15 Stocks That Can Make You Rich

As you close (or slam) the door on 2020 and survey your investment prospects for 2021, you’re not alone if you find yourself thinking long and hard before buying new stocks. Investors’ nerves have been at an all-time high this year. From the March crash to the market’s astounding recovery to now, when many top stocks are still woefully overvalued, the stock market of 2020 has certainly kept investors on their toes.

The good news is, attractive and growth-driven investment opportunities still abound. As you prepare your portfolio for the new year, consider these 15 stocks that could bring you bountiful returns over the next five to 10 years.

5 Winning Stocks Under $49
We hear it over and over from investors, “I wish I had bought Amazon or Netflix when they were first recommended by the Motley Fool. I’d be sitting on a gold mine!” And it’s true. And while Amazon and Netflix have had a good run, we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $49 a share! Simply click here to learn how to get your copy of “5 Growth Stocks Under $49” for FREE for a limited time only.

Fulgent Genetics (NASDAQ: FLGT) may not be a household name, but the small-cap company has enjoyed a remarkable financial performance this year as a leader in the COVID-19 diagnostics space.

To date, the company has deployed three coronavirus diagnostic tests -- a molecular test (which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized for emergency use), an antibody test, and a next-generation sequencing test. Fulgent’s product portfolio also contains a wide variety of other tests, including newborn genetic tests, hereditary cancer tests, and known mutation tests.

Shares of Fulgent Genetics have swelled 258% since January, while the company’s third-quarter revenue was up 880% year over year. The company supplied more than 1 million billable tests to customers during the third quarter alone, which represented a 4,800% increase in test fulfillment compared with the year-ago period. Management has projected that the company’s 2020 revenue will grow over 800% from 2019, and analysts seem confident that this is just the beginning of Fulgent’s growth streak. They forecast that the company will boost its earnings by more than 124% per year over the next five years alone.

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Oncology testing company Guardant Health (NASDAQ: GH) has managed to stay largely above the fray this year, reporting healthy double-digit earnings growth in all three quarters. The company’s first-quarter revenue rose 84% year over year, while its revenue was up 23% in the second and third quarters compared with the year-ago periods. The company celebrated a big win during the third quarter when the FDA approved its Guardant360 CDx test, hailed as “the first liquid biopsy test for comprehensive tumor mutation profiling across all solid cancers.”

Although management held back on releasing full-year revenue guidance in its third-quarter report, confidence in the company’s long-term prospects appears to be high. CEO Helmy Eltoukhy stated, “While we expect to continue to see impacts related to the pandemic in the fourth quarter, we are confident that the fundamentals of our business are firmly intact. With the FDA approval of Guardant360 CDx behind us and as we look forward to 2021, I am more confident than ever in the opportunity that lies ahead for Guardant to transform patient care across the cancer care continuum.”

Singapore-based consumer internet company Sea Limited (NYSE: SE) continues to keep investors happy this year with its diverse portfolio of brands encompassing industries from e-commerce to financial services. Shares of the stock have already climbed by more than 375% this year.

Sea Limited’s third-quarter revenue according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) grew nearly 99% year over year, while the company’s total gross profits surged 100.6% from the year-ago period. Its digital entertainment segment marked a nearly 110% year-over-year increase in bookings, while e-commerce revenue grew 173% compared with Q3 2019.

Sea Limited also boasts robust liquidity, with $3.1 billion in cash and cash equivalents on its balance sheet as opposed to its $2.4 billion in total current liabilities.

Cloud-computing provider Veeva Systems (NYSE: VEEV) is fortunate to possess a broadly recession-proof business model. The company, which specifically targets client companies in the life sciences and pharmaceutical niches, has seen its stock rise by nearly 85% year to date.

Veeva Systems has reported strong revenue growth in all three quarters of its fiscal 2021. During these three-month periods ending on April 30, July 31, and Oct. 31, the company reported year-over-year revenue increases of 38%, 33%, and 34%, respectively. The company is targeting fiscal 2021 revenue in the ballpark of $1.4 billion, a notable increase from the $1.1 billion in revenue it reported in fiscal 2020.

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Telecommunications giant Verizon (NYSE: VZ) has certainly felt the impact of pandemic headwinds. It reported a 4.1% drop in its third-quarter operating revenue compared with the year-ago period. The company’s total wireless services revenue increased by a slim 0.3% margin during the third quarter, while consumer revenue plunged 4.3% year over year.

The company shouldn’t stay down for long. Verizon continues to pay out a robust dividend that yields 4.2% at the time of this writing, and shares of the company have almost recovered to its trading price at the beginning of the year.

Verizon is also steadily growing its cash reserves. As of the end of Q3, management reported that it had grown its year-to-date cash flow from operations by nearly $6 billion from the year-ago period, to roughly $33 billion.

5 Winning Stocks Under $49
We hear it over and over from investors, “I wish I had bought Amazon or Netflix when they were first recommended by the Motley Fool. I’d be sitting on a gold mine!” And it’s true. And while Amazon and Netflix have had a good run, we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $49 a share! Simply click here to learn how to get your copy of “5 Growth Stocks Under $49” for FREE for a limited time only.

