The stock market might be hitting new record highs in 2025, both in London and New York. But there are still cheap growth shares knocking about that could generate very solid returns.

Here, I’ll highlight three that might be worth considering for long-term investors.

Something Nu

First up is Nu Holdings (NYSE: NU). This is the largest digital bank in Latin America, which means it operates no costly physical branches.

The fast-growing fintech company (known as Nubank) added 4.5m customers in Q4 alone. This brought its total customer base to a whopping 114.2m, despite only operating in three countries (Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia).

Yet the share price has dipped 27% since November, leaving the stock looking very cheap on a price-to-earnings (P/E) basis. Right now, the forward-looking earnings multiple is around 20, dropping to just 15.5 by 2026.

Now, nearly all the company’s customers today are in Brazil. To be precise, 101.8m, or roughly 58% of Brazil’s adult population. Therefore, if Brazil suffered any political or economic problems, the company’s growth and earnings could take a hit. This is a risk.

Longer term though, I’m bullish on the growth story. As well as expanding into new geographies, Nu has launched various other services. These include NuPay, NuTravel, and a mobile phone service (NuCel). Clearly, it likes to stick with the Nu theme!

Offshore energy markets

Next up, I think Ashtead Technology (LSE: AT.) is worth considering. The AIM-listed company is a leading provider of subsea equipment rental and solutions, serving the global offshore energy sector. That includes both renewables (wind turbines) and oil and gas.

Ashtead Technology has fuelled its growth through multiple bolt-on acquisitions. This has seen revenue and profits grow strongly. The firm expects last year’s revenue to have grown 52% to around £168m, with full-year adjusted EBITA (earnings before interest, tax, and appreciation) ahead of the consensus for £46.6m.

A key risk here is a prolonged slump in global energy prices, which could reduce offshore exploration and production spending, impacting demand for Ashtead’s equipment.

However, the £420m-capitalised company is forecast to grow its revenue by 35% this year, with earnings growing strongly too. It puts the stock on a cheap-looking forward P/E ratio of 11.5.

Finally, it’s worth noting that the average analyst price target here is 831p — around 62% higher than the current share price of 511p. While there is no guarantee it will reach this target, it shows that the small-cap stock might be significantly undervalued.

A moonshot stock

Finally, I want to highlight Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ: LUNR), which is a lunar exploration and space infrastructure business.

Roughly a year ago, it became the first commercial company ever to put a lander on the moon. And it’s just successfully launched its second on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with the lander expected to touch down on the moon on 6 March.

This is the riskiest stock because its mission or technology could fail, while it is also unprofitable. However, its revenue is expected to surge 188% to $229m this year, then 52% to $350m next year. It has won multiple contracts with NASA and could bag more.

Intuitive Machines has a small market cap of $2.5bn and zero debt. This gives the stock a reasonably cheap price-to-sales ratio of 3.5.