Jim Cramer Called This Stock “Terrific” and Said “No Thank You” to APLD Stock. Here’s Why
Jim Cramer praised one AI-adjacent name, dismissed a housing supplier on instinct, and rejected a data-center story on principle, but his cash-first filter may be the wrong tool for at least one of those calls.
On the September 9 Mad Money lightning round, Jim Cramer endorsed one AI-adjacent name, brushed off a housing supplier, and dismissed a data-center buildout story on principle. His words: “Akamai, the cybersecurity company I think is terrific” and, on Builders FirstSource, “No, thank you.” On Applied Digital, he said, “I’ve got, you know, I’m really focused on companies that are making money.”
Across three tickers in three sectors, the common screening philosophy is cash generation first, and the useful exercise is to run each call against the live financials to see which ones hold up under that lens.
Akamai: The “Terrific” Call Is Mostly Earned
Cramer called Akamai (NASDAQ:AKAM | AKAM Price Prediction) a cybersecurity company, which is a loose characterization given that Akamai began as a content delivery network and is rebuilding around security and cloud infrastructure, a different mix than Cloudflare’s edge-native platform.
The pivot is showing up in the numbers. Q2 2026 Cloud Infrastructure Services revenue was $99 million, up 39% year-over-year, and security revenue was $604 million, up 10%. Delivery continued to fade, down 6%.
Moreover, CEO Tom Leighton said multi-year CIS commitments signed so far this year total more than $2.8 billion, and that overall revenue growth should accelerate into the low teens in 2027. GPU capacity is completely sold out. See the Q1 2026 8-K for the frontier-AI contract framing.
Shares closed at $107.13, up 39.58% over one year. With a forward P/E near 14x and an analyst target of $153.31, the call is earned.
Builders FirstSource: A Cyclical Trough Story
Cramer’s Builders FirstSource rejection came down to preference rather than a fundamentals argument. He would rather own a retailer with a repair-and-remodel base than a supplier further down the chain.
The Q2 print supports his caution on timing. Builders FirstSource (NYSE:BLDR) posted adjusted EPS of $1.17, missing the $1.27 consensus, on revenue of $3.86 billion, down 8.77% year-over-year.
In addition, adjusted EBITDA fell 34.9% to $329.3 million, margin compressed 350 basis points to 8.5%, and net leverage sits at 3.6x. Shares are down 57.95% over one year to $58.98.
CEO Peter Jackson said the company sees “a trend towards stabilization” in margins, but multifamily and Texas remain weak. The supplier is more cyclical and more levered to starts than a retailer, so Cramer is right to prefer the retailer for now.
The name looks like a cyclical asset trading near a cyclical low, and his caution on timing fits his stated philosophy.
Applied Digital: Is This the Wrong Call?
Cramer wants companies making money. Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) is not, on a GAAP basis. That is where a profitability screen misfires on an infrastructure buildout.
The contracted book is the story. Applied Digital ended fiscal Q4 2026 with $36 billion of total contracted long-term lease value, roughly 76% with investment-grade hyperscalers, across 1.41 gigawatts of contracted critical IT load.
Q4 revenue was $258.7 million, adjusted EBITDA reached $42.4 million, and NOI margin was 91% on operating capacity. CEO Wes Cummins said the company expects a $1 billion NOI run rate a year from now, three years ahead of schedule.
GAAP losses of $111.6 million reflect stock-based comp and depreciation against only the first 100 megawatts online. Screening this against a mature-cash-flow filter is like judging a REIT during construction. That said, if the AI buildout stops or companies start pulling back on their commitment, Cramer can still be proven right on APLD stock.
Where Akamai Stands After the Call
Cramer’s throughline was a preference for cash over narrative, which is a reasonable posture for most readers most of the time. It is the wrong lens for Applied Digital specifically, where take-or-pay contracts with investment-grade tenants are the asset.
On Akamai, the primary name here, the pivot is validated, security is growing double digits, and the forward multiple near 14 understates the CIS trajectory. Analyst consensus target of $153.31 sits well above the current $107.13, implying the market is still discounting the CIS ramp even as the legacy delivery drag is largely reflected in the multiple.
On balance, the legacy delivery drag looks priced in, while the AI infrastructure book does not yet appear reflected in the current multiple.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Omor Ibne Ehsan is a writer at 24/7 Wall St. He is a self-taught investor with a focus on growth, cyclical, and dividend equities that have strong fundamentals, value, and long-term potential. He also has an interest in high-risk, high-reward investments such as penny stocks.
