The Ultimate Growth Stock to Buy With $1,000 Right Now — It's Been My Best Stock Performer by Far

Key Points

Looking for a promising growth stock for your long-term portfolio? How about one that has averaged annual gains of 24% over the past 15 years and 24% over the past three years?

I’m referring to Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX), which needs no introduction.

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The stock has averaged big losses over the past three years, though, which either means it’s in trouble — or it’s presenting a great buying opportunity for long-term believers.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

I think it’s the latter. Netflix has actually been my best-performing investment ever, and I’ve been investing for decades. I’m hanging on to the stock, too, because I think it has more room to grow.

So why invest in Netflix? Well, it’s one of the world’s premier streaming services. It does have competition, from the likes of Amazon.com’s Prime Video and, increasingly, Alphabet’s YouTube. Netflix has addressed this in part by expanding its scope — such as by offering live sports broadcasts, cloud-based games, and video podcasts. In addition, by now having an advertising-supported membership group, the company has created another significant revenue stream.

And Netflix is still growing, too. Its second quarter, reported in July, featured revenue up 13% year over year to $12.6 billion. It’s offering programming in about 50 languages to more than half a billion people in more than 190 countries. It’s clearly a major force in the U.S., and it can grow bigger in many other countries, too.

Netflix’s valuation is another draw. Its forward-looking price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was recently 25.4, well below the five-year average of 30.6, and its regular P/E ratio of 25.2 is also below the five-year average of 36.2.

There are indeed challenges the company is facing, but I wouldn’t count it out. Management has demonstrated admirable restraint by walking away from some big deals, such as those with Warner Bros. Discovery and Roku, after choosing not to match the winning bids from Paramount Skydance and Fox, respectively. Many managements would have kept bidding, with insufficient regard for shareholder value.

Even some big investors, such as Bill Ackman, are buying Netflix.

Should you buy stock in Netflix right now?

Before you buy stock in Netflix, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Netflix wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $429,223!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,318,055!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 965% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 212% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of August 23, 2026.

Selena Maranjian has positions in Alphabet, Amazon, Netflix, and Warner Bros. Discovery. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Netflix, Roku, and Warner Bros. Discovery. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.