The previous year was one of the wildest on record for the stock market. We saw the S&P 500 lose over a third of its value in less than five weeks, as well as recoup all of its losses in less than five months. Investors even witnessed West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures turn briefly negative for the first time in history.
But the figure that stands head and shoulders above all else is that 10% of all companies with at least a $300 million market cap ended the year higher by triple or quadruple digits. That's a staggering return for more than 370 publicly traded companies. But it also highlights the wealth-making potential of owning game-changing businesses for long periods of time.
Even following big gains in 2020, there are three outstanding businesses you could buy with $100,000 right now that could turn that initial investment into $1 million by 2030. Patience should pay off handsomely if you buy and hold these innovative stocks.
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Square
There's little question that a digital-payment revolution is underway, and Square (SQ 5.04%) looks to be on the leading edge of this sustainably high-growth trend. The company's oldest operating segment is its seller marketplace. This division predominantly supplies small merchants with the point-of-sale devices and analytics they'll need to facilitate payments and grow their business. In an eight-year stretch, Square grew the amount of gross payment volume crossing its network by roughly $100 billion (a 49% compound annual growth rate).
For the moment, the seller ecosystem remains Square's largest driver of gross profit. This merchant fee-driven segment has benefited from increased adoption by larger merchants and the general push away from physical cash in the wake of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
However, beginning in 2021, Square's other operating segment, Cash App, should grow into its largest gross profit generator. Cash App's monthly active user base has more than quadrupled since the end of 2017 to 30 million (the last update of this figure came mid-2020). This peer-to-peer payment platform gives Square a multitude of new ways to collect revenue, above and beyond just merchant fees. For instance, the company can also generate revenue from payment transfers, investments, and bitcoin exchange. The latter is especially intriguing with bitcoin trading soaring.
Square's revenue has the potential to absolutely catapult this decade, putting the company within reach of a possible $1 trillion valuation by 2030.
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Cresco Labs
Marijuana also has the potential to be a significant growth driver throughout the decade. That's why mid-cap pot stock Cresco Labs (CRLBF 1.51%) should be on your buy list.
Cresco is a U.S.-focused multistate operator. The U.S. is expected to practically quadruple its annual cannabis revenue between 2020 and 2030 to around $75 billion. That affords plenty of potential for marijuana stocks like Cresco Labs to thrive.
In particular, Cresco has two avenues with which to rapidly grow its business. First, there's the company's retail operations. Cresco holds 29 dispensary licenses in nine states, and currently has 20 operating retail stores. Of these 20 locations, half are in the limited license state of Illinois. By focusing on Illinois, Cresco is ensuring a healthy amount of market share with limited competition in what should become a billion-dollar market by 2024.
The even more exciting growth driver for Cresco Labs is the company's thus far industry-leading wholesale operations. One year ago, Cresco closed on its all-share acquisition of Origin House. Origin held one of a select few cannabis distribution licenses in California, the largest marijuana market in the world. With this acquisition, Cresco was able to place wholesale pot products into more than 575 dispensaries throughout the Golden State. Assuming California continues to work through red tape to open new retail locations, Cresco can simply sit back and continue to place higher-margin and popular cannabis products into an ever-growing number of dispensaries in the largest pot market in the world.
In my view, Cresco Labs hitting a $25 billion market cap by 2030 wouldn't be out of the question.
Image source: Getty Images.
Trupanion
Speaking of paw-tential, companion animal health insurance provider Trupanion (TRUP 1.79%) is another company that could reasonably turn a $100,000 investment into $1 million by 2030.
An investor only needs to take a good look at pet ownership statistics in the U.S. to get excited about this industry. According to the American Pet Products Association, the percentage of households with a pet has jumped 11 percentage points to 67% since 1988, with no year-over-year declines in U.S. pet expenditures in at least the last quarter of a century. The point is, nearly 85 million households own a pet, and the vast majority treat that pet as a member of the family, so there's a willingness to spend big to ensure their pet's well-being.
Trupanion has been providing healthcare benefits to cats and dogs for the last 20 years. Over that time, it's built up priceless rapport with veterinarians at the clinic level. These veterinarians and technicians serve as Trupanion's partners and are a key reason why increasing pet insurance competition shouldn't be a huge concern.
Currently, Trupanion has only managed to penetrate about 1% of the U.S. companion animal market. That figure is both disappointing and mouthwatering. It's disappointing that only 804,251 pets are currently enrolled after 20 years. Yet it's also an incredible opportunity to sustainably grow its membership by a double-digit percentage. Keep in mind that U.K. pet insurance penetration is about 25%. In the U.S., a 25% penetration rate would equate to more than a $32 billion addressable insurance opportunity.
With Trupanion offering an exceptionally high retention rate and first-in-class direct payment software during checkout, I could see this stock turning your initial investment into seven figures.
