Looking for stocks to buy as the summer heats up? You’ve come to the right place because The Twelfth Magpie is full of ideas. Here are a pair of high-quality growth shares that I reckon are worth running the rule over in July.
AI disruption… really?
Legendary investor Peter Lynch advised people to invest in what they know. The idea here is that because customers know a product or service intimately, they have insights that others don’t.
With this in mind, I think Booking Holdings (NASDAQ:BKNG) looks attractive right now. This is the world’s leading online travel agency, with over 1.2bn room nights booked across its platforms last year. That was up 8% year on year.
I was a tiny part of that number, as I’ve been a loyal customer for a long time. So when I see the stock down 23% since last summer because investors worry AI might make the platform less relevant, I think to myself, ‘Really?’
Because the numbers remain very solid. In Q1, gross bookings grew 15%, or around 8% on a constant currency (CC) basis. Revenue was up 16% (10% CC) to $5.5bn, while room nights grew 6% despite a 2% hit from the Middle East conflict.
Admittedly, the company guided for a slowdown in Q2 — just 4%-6% growth in both gross bookings and revenue. However, this is due to the Iran war and disruptions in Middle Eastern inbound, outbound, and intra-region routes, rather than AI disruption.
And while management warns about inflationary pressures potentially hitting travel demand, it remained confident in April that business would pick up sharply in the second half. Booking expects high-single-digit revenue growth for the full year.
Looking further ahead, I expect Booking to maintain its leadership position, supported by its popular reward programme. It handles payments, refunds, and customer support, which AI agents are likely years away from doing reliably.
Right now, investors can pick up shares at just 17 times forward earnings, a significant discount. It’s worth noting that the super-profitable firm is also buying back shares aggressively, which should fuel strong future earnings per share growth.
Fitness boom
Sticking with Lynch’s invest-in-what-you-know philosophy, I want to flag Applied Nutrition (LSE:APN). This is an ambitious FTSE 250 company aiming to become the world’s most trusted and innovative sports nutrition, health and wellness brand.
The firm has been making solid progress towards that ambition, with multiple upgrades to full-year guidance. For FY26, which ends in July, revenue is expected to reach around £150m, up from £107m in FY25. That would represent 40% growth!
On top of this, Applied Nutrition’s profitable, boasting an impressive 27% operating margin.
The biggest risk here is high customer concentration in the shape of me! I just can’t get enough of its premium products, including ISO-XP whey protein isolate and the best-selling ABE pre-workout energy drink.
Observation aside, this is a competitive global market, so it isn’t guaranteed the firm will become a global leader. A marked slowdown in growth could hurt sentiment for the stock, which is up 30% in a month.
That said, the firm’s market-cap is only £774m, and it’s operating in a massive £250bn global market that’s growing due to the health and fitness boom.
I reckon the stock’s one to think about.
Should you invest £5,000 in Booking Holdings right now?
When investing expert Mark Rogers and his team have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Twelfth Magpie Share Advisor newsletter he has run for nearly a decade has provided thousands of paying members with top stock recommendations from the UK and US markets.
And right now, Mark thinks there are 6 standout stocks that investors should consider buying. Want to see if Booking Holdings made the list?
Ben McPoland owns shares in Applied Nutrition.
