The stock market has gotten off to a volatile start for 2025.
After hitting a new all-time high in February, the market started showing some weakness amid growing concerns about how the Trump administration's trade policies would impact businesses. The sell-off accelerated in April after Trump's tariff plan went into effect. The S&P 500 narrowly avoided a 20% drop into bear market territory when Trump announced a 90-day pause on some of his reciprocal tariffs.
The market has partially bounced back, but the benchmark index still sits slightly below where it started the year.
Not every stock is down in 2025, though. Some stocks have managed to climb significantly higher despite the uncertain macroeconomic environment facing consumers and businesses. And despite trouncing the S&P 500 so far this year, these three stocks still look like great buys today.
Image source: Getty Images.
1. Uber Technologies
Share prices of Uber Technologies(NYSE: UBER) have climbed 42% since the start of the year through May 5. The stock received a nice bump when billionaire Bill Ackman revealed a massive $2.3 billion investment in the stock in early February, but the stock was already outpacing the S&P 500 by that point.
Uber has transformed into a strong cash-generating business over the last few years. It doubled free cash flow in 2024, reaching $6.9 billion. And management thinks it can continue to grow at that pace for the next two years.
One of the most instrumental factors over the next decade or so will be the rise of autonomous vehicles. The bull case for Uber is that they offer demand aggregation for autonomous vehicle companies. 171 million people around the world already use the Uber app every month for rides and delivery services. That ensures an AV maker won't have trouble finding customers on Uber's network and waste time idling while they could be earning a fare.
Uber could end up being the biggest beneficiary of the rise of autonomous vehicles. It doesn't have to invest heavily in infrastructure or production, it merely operates the network, which means far less capital intensity and steadier cash flow for shareholders.
Even after the rally through the first four months of the year, Uber's stock trades for about 3.5 times analysts' 2025 sales estimates. Its P/E ratio has crept up to 35 as analysts expect earnings to take a step back this year, but EPS should bounce back quickly. Analysts see 36% earnings growth in 2026. Uber's network effect can continue driving strong results well into the future, making it worth buying at the current price.
2. Celsius Holdings
Energy drink maker Celsius(NASDAQ: CELH) had a rough start to 2025 with share prices falling through mid-February.
Its fourth-quarter results came in well short of expectations. Weakening demand coupled with higher marketing intensity in the fourth quarter created a recipe for a massive earnings shortfall. But investors were excited by Celsius' plans to acquire the Alani Nu brand. Alani is growing quickly and fits into Celsius' brand of healthier energy drinks. Management expects to extract $50 million in cost savings within two years of closing the deal.
The news pushed the stock higher, and it continued climbing in March and most of April. Share prices now sit just under 30% above where they started the year as of this writing.
Celsius is positioning itself well for another round of growth. Not only did it acquire the fast-growing Alani brand, it completed the acquisition of Big Beverages late last year, giving it its own manufacturing facilities. Those facilities are located in the U.S., too, insulating Celsius from U.S. import tariff risks. Having its own manufacturing facility, coupled with its distribution agreement with PepsiCo, should enable it to grow quickly and expand international distribution over time.
Analysts have updated their estimates for Celsius over the last month amid tariff fears. As a result, forward earnings estimates dropped about 10% for the full year heading into the company's first quarter report. At an enterprise-value-to-forward-EBITDA ratio of just 16, the stock is worth buying right now.
3. Netflix
After an up-and-down start to the year, Netflix(NASDAQ: NFLX) stock has rallied 28% higher, with practically all of that coming in the month of April.
Management reported its first-quarter earning results in the middle of last month, and it handily beat expectations. Revenue climbed 12.5% and operating margin expanded to 31.7%. The outlook for the second quarter was even better, with 15.4% expected revenue growth and operating margin expanding to 33.3%. Management did maintain its full-year operating margin guidance of 29%, though, suggesting content expenses will increase in the back half of the year when it debuts big-budget series and films and airs two Christmas NFL games.
Still, management's focus on delivering a target operating margin has produced excellent results in recent years. It's been able to keep increasing its margin by flexing its pricing power, steadily increasing its monthly rate for consumers, who, for the most part, continue to pay up for the premier streaming service.
Netflix's ability to raise prices on consumers is bolstered by the success of its ad-supported tier. With such strong engagement from its viewers, Netflix can charge a relatively low subscription rate while still generating very high revenue per user. As it takes further control of its ad technology, Netflix should be able to produce even higher ad revenue per user over time. Add live events on top of that, which monetize the entire viewer base with ads, and the ad business could grow very large over the long run. Management expects its modest ad revenue to double this year while subscriptions still make up the vast majority of its sales.
Netflix stock has become relatively expensive after the run up in shares, with the stock trading for about 45 times forward earnings. But management has turned the media business into a massive free cash flow-generating machine, and the vast majority of that cash goes toward buying back shares. Over time, that should support very strong earnings-per-share growth, justifying the premium price tag for the stock.
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Adam Levy has positions in Netflix. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Celsius, Netflix, and Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
