The market is still full of great picks despite a successful start to the investment year.
With 2024 halfway done, many investors are assessing their portfolios to see how their picks have performed. While a six-month time span isn't enough to define success or failure in investing, it is a good chance for investors to examine their holdings to see if anything needs to be added.
So, if you're looking to deploy some cash to increase your exposure in the market, starting with these five is a great idea.
1. Alphabet
Alphabet (GOOG 2.23%) (GOOGL 2.33%) has had a strong year, up 35%. This rise is thanks to its strong advertising performance and the company finally getting its artificial intelligence (AI) product launches right. Alphabet has some serious momentum heading into the second half of the year, yet it doesn't carry a premium price tag.
Unlike other big tech companies that trade for more than 30 times forward earnings, Alphabet commands a 25 times forward earnings premium. While that may not be historically cheap, it is inexpensive in today's market.
With Alphabet's success and reasonable price tag, I'm confident Alphabet will continue to excel throughout the latter half of 2024.
2. Meta Platforms
Similarly to Alphabet, Meta Platforms (META 2.69%) has had tremendous success with its advertising business. Meta is the parent company of social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, Threads, WhatsApp, and Messenger, and thrives on advertising.
While 2023 wasn't a great year for advertising, 2024 has been phenomenal. In the first quarter, Meta's ad revenue was $35.6 billion, up 27% year over year. That strength is expected to continue throughout this year and bodes well for a company many wrote off a few years ago for shrinking profit margins.
META Profit Margin (Quarterly) data by YCharts
Like Alphabet, Meta isn't historically cheap, but it is less expensive than its peers at 26 times forward earnings. Even though Meta has also had a successful 2024 so far, I think it's poised for more upside to end the year.
3. Taiwan Semiconductor
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM 1.08%) is a backdoor way to play AI investing. TSMC is behind many of the chips powering the AI technological wave. It's also a major supplier for Apple (AAPL 0.05%), which may see a boost thanks to its new AI technology requiring new-generation phones.
Additionally, Taiwan Semi's 3 nanometer chip production is ramping up, which will drive increased revenue for the business. Next-generation 2nm chips are slated to start production sometime in 2025, and the hype leading up to the launch could drive TSMC's stock higher.
Although the stock is a bit pricey at 29 times forward earnings, I think it could go higher as the demand for AI-related chips picks up.
4. MercadoLibre
MercadoLibre (MELI 4.61%) is often called the Amazon of Latin America due to its e-commerce business and logistics network. However, it also has a thriving fintech wing. MercadoLibre's business has been on fire lately, with its Q1 results delivering 94% year-over-year revenue growth on a currency-neutral basis.
MercadoLibre's profit margins have also been ticking up. In Q1 2023, it was 6.3%. In 2024, that figure rose to 7.9%. As MercadoLibre's margins continue to rise, its valuation will start to normalize, but until then, using a price-to-sales (P/S) ratio is smarter.
MELI PS Ratio data by YCharts
At 5.5 times sales, MercadoLibre is still well below where it has traded for most of the past decade. If the market wakes up and realizes this, MercadoLibre stock could easily rocket higher to end the year.
5. Salesforce
Lastly is Salesforce (CRM 1.52%). Salesforce is the leader in the customer relationship management software space but hit a bump with its earnings report for the first quarter of its fiscal year 2025 (ended April 30). Although it kept its full-year revenue guidance at the same level (8% to 9% growth), its Q2 growth is only expected to be between 7% and 8%.
That's slower than investors want to see, and the stock got shelled because of it, losing about 20% of its value the following trading day. That's a massive overreaction, considering that the full-year guidance stayed the same. While the stock has partially recovered since that tumble, Salesforce still looks attractive because its profit margins have room for expansion.
This is reflected in Salesforce's guidance for operating cash flow growth of 21% to 24% for the full year. Although it's not as cheap as it once was, Salesforce still makes for an excellent buy right now.
Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Keithen Drury has positions in Alphabet, Amazon, MercadoLibre, Meta Platforms, Salesforce, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, MercadoLibre, Meta Platforms, Salesforce, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
