The beginning of the year is a wildly emotional time, says Jim Cramer
Speakers
Jim Cramer
— Host, Mad Money
Summary
Jim Cramer explains that the start of the year is emotional, with momentum buyers, tax-loss rebound buyers, and buyers of mistakenly sold stocks creating a strong tape. He highlights the AI-driven data explosion as a major catalyst for storage stocks like Western Digital, SanDisk, Seagate, and Micron, noting short covering is amplifying the move. He also points to a shortage of machines that make memory chips, which is lifting semiconductor capital equipment makers Lam Research, Applied Materials, and KLA. Cramer warns that such emotional buying can become irrational.
- January buyers are coalescing into a strong tape, lifting the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq.
- AI-driven data growth is fueling a storage-industry boom.
- Western Digital, SanDisk, Seagate, and Micron are surging on momentum and short covering.
- A shortage of memory-chip manufacturing equipment is benefiting Lam Research, Applied Materials, and KLA.
- Cramer cautions that emotional buying can become irrational.
- The transcript ends mid-sentence as Cramer discusses hard-drive industry capex.
Ideas
AI data boom drives storage stock momentum.
The AI revolution has caused an explosion of data, leaving the storage industry unable to handle it. This is driving huge momentum buying in data-storage names like Western Digital, SanDisk, Seagate, and Micron, compounded by short sellers covering positions ahead of these buyers. The stocks keep running because of the AI-driven storage shortage and momentum/short-squeeze dynamics, though Cramer warns this emotional buying can become irrational.
Memory-chip equipment shortage lifts semicap makers.
There is a shortage of machines that make memory chips, which is driving semiconductor capital equipment makers like Lam Research, Applied Materials, and KLA higher. The equipment makers are a key beneficiary of the AI/storage supply-chain bottleneck and are rallying as a result.
