The broader market has been cooling off from its 2021 highs, and that means investors can get some great stocks on sale. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 11% year to date, but down 4% over the past month. An investment of $1,000 is a great starting point, whether you're just starting out or adding to a portfolio. If you have extra money after paying your bills and saving for an emergency fund, consider investing in the stock market.
I'll recommend three great stocks that each provide a different value to create a mini diversified portfolio: Fiverr (FVRR 2.99%) is a great growth stock, PayPal Holdings is a top value stock (PYPL 2.68%), and Coca-Cola (KO 0.20%) is a classic, high-yielding dividend stock.
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A better way to freelance
It's not simple to identify which companies have the potential to be truly disruptive. Some companies appear so outlandish that it seems risky to believe in them, and others don't seem quite unique enough to make a real difference. I would put Fiverr into the second category, because it's a freelance marketplace, similar to many others, such as Upwork. But Fiverr's model is different, and it's demonstrating strong growth.
Fiverr connects clients with freelancers, who market "gigs," or pre-packaged service options. The company calls this "service as a product," and it makes the purchase process simple and straightforward. It's catching on, and Fiverr 4 million active buyers as of the ending the second quarter, a 43% year-over-year increase. That's a reassuring number as offices have reopened and people are going back to in-person work. Revenue increased 60% year over year in the second quarter, and management expects revenue to increase over last year's figures by around 50%, after growing 89% in 2020. Spend per buyer increased 23%, and take rate increased 80 basis points (0.8%) in Q2.
Some of the initiatives the company is starting include a premium sellers program with perks for a monthly fee, an advertising revenue program, a business program, and deals with Wix.com and Salesforce to train freelancers directly into employment. It's safe to say that while growth is decelerating this year, it's still strong, and the runway is long.
After a run-up of some 750% in 2020, Fiverr stock is down nearly 10% in 2021 as of this writing. It's not exactly cheap, trading at a price-to-sales ratio of 25, and it still doesn't post a profit. But there's a lot to be excited about, and now's a great time to buy this high-growth stock on the dip.
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The biggest player in digital payments
PayPal's been around for a long time, but it has evolved and upgraded to keep its leading position in digital payments. Throughout the pandemic it's had some of its best quarters ever, and it's projecting continued growth long into the future.
In the second quarter, it topped 400 million accounts, which is more than the entire population of the U.S. and Canada combined. And it's expecting to add more than 40 million more for the full fiscal year. It processed more than $1 trillion in payments over the past 12 months and processes nearly 38,000 transactions every minute.
2020 revenue was $21 billion, and PayPal expects that to climb to $50 billion in 2025, or a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 20%. It's rolling out new products and features to get there.
In September it launched its new app, which features all of its services in a user-friendly design, including banking, peer-to-peer payments, bill pay, trading, and more. It sees this as the app of the future, where customers can handle all of their financial transactions under one banner and in one place.
PayPal stock has gained more than 500% over the past five years, but it's down 10% over the past month, making now an ideal time to buy shares.
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Quenching the world's thirst
Coca-Cola has been the longtime leader in beverage sales, but it was crushed under the weight of the pandemic. It quickly pivoted to get the most out of its extensive distribution network, making up in home sales some of its lost revenue from its large away-from-home category. It's now back in top form, leaner after discarding half of its brands, as people are leaving home again. In the second quarter (ended July 2), net revenue increased 42% year over year to more than $10 billion, completely erasing 2020 declines and topping the 2019 figure.
As large as it is, the company says it has a 13% share of the overall commercial beverage market in developed countries and 5% of the market in underdeveloped countries. That means there are still growth opportunities. It's harnessing its considerable resources to develop new products, create campaigns, and use its digital systems to capture greater market share.
Coke is a Dividend King, and it's raised its dividend annually for 59 years. It's committed to the dividend, which typically yields around 3%. Since shares are down 7% over the past month, the yield has risen to 3.15%, and you can buy shares of this top dividend stock at a great price.
