The predominant investment theme throughout 2025 has been the exceptionally rapid development and buildout of artificial intelligence, and growth stocks have been the main beneficiary.

However, as valuations rose too far above our fair values, momentum faded this fall as investors began to rotate into better opportunities in the value category.

What does this mean for growth stocks?

“While the broad growth category trades at a premium, we continue to see idiosyncratic opportunities, although they have become fewer and farther between,” says Morningstar Chief US Market Strategist Dave Sekera.

Our best growth stocks to buy for the long term share a few qualities:

  • They land in the growth portion of the Morningstar Style Box.
  • The stocks are from companies included on Morningstar’s list of the Best Companies to Own for 2025. Companies on this list have wide Morningstar Economic Moat Ratings and predictable cash flows, and they are run by management teams that make smart capital-allocation decisions.
  • They look reasonably priced, which means they’re trading below or near Morningstar’s fair value estimates.

10 best US growth stocks to buy for the long term

The 10 most undervalued growth stocks from Morningstar’s Best Companies to Own list as of Sept. 18, 2025, were:

  1. Copart CPRT
  2. Tyler Technologies TYL
  3. Chipotle Mexican Grill CMG
  4. SAP SAP
  5. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing TSM
  6. BAE Systems BAESY
  7. Tradeweb Markets TW
  8. Experian EXPGY
  9. InterContinental Hotels Group IHG
  10. Autodesk ADSK

Here’s a little bit about each of these growth stocks for the long term. Data is as of Sept. 18.

Copart

  • Price/Fair Value: 0.80
  • Morningstar Uncertainty Rating: Medium
  • Morningstar Style Box: Mid-Growth
  • Morningstar Capital Allocation Rating: Standard
  • Industry: Specialty Business Services

Copart is the most undervalued on our list of best growth stocks to buy. The firm has grown into the largest online salvage vehicle auction operator in the United States. Copart receives the majority of its vehicle volume through contracts with large auto insurers and sells them on consignment for high margins, often to dismantlers. The company has expanded its top line nearly fivefold since 2009 owing to a combination of significant land expansion and robust service quality to drive higher salvage vehicle volume, observes Morningstar senior analyst David Whiston.Copart stock is trading 20% below our fair value estimate of $57 per share.

Tyler Technologies

  • Price/Fair Value: 0.82
  • Morningstar Uncertainty Rating: Medium
  • Morningstar Style Box: Mid-Growth
  • Morningstar Capital Allocation Rating: Standard
  • Industry: Software—Application

Tyler Technologies is the clear leader in the underserved niche market of government operational software, argues Morningstar senior analyst Dan Romanoff. Tyler addresses the needs of cities, counties, schools, courts, and other local government entities. We see the firm’s expanding portfolio as driving larger deals that encompass more solutions. It has established enough of a reputation in the market that it is called upon in most relevant government system searches. Further, Tyler benefits from a fragmented market that includes companies that are nowhere near its size or scale and that are focused on the local public institution market. Tyler Technologies stock trades 18% below our $650 fair value estimate.

Chipotle Mexican Grill

  • Price/Fair Value: 0.87
  • Morningstar Uncertainty Rating: Medium
  • Morningstar Style Box: Mid-Growth
  • Morningstar Capital Allocation Rating: Exemplary
  • Industry: Restaurants

Chipotle Mexican Grill is new to our list of best growth stocks to buy. With a $46 fair value estimate, the company has carved out a durable niche in the US restaurant landscape, says Morningstar analyst Dan Su. With competitive menu prices, extreme convenience, and “food with integrity” allowing it to lure customers away from both casual dining and traditional fast-food competitors. Strong returns on investment, like Chipotle’s loyalty program that has attracted 40 million members, drive our high-single-digit annual growth estimates. Chipotle stock is trading at a 13% discount to our fair value estimate.

SAP

  • Price/Fair Value: 0.87
  • Morningstar Uncertainty Rating: Medium
  • Morningstar Style Box: Large Growth
  • Morningstar Capital Allocation Rating: Standard
  • Industry: Software—Application

With well-known products like Concur and Ariba, software application company SAP is the world’s largest provider of enterprise application software and the global market leader in enterprise resource planning software. Morningstar senior analyst Rob Hales expects low to midteens revenue growth in the near and midterm, driven by the firm’s core cloud ERP offerings, Rise with SAP and Grow with SAP. Shares of SAP stock are trading 13% below our fair value estimate of $311.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

  • Price/Fair Value: 0.88
  • Morningstar Uncertainty Rating: Medium
  • Morningstar Style Box: Large Growth
  • Morningstar Capital Allocation Rating: Standard
  • Industry: Semiconductors

Taiwan Semiconductor is the world’s largest dedicated contract chip manufacturer, with over 60% market share in 2024. Like all foundries, it assumes the costs and capital expenditures of running factories amid a highly cyclical market for its customers. Morningstar analyst Phelix Lee notes two long-term growth factors for the company: First, the consolidation of semiconductor firms is expected to create demand for integrated systems made with the most advanced nodes. Second, the organic growth of artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and high-performance computing applications may last for decades. Taiwan Semiconductor stock trades 12% below our fair value estimate of $306 per share.

