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Starbucks’ recent woes are largely due to waning relevance, but one coffee shop in particular is poised to capitalize on this cultural shift.
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The Latin American Amazon has been unpopular lately. But to get long-term returns like Amazon, you have to suffer short-term pain like Amazon.
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Netflix’s place as a dominant name in the streaming business makes it an excellent stock pick.
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10 stocks we like better than Dutch Bros ›
With the broader market still trading at frothy levels following its 35% rise from the April low, it’s hard to get too excited about buying almost anything right now. Most stocks here are uncomfortably expensive.
However, not all actions. A handful of attractive prospects have underperformed lately, translating into long-term buying opportunities.
Here are my three picks from that litter.
For three decades, starbucks has dominated the country’s coffee scene; It has also done quite well abroad. And rightly so. The company offered a familiar premium coffee experience in each of its locations, delivering what consumers wanted most at that time.
However, times are changing. So are consumer tastes. This elegant and refined experience is becoming less and less marketable. People want something more casual, personal and convenient.
that’s what dutch brothers (NYSE: BROS) offers. In many ways, it’s what Starbucks is not: There are no open stores among its 1,043 locations. The company only operates self-service kiosks, where customers can enjoy a personal conversation with employees; Their baristas are called “broistas” for a reason.
And it works. Millennial and Gen Z consumers crave this kind of casual authenticity, to the point that Dutch Bros has been able to double the number of stores in the last four years. This too is just the beginning.
With former Starbucks executive Christine Barone now at the helm as CEO, the company recently increased its long-term goal of having 4,000 locations to 7,000. It will take many years to achieve that goal. However, it is possible, and even likely, given the generational differences that are driving demand for its drive-thru beverage service.
For perspective, Starbucks currently operates about 18,300 domestic stores, but is closing hundreds of them. This retreat is not only a sign that rivals are undermining the titan’s dominance, but it is also an excellent opportunity for Dutch Bros to fill the void that Starbucks’ closures are now creating.
MercadoLibre (NASDAQ: MELI) It is often known as the Amazon of Latin America, and it is understandable. However, the description does not do the company justice.
It doesn’t enjoy the same share of Latin America’s highly fragmented e-commerce market as Amazon does in North America, but MercadoLibre is the dominant e-commerce name in the region largely due to its sheer breadth and depth.
Online shopping, payment processing, physical retail logistics, and more are in your wheelhouse. It even recently acquired a brick-and-mortar pharmacy, doubling down on its fledgling online pharmacy business that looks a lot like Amazon’s PillPack. The ultimate goal is also the same as Amazon’s: to establish another point of contact with consumers that can then be leveraged to create a more fruitful relationship.
Its shares haven’t performed particularly well lately. Shares are down 15% since the end of last month, despite second-quarter sales growth of 34% to $6.8 billion extending well-established growth trends.
Concerns about international trade friction and improving competition explain most of the recent weakness, although shares have been vulnerable since August, when the company reported unexpectedly high costs stemming from free shipping offered to more Brazilian online shoppers.
That ultimately caused the company to miss its second-quarter earnings estimates. Investors may fear that this could become the new normal, taking a similar toll on their bottom line as the expansion of Amazon Prime’s free shipping took on their profitability.
However, that wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing. Given how dominant Amazon has become thanks to Prime’s free shipping benefits, that could be precisely what MercadoLibre shareholders want it to continue doing.
Still, analysts are optimistic. The vast majority of them currently view the stock as a Strong Buy, with a consensus target of $2,896.83, 35% above the current price.
Lastly, I’m adding the streaming giant netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) to my list of favorite stocks to buy right now.
The streaming industry’s biggest growth days are in the rearview mirror. I maintain that the main reason Netflix and many other streaming services stopped reporting subscriber numbers is because they know their growth is slowing, if not completely stopped. That’s why I don’t expect sustained double-digit growth from this company in the distant future, even as it improves cultivation of its advertising business.
However, what Netflix lacks in raw long-term growth power it more than makes up for in sheer dominance of its industry.
Nielsen ratings show that, as of last month, Netflix accounted for 8.3% of all viewing time among U.S. streaming services, nearly double that of its closest competitor. walt disney (and the Disney figure combines Hulu and Disney+).
The only streaming platform that is watched more in the US is YouTube, but being primarily supported by advertising, it’s not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison. Or, as recent data from Pew Research suggests, of the 83% of Americans who subscribe to any streaming service, a market-leading 72% are likely to have access to Netflix, and then something else, surpassing Prime’s share of 67%.
Netflix isn’t as dominant outside of North America, but it was still doing quite well abroad before it stopped reporting subscriber numbers earlier this year.
And this dominance of the business is a big deal even if the growth of the industry itself tends to slow down from here. It allows Netflix to forge the package partnerships it wants and on its own terms; Its competitors need Netflix more than Netflix needs its competitors.
This dominance also allows Netflix to set the standard for the ad-supported streaming portion of the business. Wedbush media analyst Alicia Reese recently wrote: “As Netflix continues to improve its advertising business by expanding partnerships, improving targeting and adding more live content, its goal of doubling ad revenue this year is fully achievable. More importantly, we expect ad revenue to become Netflix’s primary revenue driver starting in 2026.”
The company is also a cash cow that has been quietly generating value for shareholders through share buybacks since 2021.
Conclusion? If you invest in quality companies, everything ends up taking care of itself. Even if Netflix isn’t going to remain a high-growth business forever, it’s definitely a quality company with true durability. The stock’s recent weakness is a window of opportunity that likely won’t stay open for much longer.
Before you buy shares in Dutch Bros, consider this:
He Varied and Dumb Stock Advisor The analyst team has just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Dutch Bros was not one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
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*Stock Advisor returns from October 20, 2025
James Brumley has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions and recommends Amazon, MercadoLibre, Netflix, Starbucks and Walt Disney. The Motley Fool recommends Dutch Bros. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
My 3 Favorite Stocks to Buy Right Now was originally published by The Motley Fool
