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Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI) was one of the stocks on Jim Cramer’s radar as he highlighted AI winners to buy for 2026. Cramer praised the company’s balance sheet, as he remarked:
… In the past 12 months, Monarch Casino & Resorts has rallied nearly 50%, trouncing both the S&P 500 and its larger rivals in the casino space… This thing deserves its incredible rally. Monarch reported a terrific quarter a little over two weeks ago. Monarch’s got a clean balance sheet with basically zero long-term debt, regular capital investment at both properties, takes market share from their competitors, and steady cash return for shareholders…
How about the stock itself? Well, Monarch now, it sells for roughly 18 times this year’s earnings, and given its growth rate, I think that’s a fair price. This is clearly a good one, although I’m wary of getting too bullish on a consumer discretionary name right now with the price of gasoline going ever higher. Still, we need to understand this story and how come Monarch keeps outperforming the heavy hitters in the space. Most of these stocks have been hammered since the war with Iran started, okay, because oil spiked. People are very worried about the state of consumer now. You know that. I think the real problem with the big international casinos though is not the state of consumer here. It’s the state of consumer overseas…
So here’s the bottom line… It’s a nice, clean story in the regional casino space, and you could do far worse than owning a focused operator that’s steadily growing its market share and putting up consistent growth. That said, the stock’s already had a big move, so if you want a piece of it, here’s what I recommend: Wait for a pullback before you pull the trigger. If the world comes down a bit and China and the Middle East go back to being attractive again, then the big international casino plays might go back to being better investments. For now, though, it’s just much easier to own a stock like Monarch than it is to bet on those other major players, isn’t it?
Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI) owns and operates hotel and casino properties in addition to dining venues, including fine dining steakhouses, international kitchens, and casual eateries.
While we acknowledge the potential of MCRI as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.
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