Market-Beating Tech Stocks to Buy Amid AI Downturn: UBER, SPOT

Tariff headlines are spooking investors. Thankfully, stock market nerves, downturns, and volatility create great buying opportunities for long-term investors.The Nasdaq dropped mid-week on more tariff worries, with the tech-heavy index currently in correction territory, down around 12% from its peaks. Corrections are healthy and common, and profit-taking was overdue following the impressive AI-driven rally.The recent selloff and growing tariff worries might have made some investors forget that the Nasdaq is up 130% over the last five years and 52% during the past 24 months.The tech-heavy index has surged nearly 100% since the start of 2020, even though it has endured two bear markets—the rapid COVID collapse and the 2022 tech-driven downturn.Calling tops and bottoms is nearly impossible in real time. Instead, savvy long-term investors take advantage of drawdowns, slowly adding exposure to their favorite stocks. Famed investor Peter Lynch’s quote should spring to mind now: “Far more money has been lost by investors preparing for corrections, or trying to anticipate corrections, than has been lost in corrections themselves.”Today’s Full Court Finance at Zacks explores two highly ranked, pioneering technology stocks—Uber Technologies and Spotify Technology—to consider buying in April. Both Uber and Spotify have also crushed tech in 2025 as investors look to non-AI names for growth.Uber is up 25% in 2025, while SPOT surged 30% to blow away Tech’s -8% drop.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchWhy Surging Uber Is a Buy-and-Hold Stock for the Next Decade and BeyondUber Technologies, Inc. UBER shares have jumped 25% year-to-date, blowing away the Tech sector’s 8% drop. Uber’s 150% rally over the last two years has helped it outperform Tech during the past five years.Despite its surge and outperformance, Uber trades nearly in line with the Tech sector and close to its all-time lows at 26.9X forward 12-month earnings. This attractive valuation is fueled by its soaring profits as it focuses on streamlining its business. Uber posted its first full-year profit as a public company in 2023 and followed that up with blockbuster EPS growth last year.Uber trades 21% below its average Zacks price target. The stock recently experienced a bullish golden cross, where its shorter-term 50-day moving average climbed above its 200-day moving average.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchUber posted 18% revenue growth in both FY23 and FY24, following massive COVID-boosted growth in 2021 and 2022. The company is projected to follow this up with 15% sales expansion in FY25 and FY26, reaching $58 billion compared to $13 billion in 2019. Uber’s earnings are expected to fade in 2025 as it competes against a period boosted by a “tax valuation release” and the “revaluation of its equity investments.”Wall Street anticipated this, and Uber is projected to rebound with 38% year-over-year earnings expansion in 2026. Its upbeat earnings outlook earns it a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Uber’s gross bookings are projected to jump 15% in 2025, following 18% growth last year, while its monthly active platform consumers are set to rise by over 8% to 185.3 million.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchUber’s core ride-hailing and delivery businesses are more popular than ever, particularly with higher-income consumers who are less impacted by lingering inflation and economic cycles. On top of that, Uber is poised to thrive in the potential driverless vehicle era through numerous partnerships, including with Waymo. The company is also flexing its financial strength with a $7 billion share repurchase plan.This Streaming Tech Stock Is a Must-Buy in 2025 Paid streaming music pioneer Spotify Technology S.A. SPOT changed the industry in the same way that Netflix transformed movies and TV. Spotify’s success inspired challengers such as Apple and Amazon. Still, Spotify remains the top dog, reportedly holding 32% of the global streaming music market share, blowing away No. 2 Apple Music’s 15%.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchSpotify grew its monthly active users by 95% between 2020 and 2024, soaring from 345 million to 675 million last year. Spotify is thriving as users flock to the service for music, podcasts, and, more recently, audiobooks. The ability of its streaming service to become a small but essential part of its users’ daily lives helped SPOT successfully raise its prices in 2023 and 2024.The price hikes and a dedication to the bottom line helped Spotify report its first full-year profit in 2024, swinging from an adjusted loss of -$2.96 per share in FY23 to +$5.95.The streaming music company is projected to follow this stellar growth with 72% earnings expansion in 2025 and 28% growth next year (on 11% and 15% higher sales, respectively). Spotify’s earnings outlook has surged since its Q4 release, helping it land a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and extending a strong run of upward earnings revisions that began in early 2023.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchSpotify shares have popped over 30% in 2025 and 360% in the past two years, leaving Tech’s 60% run in its dust. The stock is now up nearly 300% since its 2018 IPO, though it trades 10% below its February peaks. Its massive earnings growth outlook has it trading at a 55% discount to the Tech sector, with a 0.7 Price/Earnings-to-Growth (PEG) ratio.Zacks' Research Chief Names "Stock Most Likely to Double"Our team of experts has just released the 5 stocks with the greatest probability of gaining +100% or more in the coming months. Of those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian highlights the one stock set to climb highest.This top pick is among the most innovative financial firms. With a fast-growing customer base (already 50+ million) and a diverse set of cutting edge solutions, this stock is poised for big gains. Of course, all our elite picks aren’t winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Nano-X Imaging which shot up +129.6% in little more than 9 months.Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpWant the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Spotify Technology (SPOT): Free Stock Analysis Report Uber Technologies, Inc. (UBER): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks