The world we live in evolves and adapts at an incredible pace. That evolution gives investors the opportunity to find businesses ready to disrupt markets or ride mega-trends for massive portfolio returns. Identifying these companies isn't easy, but three Motley Fool contributors believe Teladoc Health (TDOC -0.57%), Charles Schwab (SCHW 0.08%), and Aptiv PLC (NYSE: APTV) are three stocks poised for huge growth in the decade ahead -- and beyond.
A healthcare disruptor
Jeremy Bowman (Teladoc Health): It's no secret that the U.S. healthcare system is ripe for disruption. Healthcare costs have consistently outpaced overall economic growth for years, and titans of industry Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffett, and Jamie Dimon have even teamed up to find their own solution to drastic healthcare and insurance costs. One solution that seems likely to become one wave of the future is telehealth, or treating patients using telecommunications tools like video conferencing, thereby avoiding the time and expense of in-office visits. The leader in that fast-growing niche is Teladoc Health.
Teladoc has grown both organically and through acquisitions, and it posted 62% revenue growth in its most recent quarter to land at $111 million. For the current quarter, it's targeting 55% top-line growth to a range of $119 million to $121 million. Outside of the U.S., its growth opportunity may be even riper as revenue nearly tripled in its most recent quarter, to $24 million.
Though the company continues to rack up losses, that's a sign of the long-term growth opportunity management sees ahead. It's spending about half of its revenue on sales and marketing, investing in growth now to take market share and cement its leadership in the industry before focusing on profit later. If the company were to cut its promotional costs by half, it would be profitable on an operating basis as the core business comes with competitive advantages (such as built-in switching costs) and is capable of delivering high-margin profits.
With the long-term growth opportunity in telehealth, and potentially huge profits once the business starts to mature, Teladoc could be a big winner over the next decade.
Check out the latest Teladoc Health earnings call transcript.
A better brokerage model
Jordan Wathen (Charles Schwab): The brokerage industry was deregulated in 1975, allowing brokers to compete on price for the first time. Schwab ran with it and never looked back, positioning itself as a low-cost leader for ordinary investors.
Over time, the cost to make a stock trade or invest in a mutual fund has only gone down due to intense competition. Many brokers and asset managers are now going through an existential crisis, as prices are falling faster than some business models can adjust for it.
But I believe Charles Schwab is likely to emerge as a beneficiary of the turmoil in the brokerage industry. That's because it was early to capitalize on the changing landscape. Whereas TD Ameritrade generated about 36% of net revenue from commissions and transaction fees in its most recent fiscal year, Schwab generates less than 8% of net revenue from trading-related sources.
Instead, Schwab derives the bulk of its revenue from traditional banking services and asset management fees. The banking unit benefits as Schwab cross-sells banking services to people who use the brokerage to manage their retirement portfolios. Schwab has even gone so far as to monetize the freebies it gives to its clients -- when you invest in one of its hundreds of commission-free ETFs, it collects an annual percentage fee from the ETF manager based on the amount you invest.
Despite its size, Schwab is growing at an impressive rate. In the most recent year, active brokerage accounts increased 8% to 11.6 million, and banking accounts jumped 9% to 1.3 million accounts. A combination of high single-digit account growth and rising asset prices should help Schwab grow earnings at a double-digit clip for years to come.
Making the future real
Daniel Miller (Aptiv): What we know for sure: Driverless vehicles are coming. What we don't know right now is how fast that future will arrive, or what companies will reward investors over the decades of development and adoption of those vehicles. For investors who are looking for stocks poised for huge growth, Aptiv offers a way to invest in a company providing power, data, and software, among other things, to driverless vehicles. Essentially, Aptiv is focused on providing the brain and nervous system of these advanced vehicle architectures -- solutions that should be very valuable over the next decade, and longer.
Of course, we're a ways away from driverless cars becoming fully adopted, but Aptiv has already taken serious strides in developing technology. Aptiv has logged more than one million autonomous miles globally and has vehicles supporting more than 1,600 destinations in Las Vegas, in partnership with Lyft. In fact, Aptiv and Lyft have proven one very significant fact: People are willing to try the technology and pay for autonomous rides. Management noted that its program in Las Vegas has completed more than 25,000 paid autonomous rides with an average passenger rating of 4.95 out of five stars.
Driverless cars are going to change the way we commute on a daily basis, but they could also disrupt trucking, traffic safety, car ownership, and it's going to be a lucrative business for companies driving the evolution. Intel, with research firm Strategy Analytics, predicts that the "Passenger Economy," which includes consumers and businesses creating and using self-driving services, will be a $7 trillion annual market by the year 2050. Driverless vehicles are the future, and if Aptiv continues to make that future real, it's poised for huge growth over the next decade and beyond.
Check out the latest Aptiv earnings call transcript.