2 Brilliant Growth Stocks to Buy Now and Hold for the Long Term

The market is back within sight of record highs, but that doesn't mean every stock is following suit. Plenty of stocks are sinking despite the bigger, broader bullish tide.

Some of these stocks shouldn't be sinking, though. They're due to recover sooner or later, and likely sooner, making their recent weakness a fantastic long-term buying opportunity. Here's a closer look at two of the best growth bets among this bunch.

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Netflix

Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) stock has been losing ground for over a year and is now down nearly 40% from last June's peak. Blame its interest in acquiring most of Warner Bros. Discovery at a steep price, and then ceding to Paramount Skydance to allow for the creation of a tougher competitor. The streaming giant also served up disappointing second-quarter revenue guidance, confirming that its growth is slowing.

Analysts see it, too. They expect last year's top-line growth of 16% to slow to nearly 14% this year, en route to a growth pace of less than 12% next year.

However, the stock's 12-month slide ignores a key detail about the entertainment business. That's the fact that the conventional cable television industry continues to deteriorate, and now the traditional theatrical film business is on the ropes. Recent box-office bombs like Supergirl and disappointing ticket sales for The Mandalorian and Grogu bolster the argument that people would rather enjoy more affordable and convenient movies (and shows) at home. Movie ticket prices within the all-important U.S. market have also now reached an average of about $16 a pop.

Netflix obviously isn't the only name in the streaming business. It's the industry's best-known brand name, though, and as such, it enjoys first-choice access to pitches and partnerships.

SoFi Technologies

It's not exactly a secret why SoFi Technologies (NASDAQ: SOFI) shares are down more than 40% just since their November high. Mobile banking fintech company Chime discontinued its use of SoFi's technological platform to serve its brick-and-mortar bank customers, resulting in a 27%, $28 million year-over-year decline in SoFi's first-quarter platform revenue. For perspective, the company reported total Q1 revenue of $1.1 billion. This year-over-year weakness in its platform business is likely to persist for the next couple of quarters as well.

The market, however, has arguably lost perspective on the matter. Q1's revenue was still up 41% year over year, boosted by the addition of 1.1 million customers, bringing its headcount to 14.7 million. Analysts expect comparable growth for the remainder of this year and next year.

This is still only the beginning for online-only bank SoFi, though. A projection from Precedence Research suggests that the global neobanking (digital-only banking) industry will grow at an average annual rate of 36% through 2035.

As a young name built from the ground up to serve the U.S. slice of this market, SoFi Technologies is well-positioned to capture at least its fair share of this growth.

James Brumley has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.