3 Unstoppable Growth Stocks to Buy if There's a Stock Market Sell-Off

While the stock market has had a down year, the past 30 days have been pretty stable, with the S&P 500 down only around 4%. However, investors must be prepared for another sell-off as it could open up once-in-a-decade buying opportunities for some of the market's best stocks.

If the market drops again, I'll be adding more shares of the following stocks to my portfolio: Amazon (AMZN 1.49%), CrowdStrike (CRWD 2.00%), and Snowflake (SNOW 0.88%). Here's a closer look at why these three growth stocks are at the top of my shopping list.

1. Amazon continues to stand out from its tech peers

Amazon used to be the poster child for the ideal growth stock. However, it seemingly lost that title after its revenue growth nearly disappeared in the first couple of quarters of 2022. But with Amazon's most recent earnings report, it's clear that the company truly is unstoppable.

In North America, net sales were up 20% year over year (YOY). This is impressive, considering consumer spending power is dwindling. Amazon Web Services (AWS) also flexed its muscles, with sales up 27% YOY to $20.5 billion. However, Amazon is still trying to figure out its international business, as sales fell 5% YOY.

Overall, Amazon grew its revenue by 15% YOY; that's better than Microsoft, Apple, and Alphabet -- three tech giants Amazon is often compared to. However, one area Amazon can't keep up with is its profits -- it isn't nearly as profitable as its peers.

Amazon's net income fell to $2.9 billion in Q3, down from $3.1 billion last year. These profits came from AWS as both retail segments lost money for the quarter. Still, both segments were profitable throughout most of 2020 and 2021, so there is a formula for these divisions to generate earnings again. Obviously, there was a pandemic boost during that time frame, but it gives management the sales levels they need to maintain to produce consistent earnings.

With Amazon trading at 1.8 times sales (the lowest since 2015), the stock is pretty cheap as-is. However, if it sells off again, investors need to be ready to pounce on this e-commerce giant.

2. CrowdStrike will remain relevant for years to come

No matter what happens with the economy, one thing that is not going away is the threat of cyberattacks. In fact, attacks may increase if cybercriminals can pinpoint companies cutting their security budgets. This reality makes cybersecurity companies great investments. After all, cybersecurity is practically a necessary expense to do business in today's digital society.

CrowdStrike is the market leader in endpoint security -- a program that protects network access points like laptops and phones. More than 19,000 customers utilize CrowdStrike's offering, including 258 of the Fortune 500. It's also rapidly growing its customer base, with subscription customers rising 51% YOY in CrowdStrike's Q2 (ending July 31).

With annual recurring revenue of $2.14 billion (up 59% YOY in Q2), CrowdStrike is a decent-sized company. However, this pales compared to its market opportunity, which CrowdStrike pinpoints at $126 billion by 2025. As a bonus, CrowdStrike is also free-cash-flow-positive, sporting a 25% margin in Q2. Even if you back out stock-based compensation, CrowdStrike is still generating positive free cash flow.

CrowdStrike is one of the best software stocks out there. However, the stock is still a bit expensive, trading at 16 times sales, which is why it is top of my list if the stock market dips again.

3. Snowflake's just starting to tap into its true potential

Another premier software company is data cloud provider Snowflake. While AWS provides the cloud infrastructure to businesses, Snowflake gives its clients the tools to efficiently store and process data through an AWS data center (although it works with Microsoft's Azure and Google Cloud as well).

If you were impressed by CrowdStrike's growth, then Snowflake's will blow you away. In Q2 (ending July 31), Snowflake's product revenue rose 83% YOY to $466 million. But the most exciting metric is its net revenue retention rate of 171%, meaning the average customers spent $171 for every $100 they spent last year. That's an impressive number, but it isn't terribly surprising when you have a 100% Dresner customer satisfaction score.

Because Snowflake is masterful at getting customers to utilize more Snowflake products, its customers spending $1 million or more annually grew 112% to 246. Snowflake's growth trajectory is world-class, and with Gartner forecasting a $248 billion total addressable market opportunity in cloud data platforms by 2026, the company should have plenty more room to grow.

While Snowflake produced $53.8 million in free cash flow (an 11% margin), it handed out $214 million in stock-based compensation. At nearly half of its quarterly revenue, investors need to keep an eye on this number and ensure it falls as revenue rises. The stock also carries an expensive price tag of 27 times sales, which the business has earned due to its ludicrous growth rates.

With the stock being a bit expensive, I'd love to see it fall some more to get a better price. However, if the market doesn't fall, I'd have no problem purchasing any of these stocks at today's prices.