Three top picks to power your 2025

Article Excerpt

We have singled out three growth buys for 2025—ones we believe have exceptional prospects for the year ahead. What’s more, each is a market leader, which cuts your risk. EXPEDIA GROUP INC., $173.65, is a #1 Power Buy for 2025. The company (Nasdaq symbol EXPE; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (www.expediagroup.com; Shares outstanding: 142.6 million; Market cap: $23.3 billion; No dividends paid) operates the world’s largest travel booking platform. Its brands include Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity, Vrbo and Hotels.com. Expedia currently has about 3 million lodging properties available through its websites. They include about 900,000 hotels and over 2 million alternative accommodations like homes for let. Going forward, Expedia faces unique challenges. It has significant exposure to economic cycles; namely, demand for travel varies with the state of the economy and changes in consumer confidence. As well, travel to some destinations can be hurt by geo-political conflicts—not to mention unforeseeable global events like the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Expedia has a strong competitive position; that includes the leading share of the U.S. market…