Jim Cramer makes bold buy call on one booming energy stock

When Jim Cramer says a stock is his favorite in a category and mentions it sits in his Charitable Trust as a "very big position," that is not a casual endorsement. Rather, it's a declaration of conviction.

On Mad Money's Lightning Round on June 30, a caller asked about GE Vernova (GEV). Cramer did not hesitate. 

GEV closed July 2 at $1,113.11, down 1.87% on the session but up 70.63% year-to-date and 120.98% over the past year, according to Yahoo Finance. The three-year return of 867.92% tells the story of a company that has become one of the defining beneficiaries of the global power infrastructure buildout.

I want to understand what Cramer is seeing here, because the stock is not cheap by any traditional metric. At over $1,100 per share, the question is whether the business justifies continued accumulation at these levels.

Also Read: GE Vernova News Latest News and Stories

What makes GE Vernova Cramer's top pick in power

GE Vernova operates across three segments: Power, which covers gas, nuclear, hydro, and steam technologies; Wind, which covers onshore and offshore turbines; and Electrification, which handles grid solutions, power conversion, solar and storage, and digital energy management. 

That breadth gives GE the exposure to essentially every layer of the global energy transition simultaneously.

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The AI infrastructure buildout is central to the demand thesis. Data centers require enormous, reliable power. Plus, gas turbines, grid solutions, and electrification infrastructure are the products that deliver it.

GE Vernova is positioned at the intersection of two of the most powerful secular spending trends in the global economy right now: AI infrastructure and energy transition.

Cramer's Charitable Trust holding a "very big position" is meaningful. Why? The Trust requires disclosure and transparency. This is not a casual call. It is a stock he has put real capital behind and is publicly accountable for.

GE Vernova's Q1 2026 results are also the numbers behind the conviction

The Q1 2026 results, reported April 22, gave investors concrete evidence that the backlog is converting to revenue and margins are expanding, according to the GE Vernova earnings release.

• Revenue came in at $9.3 billion, up 16% year over year. 
• $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) beating $1.84 expected EPS, representing a surprise of 7.61%, Zacks reports.
• Orders hit $18.3 billion, up 71% organically, with growth across all segments. 
• The total backlog reached $163 billion, growing $13 billion sequentially in a single quarter. 
• Free cash flow of $4.8 billion more than quadrupled year over year. 
• Adjusted EBITDA nearly doubled to $0.9 billion, with margins expanding 390 basis points to 9.6%.

CEO Scott Strazik highlighted the gas turbine momentum specifically. Gas Power equipment backlog and slot reservation agreements grew from 83 to 100 gigawatts in the quarter. 

The company now anticipates reaching at least 110 gigawatts by year-end 2026, according to the Q1 2026 earnings results. That trajectory is being driven by hyperscaler and utility demand for reliable baseload power to feed data centers.

"Demand is accelerating for our Power and Electrification solutions from a diverse set of customers," Strazik said in the earnings release.

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Raised guidance and what it signals about the second half

Following Q1 results, GE Vernova raised its full-year 2026 guidance across every major metric, according to the Q1 2026 results statement.

• Revenue guidance moved to $44.5 billion to $45.5 billion. 
• Adjusted EBITDA margin guidance was lifted to 12% to 14%, up from 11% to 13%. 
• Free cash flow guidance jumped to $6.5 billion to $7.5 billion, up from $5.0 billion to $5.5 billion.

I keep returning to that free cash flow raise. Moving from a $5 billion to $5.5 billion guidance range to a $6.5 billion to $7.5 billion range in a single quarter, of course, implies management has high confidence in the second-half conversion of its record backlog. 

GE Vernova also held a $10.2 billion cash balance at quarter-end and returned $1.4 billion to shareholders through buybacks and dividends.

Earnings are due July 22, according to GE Vernova. Zacks noted that analysts hold a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy) with a positive Earnings ESP of 10.35%, indicating estimates have been trending upward heading into the print.

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What the chart says about the current setup

My own chart work on GEV adds a useful layer to the Cramer call. The 50-day, 100-day, and 200-day moving averages sit at approximately $1,052, $959, and $794, providing layered support in the event of an extended pullback. 

An ascending trendline that has been tested more than five times as both support and resistance sits near $890 to $900, representing the deepest meaningful pullback level without breaking the broader uptrend.

TheStreet TradingView

The more immediate observation is that GEV hit a resistance zone near $1,170 to $1,180 in the most recent session and was rejected, resulting in the 1.87% decline on July 2.

That rejection suggests the stock may see a period of consolidation or a modest pullback to build sufficient liquidity for a sustained break higher.

My read of the technical setup is constructive but patient. If GEV breaks above the $1,170 to $1,180 resistance zone and closes above it with momentum, bullish continuation is confirmed, and the Cramer buy signal gets full technical validation. 

Until that breakout holds, the range between current prices and the trendline support around $890 to $900 defines the risk parameter for new buyers. The July 22 earnings report is the most likely strong catalyst to resolve that range in either direction.

A continued strong result, particularly on backlog conversion and gas turbine order flow, would be exactly what is needed to push the stock through resistance, if we do not have flipped it to support by then.

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