stocks

The energy sector is a great spot to find high-quality, high-yielding dividend stocks. It has the highest dividend yield in the S&P 500 index at 3.4%, nearly three times higher than the index (1.2%). Many energy companies have built resilient businesses that can withstand the volatility of energy prices, putting their high-yielding payouts on very sustainable foundations.

My top three energy stocks for dividend income right now are Energy Transfer (ET -0.23%), Chevron (CVX -0.64%), and Brookfield Renewable (BEPC 0.21%) (BEP 0.92%). These companies offer high-yielding and steadily rising payouts backed by strong financial profiles.

Image source: Getty Images.

A very low-risk, high-yielding payout

Energy Transfer currently has a yield of more than 7.5%. The master limited partnership (MLP), which sends investors a Schedule K-1 Federal Tax Form, backs that payout with a very strong financial profile. It generates very stable cash flow as fee-based agreements supply 90% of its annual earnings. The company produced nearly $4.3 billion in cash during the first half of this year, $2 billion more than it distributed to investors. Energy Transfer retained that surplus cash to invest in organic expansion projects and maintain its strong financial profile.

The MLP’s leverage ratio is currently in the lower half of its 4 to 4.5 times target range. That puts Energy Transfer in the strongest financial position in its history. This provides it with ample financial flexibility to invest in organic expansion projects and make strategic acquisitions.

Energy Transfer expects to invest $5 billion in growth capital projects this year, with the majority of these projects coming online by the end of next year. They’ll provide the MLP with meaningful incremental cash flow. It recently approved several more projects, including the $5.3 billion Desert Southwest Pipeline that should enter service by the end of the decade. These growth projects support its plans to increase its cash distribution to investors by 3% to 5% annually.

The fuel to grow into the 2030s

Chevron‘s dividend yield is approaching 4.5%. The oil giant backs its high-yielding dividend with one of the most resilient portfolios in the oil patch. Chevron currently has the industry’s lowest break-even level at $30 a barrel. It also has a fortress financial profile, with one of the lowest leverage ratios in the sector. At less than 15%, Chevron is comfortably below its 20% to 25% target range.

The oil giant expects to deliver a massive amount of additional free cash flow over the coming year. A combination of recently completed expansion projects, its Permian Basin development program, and cost savings initiatives could add $10 billion of incremental free cash flow from its legacy portfolio next year. Meanwhile, its acquisition of Hess will provide an additional $2.5 billion boost to its free cash flow in 2026.

Chevron’s Hess deal extends and enhances its free-cash-flow growth outlook into the 2030s. Meanwhile, the company is investing in building several new energy businesses, including lithium. These growth drivers should give it plenty of fuel to continue increasing its dividend, which it has done for 38 straight years.

The powerful dividend growth should continue

Brookfield Renewable’s dividend yield is also approaching 4.5%. The global renewable energy producer backs that payout with very stable and predictable cash flow. It sells about 90% of the power it produces to utilities and corporations under long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) with an average remaining term of 14 years. Those PPAs index 70% of its revenue to inflation.

The company expects its existing portfolio to deliver annual funds from operations (FFO) growth of 4% to 7% per share through the end of the decade. It will benefit from inflation-linked rate increases and margin enhancement activities such as signing new PPAs at higher market prices as legacy ones expire. Brookfield also expects to continue investing in growing its portfolio through development projects and acquisitions. The company’s numerous growth drivers should increase its FFO per share by more than 10% annually.

Brookfield’s growing earnings should support 5% to 9% annual dividend increases. That aligns with its historical trend of growing its payout at a 6% compound annual rate since 2001.

Top-notch energy dividend stocks

Energy Transfer, Chevron, and Brookfield Renewable pay high-yielding and steadily rising dividends backed by strong financials and visible growth profiles. Those features make them my top energy stocks to buy for dividend income right now.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 1.36%) moved 3.2% higher in August, with five of its 30 constituent stocks rallying over 10% each. While the laggards didn’t decline as sharply, the fall in two of the three worst-performing Dow stocks of August was hard to justify.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Microsoft: Down 5%

Shares of Microsoft (MSFT 0.20%) fell 5% last month because investors booked profits after the tech stock soared to all-time highs of $555.45 on July 31, and its market capitalization briefly surpassed $4 trillion for the first time ever.

On July 31, Microsoft posted 18% revenue and 24% net income growth for its fourth quarter, driven by artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing. Its cloud computing unit Azure logged the biggest revenue jump of 39% among all products. Microsoft projects double-digit growth in revenue and operating income for fiscal year 2026 (ending June 30, 2026).

2. Caterpillar: Down 4%

Shares of Caterpillar (CAT 2.04%) hit all-time highs of $441.15 on July 31. But unlike Microsoft, Caterpillar’s numbers sent the stock 4.3% lower in August.

Caterpillar’s second-quarter revenue declined 1%, and earnings per share slumped 16% year over year on unfavorable pricing. Although the construction and mining equipment giant expects higher revenue in 2025, it sees tariffs as a significant headwind to profitability. It projects free cash flow from its machinery, energy, and transportation businesses to be around $7.5 billion in 2025, versus $9.4 billion last year.

3. International Business Machines: Down 3.8%

International Business Machines (IBM 0.06%) stock dropped sharply on July 24 after releasing Q2 numbers and continued to fall through August, losing 3.8% in the month. Ironically, IBM’s revenue rose 8% year over year, and management now expects 2025 free cash flow to exceed its guidance of $13.5 billion, driven by growth in software.

Software alone made up 43% of IBM’s revenue in Q2. Last year, IBM generated $12.7 billion in FCF.

IBM shares fell because its software revenue growth missed analysts’ estimates. Investors know better, though, as the tech stock has recovered 5.5% this month, as of this writing.

Artificial intelligence (AI) investing is what’s keeping the market propped up right now. A significant amount of money is being spent on building AI computing infrastructure, and numerous businesses are benefiting from this spending trend.

By picking up shares of companies that are benefiting from the spending now, investors can ensure they’re not buying into hype.

I’ve got five stocks that meet this criteria, and each looks like a great investment now.

Image source: Getty Images.

Chip companies are making a ton of money from the AI buildout

Since the beginning of the AI arms race, a handful of companies have been assumed winners based on their products. The market turned out to be right about this, as Nvidia (NVDA), Broadcom (AVGO -2.69%), and Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM -0.68%) have all delivered spectacular returns. However, they’re not finished yet.

Nvidia’s graphics processing units (GPUs) have powered nearly all of the AI workloads that investors know today. Demand for GPUs outpaces supply, so many of Nvidia’s largest clients are working closely with the company to inform it of their future demand years in advance. So, when Nvidia’s management speaks about industry growth, investors should listen.

Nvidia expects global data center capital expenditures to reach $3 trillion to $4 trillion by 2030. That’s monstrous growth from today’s amount (Nvidia estimates the big four hyperscalers will spend around $600 billion in 2025), and shows that the AI computing infrastructure buildout is far from over.

This clearly makes Nvidia a buy, but it also bodes well for Broadcom and Taiwan Semiconductor.

Broadcom manufactures connectivity switches for these computing data centers, enabling users to stitch together information being computed across multiple computing units. However, another area where Broadcom is experiencing significant growth is its custom AI accelerators, which it designs in collaboration with end users. This is a direct challenge to Nvidia’s GPU superiority, although both products will continue to be used in the future. With many companies looking to cut Nvidia out to reduce the costs of building a data center, Broadcom is one to watch over the next few years.

Lastly, neither company can produce the actual chip that goes into these products. So, they outsource the work to the world’s leading chip foundry, Taiwan Semiconductor. TSMC doesn’t care which company has the most computing units in data centers around the globe; it just cares that the chips they use are sourced from its factories, making it a neutral player in the AI arms race. While Taiwan Semiconductor may not have the upside of Nvidia or Broadcom, it also doesn’t have the downside. This makes it a safe bet to capitalize on all the AI spending, and it’s one of my top picks for stocks to buy now.

Demand for cloud computing is rising

Two of the largest purchasers of computing equipment are Amazon (AMZN -0.11%) and Alphabet (GOOG 0.56%) (GOOGL 0.57%). While some of this is being used for internal workloads, most of it is being rented back to customers through cloud computing. At its core, cloud computing involves renting excess computing power from one provider and utilizing it themselves. Buying computing equipment from Broadcom or Nvidia isn’t cheap, so this is often the most cost-effective way to access vast computing resources.

