In tens of millions of American households, the money from the latest round of economic stimulus checks is destined to be spent fairly quickly -- on necessities, on bills, or on paying down debt.
But there will also be some recipients who have the luxury of investing their $1,400 checks. And if you're one of them, you may be looking at the stock market and wondering what the best options are right now for putting those funds to work.
I feel that Crocs (CROX 1.53%), Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE -0.33%), and Roku (ROKU -10.29%) are three great choices for investors looking to beat the market over the long term.
Image Source: Getty Images.
1. Crocs
You probably didn't have "Crocs stock hitting new all-time highs" on your 2021 bingo card, but it's absolutely crushing it on this side of the pandemic. Crocs exploded in popularity when people set aside fashion for comfort, but if you thought the party would be over for the foamy clogs now that we're all going back out in public, you probably haven't been paying attention.
The company was already on the comeback trail before the COVID-19 crisis. A new CEO stepped up in 2017, and its revenue has been growing and accelerating ever since. A 6% top-line increase in 2018 set the stage for 13% boosts in 2019 and 2020. Crocs now forecasts 40% to 50% revenue growth in 2021, up from the 20% to 25% it was targeting for this year back in February.
The product line has evolved, and it's also happening at a time when folks all over the world are falling in love again with their cozy Crocs. Sales across all three of the company's geographical territories posted growth of at least 20% in Crocs' latest report, with the Americas leading the way.
Analysts still don't get it. Crocs has blasted through Wall Street's earnings estimates by 34%, 36%, and 67% in its last three quarterly reports. With revenue, margins, and even the bottom-line beats accelerating, you would be hard-pressed to find a stock with stronger momentum than Crocs right now.
2. Grayscale Ethereum Trust
Bitcoin (BTC -2.24%) may still get most of the attention in the cryptocurrency world, but if you haven't gotten around to tossing some Ethereum (ETH -0.58%) into your high-risk mix of digital currencies, you may want to think about it. Bitcoin has roughly doubled this year, but Ethereum has more than quadrupled. Bitcoin is a crypto coin standard, but Ethereum offers more functionality, with innovative blockchain tweaks that are also being put to use in the insurance, logistics, and healthcare industries.
There aren't a lot of Ethereum stocks out there, but even if there were, Grayscale Ethereum Trust would still be a smart way to buy into the world's second-most valuable cryptocurrency through a stock exchange-listed vehicle available to anyone with a brokerage account. Grayscale Ethereum Trust owns $8.7 billion worth of Ethereum. It has historically traded at a premium to its assets, but it closed out April trading at a 1% discount.
The one knock on this company is the high fees it charges. Grayscale Ethereum Trust takes a cut of 2.5% of its assets per year, whittled away daily. That's a fair price to pay for a convenient way to play Ethereum through traditional brokerage accounts. It's also barely a rounding error for a cryptocurrency that has more than quadrupled in value in 2021 and is nearly a 15-bagger over the past 12 months.
3. Roku
Thanks in large part to the rise of streaming video, you just don't hear folks complaining that there's nothing good to watch on TV anymore, and we can thank Roku for making the streaming experience easier. There are thousands of content apps available on Roku, the leading operating system on smart TVs in the U.S. -- it's the OS in 38% of all smart TVs sold domestically these days. Roku dongles are also available at competitive prices for anyone who wants to turn other televisions into smart TVs.
Roku's user base expanded by 39% to 51.7 million last year. Platform revenue grew by an even faster 71% in 2020 as engagement and ad-based monetization kept improving. You won't have to wait long to see Roku rock higher or lower. It reports its first-quarter results shortly after Thursday's market close. If you're streaming more than ever right now through your Roku, it's easy to be hopeful for another strong quarter here.
