Despite recent economic concerns, there are positive signs for the United States economy. These include declining inflation since mid-2023, a stable labor market with unemployment under 4% for two years, and ongoing record-setting stock market performance and infrastructure investments. The stock market is going to remain strong. Furthermore,we all want to retire one day–preferably, without financial setbacks–these stocks are going to set you up for economic success. These are our top retirement stocks to buy.
Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA)
Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) is an American holding company that manages one of the largest pharmacies in North America, Walgreens. On a slight decline in the past year, WBA holds a valuation of $21.01, but the high dividends and catalysts project a valuation growth.
Valued at $516.48 billion in 2022, the pharmaceutical industry is expected to make jumps shortly by expanding revenue sources and income. Projected to reach $929.9 billion by 2030, the industry holds a CAGR of 7.63%. Through the international expansion of pharmaceutical stores, expect Walgreens to capitalize on the growing market.
Walgreens posted a strong Q4 fiscal year 2023 from a financial standpoint with their revenue, net income, and EPS all seeing strong YoY growth. Starting with revenue, WBA reported $36.71 billion marking a YoY increase of 9.96%. Parallel success was located in net income and diluted EPS, with respective grosses of -$67 million and -$0.08, or growth of 98% each.
Overall, strong business moves made by the corporate side will propel Walgreens’ stock. Compared to simply investing in stores across the globe, Walgreens has transitioned into the healthcare aspect of the pharmaceutical industry. Additionally, WBA’s extremely strong dividend payout ratio of 57.5% will accompany investors well. A combination of both business moves and stock benefits is sure to land WBA on your retirement list. If you are looking for strong retirement stocks to buy, you can’t go wrong here.
JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM)
JPM (NYSE: JPM)is a global financial services company. It has multiple subsidiaries, including Chase Bank. It also provides many financial services, such as Corporate and Investment Banking and Commercial Banking.
JPM consistently beats earnings estimates, with an exception in Q4 2023 due to having to pay fines. 26 of 28 Yahoo Finance! analysts have given it a buy or hold rating. The EPS trend is growing, with a projected EPS of 15.9 for 2024. A profit margin of 33.94%, cash flow of $12.97 billion, and return on equity of 15.98% show management’s efficiency.
The finance sector has a projected CAGR of 7.5%, reaching a valuation of $37484.37 billion in 2027. The company is bearish in the short term due to macroeconomic conditions; primarily the Fed refusing to lower interest rates, inflation, and relatively high market sensitivity. However, its M&A sub-divisions have provided exceptional returns. While this alone is encouraging, JPM also maintains a net positive outlook for equity factors due to:
- Value → Relatively inexpensive globally
- Quality → The American market remains attractive
- Positive outlooks on M&A, Credit Value, and Macro Carry
While performance may be underwhelming currently due to macroeconomic conditions, the diverse services JPM provides, along with its financials and growth potential, make it an attractive bulge bracket to buy and hold. This is easily one of the top retirement stocks to buy.
Apple Inc. (AAPL)
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is a mega-giant company in technology, having more than 2 billion active devices amongst users, ranging from computers to phones to smartwatches, and more. Apple is famous for its work in developing its computers and phones but is now stepping into new ventures, like the Apple Vision Quest and generative artificial intelligence (AI). AAPL’s stock is valued at $170.12, growing 115% since last year, despite the tech industry seeing a decline in products as a whole.
Apple released their new virtual reality device, Apple Vision Pro, which was released on February 2nd, looking to rival Meta’s Quest Pro/3. Despite the steep price, Apple sold over 200,000 Vision Pro headsets and is poised to sell over a million, making a pivotal step in the right direction for the company.
Apple has been having a recent downturn, carried on the past couple of months due to iPhone sales going down by 24% but with virtual reality and generative AI becoming more popular, Apple will be able to pick up the blazing pace they had in the early 2010s. The company has invested in both fields, looking to take over when the products become higher in demand from consumers. The VR market has been growing tremendously, being valued at over 60 billion dollars, with their CAGR at 27% for the next six years.
On the date of publication, Michael Que did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
The researchers contributing to this article did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.