Companies that rapidly increase their sales and profits can create vast wealth for investors. The key to finding these fortune-building growth stocks is to identify high-quality businesses that are well positioned to benefit from powerful long-term trends.
Here are two excellent companies that meet these challenging criteria -- and that are poised to deliver handsome gains to their shareholders.
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The digital advertising star
Connected TV (CTV) is a massive trend. Televisions that can connect to the internet and access content beyond what is typically provided by a cable provider are increasingly popular with consumers. They're also a favorite tool among advertisers, as they allow for more-targeted campaigns than what has historically been possible with traditional TV.
The Trade Desk (TTD +5.38%) stands to benefit from these trends perhaps more than any other business. The global advertising technology company excels at helping marketers serve customized ads to the people that are most likely to engage with them. The Trade Desk has built a leading position in connected TV by providing tools that allow marketers to deliver targeted ads over streaming services.
Demand for The Trade Desk's services is set to grow rapidly. Spending on digital ads will reach $520 billion by 2023, according to Juniper Research, up from $294 billion in 2019. Advertising on connected TV will capture a significant share of this massive market, driven in part by a host of new ad-supported streaming services.
This trend is certainly The Trade Desk's friend; CEO Jeff Green said spending on the company's connected TV services nearly tripled year over year in the second quarter. "We will likely never see a channel larger and more full of opportunity than we have right now in CTV," Green said during the company's earnings conference call.
Despite its tremendous growth potential, shares have pulled back sharply in recent weeks along with many other growth stocks. With the stock now down about 35% from its 52-week high, investors may want to use this pullback as a buying opportunity.
The entrepreneur's ally
Square (SQ +2.22%) has the hardware and software to help people start, run, and scale their own businesses. Square is perhaps best known for its credit card processing system, which still comprises the core of its business. Yet the innovative company has also done an impressive job of launching new services -- such as payroll, business financing, and e-commerce -- which have been well received by entrepreneurs.
By constantly finding new ways to provide more value to its customers, Square is expanding its addressable market and strengthening its competitive position. Global card payment volume will surpass $78 trillion by 2027, according to the Nilson Report. Despite years of rapid growth, Square's gross payment volume -- which rose to $95 billion over the past year -- still represents a minuscule portion of this huge market. Many of the company's other businesses, such as Square Capital, could also grow many times in size from their current levels.
Like The Trade Desk, Square's stock has pulled back sharply over the past couple of months. But with so much growth still ahead, and with its shares now down more than 40% from their highs of the year, the stock is looking like a particularly attractive buy at current prices.
