Investors should seek out competitively advantaged companies at reasonable costs, especially those with promising growth prospects. The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) has risen 27% in the past year, making valuations less appealing. But the market still offers good buys. Shopify (NYSE: SHOP) and Uber Technologies (NYSE: UBER) trade at fair valuation multiples and are accessible at less than $80 per share
1. Shopify Shopify offers turnkey multichannel commerce. Its technology lets merchants handle orders and inventory from one interface across physical and digital marketplaces. It works with markets, social media, custom websites, and mobile apps. Shopify also offers payment processing, finance, marketing, logistics, and wholesale options.
Merchants like that value proposition, thus Shopify accounts for over 10% of US online retail transactions. This makes it the second-largest domestic e-commerce company after Amazon. Shopify leads the industry in e-commerce and omnichannel commerce software, so it will gain as more retail and wholesale is done online.
Fourth-quarter Shopify earnings beat projections on the top and bottom lines. Revenue rose 24% to $2.1 billion due to robust subscription and merchant services growth. Non-GAAP net income quadrupled to $441 million due to cost control measures like workforce reductions and the sale of its capital-intensive logistics company.
Management also noted strong wholesale e-commerce traction, a new Shopify priority. Shopify's fourth-quarter gross merchandise volume in wholesale e-commerce, generally known as B2B, increased 150%. That's notable since wholesale e-commerce is three times larger and expanding faster than retail.
Wholesale e-commerce sales are predicted to expand 18% yearly through 2030, while retail sales will climb 11%. But Wall Street expects Shopify to outperform both statistics, expanding sales by 22% annually over the next five years. Its 13.9 times revenue valuation seems realistic given that consensus projection. A five-year investor can buy a small investment in this stock now without fear.
2. Uber Tech Uber makes money from transportation, delivery, and freight. Its mobility platform connects customers to ridesharing, rentals, and taxis. Its delivery platform lets customers purchase food, groceries, and alcohol from restaurants and convenience stores for pickup or delivery. Its freight platform connects shippers and carriers for on-demand logistics.
Uber has an intriguing network effect. Participation makes its ridesharing and food delivery services more appealing. The ecosystems are connected by a smartphone app, giving Uber cross-sell options. The corporation can push ridesharing users to use its meal delivery service and vice versa. As ecosystems grow, cross-sell opportunities increase, supercharging network effects.
Uber had a good fourth quarter. Monthly platform users rose 15% to 150 million. Revenue climbed 15% to $9.9 billion, driven by robust mobility and modest delivery growth, offset by freight sales drop. GAAP net income rose 128% to $0.66 per diluted share as cost containment measures paid off.
Uber is poised to keep momentum. Bloomberg reports that the company is the largest U.S. ridesharing service (76% market share) and second largest meal delivery service (23% market share). The similar tendency exists globally, say Argus analysts. Uber has a lasting economic moat because of its scale, the network effect, and its platform's data, which helps it dispatch and route drivers more efficiently. Platform advertisers can target consumers with the data.
With that in mind, the ridesharing market is expected to grow 16% year until 2030, and the online meal delivery market 19%. Uber is on track to expand revenues in the mid-teens over the decade, justifying its 4.3 times sales value. This growing stock is suitable for little investments today for patient investors.
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