Have $5,000? These 2 Stocks Could Be Bargain Buys for 2025 and Beyond.

You may think $5,000 isn’t enough to make a life-changing investment, but with enough time and the right stocks, it could grow to $20,000, $50,000, or even $100,000 or more.

The power of compounding means that the longer you hold stocks, the faster your portfolio will grow as it will be generating returns off a higher base. The S&P 500 (^GSPC -0.43%) has historically returned an annual average of 9% yearly, a strong clip. You can earn even higher returns by investing in growth stocks, including tech stocks, which have the potential to generate high returns through technological disruption and the exponential growth of new technology.

Keep reading to see two stocks, in particular, that look like bargain buys right now.

1. ASML

ASML (ASML -0.44%) might not be a household name, but it’s one of the most important tech companies in the world. The company is the leading maker of lithography machines that chip manufacturers like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing use to make semiconductors. It’s also the only maker of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines, which are used to make the most advanced chips (including the ones used for artificial intelligence (AI)-related work).

That position gives ASML a significant competitive advantage, but it hasn’t been able to parlay that into a winning performance in 2024. Year to date through Dec. 26, the stock is down 5.5% as demand has slowed from China, bookings have been surprisingly weak, and the company cut its guidance for 2025.

The semiconductor equipment industry operates in its own cycle, separate from actual chips, and there’s been a lull across the sector due (partly) to delays in new foundries. However, those foundries are coming.

Companies like Intel, Micron Technology (MU -1.35%), and TSMC have all been awarded billions of dollars by the U.S. government via the CHIPS Act to build new factories in the U.S., and the AI boom is leading to production expansion in other parts of the world as well. However, these projects tend to take years so the timing of that windfall is uncertain.

Nonetheless, ASML should return to strong and steady growth. In 2025, ASML management estimates revenue of 30 billion to 32.5 billion euros, or 15% growth. Margins are also set to improve as headwinds from 2024 roll off and the business scales up.

ASML should bounce back after a rough year and it has a bright future beyond 2025.

2. Micron Technology

Another semiconductor stock that is limping into the end of the year is Micron Technology, an integrated maker of memory chips. Micron shares soared earlier in the year as it was seen as one of the winners in the AI boom, but that rally gave way to a pullback after its next round of results wasn’t as strong as expected.

However, that puts Micron in an appealing position heading into 2025 as the company is still growing rapidly on a year-over-year basis and trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of 10 based on earnings estimates for the current fiscal year.

Unlike most chip companies, Micron both designs and manufactures its own chips, and that and its exposure to memory chips make the business highly cyclical. The good news for investors is that the business is on an upswing as it capitalizes on AI demand.

Revenue nearly doubled to $8.7 billion in its recently reported fiscal first quarter, and the company said that for the first time in its history, data center revenue topped more than 50% of its total. The data center segment is where the AI boom is taking place so Micron’s growth in that category shows it’s capitalizing on the emerging market. Micron’s biggest customer is believed to be Nvidia, which should also help its growth.

With demand for AI chips likely just beginning, Micron shares could easily surge over the next few years. At a forward P/E of just 10, the stock looks like a downright bargain.