The second year of Wall Street's bull market rally didn't disappoint. When the closing bell tolled on Dec. 31, the ageless Dow Jones Industrial Average, benchmark S&P 500, and growth stock-focused Nasdaq Composite had respectively gained 13%, 23%, and 29%, with all three indexes rallying to record-closing highs multiple times in 2024.
However, putting your money to work on Wall Street is all about looking to the future and not reflecting too much on the past. Regardless of whether the bull market extends for a third year or the mighty bear returns in 2025, standout stocks can still be found.
For investors who prefer to swing for the fences and can stomach a bit of risk and volatility, the following seven magnificent stocks have all the tools and intangibles needed to double your money in 2025.
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1. Nio
The first sensational growth stock that's contending with challenges but has the catalysts to overcome them and deliver a triple-digit return in the new year is China-based electric-vehicle (EV) manufacturer Nio (NIO 1.76%).
Although China's economy has stumbled a bit in the two years since lifting its restrictive COVID-19 mitigation measures, Nio has undeniably benefited from supply chain kinks being resolved. Through the first 11 months of 2024, Nio produced nearly 191,000 EVs, which represents a 34% increase from the same period in 2023. In the latter-half of the year, production has consistently come in around 20,000 units per month. More output leads to more revenue and brand recognition, and should help to reduce losses in the coming years.
Perhaps the biggest catalysts for Nio in the new year are the international debut and ramp-up of its Onvo brand, as well as the domestic debut of Firefly. Whereas Nio has primarily focused on middle-to-high-earning EV buyers, the Onvo and Firefly brands are targeted at more cost-conscious consumers. Onvo EVs have a mid-tier price point, with deliveries expected to begin in Europe in early 2025. Meanwhile Firefly is a compact EV that was debuted last month. On a combined basis, Onvo and Firefly could potentially double Nio's monthly EV production.
Don't overlook Nio's out-of-the-box innovation, either. The company has north of 2,800 battery swap stations in its home market of China, along with 4,175 charging stations. The ability to swap or upgrade batteries in five minutes or less is a potential infrastructure game-changer for EV buyers, and it should help Nio generate high-margin service revenue and keep existing owners loyal to the brand.
2. PubMatic
A second sensational stock that can double your money in 2025 if all goes well with the U.S. economy is adtech up-and-comer PubMatic (PUBM 3.37%). Ad spending is highly cyclical, which means worries about an economic slowdown can sometimes be enough to weaken sales and profits for advertising-based businesses.
The good news for PubMatic is that ad-driven companies have history in their corner. The U.S. economy spends a disproportionate amount of time expanding relative to contracting, which leads to steady growth in ad spending over time.
What makes PubMatic so special is that its entire focus is on digital advertising, which is growing considerably faster than traditional forms of marketing (e.g., billboard, print, and legacy TV). The company's cloud-based programmatic ad platform helps publishing companies sell their digital display space, with a focus on video, mobile, and connected TV advertisements. Cumulative ad spend in all three categories can grow by a double-digit percentage in 2025.
Another selling point for PubMatic was the choice by management to build out its cloud-based platform. While relying on a third party would have been considerably easier, taking the path it did will allow it to hang onto more its revenue as it scales.
The icing on the cake is that PubMatic's cash accounts for 20% of its market cap, and its forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 17 is cheap next to forecasts of sustained double-digit growth in earnings per share (EPS).
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3. Cloudflare
Another high-octane growth stock that's the epitome of swinging for the fences is artificial intelligence (AI)-driven cloud services provider Cloudflare (NET 1.95%). At nearly 18 times forecast sales for 2025, Cloudflare is exceptionally pricey. But if AI euphoria continues to play out, Cloudflare could see its sales blow past expectations this year.
The first thing to note about Cloudflare is that some of the services it provides have evolved into a basic necessity. Specifically, the company's Cloudflare One platform blocks cyber threats and guards access to critical information. As businesses continue their shift into the cloud, their reliance on third-party providers like Cloudflare grows.
Secondly, Cloudflare has done a phenomenal job of attracting larger clientele. Nearly two-thirds of sales can be traced to large customers, which are defined as clients that generate greater than $100,000 in annual recurring revenue for the company. Between Sept. 30, 2022 and Sept. 30, 2024, the number of large customers jumped by 71% to 3,265. These colossal businesses have helped to lift Cloudflare's adjusted gross margin to 79%.
However, the wildcard for Cloudflare in 2025 will be its role in supporting AI in edge computing. Cloudflare's Workers AI platform allows businesses to run machine learning models within the Cloudflare network. Cloudflare has the potential to play a critical in role in large language model development for many of America's most-influential businesses -- and it could result in full-year sales growth far exceeding the current consensus of 26% in 2025.
4. Aspen Aerogels
A fourth magnificent hypergrowth stock that's fully capable of a triple-digit return in the new year is electrification and energy sustainability solutions provider Aspen Aerogels (ASPN 6.98%).
Admittedly, clean energy and sustainability aren't forefront investments with President-elect Donald Trump set to take office in less than three weeks. Nevertheless, the EV revolution, despite its potholes, is a path to sustainable double-digit sales growth and profits for Aspen.
