The Dow Jones Industrial Average has a reputation for being a stodgy index. It is made up of 30 large blue chip American companies that offer a wide representation of the American economy. However, many investors have given up on Dow stocks, instead using the Nasdaq or S&P 500 as a more comprehensive index for the overall market.
That said, there is more diversification in the Dow than people may give it credit for. In fact, there are actually a handful of companies with strong growth and momentum within the Dow Index. Here are three Dow stock constituents that are performing admirably as of late.
Microsoft (MSFT)
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is certainly one of the better Dow growth stocks out there.
The company has enjoyed tremendous revenue growth in recent years thanks to its booming Azure cloud business. Additionally, the firm’s rapid moves into artificial intelligence (AI) via partnerships with companies such as OpenAI should help Microsoft’s revenue growth continue for years to come.
There’s a downturn in the tech industry now. However, analysts still see Microsoft growing revenues and earnings this year before returning to double-digit topline revenue growth in 2024.
Microsoft is the perfect sort of Dow growth stock. It is a long-established blue-chip company that absolutely dominates its core operating system and office software market. It offers investors a solid and steadily growing dividend as well. Yet, there’s that appealing growth upside too with cloud, AI, quantum computing and more futuristic technologies.
Salesforce (CRM)
The Dow Jones Index is rebalanced every few years in an effort to keep the index modern and up-to-date. Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) entered the index in 2020 by kicking out Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM).
This ended up being poor timing, as XOM stock has tripled since then, while Salesforce shares fell into a slump. But it appears that Salesforce is back on track now.
Activist investors took aim at CRM last year, saying that the company was spending too much money and didn’t have enough focus on core operations. Since then, Salesforce has made changes such as laying off employees to improve profitability.
CRM stock has now rallied nearly 50% year-to-date. Despite the layoffs and downturn in the broader industry, Salesforce continues to grow revenues and earnings at a double-digit rate.
Ultimately, the need for sales and communications software isn’t going anywhere despite the current slowdown in the tech industry. CRM stock has strong momentum now, but is still selling far below its peak 2021 price. This leaves further upside for this leading high-growth stock.
McDonald’s (MCD)
McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) is probably not the first name that comes to mind when you think of Dow growth stocks. However, the Golden Arches have sizzling momentum right now. Shares have been up nearly every day over the past month and just notched new all-time highs. Despite the bear market, MCD stock is up double-digits over the past year.
What explains McDonald’s gravity-defying recent run? The company benefits from two key macroeconomic factors right now.
The first of these is that McDonald’s owns a lot of its real estate. In fact, some folks joke that McDonald’s is a real estate company with a side business in flipping hamburgers. Given the surge in inflation, land prices and rent are soaring. This makes the value of McDonald’s real estate higher, while saddling the competition with heavier costs since they rent store locations from landlords. A win-win for McDonald’s.
The second factor is the inflationary pressure on people’s budgets. In a time like this, folks have to make some sacrifices to balance their budgets. While McDonald’s may not be most people’s idea of a leading culinary experience, its food can fill people up at a reasonable price. That’s more valuable than ever in today’s economy. All this adds up to a MCD stock which has become a surprisingly strong momentum leader in recent weeks.
On the date of publication, Ian Bezek held a long position in XOM and CRM stock. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
