Investments in artificial intelligence and rapid growth in its cloud platform are boosting Microsoft.
Netflix is enjoying great success from its advertising — while trying to buy Warner Bros. Discovery.
We all want our stock portfolios to be full of monster stocks, but that’s not an easy goal to achieve. If we’re lucky, we will own a few, and their massive gains will help offset some inevitable losses.
Here are a few stocks that have been monster stocks — and are likely to continue as such for the foreseeable future.
Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »
Image source: Getty Images.
Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is huge, encompassing the dominant Office 365 suite of applications, the Azure cloud computing platform, the Xbox gaming platform, the Windows operating system, and even LinkedIn, among many other things. It’s been a monster stock, too, averaging annual returns of 25% over the past decade — and it’s still growing. In its first quarter of fiscal 2026, revenue was up 18% year over year, while net income rose 12%.
The company has been investing heavily in artificial intelligence (AI), and CEO Satya Nadella has said, “Our planet-scale cloud and AI factory, together with Copilots across high-value domains, is driving broad diffusion and real-world impact… It’s why we continue to increase our investments in AI across both capital and talent to meet the massive opportunity ahead.”
Microsoft is generating more cash than it needs to spend on growth, so it’s paying shareholders a dividend — that recently yielded 0.77%. (That might not seem like a lot, but it’s growing briskly, too — up from $2.09 per share in 2020 to $3.40 per share recently.)
Its stock is reasonably priced, as well, with a recent forward-looking price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 29, which is a bit below its five-year average of 30. It’s highly rated by lots of Wall Street analysts and is likely to keep growing, in part because much of its business is conducted with other businesses — that use its services to stay productive and secure. (Its Azure cloud platform, for example, posted a year-over-year revenue gain of 40% in the first quarter.)
Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) is another monster stock, and it has more growth potential. Over the past decade, it has averaged annual gains of 24%, and it, too, is still growing. Its fourth quarter of 2025 featured revenue of $12 billion, up nearly 18% year over year, with net income up 29% and forecast to rise by some 35% by the next quarter. Its advertising revenue is a key to its recent success. As the company has noted, “In 2025, which was only our third year selling advertising, ad revenue grew by more than 2.5x vs. 2024 to over $1.5 billion.”
The stock is actually down about 12% over the past year (as of Jan. 26), in part due to uncertainty over its bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, home to HBO and more. That bid was recently more than $70 billion, but others are also vying to make the acquisition. And some worry that Netflix may end up paying too much.
Netflix’s stock also seems appealingly valued, which isn’t often the case. Its recent forward P/E of 27 is well below its five-year average of 33.
Take a closer look at either or both of these companies, if they interest you. And if they don’t, know that there are plenty of other compelling growth stocks out there.
Before you buy stock in Microsoft, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Microsoft wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $450,256!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,171,666!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 942% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 196% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
*Stock Advisor returns as of February 1, 2026.
Selena Maranjian has positions in Microsoft, Netflix, and Warner Bros. Discovery. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Microsoft, Netflix, and Warner Bros. Discovery. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
—
Blog powered by G6
Disclaimer! A guest author has made this post. G6 has not checked the post. its content and attachments and under no circumstances will G6 be held responsible or liable in any way for any claims, damages, losses, expenses, costs or liabilities whatsoever (including, without limitation, any direct or indirect damages for loss of profits, business interruption or loss of information) resulting or arising directly or indirectly from your use of or inability to use this website or any websites linked to it, or from your reliance on the information and material on this website, even if the G6 has been advised of the possibility of such damages in advance.
For any inquiries, please contact [email protected]
