In this article, we discuss 5 best stocks to buy for an 18 year old. If you want to see more best stocks to buy for an 18 year old, the risk/reward, and methodology of this list, go directly to 10 Best Stocks to Buy for an 18 Year Old.
5. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)
Market Capitalization as of 2/15: $459.31 billion
Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is a social media giant with a market capitalization of $459.31 billion as of 2/15, ranking #5 on our list of 10 Best Stocks to Buy for an 18 Year Old.
After declining substantially last year given increasing competition from TikTok and the company’s losses in terms of its metaverse effort, Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) shares have surged 47.22% year to date in 2023. Despite TikTok, Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s 2022 sales decreased 1% year over year to $116.61 billion and rose 4% year over year on a constant currency basis.
As of December 31, 2022, the company had $10.87 billion available and authorized for repurchases and the company’s board has since increased its share repurchase authorization by $40 billion. Given how transformative AI could be, many investors also believe Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) has earnings growth potential in the long term given the company’s investments in the area over the past decade.
4. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Market Capitalization as of 2/15: $1.04 trillion
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is a trillion dollar company with a leading e-commerce and cloud business. In the fourth quarter of 2022, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)’s net sales rose 9% year over year to $149.2 billion with AWS segment sales rising 20% year over year to $21.4 billion. For full year 2022, the company’s net sales rose 9% year over year to $514 billion with AWS segment sales increasing 29% year over year to $80.1 billion.
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) CEO Andy Jassy said, “Our relentless focus on providing the broadest selection, exceptional value, and fast delivery drove customer demand in our Stores business during the fourth quarter that exceeded our expectations—and we’re appreciative of all our customers who turned to Amazon this past holiday season. We’re also encouraged by the continued progress we’re making in reducing our cost to serve in the operations part of our Stores business. In the short term, we face an uncertain economy, but we remain quite optimistic about the long-term opportunities for Amazon.”
3. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)
Market Capitalization as of 2/15: $1.24 trillion
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) shares have fallen 28.23% in the last year but are up 9.43% year to date as the market weighs on how the new AI powered Bing will affect the search giant’s earnings in the future. While AI makes mistakes, Bing could gain market share from Google and also potentially increase costs. Nevertheless, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) has leading AI technology of its own that could help it grow its earnings in the long term. As it stands, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is the riskiest company in this list given the competition but the tech giant also has substantial potential.
L1 Capital International Fund commented on Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) in a Q3 2022 investor letter,
Two companies, Amazon.com (Amazon) and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), detracted more than 0.5% (in AUD) from the Fund’s returns. Both companies reported Q3 2022 quarterly results that were modestly below our expectations. Alphabet’s share price was impacted by concerns that macroeconomic pressures will impact advertising spend, increased commentary that Alphabet’s core search business could be disrupted by open artificial intelligence technologies, particularly from OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot (Microsoft is rumoured to be investing $10 billion in OpenAI with the aim of incorporating the technology into Bing, Word and email). Alphabet’s growth in employee numbers is also expected to pressure profitability in a more subdued economic environment.
We have allowed for a softening in advertising in our base case expectations and believe Alphabet’s management will be under increasing pressure to take action to manage its cost base, as many other technology businesses have already done, including Amazon. Disruption to search remains an issue to monitor. However, we consider Alphabet to be at the forefront of developments in artificial intelligence and well placed to defend its core franchise.
2. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Market Capitalization as of 2/15: $2 trillion
In addition to having a leading computer operating and cloud business, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is one of the current leaders in AI given its $10 billion investment in OpenAI whose app ChatGPT has reached 100 million users just two months after its launch. While OpenAI’s ChatGPT is inaccurate sometimes, the app has experienced substantial demand and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has also incorporated ChatGPT into Bing to potentially gain market share. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has substantial EPS growth potential in the future if it does well in AI.
1. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Market Capitalization as of 2/15: $2.46 trillion
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) ranks #1 on our list of 10 Best Stocks to Buy for an 18 Year Old given its market capitalization of $2.46 trillion. In addition to having considerable market share in the developed world, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is one of the few big tech companies that has been very profitable in China. In terms of the future, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is currently trying to expand its business in India, which if successful could help EPS growth in the future.
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