This has been the kind of year that seems to be lasting forever while also flying by. Temperatures might be running high, but summer is winding down, and investors are weighing opportunity against uncertainty as we head into the fall season.
Markets are seeing volatile trading, but recent sell-offs in some corners have also created opportunities to build positions in strong companies at a discount. With that in mind, read on for a look at two stocks that are worth buying before the month is out.
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Bumble
Bumble (BMBL -0.57%) went public in February, and it's fair to say that investors have had a hot-and-cold relationship with the dating app stock on the heels of its market debut.
Shares were initially priced at $43 and quickly climbed to nearly $85 per share shortly after the company's public debut, but it's been tough going from there. The stock is now down roughly 44.5% from its market high and trades around $49.
The market seems to have doubts about the business' path back to profitability, but the company could deliver big wins for patient investors. The hook of Bumble's namesake dating application is that women send the first message on the platform. This inverts the typical gender dynamic on dating apps and gives Bumble a significant point of differentiation, and the company has built a strong brand by providing a user experience that sets it apart from the competition. Bumble also operates Badoo, a dating network with a large (but less profitable) user base outside the U.S.
Sales climbed 38% year over year in the second quarter to reach $186.2 million, with revenue for the Bumble app jumping 55% to $127 million and revenue from Badoo and other business climbing 11% year over year to $58.9 million. Total paying users across the company's ecosystem jumped 20% to 2.9 million, and average revenue per user climbed 15% compared to the prior-year period.
Bumble's net loss roughly doubled to hit $11.1 million in the second quarter, but the business was posting profits before the pandemic created some extra headwinds, and its potential for sales and margin expansion are far from tapping out. Building the reach of its core app will likely take near-term priority over earnings growth, but that makes sense at this stage, and expanding its user base and experimenting with ways to increase average user spending could put the business in a position to become a cash machine.
With a market capitalization of roughly $5.7 billion, Bumble is valued at approximately 7.5 times this year's expected sales. The online dating market looks poised for strong growth through the next decade and beyond, and the company could deliver fantastic returns for shareholders if it continues to capture a substantial portion of the market.
Nintendo
Despite some headwinds created by the coronavirus pandemic causing some delays in game releases, the video game industry looks poised for more strong growth over the long term. Research firm Newzoo estimates that annual industry revenue will come in at roughly $176 billion this year and go on to hit roughly $205 billion by 2023. Nintendo (NTDOY 3.03%) has one of the most valuable collections of gaming franchises in the industry, and it looks poised to capitalize on growing demand for interactive entertainment.
Characters including Mario and Donkey Kong made their debut roughly 40 years ago and have been delighting audiences ever since. The Pokémon franchise, which Nintendo is co-owner of, stands as the best-selling gaming series of all time, by some accounts. The company is kind of like the Disney of the gaming industry.
The Japanese gaming giant has shown that its franchises and characters have staying power and that it can innovate and deliver new experiences that meet shifting player tastes. The strength of the company's software lineup has also helped it score big wins in the hardware space, and its Switch console is on track to be one of the most successful video game systems ever. Even better, the company is set to roll out an updated version of the console in October, which should spur millions of new unit sales and help prolong the life of the platform.
Nintendo has an incredible library of classic software under its belt, and it should be able to continue monetizing these titles with new re-releases and ports. The company also still has huge long-term growth potential in the mobile market, and there's even room for its classic characters to expand into new entertainment mediums and merchandizing opportunities.
With Nintendo's share price down roughly 28% from its 52-week high, the stock stands out as a worthwhile play for investors looking to benefit from the long-term growth of the global games industry.
