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5 Must-Buy Growth Stocks for May With Solid Short-Term Upside

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Wall Street concluded a mixed May. Market participants remained concerned about the Trump administration’s tariff and trade-related policies, and their impact on U.S. economic growth, especially on the inflation rate.

Despite these headwinds, we have identified five growth stocks that investors should purchase in May for wonderful upside potential in the near term. These are: Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. (AEM - Free Report) , Sony Group Corp. (SONY - Free Report) , Affirm Holdings Inc. (AFRM - Free Report) , Broadcom Inc. (AVGO - Free Report) and Expand Energy Corp. (EXE - Free Report) . 

Positive Catalysts for May

On April 29, President Donald Trump said the United States is very close to a deal with India related to trade and tariffs. Per CNBC, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said “I have a deal done, done, done, done, but I need to wait for their prime minister and their parliament to give its approval, which I expect shortly,” without naming the country. 

On April 28, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated that India could be the first country to make a deal with the United States. Market participants’ sentiment got a boost following a Bloomberg news on May 5, which stated citing sources that India has proposed zero tariffs on steel, auto components and pharmaceuticals on a reciprocal basis and up to a certain number of imports.

Bessent also said that the United States has already held “substantial talks” with Japan and South Korea regarding tariff policies. Bessent said that the Trump administration is negotiating with 17 major trading partners of the country excluding China.

5 Growth Stocks to Buy for May

These five stocks have strong revenues and earnings potential for 2025. They have seen positive earnings estimate revisions in the last 60 days. Moreover, these stocks have solid short-term upside potential. Each of our picks sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and has a Growth Score of A or B. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd.

Agnico Eagle Mines is focused on executing projects that are expected to provide additional production growth. The Kittila expansion promises cost savings, while acquisitions like Hope Bay and the merger with Kirkland Lake Gold strengthen its market position. 

Merger with Kirkland Lake Gold established the new AEM as the industry's highest-quality senior gold producer. Higher gold prices are also expected to drive AEM’s margins. AEM’s strategic diversification mitigates risks, supported by prudent debt management and financial flexibility.

Agnico Eagle Mines has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 20.6% and 44.4%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 6.1% over the last seven days. 

The average short-term price target of brokerage firms represents an increase of 16% from the last closing price of $119.13. The brokerage target price is currently in the range of $110.47 to $159. This indicates a maximum upside of 33.5% and a downside of 7.8%.

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Sony Group Corp.

Sony Group is poised to grow on strength across Game & Network Services (G&NS), Music and Financial Services amid woes in the Entertainment, Technology & Services (ET&S) unit. SONY’s Financial Services revenues are benefiting from sales growth at Sony Life and higher investment gains from market volatility. 

SONY’s The Music unit’s sales are backed by higher revenues from streaming services in Recorded Music and Music Publishing. Solid hardware and non-first-party game software sales and forex impacts are fueling the GN&S unit. Driven by momentum in Financial Services and G&NS units, SONY has raised its fiscal 2024 sales view to ¥13,200 billion from ¥12,710 billion.

Sony Group has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 0.7% and 14.4%, respectively, for the current year (March 2026). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 0.7% over the last seven days. 

The average short-term price target of brokerage firms represents an increase of 17.2% from the last closing price of $25.23. The brokerage target price is currently in the range of $24.50 to $34.06. This indicates a maximum upside of 35% and a downside of 2.9%.

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Affirm Holdings Inc.

Affirm Holdings has achieved strong revenue growth through diverse income streams, including merchant network fees, interest from loans and virtual card revenues. AFRM expects revenues to be in the range of $3.13-$3.19 billion in fiscal 2025. Growing active merchant numbers, improving gross merchandise value, and the average balance of loans are driving merchant network revenues and interest income. 

Key partnerships, like those with Apple Pay and Hotels.com, play a vital role in AFRM’s expansion. It has officially expanded to the United Kingdom, through a partnership with Alternative Airlines. Tapping into industries like travel, hospitality, and technology bodes well for the company. 

Affirm Holdings has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 37.1% and 96.4%, respectively, for the current year (ending June 2025). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 60% in the last 60 days. 

The average short-term price target of brokerage firms represents an increase of 36.2% from the last closing price of $51. The brokerage target price is currently in the range of $50 to $86. This indicates a maximum upside of 68.6% and a downside of 2%. 

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Broadcom Inc.

Broadcom is benefiting from strong demand for its networking products and custom AI accelerators (XPUs) as witnessed in first-quarter fiscal 2025. Strong demand for AVGO’s application-specific integrated chips, designed to support AI and machine learning, aids top-line growth. AVGO expects second-quarter fiscal 2025 AI revenues to jump 44% year over year to $4.4 billion. 

The acquisition of VMware has benefited Infrastructure software solutions. As of fiscal first quarter, roughly 70% of Broadcom’s largest 10,000 customers have adopted VMware Cloud Foundation. AVGO’s expanding AI portfolio, along with a rich partner base, reflects solid top-line growth potential.

AVGO’s XPUs are necessary to train Generative AI models, and they require complex integration of compute, memory, and I/O capabilities to achieve the necessary performance at lower power consumption and cost. 

AVGO’s next-generation XPUs are in 3 nanometers and will be the first of its kind to market in that process node. Broadcom remains on track for volume shipment of these XPUs to its hyperscale customers in the second half of fiscal 2025. AVGO sees massive opportunities in the AI space as specific hyperscalers have started to develop their own XPUs. 

Broadcom believes that by 2027 each of its three hyperscalers would deploy 1 million XPU clusters across a single fabric. Serviceable Addressable Market for XPUs and network are expected to be between $60 billion and $90 billion in fiscal 2027 alone.

Broadcom has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 21% and 35.5%, respectively, for the current year (ending October 2025). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 4.6% in the last 60 days.

The short-term average price target of brokerage firms for the stock represents an increase of 20.4% from the last closing price of $200.09. The brokerage target price is currently in the range of $200 to $300. This indicates a maximum upside of 50% and no downside. 

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Expand Energy Corp.

Expand Energy has emerged as the largest U.S. natural gas producer after its merger with Chesapeake and Southwestern. With key assets in the Haynesville and Marcellus basins, EXE is well-positioned to capitalize on rising demand from LNG exports, AI/data centers, and electrification. 

EXE plans to ramp up production to 7,100 MMcfe/day in 2025, through a $2.7 billion investment plan. EXE’s LNG exposure reduces price volatility, while efficiency gains are expected to unlock $500 million in cost savings by 2026. Strong financials, a $2.30 per share dividend, and a focus on deleveraging add stability. While natural gas price volatility and integration risks remain, EXE’s scale, cost efficiencies, and LNG positioning provide long-term upside.

Expand Energy has expected revenue and earnings growth rate of more than 100% each, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 6.6% in the last 30 days.

The short-term average price target of brokerage firms for the stock represents an increase of 13.2% from the last closing price of $108.51. The brokerage target price is currently in the range of $87 to $170. This indicates a maximum upside of 56.7% and a downside of 19.8%.

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