In this article, we discuss the 10 Best US Stocks To Buy For Foreign Investors.
In the coming week, the resilience of the US stock market will be challenged as President Trump’s tariff plans and employment report reveal the actual condition of the economy. Price pressures led to the broader market ending the week on a loss, and the benchmark was in correction territory earlier this month. Market experts believe the economy is moving too fast, and there is much volatility, so it is hard to predict the outcome for the coming months. Trump set April 2 as the date he will announce several tariffs.
The Bank of America cautioned investors to prepare for a double-digit correction this year that will shake the stock market. The firm sees the broader market dipping to 5,000 if the economy takes a nosedive and unemployment peaks. However, BofA believes that if the benchmark hits 5,000, it can recover and close the year at 5,500. According to its base case, BofA expects stocks to finish the year higher, with the benchmark oscillating between 5,885 and 6,175 points. This indicates an upside of nearly 7% from present levels. Wall Street experts are also predicting a recession might be in the cards. Markets are currently fretting over soft economic data and awaiting the effect of tariffs.
While the economy is teetering and has investors on edge, some experts see buying opportunities in this market. Laura Champine, Senior Consumer Analyst at Loop Capital Markets, joined CNBC on March 14 and commented that markets are shaky, but there are opportunities in consumer discretionary stocks. This macro environment is suitable for some American companies that can quickly adjust, especially retailers with a loyal customer base and that do not rely on imported products. Some big-box retailers primarily make money from subscription fees, so tariffs don’t threaten their earnings. Moreover, Champine was also bullish on select cruise line stocks, even while the market generally pulls back from travel stocks for now since their cruises are booked for the next year in advance. So earnings won’t take a significant hit in the current environment. The analyst also recommended a US manufacturer of appliances, which has significantly plummeted. Still, she noted that this is the best time to buy because American manufacturers will likely fare well under the current government.
To put buying opportunities in perspective, Wall Street’s AI darling recently went through a slump. According to BofA, this could be an opening for investors who want exposure to semiconductors, GPUs, and AI. Similarly, Jim Lebenthal, Chief Equity Strategist at Cerity Partners, told CNBC on March 10 that the current market offers an excellent opportunity to pick up Magnificent Seven stocks since they’re trading at great prices. Keeping expert advice in mind on how to invest in the present market environment, let’s take a look at the best American stocks to buy for foreign investors.
Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash
Our Methodology
To find the best US stocks for foreign investors, we started from the top of Insider Monkey’s Q4 2024 database to identify US stocks. Then, we checked for average upside potential for these stocks to understand what analysts were bullish on. To finalise our selection, we chose the top 10 US stocks owned by elite hedge funds, with an average upside potential of over 30% as of March 30. The stocks are ranked in ascending order of the hedge fund sentiment.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
10. Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 116
Average Upside Potential as of March 30: 30.84%
American retail giant Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) is one of the best American stocks to buy, given the recession-proof nature of the business and the solid financials of the company. On March 18, WMT introduced Wally, a generative AI tool for merchants and vendors to improve productivity. Wally automates mundane processes, including data entry, answering support questions, complex calculations, and root cause identification for errors. Wally also requires no technical training before adoption, which makes using it quite simple for merchants, leading to immediate improvement.
Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) has secured a spot on the coveted Dividend Kings list, which indicates that the company has been raising its dividend payouts for over 50 years. On February 20, WMT’s board of directors increased its quarterly per share dividend by 13%, taking the payment from $0.83 to $0.94 per share for the year. The first installment of $0.235 per share will be paid on April 7, to shareholders on record as of March 21. 2025 marks the 52nd year that Walmart has consecutively boosted its dividends.
Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) reported a Q4 revenue of $180.6 billion, up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis, with gross margin increasing 53 basis points, driven by gains at Walmart US. Operating income came in at $0.6 billion for the quarter, driven by rising gross margins, higher membership income, and improvement in eCommerce. In Q4, Walmart finalized the acquisition of VIZIO, grew its global advertising business by 29% compared to last year, and achieved strong global eCommerce sales, up 16% year-over-year.
Kate McShane, a Goldman Sachs analyst, bumped her price target on WMT shares to $106 from $101 on March 27 while reaffirming a Buy rating. The analyst observed that Walmart is positioned well to achieve earnings growth this year and has a strong appeal for budget shoppers.
