Growth stocks are back on the menu for 2025.
The market’s animal spirits were unleashed in the latter half of 2024, sparked by a change in Washington. Heading into the new year, strategists and investors alike expected the American economy to continue pushing forward—a green flag for growth investors. “The U.S. will remain the global growth engine with a still-healthy labor market, strong credit fundamentals, ample liquidity in the system, and broadening of AI-related capital spending,” JPMorgan Global Research said in its 2025 outlook.
If only things had played out that way. Unfortunately, the first few months of the new year were pockmarked by increasingly shaky economic readings and a turbulent market as the world tried to come to terms with the numerous and stark changes that President Donald Trump’s administration has made to America’s trade policy.
Good news, though: While the broader market hasn’t recaptured its February highs (yet), stocks are at least up for the year-to-date. Investors’ confidence has mostly returned, and that means a much better appetite for growth stocks than a few months ago.
Today, I’ll run you through our recently refreshed list of the best growth stocks to buy at 2025’s midpoint—picks that can grow not just their top and bottom lines, but your nest egg, too. Read on as I discuss some of the basic tenets of growth investing, and then I’ll discuss several potential opportunities with growth characteristics.
Disclaimer: This article does not constitute individualized investment advice. These securities appear for your consideration and not as personalized investment recommendations. Act at your own discretion.
What Is a Growth Stock?
A growth stock is generally viewed as a company that is improving sales and profits with each passing year—typically at a faster clip than the industry average. This should, in theory, result in faster stock price appreciation as other shareholders get wise to this success and decide to buy in themselves.
Growth stocks tend to be viewed in opposition to value stocks, which might not grow as fast but have substantial underlying operations that the market is underappreciating (for now).
So, what metrics do we want to look at?
Growth stocks tend to boast rapid sales. Income matters, too—though it’s more important among more established companies, as smaller growth stocks often burn all their cash on expansion. Expectations matter, too, because if rapid growth still falls short of Street estimates, these supposedly highflying companies might still see their stocks slump.
Similarly, we have to consider the competition. For instance, if an AI company is growing at a 40% rate, that might sound great … but if similar companies are growing at a 50%-plus clip, that AI company could be viewed as a laggard.
In other words: Not all growth stocks are good investments, even if they’re growing … heck, even if they’re growing quickly! That means we have to look past the surface to really find the best growth stocks to buy.
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The Best Growth Stocks to Buy Now
The top growth stocks right now are companies expanding faster than the broader market, as well as their peers. That often involves riding a long-term trend that will result in a durable tailwind for years to come.
Nothing is certain on Wall Street, of course, and growth stocks that showed strong revenue trends or stock price appreciation over the past year might still stumble when things change in the months to come. That said, investors who pay attention to growth stock data can often identify companies moving into favor—and share in their success.
Here are a few examples of growth stocks to watch based on recent performance and financial metrics. I’ll also provide each stock’s consensus analyst rating, courtesy of S&P Global Market Intelligence. The consensus rating is the average of all known analyst ratings of the stock, boiled down to a numerical system where
1-1.5 = Strong Buy
1.5-2.5 = Buy
2.5-3.5 = Hold
3.5-4.5 = Sell
4.5-5 = Strong Sell
In short, the lower the number, the better the overall consensus view on the stock.
All stocks here are rated at least 2.0 or below, meaning at worst they’re solidly in the Buy camp.
Best Growth Stock #7: Eli Lilly
- Market cap: $577.1 billion
- Long-term earnings growth estimate: 31%
- Consensus analyst rating: 1.76 (Buy)
- Sector: Health care
Wall Street analysts remain convinced that Big Pharma mainstay Eli Lilly (LLY) has a lot of growth runway left despite a lousy 2025 performance for shares and a worrying result for one of its most promising drugs.
