Both Shopify (SHOP -2.37%) and Pinterest (PINS -0.52%) were tech stock darlings that could do no wrong in 2020. From June 2019 to the start of 2021, investors pushed these stocks to extreme heights, with shares of Shopify and Pinterest rising over 312% and 164%, respectively -- far outpacing the Nasdaq Composite index, which jumped 73% over the same period.
Now, however, the tide has turned against them. Shares of Shopify and Pinterest are down nearly 80% and 73%, respectively, from their all-time highs. Both companies have had their fair share of struggles, which didn't help the dismal stock performance seen over the past year. However, both companies reported stellar third-quarter earnings, putting many of the risks investors had envisioned to rest for the time being.
Here's why now is the time to load up on Shopify and Pinterest while shares remain depressed.
1. The case for Shopify
What was once an e-commerce darling has quickly become an e-commerce leader that has lost interest from investors as growth has slowed dramatically. In late 2020 and early 2021, Shopify posted consistent year-over-year quarterly revenue increases of 90%, but it has since fallen sharply: In the second quarter of 2022, revenue improved just 16% year over year.
However, Shopify's Q3 results -- which the company posted on Oct. 27 -- gave investors hope. Revenue jumped 22% higher than the comparable quarter to $1.4 billion, while gross merchandise volume (GMV) facilitated by Shopify rose 11% year over year to $46.2 billion. These higher adoption figures upended the trend of revenue decelerations, signaling that Shopify might be through the worst of it.
While growth might have slowed in the first half of this year, what hasn't slowed is Shopify's market share gains. The company maintained its 10% share of the U.S. retail e-commerce space and expects it will continue outpacing the industry in the fourth quarter.
Research firm Oberlo believes that, from 2022 to 2026, the global e-commerce industry will increase between 8.2% and 10.4% annually. Considering GMV climbed 11% year over year in Q3, if Shopify can maintain this expansion rate, it could continue to gain market share.
Stagnating revenue and GMV rates have been one of the primary concerns for investors, driving the stock down to 8.7 times sales -- its lowest valuation since 2016. With this concern fading, thanks to a Q3 reacceleration, shares of Shopify look like a terrific bargain today.
2. The case for Pinterest
Shares of Pinterest have also crashed and burned as investors worry about how advertising will fare under the current macroeconomic environment. Since it's easy to pull back ad spending during a recession, companies that rely on advertising revenue (like Pinterest) have been crushed. This social media platform has also seen a persistent drop in monthly active users (MAUs). In the first quarter of 2021, Pinterest had 478 million active users, but this declined sequentially every quarter until Q4 2021, when the company bottomed at 431 million active users.
However, both of these risks appear to be falling by the wayside. Over the past few quarters, Pinterest's user growth has turned around: MAUs remained stagnant in Q1 and Q2 2022 at 433 million, but Q3 saw a sequential pop to 445 million.
Not only that, but despite the challenging macroeconomic picture, Pinterest's monetization and advertising have barely skipped a beat. The company's average revenue per user jumped 11% globally year over year to $1.56, driven by a 38% rise in its international segments (excluding the U.S., Europe, and Canada). This helped total revenue jump 8% year over year to $685 million. While other advertising stocks have crashed and burned this quarter, Pinterest continued to chug along.
The financials for Pinterest are moving in the right direction, as two notable concerns eased in Q3. That said, shares are still trading at a significant bargain of just 6 times sales -- near their lowest valuation since coming public in 2019. With risks getting mitigated, shares of Pinterest look too cheap to ignore.
