3 Growth Stocks to Invest $1,000 in Right Now

Key Points

• Growth stocks can be a great way for investors with a long-term horizon to build lasting wealth.

• Companies that dominate their industries and have loyal customers are positioned well in competitive markets.

• The e-commerce and fintech sectors are experiencing rapid growth, driven by increasing consumer adoption and technology-driven solutions.

• 10 stocks we like better than Netflix ›

Investing in the stock market can be an excellent way to build long-term wealth. Depending on your risk profile and time horizon, growth stocks may be an appealing option for your portfolio. While these companies are vulnerable to wide swings in their stock prices, they often come with the potential for outsized long-term gains.

Growth stocks tend to outperform during periods of economic expansion and are characterized by businesses that pursue compelling market opportunities over the long term. Fractional share investing enables investors to diversify their portfolios by investing in companies of any size, thereby expanding the investing world to include stocks that may have been previously inaccessible.

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 »

If you're on the hunt for promising growth stocks to enhance your investments and have $1,000 to invest, here are three stocks to consider today.

Image source: Getty Images.

Netflix

Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) is the world's largest subscription streaming platform, with more than 300 million paid subscribers worldwide. The company dominates online streaming thanks to its original content production, licensing, and global distribution. Beyond streaming, Netflix is experimenting with gaming and ad-supported tiers, seeking to expand its revenue base.

Netflix's strength lies in its global reach across 190 countries and its content engine. It consistently produces original content and its new ad-supported tier is gaining traction, creating a profitable advertising business that complements subscription revenue. The ad-supported tier is performing ahead of expectations and is on pace to roughly double its revenue in 2025.

Competition remains fierce. Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, and regional players are competing on both pricing and subscriber growth. That said, Netflix has evolved from a disruptor into the industry standard.

Netflix's scale, global brand recognition, and expanding advertising platform position it well in the competitive streaming world. The company is a cash-flow machine with excellent margins. With strong free cash flow, Netflix can reinvest in content while repurchasing shares, boosting its stock value in the process.

For investors looking to ride the growth of digital entertainment, Netflix remains a worthy long-term investment.

MercadoLibre

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ: MELI) operates a leading e-commerce and fintech platform in Latin America. This platform is often been compared to a combination of Amazon and PayPal. That's because it operates an online marketplace, a payments network (Mercado Pago), a logistics arm (Mercado Envios), and a credit/lending division, forming a deeply integrated ecosystem.

Latin America is still underpenetrated in e-commerce and digital banking, and MercadoLibre is a leader in the region. This leadership position provides it with strong network effects, which strengthen as more consumers and merchants use its platforms. In the second quarter, Mercado Pago's active users reached 67.6 million, growing 30% year over year.

Payment volume skyrocketed, with Mercado Pago emerging as the go-to solution. In the second quarter, total payment volume reached $64.6 billion, up 61% from the same quarter last year.

One thing to keep in mind is that Latin America is a historically volatile environment. Inflation, currency devaluations, and political instability can disrupt consumer spending. Additionally, the lending arm exposes MercadoLibre to credit risks in less stable economies.

MercadoLibre carved out an Amazon-like dominance in fast-growing regions like Brazil and Mexico. Its fintech is a crown jewel, turning payment flows into sticky financial relationships. For investors who are comfortable with the risks and seek emerging-market growth with a proven operator, MercadoLibre is a stock with solid long-term potential.

SoFi Technologies

SoFi Technologies (NASDAQ: SOFI) is a U.S. digital finance platform that began as a student loan refinancing company but evolved into a one-stop financial hub. Its offerings now span personal loans, mortgages, credit cards, investing, insurance, and a rapidly expanding digital bank.

SoFi is positioning itself as the modern alternative to legacy banks. The company has seen strong growth in members, deposits, and product adoption. In the second quarter, the company added 846,000 new members, resulting in a 34% year-over-year growth rate.

Securing a bank charter a few years ago enabled SoFi to fund loans with low-cost deposits, boosting its profitability. In the second quarter, total deposits reached $29.5 billion, increasing 14% from the end of 2024. Its low-cost deposits contribute to increased net interest income and healthy net interest margins. In the second quarter, net interest income was $372.7 million, up 33% from the previous year.

It also provides banking products to non-banks thanks to its technology stack. Its technology platform segment offers services to a range of clients, including banks, fintechs, and consumer brands, enabling them to create, launch, and manage financial products. Strategic acquisitions, such as Galileo and Technisys, provide the back-end infrastructure for these services.

SoFi is growing quickly thanks to its digital platform and appeal to younger customers. The company has grown its deposits and net interest income at an impressive rate and continues to do so. For growth-oriented investors, SoFi is a speculative investment with attractive upside as a key player in the future of banking.

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Courtney Carlsen has positions in Apple, PayPal, and SoFi Technologies. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Apple, MercadoLibre, Netflix, PayPal, and Walt Disney. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2027 $42.50 calls on PayPal and short September 2025 $77.50 calls on PayPal. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.