E-commerce stocks have had a difficult 2022, with names that led the market over the last few years like Etsy (NASDAQ: ETSY) and Shopify (NYSE: SHOP) plummeting 70% or more from their 52-week highs. More broadly, the Global X E-commerce ETF (NASDAQ: EBIZ), which holds many of the top names in the space, has been down nearly 50% over the past year.
But don't let this obscure the fact that e-commerce is still a great place to be with plenty of room for growth going forward -- Morgan Stanley recently forecasted that e-commerce will grow from a $3.3 trillion industry today to a $5.4 trillion industry by 2026. With this multi-year perspective in mind, what are some of the best e-commerce stocks to buy right now?
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1. Revolve Group
A key reason many e-commerce stocks sank in the first half of 2022 is that many were either trading at nosebleed multiples or did not have profits at all, at a time when the market's appetite for those types of stocks diminished due to rising inflation and rising interest rates. One top e-commerce stock that does not have this problem is Revolve Group (RVLV -1.87%), which is not only profitable but also trades at a reasonable valuation of 19 times forward earnings.
Revolve Group is an online retailer that sells apparel, accessories, and luxury goods, mainly to millennials and Generation Z. The company leverages algorithms and data analytics to analyze social media and utilizes its proprietary technology to forecast emerging trends and manage inventory. Revolve makes extensive use of partnerships with social media influencers and features collections curated by them. This data-driven approach seems to be working for Revolve -- in a field where many retailers end up having to discount large amounts of merchandise to move it off shelves, Revolve stands out in that 87% of its sales were at full price in 2021. As such, the company boasts impressive gross margins of 55%.
In the first quarter of 2022, Revolve grew net sales 58% year over year while increasing adjusted EBITDA by 35%. The company is also growing its number of active customers, total orders, and average order value, indicating that Revolve is making progress on all fronts and is a compelling e-commerce stock to buy now and hold into the future.
2. GoDaddy
The name GoDaddy (GDDY 0.25%) may not immediately jump out to you as "e-commerce" in the same way that Etsy or Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) does because consumers aren't going to GoDaddy's website to buy products. Instead, this is a pick-and-shovel play on the growth of e-commerce and online entrepreneurship. While GoDaddy is best known for web hosting and domain registration, the company has been increasingly diversifying and expanding its services to become a more integral part of the e-commerce landscape since CEO Aman Bhutani took the helm.
The company's expansion into segments such as invoicing and payments not only brings GoDaddy into some lucrative markets but also brings a lot of synergy as they are complementary to its hosting business. For an entrepreneur or an e-commerce brand already hosting its website on GoDaddy, it makes a lot of sense to also incorporate its payments and invoicing solutions. This evolution into an all-encompassing solution looks like it is off to a good start, with annualized GMV (gross merchandise volume) increasing 20% year over year to $24 billion and revenue and EBITDA increasing by 11% and 18% year over year, respectively, in the last quarter.
The company is also aggressively returning capital to shareholders via share buybacks. In February, the company authorized a new $3 billion share repurchase plan, which is all part of a multi-year plan to create value for shareholders.
GoDaddy is evolving into a one-stop shop for e-commerce and online business while focusing on shareholder value, which makes it a top e-commerce stock to buy and hold for the long run.
3. MercadoLibre
Last but not least, let's take a look at MercadoLibre (MELI -0.45%) as our third top e-commerce stock to buy in July. Over the last 10 years, this perennial growth machine has given investors a return of 860%. Keep in mind that this phenomenal return takes the 46% year-to-date decline in 2022 into account; otherwise, it would be even higher. The good news for prospective shareholders or investors who regret missing out on MercadoLibre's rise over the last decade is that after this decline, shares are now trading at a price point that they have not been at since the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic more than two years ago.
While the share price has declined, MercadoLibre's underlying business is actually performing better than ever. The market sell-off has obscured the fact that the Argentine company grew revenue by a phenomenal 63% year over year. What makes this growth even more impressive is that it's not like MercadoLibre was coming off of a low base or growing slowly in the first quarter of 2021 -- the company increased revenue by nearly 160% year-over-year during that quarter.
While MercadoLibre does not look cheap on a price-to-earnings basis, it is important to note that the company just turned profitable and is still investing in infrastructure to ramp up its operations and offerings even further. On a price-to-sales basis, MercadoLibre trades at under five times sales, which is not bad for a company that is growing like this.
Looking ahead, shares of some leading e-commerce companies have fallen sharply this year. But many of these companies, such as MercadoLibre, Revolve Group, and GoDaddy are firing on all cylinders and look better than ever in terms of their underlying business, and valuations look reasonable. E-commerce will continue to be a major secular growth trend going forward, and owning top e-commerce stocks like these three should help shareholders to grow their portfolios for years to come.
