Best Tech Stocks for December 2024

These are some of the best tech stocks based on best value, fastest growth, and most momentum

Tech stocks rallied alongside the broader market following the U.S. presidential election. A standout performer following Donald Trump’s victory was Tesla (TSLA), which surged 45% in November, driven by expectations of deregulation in the autonomous vehicle sector. Overall, the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) saw modest gains in November, up 2%.

Below is an analysis of the top tech stocks for December 2024, screened for best value, fastest growth, and most momentum. All stocks are listed on the Nasdaq or New York Stock Exchange.
We also excluded stocks with a price under $5, an average daily trading volume of less than 100,000, and a market cap of less than $300 million.

All data are current as of Nov. 22, 2024.

Best-Value Tech Stocks

Value investing is an investing strategy that holds that investors can identify stocks trading below their true value. At the time the market corrects this mispricing, these undervalued names may increase in value. Investors typically attempt to identify undervalued stocks using fundamental metrics like the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio. Typically, a lower P/E ratio signals an undervalued stock because it means the company is valued less than its fundamental value. These stocks may offer a stronger return after the market adjusts.

• i3 Verticals, Inc.: i3 Verticals provides integrated payment and software solutions for small and medium-sized businesses and organizations in strategic markets, including the public sector and health care. The company reported a strong fiscal 2024, with revenue growing 1.4% to $229.9 million and net losses narrowing to $13.3 million from $23.7 million.
• Weibo Corporation.: Weibo, a leading social media platform in China, is known for enabling real-time content creation, sharing, and distribution. Weibo appears to be on the mend, reporting a strong third quarter on Nov. 19. The company saw advertising revenues stabilize, driven by Olympic ad demand, while value-added services grew 25%, fueled by upgraded membership services.
• Hello Group, Inc.: Hello Group is a leading online social networking company in China, operating platforms like Momo and Tantan that connect users for social and romantic interactions. A key factor contributing to its low P/E ratio was the lukewarm second-quarter 2024 performance, with revenues declining 14.2% year-over-year, driven by reduced user activity and weak consumer sentiment.

Fastest-Growing Tech Stocks

Growth investors believe that increases in a company’s revenue and earnings per share (EPS) can be an indicator of a strong business that has the potential to increase in value. However, focusing on just one of these two metrics can give an incomplete picture of a company’s growth potential. Circumstances unrelated to a company’s fundamental business strength—such as tax law changes, mergers, or one-off gains—can skew these figures on their own.

Investopedia uses a dual-metric approach to reach a more balanced assessment of growth companies. We equally weight the latest year-over-year (YOY) percentage growth for both EPS and revenue. This approach aims to reduce the impact of those one-time anomalies to provide a better view of a company’s true growth pattern and potential. Additionally, any companies with growth in excess of 1,000% are excluded as outliers.

• Sportradar Group AG: Sportradar Group AG is a global sports technology leader. It provides data-driven solutions to sports federations, media, and betting operators, covering nearly one million events annually. The company is trusted by major organizations like the NBA, FIFA, and UEFA. Citing strong momentum in the U.S. and expanding opportunities for in-game betting, Sportradar reported strong third-quarter 2024 results, with revenue up 27% to €255 million.
• MakeMyTrip, Limited: MakeMyTrip Limited is India’s leading online travel company, with over 24 years of experience. Since its inception, the company has served more than 77 million lifetime transacted users. On Nov. 18, MakeMyTrip announced the acquisition of Happay’s expense management platform from CRED, bolstering its corporate travel and expense management capabilities.
• Duolingo, Inc.: Duolingo is the world’s leading mobile learning platform and the top-grossing app in the Education category on Google Play and the Apple App Store. The ubiquitous language app delivered a strong third quarter 2024, with total bookings up 38% year-over-year to $211.5 million and paid subscribers increasing 47% to 8.6 million. 

Tech Stocks With the Most Momentum

Momentum investing is a strategy aiming to capitalize on pre-existing market trends by focusing on stocks that have outpaced their peers or the broader market on returns. This investment principal holds that stocks on an upward path are likely to continue to outperform, as long as fundamental aspects of the business, industry, or sector do not change.

Momentum investing is a common strategy applied to tech stocks because they regularly experience significant market disruptions. As companies launch new products, announce technological breakthroughs, and gain rapid popularity, investors have the potential to climb on board while these stocks are still ascending.

Here are the tech stocks with the highest total return in the last 12 months.

• Sezzle Inc.: Sezzle is a “buy now, pay later” fintech company offering interest-free installment payment plans online and in select in-store locations. For the third quarter of 2024, the company achieved a 40.6% year-over-year increase in underlying merchant sales to $659.9 million and total revenue growth of 71.3% to $70.0 million.
• Red Cat Holdings, Inc.: Red Cat is a drone technology company specializing in advanced hardware and software for military, government, and commercial use. The company’s first quarter 2025 results highlighted increased global demand for its advanced drone systems and a record backlog of $13 million.
• AppLovin Corporation.: AppLovin offers a robust software platform that enables businesses to reach, monetize, and grow their global audiences within the advertising ecosystem. A key driver of the stock’s performance is the announcement of a $2.3 billion share buyback as part of its third-quarter earnings report.

Advantages of Tech Stocks

Growth potential

Tech stocks, particularly those in emerging areas, are known for experiencing some of the sharpest growth of any publicly traded company. Anticipating this, investors have sought periods in which the sector underperforms to invest heavily, as they expect significant growth over the long term.

But growth among tech stocks can vary dramatically. Many of the larger firms have limited growth potential because their market saturation and capitalization are already very high. Small-cap or penny tech stocks that experience technological breakthroughs or suddenly become incredibly popular may have periods of massive growth. Unusually, some of the biggest names in tech—including Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), Meta Platforms Inc. (META), and Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL)—have continued to grow at significant rates.

Advanced innovation

Tech trends are always changing, with companies aiming to capitalize on the latest technology and to guide and follow developments in innovation. This makes the sector primed for breakthroughs. One of the most recent major trends to sweep the tech sector has been AI-related technologies, which are increasingly integrated into companies across many industries and sectors. To the extent that some tech companies continue to play a role in making this possible, they stand to benefit from the ongoing AI trend.

Disadvantages of Tech Stocks

Fluctuations in the tech sector

Tech stocks are known for their high volatility, where rapid technological changes and competitive pressures can lead to significant price fluctuations. They often carry high valuations based on growth expectations, making them susceptible to market corrections if they fail to meet these projections. Furthermore, regulatory challenges and geopolitical tensions can impact the sector, introducing additional risks and uncertainties for investors.

Trends shift quickly

The sharp gains of many tech firms can prove tempting to investors who may not be well-versed in the technologies themselves. With rapid innovation characterizing the sector, trends and prospects shift very quickly as well. Investors who are unprepared for this pace or who lack knowledge of the fundamental strengths of different tech companies may find themselves following a trend that has already changed.

Advantages

• Growth potential

• Advanced innovation

Disadvantages

• Tech sector turbulence and rich valuations

• Investors may be left behind with rapidly shifting trends

The Bottom Line

The tech sector’s performance in 2024 is poised to be significantly influenced by advancements in AI, which is expected to drive long-term growth. The adoption of AI, along with ongoing digitization and cloud computing, offers promising opportunities, particularly for companies involved in semiconductor production and cloud software services.  However, the macroeconomic environment will also play a key role in determining the sector’s short-term performance, with the potential for volatility depending on interest-rate policies and economic conditions​.

The comments, opinions, and analyses expressed on Investopedia are for informational purposes only. Read our warranty and liability disclaimer for more info.

As of the date this article was written, the author does not own any of the above securities.