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Every week, host and Zacks stock strategist, Tracey Ryniec, will be joined by guests to discuss the hottest investing topics in stocks, bonds, and ETFs and how it impacts your life.

This week, Tracey is going solo to talk about lottery stocks.

What are Lottery Stocks?

They are stocks that if you put a small amount of money in 5, 10, or 20 years ago, you would be up 1,000% or more. They are stocks that are like winning the lottery because their returns are so amazing.

Tesla is a lottery stock. Some investors have become Tesla millionaires in the last few years.

In the March 2022 issue of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine, James Glassman, in 5 Stocks to Own for Decades, discusses the concept of long-term investing and finding the “golden 6%” of stocks that outperform the indexes.

This is similar to the concept of lottery stocks.

It’s not easy to find a lottery stock. These stocks are a small percentage of the overall market. They are rare.

How To Find a Lottery Stock

Given how lucrative they can be, it’s not surprising that there is no way to screen for lottery stocks. Investors are trying to determine the future, which hasn’t happened yet.

But here are some tips.

1.     Look for companies with multi-year track records of growth

2.     Look for companies that dominate their industry

3.     Are they a global player?

Looking back, it seems obvious that some companies could be lottery stocks. Take Alphabet (GOOGL - Free Report), for instance.

For years, Tracey used to remark every quarter that she couldn’t believe Alphabet was still growing revenue by 20%. Alphabet was a beast, with a moat. It dominated the internet advertising industry.

Alphabet shares have gained about 5,000% since its IPO.

But you don’t have to get into a lottery stock at the IPO, or even the early innings. Alphabet shares have gained another 223% in the last 5 years. Tracey now owns it in her own personal portfolio.

What other stocks have the features of lottery stocks?

3 Lottery Stocks with Strong Growth

1.       Intuitive Surgical (ISRG - Free Report)

Intuitive Surgical manufactures and markets the da Vinci surgical system. Shares are up over 16,000% since 2000.

Over the last 2 years, Intuitive Surgical has gained another 43%, but shares have fallen 20% in 2022.

The coronavirus pandemic has hit the company’s growth the last 2 years and is expected to do so in 2022 as well. However, revenue is still expected to rise 11% in 2022 and another 13% in 2023.

Intuitive Surgical has been a lottery stock for over 20 years. Will it keep being so in the future?

2.       The Estee Lauder Companies (EL - Free Report)

Estee Lauder is one of the largest beauty companies in the world. Since it went public in 1995, the shares have gained almost 4000%.

Shares of Estee Lauder have been big winners over the last 5 years, gaining 261% in that time.

But in 2022, Estee Lauder has fallen 20%.

Revenue is expected to grow 15% in fiscal 2022 and another 8.7% in fiscal 2023.

Is this 2022 weakness a buying opportunity in this beauty powerhouse?

3.       Costco (COST - Free Report)

Costco has been one of the top American retailers for years. Since 1986, its shares are up over 6,000%.

In the last year, Costco shares have gained 61%, outperforming the NASDAQ which gained 44%.

Revenue is expected to rise 11.6% in fiscal 2022 and another 7.6% in fiscal 2023.

Costco just keeps growing year after year, even when you think it cannot grow anymore.

Costco shares have fallen 17% in 2022. Is this a buying opportunity in this retail giant?