With only a couple of weeks left in 2025, the stock market looks set to close out another winning year. Through Dec. 16, the S&P 500 is up 15.7%, on the way to its third straight year of double-digit gains.
Nobody knows for sure where the market is headed in 2026. Some investors see an AI bubble. Others believe the gains that have been dominated by the "Magnificent Seven" stocks will spread to the rest of the market, and some have argued that the AI boom is only just beginning.
While the stock market has gotten pricey on a historical basis after surging over the last three years, there are still some stocks that have the potential to double next year. Keep reading to see two of them.
Image source: Getty Images.
1. Sweetgreen
There's no sugar-coating it. Sweetgreen (SG 3.38%) has had a disastrous 2025.
Year-to-date, the stock is down 77% as comparable sales have tumbled and its losses have widened. The company has struggled with weakening consumer spending, especially among younger diners. A shift in its loyalty program left former members of its subscription pass feeling jilted, and the perception that its price points are too high also seems to be dogging the stock.
As a result, Sweetgreen is retrenching. The company sold Spyce, the subsidiary that owns the Infinite Kitchen, to Wonder, though it will retain the rights to use the technology in its stores. That move will help free up cash and stabilize the balance sheet, and Sweetgreen also said it would slow new store openings next year, another sign it's looking to be more financially prudent. It plans to open 15-20 new restaurants next year, compared to 37 in 2025.
NYSE: SG
Key Data Points
Despite those struggles, there are reasons why Sweetgreen could bounce back next year. First, it faces much easier comparisons as comparable sales are expected to fall 7.7%-8.5% in 2025 after a gain of 6% in 2024.
Additionally, Sweetgreen still has a quality product, and its restaurants generate solid traffic. It has average unit volumes, or sales per store, of $2.8 million, putting it on par with industry leaders like Chipotle.
Management seems to understand that it needs to make progress toward break-even on the bottom line in order for the stock to rebound, and the numbers should respond to those cost-cutting efforts. Even after bouncing over 40% from its low over the last month, it still won't take much for the stock to double. In fact, if it doubled from here, it would still be down more than 50% from where it was at the end of 2024.
Sweetgreen might need some help from the macro economy, but a 100% gain next year seems doable.
2. Amplitude
Another stock with a strong potential for a comeback in 2026 is Amplitude (AMPL 3.14%), the cloud software company that specializes in digital product analytics.
Amplitude's customers use its software to figure out how to improve their websites and apps, gaining insights into how people interact with their products and what they can do to improve them. The company has made some key acquisitions over the last year to round out its product, ensuring that its customers don't have to supplement Amplitude with point solutions. It's also moving at full speed into the AI era, launching several AI agents, making its platform even more powerful and useful.
NASDAQ: AMPL
Key Data Points
As a result, Amplitude's growth is starting to accelerate again, and it looks set to improve in 2026 as well. In its third quarter, annual recurring revenue was up 16% to $347 million, third-quarter revenue jumped 18% to $88.6 million, and remaining performance obligations rose 37% to $391.9 million, showing that Amplitude is earning longer and larger contracts from customers as they get more confident in the product.
Amplitude still looks cheap, especially as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) stock trading at a price-to-sales ratio of just 4.3. If it can deliver accelerating growth in 2026, that multiple could move significantly higher, making a double in the stock achievable.
Amplitude's market cap is just $1.5 billion, so the long-term potential for the stock is considerable if it can execute on its product goals.
