When it comes to up-and-coming stocks, it’s easy to get wide-eyed over impressive short-term performances. After all, everyone dreams of getting a piece of the next disruptor like Apple Inc. (ticker: AAPL) or Tesla Inc. (TSLA) right on the ground floor.
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But it’s critical for investors to look beyond stock price to ensure they are not buying companies without the sales or profits necessary to sustain long-term gains.
The following seven picks are up-and-coming stocks to watch because of several factors. First, they all are valued under $15 billion in market capitalization and have room for significant future growth. Secondly, they all have tremendous momentum in 2025 with gains of 40% or more this calendar year alone. Lastly, each one of these companies has a unique value proposition that could set it up for continued success in the years ahead.
Here are seven of the best up-and-coming stocks to buy in 2025:
| Stock | Sector | Market value |
| Compass Inc. (COMP) | Real estate | $5.3 billion |
| GDS Holdings Ltd. (GDS) | Technology | $8.4 billion |
| Grail Inc. (GRAL) | Health care | $1.5 billion |
| Hims & Hers Health Inc. (HIMS) | Consumer defensive | $9.4 billion |
| Innodata Inc. (INOD) | Technology | $2 billion |
| Life Time Group Holdings Inc. (LTH) | Consumer discretionary | $6.6 billion |
| Tempus AI Inc. (TEM) | Health care | $11.3 billion |
Compass Inc. (COMP)
Market value: $5.3 billion Sector: Real estate YTD returns: +58%
Existing home sales slowed down in 2024 as rising rates coupled with tight inventories on affordable housing took its toll on the real estate market. But according to the National Association of Realtors, we closed the year on a high note as existing home sales in December hit the strongest pace since February 2024 and were up an impressive 9.3% year over year to mark the largest year-over-year gain since the post-pandemic flood of sales in June 2021.
While the pace slowed down in January, existing home sales still rose 2% year over year in the first month of 2025. That means the timing couldn’t be better to consider up-and-coming stock Compass, which is now the nation’s No. 1 real estate brokerage by sales volume.
The stock went public in 2021 at $18 per share and remains down almost 50% from that previous level thanks in large part to a market-wide slowdown for real estate. But things have stabilized, and COMP is consistently growing revenue by double digits thanks to new agents and what looks like a more favorable outlook in 2025.
GDS Holdings Ltd. (GDS)
Market value: $8.4 billion Sector: Technology YTD returns: +66%
GDS is a China-based technology leader that develops and operates data centers, offering services like colocation, managed hosting and cloud services to large enterprises. The stock has been on a tear in 2025 as analysts have published bullish updates on the data center operator by steadily increasing price targets.
On top of that, GDS recently rebranded its international unit as DayOne, which has sparked hopes of an initial public offering for this unit after a big $1.2 billion funding round in December 2024 that featured investors including SoftBank’s Vision Fund and Citadel CEO Ken Griffin, among others.
There is admittedly some risk here, but as a Chinese stock that has a lot of home-grown business and a model that fundamentally doesn’t rely on hardware affected by looming U.S. tariffs, it remains more insulated than most firms in the naton right now. And with analysts expecting 15% revenue growth expected in fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2025, GDS definitely has strong fundamentals that back up the bullish outlook.
Grail Inc. (GRAL)
Market value: $1.5 billion Sector: Health care YTD returns: +142%
Grail is a cutting-edge medical firm working on the next generation of cancer diagnostics tools that will allow doctors to identify at-risk patients early on and in minimally invasive ways. This could be a game changer on multiple levels by improving outcomes, keeping the total cost of care in check and ultimately fighting back against deadly cancers around the world.
While the goal of Grail is praiseworthy, the corporate history is not without its challenges and politics. Grail was first built within a parent firm Illumina Inc. (ILMN) and then spun off in 2016, but reacquired in 2021 and ultimately divested again in 2024 after a battle with European regulators. That uncertainty put a damper on long-term strategy and caused volatility in shares, but the stock is up ore than 200% since its June 2024 spinoff, including large gains in 2025 due to news that its Galleri blood test will see sales jump as much as 30% this fiscal year to deliver on its long-term growth prospects.
