Ideas
Medicare rate shock hurts health insurers
CMS raised Medicare Advantage rates by only 0.09%, far below Wall Street expectations of 4% to 5%, which blindsided the industry and crushed insurer stocks. Cramer frames this as a major government cost crackdown under Dr. Oz and a reason to avoid the group; UNH fell 19%, Humana dropped 21%, and CVS tumbled more than 14%.
GM wins from tariffs and deregulation
GM reported a huge profit beat and has benefited from less stringent environmental regulations, tariffs on imported cars, and a strong truck and SUV lineup. Cramer credits management and says CEO Mary Barra is right that 2026 will be even better; the stock jumped almost 9%.
Steel tariffs protect Nucor
Nucor, the largest US steel company, is protected by steel tariffs that block foreign dumping and its CEO says the import picture is the best in 30 years. Cramer sees a supportive pro-US manufacturing trade environment despite a mixed quarter.
Stick with Boeing despite tanker charge
Boeing took a large tanker charge because the Department of War is demanding faster delivery, which hurt the stock, but the government also credited Boeing with a hefty backlog increase. Cramer's travel trust holds a big position and he told club members to stick with the program.
Nvidia should catch up with Mag Seven
Nvidia is only up 1% for the year, which Cramer calls ridiculous given its AI leadership and the rest of the Magnificent Seven. He says it should catch up, and notes Jensen Huang was confident about winning meaningful Chinese business though he kept it out of estimates.
Aerospace boom powers AIR higher
Cramer has long recommended AIR and says the commercial airline parts supplier is part of a great aerospace boom with no sign of slowing down. He calls it a can't-miss stock, even after a 27% year-to-date gain.
Buy Chipotle at reduced valuation
Chipotle has fallen to multi-year lows and sells for about 34 times earnings, which Cramer calls attractive relative to its history. He sees it as a good franchise at a reduced price, recommends putting some stock on, and says buy more if it revisits the $30 low around the February 3 report.
Too late to chase memory stocks
Micron, Western Digital, Seagate, and SanDisk have already tripled or more and are up sharply again in 2026, so Cramer refuses to chase them. He warns that commodity chip makers can be crushed by Korean capacity additions or hyperscaler capex cuts, and says if you do not already own them you are too late.
Semicap equipment is safer chip play
The big four semiconductor capital equipment makers are a relatively safer way to play the chip shortage. TSMC's 2026 capex guide of $52 billion to $56 billion, up 27% to 37%, and Micron's new fab investments mean consistent equipment orders; AI chip manufacturing needs advanced hardware, and these stocks have not run as much as memory and data storage peers.
Gold and silver look blowoff-top risky
Cramer relays Carly Garner's view that gold and silver have moved up too far too fast to justify, with silver's monthly RSI at 94, a 3.5 standard-deviation move, and volatility surpassing COVID and 2021; gold volatility is the highest since the financial crisis and silver could dry up between $110 and $120. She sees a potential sanity-saving correction or blowoff top, though commodity markets can stay irrational longer than bears can remain solvent.
Stay long Ramaco Resources
Cramer says metallurgical coal finally has a chance to work under this president, and he tells the caller to stay in Ramaco Resources rather than take profits. He calls it a great contrary play and says this may be the time it works.
D-Wave commercial deals build momentum
Barretts says D-Wave is the world leader in annealing quantum computing and that the Quantum Circuits acquisition makes it a leader in gate-model systems too, positioning it as a one-stop shop. He points to commercial traction: a $10 million Fortune 100 quantum compute-as-a-service deal, a $20 million Florida Atlantic University system sale, $30 million in January bookings, and a Davidson partnership for Department of War applications including certification for classified work.
Still buying Mueller Industries
Cramer says he was a big holder when Mueller Industries came out of bankruptcy and remains a gigantic believer. He notes the stock has gone straight up, calls it slow and steady, and says he is still a buyer, citing its pipe and infrastructure exposure.
Avoid Figma and design software
Cramer says Figma is good design software but investors got too excited before the stock fell more than 20%. With Adobe flailing and design software too difficult, he does not want to touch the group.
Buy Comfort Systems, add on dips
Comfort Systems supplies HVAC and related systems for data centers and AI buildouts, and Cramer calls it a great company. He would put some stock on now and buy more if it pulls back, after missing earlier gains.
Avoid SPH propane volatility
Cramer rejects SPH as a core dividend holding because propane is too wild and inconsistent, and he says not to mess with propane.
Corning wins Meta fiber deal
Corning rallied more than 15% on a $6 billion fiber optic cable deal with Meta, validating CEO Wendell Weeks's view that fiber is superior to copper in data centers. Cramer's travel trust bought the stock big after visiting Corning, he told club members to own it, and he says do not sell even though earnings are next because other hyperscalers may follow Meta and fiber could eventually move inside chips.
This CNBC video, published January 28, 2026,
features Jim Cramer, Alan Baratz
discussing UNH, HUM, CVS, GM, NUE, BA, NVDA, AIR, CMG, MU, WDC, STX, SNDK, AMAT, KLAC, ASML, LRCX, GLD, SILVER, METC, QBTS, MLI, FIGMA, FIX, SPH, GLW.
17 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.
Speakers:
Jim Cramer,
Alan Baratz
· Tickers:
UNH,
HUM,
CVS,
GM,
NUE,
BA,
NVDA,
AIR,
CMG,
MU,
WDC,
STX,
SNDK,
AMAT,
KLAC,
ASML,
LRCX,
GLD,
SILVER,
METC,
QBTS,
MLI,
FIGMA,
FIX,
SPH,
GLW
