It's been a rough year for the stock market. Though it's up 16.3% from June's lows, the S&P 500 (^GSPC 1.20%) index is still down about 11.3% since the end of 2021. And the specter of a full-blown recession remains.
If you're truly a long-term investor, though, this recent volatility doesn't really matter all that much. Neither does whatever awaits in the near future. What does matter, if you're a true long-termer, is that now is the time to step into growth stocks, regardless of the current environment.
With that as the backdrop, here's a closer look at two solid growth stocks with huge long-term potential. The trick after buying is to just leave them alone for long enough to let them do their thing.
1. Adobe
You likely know it as the name behind image-editing software Photoshop, or the company that pioneered the PDF (portable document format) file via software called Acrobat. And both remain part of its repertoire. But Adobe (ADBE 1.29%) is so much more than that these days. It offers two different cloud-based software suites that are powerful business-building tools.
The first of these is a platform called Creative Cloud. This suite includes Photoshop, Acrobat, and Illustrator. It also includes access to content templates, video-editing tools, and print-publishing utilities. It's particularly helpful for commercial photographers and graphic artists. If customers are working with something to look at -- online or offline -- Creative Cloud can help.
The other suite is called Experience Cloud. Any organization that operates a customer-facing website can find something of value in this collection of digital tools; content management, data analytics, and marketing workflow are just some of its offerings. Perhaps the most impressive thing about Experience Cloud is that it allows its users to customize the appearance and layout of websites.
The key selling point for investors, however, isn't the depth of Adobe's offerings. It's the business model. While Photoshop and Acrobat can still be purchased outright, they're increasingly being rented -- that is, Experience Cloud and Creative Cloud are both provided under the "software as a service" model, with access to them charged on a monthly basis. The monthly fee is modest, but it drives reliable income.
In fact, the company's year-over-year revenue has grown every quarter since mid-2014, while operating income and net income have grown almost as reliably. That's evidence that once customers begin paying for access to one of the two cloud-based platforms, they tend to continue paying for it. The company's focus can then simply be bringing more users into the fold.
And Adobe's gotten very, very good at doing so. This year's projected top-line growth of 12%, to be followed by 14% growth next year, is in line with multiyear norms.
2. Nvidia
While it's been a rough year for the broad market, it's been a downright terrible one for Nvidia (NVDA 3.65%) shareholders. The stock soared through the better part of 2020 and 2021. But thanks to the semiconductor shortage and the meltdown of the cryptocurrency market, Nvidia's stock price is down 36% year to date, and down 45% from November's peak.
Investor concerns grew a bit more when share prices didn't fully participate in the broader market's rebound efforts that got going in June. A profit warning from Nvidia management posted earlier this month may have something to do with that weakness.
Don't let the lethargic performance and current fiscal trouble deter you, though. This company has a bright future, even if the next several months could be wobbly.
Nvidia's core business is graphics processing units (GPUs); you may know them better as graphics cards. Hardcore video gamers need this sort of hardware and accompanying software to make high-end, visually intensive games playable. Digital illustrators and computer-aided designers also need these powerful technologies to handle their visually intensive work.
The bulk of Nvidia's future growth, however, is rooted in a relatively young market.
As it turns out, the same hardware that handles high-intensity computer graphics is also well suited to support artificial intelligence applications. Whereas conventional computer processors can handle complex computational tasks, a good many AI applications don't require complex calculations either. They just require a whole lot of simple number-crunching done at the same time.
Recognizing the opportunity, Nvidia now makes and markets purpose-built artificial intelligence platforms that are ultimately founded on GPU know-how. In fact, nearly half of the company's revenue stems from sales of its powerful computing platforms to data center operators.
Yet that still only scratches the surface of the opportunity. Mordor Intelligence estimates that the worldwide AI solutions market will grow at an average pace of a little over 31% per year through 2027, jibing with outlooks from Precedence Research and Allied Market Research. For a different perspective, the artificial intelligence market should be worth on the order of $1.6 trillion per year by 2030 -- well up from less than $200 million per year now.