Lilly has a stable of blockbuster products, including breast cancer drug Verzenio and type 2 diabetes treatment Trulicity. But most of LLY’s growth hopes rest on the shoulders of its diabetes and weight-loss products, including two products (Mounjaro and Zepbound) that generated a combined $16.5 billion in revenues last year. But recently, LLY shares took a double-digit hit after a late-stage trial for its weight-loss pill (orforglipron) delivered a less-than-expected average weight loss and trailed the efficacy of a drug from rival Novo Nordisk (NVO).
And yet, the pros remain sky-high on Eli Lilly’s ability to grow and its stock’s ability to soar.
“We find the market’s reaction to be overly harsh, noting that the clinical results still show the drug to be effective, and safe, and that many people and their doctors may prefer an oral medication rather than an injectable medicine, even with the reduced weight loss potential,” says Argus Research analyst Jasper Hellweg, who rates the stock at Buy. He adds that “outside of the company’s GLP-1 franchise, Lilly has announced several approvals for its Alzheimer’s drug, donanemab, and has announced positive clinical results for drugs targeting chronic lymphocytic leukemia or small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL) and diabetes.”
The broader analyst community currently has 21 Buys on LLY shares, versus seven Holds and one Sell, and on average, they believe the stock has more than 40% upside over the coming 12 months. That’s in part because of high top- and bottom-line expectations. Estimates are currently for a 75% jump in profits on 37% higher sales this year, followed by still-robust 33% earnings growth on a 19% improvement in revenues in 2026.
Also worth noting is Lilly’s dividend, which was upgraded by more than 15%, to $1.50 per share, earlier this year.
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Best Growth Stock #6: Smurfit Westrock
- Market cap: $23.0 billion
- Long-term earnings growth estimate: 41%
- Consensus analyst rating: 1.69 (Buy)
- Sector: Consumer discretionary
Smurfit Westrock (SW) isn’t exactly a household name, but you almost certainly come across its products (albeit unknowingly) on a regular basis.
Smurfit Westrock—the product of a 2024 merger of Ireland’s Smurfit Kappa and America’s Westrock—is a global manufacturer of consumer packaging, corrugated packaging, and a variety of paper products. And by virtue of that merger, the combined entity is now one of the largest packaging providers in the world, with operations in 40 countries.
Consider Smurfit Westrock an interesting beneficiary of technological trends—specifically, the continued rise of e-commerce. As people increasingly move away from buying in brick-and-mortar stores and toward online shopping … well, those products have to get shipped in something, and that’s precisely where Smurfit comes in.
“[We estimate] that the industry will remain strong, and we see modest expansion at a compound annual growth rate of 3%-4% through 2028,” writes Argus Research analyst Alexandra Yates, who rates SW shares at Buy. “We favor companies with pulp, paperboard packaging, and corrugated product lines, and expect this segment to show continued long-term growth through 2030.”
Of course, Smurfit is expected to grow at a much healthier clip, with analyst expectations for long-term annual earnings growth of more than 40%.
“We see long-term upside potential and expect earnings growth congruent with growth in e-commerce and growth in demand for sustainable paper and packaging goods,” Yates adds. “We think that current valuation multiples are attractive given the company’s recovering earnings outlook through FY26.”
SW has picked up quite a few covering analysts of late, and they’re largely bullish. Thirteen call the stock a Buy, versus just three Holds and no Sells. Their consensus target implies more than 25% gains over the next 12 months. Truist’s Michael Roxland is also among those Buys, citing numerous drivers, including an “improving containerboard cycle, which we believe is entering a ‘golden age’ driven by balanced supply and demand.”
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Best Growth Stock #5: Capital One Financial
- Market cap: $138.0 billion
- Long-term earnings growth estimate: 20%
- Consensus analyst rating: 1.65 (Buy)
- Sector: Financials
Capital One Financial (COF)—the entity responsible for “What’s in your wallet?” being etched into our collective consciences—is an interesting financial hybrid whose operations include consumer banking, commercial banking, and credit cards.
Why interesting?