According to Insider Monkey’s Q4 data, Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) was part of 116 hedge fund portfolios, up from 88 in the previous quarter. Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management is the biggest stakeholder of the company, with 48.7 million shares valued at $4.4 billion.
9. Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 117
Average Upside Potential as of March 30: 36.95%
Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) is an American computer software company that has three main segments – Digital Media, Digital Experience, and Publishing and Advertising. The company’s product offerings include Photoshop, Acrobat Illustrator, Lightroom, Captivate, Dreamweaver, and Creative Cloud, among others. On March 18, Adobe and Publicis Groupe announced they were extending their partnership. Adobe’s Firefly Gen-AI will be combined with Publicis’ intelligent system CoreAI to help businesses scale the production of personalized content, reach niche and specific audiences, and increase client engagement.
On March 19, BMO Capital Markets assigned an Outperform rating to Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) with a $495 price target. Analyst Keith Bachmann observed that the company has solid growth potential and technological capacity, compared to its current valuation. Adobe also offers robust operational efficiency.
For FY24, Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) did well financially, driven by strong demand for Creative Cloud, Document Cloud, and Experience Cloud amidst an AI-powered world. For the year, the company reported a revenue of $21.51 billion and an operating cash flow of $8.06 billion. For the fourth quarter, revenue increased 11% year-over-year to $5.61 billion, and diluted GAAP earnings per share came in at $3.79. Adobe bought back roughly 4.6 million shares during Q4.
According to Insider Monkey’s fourth quarter database, 117 hedge funds held stakes in Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE), compared to 123 funds in the preceding quarter. Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke, and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital is the largest stakeholder of the company, with 2.10 million shares worth $937.3 million. Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) ranks 9th on our list of the best American stocks to invest in.
8. Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 120
Average Upside Potential as of March 30: 48.21%
Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) is a Texas-based electricity and natural gas provider to residential, commercial, and industrial customers within the United States and the District of Columbia. The company generates electricity, is involved in fuel production, commodity risk management, and fuel logistics, and is a wholesale energy retailer. It is one of the best American stocks to buy, with an average analyst upside potential of 48% as of March 30.
On December 17, 2024, Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) announced that it had deployed two new solar projects in Illinois. The company’s 1,185-megawatt (MW) Baldwin Power Plant in Illinois will now operate until 2027 instead of closing operations in 2025. Vistra has invested around $135 million in Illinois energy, and the solar facility will generate approximately 140,000 MWh of clean energy for the next two decades.
2024 was a busy year for Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST). The company finalized the acquisition of three nuclear sites, gaining around one million customers and 2,000 new employees and becoming the second-largest nuclear fleet in the US. Vistra also became part of the S&P index and the Dow Jones Sustainability indices in 2024. The company exceeded financial expectations for the year as well. Net income came in at $2.8 billion, with an adjusted EBITDA of $5.65 billion for the full year. This was supported by unrealized gains on derivative positions, adding Energy Harbor to its portfolio, and growth in revenue from nuclear tax credits in Q4. Vistra has repurchased nearly shares worth $4.9 billion since November 2021, with almost 339 million shares outstanding. The company expects to complete repurchases of around $1.9 billion by the end of 2026.
On March 4, BofA upgraded Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) from Neutral to Buy but trimmed the price target from $164 to $152 in light of Vistra’s recent plummeting shares. Analysts noted that the lack of data center announcements sunk the stock. However, they believe that the company’s core operations, including electricity generation and retail, could potentially benefit from strained energy markets in the PJM and ERCOT regions.
Stephen Mandel’s Lone Pine Capital was the largest stakeholder of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) at the end of Q4 2024, with 5.35 million shares worth $738 million. Overall, 123 hedge funds were bullish on the stock, up from 97 funds in the earlier quarter.
7. Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 161
Average Upside Potential as of March 30: 49.12%
Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) is a prominent player in the US semiconductor industry. The company provides semiconductor hardware and infrastructure software, catering to data center, networking, broadband, storage, and industrial customers. On March 7, Cantor Fitzgerald was bullish on AVGO, maintaining an Overweight rating on the shares with a price target of $300. The firm credited its positive stance on Broadcom to its impressive financial results, which topped Street estimates.
For fiscal year 2024, Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)’s revenue stood at $51.6 billion, up 44% year-over-year. The infrastructure software revenue came in at $21.5 billion, signaling seamless integration of VMware. The company’s AI revenue rose 220% year-over-year because of its XPUs and Ethernet networking portfolio. In Q4 2024, Broadcom’s cash from operations stood at $5.6 billion, and its cash and cash equivalents at the end of the quarter were nearly $9.3 billion.
