We're nearly five months into the new normal, and it's pretty clear that we're going to be spending a lot more time at home in the near future. Some of the market's biggest winners have been the stocks making life at home easier, and the real rock stars have been the ones that make staying at home an even better experience than the real-world process that it's replacing.
Zoom Video (ZM -0.99%), Peloton (PTON -0.98%), and Teladoc Health (TDOC -2.91%) are three of 2020's biggest winners. They enter the weekend having soared 273%, 140%, and 184%, respectively this year. It's been more than five months since I singled out the three of them as "rare winners" in the early days of the coronavirus sell-off, and they're well-positioned to keep thriving in the months ahead.
Image source: Getty Images.
Zoom Video
The pandemic has catapulted Zoom into the limelight. It's the video-conferencing platform of choice for company meetings, classrooms, and that weekly virtual reunion you have with your extended family.
Zoom's growth has been on a tear. Revenue soared 169% to $328.2 million for its fiscal quarter that ended in April. Things are about to get even better.
Zoom's guidance calls for between $495 million and $500 million on the top line for the quarter ending this week, a 240% to 243% surge over the prior-year's showing. If you didn't think a company growing its business at a 169% clip can't accelerate from that point, you probably haven't been paying attention to Zoom.
In-person gatherings are a hard sell for corporate boardrooms, commission meetings, improv comedy show performances, and your niece's eighth grade biology class. Zoom is filling the void, and in some cases, it's making life a lot easier by making the art of getting together more convenient.
What will happen when we can head back into the office, commission chamber, improv theater, and classroom? Bears will argue that it will spell the end of this rally, but now it's the bears who haven't been paying attention.
Zoom was growing its reach rapidly before COVID-19 came around. Its net dollar expansion rate has been clocking in north of 130% for eight consecutive quarters. In other words, returning customers are paying at least 30% more, on average, for the platform than they were a year earlier -- and they've been doing so for more than two years.
There will be some relief when folks can gather safely again with others in the same room, but Zoom will continue to be a major part of our lives in the future.
Peloton
Gyms and boutique spinning classes closed in March, and that's when Peloton put the stationary bike pedal to the metal. Peloton has become the top brand in the growing market for in-home workouts.
Folks aren't flinching at its four-figure initial price tags and the monthly subscription premiums to engage in live and on-demand workouts on its growing platform. Peloton had 886,100 connected fitness subscribers on its rolls at the end of March, a 94% year-over-year surge.
Things will get even better. Peloton sees revenue growth accelerating to roughly 128% for the fiscal fourth quarter that it will make official later this month. We're seeing churn at a four-year low and workout sessions per user at record levels. Once you make an investment in Peloton -- an investment in your health, too -- you're going to stick with it.
Teladoc
Our third stock is also making life easier in the new normal, and it's probably the one that may be the most game-changing of the three. Some folks miss the office and classroom settings that Zoom is replacing. Despite all the interactive bells and whistles of Peloton, there are still some folks who like to sweat things out in a crowded fitness center.
However, you won't find too many people missing the time they spend in a doctor, specialist, or therapist waiting room. Teladoc has emerged as the leading telehealth platform, allowing folks to get a growing number of wellness checks and consultations done online.
Teladoc posted blowout financial results on Wednesday. Revenue soared 85% to $241 million for the second quarter, its headiest growth in two years. The 2.8 million total visits it completed during the three-month period tripled the prior-year's tally.
Teladoc will keep growing even after it's safe to return to doctor offices for in-person consultations. Its forecast for the current quarter calls for a continuation of the accelerating top-line growth, roughly doubling in the third quarter. A big knock on Teladoc was that so few of the members with access to the platform were using it, but with utilization rates surging, there's no going back now.
Zoom, Peloton, and Teladoc are some of the market's best growth stocks right now. It's not too late to get in on three companies that are all in the process of accelerating their businesses.
