24/7 Wall St. Insights

• Selecting stocks for the long haul can be a challenge.
• Here is what may be the best-performing stock in 2030 and why.
• Also: 2 Dividend Legends to Hold Forever.

Whether they are day traders looking for a quick buck or investors in it for the long haul, everyone wants their investments to grow. The challenge, of course, is to select those that do indeed grow. Let’s see if we can predict what may be the best-performing stock in 2030.

We’ll choose our candidates from a pool of leaders in industries that have strong momentum likely to continue through the end of the decade. Then we’ll estimate growth prospects based on share price appreciation in the past year and on what Wall Street anticipates from the shares in the coming year, given the analysts’ consensus price target. For those stocks with higher forward growth than in the trailing 12 months, we use our blended growth estimate as a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to project a potential share price in five years. That, of course, assumes no stock split or other share price adjustments during the period.

Here are our leading candidates, one per industry, for the best-performing stock in 2030, from least to most projected upside.

Cloud Computing

Stock: Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE)
Share price growth past year: −1.4%
Est. share price growth next year: 24.5%
Projected share price in five years: $871

Adobe Creative Cloud is a collection of software applications and services for content creation, and Adobe stock is also an AI pick. A disappointing outlook offset strong quarterly results last month. The share price has retreated over 12% since then, but it is marginally higher than six months ago. Wall Street expects it to bounce back and then some in the next 12 months. All but six of 31 analysts who cover the stock recommend buying shares, 11 of them with Strong Buy ratings. Note though that Adobe’s chief executive officer and chief financial officer sold some shares last month.

Runners-up in this category included Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL).

Health Care Innovation

Stock: McKesson Corp. (NYSE: MCK)
Share price growth past year: 12.4%
Est. share price growth next year: 24.1%
Projected share price in five years: $1,138

Texas-based McKesson is a health care services provider that recently said it would buy a controlling stake in a community cancer center in Florida. Earlier this summer, it expanded its footprint in the prostate cancer space with a distribution deal. The share price has retreated about 20% since a mixed first-quarter report but is still up almost 7% year to date. Only four of 14 analysts who follow the stock recommend buying shares. Deutsche Bank recently reiterated its Buy rating.

Runners-up in this category included Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE: LLY) and Intuitive Surgical Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG).

Cybersecurity

Stock: Zscaler Inc. (NASDAQ: ZS)
Share price growth past year: 7.3%
Est. share price growth next year: 32.1%
Projected share price in five years: $408

This cloud security company is based in Silicon Valley. Its disappointing profit guidance has weighed on shares recently. Zscaler has shaken up its management as part of a reorganization. Since the quarterly report, the stock has retreated more than 13%. It has still far outperformed the S&P 500 over the past five years. The consensus recommendation is to buy shares, and analysts see plenty of room for them to run. Note that company officers sold some shares last month.

Runners-up in this category included CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CRWD) and CyberArk Software Ltd. (NASDAQ: CYBR).

Renewable Energy

Stock: Green Plains Inc. (NASDAQ: GPRE)
Share price growth past year: −57.0%
Est. share price growth next year: 100.1%
Projected share price in five years: $78

This Omaha-based biofuel maker posted disappointing quarterly results back in August. Earlier in the summer, it started up a biorefinery in North Dakota and reported on the progress of a carbon capture project in Nebraska. The share price is around 6% lower since the quarterly report. All eight analysts who follow the stock recommend buying shares, two of them with Strong Buy ratings. Here too, Wall Street anticipates big upside potential going forward.

Runners-up in this category included Constellation Energy Corp. (NASDAQ: CEG) and First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR).

Artificial Intelligence

Stock: Super Micro Computer Inc. (NASDAQ: SMCI)
Share price growth past year: 47.9%
Est. share price growth next year: 94.3%
Projected share price in five years: $587

Among these candidates, it looks like the best-performing stock in 2030 could be Supermicro. It just implemented a 10-for-1 stock split, and some speculate that it will be a $1 trillion company by 2030. Headwinds include a Justice Department probe. Yet, despite the recent retreat, the stock is still up almost 46% since the beginning of the year. And despite the high expectations signaled by their consensus price target, analyst sentiment overall has turned cautious for the time being. Can it clear up its headwinds and soar to the end of the decade?

Runners-up in this category included Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) and Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA).

Why Invest for the Long Term?

Use of a buy-and-hold strategy allows investments time to grow despite daily or seasonal fluctuations. Investing for the long term also allows compound growth, capital appreciation, and reinvestment of dividends to contribute to total return. Patient investors don’t have the stress of trying to time the market, and they generally have lower costs and are less like to make investing decisions based on emotion. So, if Supermicro is the best-performing stock in 2030, that may be a good place to start a long-term investing journey.

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