3 growth stocks to buy in 2024
2023 was the year of the return of most growth stocks, with a rebound led primarily by big names in the technology sector. Growth stocks can build wealth if chosen correctly, and the new year is the perfect time to evaluate your investments and add some stocks to your portfolio. sales (CRM -2.66%), albemarle (alb 1.67%)and symbolic (SYM -3.19%) Here are three incredible growth stocks to buy in 2024 right now. Here’s why:
1. Albemarle: Obvious, collapsed growth stock
You wouldn’t expect commodity stocks to be on a list of growth stocks, but Albemarle is an exception. Lithium inventory in 2023 fell significantly as lithium prices plummeted due to concerns about a slowdown in demand for electric vehicle (EV) batteries. Albemarle is the world’s largest producer of lithium and relies heavily on it for growth, although it also sells bromine and specialty chemicals. However, this stock is a no-brainer buy beyond 2024 at its current price.
Albemarle stock currently trades at a price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of 5x and a price-to-cash flow ratio of only about 7x. It has also paid increased dividends every year for 28 consecutive years. Additionally, Albemarle’s sales are still growing despite falling lithium prices. Sales are expected to increase by at least 30% in 2023, driven by increased sales under long-term contracts.
Albemarle expects sales to grow at a CAGR of 20 to 30 percent beyond 2024, despite market concerns about declining lithium demand, thanks to expanded production capacity. By 2027, the company expects to nearly triple production.
Albemarle is still pursuing acquisitions after completing its $4 billion deal for Australia’s Liontown Resources in 2023 due to complexity. Albemarle has a strong balance sheet and cash position, so making opportunistic acquisitions in a depressed lithium market would be a smart move.
Albemarle has a prominent presence in the lithium market, and as more EVs replace gas-guzzling cars globally, demand for this element will only grow. With Albemarle still projecting double-digit sales growth in 2023 and 2024, now is still a good time to buy growth stocks while growth is flat.
2. Salesforce: 2024 could be a big year for growth stocks
Over the past decade, Salesforce has dominated the global customer relationship market (CRM) in terms of revenue. The CRM software solutions giant has grown at a breakneck pace in recent years, nearly tripling its revenue over the past five years. Salesforce generated $31.4 billion in revenue for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2023, and converted nearly 20% of its revenue into free cash flow.
Salesforce executives have been relentlessly focused over the past few years on restructuring the business to increase productivity and profitability. The efforts are already showing in numbers. Salesforce plans to deliver double-digit revenue growth, achieve an operating margin of approximately 14% and generate record cash flow for the fiscal year ending January 31, 2024.
Demand remains strong for most Salesforce products, including MuleSoft, Tableau, and Slack. Importantly, Salesforce is deeply engaged in artificial intelligence (AI) through products like Data Cloud and believes AI could be a game-changer for the company going forward.
Salesforce is off to a strong start to fiscal 2025, with third-quarter remaining performance obligations (RPOs) reaching $48.3 billion, a 21% increase year-over-year. RPO is an important measure of Salesforce’s revenue potential because it represents the amount of committed revenue that can be converted into actual revenue.
2023 has been a transformational year for Salesforce, and it should set the pace for bigger things to happen for the company. This makes Salesforce a very attractive growth stock to buy in 2024.
3. Symbotic: Sales are booming for this young growth stock.
2023 was a huge year for Symbotic. The company sells AI-based warehouse automation systems along with support software and maintenance services through long-term contracts. And demand for products and services is steadily increasing. Symbotic’s revenue increased 98% to $1.8 billion for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023.
Most importantly, Symbotic ended the last fiscal year with a massive backlog of $23 billion. This includes an $11 billion balance from GreenBox, a joint venture with a Japanese multinational. softbank group. Symbotic owns a 35% stake in the six-year-old venture and expects to generate $500 million in annual revenue at high margins once all systems and software for GreenBox are installed.
From that perspective, 2024 will be an important year for Symbotic as it begins to monetize its system on GreenBox. The venture will also add a new revenue stream to Symbotic: warehouse-as-a-service, which could open up massive opportunities for the company in the coming years.
GreenBox also aligns with Symbotic’s new strategy to reduce reliance on manufacturing and outsource manufacturing and system installation while management focuses on innovation and product development. This move will not only reduce costs but also help Symbotic increase revenue by deploying systems faster on the customer side. Symbotic already boasts a big name among its customers, including large retailers. walmart, targetand Albertsons.
With Symbotic forecasting revenue growth of at least 70% year-over-year in the first quarter of fiscal 2024, this is one of the first growth stocks to buy in 2024.
