Putting more money into the stock market right now may feel like a risky endeavor. The S&P 500 -- the benchmark many investors use to measure how stocks in a broad sense are doing -- is down about 5% year to date.
But as unsettling as falling share prices can be, they don't signal that it's the time to get out of the market. On the contrary, a down market can actually be a good time to buy shares of fantastic companies.
If you have even $1,000 not already committed that you can add to your long-term investment portfolio, putting it into these no-brainer stocks could help you build up your wealth at a time when some others are tapping out of the market.
Image source: Getty Images.
1. Airbnb
Airbnb's (ABNB 0.13%) share price has been all over the place recently. I've felt the price swings, too, since I bought the stock last year. But I'm still convinced that Airbnb will deliver fantastic results in the coming years because no other company offers the same experience.
Sure, you can rent vacation homes via a number of websites, but Airbnb features an easy-to-use platform, a huge selection (4 million hosts!), and offers users the opportunity to book unique experiences at their destinations as well.
Indeed, I took my family on a four-month-long road trip in the pre-pandemic times during which we stayed almost exclusively in Airbnbs. We hit the mountains in Colorado, the beaches of Florida, and many places in between. That trip wouldn't have been possible to do in the same way without Airbnb.
The company has created a unique platform that I don't think the market has fully appreciated yet, despite its solid financial results. In 2021, Airbnb's revenue increased 25% compared to 2019 (I'm skipping over 2020 because so much travel was essentially shut down due to the pandemic) and Airbnb's gross booking value jumped 23% over the same period.
Airbnb's bookings have surpassed its pre-pandemic bookings and as more parts of the world open back up to travel and drop their COVID-19 restrictions, the company should continue to benefit.
With Airbnb's strong growth in 2021 and its share price down 15% over the past 12 months, this stock looks like a fantastic place to put some cash right now.
2. Tesla
I know Tesla (TSLA 2.14%) sparks a lot of opinions, both pro and con. Nearly every investor has a view on the electric vehicle (EV) leader. But one commonly held opinion is that it's too late to profit from this monster EV stock. I disagree. I think Tesla still has room to run, for two reasons. It's continuing to grow its business at a healthy clip, and the EV industry as a whole is still barely past its historical starting line.
Let's consider Tesla's growth first. In the fourth quarter, its vehicle production rose by 70% year over year and total revenue spiked by 65%. And that growth came even before some of its newest vehicle production capacity came online.
Sure, there's rising competition in the EV market. But there should be plenty of room for newcomers to grow without them notably impeding Tesla's growth.
This leads to my second point. In 2021, just 9% of all new passenger car sales were EVs, according to data from Canalys. By 2030, the research firm estimates that percentage will balloon to 50%. Tesla is already a leader in the EV market, which should position it to maintain an outsized portion of those growing sales.
Tesla's stock isn't cheap by any measure, so you would not be making a value play here. But if you're looking for a growth stock that's already a leader in a fast-growing industry, it may be time to put Tesla on your buy list.
3. Apple
Let's shift gears and talk about a great company that, while not the high-growth stock it once was, still offers plenty of potential upside for investors.
Given Apple's (AAPL 0.59%) ability to generate tons of cash and its long-term performance in the market, it's hard to argue against owning it.
Consider that in the first quarter of Apple's fiscal 2022, which ended Dec. 25, 2021, the tech giant's revenue rose 11% year over year and net income was up 20%. The company's services business has been a bright spot as well, with sales increasing nearly 24%.
And while some people think that the company is finished innovating, it continues to apply its slow-and-steady approach to new markets. Those efforts could pay off down the road.
For example, Apple is reportedly working on a mixed reality headset (either augmented reality or virtual reality, or even both) that it could release as soon as this year. The device could help Apple tap into the metaverse -- an emerging tech trend in which people will (in theory) use avatars to spend time in persistent virtual shared environments. Bloomberg analysts have projected that the metaverse could become an $800 billion market by 2024.
All Apple has to do here is the same thing it has done for decades -- slowly grab a small slice of a massive tech trend as it emerges -- and it could end up benefiting hugely.
If you're looking for a stock that's a little safer right now, but still want exposure to the tech sector, Apple could be just the equity for you. The company pays a modest dividend, is still achieving strong revenue and earnings growth, and is far more stable than many other tech companies.
