We recently published a list of 10 Best Extremely Profitable Stocks to Buy Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) stands against other best extremely profitable stocks to buy now.
Can the S&P Hit 7,000 By the End of 2025?
Ed Yardeni, president of Yardeni Research, appeared on CNBC on November 27 to share insights on the market’s anticipated performance in 2025. He emphasized the significance of staying invested despite existing risks and high valuations, noting that the economy has shown resilience and interest rates have stabilized.
Yardeni pointed out that many new investors are gravitating toward small and mid-cap sectors, which he considers a sound strategy due to their relative affordability. He also highlighted the S&P 493 stocks as being undervalued compared to the Magnificent Seven, asserting that the overall market outlook remains positive despite potential tariff fluctuations. He believes that tax cuts and deregulation could enhance corporate earnings.
Yardeni attributed much of the market’s potential growth to an ongoing productivity boom, which he described as still being in its early stages. He noted that productivity levels have improved significantly from nearly zero in 2015 to around 2% currently, with historical precedents suggesting that such booms can reach as high as 4%. This improvement is driven by advancements in technology, which he argues will continue to drive productivity gains.
READ ALSO: 10 Most Promising New Technology Stocks According to Hedge Funds and 10 Best Tech Stocks to Invest In On the Dip.
When discussing whether this boom is primarily driven by artificial intelligence (AI), Yardeni acknowledged AI’s importance but also pointed to other technological advancements in cloud computing, robotics, and automation as contributing factors.
He identified a shortage of skilled labor as a key driver of productivity growth and explained that technology has enhanced efficiency, allowing wages to rise faster than prices, thus stimulating economic activity. In his concluding remarks, Yardeni projected that the S&P 500 could reach 7,000 by the end of 2025 and potentially hit 10,000 by the end of the decade, reflecting his bullish outlook on market performance fueled by these economic dynamics.
A financial advisor and their client discussing the merits of wealth management services.
Our Methodology
To compile the list of the 10 best extremely profitable stocks to buy now, we used the Finviz stock screener, Yahoo Finance, and Seeking Alpha. Using the screener, we shortlisted stocks that have grown their revenue and net income by at least 25% over the past 5 years. After sorting our initial list by market cap, we cross-checked the revenue and net income growth rates from Seeking Alpha. We also considered the trailing twelve-month net income and selected stocks that had a trailing twelve-month net income of more than $500 million. Lastly, we ranked the stocks in ascending order based on the number of hedge fund holders in Q3 2024, sourced from Insider Monkey’s database.
Why do we care about what hedge funds do? 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 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)
5 Year Revenue Growth: 41.29%
5 Year Net Income Growth: 42.24%
TTM Net Income: $2.53 Billion
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 46
First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) is a financial holding company that operates primarily through its subsidiary, First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company. The services provided by the company range from basic banking services like checking and savings accounts, loans for homes, cars, and businesses, as well as credit cards, to Commercial Banking, Silicon Valley Banking, and Rail Segment.
The bank stands out due to its Silicon Valley Banking, through which it caters to businesses in innovation sectors such as healthcare and technology. This segment also serves private equity firms and venture capitalists, offering them financial products that support their investments.
First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) demonstrated resilience in its third-quarter performance despite some challenges related to loan origination and net income declines. The bank reported a net income of $624 million, which represents a 15% decrease compared to the same quarter in the previous year. Net income for the quarter was mainly impacted by acquisition-related expenses of $46 million, intangible asset amortization of $15 million, and other noninterest expenses of $8 million.
However, on the bright side, the total deposits of the bank improved by $495 million subsequently reaching $151.57 billion. Management attributed the improvement in deposits to the growth in the General Bank and SVB Commercial segments. General Bank segment deposits increased by $690 million and the SVB commercial segment improved by $54 million subsequently during the quarter. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) is one of the best extremely profitable stocks to buy now.
Greenlight Capital stated the following regarding First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:
“We exited a few positions during the quarter, including, First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA): The bargain acquisition of the corpse of Silicon Valley Bank worked out well. The shares appreciated more than 80% and no longer appear cheap.”
Overall, FCNCA ranks 4th on our list of best extremely profitable stocks to buy now. While we acknowledge the potential of FCNCA to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that 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 FCNCA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 8 Best Wide Moat Stocks to Buy Now and 30 Most Important AI Stocks According to BlackRock.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
