Growth stocks have proved to be the driving force in the stock market’s outperformance against all other asset classes over time.
Costco (COST): The warehouse shopping club giant is in expansion mode as consumers respond to its competitive prices.
Novo Nordisk (NVO): The pharmaceutical owns the weight loss-in-a-pill market with two therapies that can’t stop growing.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM): The largest pure play chip foundry is the semi manufacturer other chip companies turn to when in need.
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Over the past 100 years, the stock market has proved to be the best way to build wealth. Even through recessions, depressions, and world wars, growth stocks generate better returns than any other asset class. Not gold, bonds, real estate, or even, more recently, cryptocurrencies.
Particularly when the stocks are in the grip of a bull market, investors who choose growth stocks to buy and hold for long-term wealth are generously rewarded.
If you have $1,000 to invest today, what follows are three extraordinary growth stocks you’ll want to buy right now and never sell.
Costco (COST)
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American consumers are turning defensive, and one of the main beneficiaries is the warehouse superstore Costco (NASDAQ:COST). The retailer business model virtually compels consumer loyalty, enabling it to generate relatively steady sales growth.
Because it relies upon high-volume, low-margin sales, however, profits quickly come under pressure during rising interest rate environments. Yet the retailer can ride out such storms because consumers view it as especially competitive in pricing. They return again and again for the bargains it brings.
Although Costco targets more upscale consumers than rival Walmart (NYSE:WMT), even they are feeling the pinch these days. CFO Richard Galanti told analysts this summer that shoppers were ditching beef for chicken and pork. Still, Costco beat earnings expectations in the fiscal fourth quarter with profits of $4.86 per share, up 16% year over year. Although comparable store sales were soft, rising just 0.2% in the U.S. (but up 1.1% globally), the retailer saw more customer traffic even as they made smaller purchases.
Foot traffic analytics platform Placer.ai found Costco is able to continuously expand without cannibalizing sales at existing stores. Particularly in markets such as New Jersey, where it hasn’t opened a new store in years, it is seeing increases in foot traffic. Costco said during this month’s earnings conference call it planned on opening 10 new stores in its first fiscal quarter.
With more levers to pull to juice additional returns, like a membership fee increase, Costco is a no-brainer buy right now.
Novo Nordisk (NVO)
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There are a few hotter stocks than Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO). Fewer still have the long-term legs the Danish pharmaceutical possesses. Powered by the success of its twin weight-loss therapies, Ozempic and Wegovy, Novo Nordisk shares are up 84% over the past 12 months. That’s far better than any of its peers of a similar size and led the pharma to split its shares 2-for-1 in September.
Novo Nordisk owns the glycogen-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) market with a 65% share. Ozempic’s share alone accounts for 44%of the market. It only introduced Wegovy into the U.S. market this year. Sales of both drugs are up 50% so far this year.
GLP-1 therapies were medications originally prescribed to help lower blood sugar levels for diabetics. Demand skyrocketed after they discovered their weight-loss-promoting properties. So much so that diabetics are having difficulty securing the treatments. Ozempic and Wegovy are also so successful they impact bariatric surgeries performed by Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG). The robotic surgery device maker reported elective procedures for weight loss slowed significantly this year.
With high demand, Novo Nordisk is employing contract manufacturers to help keep up supply. Weight loss in a pill has long been a dream of many. It indicates the pharmaceutical will maintain its upward trajectory for years to come.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM)
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Warren Buffett may have abandoned Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE:TSM) over geopolitical tensions, but that doesn’t mean you should. TSM, as the company is known, is best positioned to capitalize on the foremost trends in semiconductors.
Artificial intelligence has catapulted numerous stocks into the stratosphere on the promise of wealth to come. TSM, however, is actually one that will profit from it. That’s because whatever technology is developed to take advantage of AI’s capabilities, is going to need advanced computer chips to power the processes, whether they’re Nvidia’s (NASDAQ:NVDA) industry-leading chips or some other semi-stock. And by and large, the chip companies turn to TSM to manufacture the chips for them.
Nvidia is a chip designer, not a foundry. Like others, it turns to TSM, the industry’s largest pure-play, to make its chips according to the specs it provides. So do many other major chip companies. So, no matter which chip ultimately wins, so does TSM.
Of course, chip-making is cyclical. There is a secular downturn underway in the PC market, creating headwinds for TSM right now. Yet the chip titan is still on a long trek higher. Shares are up only about 10% since Buffett sold his stake, meaning plenty of upside is still available.
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