Finding stocks to buy in today’s relatively overvalued and volatile market isn’t as easy as it was when initial rate cuts dropped top stocks to bottom-barrel pricing. While many quickly point to tech stocks as the main wealth drivers in today’s economy, forward-thinking investors know to seek diversification across industries, geographic locations, size, scale, and more.
Likewise, finding long-term stocks to buy demands thorough due diligence to ensure that a company has a strategic vision and actionable plans to achieve its goals. Financial fundamentals and strength are equally clutch today; even the best strategies are futile if the company risks bankruptcy.
Each of these seven stocks to buy offers a unique range of sectors and value propositions while standing on solid financial footing and boasting brighter long-term prospects than much of the market — making them prime candidates for a buy-and-hold strategy through 2030.
Digi International (DGII)
Digi International (NASDAQ:DGII), an Internet of Things (IoT) tech stock, stands out among stocks to buy on its relatively low profile coupled with remarkable strength. Surprising considering its small-cap status, Digi International just marked its 20th consecutive profitable year, with a 14% CAGR over the past decade and 17% over the past five years. The company manufactures and distributes products essential for industrial-level IoT expansion, including embedded network connections and scalable USB and cellular communication modules.
IoT is swiftly expanding across national markets, with full globalization on the horizon. Currently, there are just over 15 billion IoT-connected devices, a number expected to double by 2030. In response, management projects continued short-term strength, forecasting its annual recurring revenue to double by 2028. Despite a slump in shares this year, Digi is a top choice for investors seeking IoT stocks to buy.
Sharkninja (SN)
Wide-ranging appliance manufacturer Sharkninja (NYSE:SN) is one of today’s most robust consumer stocks to buy despite its relative investor inattention. Debuting during last year’s challenging summer market, Sharkninja remained remarkably resilient. Shares climbed 130% higher post-listing in less than a year, outperforming the S&P 500 by a huge margin. However, it’s not just the stock’s short-term strength and resilience that set Sharkninja apart from other stocks to buy; it’s the company’s solid operational fundamentals that position it for significant growth in the coming years.
Sharkninja employs a simple yet ingenious business model: it provides high-end, semi-luxury appliances like ice cream makers and upscale coffee machines at affordable prices. By targeting consumers who prioritize both budget and quality, Sharkninja satisfies a unique market demand, especially relevant in today’s economy, where consumers seek durable, quality products that align with tighter budgets. Consistently, the company has expanded its sales by 20% annually since 2008, with no signs of slowing down over the next decade.
Vita Coco Company (COCO)
Beverage stocks like Monster (NASDAQ:MNST) and Celsius (NASDAQ:CELH) continue to dominate headlines, but the Vita Coco Company (NASDAQ:COCO) is rapidly gaining ground among beverage stocks to buy. While the energy and standard sports drink markets are highly competitive, Vita Coco dominates the coconut water segment and owns more than half of the total addressable market.
Through a strategic partnership with British alcohol brand Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO), Vita Coco is also making significant inroads into the ready-to-drink alcoholic beverage market by launching a line of spiked coconut water options. Although coconut water mixed with Captain Morgan might not be to everyone’s taste, this emerging market is booming and expected to grow at a 7.5% CAGR through 2029, with Vita Coco well-positioned to capture a large share of this growth.
Financially, Vita Coco recently exceeded expectations with a 4% earnings beat at year-end, fueled by a nearly 500% increase in net income for the year and a 9.4% profit margin. While everyone knows how Monster became one of the century’s top-performing stocks, Vita Coco might be on track to replicate its success.
Fair Isaac Corp (FICO)
Fair Isaac Corp (NYSE:FICO), known for its consumer credit risk measurement system (FICO score), is trading relatively flat in 2024, dipping less than 1% since January 1st despite rising nearly 60% over the past year. As revolving consumer credit reaches record highs and society moves away from cash-based transacting, Fair Isaac is increasingly integral to the evolving digital economy.
Fair Isaac is also unique among data analytics stocks to buy, benefiting from AI in the coming years. CEO Will Lansing mentioned in a recent interview that Fair Isaac has leveraged AI and machine learning for the past twenty years, positioning it not as a newcomer but as a pioneer in the field. As technology progresses, the company’s deep expertise in data analytics allows it to explore innovative AI applications and expand its market presence. This capability points to continued strength through 2030, even if its short-term per-share pricing isn’t spectacular.
GigaCloud Technology (GCT)
Globalized, direct-to-purchaser eCommerce continues to surge in popularity—think giants like Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and smaller-cap competitors like the ill-fated ContextLogic (NASDAQ:WISH). GigaCloud Technology (NASDAQ:GCT), while not as widely known, operates similarly but targets the massive B2B market. It also offers small businesses a comprehensive one-stop shop to source products and handle a range of related management tasks.
Product and inventory management, along with sourcing and payment processing, is tough for smaller businesses when accounting for the many international business nuances. GigaCloud provides a complete solution for scaled B2B eCommerce needs, including an active vendor marketplace, shipment and freight management, warehouse storage, AI-powered fulfillment, and, crucially, safe and secure cross-border payments.
GigaCloud’s price-to-earnings ratio is notably low at just 15x, which is significantly below the tech sector’s average of 33x. This discrepancy becomes even more apparent when considering GigaCloud’s earnings growth. The company has doubled its earnings per share over the past four quarters and maintained strong free cash flow per share, all while trading at a solid discount.
UiPath (PATH)
UiPath (NYSE:PATH) is unique among software industry stocks to buy as it merges AI with automation, focusing on office administration—a sector often overshadowed by more glamorous tech sectors. Better yet, this software stock ranks among Cathie Wood’s top picks, and she particularly likes the stock based on its harnessing corporate data’s latent potential and turning it into actionable insights.
In a discussion, Wood emphasized UiPath’s software-centric investment strategy, contrasting it with hardware investments, which she views as having more limited upside. She pointed out that software firms can continuously innovate on existing hardware platforms. She also highlighted UiPath’s access to proprietary data across a multitude of global firms, which it uses to automate mundane tasks efficiently.
UiPath recently gained Federal authorization to extend its software solutions to public sectors, a move likely to streamline governmental processes plagued by inefficiency. Securing Federal contracts, known for their lucrative returns, positions UiPath to better diversify and solidify its revenue streams and buffer it against market shocks in coming years.
Photronics (PLAB)
Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) stands at the intersection of semiconductor stocks to buy and cheap stocks that are tough to pass up – a perfect combo, considering so many semiconductor companies are increasingly pricy. The semiconductor stock specializes in developing semiconductor photomasks, a niche semiconductor segment subset with big implications for the future.
Photronics’ semiconductor photomasks enhance precision and accuracy essential for patterning microchips, advancing next-gen fields like artificial intelligence and quantum computing since these sectors require increasingly complex and precise circuitry. Additionally, these photomasks possess fine details that contribute to the miniaturization of transistors and components, operationalizing Moore’s Law to shrink down complex tech. Its combination of value propositions and relative cheapness (trading at just 12x earnings) positions Photronics at the crucial nexus of current and emerging technologies, making Photronics a strong candidate among semiconductor stocks to buy.
On the date of publication, Jeremy Flint held no positions in the securities mentioned. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.