Retail stocks live and die by the consumers’ hands. Margins might not be the best but these stocks can grow quickly. Then practice what you’ve learned with our free stock market simulation.
BEST RETAIL STOCKS
ABOUT THE RETAIL STOCK MARKET
Retail stocks live and die by the behavior of consumers. If times are good and the economy is booming, people have more money to spend at retail stores. It’s pretty simple, but this causality does not imply that all retail stocks are the same, it’s actually the opposite. As the economy expands and contracts, all retail stocks are affected. But some retail stocks perform comparatively well in bad times, while others show poor numbers in good times. This is why investing in retail stocks can be tricky. You must compare retail stocks to their competitors to see if they are worth buying.
In general, if the retail industry is doing well as a whole, that is an indicator for the rest of the market that it’s a great time to invest. In a way, the whole system is dictated by consumer sentiment as they dictate retail stock performance, and retail stock performance leads other industries.
RETAIL STOCK TIPS
Retail stocks represent all the stores we visit to buy stuff. So a good way to learn about a retail company before investing is to actually visit their stores. Get a feel for what they sell, is it well priced, packaged and high quality? Other things to note about stores is how well lit they are, where products are placed, how many people are in the store, and how current the merchandise is. A good store means good sales, while an empty store can be the harbinger of doom and there’s no hiding that.
Speaking of sales, there is nothing more important than sales for a retail company. But not just any sales, smart sales. We’re talking how stores perform on a period-to-period basis like year over year for example. If the sales are increasing, that’s good news and you might want to invest. But if the numbers are going down it could mean bigger problems for the company and it might not be the right choice to buy that particular retail stock.
The Best Stock Newsletters as of January 3, 2025
Ranking of Top Stock Newsletters Based on Last 3 Years of Stock Picks
We are paid subscribers to dozens of stock and option newsletters. We actively track every recommendation from all of these services, calculate performance, and share our results of the top performing stock newsletters whose subscriptions fees are under $500. The main metric to look for is "Excess Return" which is their return above that of the S&P500. So, based on January 3, 2025 prices:
| Rank | Stock Newsletter | Stock Picks | Average Return | S&P500 Return | Excess Return | Percent Profitable | Max % Return | Min % Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  Alpha Picks | 64 | 71.7% | 23.9% | 47.8% | 77% | 969% | -47% |
| Summary: 2 picks/month based on Seeking Alpha's Quant Rating; Retail Price is $499/yr. See details in our Alpha Picks Review. | MARCH PROMOTION: Save $50 | |||||||
| 2. |  Value Investor | 39 | 26.8% | 13.9% | 12.8% | 51% | 494% | -41% |
| Summary: 10-25 stock picks per year based on Zacks' Quant Rating; Retail Price is $495/yr. Read our Zacks Review. | MARCH PROMOTION:$1, then $495/yr | |||||||
| 3. | Top 10 | 33 | 21.2% | 8.4% | 12.8% | 52% | 170% | -56% |
| Summary: 10 stock picks released on January 1st of each year based on Zacks' Quant Rating & maybe 1 or 2 changes a year; Retail Price is $495/yr. Read our Zacks Review. | MARCH PROMOTION:$1, then $495/yr | |||||||
| 4. |  Moby.co | 311 | 42.1% | 31.4% | 10.7% | 74% | 1030% | -95% |
| Summary: 60-150 stock picks per year, segmented by industry; Retail Price is $199/yr. Read our Moby Review. | MARCH PROMOTION:Get 1 pick free! | |||||||
| 5. |  Stock Advisor Canada | 36 | 31.8% | 25.3% | 6.5% | 81% | 216% | -68% |
| Summary: 1 pick/month from the Toronto stock exchange; Retail Price is CD$199/yr. Read our Motley Fool Canada Stock Advisor Review. | MARCH Promotion: Get $100 Coupon | |||||||
| 6. | Hidden Gems | 76 | 38.1% | 32.9% | 5.2% | 71% | 258% | -100% |
| Summary: Sold as part of Epic service that includes Hidden Gems, Stock Advisor, Rule Breakers; 5 picks/month; Retail Price is $499/yr. Read our Epic Review. | MARCH Promotion: Get $200 Coupon | |||||||
| 7. |  Action Alerts Plus | 378 | 20.8% | 16.7% | 4.1% | 56% | 220% | -77% |
| Summary: 2100-150 trades per year, lots of buying and selling and short term trades. Read our Jim Cramer Review. | Current Promotion: None | |||||||
| 8. |  TipRanks SmartInvestor | 124 | 10.3% | 7.2% | 3.1% | 60% | 269% | -48% |
| Summary: About 1 pick/week focusing on short term trades; Lifetime average return of 355% vs S&P500's 149% since 2015. Retail Price is $379/yr. Read our TipRanks Review. | Current Promotion: Save $180 | |||||||
| 9. | Rule Breakers | 66 | 36.2% | 35.4% | 0.8% | 65% | 344% | -81% |
| Summary: 2 picks/month focusing on disruptive technology and business models; Lifetime average return of 355% vs S&P500's 149% since 2005; Now part of Motley Fool Epic. Read our Motley Fool Epic Review. | Current Promotion: Save $200 | |||||||
| 10. | Stock Advisor Canada | 71 | 25.2% | 24.8% | 0.5% | 73% | 216% | -93% |
| Summary: 2 pick/month from the TSX and U.S. markets; Retail Price is CD$199/yr. Read our Motley Fool Canada Stock Advisor Review. | MARCH Promotion: Get $100 Coupon | |||||||
| Top Ranking Stock Newsletters based on their 2024, 2023, 2022 stock picks' performance as compared to S&P500. S&P500's return is based on average return of S&P500 from date each stock pick is released. NOTE: To get these results you must buy equal dollar amounts of each pick on the date the stock pick is released. Investor Business Daily Top 50 based on performance of FFTY ETF. Performance as of January 3, 2025. | ||||||||
Build your wealth faster with best stock picks: See our current ranking of the BEST STOCK NEWSLETTERS.
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(before it's too late)