Financial markets are known for their unpredictable nature, with fluctuating trends and movements. However, investors who exhibit patience and a long-term perspective often encounter lucrative rewards on Wall Street.
By focusing on the long term , investors can benefit from the potential growth and stability that come with enduring market cycles and trends. This approach allows investors to capitalize on the gradual upward trajectory of their investments over time rather than being swayed by short-term market volatility.
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Today, thanks to the low barriers to entry provided by online brokerages, anyone can begin their journey toward building long-term wealth. You don't need much to start; even $200 can be enough to begin investing right now. If you're ready to start building your portfolio, here are three stocks you can buy today for under $200.
SoFi Technologies
Over the past several years, SoFi 's (NASDAQ: SOFI) business has transformed, expanding beyond providing student loans into a full-blown financial services company. The company offers lending, banking, and investing for consumers through its platform.
Since acquiring Golden Pacific Bancorp, the fintech has done an excellent job of adding customers and growing its deposit base . This allows it to collect deposits and hold more loans on its books. Since the end of 2022, SoFi's deposit base has grown from $7.3 billion to nearly $23 billion at the end of the second quarter.
The company has done an excellent job of attracting customers to its platform with its high-yielding savings accounts. Around 90% of SoFi's deposits come from customers with direct deposit, which bodes well for its growth going forward.
Another key part of SoFi's growth story is its technology platform . The company has invested heavily in Galileo and Technisys, which provide back-end infrastructure for fintechs without banking charters. By partnering with SoFi, these companies can process payments and provide other banking services.
At the end of the second quarter, SoFi boasts 158 million Galileo accounts as its tech platform becomes increasingly important to its bottom line. Through six months this year, SoFi's profit from its technology platform is $62 million, nearly twice as much as last year.
Its growing customer base and increasingly important technology platform, improving earnings, and cheap valuation -- priced at around three times sales -- all make SoFi an excellent stock to buy today.
PayPal
PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL) has ushered in digital payments for several decades now. Although the company faces rising competition from other payment networks, it continues to be the most popular digital payment app across all generations, according to a survey of 2,000 Americans by The Motley Fool's The Ascent .
PayPal has struggled with declining margins and slower growth, which has caused the stock to trade around its cheapest valuation since it spun off from eBay in 2015. However, the company is under the guidance of CEO Alex Chriss, who took over the top role at the beginning of this year after former CEO Dan Schulman retired.
Under Chriss, PayPal is working on expanding its offerings and making them more appealing to e-commerce providers across the web. One offering, PayPal Complete Payments , targets small and medium-sized businesses. Its Fastlane by PayPal technology promises to decrease checkout friction, increase conversion rates, and reduce checkout time.
PayPal is making good progress during this transition year. Volume through PayPal Complete Payments is up 40% through the first half of this year. Not only that, but the company recently expanded its partnership with Adyen for its Fastlane product, further validating its product, which it plans to roll out globally in the future.
With the stock trading at around $70 per share, PayPal is priced at 17 times earnings and 2.4 times sales. Now looks like an excellent time to buy the stock, which is on the low end of its valuation since its 2015 IPO.
Block
Block (NYSE: SQ) is also undergoing a transformation this year under the leadership of its longtime CEO and co-founder, Jack Dorsey. The company is undergoing a restructuring as it removes business silos and disbands its business unit reporting structure. According to Dorsey, the move takes Block back "to how we started as a company" and will enable it to focus on "collaboration, craft, and flexibility."
Block has several business units, including Square, its point-of-sale offering for businesses; Cash App, its cash transfer and investment app; Tidal, its music streaming service; and its Bitcoin business, which focuses on decentralized finance (DeFi) and developing mining chips and other technology solutions for the Bitcoin network.
Last year, Dorsey said he wanted to " reset the relationship with Square and Cash App and restructured Afterpay to ensure a stronger connection between each" and that "combining the two ecosystems enables us to provide consumer experiences others can't, specifically for commerce."
Block is progressing on these goals but hasn't maximized its potential quite yet. The stock is priced at $63 per share, or 1.7 times sales and 13.8 times its one-year forecast earnings, making now an excellent time for long-term investors to scoop up a share of the fintech.
Should you invest $1,000 in SoFi Technologies right now?
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Courtney Carlsen has positions in Block and PayPal. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Block and PayPal. The Motley Fool recommends eBay and recommends the following options: short September 2024 $62.50 calls on PayPal. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
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