Peter Lynch once famously said that "everyone is a long-term investor until the market goes down." That's a pretty important quote to remember as the S&P 500 hovers near its record highs and trades at a historically high 30 times earnings.
In this frothy market, the true long-term investors will only accumulate the stocks they'd be willing to own for at least the next 20 years. Let's take a look at three stocks that have skyrocketed over the past year but still fit that profile: Opendoor Technologies (OPEN +9.58%), Joby Aviation (JOBY +0.31%), and Robinhood Markets (HOOD +1.03%).
Image source: Getty Images.
The real estate play: Opendoor
Opendoor is the top instant buyer (iBuyer) of homes in America. It uses its artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to make instant cash offers for homes, fixes them up, and relists them on its own marketplace. Its business thrived when interest rates were low and the housing market was hot, but it struggled over the past three years as higher rates ended the housing boom. Yet its stock soared over the past year even though the Federal Reserve's five rate cuts in 2024 and 2025 didn't quickly reduce those elevated mortgage rates.
NASDAQ: OPEN
Key Data Points
That rally was mainly driven by the appointment of former Shopify Chief Operating Officer Kaz Nejatian as its new CEO, its co-founders Keith Rabois and Eric Wu returning to the board, and Jane Street's disclosure of a new 5.9% stake in the company. Opendoor also diversified its business with more listing partnerships to reduce its dependence on its capital-intensive iBuying platform, and it streamlined its business by upgrading its AI pricing algorithms.
All of these catalysts turned Opendoor into a meme stock over the past few months, but it still doesn't seem overvalued at just 1.2 times next year's sales. Analysts still expect its revenue to decline this year as the housing market stays chilly, but they expect its revenue to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24% from 2025 to 2027 as it warms up again.
They also expect its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) to turn positive by the final year. Over the next two decades, it could expand significantly as it scales up its business and evolves into a more diversified real estate platform.
The aviation play: Joby Aviation
Joby develops electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, which could become greener, cheaper, and easier-to-land alternatives to traditional helicopters in the near future. Joby's flagship S4 aircraft can carry a single pilot and four passengers, travel up to 150 miles on a single charge, and reach a maximum speed of 200 miles per hour. It's also developing a faster-charging hydrogen version.
NYSE: JOBY
Key Data Points
Joby is already backed by big investors and customers like Toyota Motor, Delta Air Lines, and the U.S. Air Force. It acquired Uber Technologies' Elevate aerial ride-hailing division in 2020 and Blade's passenger helicopter-hailing service this year, and Uber plans to integrate Joby's eVTOL flights into its core app.
The company isn't generating any meaningful revenue yet, but that could change next year once the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) fully approves its first commercial flights in the U.S. and it ramps up its commercial air taxi services in Dubai. Its backlog reached $17.4 billion last year, and it plans to double its production to 24 aircraft annually over the next few years to meet that soaring demand.
From 2024 to 2027, analysts expect Joby's revenue to jump from less than $1 million to $200 million as it delivers its first commercial aircraft. It might seem expensive at 64 times its projected sales for 2027, but it could have a lot more room to grow over the next 20 years as the nascent eVTOL market expands.
The fintech play: Robinhood
Robinhood popularized commission-free stock, options, and cryptocurrency trades with its streamlined app, which simplified the investing process for retail investors. As of its latest quarter, it served 26.8 million funded accounts and 3.9 million Gold subscribers -- who get $1,000 of interest-free margin, lower margin rates, higher interest rates on uninvested cash, bonuses on various deposits, and other perks for $5 a month or $50 a year.
NASDAQ: HOOD
Key Data Points
In the past, Robinhood's growth was mainly driven by speculative bets on meme stocks, riskier options, and cryptocurrencies. But over the next few decades, it could expand and evolve into a more diversified fintech giant with more online banking, digital payment, wealth management, and AI-powered investment services.
It's also been "tokenizing" more U.S. Treasuries, stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and special purpose vehicle (SPV) investments in private start-ups like SpaceX and OpenAI as smart contracts on its blockchain. Those tokenized assets could be traded at faster and cheaper rates than their underlying investments. It will also likely make more acquisitions (like its recent takeover of TradePMR) to support that expansion.
From 2024 to 2027, analysts expect Robinhood's revenue and adjusted EBITDA to grow at a CAGR of 27% and 38%, respectively. It isn't cheap at 34 times next year's adjusted EBITDA, but it could have plenty of room to grow as it pulls more customers away from traditional brokerages and locks them in with a wider range of fintech services.