Additionally, traditional on-premises computing workloads are migrating to the cloud as existing equipment reaches the end of its life, providing cloud computing providers, such as Alphabet and Amazon, with growth tailwinds to capitalize on. Grand View Research estimates that the global cloud computing market opportunity was about $750 billion in 2024. However, that figure is expected to rise to $2.39 trillion by 2030, making this an excellent industry to invest in.

Alphabet and Amazon are two of the largest cloud computing providers, and I believe each stock is worth owning due to the massive potential in the cloud computing businesses of these two tech giants.

A good investment will double for you in the next five years. What about a great investment? Rounding up a couple of names that can turn $1,000 into $5,000 in five years isn’t easy. You have to take some risks. A spunky survivor of the home-flipping space? An out-of-favor mass market retailer that has missed the mark? The leader of a travel niche that has yet to materially catch on with the mainstream?

Opendoor Technologies (OPEN 69.71%), Target (TGT 0.84%), and Royal Caribbean (RCL 3.11%) are three stocks that I think can become five-baggers between now and 2030. You might be curious, so I won’t waste your time. Let’s dive right in.

1. Opendoor Technologies

Putting one of this year’s hottest stocks on this list seems like a recipe for disaster. Opendoor is also a meme stock, a nascent niche that has produced speculative jumps in the near term only to fall back to earth when the viral boards get bored. However, the catalysts for Opendoor to keep climbing are pretty clear right now. Come on in to the Opendoor open house.

Opendoor is a pioneer in the iBuying market. It buys residential properties that its tools suggest are underpriced. It then touches them up a bit, puts them up for sale, and ideally makes enough on the sale to cover the purchase, reno work, and holding costs. It’s not a bad place to be when home prices are moving and demand is strong. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case lately.

Image source: Getty Images.

Shares of Opendoor turned $1,000 into $5,000 in a single year already. This happened in 2023, when investor enthusiasm for a residential real estate recovery was percolating. Things didn’t pan out, and the stock would go on to shed nearly two-thirds of its value last year. It’s off to a hot start in 2025, but that is mostly because it’s part of the latest wave of meme stocks being talked up in speculative online circles.

What if this isn’t just a flash in the pan? All indications suggest that the Federal Reserve will start lowering rates this month, with at least two more smaller cuts to come before the end of this year. Opendoor is a high-beta stock built for this kind of shift in fundamentals. The two things holding back the business right now are homeowners who are reluctant to put their properties locked into low mortgage rates on the market and potential homebuyers looking for lower rates to feel comfortable making a long-term, big-ticket purchase.

The past isn’t pretty, with trailing revenue since 2022 down about as much as Opendoor stock was last year. The valuation also isn’t pretty, but things will change with this scalable model if business starts surging again the way it did a couple of years ago. In the meantime, Opendoor can be confident that the two leading online portals for residential real estate — that entered the niche before pulling up a bloodied white flag — aren’t going to dive in even if the climate seems inviting. They tried. They failed. They’re not going to put their shareholders through that. In other words, Opendoor will be the lone publicly traded business tackling a real estate niche that is about to become viable again.

2. Target

Some kings lose their crowns, and that seems to be case for Target. It was cheap chic retail royalty for a long time. Then it messed things up. It had an unfortunate hack into client accounts. It made some controversial moves that somehow angered both side of the political community. Today’s Target is losing market share, but it still has a crown.

When Target boosted its quarterly payouts to shareholders this summer — extending the streak of annual hikes to 54 years — it was able to retain its Dividend King status. The payout remains safe, at least in the near term. Despite posting negative net sales growth for third consecutive fiscal year, the chain’s guidance calls for a profit between $7 and $9 a share this year. Its forward payout ratio is 51% to 65% that profit outlook.

It’s true that comps remain problematically negative, and after years of being the cool discounter it’s now yielding market share. However, with a turnaround plan in place and a juicy 5% yield to reward patient investors, why can’t Target be a five-bagger come 2030? It trades at a low earnings multiple on depressed earnings, currently 10 to 13 times its guidance for this fiscal year’s earnings. When things start clicking again it’s easy to see strong comps and margin expansion turning this market laggard into a leader.

3. Royal Caribbean

If you channel surf through streaming services, you’re going to run across some documentaries about things that didn’t go well on cruise ships. This is unfortunate timing for an industry that has battled back from the longest COVID-19 shutdown among travel segments. The growth story is kinder than the sometimes horrific mishaps at sea.

Royal Caribbean isn’t the largest cruise line by revenue, passengers, or fleet, but it’s the most valuable. Royal Caribbean has earned the market’s attention with a business that has historically grown faster with strong margins and customer loyalty than its rivals. It was the best investment in this space before the pandemic stoppage. It’s only natural for it to be leading the way as the first player to become profitable and reinitiate dividends.

Strong results and record future bookings find Royal Caribbean perpetually raising its guidance. The midpoint of its guidance at the beginning of this year was for a profit of $14.50 a share. Now that midpoint is at $15.48. Royal Caribbean is trading at a reasonable 22 times this year’s earnings midpoint. That’s a bargain, and this is knowing that Royal Caribbean has a long streak of “beat and raise” reports that should continue to nudge the next quarterly report higher and higher.

Investors can’t go wrong sticking with big tech giants. These companies have billions of users, billions in cash, and billions to invest in artificial intelligence (AI). This points to excellent return prospects for shareholders.

Here are two tech stocks that are no-brainer buys right now.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms‘ (META -1.74%) dominance with more than 3.4 billion people using Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and other services every day makes it a low-risk investment. This large base of users drives substantial advertising revenue that funds investment in technology infrastructure, such as AI, to power new features and products for long-term growth.

The stock is up 30% year to date, outperforming the Nasdaq Composite‘s roughly 13% return, supported by strong revenue and profit growth. Revenue grew 22% year over year in the second quarter, with adjusted earnings per share surging 38%. Meta’s AI is making it easier to show people content that grabs their interest, and therefore, generate more ad revenue.

Meta’s profitable ad business provides plenty of resources to advance its technology advantage. The company plans to spend between $66 billion and $72 billion this year on infrastructure. This includes investments to expand its AI capacity, including its multigigawatt Prometheus and Hyperion data centers.

“Meta has all of the ingredients that are required to build leading models and deliver them to billions of people,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on the company’s Q2 earnings call.

The opportunities are so significant that Meta has no plans to pull back the reins on capital spending. In fact, Zuckerberg recently revealed at a White House meeting with President Donald Trump and other tech CEOs that Meta may spend $600 billion in the U.S. alone through 2028.

Analysts expect Meta’s earnings to grow 17% on an annualized basis over the next several years. Assuming the stock is still trading at its current forward price-to-earnings multiple of 27, the stock should continue to follow future earnings.

2. Alphabet (Google)

Alphabet‘s (GOOGL -0.15%) (GOOG -0.12%) Google is one of the most valuable online brands. Billions of people use Gmail, Google Maps, YouTube, Search, and other Google services every day. These platforms provide growing ad revenue and profits that are fueling investments in data centers and AI that bolster the company’s long-term growth prospects.

Alphabet’s Gemini AI has been fundamental to growth this year. Gemini powers AI features across its services, including AI Mode and AI Overviews in Search. These features are leading to increases in user engagement, which is contributing to higher ad revenue. Google’s ad revenue grew 10% year over year last quarter to $71 billion, making up 76% of the company’s total.

Gemini is also fueling innovative tools for enterprises in Google Cloud, where it uses proprietary AI chips to deliver optimized performance for AI workloads. Google Cloud’s revenue grew 32% year over year last quarter, with a growing backlog of $106 billion. It signed the same number of $1 billion-plus deals in the first half of 2025 as all of 2024, indicating strong momentum.

The AI gold rush is causing Alphabet to raise its full-year guidance for capital spending. It now expects capital expenditures to reach approximately $85 billion in 2025, up from the previous estimate of $75 billion. It also plans to increase capital spending in 2026 due to strong customer demand and growth opportunities across the business.

