I mainly invest my retirement portfolio in blue-chip growth stocks. I’m talking about high-quality names such as Amazon, Mastercard, and Microsoft. However, I do allocate a little bit of capital to what I call ‘moonshot’ growth stocks. These are ones that are very high up on the risk spectrum (meaning I could lose a lot of my investment), but have the potential to generate blockbuster returns and help me retire that bit earlier.
Recently, I added two new moonshots to my ISA. Here are the stocks I bought.
A stock for the AI automation age
First up, we have Palantir (NASDAQ: PLTR). It’s a fast-growing technology company that helps government organisations and commercial businesses generate AI-powered insights from their data.
Now, I view this growth stock as extremely risky. That’s because its valuation is insanely high.
Currently, it sports a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of about 100 and a price-to-sales ratio of about 70. Those multiples don’t leave any room at all for a major slowdown in growth (which is a possibility).
Taking a five-year view though (our preferred investment horizon here at The Motley Fool), I see the potential for explosive returns. Because this company’s the clear leader when it comes to AI transformation.
We can see this in its recent results. For the fourth quarter of 2025, its revenue was up 70% year on year with US corporate revenue up a whopping 137%.
That kind of growth suggests that the company’s AI platform is the real deal. No other AI software company is generating anywhere near that kind of growth today.
Looking ahead, I’m backing this company to continue doing well as businesses embrace AI in an effort to automate their operations. That said, I expect the company’s share price to be volatile, so this investment’s likely to be a wild ride.
A play on the Great Wealth Transfer
The other stock I bought was Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ: HOOD). It operates one of the world’s fastest-growing investment and trading platforms.
I’ve invested in this company for several reasons. One is that I’m extremely impressed with its level of innovation. This company makes UK brokers like Hargreaves Lansdown and AJ Bell look like dinosaurs. Today, it offers commission-free stock trading, options trading, crypto, prediction markets, tokenised stocks, private markets, banking, social trading, and more.
I’ll point out this innovation is driving strong growth. Last quarter, revenue was up 27% year on year (and that was with a major bear market in crypto).
I also think that in the long run, this company could be a major beneficiary of the ‘Great Wealth Transfer’, as trillions are passed down to younger generations in the decades ahead. So this company could prosper given its user base today is mainly younger investors.
Like Palantir, this is a high-risk stock. Its valuation isn’t crazy (the P/E ratio’s only 32) but it operates in a competitive industry and there’s no guarantee its user base will remain as interested in investing as it is today.
Taking a long-term view though, I’m bullish on its prospects.