Credit cards typically work in what’s called the “four corners model.” In this model, 1.) financial institutions like JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Citigroup (C) are responsible for a cardholder’s account, while 2.) payment processors like Visa (V) or Mastercard (MA) are technological middlemen that help facilitate transactions between 3.) cardholders and 4.) merchants.
Capital One is one of those financial institutions, and for many years, it has issued both Visa and Mastercard cards and been a part of the “four corners model.” However, a handful of companies, such as American Express (AXP) and Discover Financial, operate within the “three corners model” in which the same company is responsible for both financial accounts and the payment network … and as of May 2025, Capital One now owns Discover.
The initial deal announcement was made in February 2024, and Wall Street has significantly warmed up to COF shares ever since, with the consensus call rising from a Hold then to solid Buy territory today. Right now, 17 analysts call the stock a Buy, while six more are on the sidelines, and no one as of now believes it’s a Sell.
The current consensus price target implies just 15% upside over the coming 12 months, but that’s largely because Wall Street expects quite a bit of investment that should eventually pay off in longer-term growth. Consider this from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, who rate COF at Outperform (equivalent of Buy):
“We acknowledge that substantial investment may be necessary to position the Discover network as a viable alternative to Visa and Mastercard in the credit card space and hence we view the credit portfolio conversion as more of a long-term aspiration (5-10 years) rather than an immediate strategic priority. Nonetheless, our scenario analysis suggests that if successfully executed, this investment could yield highly attractive returns, making it a compelling avenue for COF to pursue over time.”
In other words, COF might not be one of the best growth stocks to buy for rip-roaring gains right away, but it could very well be a transformative medium- to long-term play.
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Best Growth Stock #4: First Solar
- Market cap: $19.8 billion
- Long-term earnings growth estimate: 30%
- Consensus analyst rating: 1.59 (Buy)
- Sector: Technology
The solar industry can be a bit volatile. But in the age of climate change, there is a durable tailwind for this industry as one of the most popular forms of alternative energy. And among solar stocks, First Solar (FSLR) is near the top of the heap when it comes to both market value and revenue directly attributable to solar arrays.
Headquartered in Arizona, First Solar provides photovoltaic energy solutions worldwide, from the U.S. to Japan to Europe to Australia. Indeed, it’s America’s largest manufacturer of PV modules, at an estimated market share of 50%.
Of course, what does that mean amidst a new administration that’s expected to be more fossil fuel-friendly? Despite a decline in shares across the first quarter of 2025, the pros weren’t deterred. Argus Research analyst John Eade (Buy), for instance, wrote that said weakness was a buying opportunity.
“The company is positioned to benefit from the long-term secular trend toward clean energy producers, though in recent weeks government regulations have become less favorable. That said, First Solar has a history of growth and recent profitability. … Despite the near-term political environment, we believe the company will continue to benefit from the global transition to carbon-free energy over time.”
So far, Eade was right, with FSLR shares roaring out of their April trench and rising back above 2025’s starting levels. And the bull camp remains extremely crowded today. Even though consensus estimates’ implied upside has thinned to about 15% thanks to First Solar’s rally, the stock still has a whopping 29 Buy calls versus just four Holds and a lonely Sell.
Just understand that the political climate remains a headwind for First Solar, at least for now.
“While FSLR is the U.S. solar manufacturing bellwether, they are not immune to the far-reaching tariff environment and with IRA uncertainty likely to persist until the end of the year, we expect a noisy and volatile catalyst path for the stock from here,” says Morgan Stanley Analyst Andrew Percoco, who rates the stock at Overweight. “On a relative basis, we believe FSLR is still one of the best positioned companies to benefit from a shift in demand for U.S.-made solar panels, which should accrete to stronger margins on its U.S. production. We reiterate our relative [Overweight] rating but recognize that the stock lacks a clear positive catalyst until the budget reconciliation/IRA repeal efforts concludes in late 2025 (as is the case for a majority of our solar-exposed coverage).”
