It’s been a few years since the 2008 financial crisis, but there are still some sectors of the market that are worth investing in.
No one is guaranteed to make money in the market, but some sectors are currently more profitable than others. So, if you’ve got some spare cash laying around, these are the five best stocks to buy now.
Introduction
With this being the final quarter of 2018, most of the investment industry has already priced stocks in the current bullish run. However, there are still a few areas that still have significant upside ahead of them.
For example, we could see further good earnings results from some of the tech giants. For example, Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL ) is set to release its earnings on Thursday. This will be the first full quarter of sales since the launch of the iPhone XS.
Trading long stock price action is a risky strategy at best, but we could see upside in Apple stock following this quarter’s results.
Many analysts predict that we could see earnings go from $2.74 last quarter to up to $3.12 on the back of higher revenue and profits.
General Electric
Despite making some important changes, General Electric (NYSE: GE ) stock is a full 95% off its high. CEO John Flannery was put in place over the summer, replacing an ousted CEO. Flannery was supposed to implement operational changes, but he had little success in doing so.
Instead, he suffered the same fate as his predecessors. He was ousted in November, only 11 months after taking over for the previous CEO. But, if it wasn’t for all of the drama that surrounded GE’s share price, it would be easy to forget what GE is all about.
The company , manufactures everything from aircraft engines and locomotives to power plants and medical equipment. So if there’s a need for a product that the company can supply, it’s probably one of their own. As a result, GE, together with SOLO stock, is considered one of the hottest stocks in the market. You can check the best websites for stock research to grow your portfolio.
In 2017, GE’s $14.1 billion revenue and $7.
1. Facebook
Social media giant Facebook is a high-growth stock that still trades at a modest valuation. Facebook’s advertising business is booming as the company’s three products – Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook – are all growing quickly.
The good news for Facebook investors is that the company is on track to generate over $40 billion in free cash flow this year. In addition, Facebook’s market cap stands at $500 billion and the stock is trading at just over 30 times earnings. With the stock up more than 40% year-to-date, investors are paying less than 13 times earnings for a huge profit-generating machine.
Facebook recently reported that revenue jumped 44% year-over-year to $13 billion during the second quarter.
2. Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation (NYSE: ORCL ) isn’t the most exciting company to invest in, but it’s one of the most profitable. As a result, there are plenty of reasons to like Oracle stock.
Previously acquiring Sun Microsystems stock, Oracle is now the third-largest software and cloud platform company in the world. With its major cloud competitors bleeding billions, Oracle may be in a position to pick up some slack.
For example, according to Barclays analyst Ross MacMillan, Oracle has a competitive advantage in its cloud business. As a result, the software giant will be the sole provider of cloud services for most government agencies.
This type of government customer represents a much higher profit margin than IBM’s (NYSE: IBM ) and Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN ) cloud offerings.
But with a price-to-earnings ratio of 25, Oracle stock is not cheap.
3. Starbucks Corporation
Starbucks Corp (NASDAQ: SBUX ) is the definition of a classic. Founded in 1971 and now owned by the far more popular Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX ), the coffee giant generates consistent profits and has a dividend that provides a relatively low-risk way to earn a decent yield.
That’s not to say it’s the only high-quality stock on this list. Rather, it’s just one of the best.
The reason for that is the company’s long-term growth runway. Starbucks is a global brand, with its U.S. and European operations accounting for 55% of the company’s revenue. But in China, the company is already becoming a top-10 retailer. And given the size of China, that trend will continue.
4. Bank of America
A stock that’s not going to make you rich overnight, but one that is a great buy now and can make you rich in 10 years is Bank of America (NYSE: BAC ).
BAC is a banking stock. It’s not a tech stock, a consumer goods stock or an energy stock. But, when the rest of the market is in full-blown panic mode, banks are one of the few places investors have to turn for stability. And Bank of America has continued to pull back, consolidating below the $30 level, and now looks like it’s ready to climb up into the $35 to $40 range.
Similar to SENS stock, BAC forwards a P/E ratio of just 12.1 and a dividend yield of 2.5%; the stock looks like a decent value right here, right now.
