Jim Cramer advises against pessimism: ‘Reflexive negativity is not a smart strategy’

May 15, 2025

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Thursday told investors not to approach the stock market with an overly pessimistic attitude. He gave a few examples of stocks that saw gains recently after they were “written off” by some on Wall Street.

“You can be as cynical and corrosive as you want about the vast majority of things in the world, in life,” he said. “But if you’re trying to make big money in the stock market, you’re actually better off being critical and constructive. Reflexive negativity is not a smart strategy.”

Cramer pointed to Walmartbeat. But shares fell before open when management struck a cautious tone about the impact of tariffs, he continued. Cramer said he found the loss surprising, pointing to Walmart’s strong advertising revenue stream, sheer scale and balance sheet. Walmart, he claimed, is “one of the rare companies that can cope” with the industry-wide issue of higher tariffs. He noted the stock managed to even out by close.

Too many investors doubted Disneyquarter last week that beat estimates — thanks, in part, to better-than-expected growth in streaming subscribers.

Cramer also mentioned Nvidia

“If you examined these same opportunities with a jaundiced eye, too critical, too negative,” he said. “You would’ve passed on all of them. But if you were open-minded, if you were constructive, any one of these could easily have made you a boatload of money.”

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Disclaimer The CNBC Investing Club holds shares of Nvidia.

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