Cloud computing has been cemented in place as a high-priority investment by the pandemic. The ability to access software and services from anywhere an internet connection can be found is transforming industries and benefiting businesses and consumers alike.
Financial services and real estate are just two sectors undergoing rapid change in part because of the cloud. SPAC stocks SoFi (SOFI 4.55%) and Latch (LTCH -10.00%) recently completed their go-public proceedings and have especially promising futures. Here's why I'm buying both right now.
SoFi: Helping more people reach "financial independence"
"Financial independence" means different things to different people, but at SoFi, it's all about making its customers' money work for the life they want to live. That's a powerful mission statement. The online-centric institution is working toward it by offering a myriad of products from loans to insurance to investing -- all delivered via one convenient application.
Image source: Getty Images.
This modern take on banking is winning over lots of new customers. As of the end of the first quarter, it had 2.28 million members, an increase of 110% year over year. That growth was in part driven by SoFi more than doubling the number of financial products it has available. Its Galileo Financial Technology subsidiary (which offers software for digital payments and digital banking enablement) had 70 million accounts at the end of Q1, a 130% year-over-year increase.
While SoFi uses software to deliver banking and financial services in a novel and more accessible package, it's ultimately still a financial institution. Banking and finance aren't exactly the highest-growth industries, and SoFi stock currently trades for 14 times 2021 expected revenue. (Management is guiding for revenue to rise by 58% to $980 million in 2021.) The bank is also barely profitable on an adjusted basis. 2021 adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) are anticipated to be just $27 million for an approximately 3% profit margin.
However, SoFi's adjusted EBITDA is on track to make a big jump from 2020's negative 7% margin. If it can maintain some of its growth momentum, it could become a highly profitable financial services stock. After a small bank acquisition (which the company is using to jump-start its basic banking services segment), SoFi will also have around $1.5 billion in cash and equivalents from its SPAC merger. That will arm the fast-expanding financial technology firm with ample liquidity to keep the pedal to the metal on the growth front.
The stock may not be "cheap," but SoFi is picking up lots of young clients through its fresh, cloud-based take on financial services. The long-term thesis for the company remains intact, so I'm planning to buy some more shares in the next month.
Latch: Bringing the cloud to the old real estate market
Real estate technology specialist Latch also recently made its public debut. This company brings an equally intriguing mission statement to the table: To make spaces better places to live, work, and visit. The company developed the LatchOS operating system, plus a full lineup of software and connected devices to bring some much-needed tech to multifamily buildings. LatchOS addresses the security and access issues that are inherent with apartment buildings (including access for delivery people and other outside service providers) and helps apartment managers streamline their operations (i.e., reduce their expenses).
The company's end-to-end solution has quickly attracted lots of admirers. Management reports that more than 1 out of every 10 new apartment buildings under construction in the U.S. are integrating LatchOS in their design. The company just announced LatchOS is now available for commercial buildings. This small business is thus in the very early innings of realizing its long-term potential, both domestically and around the globe.
For some context regarding just how early in its growth story this company is -- Latch's Q1 revenue was a meager $6.6 million, and on the adjusted EBITDA front, it reported a $13.9 million loss. For 2021, revenue is expected to be at least $47 million (up from only $18 million in 2020), but its adjusted EBITDA loss could be as much as $95 million.
The thing is, Latch is currently in a period in which its long-term contracts with customers are just starting to go live and generate actual revenue. Its total bookings (revenue under contract but not yet realized, which means generating revenue) should end 2021 in the range of $290 million to $325 million. Stated another way, Latch's realized revenues will rise sharply over the next couple of years, and its losses will abate along the way.
Following its SPAC merger, Latch has some $500 million in liquid assets to help it navigate this early period of expansion before it starts turning a profit. And though the stock is "expensive," given Latch's market cap of $1.8 billion and its currently unimpressive financial results, it looks much more appealing when one considers that this company is anticipating revenue of some $368 million and breakeven free cash flow by 2023.
Buying shares of a very young company like this isn't for every investor. Variable business results can lead to sharp fluctuations in stock prices, and long-term financial projections can prove wildly off the mark. But I like Latch's mission to bring cloud computing tech to the real estate market, improving the lives of residents and workers, and making building management easier for landlords. I'll be adding a few more shares to my small position in the coming weeks.