Despite a sharp rise in recent months, the stock still looks reasonably valued trading at 24 times 2025 earnings estimates. With analysts expecting earnings to grow at an annualized rate of 15% in the coming years, investors should expect the stock to potentially double in value over the next five years.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has taken over the business world during the past couple of years. The stock market has followed as investors rush to take advantage of the new growth opportunities the technology has presented. At this point, it seems impossible to avoid a tech company that isn’t dealing with AI in some form or fashion.

Not all companies dealing with AI are created equal, though. Many may use the technology but lack the long-term appeal. If you have $3,000 available to invest, the following three AI stocks are worth buying and holding for the long term. They have proven business models and stand to gain a lot from the emerging technology.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

On the outskirts, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM 4.58%) — also known as TSMC — may not seem like an AI company, but it’s just as important to advancing the technology as virtually any other participant. TSMC is a semiconductor (chip) foundry that manufactures chips for a wide range of applications, including smartphones, electric vehicles, game consoles, TVs, and graphics processing units (GPUs). The latter is why it’s important to AI.

TSMC’s AI role comes down to manufacturing the critical chips that go inside the data centers that train AI models. It has around a 70% market share in the global foundry industry, but when it comes to the advanced AI chips, it’s virtually a monopoly. This new demand is largely why its high-performance computing (HPC) segment accounted for 60% of its total revenue in the second quarter.

TSMC is the start of the AI pipeline. Without it, companies like Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices wouldn’t be able to ship their AI chips at their current scale. TSMC expects AI-related revenue to double this year.

TSM Revenue (Quarterly) data by YCharts.

AI aside, TSMC’s role in the tech ecosystem has made it indispensable. It’s not as if there aren’t other semiconductor foundries; they just don’t compare to TSMC’s effectiveness and scale. This position makes it a company that should be successful for quite some time.

2. Alphabet

Google’s parent company Alphabet (GOOG 0.41%) (GOOGL 0.34%) is also a key piece to the AI ecosystem, especially when it comes to research. It’s responsible for key breakthroughs that have advanced the technology to where it is today.

Alphabet’s Google Cloud also continues to grow impressively. In the second quarter, its revenue increased 32% year over year to $13.6 billion, leading all of Alphabet’s segments. Having a strong in-house cloud platform allows the company to power and scale its own AI models.

It’s not just for in-house use, either. It’s a service that many companies can rely on, including Meta Platforms, which just signed a six-year, $10 billion deal to make Google Cloud its main AI infrastructure provider. The co-signing by Meta shows that even Alphabet’s big-name peers (and competitors) trust its capabilities.

It also helps that Alphabet’s stock seems to be valued cheaply right now. It’s trading around 23.4 times expected earnings over the next 12 months, which is the lowest of the “Magnificent Seven” stocks, by far. If you’re buying and holding onto the stock for the long term, this will likely work out well in your favor.

TSLA PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts.

3. Microsoft

Some tech companies excel at one thing, while others do a few things pretty well. Microsoft (MSFT 0.74%) is one of the handful that does a lot of things extremely well. It has its hands in many industries and is a top player in virtually all of them.

Similar to Alphabet, Microsoft has a cloud platform (Azure) that allows it to be a key piece of AI infrastructure. It also has a long-term partnership with ChatGPT’s creator OpenAI, which gives it direct and early access to industry-leading AI technology.

This is a key advantage for Microsoft because it allows it to integrate the technology into its ecosystem of products and services. Microsoft has Office software (Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, etc.), Windows operating systems, GitHub, and many other platforms, and all of these stand to gain from AI integration.

Microsoft already has a stronghold on enterprise software, which should only increase its value proposition as these products and services become more efficient. If you’re going to be in the tech world for the long term, it helps to have corporate customers because they spend more, tend to have longer contracts, and are less likely to cut back on services whenever the economy isn’t ideal.

Microsoft is a staple in the business world that thousands of companies rely on for their daily operations. If I had to pick one Magnificent Seven stock to hold onto for life, it would be Microsoft.

Palantir Technologies shares have advanced 1,760% since the launch of its artificial intelligence platform in April 2023. Its market capitalization now stands at $369 billion as of September 8, which puts it among the 30 largest public companies in the world.

I think Shopify (SHOP -1.86%) and Uber Technologies (UBER 1.05%) can surpass Palantir’s current market capitalization within five years. Here’s what that means for shareholders:

• Shopify is worth $189 billion. Its market value must increase 96% to hit $370 billion, in which case the stock would return more than 14% annually over the next five years.
• Uber is worth $197 billion. Its market value must increase 88% to hit $370 billion, in which case the stock would return more than 13% annually over the next five years.

Importantly, the S&P 500 (^GSPC 0.27%) has historically advanced roughly 10% per year, so my predictions almost certainly imply market-beating returns for Shopify and Uber shareholders. Here’s why I’m confident.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Shopify

Shopify reported excellent financial results in the second quarter, beating estimates on the top and bottom lines. Revenue increased 31% to $2.6 billion as growth accelerated across North American, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. Non-GAAP net income increased 35% to $0.35 per diluted share.

The investment thesis for Shopify centers on its leadership in e-commerce software. Its platform helps merchants manage their businesses across physical and digital storefronts from a single dashboard. The company also provides adjacent solutions for payments, advertising, logistics, and cross-border commerce.

Shopify is focused on several strategic growth areas, including business-to-business (B2B) commerce, a category that is three times bigger than business-to-consumer (B2C) commerce and growing just as quickly. Forrester Research last year recognized Shopify as a leader in B2B commerce solutions, validating its push into the market. The company said B2B sales increased 101% in the second quarter.

Shopify is leaning into demand for artificial intelligence (AI). Shopify Magic is a suite of AI features that help merchants automate tasks like writing product descriptions, generating marketing content, and providing customer support. Additionally, the company earlier this year introduced an AI tool that builds entire online storefronts from a few keywords.

Wall Street expects Shopify’s earnings to increase at 34% annually during the next three to five years. That makes the current valuation of 81 times earnings look somewhat expensive. But if Shopify meets the consensus estimate, its price-to-earnings multiple could fall to 38 while its market value increased 100% to $378 billion by mid-2030. That means Shopify can surpass Palantir’s current market value within five years.

2. Uber Technologies

Uber reported encouraging financial results in the second quarter. beating the consensus estimate on the top line and matching the consensus estimate on the bottom line. Revenue increased 18% to $12.7 billion, an acceleration from 14% growth in the previous quarter, because of strength in the mobility and delivery segments. GAAP net income increased 34% to $0.63 per diluted share.

Uber may not be top of mind when investors think about artificial intelligence stocks, but the company uses AI to set prices, match drivers and riders, and optimize routes. Moreover, its position as the largest on-demand mobility and delivery platform in the world makes it an ideal partner for autonomous driving companies that want to commercialize robotaxi services.

Uber has partnered with 20 autonomous driving companies, including Alphabet‘s Waymo, Pony AI, and WeRide. Robotaxis are already available on its platform in four markets: Atlanta, Austin, and Phoenix in the United States; and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. Uber expects about five more deployments in 2025, with more to follow in 2026.

Additionally, Uber in some cases is helping partner companies develop autonomous driving technology. “An underappreciated aspect of our strategy is just how central we are to the real-world AI revolution,” said CEO Dara Khosrowshahi in prepared remarks. “The advanced AI systems that perceive, predict, and make split-second decisions on the road need enormous amounts of data, and Uber has the most relevant mobility ride-hail dataset in the world.”

Wall Street expects Uber’s earnings to increase at 22% annually over the next three to five years. That makes the current valuation of 16 times earnings look relatively cheap. And if Uber meets that consensus, its price-to-earnings ratio could fall to 12 while its market value increased 105% to $387 billion by mid-2030. That means Uber can surpass Palantir’s current market value within five years.

Artificial intelligence (AI) investing remains a primary driver in the market, fueled by massive capital expenditures in data centers by AI hyperscalers. There are numerous AI stocks that investors can consider right now, and this list can serve as a starting point for further research on which AI stocks appear to be great buys.

I’ve got 10 on my short list for top AI stocks to buy now, but there are likely many more beyond this.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Nvidia

Nvidia (NVDA 0.77%) has been a leader in AI investing since its inception, primarily due to its industry-leading graphics processing units (GPUs), which have been widely utilized to train and run AI models. The company projects monster growth for its GPUs over the next five years, as it expects data center capital expenditures to rise from $600 billion this year to $3 trillion to $4 trillion by 2030.

