What's been a fantastic few years for growth stocks has come at the expense of value stocks' performance. Since early 2024, the S&P 500 Growth Index has trounced the S&P 500 Value Index. Credit the big gains made by shares of companies in the artificial intelligence (AI) space, mostly.
As veteran investors can attest, however, nothing lasts forever. The market's got a way of self-correcting its extremes, unwinding moves that got a little out of hand.
In other words, don't be surprised to see value names start making up ground while growth as a group starts to struggle. It wouldn't be wrong to make a point of adding a bit more value to your portfolio, in fact.
To this end, here's a look at three value stocks that seem positioned to outperform their peers for the next several years.
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1. Uber Technologies
It seems odd to categorize ride-hailing outfit Uber Technologies (UBER 2.64%) as a value stock. Its top line grew an impressive 20% during its recently ended fourth quarter, extending years of similar growth rates. Priced at only about 16 times last year's earnings and just over 17 times next year's projected per-share profit of around $4.33, however, at least for now, Uber stock is a value name.
NYSE: UBER
Key Data Points
Yes, this cheap valuation is the result of a 25% pullback from September's peak that's just too big to ignore. The market may be worried about slowing growth rates and the cost of launching a robotaxi business at scale.
Just take a step back and look at the longer-term picture. Autonomous transportation is a huge part of the industry's future. An outlook from Precedence Research suggests the worldwide robotaxi market is apt to grow at an average annualized pace of 52.5% through 2034. Investors should start to recognize this and realize that Uber is positioned to capture at least its fair share of this growth well before then.
2. Merck
There's no denying pharmaceutical giant Merck (MRK 0.21%) allowed itself to become a bit too dependent on its cancer-fighting Keytruda, which now accounts for nearly half of the drugmaker's revenue just two years before the oncology drug starts losing its patent protection. That's one of the chief reasons this ticker's underperformed since 2024, when this reality clearly came into view.
NYSE: MRK
Key Data Points
It's not like the company hasn't been preparing for that fateful moment, however. While mostly through acquisitions like 2023's purchase of Prometheus and this year's acquisition of Cidara, Merck expects this reloading of its pipeline and portfolio to be worth $70 billion in new yearly revenue by the mid-2030s.
Valued at only around 12 times next year's projected per-share profits, though, there's plenty of room for this stock to start reflecting this future growth now.
3. Bank of America
Finally, add Bank of America (BAC 3.24%) to your list of value stocks that should perform very well between now and 2030.
NYSE: BAC
Key Data Points
It may be a somewhat surprising addition. Not only have BAC shares already more than doubled in value since their late-2023 low, but the anticipated slow decline in interest rates between now and 2028 works against banks by pinching their profit margins. The credit market itself is also showing signs of repayment strain, with the New York Fed reporting nationwide loan delinquencies are now at a near-decade high.
What's not being fully factored in here is that the economic backdrop behind this headwind is a highly cyclical one. All the current headwinds may already be reflected in the price of this stock, while none of the brewing rebounds are. Newcomers here will be stepping into a stock that's valued at less than 13 times this year's expected per-share profits.
