Will there be a bull market in 2023? No one knows for sure, but there's at least one sign pointing in the right direction. When markets fall, they tend to fall fast, and the current bear market has already been in effect all year.
If you look back at the global financial crisis of 2008-2009 or even the Great Depression, you'll see that stock markets slowly but steadily recovered in subsequent years. The 52-week lows that major market indexes sank to in October could quite possibly be the bottom of the current bear market.
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The market could begin its recovery late next year, or it might have started over a month ago. Either way, investors who buy these two stocks now have a great chance to record major gains over the long run. Here's why.
1. Doximity
Social media platforms that rely heavily on advertising revenue are having a rough time this year, but Doximity (DOCS 0.52%) is an interesting exception. In its fiscal second quarter ended Sep. 30, Doximity reported revenue that soared 29% year over year. Facebook and Instagram's parent company, Meta Platforms, reported a 4% decline in total revenue over the same period.
Americans spend more than $3.5 trillion annually on healthcare, and doctors decide how the vast majority of this money gets spent. Getting messages in front of Doximity's audience is an investment that clearly pays off. Despite difficult macroeconomic conditions that caused most advertisers to trim their budgets this year, Doximity reported average revenue per existing marketing partner that rose 25% year over year.
In addition to a tailored social media feed that helps professionals follow news relevant to their practices, Doximity keeps its members engaged with productivity tools. For example, its telehealth solutions were used more than 200,000 times per day during the third quarter. Doximity's telehealth tools are so well regarded that every one of the company's enterprise customers that was paying for premium features in 2021 is still on board this year.
There's a lot of success already baked into Doximity's stock price, which is up at 50.3 times forward earnings expectations. This means any sign of a slowdown over the next few years could lead to swift losses.
Right now, this stock appears well worth the risk. Room to grow and a lack of significant competition on the horizon give Doximity a great chance to deliver outsized gains over the long run.
2. PayPal
Shares of PayPal (PYPL -0.27%) have fallen by around 64% in 2022, and they're currently trading at their lowest point in more than five years. The fintech stock is down because difficult macroeconomic conditions that curtail consumer spending could also be a problem for its payment processing business.
PayPal is an exceptional stock to buy and hold over the long term because its payment processing network is enormously popular with both merchants and consumers. There were nearly 400 million active customer accounts and 35 million active merchant accounts in the third quarter. Unmatched scale and ubiquity make it a partner of choice for businesses of all sizes.
PayPal's user base grew by 4% year over year in the third quarter, and those users are increasingly active. The number of transactions over a trailing-12-month period rose 13% in the third quarter to more than 50 per account.
Like many businesses that saw a surge in demand during the lockdown phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, PayPal overspent and reported a net loss in the second quarter this year. Investors will be glad to know the company has instituted cost-cutting measures that are working. The company expects adjusted earnings per share to grow by at least 15% in 2023.
PayPal's business is still moving forward, while the overall economy is taking steps backward. This suggests earnings could march much higher once economic conditions improve. Fortunately for everyday investors, PayPal's current market valuation of 17.2 times forward-looking earnings estimates is more appropriate for a company expected to inch forward at a snail's pace. Adding some shares to a diversified portfolio right now looks like a very smart move.
