This has been a frustrating year for investors, but companies that continue to grow revenue and profits are in the best position to reward shareholders with higher stock prices over time. Great businesses keep finding ways to grow, and three names are starting to look attractive.
Here's why it's time to buy shares of Electronic Arts (EA 0.02%), Apple (AAPL 0.64%), and Sonos (SONO 3.02%).
1. Electronic Arts
The video game industry is a great place to look for under-the-radar growth stocks. The industry is expected to grow about 50% by 2025 and reach $268 billion in value. Younger generations, including millennials, grew up on video games, and it's a hobby that continues to stick with many as they grow older. It's estimated that 3 billion people around the world play games in some form, even if it's an occasional mobile game.
With Microsoft in the process of acquiring leading game producer Activision Blizzard, investors are left with limited choices in gaming -- but Electronic Arts is a good one to consider. EA has a diversified roster of games across console, PC, and mobile. Over the last four quarters, the company generated $1.7 billion in free cash flow on $7 billion of revenue. That's a healthy free cash flow margin of 24%, which is on par with some of the most profitable companies in the world.
Recent acquisitions set EA up for a promising future. Earlier last year, the company scooped up Glu Mobile for $2.1 billion. And among other small deals EA completed last year, the $1.2 billion acquisition of U.K.-based Codemasters adds a stable of top racing games to EA's best-selling Need for Speed franchise.
EA is also investing its cash flow in new game development. It has announced six new titles in the works, with management expecting its popular EA Sports family of titles and new racing lineup to deliver significant growth starting in the current fiscal year ending in March 2023.
Investors can buy the stock at a modest price-to-earnings ratio of 17.4 based on this year's analyst estimates. EA has a three-decade-long history of delivering market-beating returns to shareholders and is worth buying on the dip.
2. Apple
Apple's unique approach to designing products, where it controls the hardware, software, and services, has continued to win over millions of customers. Whether you use an Apple product or not, it's a top stock worth owning for the long term. Apple's brand power has a tremendous pull on people, and that has turned the company into a profit machine. Over the last four quarters, Apple converted $386 billion of revenue into $105 billion of free cash flow, and it ended the most recent quarter with a net cash position on the balance sheet of $73 billion. This is clearly a business built to last.
All that cash funds an endless wave of investment in new products and features. The new line of Macs and iPads powered by Apple's M1 processors has been a huge success. Critics have raved about the improved speed and battery efficiency the new chips provide over the Intel chips that previously supplied Apple's computers.
It's no coincidence that Apple set a new revenue record for iPhone, Mac, and Wearables in the most recent quarter. The installed base of active devices continues to reach new highs after climbing to 1.8 billion at the start of 2022.
The stock is down 18% year-to-date, giving investors a window to establish a position in this iconic brand at an attractive valuation. At a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 23.7, the stock is not cheap, but Apple is a rock-solid investment that can still beat the return of the average stock over time.
3. Sonos
Technological advancements in wireless products are causing a spending surge on home audio equipment. The global home audio market is expected to accelerate at a compound annual rate of 10.8% through 2025, according to Technavio. And no brand is better positioned to capitalize than Sonos.
Sonos introduced the first multi-room wireless sound system in 2005, and has remained a leading brand. The stock soared at the start of the pandemic, when spending on home entertainment was accelerating. But during the bear market, the stock has fallen back to its initial public offering price in 2018. Nonetheless, the business has continued to grow, with revenue up 33% cumulatively over the last five years and free cash flow growing even faster.
Investing in Sonos is a smart way to invest in the growth of streaming music services and the adoption of smart home devices (e.g. voice assistants). The company differentiates its products in the marketplace with proprietary software that makes it easy to manage multiple speakers throughout the home while streaming content from leading music services. Its easy-to-use software interface is a key reason Sonos continues to win over customers.
Sonos has tremendous customer loyalty, leading its users to buy more products. And its products are already in 13 million homes worldwide, with existing households representing nearly half of new product registrations last year. The combination of low global household penetration with a high amount of repeat business is a great investment opportunity.
Sonos is the most undervalued stock featured here. Shares currently trade at 11 times expected earnings this year. If Sonos simply grows revenue in line with the home audio market over the next five years, investors can make a fantastic return on the stock at these price levels.
