5 Top Stocks to Buy in December

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The end of the year can spur myriad feelings when deciding which stocks are the best buys.

Some investors may feel they have missed out on the broader rally in the major indexes and are looking for high-octane growth stocks to start 2025 off with a bang. Others may be looking for a balanced approach or reliable blue chip stocks they can count on no matter what the market throws at them.

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There's also the opportunity to scoop up shares of deep-value stocks or companies at the bottom of the bargain bin in desperate need of a turnaround.

No matter how you're feeling, these five Fool.com contributors have you covered. Here's why Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY), BioNTech (NASDAQ: BNTX), McCormick (NYSE: MKC), and Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) are five excellent stocks to buy in December.

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Image source: Getty Images.

Don't believe the hype: Intel is bruised, not broken

Anders Bylund (Intel): Semiconductor veteran Intel has seen better days.

The stock price has fallen more than 50% in 2024, despite a 10% gain in November. Trailing sales are down 31% from the $79 billion peak in 2021. Free cash flows have been mostly negative for a couple of years. Intel lost its spot on the Dow Jones Industrial Average market index, replaced by soaring rival Nvidia. Intel's generous dividend policy has been paused in order to use that cash for infrastructure investments. Longtime underdog Advanced Micro Devices has a market cap twice the size of Intel's nowadays, making an underdog out of the company formerly known as "Chipzilla."

This litany of misfortunes may scare some Intel investors, but I see a fantastic buying opportunity here.

You know that old investing adage about getting greedy when others are fearful, and vice versa? That idea applies to Intel's current situation. Market makers are terrified of Intel's business prospects, and I think it's high time to get greedy about this stock.

The company took its business model in a radically different direction in 2021. In the midst of a global shortage of chip manufacturing services, Intel laid out plans to sell its in-house manufacturing capacity to other semiconductor designers.

It was always an ambitious and expensive plan, requiring enormous investments in chip-making equipment, which in turn strained Intel's cash reserves. But the foundry business is up and running, accounting for 33% of Intel's total revenue in the recently reported third quarter. Current infrastructure upgrades should allow Intel to resell next-generation manufacturing technologies next year. A $7.86 billion grant from the Biden administration's U.S. CHIPS and Science Act will support Intel's continued manufacturing investments on American soil, adding up to more than $100 billion in just a couple of years. Furthermore, the Gaudi 3 series of AI accelerator chips may challenge Nvidia's and AMD's market-moving AI chips next year.