BAE Systems

  • Price/Fair Value: 0.88
  • Morningstar Uncertainty Rating: Medium
  • Morningstar Style Box: Large Growth
  • Morningstar Capital Allocation Rating: Standard
  • Industry: Aerospace and Defense

BAE Systems is next on our list of best growth stocks. BAE is a British global defense, security, and aerospace company and the largest defense contractor in Europe; it is one of six prime contractors for the US Department of Defense. Escalating global security concerns, intensified by the Ukraine conflict, are driving structurally higher growth in the defense market. BAE is strategically positioned to benefit, given its significant stakes in a broad array of major international defense projects, says Morningstar analyst Loredana Muharremi. BAE Systems stock trades 12% below our $121 fair value estimate.

Tradeweb Markets

  • Price/Fair Value: 0.95
  • Morningstar Uncertainty Rating: Medium
  • Morningstar Style Box: Mid-Growth
  • Morningstar Capital Allocation Rating: Exemplary
  • Industry: Capital Markets

New to our list of best growth stocks to buy is Tradeweb Markets, which operates one of the leading platforms for the electronic trading of fixed-income products and derivatives. Tradeweb operates on a broader scope than most of its competitors, offering trading of almost anything related to fixed income. The firm has benefited from a global shift toward electronic trading platforms, and it has taken meaningful market share in the bond and derivative markets. Morningstar analyst Michael Miller sees a long runway of growth ahead of Tradeweb as the transition to electronic trading networks continues. Tradeweb stock is trading just below its fair value estimate of $118 per share.

Experian

  • Price/Fair Value: 0.97
  • Morningstar Uncertainty Rating: Medium
  • Morningstar Style Box: Large Growth
  • Morningstar Capital Allocation Rating: Standard
  • Industry: Consulting Services

Experian is one of the Big Three credit bureaus in the United States. Experian’s US core credit bureau business is relatively mature, so the company has been expanding through adjacent products and in emerging markets, observes Morningstar analyst Rajiv Bhatia. He thinks the growth of middle-class populations in emerging markets and favorable regulatory changes will drive long-term growth. However, the story in the emerging markets is not seamless, and Experian has faced currency and macroeconomic headwinds. Experian stock trades just below our fair value estimate of $54 per share.

InterContinental Hotels Group

  • Price/Fair Value: 0.98
  • Morningstar Uncertainty Rating: Medium
  • Morningstar Style Box: Large Growth
  • Morningstar Capital Allocation Rating: Standard
  • Industry: Lodging

InterContinental Hotels Group has a suite of newer brands focused on midscale and extended-stay lodging. With a loyalty program of 145 million members, Morningstar senior analyst Dan Wasiolek thinks InterContinental has one of the strongest brands in the industry. A large presence in international markets strengthens its position. We see its total room growth averaging more than 3% over the next decade, above the 1%-2% supply increase we estimate for the US industry. InterContinental stock trades around our fair value estimate of $120.

Autodesk

  • Price/Fair Value: 1.01
  • Morningstar Uncertainty Rating: Medium
  • Morningstar Style Box: Mid-Growth
  • Morningstar Capital Allocation Rating: Exemplary
  • Industry: Software—Application

Autodesk rejoins and rounds out our list of best growth stocks to buy. We view the firm as the global industry standard computer-aided design software, says Morningstar director Eric Compton, and we think the firm will stay at the forefront of industry trends. Over 95% of Autodesk’s revenue is now recurring after the company gradually transitioned from licenses over the past eight years. The change enables Autodesk to extract greater revenue per user as it upsells its loyal and increasingly maturing base, adds Compton. The company has nurtured a long-standing network effect via relationships with higher-education programs that expose industry professionals to the software before they enter the workforce. Autodesk stock is fairly valued relative to our $320 fair value estimate.

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Terms used in this article

Star Rating: Our one- to five-star ratings are guideposts to a broad audience and individuals must consider their own specific investment goals, risk tolerance, and several other factors. A five-star rating means our analysts think the current market price likely represents an excessively pessimistic outlook and that beyond fair risk-adjusted returns are likely over a long timeframe. A one-star rating means our analysts think the market is pricing in an excessively optimistic outlook, limiting upside potential and leaving the investor exposed to capital loss.

Fair Value: Morningstar’s Fair Value estimate results from a detailed projection of a company’s future cash flows, resulting from our analysts’ independent primary research. Price To Fair Value measures the current market price against estimated Fair Value. If a company’s stock trades at $100 and our analysts believe it is worth $200, the price to fair value ratio would be 0.5. A Price to Fair Value over 1 suggests the share is overvalued.

Moat Rating: An economic moat is a structural feature that allows a firm to sustain excess profits over a long period. Companies with a narrow moat are those we believe are more likely than not to sustain excess returns for at least a decade. For wide-moat companies, we have high confidence that excess returns will persist for 10 years and are likely to persist at least 20 years. To learn about finding different sources of moat, read this article by Mark LaMonica.