3 Stocks That Could Turn $1,000 Into $5,000 by 2030

Key Points

• Roblox isn’t just a video game. It’s an evolving ecosystem.

• Online bank SoFi Technologies is growing as “digitally native” generations continue displacing the analog crowd.

• Online shopping’s next chapter will look considerably different than its first one.

• 10 stocks we like better than Roblox ›

Seeing a stock's price double over the course of five years isn't unheard of. It requires a market-beating pace of progress. But it happens.

Quintupling a stock's value over a five-year timeframe, however, is a different story. Doing that requires being in the right place at the right time with the right product or service. It's often fueled by a sociocultural shift that's creating incredible change.

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 »

Here's a closer look at three stocks that fit this description, each of which has a shot at turning a $1,000 investment today into $5,000 by 2030.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Roblox

If you're only vaguely familiar with Roblox (NYSE: RBLX), you might know it as a video game. That's not quite what it is, though. It would be more accurate to say that Roblox is a video game creation platform. It allows amateur video game enthusiasts to build their own virtual game, and then monetize it by allowing other online gamers to play it. It spreads the wealth, too, so to speak. Of last year's total revenue of $3.6 billion, nearly $923 million of it was passed along to designers of Roblox-based video games.

The power of this business model can't be touted enough.

Unlike more conventional professionally developed titles such as Fortnite or the Call of Duty series, Roblox's business incentivizes the constant development and redevelopment of new and engaging games. It works, too. Since its launch in 2006, its player headcount and revenue both continue to grow. Last year's top line improved another 29% year over year, while the total number of daily users grew 21% to 82.9 million. Operating cash flow jumped 79% year over year to $822.3 million, suggesting that the business is (finally) moving toward sustainable profitability. All these trends extend into the first half of this year.

In early September, Roblox introduced a couple of new tools that should spur even more engagement. One of these is artificial intelligence-powered digital assets that can help developers build more immersive in-game experiences, like interactive objects. The other is access to branded assets that can be incorporated into game-play, like Mattel's Matchbox cars, or IP linked to Lionsgate's Blair Witch series of films, for example. While it's not clear how much these upgraded game-building options will add to already-existing growth, the Roblox community has responded favorably to lesser improvements in the past.

The analyst community expects the company's sales to nearly triple between 2024 and 2027, taking a big bite out of its lingering losses. Two or three more years of the same after that may be enough to get Roblox out of the red and into the black, which could prove catalytic for the stock even before it happens.

2. SoFi Technologies

It's no secret that people are taking their banking business online. A survey commissioned by the American Bankers Association late last year indicated that 55% of U.S. banks' customers now use a mobile app first to handle banking matters. A distant-second 22% opted for a laptop or computer. Only 8% said visiting a branch was their go-to service solution, while telephone calls were the first choice for only 4% of the poll's respondents.

What is a bit surprising, however, is how a huge chunk of the banking industry's customers are making this change. They're increasingly not sticking with the brick-and-mortar bank that's been serving them. Rather, they're choosing banks that were built from the ground up to be online banks, and only online banks -- no physical branches.

Case in point: SoFi Technologies (NASDAQ: SOFI). It now serves 11.75 million unique customers, growing its headcount every quarter since mid-2018's total of only 629,000. Then again, why wouldn't it? It offers everything a brick-and-mortar bank does, including investments, insurance, and credit cards, along with more typical banking services like checking accounts and loans.

This is still just the beginning. Industry research outfit Straits Research suggests that the global online banking market is poised to grow at an average annual pace of nearly 14% through 2033, with the already-gelled U.S. sliver of this business likely to boast compounded yearly growth of nearly 13% for the same timeframe.

Age is a major contributing factor to this growth. The American Bankers Association's survey indicates that roughly two-thirds of Gen Z and millennials are most likely to use a mobile banking app before any other option. As these digitally native generations age and pass their norms along to their children, don't be surprised if physical bank branches start becoming less common.

3. Shopify

Finally, add Shopify (NASDAQ: SHOP) to your list of stocks that could turn $1,000 into $5,000 within a five-year timeframe.

This company is a much-needed alternative to the use of massive e-commerce platforms like Amazon to sell goods online. As the titan of the online shopping world has grown, it's become a bit unwieldy. It's also somewhat unfriendly to too many sellers that must now compete directly with Amazon itself.

Some merchants' waning interest in Amazon and growing interest in Shopify isn't just rooted in practicality and competitiveness, though. More and more of Amazon's sellers are starting to realize the value of building their brand by making authentic and direct connections with their customers.

All of Amazon's product listings look about the same, and don't lend themselves to the storytelling and authenticity that customers crave. Shopify's technology does. Every Shopify-powered store can be custom-built to look and function exactly how its owner wants, engaging directly with customers in a way that makes the perfect impression.

Shopify's numbers say as much. Its technology facilitated sales of more than $292 billion worth of goods and services last year, growing at a pace of 24% that's held up through the first half of this year.

SHOP Revenue (TTM) data by YCharts.

Analysts expect the company to maintain this forward pace of progress at least through 2027, although given the underpinnings of this growth, it's likely to persist for far longer. Shopify is just plugged into one of the aforementioned sociocultural movements that Amazon simply can't address.

The kicker: The market may still be underestimating Shopify's potential upside. Although it was a bit late to the artificial intelligence party, earlier this year the company introduced a handful of AI tools to its platform's users. These include AI chat-based sales agents, an interface that can build on online stores with nothing other than text-based descriptions of the look and feel that's desired, and a conversational digital assistant called Sidekick that sellers can ask to analyze and help manage their e-commerce business. A few days ago, Shopify also announced that merchants could now use its tech to sell directly through OpenAI's ChatGPT.

Priced at roughly 100 times this year's expected per-share profits of $1.44, Shopify stock is anything but cheap.

Sometimes premium prices are well worth it, however. Analysts think that's the case here. The current consensus one-year target of $159.73 is still above the stock's present price despite its recent run-up, and that's just one year out. The next five years are likely to see tremendous revenue and profit growth, now that direct-to-consumer e-commerce is becoming a preferred means of shopping online.

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James Brumley has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Roblox, and Shopify. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.