Teladoc Health (NYSE: TDOC) has certainly been one of the most talked-about stay-at-home stocks of 2020, but it also has plenty of upside potential left in a post-pandemic world. The company has gone from strength to strength each quarter with vigorous double- and triple-digit revenue growth.

Teladoc’s first-quarter revenue was up 41% from the same quarter in 2019, while its second- and third-quarter revenue increased by 85% and 109%, respectively, on a year-over-year basis. The company’s recent purchase of Livongo -- an acquisition that formed a Goliath in digital health to “achieve the full promise of whole-person virtual care” -- should be instrumental to its growth over the next three to five years. Teladoc expects its 2020 revenue to nearly double compared with 2019, totaling around $1 billion.

Retail stocks have been slapped by some of the harshest economic realities of the pandemic, but a few have been able to avert disaster by relying on robust e-commerce revenue and brand authority. Nike (NYSE: NKE) has been one of these stalwart stocks.

In fiscal 2020, which ended on May 31, the company managed to report only a 4% revenue decline compared with fiscal 2019. On a currency-neutral basis, this revenue drop was only 2%. Nike’s saving grace was its digital sales, which surged 47% during fiscal 2020.

In Q1 fiscal 2021 ending on Aug. 31, Nike reported a slight 1% revenue decline from the year-ago period, but direct sales and brand digital sales grew 12% and 82%, respectively. The company had nearly $10 million in cash, equivalents, and short-term investments on its balance sheet at the end of the quarter, which it can use to continue to cover its 0.81% dividend.

Even with the near-term impact of the pandemic factored into the picture, analysts still think that Nike can grow its earnings by more than 25% per year over the next five years. Investors should watch for Nike’s second-quarter earnings report, which is scheduled for release on Dec. 18.

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If you’ve ever had to sign an important business document or contract on your computer, phone, or tablet, it’s highly possible you did it through DocuSign (NASDAQ: DOCU).

DocuSign has certainly benefited from the work-from-home trend as a result of extended lockdowns -- shares of the electronic agreements company have been propelled upward by more than 200% since January. But the importance and relevance of its services aren’t going to just disappear once a vaccine has been widely distributed.

DocuSign’s third-quarter fiscal 2021 revenue for the period ending on Oct. 31 grew 53% from the same stretch in 2020, while billings were up 63% from the year-ago period. CEO Dan Springer said of the company’s third-quarter financial performance, “As companies accelerate the digital transformation of their business and agreement processes, DocuSign's role as an essential cloud platform continues to grow. Our Q3 results reflect that tailwind, as well as the immediate and long-term value that customers see from eSignature and our broader Agreement Cloud."

Investors could see shares of small-cap biotechnology company Vaxart (NASDAQ: VXRT) surge to all-time highs if its coronavirus vaccine called VXA-CoV2-1 is proven to be safe and effective. The company has only completed enrollment for the phase 1 human trial to study the vaccine, so it’s definitely lagging behind other contenders in the coronavirus vaccine race.

With that being said, there are a few vital characteristics that set VXA-CoV2-1 apart from other contenders. For one, it is taken orally in tablet form, rather than via an injection. The tablet vaccine is also administered in just one dose rather than in multiple ones, and it doesn’t currently have any special temperature storage requirements.

In the company’s third-quarter earnings report, management said, “Unlike injectable vaccines, animal data indicate that VXA-CoV2-1 activates both systemic and mucosal immunity, a broader immune response that has the potential to offer superior protection against SARS-CoV-2.”

VXA-CoV2-1 could be a game changer for Vaxart. The company accrued net losses of $8.1 million during the third quarter, while revenue declined by roughly 71% year over year. Vaxart has $133.4 million in cash and cash equivalents on its balance sheet. The stock is undoubtedly a riskier buy, but one that could pay off big-time if its coronavirus vaccine succeeds at clinical trials.

In January, Pinterest (NYSE: PINS) was trading for less than $20 per share. At the time of this writing, one share of the company costs about $70. Pinterest’s fundamentally distinctive business model has served it well throughout the pandemic, and analysts are incredibly optimistic about the company’s growth trajectory over the next five years. They think the company will boost its earnings by triple digits each year during that period, or approximately 152% annually.

Last year, Pinterest’s revenue jumped 51% compared with 2018. The company hasn’t disappointed in any of the three quarters it’s reported so far this year, either. Pinterest’s first-quarter revenue was up 35% year over year, and although its second-quarter revenue increase was much smaller, the company still reported positive growth of 4% from the year-ago period. However, the company’s most monumental period of growth was during the third quarter, when its revenue jumped by an eye-catching 58%.

5 Winning Stocks Under $49
We hear it over and over from investors, “I wish I had bought Amazon or Netflix when they were first recommended by the Motley Fool. I’d be sitting on a gold mine!” And it’s true. And while Amazon and Netflix have had a good run, we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $49 a share! Simply click here to learn how to get your copy of “5 Growth Stocks Under $49” for FREE for a limited time only.

