Investing in high-quality growth stocks and gradually building your positions can turn you into a millionaire investor. It takes a while to achieve that goal, and some people look beyond the S&P 500 index to amplify their returns. These are some of the most promising stocks that can produce appealing long-term returns.
Meta Platforms is still a top-tier ad platform
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Meta Platforms (META 0.64%) is the second-largest advertising stock, only behind Google. However, Facebook’s parent company has been reporting higher financial growth rates than Google parent Alphabet (GOOG 0.23%) (GOOGL 0.18%), which gives it an edge for new investors.
Top-line results continue to expand, based on the company’s 26% year-over-year revenue growth in the third quarter. Meta Platforms also recently launched its AI glasses, which may turn into a valuable revenue source that diversifies the company’s finances in a few years.
Social media growth remains strong, with the company reporting 3.54 billion daily active users in Q3, which represents an 8% year-over-year increase. Continued demand for Meta Platforms’ family of apps will yield more ad impressions and sales.
Interactive Brokers is riding strong demand from investors
When people make more stock trades and use margin to boost their exposure to equities, brokerage firms like Interactive Brokers (IBKR +0.24%) come out as the big winners. Shares are up by more than 40% year to date and have more than quadrupled over the past five years. Recent earnings results suggest that the momentum can continue.
Interactive Brokers increased its total revenue by more than 20% year over year in Q3, with commission revenue and net interest income as two of the biggest winners. Strong engagement drove these results, with customer account growth increasing by 32% year over year. Interactive Brokers added 4.13 million accounts while delivering stock and options trading volume gains of 67% and 27% year over year, respectively.
Investors are still feeling good about the stock market based on a 39% year-over-year increase in Interactive Brokers’ customer margin loans. Strong demand for the stock market should help the brokerage firm continue to outperform the S&P 500 and deliver millionaire-maker returns.
Walmart’s pivot to advertising is a long-term tailwind that will boost margins
Walmart (WMT +0.12%) has made its mark as the world’s top retailer and has a real shot at exceeding a $1 trillion market cap in 2026. The company continues to boost sales and delivered 5.8% year-over-year revenue growth for investors in Q3 FY26.
However, the company’s advertising segment is addressing one of Walmart’s biggest weaknesses. Walmart enjoys high order volumes but struggles with profit margins. The company’s net margins usually hover near 3% since retail stocks aren’t known for high margins. Ads can be a game changer, especially since Walmart reported 53% year-over-year revenue growth for its global advertising business.
Ads don’t make up a large portion of Walmart’s total business, but they can grow over time and boost margins. In the meantime, Walmart continues to gain market share in retail while expanding its e-commerce sales, which were up by 27% year over year. Each Walmart store acts as a distribution facility, which results in lower shipping costs and quicker deliveries.
Few companies can compete with Walmart in terms of size, and that works well for investors who want millionaire-maker stocks.
Marc Guberti has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Interactive Brokers Group, Meta Platforms, and Walmart. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2027 $43.75 calls on Interactive Brokers Group and short January 2027 $46.25 calls on Interactive Brokers Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
