Investing in top growth stocks can not only make you a millionaire, but a multimillionaire. And in some cases, you can achieve those kinds of results by investing just $10,000. Three examples of fantastic long-term investments over the past 20 years are Nvidia (NVDA 4.11%), Apple (AAPL 4.33%), and Monster Beverage (MNST -0.15%). These stocks have turned $10,000 investments into more than $3 million today. Here’s how they’ve done it, and whether they are still good stocks to own today.
1. Nvidia
Chipmaker Nvidia has taken off in value over the past few years as investors have grown excited about the company’s long-term prospects in artificial intelligence (AI). Whether it’s creating chatbots or new AI models, Nvidia has become synonymous with AI investing. Many top tech companies have partnered with it as there’s no shortage of customers eager to buy Nvidia’s chips.
Two decades ago, this was still a big name in the computing world, and if you had invested $10,000 in the stock in April 2004, your investment would top $4 million right now. That’s an amazing return, but it’s hard, if not impossible, to predict winners like this.
While you would be unlikely to generate returns like that from Nvidia if you bought the stock today, it can still be an excellent investment, nonetheless. In the trailing 12 months, the company has accumulated $30 billion in profits on revenues of $61 billion for an impressive profit margin of just under 50%.
The stock’s relatively low price/earnings-to-growth ratio, or PEG, of 1.2 also implies that analysts still see a lot more growth from the business down the road, and that the market may not be necessarily overvaluing the stock currently. If you’re bullish on AI, it’s hard to go wrong with Nvidia, even if you’re buying the stock today.
2. Apple
Apple, the popular iPhone and iPad maker, has enjoyed a long and illustrious growth trajectory over the years. The business has evolved, and today has created a whole ecosystem that revolves around its products and related services. That can make acquiring a user particularly powerful, since the prospect of switching to an Android phone can be both costly and cumbersome.
Although this year hasn’t been a particularly strong one for Apple with its shares down 12% thus far in 2024, it has still been an exceptional stock to have owned over the long term. If you invested $10,000 into the stock 20 years ago, your investment would be worth approximately $3.5 million today, and about $4.1 million with dividends reinvested.
Apple is another example of a high-margin business as over the past four quarters, its net income has totaled $100.9 billion, which is 26% of its top line during that stretch ($385.7 billion). Now that the stock is taking a bit of a breather, investors may want to consider loading up on Apple’s stock as it trades at 26 times earnings, which may not prove to be all that high for a business that still has a top brand and plenty of room to grow its revenue, particularly on the service side of things.
3. Monster Beverage
Energy drink company Monster Beverage has built up a strong brand for decades. The company has been growing globally, and today it’s a top beverage brand. It has partnered with the Ultimate Fighting Championship as key deals like that have helped Monster’s brand become synonymous with high performance and athleticism.
The business is much smaller than the others on this list, generating revenue of just over $7.1 billion last year. But with strong profits of $1.6 billion, its profit margins have also been high at around 23%.
One thing that hasn’t been modest has been the profit long-term investors would have accumulated from owning the stock. Like with Apple, a $10,000 investment in Monster’s stock 20 years ago would have grown to a value of nearly $3.5 million today.
At 35.2 times its trailing earnings, however, the stock may be getting a bit pricey as its sales rose by just 13% last year, though earnings per share (EPS) rose by 38%, somewhat justifying the market’s expectations. While Monster has historically been a good buy over the years, its future gains may be a bit more muted compared with the other stocks on this list. Monster can still make for a good investment, but investors should be careful not to expect sky-high returns just because of its past performance.
David Jagielski has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple, Monster Beverage, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
