2 Super Growth Stocks to Buy in Bunches in August

Key Points

• The market could be dramatically undervaluing Amazon's AI-related growth catalysts.

• E-commerce powerhouse Shopify is constantly launching new features and services to stay in growth mode.

• 10 stocks we like better than Amazon ›

2025 is zooming by, and August is rapidly drawing to a close. While the market has experienced some big swings this year in response to macroeconomic developments, geopolitical concerns, and shifting developments around the valuation outlook for artificial intelligence (AI) companies, growth stocks have generally been enjoying strong bullish momentum. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index is up roughly 10% year to date as of this writing.

Broad catalysts could still rattle the market in the near term, but there are also category-leading companies that look primed to deliver big wins for long-term shareholders. Two that a pair of Motley Fool contributing analysts view as top stocks to load up on before August falls off the calendar are Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Shopify (NASDAQ: SHOP).

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Amazon looks poised to be one of AI's biggest winners

Keith Noonan (Amazon): While excitement surrounding artificial intelligence has powered big share price gains for many players in the space this year, Amazon stock has significantly underperformed the broader market. On the heels of recent sell-offs, the tech giant is up just 2% across 2025's trading. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 index has delivered a total return of roughly 10% across that stretch.

Amazon reported its second-quarter results at the end of July, delivering sales and earnings that topped Wall Street analysts' consensus targets. Despite that, its stock sank following the report. While the company's share price has regained some ground since then, general market concerns that valuations for AI stocks could be in a bubble on the verge of bursting have been putting pressure on the tech leader's valuation. So have negative indicators on the inflation and tariff fronts.

While many AI stocks may be overvalued at the moment, I actually think that Amazon's strengths in artificial intelligence have been (and continue to be) significantly underappreciated by the broader market. Many companies with strong positions in AI have seen their valuations skyrocket over the last five years, but Amazon's share price is up by just 37% over the period. For comparison, the S&P 500 has posted a total return of 104% over the same period.

Through its Amazon Web Services (AWS) segment, Amazon continues to command a leading position in the cloud data-center market that is central to the development, launch, and scaling of AI applications and models. AWS should continue to deliver healthy and heavily profitable growth over the long term, and it's likely that positive performance catalysts connected to artificial intelligence are still in the early stages of unfolding for the business.

As exciting as AI growth drivers for AWS are, it's the impact that AI will likely have on Amazon's e-commerce business that the market really seems to be missing. While online retail continues to account for the majority of the company's revenues, it accounts for a relatively small portion of the tech leader's operating profits.

Amazon has built the world's largest e-commerce business and focused on continuing to expand its infrastructure and sales footprints, but the high costs of its warehouse and delivery operations have meant that, despite some gradual improvements, the segment's margins continue to be relatively low. Greater automation of those operations powered by AI and robotics has the potential to dramatically change that picture. These emerging technologies look poised to drive long-term margin improvements that could unlock huge earnings growth and deliver huge wins for shareholders.

2. Shopify is more than just e-commerce

Jennifer Saibil (Shopify): Shopify has been impressing the market with its robust performance, but investors are buying the stock today for its future opportunities. It has demonstrated that it can maintain its dominance as a service provider as e-commerce keeps growing, and that it can pick itself up after a fall. Those are the kinds of attributes that one sees in a stock with long-term potential.

Its second quarter was a blowout, with a 31% increase in revenue and a 21% increase in operating income. Free cash flow rose by 27%, and it delivered a 16% margin.

According to data from the Census Bureau, Shopify's clients have a combined 12% share of the U.S. e-commerce market, and that's expected to increase. Greater e-commerce penetration will offer it organic growth opportunities, but there's so much more. I appreciated this statement from company President Harley Finkelstein: "No matter how good the numbers look, there's always a new frontier in commerce," he said, "and we'll continue to lead the way."

To start, management continues to add services across the business, and Shopify has become a total commerce platform rather than just an e-commerce platform that provides small merchants with an online presence. It offers complete payment processing services for physical stores and a unified platform for omnichannel merchants, including services like order management and data analytics. Some of its newer services include Shop Pay, a one-page checkout for merchants, and a deal with Amazon to offer a checkout option for Prime members and merchants through Shopify stores.

It's also moving upmarket, capturing market share in the medium and large business segments. Today, it calls companies like Allbirds and Crate & Barrel clients, and that's a result of its offering individual components that meet large customers' needs. This continues to be a strong growth driver; Shopify added well-known brands like Canada Goose, Miele, and Starbucks to its client roster in the second quarter.

It also has plenty of market share to capture globally, and European gross merchandise volume increased 42% year over year in the second quarter.

There's a lot to be excited about as Shopify conquers new frontiers. The company should continue to create shareholder value for many years.

Should you invest $1,000 in Amazon right now?

Before you buy stock in Amazon, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Amazon wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $649,657!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,090,993!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,057% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 185% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of August 18, 2025

Jennifer Saibil has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Keith Noonan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Shopify, and Starbucks. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.