3 Slam-Dunk Growth Stocks to Buy Right Now With $100

The current bull market is now entering its fourth year, and it shows no signs of slowing down. Despite macroeconomic concerns and growing warnings of an AI bubble, many growth stocks have zoomed higher, leading the S&P 500 to produce a total return of 91.5% in the first three years of the bull market that started in October 2022.

Investors just starting out may feel as if they missed the boat, and those actively putting new money into stocks may be searching for new opportunities. The good news is there are still plenty of stocks with tremendous upside that you can buy, even if you only have $100 to invest. In fact, these three stocks look like slam dunks, and each has a share price trading below $100.

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1. DraftKings

Since 2018, when the Supreme Court struck down a law banning sports betting, DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG) has leveraged its strong brand name (built in fantasy sports) to become a leader in online sports betting in the United States. It has built on that with major advances in technology to drive more action to its sportsbook.

DraftKings' scale gives it a ton of data that's useful for developing new bet types, expanding to new events, and targeting promotions. Its data also helps it set lines and identify sharp bettors more quickly, limiting its losses. Its technology helps it improve the user experience with innovative live betting products that complement sports viewing.

That puts DraftKings in a great position to take share of the growing sports betting market. Analysts at Grand View Research expect online sports betting to climb at an average rate of 12.8% from 2025 through 2030.

One serious threat to DraftKings, though, is the rise of prediction markets. Prediction markets use regulated futures contracts to enable anyone to effectively bet on events like sports matches, even in states where sports betting isn't legal. They've grown in popularity recently, and DraftKings has applied to join the National Futures Association (NFA) as a step toward entering the space.

Still, at around $35 per share, DraftKings looks like a great opportunity. That price gives it an enterprise value-to-EBITDA ratio of less than 20 based on management's guidance for 2025. With a path toward double-digit revenue growth and EBITDA margin expansion as it scales, it should be able to produce strong earnings growth for years to come.

2. Fortinet

Fortinet (NASDAQ: FTNT) is one of the world's top cybersecurity companies. It made a name for itself with its next-gen firewalls, which used custom chips and software to improve network throughput while increasing security. However, it recently disappointed investors with its inability to capitalize on an ongoing hardware upgrade cycle that management previously saw as a major opportunity.

Despite disappointing hardware sales, Fortinet's expansion into SASE (secure access service edge) and SecOps (security operations) is seeing strong results. SASE billings grew 21% year over year in its most recent quarter and SecOps grew 31%.

These software-based solutions present an excellent earnings growth opportunity built on the foundation of its hardware expertise. Since they're software based, their sales are high-margin recurring revenue and present opportunities to cross-sell customers. That should lead to considerable revenue growth and margin expansion over time as they grow to become a larger share of Fortinet's revenue. As of the second quarter, the two combined to account for 35% of total billings for the company.

The stock currently trades around $83 per share. That price gives it an enterprise value-to-EBITDA ratio of about 25. Fortinet is another company growing sales at a double-digit pace with an expanding operating margin. As a result, its EBITDA multiple in the mid-20s makes it look like a slam dunk.

3. Tencent

Tencent (OTC: TCEHY) is a Chinese internet giant. It's the company behind WeChat (Weixin in China) as well as popular mobile games, including PUBG Mobile and Honor of Kings. It's seeing strong results from advertising, with marketing services revenue growth of 20% last quarter. Management says its ad business is getting a boost from AI-powered ad-tech upgrades impacting everything from ad creation to placement to measurement.

While Tencent already has several major revenue streams, its cloud computing and artificial intelligence efforts could present new growth opportunities going forward. At the start of the year, management laid out plans to use excess cash generated from its social network and gaming businesses, and invest it in the AI opportunity.

While some of its investments have paid off, for example the improvements in its advertising algorithms, most of the build out is a long-term bet. Importantly, the company managed to increase free cash flow despite doubling its capital expenditures year over year in the second quarter.

At around $80 per share, the stock trades for about 21-times analysts' consensus estimate for 2025 earnings. Tencent is yet another company producing double-digit revenue growth and expanding margins while showing progress in even more growth opportunities. That makes it another great growth stock to consider buying with your $100.

Adam Levy has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Fortinet and Tencent. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.