After a turbulent start to the year, the stock market has performed exceptionally well since early April. The major indices are trading in record territory, showcasing investors' bullishness as we look ahead.

Despite the optimism, which might make you believe there aren't attractive buying opportunities anymore, investors can still find places to park their capital. One such company is hiding in plain sight.

Here's a magnificent stock to consider buying that can make you richer in 2025 and beyond.

Social media scrolling on smartphone.

Image source: Getty Images.

Dominating the internet economy

At a $1.8 trillion market cap, Meta Platforms (META -0.26%) doesn't fly under the radar. But the business has many favorable qualities that can draw the interest of investors looking to put money to work in the stock market.

For one, this company has a history of strong growth. Revenue increased at a compound annual rate of 18.4% between 2019 and 2024. Meta has increased its ad inventory over the years, while also benefiting from pricing power. In Q1 (ended March 31), the company's average price per ad jumped 10% year over year. Customers continue to find tremendous value in running ad campaigns on Meta properties.

Meta is also incredibly profitable, underscoring how lucrative running a scaled digital ad platform can be. In the latest quarter, the company reported a stellar net profit margin of 39.2%. This helped generate $10.3 billion of free cash flow. As of March 31, Meta had $70.2 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities, compared to $28.8 billion in long-term debt, on the balance sheet.

Everyone knows Meta's family of apps, with services like Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads bringing in a whopping 3.43 billion daily active users. These social media apps benefit from powerful network effects, allowing them to get better as they bring on more users. There is minimal threat of disruption here, in my view, as it would be virtually impossible for rival platforms to reach this kind of scale. What's more, Meta can collect ridiculous amounts of data that further bolsters its competitive position.

Meta's AI push

Meta is going all-in on artificial intelligence (AI). Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has spent a significant amount of money to hire top talent to create Meta Superintelligence Labs. There are plans to also spend "hundreds of billions of dollars" on AI-related infrastructure called superclusters to support research and development efforts.

Investors can view Meta's AI initiatives in a positive light. Or they could be seen as a major risk, as the ultimate payout is extremely uncertain. Time will tell if these moves will boost usage of the family of apps and lead to greater revenue potential down the road.

But another negative development to pay attention to is how regulatory actions impact the business. Meta seems to always have a target on its back, as lawmakers look to challenge the company's dominant position. Past acquisitions, data privacy, and content moderation are key issues that regulators focus on. It's anyone's guess how things will play out.

Weighing both sides of the argument

There's no denying that Meta is one of the best businesses in the world. Its history of strong financial performance, coupled with powerful network effects, supports that perspective. Moreover, it's able to make an aggressive push into AI, for better or worse. No one knows how things will look five or 10 years from now, but Meta is positioning itself to be a leader.

The constant uncertainty that comes from being in regulators' crosshairs does add risk for investors. Even so, I still view the stock as a smart buy. As of July 22, Meta shares trade at a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.5. This is a reasonable valuation to pay to add a company to your portfolio that can make you richer in 2025 and beyond.