Do you want to be a millionaire when you retire? That's an easy question for most people. Their answer is a resounding "yes."

But how can you achieve this goal? You'll need a few key ingredients: money to invest, time, and the right investment choices. The first two you'll have to address on your own. As for the third ingredient, three great stocks to consider are Celgene (CELG), Criteo (CRTO 0.50%), and Facebook (META 2.44%). Here's why investing in these three stocks now could make you a millionaire retiree.

Man on floor with piggy bank beneath money raining down

Image source: Getty Images.

Celgene

To make $1 million or more, you're going to need significant stock appreciation. And for that to happen, the stocks you own must grow earnings at a solid rate. Celgene should have that requirement covered. The big biotech is expected to grow earnings by more than 20% over the next five years. I expect Celgene to be able to keep up its impressive earnings growth well beyond then.

Some of Celgene's earnings growth will be powered by its current product lineup. Revlimid is the most important part of that lineup by far. Sales for the blood cancer drug increased by nearly 20% in the first quarter of 2017 and should continue to climb in the coming years. Sales for multiple myeloma drug Pomalyst and Otezla, which treats psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, are growing even faster. 

An even greater driver for Celgene's growth, though, should be from its pipeline. The biotech hopes to roll out 10 new drugs by 2022 that hold the potential for reaching peak annual sales of at least $1 billion. Several of these current pipeline candidates could be megablockbusters, including ozanimod, which targets treatment of multiple sclerosis, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn's disease, and blood cancer drug luspatercept. 

Criteo

You might not have heard of Criteo, but there's a good chance you have seen the company's work. Criteo's digital performance marketing solutions deliver highly relevant and personalized performance advertisements to consumers in real time for over 15,000 advertisers in 90 countries.

What exactly does Criteo's products do? Its predictive search solution uses machine learning to increase advertisers' Google Shopping revenue by more than 49%. Its dynamic retargeting product predicts consumers' purchase intent by analyzing their online behavior and recommending the best product from the advertisers' catalog. Criteo's sponsored products solution helps retailers increase profits through ad placements embedded on their sites and apps.

Criteo speaker presenting

Image source: Criteo.

As more people across the world shop online, demand for Criteo's technology should grow significantly. Although the company's earnings declined in the first quarter of 2017, that was because of costs from its previous acquisition of performance marketing company Hooklogic. Wall Street analysts project that the company will increase its earnings by an average annual rate of 20% over the next five years. Criteo intends to achieve this tremendous growth by expanding its client base through, among other things, growing its mid-market business and increasing its value to clients. 

Facebook

While Criteo might have been an unfamiliar stock, Facebook surely isn't. The social media giant's market cap has nearly quadrupled since its initial public offering (IPO) in 2012.

Facebook recently announced that it reached 2 billion users. That's astounding, considering that the world's population currently stands at 7.5 billion. Attracting more of this population is just one way that Facebook can grow. The company can also grow revenue and earnings by keeping users engaged more (and therefore looking at more ads -- which are the chief moneymaker for Facebook). It can also acquire other companies with its cash stockpile of more than $32 billion (including cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities).

Analysts think that Facebook will grow earnings by 25% annually on average over the next several years. With the company's core site and Instagram social media app continuing to attract increasingly more users and ad revenue, and with the significant potential for its Oculus virtual reality products, that growth seems attainable.