We recently compiled a list of the 10 Best Beginner Stocks To Buy Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) stands against the other beginner stocks.

While investing in the stock market carries risk, the US stock market is generally considered a safe place to invest. It has a long history of growth and has consistently recovered from downturns, including major recessions and financial crises.

Over the last four to five years, the market has been hit by several unexpected downturns, due to a global pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, among other things, that crippled the global economy. However, the US broader market recovered swiftly and has been performing well since 2023. It is nearly 19% up year-to-date, as of August 23.

Nevertheless, it is still a complicated place for beginners and they should consider investing in shares of well-established companies with a history of stable performance and reliability. These stocks typically belong to large, financially sound companies that operate in diverse industries, such as technology, consumer goods, and healthcare.

Additionally, beginners can also look into index funds or exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that track major market indices like the S&P 500. These options offer diversification, which reduces the risk associated with investing in individual stocks while still providing exposure to the broader market's potential gains. Investing in such well-established and diversified assets can help beginners build confidence and knowledge in the stock market. For such ETFs, you can check out our article on the best large-cap growth ETFs.

Opportunities and Caution for New Investors Due to Consumer Behaviour

On August 16, Melissa Minkow, director of retail strategy at CI&T, discussed the latest trends in U.S. consumer spending in a CNBC interview. Despite concerns about a potential recession, Minkow believes we might have avoided one. She pointed out that although consumers may feel like they are in a recession, their spending habits show otherwise. They continue to spend, especially when presented with discounts. Retailers have adapted by offering more targeted promotions this year, which has helped maintain consumer spending despite previous challenges like the pandemic and supply chain issues.

Minkow also noted that the effectiveness of promotions can vary across sectors. For example, quick-service restaurants like McDonald's and Starbucks haven’t seen the same benefits from discounts as other retailers, partly because consumers may opt for more cost-effective alternatives like home-cooked meals. Additionally, brands that are already positioned as discount options might not see as much impact from promotions. However, retailers who offer significant discounts on desirable items can attract cost-conscious shoppers and increase sales volume, potentially offsetting the impact on profit margins.

For beginner investors in the stock market, the current retail sector dynamics offer both opportunities and challenges. The resilience of consumer spending, even in the face of economic uncertainty, suggests that certain sectors and companies could continue to perform well, especially those that effectively use promotions to drive sales. Retailers offering targeted discounts on popular items may attract more customers, boosting their sales volumes, which could lead to positive stock performance.

However, beginner investors should also be cautious. Not all companies benefit equally from promotions, as seen with the restaurant and food segment, where discounts haven’t significantly improved earnings. This highlights the importance of understanding the specific business models and market positioning of companies before investing.

The Market is Healthy but Caution is Advised

The U.S. stocks have seen a significant surge over the last few quarters, which are mainly driven by strong economic data and optimism about a potential soft landing for the U.S. economy. However, experts remain cautious as we discussed in our best defensive stocks article.

In the article, we discussed the J.P. Morgan report that noted the market's heavy reliance on large, high-quality tech and AI companies, and it warned that maintaining this momentum could be challenging due to high valuations and potential market volatility. Here is an excerpt from the article:

Our Methodology

For this article, we used stock screeners to identify large to mega-cap stocks with a revenue compound annual growth rate of at least 5% over the last 10 years. The companies we chose are well-known, well-established, fundamentally strong, and some also pay regular dividends. We listed the companies in ascending order of their hedge fund sentiment as of the second quarter of 2024.

Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).

A workstation in a research lab stocked with laboratory products and services.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 108

10-year Revenue CAGR: 11.02%

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) is a global leader in life sciences and clinical research. The company was established in 2006 through the merger of Thermo Electron and Fisher Scientific, two well-respected names in the scientific community.

Since its formation, the company has grown significantly, largely through a series of strategic acquisitions, including Life Technologies, Affymetrix, and PPD, among others. These acquisitions have broadened its capabilities, which allow the company to offer a wide range of products and services that support the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, healthcare, and industrial sectors.

Thermo Fisher’s (NYSE:TMO) extensive portfolio includes advanced analytical instruments, laboratory equipment, specialty diagnostics, and clinical development solutions. The company also provides critical services in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, such as contract research and manufacturing.

As one of the best beginner stocks, Thermo Fisher (NYSE:TMO) is already one of the well-established names in the market. The company management’s statement at its latest earnings call makes a compelling case for it. Despite challenges in the pharma and biotech sector due to the runoff in vaccine and therapy revenues, other areas like biosciences, clinical research, electron microscopy, and transplant diagnostics saw strong performance.

Thermo Fisher (NYSE:TMO) launched several innovative products in the quarter, including the Thermo Scientific Stellar Mass Spectrometer and the Thermo Scientific Orbitrap Ascend Tribrid Mass Spectrometer, which further strengthened the company's leadership in analytical instruments. Mass spectrometers are analytical instruments used to measure the mass-to-charge ratio of ions.

As of the second quarter, 108 hedge funds had stakes worth $8.56 billion in Thermo Fisher (NYSE:TMO). Cryder Capital is the most prominent shareholder of the company with 290,353 shares worth $160.565 million, as of June 30.

Overall TMO ranks 8th on our list of the best beginner stocks to buy. While we acknowledge the potential of TMO as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than TMO but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

Read Next: $30 Trillion Opportunity: 15 Best Humanoid Robot Stocks to Buy According to Morgan Stanley and Jim Cramer Says NVIDIA ‘Has Become A Wasteland’.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.