The past year has been difficult in many ways. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has put an end to normal social habits and has completely transformed the way we work and buy goods. Meanwhile, from an investment perspective, stocks have had a historically wild ride. Although patient investors likely ended the year higher, it was anything but a typical year.

If there was any consistency on the investment front in 2020, it is that innovative branded companies have generally outperformed the market as a whole. As we enter a new year, the following four companies stand out as easy-to-buy stocks.

Pinterest

In the social media space, most investors flock to Facebook. But to come Pinterest (NYSE: PINS) should offer a sustained higher growth rate and potentially more impressive return potential in 2021.

Pinterest was already increasing its monthly number of active users by an annual average of 30% between 2017 and 2019. It has accelerated further since the COVID-19 pandemic struck. As people are stuck at home and Facebook suffers a temporary ad boycott over the summer, Pinterest has clearly benefited.

In particular, the company was gain most of its new users in foreign markets. While these users tend to generate much lower ad revenue for Pinterest than US users, there is incredible built-in potential to double that average revenue per user in international markets several times over this decade.

Pinterest also happens to be the perfect platform to connect motivated consumers to small businesses. At the end of September, the platform Pinterest had 442 million monthly active users who were happy to share their interests. Pinterest simply has to give marketers the tools they need to be successful.

NextEra Energy

The utilities sector is filled with defensive income stocks that are slow growing, have leverage, and are usually only noticeable when the stock market is having a bad day. however, electric utility stock NextEra Energy (NYSE: NEE) is not like most of his peers.

NextEra, which has generated a positive total return for its shareholders in each of the past 12 years, sets itself apart by focusing on renewables. No US utility currently generates more capacity from solar or wind power. NextEra has aggressively allocated $ 50-55 billion to tackle infrastructure projects through 2022, the vast majority of which involves adding renewable capacity. Looking a bit longer, the company also plans to install 30 million solar panels in Florida by 2030 to increase its production capacity by an additional 10,000 megawatts.

Although these projects are expensive, they have resulted in a tangible reduction in the costs of electricity production. These lower costs have propelled NextEra Energy’s growth rate to high single digits over the past 15 years in an industry known for low single digit growth.

Additionally, the incoming administration in Washington, DC, will be considerably more likely to promote green energy projects. NextEra is already ahead of the curve and could benefit from future legislation from the Biden administration.

Sea Limited

Another obvious move that can make investors a lot richer in 2021 is based in Singapore Sea Limited (NYSE: SE). Sea has three distinct operational segments which are growing like weeds.

Right now, digital entertainment is Sea’s primary driver of adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA). Those looking for things to do while COVID-19 keeps them at home have turned to gambling. Quarterly active Sea users stood at 572.4 million at the end of September (up 78% from year-on-year), quarterly paid users reaching 65.3 million (up 124%). More paying users and higher average income from those users is a formula for success.

But what got investors excited about Sea was the company’s online shopping platform, Shopee. The top-ranked downloaded app for purchases in Southeast Asia and Taiwan saw gross orders soar 131% in Q3 2020, with gross merchandise value more than doubling to $ 9.3 billion. dollars. Southeast Asia has a thriving middle class, and Shopee is just scratch the tip of the iceberg in terms of e-commerce potential in the region.

Finally, Sea offers digital financial services. Given the Southeast Asia sub-bank, Sea’s mobile wallet solutions could provide it with a third high-growth operating segment.

Don’t be surprised if Sea’s 2021 sales crush Wall Street forecasts.

Cresco Laboratories

As long as investors remain selective, marijuana stocks may also be evident in 2021. More specifically, multi-state operator (MSO) Cresco Laboratories (OTC: CRLBF) has the capacity to make its shareholders richer.

Like most MSOs, Cresco has retail operations. This company currently has 20 open dispensaries, 10 of which are in Illinois, legally licensed for recreational marijuana. What’s remarkable about the Land of Lincoln is that it is a limited license state. In 2020, it only distributed 75 retail licenses aimed at adults. By maximizing its retail presence in Illinois at 10 stores, Cresco Labs is ensuring that it secures significant market share in what is expected to become a billion dollar jar market by 2024.

Where Cresco Labs really differentiates is the company focus on wholesale cannabis. While wholesale cannabis typically results in lower margins, Cresco has an internal track for insane volumes. By purchasing Origin House in early 2020, Cresco gained access to Origin’s cannabis distribution license in California. This has enabled the company to place an assortment of jarred products in more than 575 dispensaries across the Golden State.

In addition, California is slowly but surely working through a sea of ​​paperwork that should lead to the opening of new dispensaries. This could well mean new retail opportunities for Cresco in the world’s most lucrative pot market.