2 Growth Stocks to Invest $1,000 In Right Now

Key Points

• AMD saw its revenue climb 32% in its latest report, and that's with shipments to a key market temporarily depressed.

• Nu Holdings just posted well-received results, but it's still trading essentially where it was a year ago.

• AMD and Nu trade at a premium to their industries, but healthy catalysts make them compelling market bargains.

• 10 stocks we like better than Advanced Micro Devices ›

It doesn't take a lot of money to go a long way when it comes to investing. You just need to make sure you're picking the right growth stocks. Even if you have just $1,000 to put to work, I think it can go far with Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) and Nu Holdings (NYSE: NU).

In a world with thousands of stocks -- and tens of thousands of global stocks -- why dive into these two investments? Let's take a closer look at AMD and Nu, to see why they're worthy of your next $1,000 move in the market.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More »

1. Advanced Micro Devices

The chips have been falling AMD's way these days. Shares of the maker of GPUs and microprocessors have more than doubled since bottoming out in early April, but that doesn't mean it's too late to push your chips onto the table and invest in AMD. The stock is up just 26% over the past year, barely doubling over the past five years. That's marginally ahead of the market in that time, and AMD is growing a lot faster.

AMD's surge is easy to explain. Demand for generative artificial intelligence (AI) is booming, and data centers need the chips that AMD is making. It's not the leader in this space. Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), the country's most valuable company by market cap, has that distinction. However, AMD is a major player.

AMD announced earlier this month that data center revenue decelerated sharply, to 14% year-over-year growth in the second quarter. But that's not a problem. Trade restrictions with China have nipped shipments of AMD's powerful Instinct MI308 GPUs into the potent Chinese economy, and AMD took an $800 million hit in inventory and related charges for the trade war standoff. But it was bailed out by healthy shipments outside China, along with a 69% pop in its client and gaming segment.

Image source: Getty Images.

AMD's overall revenue rose 32% in the second quarter, marking its first period of slowing top-line gains after four periods of acceleration. That's also not a deal-breaker. AMD's guidance calls for revenue to decelerate again to 28% in the current quarter, but that's not factoring in easing trading restrictions with China. Just a few days after issuing that forecast, AMD and top dog Nvidia agreed to send 15% of its sales to China to the U.S. government. That's a hit, but when you're a company that historically delivers a gross margin north of 50%, it's a lot better than not having that vital sales outlet.

You can kick yourself for not getting in when the storm clouds were looming four months ago, and the shares were trading roughly where they were five summers ago. It doesn't mean that AMD is too expensive at this juncture. Trading for less than 30 times next year's projected earnings isn't textbook cheap, but profit targets are inching higher as AMD's growth prospects get brighter.

2. Nu Holdings

One of Friday's big winners was Nu Holdings. The parent company of fintech and digital banking specialist NuBank saw its shares soar 9% after posting encouraging financial results. It's now serving 123 million accounts, a 17% increase over the past year. Most of them are in Nu's home turf of Brazil, where it now counts 60% of the country's adult population as customers.

Revenue is growing even faster, up 40% on a foreign-exchange neutral basis and a still impressive 29% in U.S. dollars. Engagement is clicking, with average revenue per active customer hitting an all-time high of $12.20 a month. This is notable, as that metric had declined sequentially in three of the four previous reports. It's an even bigger deal because it costs Nu an average of just $0.80 a month to service the accounts. Adjusted net income rose 34%. Do you need more information before investing in Nu?

Widening margins and a rapidly expanding customer base come at a premium, but you can buy Nu for just 15 times next year's earnings. You can get lower multiples in traditional banking, but you won't get the kind of historical growth that Nu has been providing for its shareholders. Its bottom line has nearly tripled over the past two years, and it's gaining momentum in two other markets outside Brazil. As a bonus, Nu is trading basically where it was a year ago. Sometimes opportunity knocks. Sometimes it just slams the door open.

Should you invest $1,000 in Advanced Micro Devices right now?

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Rick Munarriz has positions in Nu Holdings. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends Nu Holdings. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.