This has been a year for the record books... in all the wrong ways. The widely followed S&P 500 produced its worst six-month return to begin a year since 1970. Meanwhile, the technology-driven Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC -1.79%), which was largely responsible for sending the broader market to new heights, plummeted as much as 34% below its all-time closing high set in November and entrenched itself in a bear market.
Although big declines in the major U.S. indexes can rattle investors' nerves and lead to unrealized losses in the short term, they're historically the perfect time for patient investors to pounce. That's because every double-digit percentage decline in the major indexes, including the Nasdaq Composite, has eventually been put into the rearview mirror by an extended bull market rally. Over time, the broader market trends higher.
Image source: Getty Images.
In other words, the current bear market represents an opportunity for long-term investors to pick up innovative, high-growth businesses at a sizable discount. The following three extraordinary growth stocks are perfect examples of companies with the capacity to triple your money by 2028.
Amazon
The first phenomenal growth stock with a smorgasbord of competitive advantages in its sails that can triple your money in six years is none other than FAANG stock Amazon (AMZN -1.35%).
Some folks are clearly going to be apprehensive about the idea of a company valued at $1.4 trillion tripling in value over the next six years. But I assure you it's quite achievable, based on Amazon's growth trajectory, innovation, and operating cash flow.
As most people are likely well aware, Amazon sits atop a very tall pedestal in the online retail arena. The company's marketplace is expected to bring in about $0.40 of every $1 in U.S. online retail sales in 2022. Amazon's share of U.S. online retail sales is actually higher than its 14 closest competitors on a combined basis!
But it's not retail sales that have the capacity to propel Amazon to a 200% gain by 2028. Really, it's all about its higher-margin sales channels, such as subscription services, advertising, and cloud services. For instance, the company has signed up more than 200 million people worldwide to a Prime membership. The fees Amazon collects from its Prime members help the company funnel cash into other high-growth initiatives, as well as its rapidly growing logistics network.
All eyes are also on cloud infrastructure service segment Amazon Web Services (AWS). AWS brought in a third of all cloud-service spending during the first quarter. It grew sales by 33% during an exceptionally challenging second quarter, and it's a considerably higher-margin operating segment for Amazon. It frequently generates the bulk of Amazon's operating income, despite accounting for only around a sixth of the company's net sales.
With Wall Street and investors paying a median of 30 times year-end operating cash flow for shares of Amazon throughout the 2010s, Amazon's share price could triple by 2025, based on analysts' consensus cash flow forecast. Between now and 2028, a quadrupling in Amazon's annual cash flow per share isn't out of the question, which could realistically put a $4.2 trillion valuation on the table.
Bark
A second extraordinary growth stock with all the tools and intangibles necessary to triple your money by 2028 is dog-focused pet products and services company Bark (BARK -3.64%).
A quick look at Bark's chart since its debut in December 2020 clearly shows it's faced some challenges. Most companies that went public via special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), like Bark, were taken to the woodshed in 2021 and 2022. The Nasdaq bear market has also been unrelenting to growth stocks that aren't generating profits. With Bark still in its expansion phase, it remains unprofitable, and therefore a target for sellers.
However, many of Bark's metrics are headed in the right direction, indicating plenty of "paw-tential" for patient investors.
To begin with, the pet industry is practically recession-proof. According to sales data from the American Pet Products Association, pet spending hasn't declined on a year-over-year basis in the U.S. in over a quarter of a century. What's more, the number of American households with a pet is at an all-time high, as of the APPA's 2021-2022 survey. Owners are more than willing to open their wallets to ensure the happiness and well-being of their four-legged family members.
What makes Bark such an intriguing buy is its direct-to-consumer (DTC) operating model. Although the company has its products in tens of thousands of retail stores, brick-and-mortar accounted for just 10% of revenue in the fiscal first quarter of 2023 (ended June 30, 2022). Comparatively, DTC sales comprised the other 90% of revenue. Having nearly 2.28 million active subscribers means less need for excess physical inventory and generally lower overhead expenses. In short, it should help Bark maintain a gross margin of around 60%.
Bark's innovation is beginning to translate into higher sales as well. The company's Bark Bright dental products (dental chews and toothpaste for pooches) saw sales surge 169% to $2.4 million in the June-ended quarter. Meanwhile, Bark Eats will target specific breeds with curated dry-food diets. The point is that Bark's innovation is leading to high-margin add-on sales, which should help the company reach recurring profits by mid-decade, if not sooner.
Pets are almost always a money machine for businesses, which gives Bark a bright future.
Image source: Getty Images.
PubMatic
The third extraordinary growth stock that can triple your money by 2028 is cloud-based adtech stock PubMatic (PUBM -5.21%).
For the past couple of quarters, the wall of worry has been growing regarding ad spending. We've witnessed back-to-back quarters of U.S. gross domestic product declines (a "technical recession"), as well as many ad-driven companies paring back their growth outlooks in 2022 as the Federal Reserve rapidly raises interest rates. As for PubMatic, it's been business as usual.
PubMatic is what's known as a sell-side provider. Specifically, it helps publishing companies sell their digital display space to advertisers using its cloud-based programmatic ad platform. While you might think that the highest price offered always wins, this isn't the case. PubMatic's machine-learning software selects ads that are most relevant to users. This keeps advertisers happy and should ultimately boost ad-pricing power for publishing companies over the long run.
What makes PubMatic such a slam-dunk investment is digital ad-spending trends. Ad dollars are steadily being moved away from traditional print and toward digital platforms, such as video, mobile, connected TV, and over-the-top programmatic ads (offering ads via streaming services). Whereas the digital ad industry expects low double-digit growth through mid-decade, PubMatic just wrapped up its eighth consecutive quarter of 20%+ revenue growth. PubMatic is crushing the industry average growth rate, and it's primarily a result of existing clients spending significantly more on a year-over-year basis.
Something else noteworthy about PubMatic is the company's cloud infrastructure. Rather than relying on a third-party provider, PubMatic built its platform from the ground up. As the company's sales have grown, scaling efficiencies have really become apparent.
The cherry on top is that PubMatic ended the most recent quarter with $183 million in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities, and without a penny of debt to its name. With a pristine balance sheet and a sustained 20% (or greater) growth rate, tripling by 2028 seems well within reach for PubMatic.
