Are you looking for some new growth stocks now that many of the market's usual favorites -- like Apple and Alphabet -- aren't as compelling as they once were? Don't panic. Great stocks are out there. You just have to dig a bit deeper to find the best ones.
With that as the backdrop, here's a rundown of three brilliant growth stock prospects worth stepping into and sticking with for the long haul. Each one has a business that's built to last indefinitely.
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1. Alibaba
There's the Alibaba Group (NYSE: BABA) you know. That's the Alibaba that owns and operates China's popular e-commerce platforms Tmall and Taobao, and its foreign-facing AliExpress that helps Chinese manufacturers sell to overseas customers. Within its home country, the company enjoys a commanding 40% of the online shopping market, according to wealth management outfit DBS Treasures.
Then there's the Alibaba you don't know. This company also offers cloud computing services, operates a digital entertainment arm, and manages its own logistics/delivery business. It's even working on its own artificial intelligence models meant for consumer and corporate use. Remember the Qwen2.5 model unveiled in January that reportedly performed better than DeepSeek (which had only been revealed a few days earlier as a threat to platforms like OpenAI's ChatGPT)? Alibaba is the developer of Qwen.
All of these business lines are going to be marketable in the near and distant future, even if not explosively so. Alibaba's first-quarter revenue improved to the tune of 7% year over year, more or less matching its long-term top-line growth rate that's likely to remain in place for the indefinite future.
But the tariff standoff between China and the United States that's creating a ripple effect outside of both countries? That's just it. Alibaba isn't particularly vulnerable.
Don't misread the message. Anything that slows China's manufacturing exports ultimately threatens the nation's internal consumerism.
It's not a dire threat, though. More than 80% of this company's revenue is generated domestically. And it's largely understood that Chinese companies are expected to use goods and services offered by other Chinese companies whenever there's a choice. Ditto for their foreign business partners. For instance, although Apple prefers OpenAI's ChatGPT everywhere else, in China, its newest AI-capable iPhones sold in that market will utilize Alibaba's Qwen model.
In other words, Alibaba largely operates in a regional silo. As long as the economy within that silo is growing, Alibaba's dominance of its market means it's growing, too. To this end, the International Monetary Fund believes China's GDP will grow on the order of 4% this year, with comparable growth in the cards beyond that once the tariff dust is almost sure to be settled.
2. Uber Technologies
Shares of ride-hailing company Uber Technologies (NYSE: UBER) have taken investors on a bumpy ride since early last year. Although the stock's made net-bullish progress since then, it's also been up-ended several times during this stretch thanks to sales or earnings shortfalls, or disappointing guidance.
Now take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Uber is plugged into a major secular trend that's not apt to end anytime soon, if ever. That's the growing disinterest in driving -- or even automobile ownership -- and a growing willingness to pay for a ride with someone else in their vehicle.
A recent survey performed by Deloitte indicates that 44% of U.S. residents under the age of 34 would be willing to not own a car and instead rely on alternative transportation now that it's readily available, underscoring a much bigger age-driven shift.
Straits Research believes the global ride-hailing and taxi market is set to grow at a healthy annualized pace of 11.3% through 2033, in fact, largely thanks to this ongoing shift.
Uber Technologies is positioned to capture a significant share of this growth, by virtue of its market leadership here and strong presence in several key markets abroad.
Then there's the other reason Uber stock is a long-term buy sooner than later: robotaxis.
Although the underlying technology isn't quite ready for commercial deployment, as CEO Dara Khosrowshahi recently commented, autonomous/self-driving vehicles are "the single greatest opportunity ahead for Uber."
Although it could take 10 to 20 years for self-driving automobiles to fully displace human drivers, once they do it will remove one of Uber's biggest operating expenses. This will in turn lower prices for riders, making its ride-hailing service even more marketable. In this vein, Straits Research believes the worldwide robotaxi market itself is set to swell at an average annualized pace of nearly 68% through 2031.
3. Arista Networks
Finally, add Arista Networks (NYSE: ANET) to your list of brilliant growth stocks to buy now and hold indefinitely.
If you're familiar with the company, then you already know it competes with the much bigger networking powerhouse Cisco. And to be clear, Cisco keeps Arista in check. Arista Networks is evidence, however, that bigger doesn't always mean better within the world of technology. When it comes to technology, better is better.
The key is Arista's EOS, or extensible operating system. That's just a fancy word for the software that makes its networking hardware function. Like most other software, EOS can be rewritten, modified, and updated as needed to meet the specific and ever-changing needs of its customers. It also means its hardware can remain relevant for longer, ultimately saving its customers money by delaying the need for newer tech.
And yes, its ethernet switches are in use in artificial intelligence data centers all over the world, although it also serves more mundane markets like campus WANs (wide area networks), cybersecurity, and simple data storage, just to name a few. As long as the world continues to be digitized and create more and more digital information to handle, there will be demand for tightly focused solutions providers like Arista.
The company's results say as much. Last year's revenue growth of 15% extends an established trend that's expected to persist for at least the next few years, although it's likely to last well into the distant future.
ANET Revenue (Quarterly) data by YCharts
This doesn't mean the stock has always performed well. Indeed, shares have been subpar performers this year, seemingly on worries that broad economic headwinds would undermine this growth.
Don't sweat this weakness too much, though. Rather, capitalize on it.
This might help. Despite the stock's lackluster performance of late, the analyst community is still on board. The vast majority of them rate this ticker as a strong buy, with a consensus price target of $109 that's roughly 15% above the stock's present price. That's not a bad tailwind to start out a new trade with.
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Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. James Brumley has positions in Alphabet. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Apple, Arista Networks, Cisco Systems, and Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool recommends Alibaba Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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