Few stocks this year have been quite as popular (and controversial) as Zoom Video Communications (NASDAQ: ZM). Zoom’s shares and earnings have skyrocketed this year due to heightened demand for its services amid the coronavirus pandemic, but investors have been divided about the company’s long-term potential as a strong investment.

More than a few investors are wondering whether the company can maintain its impressive performance as we slowly move toward a new normal. For instance, when Zoom released its financial report for the third quarter of fiscal 2021 (ending on Oct. 31), its revenue had grown by an astonishing 367% on a year-over-year basis.

Although the remote-work trend has certainly grown during the pandemic, teleworking was well on the upswing prior to 2020. According to a study conducted by Global Workplace Analytics and FlexJobs, during the time frame starting in 2005 and ending in 2017, remote work surged at a rate of nearly 160%. The number of remote workers is also expected to increase exponentially next year, particularly as companies change their workforce policies to cater to a post-pandemic society.

Zoom’s star power didn’t begin with the pandemic, and it won’t end with the release of a vaccine. Investors should still find plenty to like about this revolutionary stock in 2021 and beyond.

ALSO READ: 3 Top Tech Stocks to Buy in December

Google’s parent company, Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL), may have posted its first-ever revenue loss during the second quarter of this year, but the stock remains a top buy for long-term investors. Analysts think the company will grow its earnings by about 17% each year over the next five years.

Alphabet’s Google Cloud, YouTube, and Search segments have been three key sources of revenue for the company this year. Its modest 2% revenue decline in the second quarter was partially offset by a 13% year-over-year revenue jump in the first quarter and 14% revenue growth in the third. Alphabet also has plenty of cash to cushion its balance sheet ($18.5 billion), which by comparison far outweighs its $4.6 billion in long-term debt.

It’s one of the most talked-about stocks on the market, but no list of companies that can make you rich would be complete without mentioning Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN). The company also happens to be one of the most expensive stocks on the market. Shares of the company swelled from about $1,900 each in January to a whopping $3,200 by early December.

In the first three quarters of 2020, Amazon reported year-over-year net sales increases of 26%, 40%, and 37%, respectively. The company continues to roll out new products and services to keep its customer base engaged and coming back for more. A few notable launches during the third quarter (ending on Sept. 30.) included several new original series on Amazon Prime; a health and wellness service called Amazon Halo; and Luna, a cloud gaming platform.

Popular home-improvement retailer Lowe’s (NYSE: LOW) has seen sales boom since the pandemic began.

The company’s U.S. comparable sales rose 12.3% year over year in the first quarter, 35.1% in the second, and 30.4% in the third. It also achieved record year-over-year sales increases on Lowes.com during the second and third quarters, at 135% and 106%, respectively. Lowe’s management expects that comparable-sales growth will slow slightly in the final quarter of 2020 but still hit somewhere between 15% and 20%.

Lowe’s isn’t the type of stock that’ll make you rich overnight, but the company’s excellent dividend and steady, consistent growth are worthy of consideration. The company also happens to be part of a special group of stocks called Dividend Aristocrats, having hiked its dividend (which yields 1.5%) every year for nearly five decades.

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From crafts to clothes and beyond, Etsy (NASDAQ: ETSY) is a one-stop shopping destination for all things curated, quirky, and cool. Investors have taken notice of the e-commerce website’s growing popularity, with shares rising by nearly 300% from the beginning of the year to the present.

Etsy’s first day as a publicly traded stock was on April 16, 2015. If you had purchased $1,000 worth of shares at the time of the company’s initial public offering (IPO), when it debuted at $16, now more than five years later, that investment would be worth north of $10,700.

The company’s growth story was underway long before pandemic-driven shopping urges hit lockdown-crazed consumers. For example, Etsy’s 2019 revenue represented 27% growth from the year before. That’s not to say that 2020 hasn’t been record-breaking for the company -- it reported year-over-year revenue growth totaling 34.7%, 137%, and 128% in the first three quarters.

Etsy’s management is targeting year-over-year revenue growth between 70% and 90% for the final quarter of 2020.

5 Winning Stocks Under $49
We hear it over and over from investors, “I wish I had bought Amazon or Netflix when they were first recommended by the Motley Fool. I’d be sitting on a gold mine!” And it’s true. And while Amazon and Netflix have had a good run, we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $49 a share! Simply click here to learn how to get your copy of “5 Growth Stocks Under $49” for FREE for a limited time only.

When it comes to building wealth through long-term investing, the old adage “slow and steady wins the race” is apropos. There are very few stocks that will make you rich or a millionaire overnight, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t plenty of companies on the market with serious money-making potential and upside to spare.

If you’re unsure whether a company is right for your long-term portfolio and particular basket of stocks, consider this simple but invaluable advice from the one and only Elon Musk. “Buy & hold stock in companies where you love the product roadmap, sell where you don’t.”

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Rachel Warren has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon, DocuSign, Etsy, Fulgent Genetics, Inc., Guardant Health, Nike, Pinterest, Sea Limited, Teladoc Health, Veeva Systems, and Zoom Video Communications. The Motley Fool recommends Lowe's and Verizon Communications and recommends the following options: short January 2022 $1940 calls on Amazon and long January 2022 $1920 calls on Amazon. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.