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There's no question the bull market is alive and well. The S&P 500 jumped more than 50% over the two-year period of 2023-24, the first time it's done that since the dot-com era, and stocks are off to a hot start in 2025 as well. Through Jan. 22, the broad-market index is up 3%, and it just hit another all-time high.
While pretty much any investor should be happy with the kind of returns the S&P 500 has delivered over the last two years, there are opportunities for more growth. Keep reading to see two stocks that look like good candidates to double this year.
1. Coupang
Coupang (NYSE: CPNG) may not be a household name in the U.S., but it is in South Korea, where it's the leading e-commerce platform.
In fact, Coupang is following a similar playbook to Amazon, going from a direct online seller and then layering on more profitable, complementary businesses like a third-party marketplace, food delivery, and video streaming. It's also launched a similar service to Amazon Prime called Rocket Wow, helping to lock in customers.
Thus far, Coupang has delivered solid growth, but it's yet to earn much credit from the market. That could change soon, though.
First, the company is delivering solid growth on the top and bottom lines. Revenue in the third quarter was up 27%, or 32% on a currency-neutral basis, to $7.9 billion, and gross margin improved by 350 basis points to 28.8% thanks to improvements in both its core e-commerce business and newer offerings.
Management touted increased efficiencies, greater utilization of technology and automation, supply chain improvements, and the scaling of its higher-margin businesses. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) in the quarter rose 44% to $343 million.
Coupang also trades at a reasonable valuation at a price-to-sales ratio of 1.4, and the South Korean market is a good fit for its business, as its high density and fast internet speed make delivery easy and help services like video streaming. If it maintains its strong revenue growth and its margins continue to expand, the stock will be rewarded by investors. It could see a point of inflection in 2025.
2. Upstart
Another candidate for a doubling this year is Upstart Holdings (NASDAQ: UPST), the artificial intelligence (AI)-based lender that soared during the pandemic but is still down sharply. However, Upstart has gained traction since bottoming out, and the stock is up significantly since then, stabilizing even as interest rates have remained elevated and loan demand has been weak.