Shopify (SHOP): “No Clarity on Tariffs – Even My Family’s Confused” – Jim Cramer

Insider Monkey03-20

We recently published a list of Jim Cramer Put These 10 Stocks Under the Spotlight. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP) stands against other stocks that Jim Cramer discusses.

On Friday, Jim Cramer, host of Mad Money, discussed how recently, the market’s movements are largely influenced by the White House, with the Federal Reserve playing a somewhat smaller role. He pointed out that this places investors in a tough spot, especially since the Fed can only adjust interest rates, but the White House can have a much more immediate impact through its posts and announcements. Cramer humorously noted that for one day, the market was free from presidential posts, and it seemed to thrive.

“I want to remind you that at any moment, the president can wreak havoc on anything, I have to say with a gratuitous post, reminding people that there’s more pain ahead.”

READ ALSO: 8 Stocks in Focus Under Jim Cramer’s Game Plan and Jim Cramer’s Latest Lightning Round: 7 Stocks in Focus

Cramer emphasized that he has been critical of what he sees as unnecessary and provocative posts from the president. He noted that these remarks often add to the sense of unease among investors, especially when they hint at more economic pain ahead.

While many are aware of the ongoing trade war, Cramer emphasized that it does not help to repeatedly be reminded of the looming challenges. Right now, he said, people are feeling particularly anxious. He pointed to the alarming drop in the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment survey and highlighted:

“People fear inflation and worry about their savings, which happens to be in many cases, the stock market.”

According to Cramer, many people do not fully understand the implications of tariffs, and since they haven’t been adequately explained, they simply assume tariffs will lead to higher prices at the grocery store, which, unfortunately, is likely true.

Cramer acknowledged that the president and his team have deliberately chosen not to focus on the stock market, likely because they do not want it to become a direct reflection of their performance. While he agrees with this approach, Cramer believes it is still important to recognize that the market is ultimately a gauge of public sentiment.

“Think of the market as a gauge of hope versus despair. The results lately demonstrate despair even if today we finally got a solid session. The cause and effect are so palpable that you don’t need me to tell you how these gains came about.”

Our Methodology

For this article, we compiled a list of 10 stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer during the episode of Mad Money aired on March 14. We listed the stocks in ascending order of their hedge fund sentiment as of the fourth quarter of 2024, which was taken from Insider Monkey’s database of over 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).

Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 64

Expressing concern about tariffs and the possible effects on Canadian companies like Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP), a caller asked if holding onto the stock is wise. Cramer replied:

“I’m stumped on that. You know why I’m stumped on that? Because the people who have come up with these rules about what we’re supposed to do have given us so little clarity whatsoever that I have no idea and I use Shopify all the time.

Actually, two members of my family have businesses with Shopify and we have no idea what to do. Why is that, you think. It’s because we’re being kept in the dark and you know why? Because I think you can’t post longer than a certain number of characters and you need about like 10,000 characters to understand what tariffs mean in Canada or Mexico. Sorry, the moment I get clarity, I’ll give you a buzz.”

Shopify (NYSE:SHOP) provides a platform that enables merchants to oversee and sell their products across different channels, offering tools for managing inventory, processing payments, conducting analytics, and securing financing.

Overall, SHOP ranks 6th on our list of stocks that Jim Cramer discusses. While we acknowledge the potential of SHOP as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than SHOP but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.

Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.

Comments

We need your insight to fill this gap
Leave a comment