America – The Land Of Great Growth Shares

I have been going through the Nasdaq 100 to pick some great-looking charts. There are plenty.

ASML, Cisco Systems, Micron, Applovin, Applied Materials, Shopify, Intuitive Surgical, LAM Research, Linde, Amgen, KLA Corporation, Gilead Sciences, Analog Devices, Automatic Data Processing, Cadence Design Systems, O’Reilly Automotive, Marriott International, Cintas Group, Monster Beverages, American Electric Power, Indexx Labs, Ross Stores, Paccar, Electronic Arts, Baker Hughes, Fastenal, Xcel Energy, Take Two, and Coca-Cola Europacific Partners.

Let’s look at a chart of the last one.

Below is CCEP at a glance.

CCEP is all about detail, taking out cost, driving better sales, and incorporating AI into their operations, which consist of supplying the world with hot and cold drinks based on their core Coca-Cola range of products. It’s a good business, as can be seen by the steady rise in the share price. It is never going to set the world on fire like the companies at the heart of the technology revolution, but investments like these can add stability to your portfolio while delivering respectable returns.

An even better example is O’Reilly Automotive, which helps Americans repair and maintain an ageing fleet of cars.

ORLY exemplifies the joys of being a long-term one-decision investor. Buy the shares, forget about them and they will work their magic.

O’Reilly Automotive, Inc.(NASDAQ: ORLY) is one of the largest specialty retailers of automotive aftermarket parts, tools, supplies, equipment, and accessories in the United States, serving both professional service providers and do-it-yourself customers. The O’Reilly family founded O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ: ORLY) in 1957. The company operates 6,483 stores across 48 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Canada as of June 30, 2025, serving both professional service providers and do-it-yourself customers.

Investors welcomed the company’s initial public stock offering in April 1993 as a strong addition to the publicly traded companies in the automotive aftermarket industry. This success continues today.

ORLY website, 4 December 2025

America is the gift that keeps on giving for O’Reilly.

We opened 55 net new stores across the U.S. and Mexico during the third quarter, bringing our year-to-date store opening to 160 stores. We are on track to achieve our 2025 new store opening target of 200 to 210 net new stores by year-end, and we continue to be pleased with the performance of our new stores. New store growth remains an attractive use of capital for us, and we see ample growth opportunities spread across all of our North American footprint. In this regard, we are pleased to announce our 2026 store opening target of 225 to 235 net new stores.

Just as our 2025 growth has been spread across 37 U.S. states, Puerto Rico and Mexico, we anticipate growth in all of those markets as well as in Canada in 2026. Our store growth in 2026 will continue to be concentrated in the U.S. markets but we will also continue our measured growth within our international markets as we work to develop the teams and infrastructure to support our O’Reilly operating model. Our tiered distribution network continues to help drive our stores’ competitive advantage in parts availability, and we are pleased to begin servicing stores out of our new Stafford, Virginia distribution center in the fourth quarter of this year.

Brent Kirby, president, O’Reilly Automotive, Q3 2025, 23 October 2025

On top of the growth, a share repurchase programme helps drive investor returns.

We continue to be pleased with the execution of our share repurchase program. And during the third quarter, we repurchased 4.3 million shares at an average share price of $98.8 and for a total investment of $420 million. We remain very confident that the average repurchase price is supported by the expected discounted future cash flows of our business, and we continue to view our buyback program as an effective means of returning excess capital to our shareholders.

Brent Kirby, president, O’Reilly Automotive, Q3 2025, 23 October 2025

Unusually, there is nothing in the earnings report about AI. I was looking for ‘something new’ to drive accelerated shareholder returns in the future. I found nothing, but AI is out there, and it will happen to ORLY at some point, potentially galvanising stronger growth from their huge footprint. Again, it is a solid investment for any portfolio.

The way I think of shares like these is that instead of buying an ETF tracking the Nasdaq 100 you pick and choose the best bits.

Share Recommendations

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners. CCEP

O’Reilly Automotive. ORLY