There have been only two decades when stocks have had negative returns: the 1930s, during Great Depression; and the 2000s, when a confluence of events including the tech bubble, 9/11, and the financial crisis all conspired to plunge the market into the red.
Yet the decades that followed made up for those shortfalls. The 1940s produced compound annual returns of 10.2% annually, including dividends, while the 2010s generated a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14%. That means an investor would have doubled their money within about seven years and five years, respectively.
It proves the old adage that to make money investing "it's not about timing the market, but your time in the market." For investors who want the best chance of having a comfortable retirement, investing in stocks and staying in the market for the long haul is the correct strategy.
Walt Disney (DIS -0.04%), Ubisoft (UBSFF 7.13%), and Fiverr International (FVRR 3.74%) are stocks you can buy today if you want to double your money, and you won't have to wait a decade for it to happen.
Image source: Getty Images.
You can never get enough entertainment
Eric Volkman (Walt Disney): Already a double for myself, Walt Disney stock has more than a strong chance to double again from its present level. There's no way I'm unloading my shares anytime soon, if ever, and I'd recommend them to any investor looking to bulk up a portfolio.
In the entertainment sector, there is no other company that comes close to Disney. It's a powerhouse in not one, not two, but three operational segments: film, TV, and its world-beating theme parks (honestly, have you ever been to a park that is better than Disneyland or Disney World?).
On top of that, the company's globally famous intellectual property is ideal for slapping on hoodies and T-shirts, and as material for games, toys, and costumes. As a result, The Mouse also has a vast and thriving merchandise operation.
As it's a multi-faceted company, Disney didn't suffer as many had feared it might during the pandemic.
Yes, the theme parks division took some heavy hits, but helping to compensate for this was the runaway popularity of Disney+. The company saw subscriber numbers soar for the well-stocked and organized streaming service, and investors love recurrent revenue like subscriptions -- particularly if they're sharply on the rise.
It nearly goes without saying that Disney is hardly a slouch in the movie segment either; it's constantly at the top of box office lists, especially for its Marvel superhero titles.
In the third quarter, overall Disney managed to blast its revenue 45% higher on a year-over-year basis, and we're not even fully out of the pandemic yet. And the theme parks are still getting on their feet; the division they belong to (parks, experiences, and products) drew just over $4.3 billion in Q3, well down from the almost $6.6 billion in the same quarter of pre-pandemic 2019.
In recent times, Disney stock has been dampened somewhat by a few justifiable worries. For one, Disney+ is maturing, and no matter how solid the content lineup is, subscriber growth won't be as hot as in the service's initial years. The company also suspended its dividend last year and there's no sign of when it'll be reinstated. Investors don't like having payouts yanked away from them.
I think this provides opportunity to buy the stock on what will eventually prove to be a significant discount. The company has numerous levers to push, backed by a massive library of top-flight content and brands, to crank revenue higher. And it has the financial discipline to keep being profitable no matter the headwinds coming toward it.
So it's little wonder that analysts think Disney's best years are ahead of it. Take 2022 for example; on average, prognosticators are expecting 25% annual growth in revenue for that full year, and believe the company will more than double its per-share net profit.
Bet on a turnaround for this beaten-down gaming company
Keith Noonan (Ubisoft): The global video games industry continues to have a promising growth outlook, but that hasn't helped Ubisoft stock much this year. The company's share price is down roughly 44% in 2021 and roughly 50% from its 52-week high. The France-based publisher now has a market capitalization of just $6.6 billion and looks cheaply valued despite relatively underwhelming performance from the business.
While Activision Blizzard has continued to put up solid numbers with its free-to-play (F2P) Call of Duty games and Take-Two Interactive is generating excitement with new Grand Theft Auto releases on the horizon, the outlook for Ubisoft's franchise software catalog has broadly taken a turn for the worse. Properties including Rainbow Six and Ghost Recon have lost some ground after previously looking like long-term growth drivers. Better-than-expected sales for the company's recently released Far Cry 6 have given the stock a small boost, but shares are still trading at a big discount.
It's been a bad year for Ubisoft -- no doubt about it. However, the company's shares offer big upside potential at current prices, and this is a case where I think it's worth betting on a successful turnaround.
Taking a page out of Activision Blizzard's playbook, Ubisoft is making a big push into the free-to-play gaming space. Activision has managed to score big wins by releasing installments of its Call of Duty franchise on PC and mobile without diluting the appeal of the core series, and it's not unreasonable to think that Ubisoft can replicate some of that success with its own properties.
The company's franchises admittedly aren't matching the pull of what Activision Blizzard, Take-Two Interactive, and other industry leaders have to offer, but Ubisoft still has some bankable properties and experienced development studios to work with. A single successful F2P release or new triple-A title could significantly change the narrative surrounding the company.
Image source: Getty Images.
Rise of the gig economy
Rich Duprey (Fiverr): The Great Resignation is here and workers around the world are quitting their jobs. Microsoft says as much as 40% of the global workforce is thinking of leaving their employer this year. Whatever the cause, it's likely to result in a boom for Fiverr, which partners freelancers offering services with people and companies that need them.
Freelancing is gaining popularity for its flexibility, which was put on display during the COVID-19 pandemic and has become a normal part of the labor market. Fiverr's technology platform puts the company in a great position to profit from this trend.
Sellers present their services as gigs, or packages with set prices for their work, making the purchase process easy and straightforward. Everyone knows what they're getting going in, and it's one of the reasons Fiverr has enjoyed such enormous success, though you wouldn't know that from looking at its stock price.
Shares are off 3% year to date compared to a 22% gain by the S&P 500, and is down 44% from the highs hit back in February. Partially it's the result of the market's better sales growth than the 50% gain Fiverr forecasts for the full year, considering it jumped 77% in 2020.
Wall Street, however, does forecast revenue to more than double by 2023 and Fiverr is expected to generate profits that go from $0.02 per share this year to $1.57 per share two years later.
Fiverr says its addressable U.S. market is over $100 billion per year while the global total freelance market is $750 billion annually. It currently only has a tiny fraction of the domestic total, and it is investing in international expansion. It recently acquired freelancing network Working Not Working, which sources creatives for Alphabet's Google, Netflix, and Spotify, while upgrading its services to include a premium fee-based seller's program.
It also initiated training programs for jobs at Wix.com and Salesforce.com, business programs aimed at larger clients, and a seller loyalty program. Fiverr also expanded Promoted Gigs that allow sellers to advertise freelancing jobs.
So even though the stock price looks expensive despite its decline this year, that's common when companies turn from losses to profits, and investors could double their investment if they just exhibit a little patience.