Aspen Aerogels' claim to fame is its PyroThin products, which utilize carbon aerogel to improve the performance of lithium-ion batteries used in EVs. Aspen's technology should allow automakers to produce EVs with improved range, which is sort of a necessity given that EV charging infrastructure is still lacking in the U.S.
Aspen's Thermal Barrier segment generated $90.6 million of the $117.3 million in total sales reported for the September-ended quarter. More importantly, $90.6 million is 176% more than what this division generated in the third quarter of 2023. Between February 2024 and November 2024, the company's full-year revenue outlook (for all segments) has grown from "greater than $350 million" to $450 million.
Best of all, Aspen Aerogels looks to be shifting to recurring profits well ahead of schedule. Mindful cost-cutting coupled with improved margins can turn this floundering stock around in a big way in 2025.
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5. SSR Mining
Yes, there is a market for stocks beyond the technology sector! A fifth intriguing stock that has the potential to double your money in 2025 is precious-metal miner SSR Mining (SSRM -0.84%). Though its shares tend to ebb-and-flow with the spot price of silver, SSR generates most of its revenue from gold production.
Whereas precious metals soared in 2024, SSR Mining stock swooned. In mid-February, shares plunged by more than 50% after a heap leach pad collapsed at the Copler gold mine in Turkey and tragically killed nine workers. The company has since pegged remediation costs at $250 million to $300 million, with a timeline ranging from 24 to 36 months. While this is terrible news, there appears to be a light at the end of the tunnel for SSR Mining and its shareholders.
To start with, SSR is unique in the sense that its management team avoided going deeply into debt. While most gold miners are (pardon the pun) still digging themselves out of debt-driven holes, SSR has maintained a net-cash position. In other words, it has the capital to cover remediation work at Copler, as well as advance projects at other mines.
There's also the possibility of having its environmental permit, which was cancelled days after the heap leach pad collapse, reinstated. What's noteworthy is that Turkey didn't cancel the mining licenses, which expire in 2026. This suggests SSR simply needs to provide a concrete plan to Turkey's Energy Ministry to deal with future mining waste to regain its environmental permit. Though there's no specific timeline for this to happen, it seems likely to occur within the next 24 months.
Lastly, SSR Mining announced it was buying the Cripple Creek & Victor gold mine from Newmont last month. Cripple Creek & Victor can provide 150,000-plus ounces of annual gold production and be immediately accretive to cash flow and EPS. It should help replace close to half of the annual production temporarily lost at Copler.
6. Trulieve Cannabis
Although marijuana stocks have been a buzzkill since shortly after President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, the new year could be particularly green for U.S. multi-state operator (MSO) Trulieve Cannabis (TCNNF -5.35%).
Let's be blunt (pun fully intended): things didn't go as Trulieve hoped during the 2024 election cycle. President-elect Trump and his appointees are far less likely than Democratic Party presidential nominee Kamala Harris would have been to eventually legal cannabis at the federal level. To boot, Floridians voted against an amendment that would have legalized recreational marijuana in the Sunshine State. Most of Trulieve's dispensaries are located in Florida.
But there's a silver lining. Last year, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration proposed rescheduling cannabis under the Controlled Substances Act from Schedule I to Schedule III. Assuming the process plays out through hearings and this rescheduling occurs this year, as expected, it's going to be a massive help to the bottom lines of U.S. MSOs.
U.S. Tax Code 280E doesn't allow companies that sell a Schedule I or II substance to take normal business deductions, save for cost of goods sold. However, companies selling Schedule III substances can take normal business deductions on their taxes. The ability to take these deductions should vastly improve Trulieve's operating results.
Being the kingpin of Florida's higher-margin medical marijuana market should prove quite profitable.
Image source: Getty Images.
7. Applied Digital
The final magnificent stock that represents a true swing for the fences and is capable of doubling your money in 2025 is digital infrastructure solutions company Applied Digital (APLD 16.80%).
The biggest risk and reward for Applied Digital is the excitement surrounding AI. Since the mid-1990s, every next-big-thing innovation, technology, or trend has navigated an early stage bubble-bursting event. Based on what history tells us, it's unlikely that artificial intelligence is the exception to the rule. If the AI bubble were to burst, unproven businesses like Applied Digital would likely take it on the chin.
However, if unwavering optimism for AI continues throughout 2025, infrastructure providers should be logical winners. Applied Digital CEO Wes Cummins noted in October that his company was in the process of finalizing a lease agreement with a U.S. hyperscaler for a 100 megawatt, 369,000-square-foot facility designed for high-performance computing (HPC) applications, including AI. Acting as a data-center host, as well as providing HPC applications for businesses, is expected to lead to revenue growth of greater than 50% in 2024, as well as in 2025.
What's arguably even more exciting is that Nvidia purchased 7,716,050 shares of Applied Digital stock during the September-ended quarter. This $63.7 million position (as of the end of the third quarter) made it Nvidia's second-largest investment behind only Arm Holdings.
Nvidia would love to see Applied Digital succeed. Build-to-suit HPC data centers fuels more demand for Nvidia's market-leading graphics processing units (GPUs). Plus, Applied Digital's own AI cloud operations are powered by Nvidia's GPUs. This investment is about as close to a ringing endorsement as an under-the-radar company can get from Wall Street's AI darling.
