Want a good growth stock but don't want to pay a fortune for it? It may seem like top growth stocks are trading at excessive prices and are bad buys, but there are plenty of good examples out there of growing businesses that you can still buy at reasonable, even downright cheap earnings multiples.

Three growth stocks trading at some incredibly appealing valuations right now are Carnival Corp. (CCL 1.96%), Baidu (BIDU 5.43%), and PayPal Holdings (PYPL 2.99%). Here's why these affordable titans could make for excellent long-term buys today.

Carnival

For the type of growth that cruise ship operator Carnival has been delivering recently, it should be trading at a much higher price than it is. Based on analyst expectations, its forward price-to-earnings multiple (P/E) is less than 14.

The company has been generating record-breaking numbers and has a lot of visibility into its demand since bookings are often done well in advance. And this year, management is projecting 20% earnings growth.

The company outperformed its initial guidance for 2024 and is still doing tremendously well, expecting to add even more to its bottom line for 2025.

Cruises can be unique and relatively affordable travel options for families. A seven-day cruise can cost less than a few thousand dollars per person, depending on the cabin type and destination, which is why it may not be surprising that Carnival's business is doing so well at a time when travelers may be seeking more-affordable options in a challenging economy.

Carnival's business still looks to be in great shape, which is why investors may want to consider buying the stock even though it's up around 50% in the past 12 months. There may still be much more upside for those who buy it today.

Baidu

Investors can buy the Chinese tech stock Baidu at an even cheaper price: a forward P/E of less than 9. This can make for a fairly cheap artificial intelligence (AI) stock since it has been experiencing strong growth in that area of its business.

During the last three months of 2024, the company reported 26% revenue growth in its AI cloud business. Although the overall business experienced a decline of 2% during the quarter, AI could be what lifts Baidu's numbers in the future.

Its AI chatbot, Ernie, handled around 1.65 billion API calls in December, management says. And there are reports that it will unveil a next-generation AI model later this year.

Tech investors have been closely watching Chinese companies since DeepSeek released a low-cost AI model earlier in the year that is said to be on par with ChatGPT and other chatbots. If Baidu can follow suit, that could not only generate a lot of bullishness around the stock but also help boost its AI business even further.

The company has been struggling to grow recently, but it hasn't run out of catalysts by any stretch. As its AI business continues to grow, it could prove to be a stellar buy. It may take some patience from investors since the uncertainty around a possible trade war between China and the U.S. could weigh on the stock over the near term. But if you're willing to buy now and hold for years, this could be one of the better AI stocks right now.

PayPal

The fintech PayPal reported fairly modest growth during the last three months of 2024, with its top line coming in at $8.4 billion. But one promising avenue for the business is with Venmo, its peer-to-peer payment app designed to help friends and family easily send money among themselves.

Its payment volume increased by 10% last quarter, and the company sees potential for that to continue as it focuses on the Venmo debit card. There was a 30% increase in the number of the card's monthly active accounts last year, and there could be more as new merchants start accepting it.

PayPal's growth may seem underwhelming, but investors shouldn't forget this comes amid an economy that is far from ideal, and with consumers still battling rising costs. The company's ability to remain a top payment processor when there's a growing number of competitors is a testament to the brand's strength and the trust that both merchants and shoppers have in it. There could be much more growth on the horizon as the economy improves and as its Venmo business expands.

The stock's low forward P/E of 14 makes it a good investment to consider for the long haul.