We’ll see if this projection pans out, but there’s still massive computing demand for AI, and Nvidia is the top provider in this segment.

2. Broadcom

Another company heavily involved in this sector is Broadcom (AVGO 3.05%). Broadcom has two major products being used in AI data centers: its connectivity switches and its custom AI accelerators. The biggest growth story for Broadcom is these custom AI accelerators, which are alternatives to Nvidia’s GPUs that are designed in conjunction with the end user.

This could be a huge market for Broadcom, and makes me bullish on the stock.

3. Taiwan Semiconductor

Neither Nvidia nor Broadcom can produce chips themselves, so they outsource the fabrication work of their designs to Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM 1.44%). TSMC is the world’s largest chip foundry and has established a reputation for continuous innovation and delivering best-in-class product yields.

It’s slated to capitalize on the massive AI arms race spending, regardless of which companies are using computing devices, making it an excellent AI investment on the chip side of AI.

4. ASML

ASML (ASML 1.88%) is a key equipment supplier to chip foundries, such as Taiwan Semiconductor, as it holds a technological monopoly with its primary product: the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machine. This allows chip manufacturers to lay down microscopic electrical traces. Without ASML, none of the cutting-edge chip technology we know today would be possible.

With the stock down about 30% from its all-time high (at the time of this writing), it appears to be a tremendous opportunity to scoop up while it’s on sale.

5. Alphabet

Moving to the AI hyperscaler side, Alphabet (GOOG -0.35%) (GOOGL -0.32%) looks like a strong investment. Although many assumed that Alphabet had fallen too far behind in the AI arms race to be a worthy competitor, it has emerged as one of the top players. Its generative AI model, Gemini, is one of the best available, and with Alphabet integrating it into its Google Search engine, it’s easily one of the most used.

Alphabet still trades at a discount to its big tech peers despite its recent success, and that could be a prime opportunity to make a profit over the next five years.

6. Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms (META -0.02%), the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is also heavily investing in AI. It’s spent a ton of money hiring the best AI talent possible, and now it has reached a point where it’s focusing that all-star lineup on various AI goals.

Time will tell whether this is a winning strategy, but Meta is giving itself the best chance to succeed by equipping itself with the brightest minds to lead its various AI initiatives.

7. Amazon

Amazon (AMZN 1.44%) may not be the first company you think of when you hear AI, but its cloud computing business, Amazon Web Services (AWS), is a huge part of the AI build-out trend. Most companies can’t afford to build out a massive data center specifically for AI, so they rent it from a cloud computing provider like AWS.

AWS is a significant contributor to Amazon’s profitability, generating 53% of Amazon’s operating profits in Q2, despite accounting for only 18% of revenue. Cloud computing has a massive tailwind blowing in its favor, and investing in companies with this business is a genius idea.

8. Microsoft

AWS is the largest cloud computing provider, but Microsoft‘s (MSFT 0.61%) Azure is quickly gaining ground. Azure has grown rapidly over the past few years, with its Q4 FY 2025 growth rate (ending June 30) coming in at 39%. That’s far quicker than AWS’s 17% growth rate, making Microsoft an interesting stock to watch in this space.

9. SoundHound AI

SoundHound AI (SOUN 6.87%) is quite a bit smaller than nearly every company on this list, but it’s growing at a rapid pace. SoundHound AI’s technology combines AI with audio recognition, which can be used to automate millions of jobs. In Q2, its revenue grew at a jaw-dropping 217% year-over-year pace, providing an incredibly bullish outlook for the future.

Management believes they can deliver 50% organic growth for the foreseeable future, which would lead to an incredible stock performance.

10. The Trade Desk

Last on this list is The Trade Desk (TTD -0.11%), which has struggled lately. The stock is down over 60% from its all-time high because it’s experiencing issues transitioning users from its old platform to its new AI-first platform, Kokai.

However, The Trade Desk is well-positioned to capitalize on the digital ad market. Once it gets the transition on track, it will become a leading competitor in a rapidly growing space.

Large-cap tech offers no shortage of options, but a few names clearly stand apart. Their businesses are durable, their cash flow is steady, and their growth prospects look especially bright over the next decade.

After fresh midyear updates, Microsoft (MSFT 0.75%), Alphabet (GOOGL 0.14%), and Amazon (AMZN 1.83%) remain no-brainer additions for a growth-focused portfolio. Each has just posted healthy results and is spending aggressively where it matters most: cloud and artificial intelligence (AI). Best of all, all three companies benefit from diversified business models and have enduring characteristics thanks to their market-leading competitive advantages, making them great long-term investments.

Image source: Getty Images.

Strong quarters across the board

Microsoft‘s summer update was exceptionally robust. Azure’s (the tech giant’s cloud computing business) growth paced the quarter, and the company continued returning cash to shareholders even as it scales AI across its products. For its fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 (a period ending on June 30), Microsoft’s total revenue rose 18% while Azure and other cloud services grew 39%. And highlighting its appreciation for shareholders, the company returned $9.4 billion via dividends and buybacks.

Alphabet — the owner of Google Cloud and Google properties like Gmail, Google search, and YouTube — similarly posted broad-based strength. Search and YouTube saw double-digit gains, and the company’s cloud computing arm, Google Cloud, was the star again. In Q2, Alphabet’s total revenue rose 14% to $96.4 billion, while Google Cloud revenue jumped 32% to $13.6 billion as demand for AI infrastructure and new generative tools widened the customer base. Management also highlighted a larger capital expenditure plan to meet that demand.

Meanwhile, Amazon‘s update echoed the same theme: Exceptional growth in cloud computing accompanied by robust growth elsewhere. The e-commerce and cloud-computing giant’s second-quarter net sales increased 13% year over year to $167.7 billion, and Amazon Web Services (Amazon’s cloud-computing operation) saw sales grow 17.5% to $30.9 billion. This well-rounded growth boosted operating income 31% year over year to $19.2 billion.

Catalysts and risks

For all three companies, the common thread behind some of their biggest opportunities is AI. However, this is also one of their biggest risks, as building out AI capabilities is expensive.

For Microsoft, its near-term catalysts are Copilot monetization, AI consumption on Azure, and a steady cadence of continued enterprise seat expansion. But the company is also clear about the trade-off that comes with moving fast in AI — cloud gross margin has dipped as it builds out infrastructure, a reasonable price to pay for durable share gains. Of course, it’s worth noting that Azure’s gross margin is greater than the company’s overall gross margin, so if there’s a trade-off of improving this high-margin business in exchange for the segment’s margin coming down a bit, it’s still a net win for the overall company.

Alphabet’s second quarter demonstrated broad momentum. The tech company’s “Search and other” revenue rose 12%, and YouTube ad sales climbed 13%. But the big catalyst right now is in Google Cloud, with 32% revenue growth and a 20.7% operating margin (up from 11.3% in the year-ago quarter), showing that it’s now pulling in meaningful profits. But its capital expenditures, as the company pursues AI integrations across its products, are steep. Alphabet expects to spend about $85 billion this year on capital expenditures, driven largely by its efforts to expand AI capacity. For long-term investors, that spend should extend the company’s advantages in Search, YouTube, subscriptions, and cloud computing. But it also raises the bar for execution.

At Amazon, two engines matter most over the next few years. First, AWS is broadening from core compute and storage to a richer AI stack — foundation models, managed services, and agentic tools — which should deepen customer spend. Second, North America retail continues to optimize fulfillment and last-mile density, supporting higher operating margins even without upbeat macro assumptions. But Amazon is similarly spending a fortune on capital expenditures to support its AI ambitions, so much so that its trailing-12-month free cash flow (operating cash less capital expenditures) is $18.2 billion — far below the $53 billion it earned in the year-ago trailing-12-month period.

These stocks aren’t cheap. Microsoft, Alphabet, and Amazon’s price-to-earnings ratios are about 36, 25, and 35, respectively, at the time of this writing. Adding to the risk, all three are investing heavily right now. But that’s precisely the point. The spending is tied to products customers are already using more of every quarter. Therefore, for investors seeking quality assets with strong long-term growth potential, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Amazon are good choices and look poised to live up to their valuations as they invest heavily in their future growth, increasing the odds of more years of robust growth ahead.

August 2025 was a big month for a handful of stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. While the index, which tracks 30 of the most influential publicly traded companies in the U.S., was up 3.8% on the month, there were some outliers that drove the component’s overall performance even higher.

