Jim Cramer on Automatic Data Processing (ADP): 'Is ADP a Head Fake or the Real Small Biz Signal?'
We recently published a list of . In this article, we are going to take a look at where Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) stands against other stocks that Jim Cramer recently discussed.
In a recent appearance on CNBC's Squawk on the Street, Jim Cramer discussed recent employment data which covered nonfarm payrolls, the unemployment rate, and other details. The figures revealed that nonfarm payrolls grew by 177,000 in April which handily beat economists' forecast of 133,000. Additionally, despite worries about a growth slowdown, recessionary fears, and high interest rates, April's unemployment rate sat unchanged at 4.2%.
Cramer gushed about the data and shared that it was the only data that mattered when it came to considering whether there would be a recession. He commented:
'Really strong numbers and it's one of those this right now the President has that, uh, Truth Social squib, about the Fed should cut. I think the difficulty is a positive difficulty. These are really good numbers and it's not like they're red hot in terms of inflation. I like the fact that a lot of them we haven't seen layoffs yet, from severance, remember from government, that was minus 9,000. The healthcare's up, it's just a good number! I mean, it's a number you expect and like to see when we're, you know kind of worried about a recession! It's a take the recession off the table number!'
While the CNBC host admitted that some regions of the economy were weak, he nevertheless remained optimistic:
'We're supposed to have a pullback. We're just not getting it. Look there are spots that are weak but they tend to be aligned with outfits that aren't doing that well. . . I like these numbers, they make me feel like that the President should have said, uh, it's going to make it so that we might not have to cut rates but hang in there. Maybe things will not be so good so. I mean what does he, don't box yourself Mr. President. . .'
Another theme that Cramer has discussed quite a lot in his morning show this year is the rally in the European stock market. In an April appearance, he remarked 'I think a lot of people say you know what, I keep sending money over there, and I win. So I'm gonna keep sending money over there. Those economies are being juiced by a wartime. . you know they're spending a lot.' This time around, he pointed out that the US was back. 'You know everyone's still talking about the big European rally, said Cramer. He added: 'Hello? It's been a US rally! Let's stop it already. That European rally it occurred, dynamite, I'm going over to Europe, I'll check it out myself.'
Cramer then continued to gush about the jobs report. In fact, he called the reports the North Star of investing:
'I hate to be so simpleminded, but I've done, for one of my books I did this thing about what is the one statistic that you need to know. Over the past forty years. And the statistic is, this Friday. Once a month, you need to know this number. And if this number is true, and you have good employment growth, then you can just take it to the next three weeks. . . .take anything negative off the table because this is the number that is the North Star.'
To make our list of the stocks that Jim Cramer talked about, we listed down the stocks he mentioned during CNBC's Squawk on the Street aired on May 2nd.
For these stocks, we also mentioned the number of hedge fund investors. 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 ().
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 57
Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) is a business services provider that allows firms to make payments, manage human resources, and conduct other operations. Its shares have gained 6% year-to-date as the firm has benefited from beating analyst revenue estimates despite overall souring business sentiment. Cramer commented on the firm in the context of GoDaddy's recent results:
'[On telling GDDY being a proxy for small business] I can, I had them on and I had to believe that somewhat of an execution issue. Again, by the way, they are fantastic, at what they do, so, if I didn't see the small business index and Paychex do so well, I would say this. This is kind of like ADP. I mean was ADP a head fake? Was it a misdirection play yesterday?'
Overall, ADP ranks 1st on our list of stocks that Jim Cramer recently discussed. While we acknowledge the potential of ADP as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than ADP but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this 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.
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