Economists around the world expect muted U.S. economic growth in the coming quarters, and some indicators suggest a mild U.S. recession is still a possibility. It may become difficult for investors to find reliable growth stocks to buy if elevated interest rates have a lagging negative impact on U.S. consumers.
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Nevertheless, growth stocks have outperformed value stocks in 2024, and investors anticipate that trend will continue as the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates. Here are 10 of CFRA analysts’ top growth stocks that have reported at least 15% annual revenue growth in the past three years:
Stock | Upside Potential* |
Nvidia Corp. (ticker: NVDA) | 14.1% |
Alphabet Inc. (GOOG, GOOGL) | 24.4% |
Meta Platforms Inc. (META) | 17.2% |
Tesla Inc. (TSLA) | 10.7% |
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) | -0.8% |
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) | 10.5% |
Mastercard Inc. (MA) | 18.8% |
Salesforce Inc. (CRM) | 6.4% |
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) | 29.5% |
ServiceNow Inc. (NOW) | 4.8% |
*As of Nov. 18 market close.
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. Nvidia’s growth numbers have wowed Wall Street, especially for a company of Nvidia’s size. Nvidia’s revenue grew 122% year over year in its fiscal second quarter, while its net income skyrocketed by 168%. Analyst Angelo Zino says Nvidia’s high exposure to artificial intelligence technology and penetration into edge devices such as high-end PCs, robotics and advanced autos will help the company continue to expand its addressable market. CFRA has a “buy” rating and $160 price target for NVDA stock, which closed at $140.15 on Nov. 18.
Alphabet is one of the world’s largest online search and advertising companies and is the parent company of Google and YouTube. In the third quarter, Alphabet reported 15% revenue growth, which included 35% Google Cloud revenue growth. Zino says Alphabet will sustain double-digit revenue growth in 2025, boosted by the company’s AI innovation. He says AI technology will help improve advertiser experiences, including bidding, targeting, ad creation and performance measurement. Zino says Google Cloud will maintain at least 25% annual sales growth through 2026. CFRA has a “buy” rating and $220 price target for GOOG stock, which closed at $176.80 on Nov. 18.
Meta Platforms Inc. (META)
Meta Platforms is a market leader in social media and online advertising and is the parent of Facebook, Instagram and other platforms. Meta has seemingly found its growth groove, reporting an impressive 19% revenue growth figure in the third quarter. Zino projects 14% revenue growth, at least 10% earnings growth and at least $50 billion in free cash flow for Meta in 2025. He says AI integration will create growth opportunities within Meta’s existing markets and also open up opportunities in new markets. CFRA has a “buy” rating and $650 price target for META stock, which closed at $554.40 on Nov. 18.
Tesla Inc. (TSLA)
Tesla is the leading U.S. electric vehicle
manufacturer. Unfortunately, Tesla’s revenue was up just 8% year-over-year in the third quarter, including just 2% automotive segment revenue growth. Analyst Garrett Nelson says Donald Trump’s recent election win gives him a more favorable view of Tesla’s timeline for regulatory approval of its autonomous driving technology. Nelson projects Tesla’s revenue growth will rebound to 16% in 2025 and 18% in 2026. CFRA has a “buy” rating and $375 price target for TSLA stock, which closed at $338.74 on Nov. 18.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM)
JPMorgan Chase is one of the world’s largest banks and financial services companies, with roughly $3.8 trillion in assets. In 2023, JPMorgan acquired First Republic Bank after it failed during a regional banking crisis and was seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. JPMorgan’s revenue growth dipped to 3% in the third quarter, but it consistently reported double-digit revenue growth in previous quarters. Analyst Kenneth Leon says JPMorgan is gaining wallet share in several different businesses and should benefit from a rebound in investment banking. CFRA has a “buy” rating and $243 price target for JPM stock, which closed at $245.03 on Nov. 18.
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 1% drop in revenue in the third quarter, but that revenue was still up more than 20% on a three-year basis. Analyst Stewart Glickman says the acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources will help Exxon boost its Permian Basin production in the next two years. CFRA has a “buy” rating and $133 price target for XOM stock, which closed at $120.31 on Nov. 18.
Mastercard Inc. (MA)
Mastercard is one of the world’s largest credit card and payments providers. In the third quarter, Mastercard reported 13% revenue growth, 2% net income growth and 10% gross dollar volume growth. Analyst Alexander Yokum says Mastercard has a strong track record of innovation and execution, and he projects it will maintain 12% revenue growth in 2025. Yokum says Mastercard’s economies of scale will help earnings growth outpace revenue growth by about 4% in the coming years. He says China could be a particularly large growth catalyst for Mastercard. CFRA has a “buy” rating and $620 price target for MA stock, which closed at $521.63 on Nov. 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, including its 2020 buyout of Slack. Salesforce reported 8% revenue growth and 12% net income growth in the most recent quarter. Zino says Salesforce is positioned for improving profitability and further market share gains. He also says the stock is attractively valued given he is projecting Salesforce will maintain 7% to 9% annual revenue growth through at least fiscal 2027. CFRA has a “strong buy” rating and $343 price target for CRM stock, which closed at $322.25 on Nov. 18.
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD)
Shares of microprocessor and graphics semiconductor stock Advanced Micro Devices are up a whopping 5,142% over the past decade. AMD reported 18% revenue growth and an impressive 158% net income growth in the third quarter. Even after AMD’s big run, Zino says the ramp up of AMD’s next-generation EPYC processors, its improving balance sheet and its expanding margins make AMD an attractive investment. In addition, Zino says AMD’s wide variety of AI product offerings will help it expand its addressable market. He projects 28% revenue growth in 2025. CFRA has a “buy” rating and $180 price target for AMD stock, which closed at $138.93 on Nov. 18.
ServiceNow Inc. (NOW)
ServiceNow provides cloud-based applications used to manage and automate workplace processes and workflows. ServiceNow reported 21% revenue growth in 2023 and has maintained 22% growth as of the most recent quarter. Analyst Janice Quek says businesses are expanding their subscriptions on the Now platform, especially as ServiceNow adds additional AI applications. She is particularly optimistic about new products such as high-performance database RaptorDB, which is built to handle AI workloads. Queck projects ServiceNow will maintain at least 20% annual revenue growth through 2026. CFRA has a “strong buy” rating and $1,054 price target for NOW stock, which closed at $1,005.34 on Nov. 18.
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Update 11/19/24: This story was previously published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.