Investing in top growth stocks can make you not only a millionaire, but also a multimillionaire. And in some cases, you can achieve such results by investing just $10,000. Here are three examples of fantastic long-term investments from the last 20 years Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)And Monster drink (NASDAQ:MNST). These stocks have turned $10,000 in investments into more than $3 million today. Here’s how they did it and whether they’re still good stocks today.
1. Nvidia
Chipmaker Nvidia has risen in value in recent years as investors become increasingly excited about the company’s long-term prospects in artificial intelligence (AI). Whether it’s developing chatbots or new AI models, Nvidia has become synonymous with AI investments. Many top tech companies have partnered with Nvidia as there is no shortage of customers eager to purchase Nvidia chips.
Two decades ago, this was a big name in the computer world, and if you had invested $10,000 in the stock in April 2004, your investment today would be over $4 million. That’s an amazing return, but it’s hard, if not impossible, to predict such winners.
While it’s unlikely you’d get that kind of return on Nvidia if you bought the stock today, it can still be an excellent investment. Over the last 12 months, the company made $30 billion in profits on $61 billion in revenue, an impressive profit margin of just under 50%.
The stock’s relatively low price-to-earnings-growth (PEG) ratio of 1.2 also suggests that analysts expect much more growth for the company in the future and that the market may not necessarily be overvaluing the stock at the moment. If you’re bullish on AI, it’s hard to go wrong with Nvidia, even if you buy the stock today.
2. Apple
Apple, the popular iPhone and iPad maker, has had a long and illustrious growth trajectory over the years. The company has evolved and today has created an entire ecosystem centered around its products and related services. This can make acquiring a user particularly powerful, as switching to an Android phone can be both costly and inconvenient.
While this year hasn’t been a particularly strong year for Apple, with shares down 12% so far in 2024, it has still been an exceptional stock to hold for the long term. If you had invested $10,000 in the stock 20 years ago, your investment would be worth about $3.5 million today, or about $4.1 million with dividends reinvested.
Apple is another example of a high-margin company, as its net income over the last four quarters totaled $100.9 billion, representing 26% of its revenue in that period ($385.7 billion). Now that the stock is taking a bit of a breather, investors should think about getting into Apple stock as it trades at 26 times earnings, which is great for a company that’s still a top brand and plenty of which there may not be particularly high scope for increasing sales, particularly in the service area.
3. Monster Drink
The energy drink company Monster Beverage has built a strong brand over decades. The company grew worldwide and is now a top beverage brand. The company has partnered with the Ultimate Fighting Championship because major deals like this have helped the Monster brand become synonymous with high performance and athleticism.
The company is much smaller than the others on this list, generating just over $7.1 billion in revenue last year. But with strong profits of $1.6 billion, profit margins were also high at around 23%.
One thing that wasn’t modest was the gain that long-term investors would have made by owning the stock. Like Apple, a $10,000 investment in Monster stock 20 years ago would have grown to be worth nearly $3.5 million today.
However, at 35.2 times last year’s earnings, the stock could be a bit pricey as its revenue only grew 13% last year, although earnings per share (EPS) rose 38%, somewhat justifying the market’s expectations . While Monster has historically been a good buy over the years, its future gains are likely to be a little more muted compared to the other stocks on this list. Monster can still be a good investment, but investors should be careful not to expect outsized returns based solely on past performance.
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David Jagielski has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple, Monster Beverage and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
“3 Awesome Growth Stocks That Turned $10,000 into $3 Million in 20 Years” was originally published by The Motley Fool