13 Best Growth Stocks To Buy According To George Soros

Published on November 29, 2023 at 3:45 am by Fahad Saleem in Hedge Funds, News

In this article, we will take a look at the 13 best growth stocks to buy according to George Soros. To see more such companies, go directly to 5 Best Growth Stocks To Buy According To George Soros.

Billionaire George Soros is one of the most respected and notable hedge fund managers in the world, with a net worth of over $6.7 billion. The 93 year-old Hungarian American is known as the philosopher investor in the Wall Street, mainly due to his contributions to philosophy and his deep desire to leave his mark in the world of philosophy, which many believe he fulfilled thanks to his General Theory of Reflexivity for capital markets.

A Failed Philosopher?

George Soros in his book The New Paradigm of Financial Markets wrote a chapter titled “Autobiography of a Failed Philosopher” in which he talked in detail about how many, including his son and his biographer, started accepting the idea that Soros was a failed philosopher. Soros talks in detail about his childhood, his relationship with his father who at one point, according to Soros, lost all ambition in life and did not amass any wealth. A Jew by birth, Soros decided to come to the UK after the Nazi occupation of Hungary. Soros’ first interactions with philosophy started when he was impressed by the works of Karl Popper. But Soros’ dreams of creating a career in philosophy could not realize for several reasons, some of which he talks about in his book:

“I would have preferred to stay within the safe walls of academe—I even had a teaching assistant job prospect at the University of Michigan in Kalamazoo, but my grades were not good enough, and I was forced to go out into the real world. After several false starts, I ended up working as an arbitrage trader, first in London and then in New York.* At first I had to forget everything I had learned as a student in order to hold down my job, but eventually my college education came in very useful. In particular, I could apply my theory of reflexivity to establish a disequilibrium scenario or boom-bust pattern for financial markets. The rewarding part came when markets entered what I called far-from-equilibrium territory because that is when the generally accepted equilibrium models broke down.”

At the end of the chapter Soros said he was able to come out of the period of self-doubt and finally achieved his goal of becoming a philosopher.

“I am aware of the various shortcomings in my previous presentations, which I hope to have overcome, and I believe that it will be worth the reader’s while to make the effort required to understand my philosophy. Needless to say, this makes me very happy. I have been fortunate in making a lot of money and spending it well. But I have always wanted to be a philosopher, and finally I may have become one. What more can one ask for from one life?”

Soros Fund Management’s Performance

Whether or not Soros is a philosopher might still be up for debate but that he is an accomplished stock picker is a fact hardly questioned by any, including his naysayers. George Soros founded Soros Fund Management in 1970. Since its inception through 2010, the fund posted on average a 20% annual rate of return. A Wall Street Journal report earlier this year said that Soros Fund Management has posted a compound annual return of 13.5% over the past three years through June 30, 2023.

George Soros in 2017 donated $18 billion to Open Society Foundations, which he founded as a non-profit organization to work for causes like justice, education and civil rights. Earlier this year George Soros handed over the reins of his empire to his son Alexander Soros.

Methodology

For this article we scanned George Soros’ hedge fund’s Q3 portfolio and picked its top growth stock picks. We preferred stocks that are posting high revenue growth rates, operate in high-growth areas and have long-term sales growth projections.

Best Growth Stocks To Buy According To George Soros

13. DoorDash, Inc. (NASDAQ:DASH)

Stake Value: $14.15M

George Soros’ hedge fund upped its stake in DoorDash, Inc. (NASDAQ:DASH) by 30% in the third quarter of 2023, ending the period with a $14.15 million stake in the company. DoorDash, Inc. (NASDAQ:DASH)’s revenue in the third quarter of this year jumped by about 30% year over year to $2.2 billion, beating estimates by $110 million. Total orders increased by 24% year over year to 543 million.

