Jim Cramer, the host of Mad Money, said Wednesday that the clearest way to understand why certain stocks win, and others fail, is to focus on shortages.

When in doubt, ask if there’s a shortage or a glut of what the company in question sells. If it’s the former, then you can buy. And if it’s the latter, you better get out of dodge. That’s the best cheat sheet I can offer you at this point in earnings season. Shortages are true north, gluts are the kiss of death. And you know what? The averages themselves, they don’t tell you that… They don’t tell you anything.

READ ALSO: Jim Cramer Was Recently Asked About These 9 Stocks and Jim Cramer Talked About These 12 Stocks and the Memory Shortage.

Cramer said that when he looks at the current earnings scoreboard and separates winners from losers, the divide comes down to shortages versus gluts, with this pattern showing up most clearly in tech. He noted that supply constraints can persist for years, and pointed out that it takes roughly four years to build a facility capable of producing memory devices. He added, “So I think the shortage lasts for some time.”

So here’s the bottom line: The best performers in the entire stock market, not tech, the entire stock market, are companies that you may never have heard of. They make things that are in short supply, and their stocks keep soaring. The rest of tech, mixed bag if you don’t have a shortage. Meta and IBM, looking good. Microsoft, sinking. And Tesla, a beast all by itself and a beast that wants to roar higher.

Our Methodology

For this article, we compiled a list of 19 stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer during the episode of Mad Money aired on January 28. We listed the stocks in the order that Cramer mentioned them. We also provided hedge fund sentiment for each stock as of the third quarter of 2025, which was taken from Insider Monkey’s database of 978 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 427.7% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 264 percentage points (see more details here).

Jim Cramer’s Takes on 19 Stocks and Navigating Market Shortages

19. Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 64

Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) is one of the stocks that Jim Cramer shared takes on, along with navigating market shortages. Cramer was bullish on the stock and noted that the Charitable Trust has a “huge position” in it. He commented:

When Brian Niccol took over as CEO of the down-and-out Starbucks in August of 2024, he had one goal: getting you a cup of coffee in four minutes or less. Today, we saw the fruits of his labor, a gigantic upside surprise to the same store sales, how the average store did versus last year. And for a moment, it looked like Wall Street was finally seeing the darn light at the end of the tunnel… The stock eventually pulled back hard over the course of the day. Look, that’s what happens when you run big into the quarter, which is the case here. I still think it was a huge positive…

By changing up customer service standards, having bigger employee rosters, lower partner turnover, and delivering what he called consistent, timely, and personal service, no pizazz, just basic blocking and tackling, he has changed the guts of the experience… The active members reached 35.5 million customers. Rewards transactions grew for the first time in eight quarters,

and even non-reward transactions grew. Highly unusual. In fact, this was the first time Starbucks grew both rewards and non-rewards transactions since the second quarter of fiscal 2022. More transactions, more transactions. That’s what you want, not on price. And that’s how Brian’s been able to win the morning, or I should say win back the morning because Starbucks can finally handle its early traffic…

Tomorrow, Niccol will expand on the turn at his investor day meeting. I think you’ll hear more about what’s returning Starbucks to the rightful place in the morning. Of course, it’s not necessarily a needle mover as this stock had run up into the quarter, as I mentioned, but it makes for a much more compelling long-term story. We have a huge position in Starbucks for the Charitable Trust. We aren’t going to buy more, I can tell you that. But if you don’t own any, I think this turn is solid and long-lasting, and the price is going to be right.

Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) sells coffee, tea, and other beverages, as well as food products, through its stores and licensed outlets. The company’s brands include Starbucks Coffee, Teavana, Seattle’s Best Coffee, Ethos, and Starbucks Reserve.

18. Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE:LAC)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 16

Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE:LAC) is one of the stocks that Jim Cramer shared takes on, along with navigating market shortages. Toward the end of the lightning round, a caller inquired about the stock. In response, Cramer said:

No, we’re not lithium people. We’re not. Well, in some ways, but no, we’re not going to be… Hey, I play with an open hand, but this kind of lithium, no, we’re going to say it’s too speculative for me.

Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE:LAC) operates lithium deposits and processing facilities, with its main project at Thacker Pass. A caller sought Cramer’s advice on the stock during the January 9 episode, and he replied:

No, no, no… Wrong one. You want Albemarle. Even though it’s up a lot, it’s a much safer stock. The symbol is ALB. Let’s go for that one.