buy?… They bought everything in the room. See, what you see behind me is the wide world of NVIDIA. This is GTC, the AI festival of everything that drives the tech world… They bought the whole wide world of Jensen Huang and everything in it. We went to listen to the keynote speech that Jensen Huang gives every year. He told the tale of endless demand.
You know, this man previously forecasted… in Washington, maybe four months ago, that he had a half a trillion dollars worth of demand for his newer AI chips through the end of next year. Well, that was pretty exciting. And now he’s talking, well, wait a second, he just doubled it. He said there’s an even trillion dollars worth of business by the end of 2027. Yeah, he has a trillion-dollar book of business. NVIDIA’s stock shot up huge when that number came out… Then it gave it up… Getting a little sick of this, frankly, sellers emerge… I believe there will be a delayed reaction. The stock will go higher when analysts digest things because you know what? When you go from a half a trillion to a trillion dollars in sales, it does matter. Jensen told more than just a story of elevated demand. He also announced he had new chips for clients who want more inference-oriented semiconductors at a lower price. One of the reasons why NVIDIA seems stuck, just stuck at $183, epoxied, if anything, is that many of its customers seem determined to make their own chips. I heard a confident Jensen talk about the chips he’s making from a new acquisition, Groq, that are faster, better, and cheaper than anything else out there, including all these chips that these customers are trying to make. There’s no reason for his GPU customers to make their own inference chips if they can buy them for a lower price from Jensen’s NVIDIA.
Again, people yawned, but they won’t yawn when analysts put pen to paper, trust me. On day one, as I strolled the floor here, I saw all the companies that are in the world of NVIDIA, and I realized something. I can’t name a company that isn’t in Jensen’s world… except perhaps this one real competitor, AMD. Can you imagine a world where everyone’s your client? Everyone, because everyone needs computing. I’d say that’s pretty darn extraordinary. Maybe that’s why I think this stock deserves the appellation of being the biggest.
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) develops accelerated computing and AI platforms, GPUs for gaming and professional use, cloud services, robotics and embedded systems, and automotive technologies.
While we acknowledge the potential of NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) 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 NVDA and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026 and 15 Best Safe Dividend Stocks for 2026.
Disclosure: None. Insider Monkey focuses on uncovering the best investment ideas of hedge funds and insiders. Please subscribe to our free daily e-newsletter to get the latest investment ideas from hedge funds’ investor letters by entering your email address below.
Hedge Fund Resource Center