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Best Growth Stock #3: Astrana Health
- Market cap: $1.3 billion
- Long-term earnings growth estimate: 30%
- Consensus analyst rating: 1.55 (Buy)
- Sector: Health care
Sometimes, you need an iron stomach to go after high-growth plays, and that very much appears to be the case with Astrana Health (ASTH), a health care management service organization (MSO) that was up as much as 65% year-to-date in 2024 before giving up all those gains (and then some) ever since.
Astrana Health helps coordinate care among private and public insurance, more than 12,000 physician providers, and 1.1 million patients in 32 markets. Their business focuses on converting physician groups from traditional fee-based care to “value-based care” (VBC). Within VBC, a variety of health care providers (doctors, hospitals, laboratories, etc.) coordinate to manage a person’s health, and are incentivized for providing high quality and efficient cost of care.
The emerging VBC field has been a font of growth. Astrana has been emblematic of the business opportunity, with revenues up nearly 150% between 2019 and 2023.
Shares have been a rockier story. ASTH exploded by more than 550% between the start of 2019 and its November 2021 peak, but lost 75% of that worth by the end of 2022. The stock had been improving at a much more sustainable rate since then, until it fell off a cliff during the final few months of 2024.
That plunge was sparked by the announcement that Astrana would buy Prospect Health, an integrated care delivery system that includes a licensed health care service plan, primary care and specialist groups, a pharmacy asset, a hospital, and another MSO. All told, the Prospect network includes 3,000 primary-care providers and 10,000 specialists who provide care to roughly 610,000 members in four states. The deal, for $745 million, will be paid in both cash and a nearly $1.1 billion senior secured bridge. As a result, Astrana says its debt position should grow from $420 million at the end of Q3 to roughly $1.1 billion.
And yet, Wall Street remains overwhelmingly bullish on ASTH shares, believing Astrana’s acquisitive streak—the company just closed on another purchase, of fellow MSO Collaborative Health Systems, in October—will ultimately work out in its favor. Of the 11 analysts covering the stock, eight call ASTH a Buy, while the remaining three are sidelined at Hold.
Long-term financial estimates are looking up of late. The pros see revenues growing by 57% this year and 27% in 2026, while long-term earnings estimates sit around 30% annually. Meanwhile, consensus price targets imply a return of more than 50% over the next 12 months.
“We continue to view ASTH as a core healthcare growth stock, as we believe the primary care model is set for material disruption over the coming years,” say William Blair analysts Ryan Daniels and Jack Senft, who rate the stock at Outperform. “We also believe that Astrana’s positive macro tailwinds, myriad growth drivers, and scalable business model will drive material expansion in both top- and bottom-line results going forward.”
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Best Growth Stock #2: Micron
- Market cap: $142.7 billion
- Long-term earnings growth estimate: 50%
- Consensus analyst rating: 1.53 (Buy)
- Sector: Technology
Micron Technology (MU) specializes in memory and storage products, such as dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), NAND flash memory, and solid-state drives (SSDs). It serves a wide variety of markets, including PCs, graphics, networking, automotive, industrial, and consumer.
But perhaps its most important right now is data centers, where AI-driven demand has helped to reinvigorate prices for NAND and DRAM broadly.
And that’s just one factor helping to prop up Micron’s bull thesis, says Argus analyst Jim Kelleher.
“Favorable industry supply-demand balance, normalization of inventories, and the AI surge are all driving memory prices higher, in time for broad-based demand recovery,” he says, adding that “Micron in mid-2024 signed a nonbinding preliminary memorandum of terms (PMT) with the U.S. government for $6.1 billion in grants under the CHIPS and Science Act. These grants along with state and other incentives support leading-edge memory expansion planned for sites in Idaho and New York.
