5 Best Stocks To Invest In 2024 For Beginners

In this article, we discuss 5 best stocks to invest in 2024 for beginners. If you want to read our detailed discussion on the stock market, head over to 10 Best Stocks To Invest In 2024 For Beginners. 

5. Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 140

Quarterly Revenue Growth: 12.60%

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA), a global technology company, specializes in transaction processing and payment-related products and services. The company also offers analytics, consulting, managed services, and other solutions for e-commerce merchants. It is one of the best stocks to invest for beginners in 2024. On February 6, Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) declared a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, in line with previous. The dividend is payable on May 9, to shareholders of record on April 9. 

On January 31, Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) reported a Q4 non-GAAP EPS of $3.18 and a revenue of $6.5 billion, topping Wall Street estimates by $0.10 and $20 million, respectively. 

According to Insider Monkey’s third quarter database, Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) was part of 140 hedge fund portfolios, compared to 139 in the preceding quarter. Charles Akre’s Akre Capital Management is the largest stakeholder of the company, with 5.85 million shares worth $2.3 billion. 

Ensemble Capital Management stated the following regarding Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in its fourth quarter 2023 investor letter:

“Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) (7.21% weight in the Fund): Payment companies are data companies. As we discussed last quarter in our write up of Mastercard, merchants can generate significant value from analyzing payment data to better understand their customers. Mastercard has long built AI-based products to enhance payment security and provide merchants with rich data analytics. In December, they rolled out Muse, a new online shopping companion that merchants who utilize certain Mastercard services can install on their own websites.

Muse seeks to replicate the in store experience of working with a salesclerk by allowing the customer to use natural language to browse products. Online shopping already works well if you know exactly what you are looking for, but Muse is striving to help customers find things to buy even when they aren’t sure what they are looking for.

Mastercard (7.21% weight in the Fund): In late October, Mastercard reported earnings that investors interpreted as pointing to a near term slowdown in payment growth. The stock fell 5.6% on the day. By the end of the next week, the stock had recovered its losses and went on to reach a new all time high on the last day of the year. But the 7.9% gain on the quarter slightly trailed the S&P 500.”

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

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 146

Quarterly Revenue Growth: 11.40%

Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER) is one of the best cheap beginner stocks for 2024. In the fourth quarter of 2023, Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER) said there was a 22% year-over-year increase in gross bookings, amounting to $37.6 billion. Trips during the quarter experienced a 24% year-over-year growth, totaling 2.6 billion, equivalent to an average of around 28 million trips per day. On February 7, Uber reported a Q4 GAAP EPS of $0.66 and a revenue of $9.9 billion, exceeding Wall Street estimates by $0.49 and $140 million, respectively. 

According to Insider Monkey’s third quarter database, 146 hedge funds were bullish on Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER), compared to 144 funds in the earlier quarter. Brad Gerstner’s Altimeter Capital Management is the biggest stakeholder of the company, with 13.3 million shares worth $613.35 million. 

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.”

3. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 163

Quarterly Revenue Growth: 13.50%

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) ranks 3rd on our list of the best stocks to invest in 2024 for beginners. On January 30, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) reported Q4 GAAP earnings per share of $1.64 and a revenue of $86.31 billion, outperforming Wall Street estimates by $0.04 and $1.04 billion, respectively. Revenue for the period increased 13.5% in the December quarter. 

According to Insider Monkey’s third quarter database, 163 hedge funds were bullish on Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), compared to 152 funds in the last quarter. Harris Associates is one of the largest stakeholders of the company, with 23.4 million shares worth $3 billion. 

The FPA Crescent Fund stated the following regarding Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) in its fourth quarter 2023 investor letter:

“Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) continued going from strength to strength during 2023 despite concerns that competition may infringe on the company’s dominant position in Search. Thus far, Alphabet has continued to hold its own, and we look forward to seeing how the company incorporates further AI developments across the Alphabet ecosystem. Lastly, we are hopeful that the impending arrival of a new CFO will bring a renewed focus on efficiency – an area where we believe Alphabet has ample room for improvement.”

2. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 286

Quarterly Revenue Growth: 13.90%

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is one of the best cheap beginner stocks for 2024. On February 2, banks like Stifel and RBC maintained high ratings for the stock following a 13% increase in North American revenue to $105.5 billion, surpassing the consensus of $102.9 billion. Additionally, international sales amounted to $40.2 billion, exceeding the consensus of $39 billion. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) has witnessed rising profits in each of the last four quarters, attributed to improved efficiencies and the return to growth for Amazon Web Services.

According to Insider Monkey’s third quarter database, 286 hedge funds were bullish on Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), compared to 278 funds in the prior quarter. Boykin Curry’s Eagle Capital Management is a significant position holder in the company, with 14 million shares worth $1.80 billion. 

Polen Focus Growth Strategy stated the following regarding Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) in its fourth quarter 2023 investor letter:

“For the full year, the top relative and absolute contributors were Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Salesforce, and ServiceNow. Amazon shares appreciated 88% in 2023, driven primarily by rapidly expanding operating profit margins and free cash flow growth. After the pandemic, Amazon experienced a period of inefficiency and overinvestment in its distribution and logistics infrastructure. Amazon is now leveraging these investments as growth returned to its e-commerce business in 2023 after a highly unusual 2022. At the same time, Amazon’s rapidly growing and high-margin advertising business is contributing strongly to the entire company’s operating profit growth. The AWS (Amazon Web Services) cloud infrastructure and services business continued to slow in 2023 as customers anticipating a more difficult economic environment looked to save money on their cloud spend, but these cloud spending optimizations began to stabilize in the second half of 2023. We now expect customer interest in generative AI will begin to contribute to growth.”

1. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 306

Quarterly Revenue Growth: 17.60%

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) ranks 1st on our list of the best stocks to invest in 2024 for beginners. On January 31, Microsoft reported December quarter results that exceeded expectations, earning praise from Wall Street. The positive reception suggests that the advantages the company is experiencing from artificial intelligence are just starting. Notably, AI contributed to a six-percentage-point growth for Azure in the quarter, leading to a 30% growth, surpassing the company’s earlier guidance. J.P. Morgan analyst Mark Murphy highlighted Microsoft’s “solid” performance and the positive impact of AI, attributing it to the company’s ongoing execution and a stable business environment.

According to Insider Monkey’s third quarter database, 306 hedge funds were bullish on Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), compared to 300 funds in the prior quarter. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust is the leading position holder in the company, with 39.2 million shares worth $12.4 billion. 

Madison Sustainable Equity Fund stated the following regarding Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in its fourth quarter 2023 investor letter:

“Microsoft Corporation’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) sustainable scorecard was updated with an unchanged rating of Above Average. The company’s board has an official Environmental, Social, and Public Policy Committee in addition to the traditional Audit, Compensation, and Governance committees. For ten years, Microsoft has publicly released data measuring the diversity of its workforce. With the prominence of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the company has launched a 5-point blueprint for governing AI to address public policy and regulation. Environmentally, Microsoft has multiple programs to be carbon negative by 2030. The company has signed Purchase Power Agreements for carbon-free energy totaling 13.5 Gigawatts.”

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