Now is as good a time as any to look at new and exciting options to freshen up one’s portfolio. In this article, I’m going to discuss three growth stocks with the potential to provide excellent long-term returns. These stocks are of the higher-risk, higher-reward type. But for investors bullish on growth, that’s the place to be.
Let’s dive into these options.
Lightspeed
As far as hyper-growth options on the TSX go, Lightspeed POS (TSX: LSPD)(NYSE: LSPD) is near the top of the list.
This provided of point-of-sale (POS) hardware and software products has seen excellent organic growth. However, the company has diversified its portfolio and accelerated its growth through a string of acquisitions of late.
The company has now adopted an aggressive M&A strategy to bolster its market share and consolidate a fragmented software market in North America. Lightspeed has increased its retail and restaurant market via a series of recent acquisitions. Notably, the company recently acquired ShopKeep and Upserve for $145 million and $430 million, respectively.
Those banking on Lightspeed’s management team to continue hitting home runs with its M&A strategy may want to keep this stock on their watch list right now.
Curaleaf
As far as cannabis stocks go, Curaleaf Holdings (TSXV:CURA) remains my top idea right now.
Curaleaf is the largest pot cultivator and vertically integrated cannabis seller in the United States. The company has a sustainable business model, and an incredible growth rate. As per the company’s recent earnings report, Curaleaf generated a whopping revenue of $230 million. This equates to a mouth-watering year-over-year increase of 205%.
With operations in 23 states, Curaleaf today has the highest U.S. market share and is also the largest pot player in the United States. Additionally, Curaleaf has an impressive profit margin of 48%.
Outside the U.S., Curaleaf is also making strides. The company is also planning to acquire a Europe-based cannabis company — Emmac Life Sciences. Post-completion of this deal, Curaleaf will have access to German, Spanish, and Italian markets.
Further, floating rumours of the E.U. decriminalizing marijuana could open up markets in Poland, Croatia, and Ukraine, among others.
Restaurant Brands
Definitely the least high risk of these options is Restaurant Brands (TSX: QSR)(NYSE: QSR). In fact, I’d put Restaurant Brands more in the defensive category than anything else.
A former growth star on the TSX, Restaurant Brands has been hit hard by the pandemic. The company’s largest banner, Tim Hortons, has been hit the hardest, causing some underperformance in recent earnings.
While many investors may have expected this hit, it’s a hit, nonetheless. That said, coming out of this pandemic, there’s hope that growth will once again flourish for this great fast-food conglomerate.
Indeed, outside of Tim Hortons, the company’s Burger King and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen franchises are doing fantastically well. These banners are continuing to grow despite the pandemic and are the main focal point of investors.
If the company can continue to manage well through the remaining portion of this pandemic, I think there’s tonnes of upside left on the table for long-term investors.