Here are the five companies that led the way in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and why they led the charge.

UNH data by YCharts.

UnitedHealth Group: Up 30.3%

UnitedHealth Group (UNH 1.53%) stock has been a disappointment in 2025, down 50% heading into August. But it made a massive turnaround on a couple of key investments.

First, Berkshire Hathaway, led by famed CEO Warren Buffett, disclosed a $1.5 billion position in UnitedHealth, pocketing 5.04 million shares. It was a big move for Berkshire, which also operates an insurance company in GEICO, and signaled to investors that the beaten-down insurer was ripe for the picking.

Second, investor Michael Burry disclosed his own investment through his Scion Asset Management hedge fund. Burry, who’s best known for his bet against the housing market that was dramatized in The Big Short, disclosed that Scion bought 20,000 shares of UnitedHealth stock and another 350,000 call options.

The company’s second-quarter earnings were also solid, with revenue of $111.6 billion up $12.8 billion from a year ago. UnitedHealth issued full-year guidance for revenue between $344 billion and $345.5 billion, which would be up 15% from 2024.

Apple: Up 14.7%

Buffett’s cash to fund his UnitedHealth purchase came from his sale of Apple (AAPL -0.16%) stock. The Oracle of Omaha trimmed Berkshire’s stake by 20 million shares. But Apple had some other positive things going for it, so it still had a very good August.

First, Apple had a better-than-expected earnings report. Financials for its fiscal 2025’s third quarter (ended June 28) showed revenue of $94 billion, up 10% from a year ago. Earnings per share totaled $1.57, which was a 12% increase from last year.

Apple badly needed a quarter like that because the company’s revenue has been flat since 2023. While some investors were expecting more of the same, Apple was able to report double-digit growth in its iPhone, Mac, and Services segments.

American Express: Up 12.6%

American Express (AXP -1.30%) is a credit card company that has distinct advantages over competitors Mastercard and Visa. While it has a smaller market share, American Express caters to corporate accounts and affluent customers who crave the American Express gold or platinum card perks.

In addition, the company operates its own payment network and extends loans, giving it another income stream from the interest charged.

Although there remains some concern about the strength of the economy, American Express reported revenue that was up 9% in the second quarter to $17.8 billion. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $4.08, up 17% from the second quarter of 2024.

American Express isn’t sitting on its laurels, though. CEO Steve Squeri indicated that the company is looking to upgrade its Platinum card in an effort to draw Generation Z and millennial customers.

Amazon: Up 6.6%

Amazon (AMZN -1.46%) has multiple growth engines with its lucrative Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud computing segment and its powerful e-commerce division. Both had good news to report in August, pushing Amazon shares higher.

First, the company’s second-quarter results showed strong performance from AWS, with revenue in the segment coming in at $30.87 billion and operating income of $10.16 billion. AWS is by far most profitable segment for Amazon, and its cloud computing division is essential for companies that are looking to operate artificial intelligence-infused programs without spending massive amounts of money to create their own data centers.

Image source: Getty Images.

Amazon also is seeing greater success with advertising. Its advertising-services segment brought in $15.69 billion in the second quarter, up 23% from the previous year.

Finally, the company’s Amazon Prime Day shopping event in July brought in billions. The company said it was the biggest Prime Day event in its history. While Amazon didn’t release sales figures yet, Adobe Analytics projected $23.8 billion in overall sales from the three-day event.

Home Depot: Up 8.8%

Home Depot (HD 1.69%) had a good August after reporting solid earnings of its own. As home sales are struggling in 2025, more people seem to be putting work into their existing properties, according to CEO Ted Decker, who cited “smaller home improvement projects” as driving the company’s successful quarter.

Home Depot said it saw sales of $45.3 billion in the second quarter, up 4.9% from a year ago. Adjusted earnings per share of $4.68 were $0.01 per share higher than a year ago. The home-improvement retailer reaffirmed its 2025 guidance for sales growth of 2.8%.

Investors haven’t been kind to Intuitive Surgical (ISRG 2.67%) and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN 0.96%) this year. Both healthcare leaders have encountered company-specific issues that have led to sell-offs. Intuitive Surgical’s stock is down 15% this year, while Regeneron has shed 21% of its value.

However, there are excellent reasons to think both companies could rebound, and if that’s the case, now might be a wonderful time to purchase their shares on the dip. Here’s why I remain bullish on these medical companies.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Intuitive Surgical

Intuitive Surgical is facing at least two main issues. First, President Donald Trump’s tariffs could have a significant impact on the company’s financial results, potentially decreasing its earnings. Second, there is mounting competition in its niche. Intuitive Surgical develops and markets robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) devices. Its best-known one is the da Vinci system, which is cleared across a range of indications, from general surgery to urologic procedures, weight loss surgeries, and more.

However, medical device giant Medtronic is inching closer to launching its Hugo system in urologic procedures in the U.S. Do these challenges make Intuitive Surgical’s prospects unattractive? Not at all, in my view. Even with the impact of tariffs, the company’s financial results remain excellent. Second-quarter revenue grew by 21% year over year to $2.44 billion, despite a 1% hit from tariffs.

Also, although competition is intensifying, the RAS market remains deeply underpenetrated. Furthermore, Intuitive Surgical has a significant established lead in this field, having launched its da Vinci system in 2000. The company’s advantage doesn’t just come from its large installed base of 10,488 systems as of the second quarter. Real-world use of its crown jewel has proven its efficacy beyond what can be established in clinical trials, and it has also provided Intuitive Surgical with the data and insight to improve its device.

Last year, the company launched the fifth generation of its da Vinci system, which was well-received in the market. Intuitive Surgical also benefits from high switching costs associated with the price of its da Vinci systems, making it likely to retain most of its customers. The company will profit from increased demand for surgical procedures. Though it makes money from the sale of its devices, it makes even more revenue from instruments and accessories, which is tied to procedure volume.

That’s a long-term trend that could ride for a while, given the world’s aging population and increased demand for medical services. So, Intuitive Surgical might be down right now, but the stock remains attractive to long-term investors.

2. Regeneron

In the second quarter, Regeneron’s revenue increased by 4% year over year to $3.68 billion. While that may not seem impressive, it’s essential to put things into perspective. The drugmaker is facing competition, including from biosimilars for Eylea, a medicine used to treat wet age-related macular degeneration. However, it is mitigating the losses associated with that product, thanks to a new, high-dose formulation of it, whose sales should continue moving in the right direction as it earns some label expansions.

The rest of Regeneron’s lineup looks pretty strong. The company’s revenue from cancer medicine Libtayo is growing at a healthy clip, while its most important growth driver, eczema treatment Dupixent, remains as robust as ever. Regeneron shares global rights to Dupixent with Sanofi. The medicine has been performing well over the past year, thanks to new indications, including an important one in COPD. Dupixent’s sales in the second period (recorded by Sanofi) grew by 22% year over year to $4.34 billion.

Meanwhile, the medicine could earn even more label expansions in the future, seeing as it is still being tested across a range of potential indications. Libtayo could also earn a label expansion of its own in squamous cell carcinoma. Furthermore, Regeneron recently received approval for a new cancer medicine, Lynozyfic.

The company’s pipeline features several additional products that could enhance its lineup. So, despite the competition for Eylea, Regeneron has launched a new formulation of the medicine, which is helping it stay afloat. The company is also launching new products and expanding labels for existing growth drivers. The stock looks like a buy despite the headwinds it has encountered.

Investors in search of stocks that can produce dramatic gains in a short time frame will want to turn their heads toward the healthcare sector. A handful of stocks in the space more than doubled in price recently.

Shares of Precigen (PGEN -4.61%) and Mineralys Therapeutics (MLYS 4.86%) have already risen more than 100% since the end of July. Despite the recent run-ups, Wall Street experts who follow these stocks believe they could soar even further.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Precigen

From the end of July through Friday, Sept. 5, shares of Precigen shot 155% higher. The market cheered because the drugmaker earned approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its first treatment. Papzimeos is a cell-based immunotherapy for the treatment of recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP), a rare disease that results in tumors lining the respiratory tract.

Papzimeos is the first and only treatment approved by the FDA to treat an estimated 27,000 patients with RRP. The agency granted the drug full approval instead of waiting for a confirmatory study. In the single-arm trial supporting its application, 18 out of 35 patients responded well enough to avoid tumor removal surgery for at least 12 months after treatment with Papzimeos.

