Economists around the world expect U.S. economic growth to slow in coming quarters, and some are still calling for a mild U.S. recession. It may become increasingly difficult for investors to find reliable growth stocks to buy if interest rates remain at 22-year highs for an extended period.
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Nevertheless, growth stocks have outperformed value stocks in 2023, and investors think that trend will continue when the Federal Reserve eventually pivots to rate cuts. Here are 10 of CFRA Research analysts’ top growth stocks that have reported at least 15% annual revenue growth in the past three years.
| Stock | Implied upside from Dec. 18 closing price |
| Alphabet Inc. (ticker: GOOGL) | 15.6% |
| Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) | 16.8% |
| Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) | 19.8% |
| Meta Platforms Inc. (META) | 13.2% |
| Tesla Inc. (TSLA) | 19% |
| Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) | 19% |
| Chevron Corp. (CVX) | 8.2% |
| Salesforce Inc. (CRM) | 13.8% |
| Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) | 8% |
| Netflix Inc. (NFLX) | 9% |
Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL)
Alphabet is one of the world’s largest online search and advertising companies and is the parent company of Google and YouTube. For the third quarter, Alphabet reported 11% year-over-year revenue growth, which included 22% Google Cloud revenue growth. Analyst Angelo Zino says Alphabet has an attractive valuation and tremendous free cash flow and earnings potential. Zino projects between 6% and 11% annual revenue growth through at least 2025. He says Alphabet has several major artificial intelligence opportunities, including AI cloud offerings and new AI enterprise tools. CFRA has a “buy” rating and $157 price target for GOOGL stock, which closed at $135.80 on Dec. 18.
Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN)
E-commerce and cloud services giant Amazon has been one of the best-performing growth stocks of all time. Unfortunately, Amazon shares are down 3.8% in the past three years, as revenue growth has slowed to just 12.6% in the most recent quarter. While Amazon’s growth may not be what it once was, analyst Arun Sundaram says Amazon has become a highly profitable free cash flow machine that has even more efficiencies to unlock ahead, including integrating automation, penetrating emerging markets and enhancing Prime Video features. CFRA has a “buy” rating and $180 price target for AMZN stock, which closed at $154.07 on Dec. 18.
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA)
High-end semiconductor maker Nvidia has been one of the most spectacular growth stories in the entire stock market in the past 15 years. In recent quarters, Nvidia’s growth numbers rebounded in a major way, suggesting a cyclical downturn in the semiconductor market may finally be over. Nvidia’s revenue grew 205% year over year in the third quarter, while its net income skyrocketed by 1,259%. Zino says generative AI is creating unprecedented demand for Nvidia’s chips. He projects 118% revenue growth in fiscal 2024 and 41% growth in 2025. CFRA has a “buy” rating and $600 price target for NVDA stock, which closed at $500.77 on Dec. 18.
Meta Platforms Inc. (META)
Meta Platforms is a market leader in social media and online advertising and is the owner of Facebook, Instagram and other platforms. After three straight quarters of negative year-over-year revenue growth to close out 2022, Meta’s growth rebounded to positive territory in the first half of 2023 and came in at an impressive 23% in the third quarter. Zino says the stock’s attractive valuation, improving margin trajectory and multiple growth opportunities make Meta an excellent investment. He projects 13% revenue growth in 2024 and 12% growth in 2025. CFRA has a “buy” rating and $390 price target for META stock, which closed at $344.62 on Dec. 18.
Tesla Inc. (TSLA)
Tesla is the leading U.S. electric vehicle manufacturer. Tesla’s revenue growth slowed to just 9% in the third quarter, and automotive segment revenue growth was just 5%. Analyst Garrett Nelson says Tesla’s new factories in Texas and Germany, coupled with the first wave of Cybertruck deliveries, set the stage for impressive growth in 2024. Looking ahead, Nelson says the Roadster and Tesla’s next-generation platform will serve as additional growth catalysts. Tesla also benefits from Inflation Reduction Act EV subsidies. Nelson projects 30% revenue growth in 2024. CFRA has a “buy” rating and $300 price target for TSLA stock, which closed at $252.08 on Dec. 18.
[READ: How Much Would $10,000 Invested in Tesla Stock at IPO Be Worth Today?]
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM)
Exxon Mobil is the largest U.S. oil major. Oil majors aren’t traditionally considered high-growth stocks, but favorable energy market conditions in recent years have made oil stocks some of the highest-growth companies in the market. Exxon reported a 19% year-over-year drop in revenue in the third quarter, but revenue was still up about 23% on a two-year basis. Analyst Stewart Glickman says Exxon’s $63 billion planned acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (PXD) could bring Exxon’s exposure to the Permian Basin up to 35% of total production by 2027 from 17% in the second quarter of 2023. CFRA has a “buy” rating and $121 price target for XOM stock, which closed at $101.65 on Dec. 18.
Chevron Corp. (CVX)
Chevron is a global oil major that operates exploration and production, refining, marketing, and petrochemical businesses. Much like Exxon, Chevron’s revenue was down 18% from a year ago in the third quarter but was up 22% on a two-year basis. Glickman says Chevron’s planned $58 billion buyout of Hess Corp. (HES) is attractive from both a strategic and valuation perspective, giving Chevron more exposure to much-needed long-cycle assets. In the longer term, Glickman says Chevron will expand its low-carbon solutions, renewables and hydrogen offerings as well. CFRA has a “buy” rating and $162 price target for CVX stock, which closed at $149.68 on Dec. 18.
Salesforce Inc. (CRM)
Salesforce is the world’s largest provider of cloud-based customer relationship management software. In addition to its organic growth, Salesforce has grown via a string of acquisitions in recent years, including its 2021 buyout of workplace messaging platform Slack. Salesforce reported 11% revenue growth and an impressive 483% net income growth in the third quarter. Zino says Salesforce shares are attractively valued, given the company’s improving profitability and market share gains. He projects annual revenue growth of between 9% and 11% through at least fiscal 2026. CFRA has a “strong buy” rating and $300 price target for CRM stock, which closed at $263.59 on Dec. 18.
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD)
Shares of microprocessor and graphics semiconductor stock Advanced Micro Devices are up a whopping 3,705% over the past decade, but Zino says the stock still has room to run based on booming demand for its data center servers and the ramp-up of its next-generation EPYC processors. AMD reported just 4% revenue growth in the third quarter, but net income was up 353%. Zino says AMD has significantly improved its balance sheet, and he projects revenue growth will continue to accelerate to 21% in 2024. CFRA has a “buy” rating and $150 price target for AMD stock, which closed at $138.90 on Dec. 18.
Netflix Inc. (NFLX)
Netflix is a market leader in video streaming and has more than 247 million paid subscribers around the world. In the third quarter, Netflix reported 7.8% revenue growth and 10.8% global streaming paid memberships growth, which included a nearly 70% quarterly increase in ad-supported plan memberships. Analyst Kenneth Leon says the shift in video viewership from linear TV to streaming will continue to fuel Netflix subscriber growth. Leon says Netflix’s advertising, ad-pay plans and paid share memberships set it apart from streaming competitors. CFRA has a “buy” rating and $530 price target for NFLX stock, which closed at $486.12 on Dec. 18.
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10 Best Growth Stocks to Buy originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 12/19/23: This story was previously published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
