The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) is just 6 percentage points below bull market territory, a mile marker that portends more substantial gains ahead. Investors who want to benefit should be adding money to the market now, and it never hurts to consider stocks that have outperformed in the past.

The companies listed below satisfy that condition many times over. In fact, their share prices appreciated so substantially that they chose to split their stocks.

  • Apple: 4-for-1 split in August 2020
  • Amazon: 20-for-1 split in June 2022
  • Alphabet: 20-for-1 split in July 2022
  • Churchill Downs: 2-for-1 split in May 2023
  • DexCom: 4-for-1 split in June 2022
  • Monster Beverage (MNST 0.41%): 2-for-1 split in March 2023
  • Nvidia: 4-for-1 split in July 2021
  • Palo Alto Networks: 3-for-1 split in September 2022
  • Shopify (SHOP 1.11%): 10-for-1 split in June 2022
  • Tesla: 3-for-1 split in August 2022
  • The Trade Desk: 10-for-1 split in June 2021

Every company listed above has some competitive advantage that could drive continued outperformance. But Shopify and Monster Beverage look especially attractive at their current valuations, especially with a bull market on the horizon.

Here's why investors should buy these stock-split stocks today.

1. Shopify

Shopify is a turnkey solution for retail. The company provides software that allows merchants to manage their businesses across physical and digital storefronts from a single dashboard. Shopify also provides a broad range of adjacent services like payment processing, logistics support, and expense management. That end-to-end strategy helped earn the company a strong market presence.

Consultancy Gartner recently recognized Shopify as a leader among digital commerce platforms, citing its robust portfolio and speed of innovation as key strengths. Research company G2 also recognized its leadership in e-commerce software and omnichannel commerce software. Shopify holds more than 10% market share in U.S. online retail sales, making it the second-largest domestic e-commerce company behind Amazon.

Shopify looked sharp in the third quarter. Revenue increased 25% year over year to $1.7 billion on strength in subscription software and merchants services, and net income under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) improved to $718 million, up from a loss of $159 million in the prior year. That return to profitability comes on the heels of Shopify selling its cost-intensive logistics business to Flexport, which now serves as a logistics partner to Shopify merchants.

Shopify continued to roll out new products and features during the third quarter, including its high-end cross-border commerce solution Shopify Markets Pro. The company also reached an agreement with Amazon that will allow Shopify merchants to offer "Buy with Prime," a checkout solution that extends the benefits of the Prime membership program beyond the Amazon marketplace.

Retail e-commerce sales are forecast to increase at 10% annually through 2032, but Shopify should grow much more quickly given its strong market presence. Indeed, Morgan Stanley expects revenue growth of 19% annually over the next decade. That projection makes its current valuation of 13.2 times sales look reasonable, especially when the three-year average is 25.2 times sales.

Patient investors willing to hold the stock for at least five years should have no reservations about buying shares of Shopify today.

2. Monster Beverage

Monster Beverage is best known for energy drinks sold under several brands, including Monster Energy, Reign, Predator, and Nos. But the company also has a nascent alcoholic beverages business born of its 2022 acquisition of CANarchy, a craft beer and hard seltzer company. Monster dove deeper into that market with its 2023 launch of The Beast Unleashed, a line of flavored malt beverages.

What differentiates Monster is brand authority and distribution reach. Effective marketing and regular product innovation keep its products top of mind with consumers, and its exclusive partnership with Coca-Cola means Monster is the only energy drink brand with access to the largest beverage bottling and distribution system in the world.

Those differentiating factors have carried Monster to the top of the energy drink industry. While Red Bull is the single most popular brand, the Monster Beverage company is the market leader across all brands combined in the U.S., Japan, and South Korea, as well as several countries in Latin America.

Monster reported strong financial results in the third quarter, beating bottom-line estimates. Revenue increased 14% year over year to $1.9 billion on solid growth in the energy drinks and alcoholic beverages segments. Gross profit margin expanded 170 basis points to 53% due to price increases and expense control efforts, and GAAP net income soared 40% to $453 million.

The global energy drinks market is forecast to grow at 8.3% annually through 2030, but Monster could grow a little more quickly given its brand authority, distribution reach, and expansion into alcoholic beverages. In that context, its valuation of 8.3 times sales appears reasonable, and it falls below the three-year average of 9 times sales. That's why this consumer goods stock is worth buying.