CNBC’s Jim Cramer said a sharp drop in stocks could be painful for investors, but it could also create opportunities for those who want to ignore the fear-based narrative and focus on fundamentals.
“Tailspins can be very nasty,” Kramer said on Tuesday’s “Mad Money” show. “It’s very hard to hold onto a stock you own when it’s in turmoil. But sometimes the market just happens to be wrong, and it’s worth riding out the turbulence.”
After a down day like Tuesday’s session, when the three major U.S. stock averages all fell about 0.6%, Cramer pointed to several examples of hot stocks that have made strong recoveries after being written off by Wall Street.
first, cloud strikesaw its stock price plummet in 2024 after a flawed software update disrupted millions of Microsoft systems around the world. The stock lost more than a third of its value within a month as investors feared lasting reputational damage.
But by the end of 2024, the stock had surpassed its pre-blackout levels and “we never looked back,” Cramer said. That is, until late 2025, when investors began to fear new competition from artificial intelligence companies. Those concerns were reinforced recently when Anthropic touted its new Mythos model and the AI startup highlighted its effectiveness in finding vulnerabilities in software.
But Kramer argued that those promoting CrowdStrike with such headlines were misguided. Rather than replacing cybersecurity companies, AI tools may actually increase spending on security. That view gained momentum Tuesday after KeyBanc upgraded the stock to a buy-equivalent rating, citing the benefits of AI to its business. The stock price rose 3.8% even as the overall market struggled.
“AI and humanity have not been headwinds for cybersecurity,” Kramer said. It was a tailwind.
A similar pattern occurred microsoft. After hitting an intraday high of more than $555 in late July, the stock fell to $356 in late March, weighed down by skepticism about the company’s AI products and broader software demand.
Despite the negative sentiment, Cramer said the company’s core strengths, including its Azure cloud platform and leading enterprise software franchises, remain intact. Citi’s recent bullish research note pointing to strong demand reignited the stock, which closed Tuesday at $424.16 per share.
“I’m glad I didn’t have to let go,” he said of the tech giant’s stake, which his charitable trust has held for years. “It might have been a big mistake.”
Mr. Kramer also emphasized black stonecame under pressure amid concerns about private credit exposure and the potential impact of a downturn in software investment. As concerns grew, the stock fell from around $130 to nearly $100 in just a few weeks, before quickly rebounding as the worst-case scenario did not materialize. Tuesday’s closing price was $128.50 per share, which rose to $133.25 during the session.
“Too many short sellers, not too many failures,” said Cramer, explaining the stock’s rapid reversal of fortunes.
united health group shows another example. Kramer said stocks plummeted last year as insurance companies dealt with a number of problems, including high medical costs and mismanagement. But he said the return of former CEO Stephen Hemsley in May 2025 helped restore investor confidence. And on Tuesday, UnitedHealth reported what Kramer claimed was the “first of many upside surprises.”
All of these examples required “trust in management, trust in the model, trust in the balance sheet, and trust in the comeback,” Kramer said.
Cramer said not all struggling stocks will recover, but investors who can distinguish between a broken story and a broken business are often rewarded over time.
“In a few months…the doubters will say, ‘What were we thinking?'” he said. “What’s the answer? I let fear get the best of me.”
Disclosure: Cramer’s Charitable Trust, a portfolio used by CNBC Investment Club, owns stock in CrowdStrike and Microsoft.