The agency and analysts following Precigen were encouraged by the fact that 15 out of the initial 18 responders remained surgery-free 24 months after treatment with Papzimeos. In response, Swayampakula Ramakanth from HC Wainwright reiterated a buy rating and an $8.50 price target that implies a 95% gain in the year ahead.

2. Mineralys Therapeutics

Shares of Mineralys Therapeutics rose 146% from the end of July through Sept. 5. Investors were excited about a successful new funding round to support continued development of lorundrostat, its lead candidate. On Sept. 2, Mineralys suspended an at-the-money equity offering and, within a couple of days, completed a secondary offering that ended up raising $287.5 million.

In August, investors hardly noticed a presentation of phase 3 trial results regarding lorundrostat. Patients who added the aldosterone inhibitor to the medications they were already taking reduced their systolic pressure by 16.9 millimeters of mercury after six weeks on treatment, compared to just 7.9 millimeters of mercury for patients who received a placebo.

Mineralys’ stock shot higher after AstraZeneca reported arguably inferior 12-week data for an aldosterone inhibitor it’s developing called baxdrostat. At week 12, it reduced patients’ systolic pressure by 15.7 millimeters of mercury, compared to 5.8 millimeters of mercury for the placebo group.

Less than a week ahead of Mineralys’ successful secondary stock offering, Bank of America analyst Greg Harrison boosted his target for the stock to $43 per share. The raised target implies a gain of about 24% from recent prices.

Time to buy?

Before you get too excited about Mineralys and its hypertension candidate, it’s important to realize the pre-commercial-stage business finished June with $325 million in cash, or enough to last into 2027. Diluting shareholder value to raise additional capital that could now push the stock price higher means the company isn’t super confident that it can quickly submit an application and earn approval for its lead candidate before the beginning of 2027.

MLYS Shares Outstanding data by YCharts.

At recent prices, Mineralys sports a huge $2.7 billion market cap that could shrink significantly if it looks like timing will become an issue that allows AstraZeneca’s candidate to gain and maintain a large share of the market for new hypertension drugs. It’s probably best to wait and see whether this company can earn approval for lorundrostat in a timely manner before adding the stock to your portfolio.

With a market cap of $1.3 billion at recent prices, expectations for Precigen are lower than they probably should be. Papzimeos is already approved and will launch unchallenged in its niche market.

Papzimeos’ addressable patient population is small, but a list price north of $200,000 per year per patient means it could rack up more than $1 billion in annual sales at its peak. Since drugmaker stocks generally trade at mid- to high-single-digit multiples of total sales, adding some shares to a diversified portfolio now looks like a smart move.

Investors can find success in the stock market by sticking with companies that consistently report strong growth in revenues. This is a simple strategy that, when applied across a diversified portfolio of growth stocks, can lead to outstanding returns over a decade or more.

The important thing is to follow the growth of the business, not the short-term volatility in the share price. There’s a high correlation between a company’s growth and stock performance over many years.

With that in mind, let’s look at two stocks that could be easy wealth builders for a long-term investor.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. MercadoLibre

The Latin American e-commerce market is booming. It is a large population surpassing 650 million people, which is fueling strong growth for MercadoLibre (MELI 0.00%). The company offers an online marketplace where merchants can sell goods to millions of buyers, but it also generates revenue from mobile payments, advertising, and other fintech services.

Over the last 10 years, the company’s revenue has grown at a compound annual rate of more than 40%, sending the stock up 2,000%. MercadoLibre continues to report high rates of growth as it continues to invest in improving the customer experience, such as lowering prices, increasing shipping speeds, and rolling out new products like credit cards. Revenue reached nearly $6.8 billion in its second quarter 2025, representing a year-over-year increase of 34%.

MercadoLibre has multiple levers to pull to sustain high rates of growth. It recently reduced shipping and seller fees, incentivizing sellers to also reduce their selling prices. This move shows how it is leveraging its massive scale as the dominant e-commerce company in Latin America to gain share and grow its customer base.

Lower fees for sellers are expected to increase the selection of goods offered on the marketplace, which, in turn, will drive higher customer satisfaction and more frequent shopping.

Additionally, the Mercado Pago credit business has been a fast-growing source of revenue in recent years and an attractive long-term opportunity to win more customers. The company’s credit portfolio roughly doubled in Q2 over the year-ago quarter, indicating strong adoption of its credit card product.

The integration of financial services like credit cards, paired with its commerce business, helps create a tighter ecosystem of services that drives customer loyalty. With just 68 million monthly active users, MercadoLibre has an enormous runway to grow its fintech business.

MercadoLibre is tapping into a huge opportunity, helping millions of people in the region get access to basic financial services. The compounding growth of this business makes it an excellent buy-and-hold stock to build wealth for retirement.

2. Coupang

Coupang (CPNG 0.63%) has a lot of similarities to Amazon. It is revolutionizing e-commerce in South Korea and Taiwan, where it’s showing strong growth potential outside its home market in Korea. It might seem challenging for another e-commerce juggernaut to rise under Amazon’s shadow, but Coupang has advantages.

Coupang’s trailing-12-month revenue has increased 62% over the three years to $32 billion. Quarterly revenue increased by 19% year over year in Q2 on a constant-currency basis. The company’s profitability also continues to trend in a positive direction, with gross profit, operating income, and earnings per share increasing over the year-ago quarter. Strong financial results pushed the stock up 30% year to date.

This growth reflects execution at expanding product selection, and investing in automation to improve delivery speed. It offers same-day delivery across a massive selection of products to millions of customers living in densely populated cities, which is the basis of its competitive advantage.

One area of the business that indicates a lot of growth potential is its Developing Offerings. This includes grocery delivery and streaming entertainment. Revenue from these items grew 33% year over year — significantly faster than its product commerce. This reflects more customers continuing to spend more with Coupang after initially purchasing products through its e-commerce business.

Moreover, management indicated in the last earnings report that its Developing Offerings in Taiwan are growing faster than anticipated. This is a great sign that its business model could find more markets outside of South Korea, where it can be successful and deliver returns for shareholders.

Coupang is essentially becoming the default app that 24 million active customers rely on for buying goods, food, and digital entertainment. Its record of consistently reporting high-double-digit growth, with promising international expansion potential, could make this a huge winner for investors over the long term.

August is over, and September is here. But many investors are fearful because of the so-called “September Effect.” It turns out that September is historically the worst month for the S&P 500 (^GSPC -0.32%), with stocks often going down more often than they go up.

However, I’m sure that investors in The Trade Desk (TTD 0.23%), Super Micro Computer (SMCI -0.76%), Gartner (IT 3.83%), Fortinet (FTNT 3.06%), and Coinbase (COIN -2.49%) welcome September anyway. That’s because these five stocks were the five worst performers in the S&P 500 during August, dropping between 19% and 37% during the month.

Data by YCharts.

As the chart shows, all of these stocks dropped sharply early in August. But the drops happened on different days, suggesting that each stock was down for unique reasons.

Considering these businesses range from adtech to cryptocurrency to cybersecurity, it makes sense that all five are down for their own reasons. And that’s why I want to explore why each stock fell in August, as well as which of the five might be the most opportunistic buying opportunity today.

Image source: Getty Images.

Why these five stocks lost ground in August

All five of these stocks were down for unique reasons, yes. But they did all share one thing in common: The drops came right after each company reported quarterly financial results.

The Trade Desk

On Aug. 7, The Trade Desk disappointed investors with its financial guidance for the third quarter of 2025, only calling for 14% revenue growth — its slowest growth rate as a publicly traded company, outside the pandemic. And at the same time, the company abruptly changed its chief financial officer (CFO), which particularly unsettled investors in light of its lackluster outlook.

Super Micro Computer

On Aug. 5, Supermicro reported its completed fiscal 2025 financial results. Its fiscal 2025 net sales were up by 47% year over year, which was good. But its gross margin dropped to 9.5% in the fourth quarter — its lowest ever as a publicly traded company. So while its net sales are going up, profits aren’t up as much as investors would like to see.

Gartner

The business insights company reported financial results for the second quarter of 2025 on Aug. 5, beating expectations on the top and bottom lines. But the stock fell because management only expects 2% growth for the entire year, which is pretty meager and leads investors to believe that there’s little upside potential with this investment.

