With the market pulling back from recent highs, there are some attractive stocks to buy, especially in the consumer space.
Let's look at two growth stocks you can buy and hold for a long time.
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1. Amazon
With the dual growth engines of e-commerce and cloud computing, Amazon (AMZN +0.64%) is one of the best growth stocks to own over the decade. The company is the market share leader in both spaces, and has plenty of growth levers to pull.
In e-commerce, Amazon has worked tirelessly to become one of the most efficient operators on the planet. It has invested heavily over the years in logistics and fulfillment centers around the world, and now it is using robots and artificial intelligence (AI) to take that to a whole new level.
NASDAQ: AMZN
Key Data Points
The company now has more than 1 million robots working in its warehouses, all coordinated by its DeepFleet large language model (LLM), and many can do more than just move packages around, including some that can spot damaged goods before they are shipped. At the same time, it is using AI to improve delivery routes, decide which warehouses to store items, and to help drivers find hard-to-locate drop-off points.
It's also using AI to help power its fast-growing, high-gross margin ad business. Together, this is leading to strong operating leverage in its e-commerce operations. This was on full display in Q3, with its North American revenue rising 11% to $106.3 billion, while its adjusted operating income surged 28% to $7.3 billion.
At the same time, the company is beginning to see revenue accelerate at its cloud unit, AWS. Last quarter, revenue climbed 20% year over year to $33 billion, while it also increased its capital expenditure (capex) budget, taking it from $118 billion to $125 billion to take advantage of the opportunities it was seeing.
It also has two major customers in OpenAI and Anthropic on board and ready to grow. Amazon recently signed a seven-year, $38 billion deal with OpenAI to provide it with EC2 UltraServers that use Nvidia graphics processing units (GPUs), while Anthropic is ramping up its use of Amazon's custom Trainium chips, as part of Project Rainier.
Between the operating leverage it's seeing in e-commerce and AWS's accelerating growth, the stock looks like a long-term buy.
2. Dutch Bros
Another strong growth story in the consumer space is coffee shop operator Dutch Bros (BROS +0.40%). Despite the restaurant industry seeing some consumer fatigue, Dutch Bros has been chugging along with strong same-store sales, and it has a long runway of expansion ahead.
Same-store sales are currently being driven by a combination of innovative menu items, the introduction of mobile ordering, and expanded advertising. Meanwhile, the company is just starting to roll out hot food items, which is giving locations that offer these new menu items about a 4% comparable sales lift. Given that rival Starbucks gets nearly 20% of its sales from food versus 2% for Dutch Bros, this is a big opportunity.
NYSE: BROS
Key Data Points
At the same time, the company continues to ramp up expansion, planning to open 175 stores next year, up from around 160 this year. Its goal is to have 2,029 locations by 2029, with a goal of 7,000 shops in the U.S. eventually. Given that it currently has fewer than 1,100 locations in 24 states, it has a long runway of expansion growth ahead of it.
Meanwhile, its shops tend to be on the smaller side with no seating, serving customers through two drive-thru lanes and a pickup window. This makes it relatively cheap for the company to expand versus some other concepts, which it can easily fund through its operating cash flow. Despite the small size of its shops, they still produce strong sales, with average unit volumes (AUVs) of nearly $2.1 million.
Given its same-store sales and expansion opportunity, this is a solid stock to own for the long term.