12. Snowflake Inc. (NYSE:SNOW)

Stake Value: $11 M

Snowflake Inc. (NYSE:SNOW) ranks 12th in our list of the best growth stocks to buy according to billionaire George Soros’ hedge fund. The fund initiated a new position in Snowflake Inc. (NYSE:SNOW) in the September quarter as it bought 71,800 shares of the company worth about $11 million.

Out of the 910 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, 65 hedge funds had stakes in Snowflake Inc. (NYSE:SNOW). The biggest stakeholder of Snowflake Inc. (NYSE:SNOW) as of the end of June was Brad Gerstner’s Altimeter Capital Management which had a $2.7 billion stake in the firm.

ClearBridge Multi Cap Growth Strategy made the following comment about Snowflake Inc. (NYSE:SNOW) in its Q2 2023 investor letter:

“While the ClearBridge Multi Cap Growth Strategy has limited mega cap exposure, which has been a recent headwind to relative performance, we own several companies that stand to benefit from the explosive growth in generative AI. These holdings play key roles in building out the necessary infrastructure and helping customers leverage capabilities enabled by this emerging technology.

Snowflake Inc. (NYSE:SNOW), a cloud-based data platform company, is positioned well to help enterprises better leverage their own data to get the most out of AI models. Though it is still early days in terms of adoption, Snowflake saw workloads for data science, machine learning, and AI use cases grow more than 90% year-over-year in its most recent quarter.”

11. Fastly, Inc. (NYSE:FSLY)

Stake Value: $39M

Cloud computing company Fastly, Inc. (NYSE:FSLY) ranks 11th in our list of the best growth stocks in George Soros’ hedge fund portfolio. The fund reported owning a $39 million stake in the company.

10. Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Stake Value: $43M

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) has been enjoying strong growth amid a rising travel demand all over the world. In the third quarter, Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)’s revenue increased by about 21% year over year in the third quarter to $7.34 billion, missing estimates $80 million.

Soros Fund Management increased its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by about 7.7% in the third quarter, concluding the period with a $43 million stake in the company.

RiverPark Advisors made the following comment about Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in its Q3 2023 investor letter:

“Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG): BKNG was a top contributor in the quarter following better than expected bookings, revenue and profit margins in the company’s 2Q driven by strong summer travel demand. BKNG reported $40 billion of bookings, $5.5 billion of revenue, and 23% EBITDA margins, which were $1.5 billion, $300m, and two percentage points ahead of expectations, respectively. In addition to strong summer demand, management pointed to continued strength in leisure travel (they raised travel booking guidance for the remainder of the year), building momentum in its alternative accommodation business and improvement in marketing efficiency.

Booking is the world’s leader in online travel, operating in 200 countries with brands including Booking.com, priceline.com, agoda.com, Kayak, Rentalcars.com and OpenTable. The company has been a dominant on-line travel agency for more than a decade with a high-margin business model that requires limited capital expenditures, typically less than 3% of revenue, producing $6.2 billion of free cash flow for 2022 and $7.2 billion expected for 2024. The company has used its free cash flow for episodic acquisitions as well as to return cash to shareholders. BKNG is well positioned in travel as the largest player in online lodging bookings and the second largest player in alternative accommodations.”

9. Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER)

Stake Value: $40.4M

Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER) has been showing rapid growth as the company continues to cut costs. During the third quarter, Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER)’s revenue jumped about 11.4% year over year to $9.29 billion, missing estimates by $250 million. Gross bookings in the period increased by about 21% year over year to $35.3 billion.

George Soros’ hedge fund increased its stake in Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER) by about 16.58% in the third quarter, ending the period with about $40.4 million stake in the company.

RiverPark Advisors made the following comment about Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER) in its Q3 2023 investor letter:

“Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER): UBER was the top contributor in the quarter following a better-than-expected 2Q23 earnings report and 3Q23 guidance. Gross bookings of $33.6 billion were up 16% year over year. Mobility gross bookings of $17 billion grew 25% over last year driven by a combination of product innovation and driver availability. Delivery gross bookings of $16 billion were up 12% from last year. 2Q Adjusted EBITDA of $916 million, up $552 million year over year, significantly beat Street estimates of $845 million and the company generated $1.1 billion of free cash flow. Management guided to continuing growth in 3Q Gross Bookings (17%-20% growth) and Adjusted EBITDA (of $975-1,025 million).

