3 Stocks That Could Turn $1,000 Into $2,000 by 2026

If you've got $1,000 lying around, it may be time to put that money to work. The market is full of incredible values with massive upsides, and I've identified a handful that could double their share prices in just three years.

While it would be a tall order, their current values make that goal attainable. But even if they don't reach that threshold that quickly, they all would make fantastic long-term investments, and the ceiling for their performance is much higher than just a double.

CrowdStrike

CrowdStrike (CRWD -1.82%) is one of the cybersecurity industry's top performers. Its product line is focused on providing endpoint security, protecting devices like laptops or smartphones connected to a company's network. These are among the most common gateways attackers use to access critical infrastructure, so protecting them is vital in any cybersecurity plan.

CrowdStrike's protection is best in class and is powered by artificial intelligence (AI) systems that analyze trillions of signals weekly to determine what is and isn't a threat. While endpoint protection is its primary offering, CrowdStrike offers more than 20 products ranging from cloud security to identity protection.

Its comprehensive offerings and expected future product launches make management believe its total addressable market will grow from $76 billion to $158 billion by 2026. And given that CrowdStrike grew its annual recurring revenue by 48% year over year to $2.56 billion in its fiscal 2023 Q4 (which ended Jan. 31), it's well on its way to providing the growth it would need to justify a doubling of the stock price by 2026.

The stock trades now at 14 times sales, which may look a bit pricy. But that is still a lower valuation than some other high-flying software stocks that are growing at slower rates. CrowdStrike looks like a fantastic buy right now and should be a long-term winner even past 2026.

dLocal

Every company wants to reach as broad an audience as possible, but serving customers in countries where the payment infrastructure isn't mature is difficult. That's why some of the world's biggest brands, including Shopify, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft have partnered with dLocal (DLO 0.90%).

Its tools allow merchants to do business in over 40 countries not usually served, including Turkey, Bangladesh, and Malaysia. Because dLocal does all of the work locally to set up ways to pay for goods using local payment methods, it's a no-brainer for clients to concede a small portion of the revenue from the resulting sales to the service provider to gain access to those customers.

The convenience of its service has caused dLocal's business to soar. In Q4, processed volume rose by 78% year over year to $10.6 billion, with revenue rising 55%. It's also profitable, and posted earnings per share of $0.37 in 2022.

These results seem almost too good to be true, which is what led famed short-seller Muddy Waters Research to take a closer look. It took a short position and issued a short report in mid-November, which caused the stock to crater. To clear its name, dLocal's management hired a third-party auditing firm to address Muddy Waters' claims. That firm found that the short-seller's allegations were unsubstantiated.

But, the stock hasn't recovered from the tumble it took when that short report was published, and now trades at 25 times forward earnings. That's a bargain price for a rapidly growing business. Investors should pounce on dLocal's stock before it's too late.

MercadoLibre

Many companies' growth rates dropped off a cliff during 2022 as they faced difficult year-over-year comparisons to the pandemic-fueled results of 2021 -- but not MercdoLibre (MELI -0.00%). Instead, its growth has remained rapid. Revenue increased by 58% year over year on a currency-neutral basis, continuing a streak of nearly five years of quarterly revenue growth of at least 50% (from a currency-neutral standpoint).

The Latin American e-commerce giant also operates businesses like digital payments and consumer credit to bolster its main product. At first, its fintech business was developed to provide an online payment option for its e-commerce operation, but this segment has become a significant portion of the business mix.

Data source: MercadoLibre. YoY = Year over year.

MercadoLibre is also becoming more profitable, with a 3.7 percentage point improvement on its net income margin to 6.6% in Q1. Based on how well its business is doing, you'd think the stock would be trading at a premium. But you'd be wrong.

MELI PS Ratio data by YCharts.

Trading at just 5.8 times sales, MercadoLibre is significantly discounted relative to its historical average valuation and well below even the bottom of its normal range (8 times sales). MercadoLibre's growth and undervalued state make this stock an excellent candidate to double by 2026.