I've been attending way too many weddings lately. My younger cousins keep getting married, and it may not be long before my eldest niece gets hitched as well. Time flies when you're heaving rice.
I was a chump the last time. I promised myself that I would get my cousin Victoria an eccentric wedding present. I wound up checking off the Crock-Pot on her registry instead.
Why didn't I buy her a few shares of a growth stock? You know, the kind of company that will grow as successful marriages do?
I've still got time to get it right. With the wedding pipeline still flowing in my family, I've narrowed down the search to seven public companies that I think would be ideal matrimonial presents.
The Knot (Nasdaq: KNOT ) -- An obvious choice, I know. The company is the online leader in wedding planning. It's no slouch. All three of its businesses -- merchandise, online advertising, and publishing -- grew their top lines by at least 20% last year.
Travelzoo (Nasdaq: TZOO ) -- I know what it's like to take cheap trips as a newlywed couple. Travelzoo is there to help with its Top 20 emails of sponsored bargains. More than 10 million people have signed up for the weekly emails. It's a great high-margin business, generating 43% in pre-tax net profit margins last year. It's off to a challenging start in 2007, but that makes the stock as compelling a bargain as some of its marked-down weekend getaways.
Google (Nasdaq: GOOG ) -- If you don't think that Google can be romantic, then surely you didn't fall for the Google Romance prank last year. Fake online dating site aside, Google's no heartbreaker. It's not too often that you see a market leader also be its fastest grower -- but that's Big G when it comes to online advertising.
Bankrate (Nasdaq: RATE ) -- I can't hook up my cousins with new digs, but I do know where they can find the best mortgage rates. Bankrate is the top dog in publishing interest-rate information. Earnings per share doubled this past quarter. That should pique a different kind of interest.
IAC (Nasdaq: IACI ) -- Barry Diller's interactive media conglomerate owns a pair of dating sites, but let's get to the newlywed essentials: Between the Home Shopping Network, the Entertainment book of local coupons, and Ticketmaster, there's a lot to keep a young couple busy and thrifty.
Jones Soda (Nasdaq: JSDA ) -- Fiancees can order up bottled pop with their own photographic labels through the myJones program. Let's hope the soda goes flat before the marriage does. Jones is on a tear, having secured canned distribution deals through a ton of major retailers.
Shutterfly (Nasdaq: SFLY ) -- If you don't want your mug on a soda bottle, how about your mug on a mug? Maybe a honeymoon photobook or photographic holiday cards? Shutterfly makes it all possible, and the company is growing nicely since last year's IPO.
Which bride-to-be will get which stock? That remains to be seen. All I know is that as investors, gifting growth stocks is the best wedding choice you can make.
Don't get caught holding a Crock-Pot again.
Bankrate and The Knot are
Rule Breakers
newsletter recommendations. Not sure if you want to marry a growth-stock research service? You can date it for free with a 30-day trial subscription.
Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz vows never to gift another Crock-Pot. He does not own shares in any of the companies in this story. He is also part of the
Rule Breakers
newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early. The Fool has a disclosure policy.
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