Three Stock Opportunities Worth $500 Right Now: Best Stocks to Buy for Long-Term Growth

If you’re looking for the best stocks to buy right now with $500 in capital, you’ve got plenty of options. The market offers numerous investment opportunities, particularly among companies positioned for substantial long-term expansion. Rather than chasing every trend, it makes sense to focus on three standout businesses that combine strong fundamentals with significant runway for future growth: Dutch Bros, SoFi Technologies, and MercadoLibre.

These companies each address large, developing markets with clear pathways to expansion. They’re not just interesting stories—they’re backed by solid financial metrics and clear competitive advantages. Let’s examine why each deserves consideration for your investment portfolio.

Dutch Bros: Massive Store Expansion on the Horizon

Dutch Bros operates as an emerging coffee retail chain with an intriguing growth trajectory. The company currently operates just over 1,000 locations across the United States—a remarkable achievement considering it had only half that number at its public debut approximately four years ago. Management’s vision goes even further: the company sees a potential pathway to 7,000 stores, suggesting a potential sevenfold expansion opportunity.

Beyond raw store count, Dutch Bros is demonstrating healthy underlying business momentum. Same-store sales climbed 5.7% year-over-year during the 2025 third quarter, indicating that individual locations are performing well even as the chain expands its footprint. The company continues to innovate on multiple fronts. Its recent rollout of mobile ordering across the entire store network feeds directly into its membership program, strengthening customer loyalty. Simultaneously, Dutch Bros distinguishes itself through an exclusive beverage menu and a developing food offering that complements its core coffee products.

For shareholders, the combination of rapid expansion with improving unit economics presents a compelling long-term narrative. The stock has characteristics of a best stocks to buy for those seeking exposure to retail growth with operational discipline.

SoFi Technologies: Breaking Customer Records Signals Rapid Traction

SoFi represents a different growth model: a digital-first banking platform capturing market share from traditional financial institutions. The metrics tell a compelling story. The company set a new quarterly record for customer additions in Q3 2025, bringing in 905,000 new customers. This sustained acceleration matters because it demonstrates product-market fit and the ability to scale efficiently.

Financial performance is accelerating alongside this customer growth. Adjusted net revenue surged 38% year-over-year in the third quarter, while earnings per share expanded from $0.05 to $0.11—more than doubling. These aren’t vanity metrics; they reflect genuine operational leverage as the platform gains scale.

Customers are drawn to SoFi’s all-digital infrastructure and competitive value proposition. The platform features low fees paired with competitive deposit rates, and it aggregates a comprehensive product suite—from traditional banking to cryptocurrency trading—accessible entirely through its mobile app. An upcoming feature—global remittances powered by blockchain technology—expands its addressable market further.

As SoFi accumulates customers and deposits, it’s climbing the rankings among U.S. banks. Management explicitly targets a position in the top 10 largest U.S. banks. For investors seeking exposure to fintech disruption and digital banking adoption, SoFi stands out among best stocks to buy today.

MercadoLibre: Tapping Into an Underpenetrated Market

MercadoLibre operates in a different geographic context but presents perhaps the most tantalizing growth opportunity of the three. While largely unknown in North America, the company dominates e-commerce across Latin America as the region’s largest platform of its kind.

The real story is market development potential. Latin America remains significantly underpenetrated in both e-commerce and fintech—MercadoLibre’s two core business segments. This gap creates a substantial runway for market share gains and platform expansion. The financial results reflect this opportunity: total revenue expanded 49% year-over-year (measured on a currency-neutral basis) in Q3 2025, with gross merchandise volume jumping 35% and total payment volume climbing 54%.

These growth rates are characteristic of MercadoLibre’s operating model. Notably, despite rapid expansion, the company maintains profitability discipline—operating margins stood at 9.8%. As the company continues developing its markets and refining its value proposition, shareholder value should follow.

While a $500 investment will only secure a fractional share in MercadoLibre, gaining exposure to a company executing at this scale in an emerging market represents a meaningful opportunity. The company exemplifies best stocks to buy for growth-oriented investors with conviction in long-term emerging market adoption.

Why These Three Stand Out

Each of these companies represents a different growth vector. Dutch Bros targets geographic expansion in a developed market. SoFi aims to disrupt banking through technology and scale. MercadoLibre pursues market penetration in an emerging region with structural tailwinds.

What unites them is a combination of expanding addressable markets, improving unit economics, and management execution. None are speculative bets on unproven concepts—each has demonstrated traction with concrete financial metrics supporting their narrative.

For an investor with $500, concentrating capital in one or distributing across multiple companies depends on risk tolerance and conviction. Regardless of approach, these opportunities merit serious consideration among today’s best stocks to buy. The next several years will likely determine whether these companies deliver outsized returns, but the foundation for significant value creation appears solid across all three.