The Ultimate Growth Stock to Buy With $1,000 Right Now

While the broader stock market has pulled back from its highs, one sector that has been particularly hard hit is the consumer discretionary space. That's why this is a great area to pick up some growth stocks that are well off their highs.

Perhaps the ultimate consumer growth stock to buy right now is coffee-shop operator Dutch Bros (NYSE: BROS). Given the uncertainty in the market right now, you might prefer to start a position with a smaller amount, like $1,000, and then add more if the market continues to trend lower. That said, let's see why Dutch Bros looks like a great growth stock to buy for the long haul.

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Same-store sales drivers

As tariffs have led to increased prices in the U.S., there have been signs of consumer softness, with the quick-service and fast-casual segments of the restaurant industry among the hardest-hit. However, one restaurant operator that hasn't seen a big impact on its sales is Dutch Bros. In the third quarter, the company saw its same-store sales climb 5.7%, with comparable-store transactions rising by 4.7%. Company-owned shops performed even better, with comparable restaurant sales up 7.4% on a 6.8% increase in transactions.

Dutch Bros' growth is being driven by its line-up of innovative coffee and energy drink concoctions, as well as an increase in paid advertising, which is bringing in more customers and improving its brand awareness. The introduction of order-ahead mobile ordering is also helping drive growth. In Q3, order-ahead transactions made up 13% of its total, up from 11.5% in Q2, while for some newer markets the rate is even higher.

However, Dutch Bros has another big same-store driver on the horizon. It has been testing out hot breakfast items at select locations, and it's now set to begin rolling out its new food menu to the three-quarters of its store base that can support these offerings. Food has made up less than 2% of its sales, compared to around 20% for rival Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX), so this is a big opportunity.

The company has acknowledged that by not having hot food items, it has missed out on sales during the breakfast part of the day from people who don't want to make two stops. So this should help boost sales not only from the sales of additional items, but also by bringing in more traffic. At its initial test stores, Dutch Bros saw a 4% lift to its comps. It's not hard to imagine the impact could become even greater when its offerings are fully rolled out, and it starts marketing food-menu items.

Expansion opportunities

What's even more exciting about Dutch Bros is the long expansion opportunity still ahead. It currently operates fewer than 1,100 shops, most of which are in the western half of the U.S. However, it's been expanding eastward and is looking to become a national brand.

The company plans to open at least 160 new shops in 2026, for growth of 16%. It plans to nearly double its number of locations by 2029, with a goal of over 2,000 stores. Over the long term, it thinks it can support around 7,000 locations. While that sounds like a lot, it's less than half of the 17,000 locations that Starbucks has in the U.S. alone.

The nice thing about Dutch Bros' build-out is that its shops are small -- typically only around 800 to 1,000 square feet -- with two drive-thru windows, a walk-up window, and no indoor seating. This keeps construction costs low. However, with average unit volume (AUV) above $2 million, its store-level returns are high. Meanwhile, the expansion is being supported by its strong operating cash flow, and the company is free-cash-flow-positive.

With a current forward price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 3.4 based on 2026 estimates, Dutch Bros is actually trading at a valuation similar to one that Starbucks has had a couple of times in the past few years, even though the smaller company has a much larger growth opportunity. That makes Dutch Bros a growth stock to buy.

Geoffrey Seiler has positions in Dutch Bros. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Starbucks. The Motley Fool recommends Dutch Bros. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.