The third year of Wall Street's bull market rally was nothing short of exceptional. Despite a short-lived, tariff-induced crash in early April, the benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC 1.52%) ended 2025 higher by 16%. It marks the third consecutive year that Wall Street's broad-based index has rallied at least 15%.
At the same time, the stock market is historically pricey. More than 150 years of historical trends, based on data from the Shiller Price-to-Earnings (P/E) Ratio, show that Wall Street's benchmark index swoons 20% (or more) when it becomes expensive, as it is currently.
Image source: Getty Images.
While history doesn't offer the most encouraging short-term outlook for Wall Street, it doesn't mean bargains can't be found. What you might be surprised to discover is that some of the safest stocks to buy and hold in the new year are growth companies.
What follows are five of the safest growth stocks you can confidently buy for 2026.
No. 1 and No. 2: Visa and Mastercard
The first two phenomenal stocks that growth-seeking investors can add to their portfolios in the new year are payment processors Visa (V 0.80%) and Mastercard (MA 1.39%). I'm choosing to discuss both together because, as chief competitors, they share common catalysts and headwinds.
Although President Donald Trump's call to cap credit card interest rates at 10% for one year may stir the pot among lending institutions, it's vital to make the distinction between lenders and payment facilitators. Visa and Mastercard solely focus on payment processing and aren't lenders. Since they don't lend, there's no need to set aside capital for credit delinquencies and loan losses. When recessions do occur, few financial stocks are better prepared to bounce back than Visa and Mastercard.
NYSE: V
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To build on this point, if credit card interest rates are capped, it would likely encourage consumers and businesses to lean on credit even more than they have in the past. The presumption is that this would lead to higher merchant fees collected by Visa and Mastercard.
Another factor that's working in Visa's and Mastercard's favor is the disproportionate nature of economic cycles. Over the last eight decades, the average U.S. recession has lasted approximately 10 months, while the typical economic expansion has persisted for around five years. A growing economy incentivizes consumers and businesses to spend.
Lastly, both Visa and Mastercard have a lengthy growth runway in international markets. Visa's cross-border payment volume jumped 13% in fiscal 2025 (ended Sept. 30), while Mastercard's third-quarter cross-border payment volume increased 15%. Most emerging markets remain underbanked, providing both companies with opportunities to sustain their double-digit sales growth for the long term.
Image source: Pinterest.
No. 3: Pinterest
A third supercharged growth stock that can be purchased with confidence in 2026 is social media platform Pinterest (PINS 6.53%). Although Wall Street has soured on Pinterest's revenue guidance in recent quarters, the company's key performance indicators point to a bounce-back in the new year.
To begin with, Pinterest's global monthly active user (MAU) count climbed to a fresh all-time high of 600 million, as of the end of the third quarter. Though active user count isn't everything for social media companies, Pinterest's global MAUs have been in a relatively steady uptrend when examined over the last decade.
What's even more important for Pinterest is that its average revenue per user (ARPU) has been consistently expanding. Global ARPU rose by 5% during the September-ended quarter from the prior-year period, with respective ARPU increases of 31% in Europe and 44% in its Rest of World category. As Pinterest's global MAUs climb, it's becoming a more attractive destination for advertisers looking to reach people with their message. For Pinterest, it means improved ad-pricing power over time.
Don't overlook Pinterest's pristine balance sheet, either. The company closed out the third quarter with $2.67 billion in combined cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities, with no debt. This accounts for nearly 15% of the company's market cap and affords management plenty of leeway to invest in high-growth initiatives.
Pinterest is historically cheap, as well. Its forward P/E ratio of 14 represents a 47% discount to its average forward P/E over the last five years.
NASDAQ: OKTA
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No. 4: Okta
The fourth growth stock investors can count on in the new year is artificial intelligence (AI)-driven cybersecurity solutions provider Okta (OKTA 2.35%).
The beautiful thing about cybersecurity solutions is that they've evolved into a basic necessity. Hackers don't take holidays from trying to access and steal sensitive information. As more data has been shifted online and into the cloud, businesses have become more reliant on third-party providers, such as Okta, to protect their information. In other words, demand for cybersecurity services isn't going to ebb during a recession.
What Okta brings to the table is an AI and machine learning (ML)-based identity verification platform. Services powered by AI and ML tend to be nimbler than on-premises solutions, leading to faster recognition of potential threats.
Clearly, businesses are satisfied with the identity cloud services Okta provides. Its remaining performance obligations (effectively, the future revenue it expects to generate from existing contracts) grew by 17% to $4.29 billion for the quarter ended Oct. 31, 2025. Okta also has more than 5,000 customers spending at least $100,000 annually for its services. Typically, larger clients will translate into a higher subscription margin.
Okta also offers an intriguing value proposition. Its forward P/E of approximately 25 is a stone's throw from an all-time low since going public in 2017.
NASDAQ: META
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No. 5: Meta Platforms
A fifth safe growth stock that investors can confidently buy in 2026 is none other than the cheapest member of the "Magnificent Seven," Meta Platforms (META 2.52%). While Meta's aggressive AI spending hasn't sat well with investors, there are far too many positives to overlook.
Although Wall Street has been obsessed with the AI revolution, Meta's social media platforms are its foundation. Collectively, its family of apps, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Threads, and Facebook Messenger, attracted an average of 3.54 billion daily active users in September. Since no other social media platform comes close to this figure, Meta is able to charge a hearty premium for ad placement.
The good news for Meta Platforms is that it's already reaping rewards from AI. Despite spending tens of billions on AI infrastructure, it's the incorporation of generative AI solutions into its social media advertising platforms that's generating positive results. Providing businesses with access to Gen-AI solutions enables them to tailor static and video messages for individual users. If this personalization improves click-through rates, it'll only enhance Meta's ad-pricing power.
Meta is also sitting on quite a treasure chest. It ended the third quarter with $44.5 billion in combined cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities. Furthermore, Meta's (predominantly ad-driven) operating activities have generated $79.6 billion in net cash through the first nine months of 2025. Mark Zuckerberg's company has the luxury of investing in high-growth initiatives.
The icing on the cake is Meta's attractive valuation. Though Meta's forward P/E of 22 is more or less in line with its average forward-earnings multiple over the last half-decade, Meta could modestly pare back its aggressive AI spending and blow analysts' earnings per share estimates out of the water.
