Jim Cramer says these 3 mistakes are keeping investors out of AI winners

CNBC's Jim Cramer said on Thursday investors may be talking themselves out of some of the market's biggest winners. His comments come as shares of Snowflake surged roughly 36% Thursday after the software company reported strong results and highlighted a $6 billion commitment to Amazon Web Services. The " Mad Money " host argued many investors likely weren't able to catch much of the move. Cramer pointed to three reasons why. First, he said many investors have become too dependent on index funds and exchange-traded funds, leaving them unable to benefit from outsized moves in individual stocks. "We're all told that we're only supposed to buy index funds and ETFs," he said. "You aren't getting Snowflake with that policy." To be sure, Cramer isn't opposed to index funds; he's long recommended investors put their first $10,000 into a low-cost index fund tracking the broader market, before advancing to owning single stocks. Cramer also said investors often dismiss opportunities because the investment thesis feels "too obvious." If one software company can find the right AI strategy, he argued, investors should be asking whether others — including Salesforce , Oracle and Microsoft — could benefit as well. Finally, Cramer said many investors remain too scarred by the collapse of internet stocks in 2000 to fully embrace today's AI rally. …