One million dollars might not be what it used to be, but it's still a worthy retirement goal. If you have supplementary income, such as Social Security or a pension, $1 million can certainly be enough of a nest egg to help you get through retirement comfortably.
While artificial intelligence (AI) stocks have gotten much of the attention from investors these days, there are plenty of opportunities beyond AI for investors looking to grow their portfolios. Some stocks look well-prepared to turn $250,000 into $1 million.
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1. The Trade Desk
The Trade Desk (TTD 2.57%) is the leading independent demand-side platform (DSP) in the digital advertising industry. Ad agencies and brands turn to The Trade Desk's cloud-based, self-serve platform to help manage and optimize ad campaigns. The business has been highly successful, as the stock is up more than 2,000% since its 2016 initial public offering (IPO).
Unlike a lot of growth stocks, The Trade Desk has been able to deliver both fast revenue growth and solid profits. For example, revenue jumped 23% to $606 million in the fourth quarter, and the company reported adjusted net income of $207 million.
NASDAQ: TTD
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Looking ahead to the coming years, the company should continue to grow as the digital advertising market expands through channels like Connected TV, retail media, and new technologies. The company also looks poised to strengthen its leadership position. This is thanks to Unified ID 2.0, its protocol that looks set to replace third-party cookies when Google deprecates them on Chrome, and its new AI platform Kokai, which uses deep learning algorithms across the media buying process, improving visibility, insights, and return on investment (ROI) for advertisers.
The Trade Desk introduced Kokai last year, but CEO Jeff Green said the impact on the business and its customers should begin to be felt this year. That could drive a significant growth cycle for The Trade Desk over the coming years. If the company can continue growing on the top and bottom line by 20% or better, it could easily grow by 4X over the next decade.
2. Roku
Like Trade Desk, Roku (ROKU +2.43%) is another digital advertising stock with a lot of growth potential. Roku has struggled since the pandemic as advertisers pulled back on spending in anticipation of a recession that never came. While the company's revenue growth has improved, spending from the core media and entertainment vertical is still lagging.
However, that should change in the coming years as legacy media businesses figure out the streaming business and viewers continue to shift from traditional pay-TV channels to streaming. While the business performance has been rocky, demand and consumption metrics continue to be strong, and active accounts and viewing hours are growing rapidly.
NASDAQ: ROKU
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Roku has fended off competition from much larger tech giants and continues to innovate with its own television sets, expanding to new countries, and beefing up its original content lineup. Meanwhile, the company will benefit from the increase in ad subscriptions in streaming, as a number of streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon have recently launched ad tiers.
Roku stock is down more than 80% from its peak during the pandemic and nearly 50% from its high point last November. From its current level, it shouldn't take much for the stock to deliver solid gains for investors, especially once its business model reaches an inflection point.
3. MercadoLibre
Finally, MercadoLibre (MELI 1.08%) also looks like a great stock to help you turn $250,000 into $1 million. The Latin American e-commerce company has built an impressive network of competitive advantages reminiscent of Amazon.
Its e-commerce business includes both a first-party direct-sales operation and a third-party marketplace. The company also has a large fintech business in Mercado Pago, which has made it further entrenched with both merchants and consumers. It has its own logistics operation in Mercado Envios, giving it another revenue stream from e-commerce.
NASDAQ: MELI
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MercadoLibre is also leveraging its core business into higher-margin revenue streams like advertising and credit.
What's also been impressive about the company is its blistering revenue growth at a time when most e-commerce companies were struggling with a post-pandemic hangover. Revenue jumped 83% on a currency-neutral basis in the fourth quarter, with strong growth in e-commerce and digital payments. Meanwhile, its margins also ramped up as it pivots to higher-margin businesses.
If MercadoLibre continues to deliver rapid growth over the last decade, it shouldn't be hard for the stock to grow four-fold in value, helping turn $250,000 into $1 million.
