The sharp sell-off in technology stocks this year means investors can get their hands on fast-growing companies at relatively attractive valuations. And they may not want to miss this opportunity, as some of the names in this sector will play key roles in shaping our future.
Qualcomm (QCOM 0.73%) and Zoom Video Communications (ZM 3.49%) are among the popular tech stocks that have pulled back significantly in 2022. Qualcomm stock has slipped 27% this year, while Zoom has lost a whopping 40% of its value.
However, a closer look at their prospects indicates Qualcomm and Zoom could come out of their slump and become big winners in the long run. Considering the markets they serve, it won't be surprising to see them double investors' money over the next five years. Let's look at the reasons why putting $1,000 into these companies could turn out to be a smart long-term move.
1. Qualcomm
Qualcomm is synonymous with smartphones as the company's Snapdragon processors power a huge chunk of devices across the globe. Counterpoint Research estimates Qualcomm finished 2021 with 30% of the global smartphone application processor market share, up from 23% at the end of 2020. The company is benefiting from the adoption of 5G smartphones and has cornered a 76% share of the market for 5G baseband modems.
This healthy market share bodes well for Qualcomm. That's because the demand for 5G mmWave chipsets is expected to grow at an annual pace of 37% through 2026, pointing toward increased sales of baseband modems and front-end modules Qualcomm sells. Now, the handset business produced $6.3 billion in revenue for Qualcomm in the second quarter of fiscal 2022 (which ended March 27), growing 56% year over year.
Specifically, smartphones accounted for 57% of its top line, meaning the huge 5G baseband opportunity should lead to robust long-term growth in the handset business. The good part is Qualcomm is also gaining traction in other fast-growing verticals such as automotive and the Internet of Things (IoT).
The chip giant's automotive revenue in Q2 was up 41% year over year to $339 million. While that may be a small portion of Qualcomm's overall revenue of $11.1 billion, it could explode big time in the future. Qualcomm is sitting on a design win pipeline worth $16 billion. A design win means Qualcomm's chips have been selected for use in vehicles or other automotive platforms and that the company will start generating revenue from them once they move into actual production.
The IoT business presents another budding opportunity for Qualcomm as the segment's revenue in Q2 increased 61% year over year to $1.7 billion. The chipmaker is addressing several IoT categories -- from smart cities and cameras to smart homes and robotics -- through its IoT offerings, providing customers with end-to-end offerings that enable them to quickly deploy their networks.
With the global IoT market set to clock 22% annual growth through 2027, this is another fast-growing area that could supercharge Qualcomm. As such, Qualcomm could turn out to be a top semiconductor stock that could double investors' money, and at 14 times trailing earnings, it can be bought on the cheap right now since it is available at a nice discount to the Nasdaq-100's multiple of 26.5.
2. Zoom Video Communications
Zoom Video Communications' pandemic-driven sales surge may be over, but the stock's massive drop and recent results make it an enticing buy right now.
Zoom stock is down 68% in the past year, which has brought down its sales multiple to eight and earnings multiple to 26. That's a big discount compared to the company's heydays in 2019 and 2020 when it used to trade at sharply inflated multiples.
ZM PE Ratio data by YCharts.
Buying Zoom at its beaten-down valuation looks like a no-brainer as the company is showing signs that it could sustain a nice pace of growth in the long run. The company released its fiscal 2023 first-quarter results on May 23, reporting a 12% year-over-year increase in revenue to $1.07 billion. Zoom's growth was driven by a mix of higher customer spending and increased customer count.
For instance, the number of Zoom customers contributing more than $100,000 in trailing-12-month revenue increased 46% year over year in Q1 to 2,916. The company also reported nearly 199,000 enterprise customers last quarter, which was a 24% increase over the prior-year period.
More importantly, Zoom is going after the conversational artificial intelligence (AI) market, which it believes could be worth $18 billion by 2026. Conversational AI refers to technologies like interactive voice systems or chatbots that can help humans interact with computers through text and/or speech. In simpler words, conversational AI is the foundation of the fast-growing cloud-based contact center market, which is dominated by the likes of Twilio.
Zoom has shored up its presence in this space with the acquisition of Solvvy, which it announced last month and is expected to close this quarter. It is worth noting that Zoom had entered the contact center market only in February this year, launching the service in the U.S. and Canada. The company aims to expand the availability of its contact center to international markets later this year, and the acquisition of an AI specialist such as Solvvy to strengthen its contact center offerings looks like the right thing to do as it goes after a multibillion-dollar opportunity.
As such, it won't be surprising to see Zoom's earnings increasing at a faster pace than Wall Street's expectations of 13.6% annual growth for the next five years. That could translate into a nice upside and help Zoom stock outpace the broader market in the future.
