Many hyper-growth stocks skyrocketed to all-time highs last year as overly bullish investors convinced themselves it was reasonable to pay 30, 40, or even 50 times sales for unprofitable tech companies. Many of those investors were badly burned over the past year as rising interest rates crushed unprofitable companies that were trading at sky-high valuations.
But in the aftermath of that sobering reality check, many of those former highfliers are now trading at more sustainable valuations. Let's take a look at three promising hyper-growth stocks that investors should consider buying today before the bulls come back: Snowflake (SNOW -1.99%), CrowdStrike (CRWD -3.90%), and Cloudflare (NET -3.01%).
Image source: Getty Images.
1. Snowflake
Snowflake's cloud-based data warehousing platform enables large organizations to break down silos between different departments, computing platforms, and software applications, then store of all that data in a centralized location where it can be easily accessed by other third-party applications and data visualization services.
Snowflake went public in late 2020. Its revenue soared 174% in fiscal 2020, grew 124% in fiscal 2021, and increased 106% to $1.22 billion in fiscal 2022, which ended this January. Those dazzling growth rates indicate that lots of companies are scrambling to centralize their data so it can be processed more efficiently by analytics tools to drive better decisions.
Over the long term, Snowflake expects its product revenue (which accounted for 94% of its top line in fiscal 2022) to surge to about $10 billion in fiscal 2029, which would equal a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 36% over the next seven fiscal years. It isn't profitable by GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) yet, but its non-GAAP profits are gradually turning positive and could stabilize as it reins in its stock-based compensation expenses.
Snowflake's stock isn't cheap at 18 times next year's sales, but its robust growth and ambitious long-term goals could justify that premium valuation. Its stock has already been cut in half since it hit its all-time high last November, so this might represent a good starting point for patient investors.
2. CrowdStrike
CrowdStrike stands out in the cybersecurity market because its core product, Falcon, is a cloud-native platform that doesn't require any on-site appliances. Many older cybersecurity companies still run their services on those appliances, which take up lots of room, require constant maintenance, and can be difficult to scale as an organization expands.
CrowdStrike's early-mover advantage in this disruptive niche enabled it to grow like a weed since its IPO in 2019. Its revenue surged 93% in fiscal 2020, grew 82% in fiscal 2021, and increased another 66% to $1.45 billion in fiscal 2022, which ended this January. The key to CrowdStrike's growth is its sticky "land and expand" strategy -- it locks in customers with a trial bundle of four cloud-based modules to sell additional subscription-based modules.
Analysts expect CrowdStrike's revenue to grow at a CAGR of 41% between fiscal 2022 and 2025 to reach $4.09 billion by the final year. It's consistently profitable on a non-GAAP basis, and its GAAP losses are expected to narrow significantly over the next three years. CrowdStrike's stock has pulled back more than 40% since it hit its all-time high last November, and it now looks a lot more reasonably valued at about 13 times next year's sales. Simply put, CrowdStrike could be a great way to invest in the secular expansion of the cybersecurity and cloud markets over the next few decades.
3. Cloudflare
Cloudflare operates a cloud-based content delivery network (CDN) that accelerates the delivery of digital media to websites and apps by storing copies of cached content on "edge servers" located physically closer to end users. It also shields websites from malicious bots and other types of attacks. So if you've ever been asked to prove that you're human while browsing the web, then you've likely encountered Cloudflare's bot-blocking systems.
Cloudflare often refers to itself as a "water filtration" system for the modern internet, filtering out the impurities before they harm websites and their visitors. The essential nature of those services, along with a growing need to accelerate the delivery of media-heavy websites to distant users, has lit a fire under Cloudflare's business since its IPO in 2019.
Cloudflare's revenue grew 49% in 2019, rose 50% in 2020, and increased 52% to $656 million in 2021. It expects its revenue to increase another 47%-48% this year, while analysts see its top line growing at a stunning CAGR of 40% from 2021 to 2024 to reach $1.78 billion by the final year. It's still unprofitable by GAAP measures, but its non-GAAP earnings have gradually entered positive territory in the first half of 2022.
Cloudflare's stock has declined by about 75% since it closed at its all-time high last November. But at 14 times next year's sales, this hypergrowth darling now looks a lot more reasonably valued than it did last year.
