The Smartest Growth Stock to Buy With $1,000 Right Now

Key Points

• Axon operates in a niche space with high-value products.

• About 95% of its revenue comes from subscriptions.

• Right now, it has a small percentage of a huge opportunity.

• 10 stocks we like better than Axon Enterprise ›

Investors love a strong bull market, and it looks like that's where things are headed today. Investors have moved past tariff fears to drive up the market, and they're supported by many strong economic indicators like low unemployment and higher retail sales.

However, investors shouldn't lose sight of the fundamentals that make a stock worth buying for the long term and sacrifice them for short-term hype.

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 »

If you have $1,000 to invest today after paying off debts and saving for an emergency fund, look for a growth stock that can reward you today and still have juice left to keep going for years. Consider Axon Enterprise (NASDAQ: AXON), a super-growth stock that stands out for many reasons.

Image source: Getty Images.

The performance

Axon makes tech-driven products for the public safety industry, including police and other first responders. Its best-known product is the Taser, and it also makes body cameras and drones. It also has an AI-powered platform used for data analysis and record-keeping. Its three categories are train and prepare, communicate and act, and analyze and report. The company's mission is to reduce gun-related deaths and use technology to make conflict safer for everyone involved.

This is a mission almost anyone can get on board with, and Axon's sales have been growing at a fast pace. In the 2025 first quarter, revenue increased 31% year over year, and annual recurring revenue increased 34%. The company reported $2.1 billion in first-quarter revenue, and it has $9.9 billion in future booking contracts. As Axon releases new products and features that support more expansive contracts, it has raised full-year revenue guidance.

The company is also extremely profitable. Gross margin increased 4.4 percentage points to 60.6% in the quarter, and adjusted earnings per share (EPS) were $1.41.

The moat

Axon's products are designed for law enforcement agencies and public safety programs. These are products that take the concept up a notch, empowering users with data and rapid analysis. Its innovations include Axon Outpost, a fixed camera-based device for dense, high-traffic areas, which has video and automatic license plate reading (ALPR) capabilities and produces immediate and actionable data about vehicles like make and model, and Axon Lightpost, which attaches a similar device to light posts for enhanced safety.

The company's products are exclusive, and it has built its business by developing contracts with many partners. These partners report value from Axon's platform, such as a 75% decrease in time spent redacting evidence through Axon's Redaction Assistant, three ALPR devices being equivalent to having three officers in the field, and a 67% decrease in drafting written reports through Axon's Draft One solution.

This is a niche space, but a huge one, with low competition and an edge in its disruptive technology. About 95% of its revenue comes from subscriptions, which would make it tougher for competition to try to squeeze in.

The opportunity

Management sees a $126 billion opportunity across law enforcement, government, and other areas. Law enforcement accounts for about $15 billion in market opportunity, and it's only about 15% penetrated. International government is its largest opportunity at $58 billion. Right now, it has 1% of the average customer budget.

The company has several growth drivers in creating new technology and upgrading its devices and platforms, as well as expanding globally and finding new use cases for its products and solutions. One interesting place it sees potential is in modernizing older solutions, where it thinks it can optimize current products without spending a lot of money on creating new technology, resulting in a high return on investment.

The price

Axon stock trades at a premium valuation of 96 times forward, 1-year earnings. That's quite expensive for a stock in any situation. However, Axon gets a premium valuation because of its moat and opportunity. There's a lot to expect from Axon, and it should provide years of growth and strong performance. If you can buy today and hold for many years, Axon stock is a smart investment.

Should you invest $1,000 in Axon Enterprise right now?

Before you buy stock in Axon Enterprise, 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 Axon Enterprise 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 $630,291!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,075,791!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,039% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 182% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of July 29, 2025

Jennifer Saibil has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Axon Enterprise. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.