Fortinet

Gartner recognizes Fortinet as a leader in cybersecurity, but its stock plunged in August nevertheless. One of the company’s main products is firewalls, and when it reported second-quarter results on Aug. 6, management mentioned a refresh cycle.

In short, analysts are worried about the company’s growth, considering it’s already about halfway done with refresh for 2026, and 2027 is looking particularly slow. The refresh cycle was so heavy on investors’ minds that management even had a special call in which it tried to downplay any weakness in its refresh cycle, but it did little to relieve nervous investors.

Coinbase

On July 31, Coinbase reported financial results for the second quarter of 2025, showing that revenue was down and expenses were up. The big issue is that the company’s transaction revenue — what it makes when its users buy and sell cryptocurrency — is dropping sharply, leading management to expect a big year-over-year drop in revenue for the upcoming third quarter. This obviously isn’t what investors wanted to see, and the stock consequently fell.

With all of this now out of the way, which of these stocks is the best buy as September gets going?

Why AI might be the difference maker here

Coinbase may be the most vulnerable here. The cryptocurrency space goes into bear markets every few years on average, and it’s about due for a new one. The company’s transaction tends to suggest that a  “crypto winter” may be just around the corner.

Of the remaining four stocks, I don’t think investors with a long-term view can go wrong. Gartner expects low growth, but it’s still a reliable business, and the valuation is cheap. Fortinet is experiencing a normal refresh cycle, and cybersecurity remains a big need. And The Trade Desk has been so reliable for years that it’s premature to assume that its best days are behind it.

However, Super Micro Computer stock may be the opportunity with the most upside of these five.

First, Supermicro clearly doesn’t have a growth problem. Demand for its servers and storage solutions are popular with companies building infrastructure for artificial intelligence (AI), as evidenced by its 47% top-line growth in its fiscal 2025. And management expects at least 50% additional top-line growth in fiscal 2026, showing that demand isn’t slowing.

Moreover, Supermicro stock is cheap at just 24 times its earnings. That’s cheaper than the average for the S&P 500, even though its growth is far above average. This could limit the downside of this investment.

Therefore, the investment thesis for Supermicro hinges on whether its gross margin can improve. If it can, then expect its profits to skyrocket far faster than its already torrid revenue growth. That would likely be rocket fuel for the stock.

For its part, Supermicro’s management believes this is possible. Countries are looking into building their own AI infrastructures, known as sovereign AI. The company has products to address this trend, which could boost its gross margin. Management is expecting gross margins to recover to 15%-16% long term.

It’s not a sure thing. But even modest gross-margin improvement would radically change the trajectory of Supermicro’s profits and, by extension, its stock price. This is why I believe Supermicro is one to take a look at here in September, considering it went on sale in August.

The last three years have been nothing short of spectacular for stock investors. The S&P 500 has produced a cumulative total return of 87% since hitting its bear market low in October 2022. If you invested in growth stocks, your returns have been even better, with the S&P 500 Growth index more than doubling in that same period.

Growth stocks have been the driving force behind the gains in the index. But as growth stocks have climbed in price, it’s left fewer options for investors looking for good value. And if you’re just getting started or trying to invest your next $100, a good growth opportunity is hard to come by in this market.

But looking past the biggest companies can still reveal many great opportunities to buy stocks in businesses with excellent growth prospects ahead of them. Here are three options all trading for prices below $100 per share.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Block

Block (XYZ -1.11%) is the company behind Cash App and Square. The merchant side, Square, was the original growth driver for the company, but the momentum has shifted to its consumer app, Cash App.

That’s not to say Square is struggling. Gross payment volume climbed 10% last quarter, and it’s seeing even stronger demand in its international markets, which still represent a great growth opportunity for the business. It continues to see gross profit margin expand as it moves upmarket to larger merchants.

But Cash App could be an even bigger growth driver for Block going forward. That’s why the stock fell hard after the segment’s profit growth underperformed in the first quarter. But management quickly course corrected, with gross profit growth accelerating in the second quarter, and management’s confident it can continue climbing in the current quarter.

Cash App’s acceleration came as a result of improving monetization of its users by increasing the number of services used. That includes a slight bump in its Cash App Card monthly users and its newly released Cash App Borrow service.

But management sees a long-term opportunity to grow Cash App’s user base by focusing on younger consumers. To that end, it’s seen strong engagement among younger users, with users under the age of 25 exhibiting higher rates of paycheck deposits and Cash App Card usage. As those younger users increase their earning and spending power, Cash App could see strong gross profit growth.

With the stock trading around $75 per share at the time of this writing, investors are paying about 29 times forward earnings estimates. With accelerating profit growth, and long-term potential for user growth, that’s a fair price to pay for the fintech company.

2. DraftKings

DraftKings (DKNG -1.96%) is one of the biggest sports betting companies in North America. The company has used its scale and technology platform to remain ahead of the competition in offering new products and scaling them. For example, it was one of the first U.S. sportsbooks offering live betting and in-game parlays.

As a result, DraftKings continues to grow despite a step up in competition. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) accelerated in the second quarter, climbing 37% year over year. That was helped by sportsbook-friendly outcomes, a reversion from the first quarter (when all four No. 1 seeds reached the Final Four in the NCAA Basketball Championship Tournament).

That success comes in the face of stepped up competition. ESPN launched its own sports betting brand in late 2023, not only adding a huge brand name to the competition, but removing a potential marketing partner at the same time. More recently, prediction markets using CFTC-authorized futures contracts have gained popularity as legal alternatives in states where sports betting is still illegal.

The latter represents a big threat to DraftKings, especially as the new tax code goes into effect next year. The new tax law limits gamblers to deducting just 90% of their losses against their winnings. Prediction markets, using financial vehicles, face no such limitations. DraftKings is exploring opportunities in the space, which could expand its product offerings.

In the meantime, the new tax code could reduce the number of professional gamblers on the platform, which could ultimately increase margins at the expense of a lower sportsbook handle. And if it continues to push its live-betting platform, it could offer betting opportunities unavailable on prediction markets.

With the stock trading around $48 per share, it sports an enterprise value to EBITDA ratio of about 29, based on the midpoint of management’s 2025 outlook. For a company that’s growing its EBITDA at a mid-30% rate, that’s an excellent price for the stock, and you could pick up a couple of shares with your $100.

3. Roku

Roku (ROKU -2.03%) is the leading connected-TV platform in North America with a growing presence around the world. The company received a huge boost amid the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, with millions of customers flocking to its platform and using it to find entertainment. However, inflation, macroeconomic uncertainty, and more recently, tariffs, have weighed on its results since.

After the strong growth of its streaming platform in the early part of the decade, Roku became more willing to sell its devices at a loss. Device gross margin fell to negative 29% in the fourth quarter last year amid big holiday sales. Last quarter, Roku managed to sell its devices at cost, on average, but many expect tariffs will weigh on device gross margin going forward.

That’s made up for in the booming growth of its platform. Platform gross margin remains in the low-50% range, even as it scales its advertising business and relies on third-party demand-side platforms to fill inventory. And with the platform business now six times the size of its device sales, the overall business is growing steadily more profitable.

In fact, management is pushing toward GAAP profitability with expectations for it to eke out a small profit for the full year. Profits could soar significantly over the coming years as it scales and manages significant operating leverage. If you look at its reported adjusted EBITDA, management said it grew the metric 79% year over year in the most recent quarter. That earnings growth is supported by continued improvements in platform sales, which is driven by higher viewer engagement and the secular shift of ad budgets from linear TV to streaming video. Those trends aren’t changing, which provides a long runway of revenue growth for Roku’s platform.

With the stock trading just below $100, the company has an enterprise value to EBITDA ratio of about 33, based on managements outlook for 2025. With the company exhibiting a ton of operating leverage and benefiting from secular trends in advertising, it’s worth your $100 to add it to your portfolio.

The artificial intelligence (AI) industry is evolving rapidly. AI is getting smarter, although some cracks in the growth story have emerged. OpenAI‘s highly anticipated GPT-5 model has fallen well short of inflated expectations, which likely throws some cold water on the idea that AI “superintelligence” is right around the corner.

