Some of today’s biggest stock market winners started small. Amazon traded for under $10 in the late 1990s. Tesla was once valued at just over $1 billion.
Small-cap stocks can be where tomorrow’s leaders are born.
But for every breakout success story, there are plenty of small companies that struggle or fail. Small caps can deliver impressive growth, but they also come with higher risk and sharper price swings.
Understanding how small-cap stocks work, and whether they fit your goals, is key before investing.
What are small-cap stocks?
"Small cap" is short for small market capitalization, which is equal to a company's share price multiplied by the number of shares outstanding. A company is generally considered to be a small cap if its market cap falls between $300 million and $2 billion.
Top small-cap stocks to consider
Here are five small-cap stocks to consider. Not as a complete list, but as a starting point if you’re looking for smaller companies with meaningful growth narratives.
| Name and ticker | Market cap | Dividend yield | Industry |
|---|---|---|---|
| Magnite (NASDAQ:MGNI) | $1.7 billion | 0.00% | Media |
| Amplitude (NASDAQ:AMPL) | $913.7 million | 0.00% | Software |
| Consolidated Water (NASDAQ:CWCO) | $594.1 million | 1.42% | Water Utilities |
| Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) | $640.4 million | 0.00% | Hotels, Restaurants and Leisure |
| Serve Robotics (NASDAQ:SERV) | $720.3 million | 0.00% | Hotels, Restaurants and Leisure |
1. Magnite
NASDAQ: MGNI
Key Data Points
Magnite (MGNI +2.78%) is a supply-side digital advertising platform formed by several mergers and acquisitions. The company has established itself as a leader in video and connected TV (CTV) advertising, or ad-driven streaming, catering to online publishers and streaming platforms like Walt Disney (DIS -0.90%), Fox (FOX -3.58%), and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD -0.84%).
Magnite partners with The Trade Desk (TTD +0.88%) and other adtech companies to manage publisher inventory efficiently and keep its technology up to date. In one positive sign, the company announced in mid-2025 that the FanDuel Sports Network has seen a 25% year-over-year increase in its total impressions, thanks to Magnite.
The ad tech company could also benefit from the recent ruling finding Google to have a monopoly in adtech. While its growth has moderated since the COVID-19 pandemic boom, Magnite still has a lot of potential growth ahead of it and remains the CTV leader for supply-side adtech.
2. Amplitude
NASDAQ: AMPL
Key Data Points
Amplitude also launched a new suite of AI agents in June 2025, which has since accelerated its growth and been well received by customers. Those included a website conversion agent, an onboarding agent, and a monetization agent. The company has built out its product suite and looks poised to grab market share from Alphabet's (GOOG +0.67%)(GOOGL +0.68%) Google Analytics and Adobe (ADBE +1.00%) Analytics, the category leaders. If Amplitude can fulfill its promise, the stock could move a lot higher from here.
It's also made a number of acquisitions to boost its position in AI, including acquiring Kraftful, an AI-focused, user feedback start-up, in July.
3. Consolidated Water
NASDAQ: CWCO
Key Data Points
Utilities come in all shapes and sizes, so it shouldn't be surprising to find a water utility on this list. Consolidated Water (CWCO +2.12%) specializes in desalination, which could become a big trend in the coming years as water supplies around the world are stretched and more coastal and tropical communities turn to desalination.
The company is currently focused on the Caribbean market, with several plants in the Cayman Islands and the Bahamas. That's helped it deliver strong growth in recent years, outperforming its water utility peers. The trend should continue as it capitalizes on the desalination opportunity and water scarcity becomes a greater problem.
In June, the company raised its quarterly dividend 27% to $0.14, a sign of confidence in its future growth.
4. Sweetgreen
NYSE: SG
Key Data Points
Sweetgreen (SG +8.04%) is the leading fast-casual salad chain and has a ton of growth potential, considering it had only 266 locations as of the third quarter of 2025.
While the company has yet to deliver significant profits on the bottom line, Sweetgreen has a high average unit volume, or average sales per unit, of $2.8 million, on par with industry leaders like Chipotle (CMG +2.74%).
The company is also investing in an automated system it calls the Infinite Kitchen, a robotic assistant that helps put together orders faster, increasing throughput and saving on labor costs. Infinite Kitchen also helps differentiate the company from other restaurant operators.
Sweetgreen is expanding its base with plans to add 15-20 new restaurants in 2026. The company has significant growth potential over the long term, as it is aiming to reach at least 1,000 restaurants.
The company has struggled in 2025 due in part to weak demand from a key customer demographic, 25- to 35-year-olds. The slump has affected other fast-casual chains, but the company should get back on track over the long term.
5. Serve Robotics
NASDAQ: SERV
Key Data Points
Why investors like small-caps
Small-cap stocks attract investors for a few reasons. For one, smaller companies often have more runway -- it’s easier to double revenue from a smaller base than from a massive one. Small caps also tend to get less Wall Street coverage, which can create opportunities when a business is improving but still under the radar. And in strong economic expansions, small caps have historically delivered outsized gains.
The trade-off is that small caps can be bumpy. Earnings are often less predictable, financing costs matter more, and the stocks tend to swing harder when the market gets nervous. Since 2023, mega-cap AI stocks have dominated returns while many small caps lagged -- a reminder that patience and a long-term mindset matter here.
Small caps vs. large caps
Large-cap stocks have outperformed small caps over the past decade, driven largely by mega-cap tech leaders like Nvidia, Tesla, and Meta.
But that hasn’t always been the case. Historically, small caps have had periods of strong outperformance, especially when:
- Interest rates fall
- Economic growth broadens
- Investors rotate away from crowded mega-cap trades
Because leadership changes over time, many investors diversify across both rather than trying to pick a winner.
Should you invest in small-cap stocks?
If you are willing to hold an investment for several years and feel comfortable with the price of a stock fluctuating significantly, then small-cap stocks might have a place in your portfolio. Owning small-cap stocks can boost your portfolio's overall growth rate, provided you commit to a buy-and-hold investing strategy.
Remember, small companies are more likely to fail than large, established businesses, as we saw during the COVID-19 pandemic. It's important to do your research before investing in any small-cap stock. You can also lower your risk by investing in a small-cap-focused fund.
How to invest in small-cap stocks
If you're looking to invest in small-cap stocks, the process is as simple as buying any other stock. Just follow the following steps.
- Open your brokerage app: Log in to your brokerage account where you handle your investments.
- Search for the stock: Enter the ticker or company name into the search bar to bring up the stock's trading page.
- Decide how many shares to buy: Consider your investment goals and how much of your portfolio you want to allocate to this stock.
- Select order type: Choose between a market order to buy at the current price or a limit order to specify the maximum price you're willing to pay.
- Submit your order: Confirm the details and submit your buy order.
- Review your purchase: Check your portfolio to ensure your order was filled as expected and adjust your investment strategy accordingly.
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FAQ: Small-cap stocks
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