3 Stocks to Buy Before Q2 Earnings and Hold Forever: TSM, NFLX, FAST

The stock market is trading at all-time highs heading into the heart of second quarter earnings season, which kicks off during the week of July 14.

Wall Street brushed aside renewed trade and tariff war fears as it looks ahead to the prospect of strong technology and artificial intelligence-boosted earnings expansion.

The bulls appear firmly in charge with Bitcoin at records and Nvidia hitting a $4 trillion market cap.

It is unclear what’s right around the corner on the trade war front. But it’s worth remembering that Trump and his administration likely do not want to crush the U.S. economy or the stock market. Plus, the Fed is still likely to cut rates again in the back half of 2025.

Given this environment, investors want to add to their portfolios in July for what looks poised to be a strong second half.  

Today’s Full Court Finance at Zacks dives into three stocks—Fastenal, Taiwan Semi, and Netflix—to buy heading into their second-quarter earnings releases and hold. These three stocks offer investors unique exposure to long-term upside across various areas of the economy that aren’t going out of style. 

Buy Market-Crushing Industrial Stock FAST Now?

Fastenal FAST is a wholesale distributor of industrial, construction, safety products, and beyond. The Minnesota-based company sells everything from fasteners and electrical supplies to tools, hardware, safety gear, and much more. 

FAST operates across various distribution and delivery methods, including industrial-style vending machines and other rather unique offerings from roughly 3,500 in-market locations that include local hubs, customer-specific onsite locations, and beyond.

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Fastenal is less vulnerable to the boom-and-bust cycles of the broader industrial and construction sector because its smaller components are key, everyday cogs. FAST will also benefit from economic growth and infrastructure spending, spanning AI data center construction to onshoring critical manufacturing.

FAST grew its sales for 15 years running, averaging over 7% revenue growth in the trailing five years. It is projected to boost its revenue by 8% in 2025 and 2026 to help boost its adjusted earnings by 9% and 10%, respectively, to return strong bottom-line expansion after a brief dip last year.

Fastenal stock has jumped 36% in the past 12 months to triple the benchmark and hit new highs on Thursday. This is run is part of a 2,100% surge in the past 25 years to more than 5X the S&P 500’s 385% return and crush its Industrial Products sector’s 450%.

The distributor of industrial and construction supplies has a strong balance sheet, and its dividend yields 2%. It might be time to buy Fastenal stock ahead of its quarterly earnings release before the opening bell on Monday, July 14.

Why Taiwan Semi is One of the Best AI Stocks to Buy

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. TSM pioneered the foundry-only semiconductor business model, leading to its industry dominance and status as one of the most important technology companies.

Taiwan Semi physically builds the most complex, cutting-edge semiconductors. It reportedly holds a roughly 60% share of the entire global chip foundry market and 90% of advanced chip manufacturing.

TSMC manufactures many of Nvidia and AMD’s next-gen artificial intelligence chips that are driving the AI boom, with Apple and tech titans relying heavily on Taiwan Semiconductor’s expertise. TSMC is also crucially addressing geopolitical fears by expanding its manufacturing footprint outside Taiwan into Japan and the U.S. Taiwan Semi also pays a dividend, and its balance sheet is solid.

Cutting-edge 3nm chips (used in AI) accounted for 22% of TSMC’s total wafer revenue in the first quarter of 2025, up from 9% in the year-ago period, with advanced technologies accounting for 73%. The company reported on July 10 that its June sales jumped 27% YoY, with its first-half revenue up 40%.

Taiwan Semi is projected to grow its revenue by 30% in FY25 and 17% in FY26 (following a 25% expansion last year) to surge from $90 billion in 2024 to $137 billion in 2026.

The chip manufacturing powerhouse is projected to grow its adjusted earnings by 35% in FY25 and 15% next year. Its positive earnings revisions earn TSM a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), and it has topped our estimates for nearly five years running.

TSM stock has skyrocketed 2,700% over the past 20 years, more than tripling Tech. The stock also doubled Tech over the trailing five years to hit highs in early July. On the valuation front, TSMC trades at a 32% discount to its highs and 17% below Tech at 22.6X forward 12-month earnings.

Taiwan Semi stock dipped a bit closer to its 21-day moving average on Thursday. A pullback toward its 50-day would likely offer long-term investors a wonderful entry point ahead of its Q2 earnings release on Thursday, July 17.

Is NFLX the Best Non-AI Related Tech Stock to Buy Now?

Netflix, Inc. NFLX changed the entertainment industry forever, inspiring the biggest tech companies on the planet, from Apple to Amazon, to enter streaming TV. Its expansion into live sports (deals with the NFL, WWE, boxing), reality TV, blockbuster movies, and more helped it retain its status as top dog in the crowded streaming space.

On top of that, NFLX cracked down on account sharing and rolled out a lower-cost, ad-supported subscription plan in the fall of 2022. The company added 18.9 million paid subscriptions in Q4, marking its largest quarter of net adds on record, closing 2024 with 301.63 million global paid memberships (up 16% YoY).

Netflix is successfully differentiating itself from a pricing standpoint on the lower end against rivals such as Disney, while raising its prices for premium plans.

Netflix’s transition to profitable growth helped the stock skyrocket over 600% from its 2022 lows, outpacing every Magnificent 7 stock over the past three years except Nvidia. Netflix has also improved its balance sheet, and its board authorized an additional $15 billion stock buyback program.

The streaming TV and technology giant is less exposed to tariffs than many of its big tech peers. Furthermore, at-home entertainment is something most people continue spending on during bad economic times.

NFLX’s 91% climb over the past year is even more impressive because it was not fueled by AI hype. Wall Street has jumped back into the streaming company due to its ability to raise prices, streamline operations, grow its user base, roll out more content, and, most importantly, expand its bottom line.

NFLX is projected to grow its revenue by an average of 13% in 2025 and 2026 (after 16% sales growth last year), reaching $50 billion in FY26 to double its 2020 total. NFLX is projected to grow its earnings by 28% in 2025 and 22% in FY26, following 65% expansion last year. Netflix is set to grow its GAAP earnings nearly fivefold between FY20 and FY26.

Netflix stock outperformed most of the largest technology companies over the past 20 years, while tripling Tech in the past decade. The stock slipped below its 21-day on Thursday, and it might test its 50-day or possibly 200-day if investors start taking profits before or after its Q2 earnings release on July 17.

Its next pullback should be bought up quickly since Netflix trades at a 90% discount to its 10-year highs and 20% below its 10-year median at 45.8X forward earnings. On the price-to-earnings-to-growth (PEG) ratio front, it trades nearly in line with Tech despite its massive outperformance. And on the purely speculative side, NFLX could be due for a stock split.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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