High-growth technology stocks have been beaten down lately due in part to hawkish monetary policy by the Fed to curb inflation and added strain from the war between Russia and Ukraine. That's certainly the case for UiPath (PATH 3.49%), which has shed 53% of its value since the start of the year. UiPath is a robotic process automation (RPA) provider that helps businesses automate routine office activities. For example, Uber (UBER 2.64%) uses UiPath RPA to simplify and coordinate global operations and ensure regulatory compliance.
The ridesharing company has benefited greatly from the automations, saving north of $22 million over the course of three years. According to Grand View Research, the global RPA market is forecast to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 38.2% through 2030, and given UiPath's 27.1% share of the industry, the stock could be due for a major rebound in the years to follow. Let's explore the company's current financial condition to determine whether the RPA stock is worth your while today.
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What's cooking with UiPath?
UiPath has endured a rocky start since going public in April 2021, with its stock price down 73% since then. But when you look more closely, you'll realize that the business is largely in stable shape. In fiscal Q1 2023, the company's total revenue rose 31.6% year over year to $245.1 million and it generated an adjusted net loss of $0.03 per share.
UiPath's annualized renewal run rate (ARR), a key performance metric that shows how much recurring revenue it expects on an annual basis, surged 50% to $977.1 million. Likewise, total customers increased 21.5% to 10,330, and the number of customers that provide more than $100,000 in ARR grew 42.4% to 1,574. Clearly, the company has been quite successful in retaining customers and adding new ones. Plus, UiPath's net retention rate is 138%, which is well above the 100% threshold that is typically considered good.
For the full fiscal year, Wall Street analysts expect total sales will rise 22% year over year to $1.1 billion on a loss of $0.02 per share. Next year, analysts see revenue growing another 27.7% with earnings of $0.10 per share. That's solid top-line growth for a stock that's down more than 50% year to date, and the company's path to profitability seems entirely reasonable moving forward.
The global RPA industry is set to generate $30.9 billion in total revenue by 2030, according to Grand View Research. If UiPath can control just 10% of the market by then, which is below its current share of 27%, the company would generate $3.1 billion in sales annually, equal to a 13.2% CAGR from last year's revenue of $892.3 million. That's not only solid growth, but it also may be a conservative estimate given that its current market share is higher and management believes its addressable market could be upwards of $65 billion. Today, the stock costs 11.7 times sales -- not a cheap price to pay, but it might be worth it given the long-term potential upside.
Is it time to buy UiPath stock?
If we take a moment to block out the short-term noise, it's not difficult to envision a pathway to success for the RPA company. At the moment, UiPath is a leader in a massive secular growth industry. Plus, its latest share-price slump offers investors an excellent margin of safety. While it's likely that the market will remain volatile, UiPath could be a multibagger for patient long-term investors. In my opinion, now is certainly a good time to consider starting a position in the RPA specialist.
