After years of unconditionally backing Jensen Huang and Nvidia (NASDAQ), Jim Cramer’s confidence in the chipmaker has been shaken by the controversy surrounding its chief executive. And the reasons are understandable.
Cramer’s investment thesis on Nvidia has always been closely tied to Huang’s leadership. The CNBC host has repeatedly praised Huang as a visionary capable of transforming entire industries through artificial intelligence. He believed so strongly in Nvidia that he even named his dog after the company in 2017.
But with Huang’s future now uncertain following allegations involving a suspected Chinese spy, Cramer’s longtime conviction is facing a serious test. The controversy has raised questions about Huang’s reputation and whether he can continue leading the company.
Cramer recently downgraded Nvidia from a buy to a hold, citing uncertainty surrounding the investigation.
Billionaires Ray Dalio and Philippe Laffont both trimmed their Nvidia stakes in the second quarter, even before this controversy began. See which AI stocks they still own.
That doesn’t mean Cramer has turned bearish on the entire stock market.
While the Nvidia controversy and concerns about massive AI infrastructure spending have made him increasingly cautious, Cramer believes there are still plenty of attractive investment opportunities elsewhere.
During the recent CNBC Investing Club’s annual meeting, Cramer and portfolio director Jeff Marks reviewed over 30 stocks in the Club’s portfolio, identifying several companies they remain bullish on. Cramer has also continued to highlight investment opportunities outside the increasingly volatile AI trade.
Against this backdrop, we take a look at 10 stocks Jim Cramer is bullish on, ranked by the number of hedge funds holding stakes in them at the end of the second quarter of 2026.
Before this controversy, two well-known billionaires were backing Nvidia as an AI stock. See who they are.
In late October, when worries about AI spending first picked up, Cramer named 10 stocks he was bullish on. Check that list here.
Methodology
To pick the stocks, we went through CNBC’s coverage of Jim Cramer’s latest stock picks, mainly the reports on his CNBC Investing Club annual meeting. From that coverage, we selected 10 stocks that Cramer is bullish on. We then ranked them by the number of hedge funds holding stakes in each one at the end of the second quarter of 2026, using 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. Insider Monkey’s quarterly newsletter strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 612% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 375 percentage points (see more details here).
You can see the top 5 stocks in this list on our video by clicking the image below.
#10. Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 53
Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) is one of the consumer products companies Jim Cramer explicitly recommended buying during CNBC Investing Club’s annual meeting on Nov. 6.
The company, known for brands such as Huggies and Kleenex, had recently delivered better-than-feared third-quarter results, reinforcing Cramer’s confidence in its operating outlook.
Cramer was also optimistic about Kimberly-Clark’s acquisition of Kenvue, the company behind Tylenol and Neutrogena. He expressed confidence in CEO Michael Hsu’s ability to improve Kenvue’s operations following the transaction, while also highlighting Kimberly-Clark’s dividend as an attractive feature.
During the annual meeting, Cramer offered a specific buying strategy for investors interested in the stock. He suggested that someone planning to build a 100-share position could start by purchasing 25 shares immediately.
The recommendation made Kimberly-Clark one of only two stocks Cramer explicitly identified as buy-now opportunities in the Nov. 6 portfolio review. Kimberly-Clark has raised its dividend for over 50 years in a row, and many income investors still overlook it. Read why it is a Dividend King to know.
#9. FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 81
FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX) was the other stock Cramer explicitly recommended buying during the CNBC Investing Club’s November annual meeting.
The CNBC host has been impressed by CEO Raj Subramaniam’s efforts to improve the logistics company’s profitability through cost reductions, a greater focus on higher-value shipments and operational improvements.
Cramer and his team also highlighted warehouse robotics as a potential driver of additional efficiency gains.
The Investing Club pointed to management’s optimistic outlook for the holiday shipping season and the possibility of lower oil prices, which could provide relief from transportation costs.
Cramer also believes FedEx has opportunities to capture market share from rival United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) as it continues to improve its operations.
