Growth stocks are shares in companies that grow their revenue and earnings faster than the market average. Peloton Interactive (PTON -0.98%) and Amazon (AMZN -2.56%) fit that description well. These stay-at-home-friendly businesses saw sales boom during the coronavirus pandemic. Even as the crisis begins to draw to a close, these companies look poised to maintain their momentum.
Let's find out more about why these two growth stocks are ones to buy now.
1. Peloton
With share prices up 328% in the trailing 12 months, Peloton stock has soared amid a surge in at-home workout activity for much of 2020. The fitness equipment brand can maintain its momentum in the post-pandemic world through synergistic acquisitions and investments designed to ease its supply chain bottlenecks.
Image source: Peloton.
Peloton's stationary bikes are selling faster than the company can manufacture and deliver them, which caused some negative publicity when delivery wait times rose to over 10 weeks in January. The delivery delay time fell to between four and nine weeks by March, according to an unofficial support website, Pelobuddy.com. This improvement comes after management announced plans to spend over $100 million to speed up its logistics network.
The added spending (which involves air shipments) may increase delivery costs in the near term, but it will boost customer satisfaction, which is good news for Peloton's brand.
As a more permanent solution, Peloton has closed its $420 million acquisition of equipment manufacturer Precor. It plans to start producing some of its equipment in the U.S. before the end of the calendar year to help ease the strain on its supply chain.
According to CEO Jim Foley, Peloton has not seen any softening in demand because of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, and the company expects at least $4.08 billion in revenue in 2021, representing a 123% increase year over year. That will be driven by robust demand for its bikes and the debut of a new treadmill expected to be available in May. With a market cap of $36 billion, the stock trades at roughly nine times projected sales, which looks reasonable considering its rapid growth rate and improving supply chain.
2. Amazon
With a market cap of $1.7 trillion, you might think Amazon is a missed opportunity -- but that's incorrect. The company's e-commerce business is still expanding at a massive clip, and its new emphasis on digital advertising could help power the next leg of growth.
Amazon's fourth-quarter revenue surged by 44% to $125.6 billion, which was higher than its guidance range of $112 billion to $121 billion. Like with Peloton, the company's pandemic-related tailwinds show no sign of slowing down yet. And management expects first-quarter revenue to grow by between 33% to 40% in 2021 as digital shopping trends become increasingly entrenched in society.
Amazon's massive scale and captive marketplace also give it a natural edge in digital advertising -- a market dominated by Alphabet's Google and Facebook, which boast market shares of 28.9% and 25.2%, respectively. Amazon has a 10.3% market share right now (representing revenue of $15.7 billion). But research company marketers expect this business to surpass $30 billion by 2023 as more shoppers and advertising dollars move online.
With a forward price to earnings (P/E) of 60, Amazon stock boasts a premium valuation. But it's not too high considering its breakneck growth rate and massive opportunity in digital advertising. While the company is already gigantic, it still has the potential to generate market-beating growth over the long term.
You get what you pay for
With forward P/E multiples of 134 and 61, respectively, Peloton and Amazon boast significantly higher valuations than the S&P 500 average of 42. But both stocks deserve their premium price tags because their compelling expansion strategies can help them maintain momentum, even as pandemic-related tailwinds fade away.
