This has been a big year of adjustments for the American public and the investment community. The unprecedented coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has completely upended societal norms and tossed the traditional workplace environment out the window. It also sent the benchmark S&P 500 tumbling faster than we'd ever seen before.
We're also less than two months away from saying goodbye to one White House administration and welcoming in another. Democratic Party challenger and former Vice President Joe Biden is set to become the 46th President of the United States on Jan. 20, 2021.
Biden's ascent to the Oval Office has the potential to send the broader market to record highs, and it'll almost certainly offer a mountain of opportunity for investors. If you have $1,000 at your disposal that won't be needed to cover bills or emergencies, you have more than enough to invest in the following four industries, which look to be surefire winners under a Biden presidency.
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Cybersecurity
I'm not a musician, but a high-growth industry I've been beating the drum on for quite some time is cybersecurity stocks.
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced consumer-facing businesses to shift their presence online, and in many instances has required workers to engage with their company remotely. That's a recipe for increased cloud usage, and all the more reason businesses are going to be reliant on cybersecurity companies as a basic-need service. Even when the pandemic is in the rearview mirror, cloud and network protection will remain paramount for businesses.
A strong consideration for investors in the cybersecurity space is Palo Alto Networks (PANW -1.71%). Palo Alto is in the process of transitioning away from physical firewall products and toward subscription cloud-protection services. The subscription model offers considerably higher margins, leads to more consistent revenue recognition, and is generally better at keeping client churn low.
Palo Alto has also been using bolt-on acquisitions to broaden its product offerings and reach a more diverse group of small and medium-sized businesses. A consistent double-digit growth rate should be the expectation for investors.
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Telehealth/Precision medicine
Another surefire growth trend that investors can confidently buy into with Biden in the White House is telehealth and precision medicine. Precision medicine involves the idea of customizing treatment plans for the patient, rather than leaning on one-size-fits-all treatments.
Similar to cybersecurity, the pandemic has been a major boon to the telehealth industry. With physicians wanting to keep high-risk patients out of their offices, the ability to conduct remote consultations has been a literal lifesaver.
But it's important to understand that telehealth is only going to grow in importance after the pandemic is over. Virtual visits are usually cheaper for health-benefits providers than in-office visits, and they're considerably more convenient for patients and physicians.
Here, I'd encourage investors to add Teladoc Health (TDOC -2.91%) to their buy list. Teladoc's virtual visits have pretty much tripled on a year-over-year basis during the pandemic, with total revenue surging 74% on a compound annual basis since 2013.
Teladoc also recently completed a cash-and-stock deal to acquire leading applied health signals company Livongo Health. Livongo's current role is to provide tips and nudges to over 400,000 diabetes members that encourage lasting behavioral changes so patients lead healthier lives. However, Livongo expects to also provide its services to patients with hypertension, weight management issues, and prediabetes in the foreseeable future.
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Cloud anything
Investors in the cloud computing industry should also thrive if a Biden bull market emerges.
As noted, businesses have had little choice but to rely on remote work during the pandemic, if at all possible. This has allowed all facets of the cloud industry -- infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), platform-as-a-service (PaaS), and software-as-a-service (SaaS) -- to see sustainable, high margin, double-digit growth. This reliance on cloud-sharing and convenience isn't going away once the pandemic is over, and historically low lending rates will only encourage cloud companies to aggressively reinvest in their platforms.
I'm especially excited about the fundamental building blocks of the cloud: IaaS stocks. Among IaaS, I'd suggest investors consider the mighty Amazon (AMZN -1.65%). While most folks are very familiar with Amazon for its incredibly dominant online marketplace that holds a nearly 39% share of U.S. e-commerce sales, it's actually cloud infrastructure segment Amazon Web Services (AWS) that's Amazon's long-term growth driver.
AWS primarily targets small and medium-sized businesses that are developing their initial cloud presence. On an annual run-rate basis, AWS is already above $46 billion in revenue, and it's long been the leading generator of operating income for Amazon, despite accounting for only an eighth of total sales. As AWS grows into a larger percentage of total sales, Amazon's operating cash flow should skyrocket.
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Cannabis
If you want to see some green in your portfolio during a Biden presidency, I'd strongly suggest paying close attention to the cannabis industry and marijuana stocks (specifically those that are U.S. based).
Interestingly, Biden has been anti-cannabis throughout much of his political career. However, according to his campaign website, he advocates for the federal decriminalization of cannabis. This essentially means federal legalization is highly unlikely to happen under Biden, but we could see a rescheduling of the drug happen in the years to come.
The thing is, U.S. multistate operators (MSO) don't need federal legalization to thrive. They simply need the reassurance that the federal government will stay out of their way in legalized states, which a Biden administration will certainly provide. In my view, that makes high-growth MSOs like Green Thumb Industries (GTBIF -5.60%) a no-brainer buy with Biden in the White House.
Green Thumb is closing in on 50 operational dispensaries, but holds licenses to open as many as 96 retail locations in 12 states. It's been especially active in Illinois, which opened its doors to adult-use weed on Jan. 1, 2020, and Nevada, which is expected to lead the country in per-capita cannabis spending by mid-decade.
With close to two-thirds of its sales derived from high-margin derivatives (e.g., edibles, vapes, and infused beverages), it's a good bet to hit recurring profitability very soon.