The combination of cost-cutting initiatives, productivity improvements and a potentially favorable operating environment underpinned Cramer’s recommendation to purchase FedEx shares at prevailing levels. Longleaf Partners Fund also discussed how FedEx’s sharper focus and higher yield showed up in its results in its second-quarter 2026 investor letter. Check the full letter here.
#8. CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 89
CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) remains one of Cramer’s favored cybersecurity investments as artificial intelligence creates new challenges for corporate security.
In the November CNBC Investing Club portfolio review, Cramer and his team argued that increasingly sophisticated AI-driven cyber threats could strengthen demand for CrowdStrike’s security platform.
The company provides cloud-based cybersecurity services that help businesses identify and respond to attacks across devices, networks and cloud infrastructure.
Cramer’s bullish thesis centers on the idea that as businesses deploy more AI tools, they will also require increasingly sophisticated cybersecurity protections.
The Investing Club maintained its positive outlook on CrowdStrike, although it acknowledged periodically reducing its position to prevent the stock from becoming too large a percentage of the portfolio.
The Club’s willingness to retain a substantial investment despite those trims reflects its confidence in CrowdStrike’s long-term growth opportunities. Burke Wealth Management made a similar move in the third quarter. It trimmed its CrowdStrike stake even though it still likes the company’s AI security outlook. Find out why in the letter.
#7. The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 90
The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) is among the industrial stocks Cramer has recently been buying despite continuing challenges at the aircraft manufacturer.
During the Nov. 6 Investing Club review, Cramer and Marks disclosed that the Club had purchased Boeing shares following the company’s post-earnings selloff and remained interested in adding more.
Boeing had pushed back its target of generating $10 billion in annual free cash flow by approximately one year, disappointing investors who had anticipated a faster recovery.
However, Cramer’s team remained confident in CEO Kelly Ortberg’s efforts to improve Boeing’s operations.
The Investing Club also identified lower oil prices and resilient global air travel demand as potential catalysts for commercial aircraft orders.
Cramer viewed the stock’s post-earnings weakness as an opportunity to increase exposure to Boeing’s longer-term turnaround, even as the company continues working through production and financial challenges. Boeing’s second-quarter 2026 report showed a loss on paper, but Wall Street focused on the company’s operating comeback. Read the full story here.
#6. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 92
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) is another financial stock Jim Cramer has recently been buying as he seeks opportunities outside the crowded AI infrastructure trade.
During the Nov. 6 portfolio review, Cramer and his team disclosed that the Investing Club had added to its Goldman Sachs position and remained willing to purchase additional shares.
The Club highlighted the investment bank’s valuation of approximately 12 times earnings, which it considered inexpensive relative to the strength of Goldman’s investment banking and trading operations.
Cramer’s team also identified Goldman Sachs’ role as a lead underwriter for Anthropic’s planned initial public offering as a potential catalyst.
The Club’s decision to increase its position reflected confidence in Goldman Sachs’ earnings prospects and valuation, particularly as investors reassess exposure to companies tied directly to AI infrastructure spending. Billionaire Ken Fisher also likes Goldman Sachs, and the bank beat estimates in its third-quarter report. See if it is a buy after earnings.
#5. Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 94
Wells Fargo & Company is another banking stock Cramer remains optimistic about. In the Nov. 6 CNBC Investing Club review, Cramer and his team highlighted the removal of Wells Fargo’s asset cap as an important development for the bank’s long-term growth prospects.
The Club praised CEO Charlie Scharf for improving operations and investing in businesses that generate fee-based revenue, including investment banking.
Cramer’s team also considered Wells Fargo shares attractively valued and expressed optimism about the company’s prospects heading into 2027.
Although the Investing Club did not issue an immediate buy recommendation, its commentary reflected a positive long-term view of the bank’s transformation and earnings potential. Goldman Sachs added Wells Fargo to its US Conviction List in July and said the bank is moving from defense to offense. Read Goldman’s view here.
#4. Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 99
Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) is one of the enterprise software companies Jim Cramer continues to favor despite growing investor concerns about AI potentially disrupting traditional software businesses.
During the Nov. 6 portfolio review, Cramer and his team expressed confidence in Salesforce’s strategy of working with leading artificial intelligence developers.
