There's a great opportunity with these great stocks.
With the S&P 500 index recently hitting yet another all-time high, investors are struggling to find stocks to buy that still offer long-term value. Goldman Sachs recently said the S&P 500 is fully valued at its current level, and earnings multiple expansion is now limited after a decade-long market rally. If earnings multiples are stretched to their limit, Goldman said investors need to buy stocks that are growing earnings at an impressive clip if they want meaningful long-term upside. Here are eight stocks to buy that have impressive earnings per share (EPS) growth outlooks, according to CFRA.
Next:Amazon.com (ticker: AMZN) Credit
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Amazon.com (ticker: AMZN)
Earnings growth for e-commerce and cloud services giant Amazon has ramped up in recent quarters. Amazon’s annual EPS jumped from $6.15 in 2017 to $20.14 in 2018. CFRA analyst Tuna Amobi is projecting Amazon will grow its EPS by 33.6% in 2019 and another 41.9% in 2020 as sales growth slows from 31% in 2018 to an estimated 18% in 2019. However, a large part of that revenue growth comes from high-margin Amazon Web Services. CFRA has a “buy” rating and $2,200 price target for AMZN stock.
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There's a great opportunity with these great stocks.
With the S&P 500 index recently hitting yet another all-time high, investors are struggling to find stocks to buy that still offer long-term value. Goldman Sachs recently said the S&P 500 is fully valued at its current level, and earnings multiple expansion is now limited after a decade-long market rally. If earnings multiples are stretched to their limit, Goldman said investors need to buy stocks that are growing earnings at an impressive clip if they want meaningful long-term upside. Here are eight stocks to buy that have impressive earnings per share (EPS) growth outlooks, according to CFRA.
Amazon.com (ticker: AMZN)
Earnings growth for e-commerce and cloud services giant Amazon has ramped up in recent quarters. Amazon’s annual EPS jumped from $6.15 in 2017 to $20.14 in 2018. CFRA analyst Tuna Amobi is projecting Amazon will grow its EPS by 33.6% in 2019 and another 41.9% in 2020 as sales growth slows from 31% in 2018 to an estimated 18% in 2019. However, a large part of that revenue growth comes from high-margin Amazon Web Services. CFRA has a “buy” rating and $2,200 price target for AMZN stock.
Broadcom (AVGO)
CFRA is projecting 2019 EPS of $21 from semiconductor stock Broadcom, up from $4.03 in 2017. Analyst Angelo Zino says Broadcom offers investors an attractive valuation, and it has not been negatively impacted by extended smartphone replacement cycles. Zino says Broadcom has been gaining back market share from Apple (AAPL), and the company’s expansion to high-margin infrastructure software diversifies its revenue streams. Recent guidance cuts assume no revenue from Huawei, which should prove conservative if a trade deal is reached. CFRA has a “strong buy” rating and $322 price target for AVGO stock.
Salesforce.com (CRM)
Software-as-a-service leader Salesforce has grown EPS from 49 cents in fiscal 2018 to $1.43 in fiscal 2019. Analyst John Freeman is projecting EPS will continue to rise to $2.89 in fiscal 2020 and $3.71 in fiscal 2021. Freeman says Salesforce has tremendous long-term disruptive potential given its innovation in enterprise software and its comprehensive suite of offerings. In 2018, legacy on-premises software still accounted for 39% of the customer relationship management market, suggesting plenty of opportunity for Salesforce share gains. CFRA has a “buy” rating and $195 price target for CRM stock.

Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL)
Rising costs and slowing growth have been concerns for Alphabet for the past several quarters, but its earnings have consistently trended higher. EPS jumped from $18 in 2017 to $43.70 in 2018. Freeman is projecting EPS will ramp to $47.18 in 2019 and as high as $54.50 in 2020. He says long-term growth drivers include mobile advertising, YouTube and cloud services. Google’s Waymo driverless auto unit was also recently ranked the top market leader in autonomous vehicle technology, according to Navigant Research. CFRA has a “buy” rating and $1,300 price target for GOOGL stock.
Coca-Cola Co. (KO)
Coca-Cola may not provide the double-digit revenue growth of an Alphabet or Amazon, but the soft drink maker has found a way to squeeze every drop of EPS growth from its beverage business. Coca-Cola EPS jumped from 29 cents in 2017 to $1.56 in 2018. Analyst Garrett Nelson is projecting $2.15 in EPS in 2019 and $2.30 of EPS in 2020 despite organic revenue growth in the mid-single digits. Nelson says the refranchising of Coca-Cola’s bottling business should improve margins over time. CFRA has a “buy” rating and $58 price target for KO stock.
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)
Despite surpassing Apple as the world’s most valuable company by market cap, Microsoft keeps finding ways to put up impressive growth numbers. Fiscal 2019 EPS was $5.06, up from $2.13 in fiscal 2018. Freeman is projecting EPS of $5.45 and $6.19 in fiscal 2020 and 2021, respectively. Even with Microsoft shares up 39% year-to-date, Freeman recently upgraded the stock following its most recent earnings report and said he had underestimated the operational leverage of the company’s cloud business. CFRA has a “buy” rating and $177 price target for MSFT stock.
Netflix (NFLX)
After years of incredible sales growth, Netflix may finally be turning on the earnings spigot. EPS has grown from 43 cents in 2016 to $2.68 in 2018, and Amobi is projecting it will once again more than double to $5.73 by 2020. Netflix shares trade at a valuation premium to its peer group, but Amobi says the combination of 28% revenue growth, 3% operating margin expansion and 29% EPS growth this year suggests further upside ahead for the stock. CFRA has a “buy” rating and $400 price target for NFLX stock.
Nike (NKE)
After a difficult fiscal 2018 for Nike, analyst Camilla Yanushevsky says the company is once again firing on all cylinders. EPS is up 112.7% in the past 12 months. EPS grew from $1.17 in fiscal 2018 to $2.49 in fiscal 2019. Yanushevsky is projecting EPS of $3 and $3.43 in fiscal 2020 and 2021, respectively. In addition, she is calling for revenue growth in the range of 7.8% to 7.9% over the next two years. CFRA has a “buy” rating and $100 price target for NKE stock.
PepsiCo (PEP)
Like competitor Coca-Cola, PepsiCo has been pulling out all the stops to grow earnings despite a difficult North American beverage market. Nelson is projecting EPS of $5.60 in 2019 and $6 in 2020, up from $3.38 in 2017. Nelson is expecting 4% organic sales growth this year, but he says PepsiCo’s current share price undervalues long-term growth potential in the international market and Frito-Lay snack division. He says price increases, cost cuts and productivity improvements should expand margins as well. CFRA has a “buy” rating and $145 price target for PEP stock.
Large-cap stocks with huge earnings potential:
Amazon.com (AMZN)Broadcom (AVGO)Salesforce.com (CRM)Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL)Coca-Cola Co. (KO)Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)Netflix (NFLX)Nike (NKE)PepsiCo (PEP)1 of 12
Wayne Duggan, Contributor
Wayne Duggan has been a U.S. News & World Report contributor since 2016. He is an expert at ... Read more
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