The Best Stocks to Invest $50,000 in Right Now
There are four names on this list, but the last one may come as a surprise.
Congratulations, you’ve got $50,000 in unexpected cash! Will you buy a new car? Take an epic vacation? Pay off some debt? Or perhaps this is an ideal time to solidify your portfolio with some good investing choices.
It can be really tempting to take newfound cash and make some not-so-responsible choices. But $50,000 that’s wisely invested in some key stocks can serve as a set-it-and-forget-it portfolio where you can get growth, stability, and diversification all at the same time.
Here’s one way you could invest that hypothetical windfall.
Image source: Getty Images.
Nvidia ($10,000 investment)
I’ve already written that Nvidia (NVDA 1.65%) would be my choice of one stock to buy and hold. The semiconductor maker is the biggest publicly traded company in the world by market capitalization, rising to about $4.3 trillion at the time of this writing.
Nvidia is a powerhouse because it makes the majority of the most sophisticated graphics processing units (GPUs). These power data centers that companies use for things like artificial intelligence platforms and building large language models are in high demand. The data center market size, which was $14.48 billion in 2024, is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 35.8% through 2033, when the market is expected to top $190 billion.
Nvidia’s effect is seen in its growth numbers, with revenue in the first quarter of fiscal 2026 rising 69% on a year-over-year basis to reach $44.1 billion. Analysts surveyed by Yahoo! Finance are expecting 53% revenue growth when Nvidia reports Q2 numbers on Aug. 27.
At Nvidia’s current price of $175, $10,000 would get you more than 50 shares of this high-flying stock.
Eli Lilly and Company ($10,000 investment)
Indiana-based drugmaker Eli Lilly (LLY 0.13%) has a massive pipeline of drugs and drug candidates, but it’s best known these days for its weight loss and diabetes medications. An estimated 30% of U.S. adults are overweight, giving Eli Lilly an opportunity that it’s just beginning to address.
Both of Lilly’s major drugs are the same medication — tirzepatide — that’s been approved for different treatments. Mounjaro is approved to treat type 2 diabetes, but patients often see weight loss as well. Zepbound is approved specifically as a weight loss medication.
Lilly reported $5.2 billion in revenue in the second quarter from Mounjaro, up 68% from a year ago, and $3.4 billion in revenue from Zepbound, up 172% from last year. Together, those two drugs accounted for 55% of the company’s $15.55 billion in quarterly revenue. Overall, Lilly’s revenue and earnings per share were up 60% from a year ago.
The company raised its full-year revenue guidance from a range of $58 billion to $61 billion to a range of $60 billion to $62 billion. The midpoint suggests a 35% increase in sales for the full year.
With its price today at $715 per share, a $10,000 investment would get you about 14 shares of Lilly stock.
Walmart ($10,000 investment)
Walmart (WMT -1.18%) isn’t just a retailer. It’s the biggest retailer in the U.S., with domestic sales of $568.7 billion last year — more than double those of its next-biggest rival, Amazon. Walmart’s footprint is mammoth, with 10,750 locations in 19 countries. Just in the U.S., Walmart and Sam’s Club have more than 5,200 locations.
The company has a lot working for it. The sheer volume of stores and the traffic it generates help Walmart negotiate favorable prices from its suppliers, helping to keep costs low and attractive for customers. In addition to its brick-and-mortar stores, Walmart has a growing e-commerce division that saw a 20% increase in sales in the second quarter. Finally, the company’s Sam’s Club division is a membership-only warehouse chain that competes directly with Costco. Membership revenue was up 15% in Q2, and e-commerce sales at Sam’s Club jumped 26% in the quarter.
Walmart’s overall revenue in Q2 was up 5.6% in constant currency. Priced just under $100 per share, an investment of $10,000 would give you 100 shares of Walmart stock.
Vanguard S&P 500 ETF ($20,000 investment)
This one isn’t a single stock, but it still works. The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO 1.53%) is like buying shares of every stock in the S&P 500, all at once. That means you get plenty of diversification, which is important so that you aren’t in jeopardy if a single stock or sector suddenly deflates.
VOO is a weighted exchange-traded fund (ETF), so the exposure to each stock will rise and fall with the market capitalization of the company. That’s why Nvidia makes up 8% of the fund right now, with Microsoft and Apple trailing. The equal weight allows the ETF to closely mirror the performance of the S&P 500 index itself.
As with other Vanguard ETFs, the expense ratio on this fund is exceptionally low, coming in at just 0.03%. That means you’ll only spend $3 annually for every $10,000 you’re investing — in this case, $6 per year.
Because the VOO ETF is priced at about $585 per share at the time of this writing, you can get about 34 shares for your $20,000.
Patrick Sanders has positions in Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Apple, Costco Wholesale, Microsoft, Nvidia, Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, and Walmart. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.