On March 6, Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) declared a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share. The dividend is payable on March 31, to shareholders on record as of March 20. The company has a 14-year history of dividend growth and counting.
Among the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey in Q4 2024, 161 funds reported owning stakes in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO), compared to 128 funds in the preceding quarter. Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management is the leading position holder in the company, with 23.9 million shares worth $5.5 billion.
6. Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 162
Average Upside Potential as of March 30: 39.12%
Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) is a California-based company specializing in customer relationship management technology. CRM is focused on customer service, marketing and sales, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and app development. It is one of the best American stocks to buy, with an average upside potential of 39% as of March 30. Analysts and Wall Street hedge funds alike are bullish on the company.
On March 24, Truist Securities reaffirmed a Buy rating on Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) with a price target of $400, noting that its diverse data center and AI offerings could accelerate the company’s growth in fiscal year 2026 and 2027.
For the fourth quarter of FY25, the company posted a revenue of $10 billion, up 8% from the same quarter last year. For the full year, Salesforce’s GAAP operating margin came in at 19%, with an operating cash flow of $13.1 billion and free cash flow of $12.4 billion, up 28% and 31% year-over-year, respectively. Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) made share repurchases worth $7.8 billion and returned $1.5 billion to shareholders in dividends during the year.
On March 28, Salesforce announced a $0.42 per share quarterly dividend, a 5% increase from its last dividend of $0.40. The dividend will be paid on April 24 to shareholders on record as of April 10.
According to Insider Monkey’s fourth quarter database, 162 hedge funds were bullish on Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM), up from 116 in the earlier quarter. ValueAct Capital is a prominent company stakeholder, with 2.8 million shares valued at $969 million.
5. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 174
Average Upside Potential as of March 30: 38.93%
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), with an average upside potential of nearly 39%, ranks 5th on our list of the best American stocks to buy. On March 18, Google LLC announced its intention to acquire Wiz for $32 billion in a cash transaction. Wiz is a New York-based cloud security platform that will join Google Cloud upon merging operations. Google intends to enhance its AI capabilities by creating a multi-cloud platform with improved cybersecurity.
On February 4, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) reported its Q4 financial results. The consolidated revenues climbed to $96.5 billion, reflecting a 12% year-over-year increase due to solid business momentum. The operating income and operating margin grew by 31% and 32%, respectively, while earnings per share rose 31% to $2.15. The main drivers behind Alphabet’s business momentum were products and models powered by artificial intelligence. The company paid out $2.4 billion in dividends for the fourth quarter. Total cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities came in at $95.6 billion at the end of December 2024.
Investment advisory Truist maintained a Buy rating on Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) with a price target of $220 on March 19, in light of Alphabet’s all-cash $32 billion acquisition of cybersecurity provider Wiz. Truist believes this acquisition could potentially strengthen Google Cloud’s position in the market.
According to Insider Monkey’s fourth quarter database, 174 hedge funds were bullish on Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), up from 160 funds in the prior quarter.
4. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 223
Average Upside Potential as of March 30: 60.97%
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is a California-based multinational technology company that designs and develops semiconductors, graphics processing units, application programming interfaces, and system-on-chip units (SoCs). The company is also heavily involved in artificial intelligence. Wall Street analysts are bullish on NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), with an average upside potential of approximately 61% as of March 30. It is one of the best American stocks to buy.
On March 26, Moody’s Ratings upgraded NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)’s senior unsecured rating from Aa3 to Aa2. This upgrade reflected NVDA’s market leadership in AI infrastructure, robust long-term growth potential, and strong financials. NVIDIA also committed billions to research and development in Q4 of FY25, which puts it ahead of competitors in computing and software.
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) reported its Q4 financial results on February 26, 2025. Revenue for the quarter came in at $39.3 billion, up 12% quarter-over-quarter and 78% year-over-year. The GAAP earnings per diluted share hit $0.89, an increase of 14% from the third quarter and up 82% from the same period last year. The company will distribute a $0.01 per share quarterly dividend on April 2, to shareholders listed by March 12. For the first quarter of fiscal 2026, NVDA’s revenue is expected to reach $43 billion.