Innovative development-stage health care stocks are always risky, since a bad result from Food and Drug Administration reviews and patient trials could drive the company to zero almost overnight. But from what we’ve seen, GRAL is a momentum stock with a lot of promise that seems to be delivering in 2025.
Hims & Hers Health Inc. (HIMS)
Market value: $9.4 billion Sector: Consumer defensive YTD returns: +65%
Hims & Hers is a unique mid-cap telehealth company that takes some of the embarrassment out of personal issues like hair loss and sexual performance through virtual visits and mail-order treatments. It offers a range of health and wellness services including mental health visits and consultation on prescription medications as well as recurring fulfillment on those drugs.
Beyond its prescription operations and licensed health care staff, HIMS also offers a host of over-the-counter products and cosmetics such as vitamin supplements and skincare to ensure its customers are doing their “self care” the right way. This one-two punch of serving two fast-growing marketplaces with minimal overhead has fueled an amazing revenue surge of almost 70% in fiscal 2024, with projections of more than 40% growth following that in fiscal year 2025.
It’s no surprise this momentum stock is also up dramatically. And lest you think this is just a low-cost leader chasing market share at a loss, HIMS is comfortably profitable and expected to post strong earnings growth both this year and the next.
Innodata Inc. (INOD)
Market value: $2 billion Sector: Technology YTD returns: +47%
Founded back in 1988 as an IT services company, Innodata has more recently evolved into a specialized data mining and artificial intelligence player. And while some fashionable AI firms have flamed out, INOD has put up consistent and dramatic gains over the last few years. That includes gains of nearly 50% this calendar year, but also gains of more than 800% in the last 12 months and more than 5,000% in the last five years.
Those gains are driven by fundamentals that continue to impress Wall Street. And looking forward, the sales and profit potential aren’t cooling off. For instance, in its most recent earnings report INOD posted organic revenue growth of 136% year over year — and analysts expect more than 40% sales growth in fiscal 2025 to continue to build on results like that.
There’s definitely risk in the corners of Wall Street that claim to be tapping into the potential of AI. But INOD is putting up tremendous sales growth along with tremendous share price momentum, making it an up-and-coming stock to keep your eye on.
Life Time Group Holdings Inc. (LTH)
Market value: $6.6 billion Sector: Consumer discretionary YTD returns: +40%
Don’t worry, this isn’t the Life Time that serves up your favorite true crime dramas. LTH is a company involved in the health and fitness game through sports facilities, spa centers and upscale gyms. Billed as “a resort-like environment” and principally located in affluent suburban and metropolitan areas, this is a company that has carved out a profitable niche and is seeing strong momentum as a result.
As proof, Life Time Group is set to tally almost 20% revenue growth and almost 30% earnings growth for fiscal 2024, with analysts predicting another 12% revenue growth and 43% earnings growth in fiscal 2025 on top of that. It’s always a great sign to see top-line growth, but the fact that profits are accelerating even faster than sales is what really makes this an exciting up-and-coming stock.
Tempus AI Inc. (TEM)
Market value: $11.3 billion Sector: Health care YTD returns: +75%
If you’ve been chasing AI momentum stocks over the last year, you know all too well that it’s easy to arrive too late for the biggest profit potential in a company after other investors crowd in first. But Tempus AI is one of the late bloomers, getting a huge boost only recently thanks to a new software service and insider buying activity.
Specifically, the AI health care company unveiled new functionality in its generative AI assistant, Tempus One, which provides both physicians and researchers services to better sift through clinical data and bring new drugs to market faster. In the 21st century, precision oncology treatments are the norm as no form of cancer responds the same way even if patients present similar charts. But with many oncologists and primary care physicians too busy or overwhelmed with data to tailor treatments, Tempus One offers breakthrough capabilities to make sense out of unstructured data.
To be clear, the company is still unprofitable, but thanks in part to the new software it is predicting nearly 80% revenue growth in the next fiscal year. It also has attracted the attention of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who disclosed a major purchase of call options. The so-called “smart money” seems to like what they see in this unique AI play, and the momentum stock has put up tremendous returns in 2025 as a result.
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7 Up-and-Coming Stocks to Buy in 2025 originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 02/26/25: This story was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
