3 No-Brainer Growth Stocks to Buy With $100 Right Now

Source The Motley Fool

The first few months of 2025 have been a rocky ride for investors. Stock prices have become increasingly volatile in recent months amid growing economic uncertainty. That eventually led both the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 to fall into correction territory earlier this month.

While it might feel scary to put your money to work in stocks amid the current environment, smart investors will find opportunities during the current sell-off. Even if you only have $100 to put to work, there are great growth stocks that are currently on sale. With share prices less than $100 each, you don't have to worry about whether your broker offers features like fractional shares. Each of these stocks trades at a price that's more than fair and could make a great addition to any portfolio, no matter how big or small it is currently.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More »

1. Block

Block (NYSE: XYZ), formerly known as Square, started as a way for small-scale merchants to accept credit card payments using a small device attached to their smartphones. Today, it serves a much larger market, and its fastest-growing segment of merchants are those generating over $500,000 of gross receipts per year.

That progress upmarket has opened the door to increase its revenue and margins through cross-selling other products. Block has built an ecosystem of services for specific niches like restaurants and retailers, enabling them to manage their entire businesses using its suite of software and hardware products. That makes Block's main payment processing service much stickier compared to competitors.

Block also owns Cash App, a consumer fintech that aims to replace traditional banks. Cash App users can send money to other users, stash money away in a savings account, or invest in stocks or cryptocurrency. It acquired buy-now-pay-later provider Afterpay in 2022, and it recently integrated the service with its debit card, Cash App Card.

Block has done a good job of adding features to Cash App and drawing more users to its monetized products like the Cash App Card. It's seeing a growing penetration rate of those features, but total user growth is slowing to a crawl. That said, the company continues to add new features and capabilities to the app that should result in continued organic growth and even higher monetization rates over the long run.

At a share price of around $63 as of this writing, Block stock looks like a great value. That price is just 14 times analysts' consensus earnings for 2025. That's despite expectations that earnings per share will climb 32% this year and another 18% in 2026. For a company with the growth potential of Block and two sticky products, that looks like a great use of your $100.

2. DraftKings

DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG) is one of the dominant online sports betting and iGaming companies in North America. Despite increased competition in the sports betting market, DraftKings has been able to continue growing efficiently. Last year, it added 3.5 million new customers at a record-low customer acquisition cost. It now counts over 10 million customers.

That growth speaks to the brand strength of DraftKings. Despite high-profile sports betting launches from ESPN and Fanatics in 2023, DraftKings continues to grow. That, in and of itself, is a great competitive advantage. Simply maintaining that brand with strategic sponsorships and advertising should produce better results for DraftKings than its competitors.

But DraftKings scale also gives it a significant data advantage. Data is exceptionally important for a sportsbook -- it's the basis for every money line and point spread. It can help identify sharp betters and mitigate the risk of losing to them. It can facilitate the creation of new products like live betting, player props, and same-game parlays. It can help generate and target promotions to keep bettors engaged with its product.

DraftKings has invested heavily in data science and tools, including several acquisitions over the past few years. Last year it acquired Simplebet, Sports IQ Analytics, and Mustard Golf. All three expand its data expertise and will integrate with new bet options.

At a stock price of around $39 per share, DraftKings trades for an enterprise value roughly 21 times management's 2025 outlook for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA). With strong operating leverage and a long runway for revenue growth, management should be able to produce exceptionally high earnings growth for years to come. That makes DraftKings stock a great growth opportunity for anyone with $100 to invest right now.

3. The Trade Desk

The Trade Desk (NASDAQ: TTD) works behind the scenes to put advertisements in your favorite podcasts, video apps, and on the TV in your living room. The Trade Desk has won over advertisers looking for automated ad placement thanks to its advanced algorithms helping them reach the right audience at the right time with the right message. Additionally, The Trade Desk is independent of any ad channel, unlike many of the other internet ad giants available. Those two factors -- excellent algorithms and channel agnosticism -- give it a great competitive advantage.

Growth for The Trade Desk over the last decade or so has been nothing short of fantastic -- that is, until its most recent quarter. Management missed its revenue outlook and guided for growth of just 17% in the first quarter of 2025, a significant slowdown. Management points to its transition to a new platform for marketers, dubbed Kokai. It's in the middle of the transition, and it's slowed revenue as a result. However, the company expects the advantages of the new platform to pay off in the long run.

The Trade Desk should benefit from the continued growth in ad-supported video streaming services. With increased competition in the space and quality content spread across multiple direct-to-consumer streaming services, more and more consumers are opting for the lower-priced ad-supported options and supplementing with free ad-supported streaming television. Both benefit The Trade Desk's most important segment, and should provide a long runway for revenue growth.

At a share price of about $60 as of this writing, The Trade Desk stock trades for a forward P/E of about 32. That might seem expensive, but analysts expect earnings growth to accelerate in 2026 once it's finished the platform transition. Revenue growth should remain strong, while operating margin should show considerable improvement as it leverages fixed costs. As a result, that multiple will look cheap in the future, so investors with $100 can confidently snap up shares of The Trade Desk now.

Don’t miss this second chance at a potentially lucrative opportunity

Ever feel like you missed the boat in buying the most successful stocks? Then you’ll want to hear this.

On rare occasions, our expert team of analysts issues a “Double Down” stock recommendation for companies that they think are about to pop. If you’re worried you’ve already missed your chance to invest, now is the best time to buy before it’s too late. And the numbers speak for themselves:

  • Nvidia: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2009, you’d have $295,009!*
  • Apple: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2008, you’d have $42,000!*
  • Netflix: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2004, you’d have $523,463!*

Right now, we’re issuing “Double Down” alerts for three incredible companies, and there may not be another chance like this anytime soon.

Continue »

*Stock Advisor returns as of March 24, 2025

Adam Levy has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Block and The Trade Desk. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Disclaimer: For information purposes only. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
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