While uncertainty is running high, International Business Machines (IBM -0.85%) and Intel (INTC -0.59%) are two AI stocks worth buying if you have $1,000 available to invest. IBM is focusing on applying AI to real-world problems for its clients, and Intel could find itself manufacturing future AI chips for third-party customers if it can get its act together.

Here’s why IBM and Intel both look like solid AI bets.

Image source: Getty Images.

IBM: Using AI in the real world

Right now, companies like Nvidia that supply the powerful GPUs that make the AI boom possible are raking in most of the cash. In the long run, though, companies that take AI technology and provide high-value services will likely be the big winners. IBM is already doing exactly that.

An astonishing 95% of AI pilots at companies fail to produce results, according to an MIT report. With many businesses struggling to implement AI in a way that actually increases revenue or reduces costs, IBM already offers a solution. The company’s generative AI business has drummed up $7.5 billion worth of business so far, with most of that total coming from its consulting arm. AI implementation and integration services are proving to be critical pieces of the puzzle for enterprises.

As companies shift from frantically deploying AI to really thinking about returns on investment and real-world results, IBM is in a great position to grow its generative AI business. With the global economic environment growing more uncertain, AI projects that promise reduced costs and greater efficiency should be in high demand.

That’s exactly what IBM supplies. By pairing consulting with software, IBM has found a lucrative AI niche that can drive growth for years to come.

Intel: The foundry opportunity

There’s no question that Intel has largely failed to take advantage of the AI boom so far. The company’s AI accelerator efforts have been a disaster, with its Gaudi AI chips selling poorly and its next-generation Falcon Shores cancelled. New CEO Lip-Bu Tan has noted that it may be too late for Intel to succeed in the AI training market, which is dominated by Nvidia.

While Intel may not be a major player in the AI accelerator market, the future is likely to be less concentrated. Nvidia still sells the lion’s share of powerful AI chips, but many tech giants are already designing custom AI chips of their own, particularly for AI inference workloads. Reducing the costs associated with running powerful AI models is critical for companies like Alphabet, which is integrating AI into its core search business.

This explosion of custom AI chips could be a boon for Intel if the company can get its act together in the semiconductor foundry business. While the Intel 18A process is ready for volume manufacturing, the company has failed to win a major external customer. Intel 14A, which is expected to be ready in 2027, may be the company’s last shot at making the foundry business work.

If Intel can sell AI chip designers on its Intel 14A process, the company could turn its money-losing foundry bet into a highly profitable endeavor. The U.S. government’s stake in Intel could provide some incentive for companies to choose Intel for manufacturing, given the Trump administration’s push to boost U.S. semiconductor manufacturing. Even a single large customer win for Intel’s foundry could send the stock soaring as it finally taps into the booming AI chip market.

As the month of September gets underway, dividend investors looking for new opportunities shouldn’t be put off by the lofty levels of the broader market. Sure, the S&P 500 index (^GSPC -0.69%) is near all-time highs, but there are still some very attractive high-yield stocks hiding under the surface.

Three of the most attractive buys right now in the energy sector could be NextEra Energy (NEE 0.79%), Chevron (CVX 0.77%), and Enterprise Products Partners (EPD -0.45%). Here’s why.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. NextEra Energy has an attractive yield, relatively speaking

The S&P 500 index’s dividend yield is a miserly 1.2% or so. Utility NextEra Energy’s dividend yield is more than twice as high, at 3.1% or so. The average utility, meanwhile, has a yield of roughly 2.7%. So, while NextEra Energy’s yield may not be as high as some investors might like, it is still a very attractive yield compared to relevant benchmarks.

That said, the really exciting story here is the dividend growth. During the past decade, NextEra’s dividend has increased at a 10% annualized clip. That’s good for any company, but particularly good as the utility sector is known for more for slow and steady growth. NextEra expects to raise the dividend by 10% a year through at least 2026. The 6% to 8% earnings growth that is backing the dividend increases is expected to last through at least 2027. In other words, strong dividend growth is likely to continue beyond the current projection.

Two things are driving that growth. First is the company’s core regulated electric utility operations in Florida. This state has benefited for years from in-migration. More residents means more customers and more demand. But NextEra has a second business in the mix, since it is also one of the world’s largest solar and wind companies. This division is the growth driver and given the energy transition going on, it will likely remain a growth driver for years to come. If you like growth and income stocks, high-yield NextEra Energy should be on your list in September.

2. Chevron has a high yield and a resilient business

Integrated energy giant Chevron’s dividend yield is about 4.3%. The average energy stock’s yield is roughly 3.3%. Like NextEra, Chevron looks like a dividend stock with a relatively attractive yield. It surpasses the 4% yield mark that many dividend investors use when looking for investments. So it might be more tempting than NextEra Energy.

Adding to the attraction here is the fact that Chevron has increased its dividend for 38 consecutive years. This is despite the fact that Chevron operates in the commodity-driven energy sector, where oil prices have a huge impact on financial performance. Using an integrated model, which provides exposure to the entire energy value chain, and a focus on a strong balance sheet, with a low debt-to-equity ratio of 0.2, both help Chevron keep the dividend growing. Basically, its business is resilient to the industry’s typical swings.

But the real linchpin here is the fact that Chevron’s business foundation is getting stronger. First, after a long and difficult effort, the company’s troubled acquisition of Hess has been completed. That’s good for growth. And second, the company’s Venezuelan operations, which can be a bit of a political headache, are starting to function more normally again. This high-yield and reliable energy business is finally working from a position of strength again.

3. Enterprise Products Partners is a tortoise with an ultra-high yield

Master limited partnership (MLP) Enterprise Products Partners’ distribution yield is a mighty 6.8%. And the distribution has been increased for 27 consecutive years. That combination will probably be appealing to most dividend investors.

Enterprise’s business is built from the ground up to support its distributions. It has an investment-grade rated balance sheet. And its energy business is squarely in the midstream, where a toll-taker model is used. Enterprise owns vital energy infrastructure assets, like pipelines, for which it charges usage fees. Those fees are tied to volume, not energy prices, making cash flows fairly reliable through the energy cycle.

That said, there is one potential problem. While NextEra is known for being a dividend-growth hare, Enterprise is known for being a distribution-growth tortoise. Slow and steady distribution growth is likely the best you can expect, but given the lofty starting yield, that probably won’t upset dividend investors looking to maximize the income they generate today.

Plenty of great options for dividend investors

The S&P 500 index is a top-level view of the market and frequently, one that is driven by a small number of large companies. There are always plenty of attractive dividend stocks hidden under the surface. Right now some of the best might be NextEra, Chevron, and Enterprise Products Partners. As September gets underway, you should probably take the time to get to know each one of these energy stocks.

The hot field of quantum computing catapulted the stocks of several companies in the space. Examples include IonQ (IONQ -3.04%) and D-Wave Quantum (QBTS -2.24%). The former’s share price is up over 400% and the latter more than 1,000% in the last year through the week ending Aug. 29.

But of the businesses racing to produce quantum computers capable of adoption beyond research circles, Nvidia (NVDA -3.12%) stands out. Several factors contribute to its position as a top quantum computing stock to consider right now.

Image source: Getty Images.

Why Nvidia is a compelling quantum computer stock

Nvidia is known as the artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor chip leader. But as it looks toward the future, the company is working to evolve its tech for the quantum era. For example, it’s developing a core processing unit that works in a quantum computer.

In addition, Nvidia is opening a research center that will house “the most powerful hardware ever deployed for quantum computing applications,” according to the company. The center aims to solve challenges inherent in quantum devices, such as their propensity to make computational mistakes.

Beyond its tech, another factor making Nvidia a compelling quantum computer stock is the company’s outstanding financial health. While IonQ and D-Wave aren’t profitable, Nvidia’s net income was $26.4 billion in its fiscal second quarter (ended July 27), a 59% increase over the previous year. It also generated $13.5 billion in Q2 free cash flow, providing funds to invest in quantum technology.

Moreover, Nvidia shares possess a superior valuation among quantum computer stocks such as IonQ and D-Wave. This can be seen in the price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of the companies.

Data by YCharts.

The chart shows that IonQ and D-Wave’s sales multiples skyrocketed over the last year, making Nvidia the lowest among the trio by a wide margin. This suggests IonQ and D-Wave stocks are overpriced.

With its better valuation, technological advancements, and strong financial standing, Nvidia emerges as an attractive investment in quantum computing.