Cramer Club Bets Bigger on GE Vernova and Boeing Dips

The CNBC Investing Club bought more shares of GE Vernova on Tuesday after the AI infrastructure name dropped roughly 6% with the broader group, and added to Boeing as Middle East tensions weighed on the stock. The same afternoon the club upgraded Home Depot and raised its price target after the retailer posted a clean beat in a tough housing market.

These moves landed in the Homestretch update that readies members for the final hour of trading. Jeff Marks and Jim Cramer treated the dips as opportunities rather than warnings.

GE Vernova slips and the club steps in

GE Vernova closed near $1,005 after falling about 6.9% on the day, well below its 52-week high of $1,195.94 set in early July. The Charitable Trust now holds 90 shares, lifting the weighting to roughly 2.3%.

The stock has been a pure expression of the power demand created by AI data centers. Turbines, grid equipment and related gear sit at the center of every hyperscaler build-out, and the company has repeatedly pointed to a multi-year backlog that keeps expanding.

• Day move: roughly -6.9% to about $1,005
• 52-week high: $1,195.94
• New trust holding: 90 shares
• Portfolio weight: about 2.3%

Earlier this year the firm raised multi-year outlook and buyback authorization while doubling its dividend, reinforcing the cash-flow story that Cramer has called one of his favorites. The club treated Tuesday’s drop the same way it has treated other AI-related pullbacks: as a chance to average down while the long-term order book stays intact.

Boeing gets a fresh 25-share add

The club bought 25 shares of Boeing at roughly $225. After the trade the Charitable Trust owns 585 shares. The stock had been pressured by rekindled Middle East tensions that lifted jet fuel costs and raised fresh questions about airline profitability and near-term order timing.

Boeing’s commercial backlog still runs into the thousands of aircraft. Defense work has also received a lift from the same geopolitical backdrop that hurts the airline side. The club’s view is that temporary fuel and traffic disruptions matter less than the multi-year delivery schedule already on the books.

• Fuel-price spikes squeeze airline margins and delay some fleet decisions
• Airspace disruptions and higher operating costs hit Gulf carriers hardest
• Long-term passenger growth and fleet renewal still point to large widebody and narrowbody needs

Similar geopolitical jolts have produced short-lived selling in aerospace names before. The club’s add keeps Boeing as a core holding rather than a trade.

Home Depot beats and earns an upgrade

Home Depot reported second-quarter sales of $47.9 billion, up 5.7% from a year earlier. Comparable sales rose 1.7% overall and 1.3% in the U.S. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $4.92 against expectations near $4.73. The company reaffirmed full-year guidance for sales growth of 2.5% to 4.5% and adjusted EPS growth of flat to 4%.

CFO Richard McPhail told CNBC the company is still operating in “frozen housing market conditions.” Big ticket projects remain soft because shoppers worry about inflation, fuel and broader uncertainty. Yet smaller projects and pro customers kept traffic healthy, and the company continues to take share.

We continue to operate in what I call ‘frozen housing market conditions,’ but we also know that we’re taking share and that we’re serving our customers better every day.

McPhail made that comment on the earnings day. The club responded by upgrading the stock and lifting its price target, calling the quarter the best possible outcome from a difficult hand. Tariff refunds of roughly $730 million in the quarter helped protect margins and keep prices competitive.

TJX earns a pre-earnings nod while Meta draws caution

Cramer said he likes TJX Companies ahead of its earnings report due the following day. The off-price retailer has held up better than many peers in a choppy consumer environment and sits near the top of the club’s retail preferences. At the same time he flagged trouble for one of the club’s tech giants, Meta Platforms, without detailing a new sale.

The contrast is deliberate. Defensive retail names that execute on value and inventory turns sit next to selective adds in AI power and aerospace. The portfolio is not abandoning growth; it is simply refusing to chase every high-multiple name after recent volatility.

How these bets fit the wider book

The GE Vernova purchase continues a pattern of adding to AI infrastructure names on weakness. Earlier moves included memory exposure and data-center suppliers. An earlier Cisco plunge buying call followed the same logic when orders held up. The Boeing add echoes prior willingness to buy aerospace when headlines dominate the tape.

Home Depot’s upgrade rewards operational grit rather than macro optimism. Housing turnover remains low, yet the retailer keeps finding ways to grow comps and protect the bottom line. That same pragmatism shows up in the decision to keep cash available for further dips.

Middle East developments still matter for energy and travel stocks. An oil shock colliding with AI spending has already tested the market’s ability to digest higher yields and higher fuel at the same time. A prior Iran attack market reaction produced similar short-term selling that later reversed once delivery schedules reasserted themselves.

What the afternoon tape showed

By the close the S&P was trying to stabilize after recent skids. Software names gave back some of the prior week’s gains while certain healthcare names bounced on fresh data. The club’s Homestretch focused on actionable positions rather than broad market calls.

GE Vernova’s drop lined up with profit-taking after a strong first-half run driven by AI and grid modernization. Boeing’s pressure tracked the same geopolitical headlines that have repeatedly tested airline and aerospace multiples this year. Home Depot’s beat arrived as proof that execution can still overcome a frozen housing backdrop.

The Charitable Trust remains a concentrated 30-plus name portfolio. Small additions of 25 or 10 shares still shift weightings enough to matter when the thesis is multi-year. Price targets get updated when results force the issue, as they did with Home Depot.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which AI infrastructure stock did the Investing Club buy more of on August 18?

The club added to GE Vernova, bringing the Charitable Trust holding to 90 shares and a weighting of about 2.3% after the stock fell roughly 6-7% with the broader AI infrastructure group.

How many Boeing shares does the club now own after the latest add?

After buying 25 shares at roughly $225, the Charitable Trust owns 585 shares of Boeing.

What were Home Depot’s key Q2 2026 numbers that prompted the upgrade?

Sales reached $47.9 billion (+5.7%), comparable sales rose 1.7%, and adjusted EPS hit $4.92 versus expectations near $4.73; the company also reaffirmed full-year guidance.

Why does the club view GE Vernova as an AI infrastructure name?

GE Vernova supplies turbines, grid equipment and related power infrastructure that data-center operators need as AI compute demand drives massive electricity and cooling requirements.

The afternoon’s wagers leave the portfolio tilted toward power demand that outlasts any single trading session and toward companies that keep delivering when the macro backdrop stays difficult.