According to Insider Monkey’s fourth quarter database, 223 hedge funds were long NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), compared to 193 funds in the prior quarter. Fisher Asset Management is among the company’s biggest stakeholders, with a position worth $13.20 billion.
3. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 262
Average Upside Potential as of March 30: 32.35%
Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is one of the best American stocks to buy. On March 28, Citi reiterated a Buy rating on Meta, with a price target of $780. Citi is bullish on the stock because of the growth in Instagram’s Sponsored Reels, which drove ad revenue significantly higher on a quarter-over-quarter basis. According to the investment firm, Reels will account for 16% of Meta’s total revenue in 2025, which represents the continuing demand from advertisers.
In the fourth quarter of 2024, daily active people on Meta’s Family of Apps was approximately 3.35 billion, up 5% year-over-year. Ad impressions also increased by 6% on a year-over-year basis. Revenue for Q4 rose 21% from the prior-year quarter to $48.39 billion, and the company made $1.27 billion in dividend payments. For the full year, share repurchases amounted to $29.75 billion. Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities stood at $77.81 billion as of December 31, 2024.
On February 13, Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) declared a $0.525 per share quarterly dividend, a 5% increase from its previous dividend of $0.50. The dividend was paid to shareholders on March 26.
According to Insider Monkey’s database, Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) was part of 262 hedge fund portfolios at the end of Q4 2024, compared to 235 in the preceding quarter. Rajiv Jain’s GQG Partners is a major company stakeholder, with 9.3 million shares valued at $5.45 billion.
2. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 317
Average Upside Potential as of March 30: 35.10%
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is one of the biggest names in tech, and as of March 30, analysts see a 35% average upside potential for the shares. This makes MSFT one of the best American stocks to buy. On March 6, investment advisory Stifel assigned a Buy rating to Microsoft but slashed the price target to $475 from $515. The firm observed that Microsoft Azure’s genAI revenue showed a remarkable growth of 157% in December. Most business segments of the company were also performing well. However, analysts lowered the price target because investors were highly focused on CapEx, and they believe that the stock may not thrive until Azure and Commercial Cloud growth outperforms CapEx spending.
For the quarter ending December 31, 2024, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s revenue stood at $69.6 billion, up 12% on a year-over-year basis. The quarterly net income rose 10% from the prior-year quarter to $24.1 billion, as did diluted earnings per share, which came in at $3.23. Microsoft gave back $9.7 billion to shareholders in terms of dividends and share repurchases during Q2 of fiscal year 2025.
On March 11, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) declared a quarterly dividend of $0.83 per share. The dividend is payable on June 12, to shareholders on record as of May 15.
According to Insider Monkey’s fourth-quarter database, 317 hedge funds reported owning long positions in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), up from 279 stocks in the last quarter. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust is the company’s leading stakeholder, with 28.45 million shares valued at nearly $12 billion.
1. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 339
Average Upside Potential as of March 30: 40.02%
Jeff Bezos’ e-commerce titan, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), ranks first on our list of the best American stocks to buy. On March 17, Amazon Web Services announced that it had extended its collaboration with the Fitch Group, a market-leading financial information services provider, to enhance Fitch’s technological capabilities and use GenAI to digitally transform its operations worldwide. The collaboration will primarily utilize Amazon Q Developer to drive productivity among developers and enable code modernization.
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) ‘s net sales rose 10% to $187.8 billion for the fourth quarter, up from $170 billion in the prior year quarter. Operating income grew to $21.2 billion in Q4 2024, compared to $13.2 billion in Q4 2023. The company’s operating cash flow for the year climbed 36% to $115.9 billion, up from $84.9 billion for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023. Amazon’s free cash flow grew to $38.2 billion for the year, compared to $36.8 billion last year.
On February 7, Citi maintained a Buy rating on Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) but cut the price target from $275 to $273. Analysts feel cautiously positive about AMZN, noting that Amazon Web Services met growth expectations. While Q1 2025 revenue and operating income guidance came in lower than market expectations, analysts see higher demand for AWS in the GenAI space as a potential catalyst for the stock.
According to Insider Monkey’s Q4 data, 339 hedge funds were bullish on Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), up from 286 in the last quarter. Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management is the company’s leading stakeholder, with over 45 million shares valued at $9.90 billion.
Overall, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) ranks first on our list of the best US stocks to buy for foreign investors. While we acknowledge the potential of AMZN to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that certain AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than AMZN but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires.
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