Bear markets can be brutal on our emotions. But they can also create terrific opportunities for investors to profit. Even the best companies can see their share prices slashed during economic downturns. But they're often among the first to rally as the stock market eventually recovers.
If you're looking for bargains to buy today, consider these two top-quality growth stocks. Powerful catalysts could drive sharp rebounds in their share prices in the coming years.
Walt Disney
Bob Iger is back. The executive who helped build Walt Disney (DIS -2.84%) into the entertainment titan it is today recently returned to his post as CEO. Iger oversaw Disney's acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm -- all of which have gone on to be profit powerhouses for the company. Now, Iger has his sights set on building Disney+ into another potent profit driver in the coming years.
With more than 164 million subscribers as of Oct. 1, Disney+ is already a formidable force in the streaming arena. Combined with over 24 million customers for ESPN+ and 47 million for Hulu, Disney's total streaming subscriber count exceeds 235 million. For comparison, Netflix ended the third quarter with slightly more than 223 million subscribers.
However, Disney's streaming business is not yet profitable. The company's direct-to-consumer segment generated an operating loss of nearly $1.5 billion in its most recent quarter, as Disney spent heavily to strengthen its already impressive content library. But management expects Disney+ to achieve profitability in 2024. Recent price hikes and a new ad-supported plan should help it do just that.
Once its streaming operations begin contributing to its profit production, investors should get a better sense of Disney's true earnings power, which has been suppressed by its growth investments. That should result in a significantly higher stock price. You can buy ahead of these likely gains as Disney's shares are currently still down 40% over the past year.
Airbnb
After foregoing travel during the earlier stages of the pandemic, many people are looking forward to taking vacations in 2023. And they're increasingly turning to Airbnb (ABNB -1.34%) to find their dream destinations.
The short-term rental listing platform is also benefiting from the work-from-home trend. So-called digital nomads use Airbnb to find and book lodging at locations around the world, which allows them to travel while working remotely.
These trends are helping to fuel Airbnb's growth. Nights and experiences booked on its platform jumped 25% year over year to 99.7 million in the third quarter. This drove a 29% increase in revenue to $2.9 billion, and a 46% surge in net income to $1.2 billion.
That impressive performance highlights the scalability of Airbnb's business model. The company's profits tend to grow even faster than its revenue, due to the relatively meager expenses it incurs by serving as an online marketplace. More than 4 million hosts take on the responsibility and costs of obtaining and preparing their properties for renters. Airbnb then takes a percentage of these rental transactions in fees.
With little need for capital expenditures, Airbnb is a cash-generating machine. It generated $960 million in free cash flow in the third quarter alone -- and a whopping $3.3 billion over the trailing 12 months.
And yet, Airbnb's stock is down 47% over the past year. Like many growth stocks, Airbnb has seen its price-to-earnings multiple compress as investors have grown more cautious during the current bear market. Its stock now trades for less than 33 times its projected earnings per share in 2023. That's an attractive price for a high-quality business that's expected to grow its profits by more than 20% annually over the next half-decade.