UBER remains the undisputed global leader in ride sharing, with a greater than 50% share in every major region in which it operates. The company is also a leader in food delivery, where it is number one or two in the more than 25 countries in which it operates. Moreover, after a history of losses, the company is now profitable, delivering expanding margins and substantial free cash flow. We view UBER as more than just ride sharing and food delivery, but also as a global mobility platform with the ability to sell to its 130 million users (by comparison, Amazon Prime has 200 million members) and penetrate new markets of on-demand services, such as package and grocery delivery, travel, and worker staffing for shift work. Given its $4.3 billion of unrestricted cash and $4.4 billion of investments, the company’s enterprise value of $95 billion equates to just over 20x next year’s estimated free cash flow.”

8. Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU)

Stake Value: $38M

Business software company Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) ranks 8th in our list of the best growth stocks to buy according to billionaire George Soros. In August Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) posted fiscal fourth quarter results. Adjusted EPS in the period came in at $1.65, beating estimates by $0.21. Revenue totaled $2.7 billion, surpassing estimates by $60 million. For fiscal 2024 Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) expects revenue in the range of $15.89 billion to $16.105 billion, which would show growth of about 11% to 12%.

Here is what Baron FinTech Fund has to say about Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) in its Q3 2023 investor letter:

“Intuit Inc. is the leading provider of accounting software for small businesses and tax preparation software for individuals and tax professionals. Shares increased after the company reported financial results that exceeded Street expectations, with 13% revenue growth and 22% EPS growth in the recently completed fiscal year. Management provided favorable guidance for the next fiscal year that demonstrated confidence in the business momentum despite macroeconomic uncertainty. Intuit is benefiting from the sale of higher-value services and is well positioned to capitalize on increasing adoption of artificial intelligence given the company’s vast datasets. We continue to own the stock due to Intuit’s strong competitive position and numerous growth opportunities.

7. indie Semiconductor, Inc. (NASDAQ:INDI)

Stake Value: $35M

indie Semiconductor, Inc. (NASDAQ:INDI) ranks 7th in our list of the best growth stocks to buy according to George Soros. Recently indie Semiconductor, Inc. (NASDAQ:INDI) posted Q3 results. GAAP EPS in the period came in at -$0.12, beating estimates by $0.05. Revenue in the quarter jumped about 101.7% year over year to $60.5 million, beating estimates by $0.5 million.

George Soros’ hedge fund owns a stake worth about $35 million in indie Semiconductor, Inc. (NASDAQ:INDI) as of the end of the third quarter of 2023.

6. Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ:SPLK)

Stake Value: $88M

Enterprise security software and cybersecurity company Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ:SPLK) ranks 6th in our list of the best growth stocks to buy according to George Soros. Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ:SPLK) was trending after Cisco announced to buy the company for a whopping $28 billion.

As of the end of the third quarter of 2023, Soros’ fund had an $88 million stake in Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ:SPLK). This was a new position initiated by the fund in Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ:SPLK).

Alger Mid Cap Focus Fund made the following comment about Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ:SPLK) in its Q3 2023 investor letter:

“Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ:SPLK) is a software platform for searching, monitoring, and analyzing machine-generated data in real time. The company collects data from a wide variety of sources, including application logs, web server logs, network devices, and security systems. Splunk then indexes and stores this data in a searchable format, making it easy to query and analyze. It can be used to detect and respond to security threats such as malware intrusions and data breaches. During the quarter, shares of Splunk contributed to performance after receiving an all-cash acquisition offer of $28 billion from Cisco. With unanimous approval from both boards, the company expects to complete the transaction by the third quarter of 2024.”

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