Shareholders in tech growth stocks have experienced a brutal sell-off in recent months. Even ETFs have felt the effects, as Cathie Wood's Ark Innovation ETF has lost more than half of its value over the last year.
Amidst all the sell-off carnage, there are some tech companies that have become bargains despite their modest price declines, and they hold considerable potential to move higher. Investors looking for such tech stocks should consider two stalwarts: Alphabet (GOOGL -1.23%) (GOOG -1.10%) and Qualcomm (QCOM -2.36%). Let's find out a bit more about these top bargain stocks ready for a bull run.
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1. Alphabet
Google parent Alphabet may seem like a counterintuitive pick in some respects. Its market cap of nearly $1.8 trillion makes high-percentage growth more difficult. Though its stock price has surged 28% higher over the last year, its 10.8% decline from its November high has only given traders a comparatively modest discount.
Alphabet announced a 20-for-1 stock split effective on July 15. This would mean a share price around $135 per share at current prices, making it more attractive for potential inclusion in the price-weighted Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Also, a massive market cap has not seemed to stop this company's growth. The $258 billion it reported in revenue in 2021 was up 41% year over year. This included a 45% increase in revenue for Google Cloud, which now lags only Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure in market share, according to ParkMyCloud.
This led to a net income of just over $76 billion, an 89% increase over the same period. Limiting the increase in expenses to 27% helped generate this growth.
Moreover, Alphabet has become a cash flow juggernaut. In 2021, it generated over $67 billion in free cash flow and claimed almost $140 billion in liquidity, giving Alphabet a solid balance sheet.
Admittedly, the lack of specific guidance from management may disappoint investors. Analysts have estimated an 18% year-over-year revenue increase for 2022, which would mean a significant slowdown.
Nonetheless, a P/E ratio of 24 marks its lowest earnings multiple since the beginning of the pandemic. It is also significantly cheaper than its cloud rivals Amazon and Microsoft, which sell for 48 and 32 times earnings, respectively. This earnings multiple makes Alphabet a bargain even if revenue growth falls below 20%.
2. Qualcomm
Qualcomm is another large tech company leading the pace of innovation. Long a producer of smartphone chipsets, it continues to dominate this market, especially in the midst of a 5G upgrade cycle. Even though Apple and other peers have attempted to compete, for now, every 5G phone on the market depends on Qualcomm.
However, the company has also ventured into the IoT, automotive, and RF front-end markets. Its digital chassis can power automobiles and the communication-related functions of cars, including the emerging autonomous driving technology.
Moreover, it has begun to compete in the PC, server, and data center markets. This could become an increasing threat to companies such as AMD, Intel, and Nvidia amid more communications-related applications.
These moves have delivered massive growth for the company. In its first quarter, revenue rose 30% year over year to $10.7 billion. Adjusted net income surged 47% during this period to $3.7 billion as the company limited expense growth to 20%.
Admittedly, it represented a slowdown from fiscal 2021 results. In 2021, revenue increased 55% versus prior-year levels, taking adjusted net income 104% as Qualcomm kept expenses in check. Still, the company's estimated Q2 revenue of between $10.2 billion and $11.0 billion would mean a 34% year-over-year rise in revenue.
Investors do not yet seem to appreciate Qualcomm's potential. Its stock price has only risen 12% over the last year, though it's also only down 15% from its 52-week high, it has mostly sidestepped the sell-off in tech stocks.
This muted performance has left it with a P/E ratio of 19, dwarfing Apple's earnings multiple of 28 and the 76 P/E ratio of Nvidia. Given its continuing leadership in smartphone chipsets and its potential to expand the breadth of communications-related chips, value-focused tech investors should consider Qualcomm stock a buy now.