It’s not clear how long Cramer can stay bullish on Salesforce. The AI onslaught is taking a direct jab at Salesforce’s business. Microsoft and Alphabet are a growing threat because they spend far more on research and development and run their own clouds. Smaller players such as Palantir and HubSpot are also growing faster than Salesforce. Over the past five years, Salesforce’s share of the CRM software market has dropped to 20% from 24%.
Salesforce’s profit margins also face pressure because the company does not own a cloud. It rents computing power from Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud. Salesforce is moving from charging per user seat to charging for AI usage. As that happens, it will pay more to these cloud providers, which could push its gross margin lower. The same cloud giants also compete with Salesforce, so it has little room to raise prices.
Antipodes Global Fund said in its third-quarter 2026 investor letter that the growth of Agentforce, Salesforce’s AI agent platform, is strengthening the company’s AI story. Check the full letter here.
#3. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 169
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) remains one of Jim Cramer’s favored long-term investments, even as concerns about artificial intelligence spending have unsettled parts of the technology sector.
During the Nov. 6 CNBC Investing Club review, Cramer and his team reiterated their conviction in Apple as a stock investors should hold for the long term rather than attempt to trade around short-term market fluctuations.
The Club said Apple enjoys a notable advantage in the AI race because it can incorporate technology developed by partners such as Alphabet into its products without committing the same enormous sums to building data centers.
What Cramer is saying actually forms the basis of Apple’s bull case. Apple has found a low-cost way to compete in AI. It partnered with Alphabet to use the Gemini model to power its new Siri, so it does not need to build massive data centers of its own. Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon and Meta are spending huge sums on AI infrastructure every year, while Apple keeps its spending low and protects its cash.
The new Siri also makes the iPhone harder to leave. It pulls details from users’ messages, emails and photos to give more personal answers. The longer people use it, the more it learns about them, and switching to another phone would mean losing that history. Apple also has a new way to make money from AI. Basic AI features are free today, but management has confirmed that paid tiers are coming.
Billionaire Ken Fisher shares Cramer’s long-term view on Apple. Find out if you should buy the stock.
#2. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 273
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) remains one of Jim Cramer’s preferred technology stocks as investors increasingly scrutinize the enormous sums being spent on artificial intelligence infrastructure.
In the Nov. 6 CNBC Investing Club portfolio review, Cramer and his team praised Microsoft’s financial discipline and its ability to maintain positive free cash flow despite substantial investment in AI and cloud computing.
Cramer believes a slowdown in data center development could benefit Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ) by reducing construction costs and easing pressure on capital spending.
Microsoft already operates extensive data center infrastructure, giving it an advantage over smaller competitors that depend on new construction to expand their businesses.
A slower pace of development could also reduce pressure on capital spending and improve free cash flow, strengthening Microsoft’s position amid growing concerns about the sustainability of massive AI investments.
Cramer’s bullish view centers on Microsoft’s ability to continue benefiting from AI adoption while maintaining a financially resilient business. Microsoft is also a top AI pick of billionaire Ken Fisher, even though the stock barely moved over the past year. Click to read our full analysis.
#1. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 369
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is one of Jim Cramer’s latest explicit stock recommendations amid concerns about slowing data center development.
In a Nov. 9 CNBC commentary, Cramer said a slowdown in the construction of new data centers could actually benefit established cloud computing companies such as Amazon and Microsoft.
Why? Cramer believes companies with extensive existing infrastructure would be better positioned than smaller competitors whose growth depends on continued construction and financing.
Cramer specifically recommended Amazon shares and discussed the possibility of the stock reaching $300, representing nearly 10% upside from its trading level at the time.
The bullish recommendation followed the CNBC Investing Club’s Nov. 6 portfolio review, in which Cramer and Marks expressed confidence in Amazon’s latest quarterly performance. Amazon is also one of the four stocks that both President Trump and Nancy Pelosi bought. See the other three picks.
Before its latest earnings report, Amazon was the top AI stock pick shared by Cramer and billionaire Ken Fisher. Read our full take on the stock.
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