Indeed, Kelleher says Micron is in the “early stages of broad-based memory demand growth” and has intermediate- and long-term Buy calls on MU shares, though the warns that “MU investors should be aware of the risks of investing in memory technology, where volatile pricing tends to drive big stock swings.”
You’ll see a lot of that—the idea of uncertainty in Micron’s markets—across many analysts who are nonetheless broadly favorable on shares. Currently, 31 analysts have Buys on the stock, against just six Holds and a lone Sell. Their current price targets imply about 20% upside over the next 12 months.
“Broader electronics demand has yet to strengthen to the degree we hoped; however, calls for an early termination of the memory cycle seem misplaced with DRAM supply generally remaining tight and memory wafer capacity contracting not expanding in recent years,” say Stifel analysts, who rate the stock a Buy. “Thus, while we do not have direct line of sight into end unit demand and mix in 2025, we still envision a favorable supply setup that could reinvigorate pricing and provide an added kicker to our estimate outlook.”
UBS analyst Timothy Arcuri, who rates the stock at Buy, adds that “MU [recently] suggested continued strength in [datacenter] and consumer markets, with most of the upside coming from pricing, rather than volumes. We believe this to be consistent with our latest round of industry checks reflecting similar dynamics.”
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Best Growth Stock #1: Nvidia
- Market cap: $4.4 trillion
- Long-term earnings growth estimate: 30%
- Consensus analyst rating: 1.43 (Strong Buy)
- Sector: Technology
Nvidia (NVDA) isn’t just the world’s largest tech stock by market capitalization, but the largest stock period, thanks to its dominance in semiconductors that are used in cutting-edge technologies. Applications for this firm’s hardware include self-driving cars, cryptocurrency mining, and other in-demand and growth-oriented areas of the 21st century economy.
But No. 1 with a bullet is the artificial intelligence market.
“NVDA remains *the* AI company owing to its culture of innovation, ecosystem of incumbency, and massive investment in software, pre-trained models, and services,” says Truist analyst William Stein (Buy). “We see NVDA’s leadership as driven less by the raw performance of its chips, and more by its culture of innovation, ecosystem of incumbency, and massive investment in software, AI models, and services, that we believe makes its chips a default choice for most engineers building AI systems.”
This specialization has resulted in red-hot growth at Nvidia—a fire that’s only expected to continue burning. Analysts see revenue growth averaging 40% annually over the next two years, and long-term earnings growth at a clip of 30%.
But NVDA and other AI-focused chipmakers are hardly invincible. America’s new tariff policies threatened to knock Nvidia out of the Chinese market. That has changed … but at the expense of a “deal” with the White House requiring the chipmaker to pay 15% of its Chinese revenues to the U.S. government.
NVDA has the largest bull camp in our list of 2025’s best growth stocks: a whopping 58 Buys versus just five Holds and one Sell. That said, despite lofty expectations for operational growth, Nvidia’s stock price has, at least for now, fully baked in that growth. Currently, analysts’ 12-month price targets for NVDA sit just about 1% above the stock’s current price.
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Growth Stocks: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Should I buy growth stocks or a growth exchange-traded fund?
Growth-oriented investing strategies are always in-demand, so there are a host of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) out there that own growth stocks. The largest, the Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG), commands more than $145 billion in assets as proof of the popularity of this approach.
ETFs allow for easy diversification as you invest tactically in growth stocks. But keep in mind that by spreading your money around and reducing your risk, you also limit your upside. Many growth investors are enamored with the idea of a stock that doubles in short order—and that’s almost impossible with an ETF that holds hundreds of different components.
In short: Whether you buy growth stocks or an ETF depends on your personal risk tolerance.
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What kind of brokers handle growth stocks?
The good news is, virtually any traditional broker is going to allow you to buy growth stocks. As long as equities are on the table—and that’s the case with virtually all online brokers—you’ll be able to buy any style of stock: growth, value, dividend, you name it.
You can check out our favorite online brokers for a full list of options, but here are some options worth considering as well:
