Investing $13,000 in These 3 Stocks in 2020 Would Have Made You a Millionaire Today

There's no one strategy and approach when it comes to investing. While many professionals will say that going with index funds is the best way to grow your portfolio, that can take significant time -- decades in many cases -- to truly grow your portfolio to a significant sum of money.

You can also invest in many types of growth stocks, which may possess some risk, but can also potentially generate more significant returns in a shorter time frame. Three stocks that have performed exceptionally well since the start of the decade include Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA), Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), and Celsius Holdings (NASDAQ: CELH). By investing $13,000 into each of these stocks, you'd be up over to over $1 million right now.

Here's how much they've grown since 2020, and how much a $13,000 investment in these stocks would be worth today (at the time of this writing).

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1. Tesla: $204,000

Shares of Tesla have soared around 1,500% since the start of the decade, and would have turned a $13,000 investment into roughly $204,000 right now. Back then, Tesla was a much riskier-looking stock than it is today. It finished 2019 with a net loss of $862 million. It was an improvement from the $976 million loss from the previous year, but it was nonetheless still a highly unprofitable business at the time.

Fast-forward to today, and Tesla has proved many of its doubters wrong. Over the past four quarters, the company has reported just under $5.1 billion in profit, and that's with the company fighting off intense competition and margin pressures. Back in 2023, its profit was an incredible $15 billion.

The main problem with Tesla's stock these days is valuation. The stock trades at more than 300 times its trailing earnings, and with a valuation of around $1.5 trillion, it's one of the most valuable companies in the world. It's not likely to generate massive returns, given its high price tag today, but if you're a believer in the company's vision of developing robots in the future, it may still be a good buy, but it does come with risk.

2. Nvidia: $412,000

Chipmaker Nvidia is the most valuable company in the world, with its market cap hovering around $4.5 trillion. The company needs no introduction for anyone who's been following artificial intelligence (AI) stocks in recent years. Its AI chips are the key ingredients in the development of next-gen models, chatbots, and other products and services.

Nvidia's stock has soared more than 3,000% in a little over six years, and it would have turned a $13,000 investment back then into $412,000 today. The bulk of its growth took place within the past few years amid the growing excitement around chatbots and all things related to AI.

Just a few years ago, in its 2023 fiscal year (which ended on Jan. 29, 2023), its net income was $4.4 billion. Meanwhile, over the past 12 months, the company's profits are now a little short of $100 billion. It's been a mammoth transformation for both Nvidia's stock, and its business. That's why even though its market cap is so high, it still trades at a fairly reasonable forward price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 24, and it could remain a good long-term buy.

3. Celsius Holdings: $439,000

The only stock on this list that isn't part of the trillion-dollar club is beverage company Celsius Holdings. Its market cap is just $14 billion. Back in 2020, however, it started the year with a valuation of around $220 million.

The company was still in the early innings of its supercharged growth, with its energy drinks surging in popularity since then. From $75 million in revenue in 2019 to the company now generating more than $2 billion on an annual basis, Celsius has been a tremendous growth stock to own over the past six years. The company acquired Alani Nu last year and has a strong distribution partnership with beverage giant PepsiCo. Its forward P/E of 37 isn't cheap, but this could also be a good buy for the long run.

Since 2020, shares of Celsius have risen by around 3,300%, and a $13,000 investment would be now worth approximately $439,000. When combined with the other stocks on this list, the total value of all these holdings would now be worth over $1 million. It should serve as a reminder of why going with growth stocks -- even established ones -- could be a worthwhile move for investors who are willing to buy and hold.

David Jagielski, CPA has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Celsius, Nvidia, and Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.