The market may have shunned growth stocks lately, but that doesn't mean you need to overlook great businesses that fit this profile as you build out your investing game plan for the new year.
Provided you have the appropriate investing time horizon and capital to invest in the current market -- money you won't need to withdraw from your portfolio for the next few years at least -- there is an abundance of companies trading on sale that you may want to consider scooping up.
Here are two such stocks with still-untapped growth potential to buy without hesitation.
1. Teladoc
Despite what its current share price might indicate, Teladoc Health (TDOC) continues to build upon its mission to revolutionize the world of healthcare with full-service virtual care solutions that span the entire scope of consumer needs. From primary to complex care as well as mental healthcare, patients -- with or without health insurance -- can access Teladoc's platform and the range of services available on it at the time and place that is convenient for them.
The accessibility and affordability that virtual healthcare solutions provide unlocks an entirely new world of quality healthcare for consumers who may otherwise be unable to find the solutions they need. Whether someone is located too far to easily drive to the right type of medical provider, or their physical condition makes healthcare access difficult, or they simply appreciate the convenience of being able to log on to their mobile device to speak with a doctor from the comfort of home, there's no denying that the innovation of telehealth isn't only revolutionizing the healthcare of the future, but it's here to stay.
For Teladoc, which remains a prominent presence in the fast-growing telehealth market, these tailwinds bode extremely well for the future growth of its business, and for shareholders too. In 2021, the U.S. telehealth market reached a valuation of $24 billion, but is expected to expand to a valuation of more than $300 billion by 2028. Meanwhile, Teladoc accounted for about 9% of this space as of 2021, with total revenue of $2 billion for the full year.
Even though growth has slowed from pre-pandemic levels -- which was, in my opinion, to be expected -- Teladoc is still seeing successive gains in revenue and total visits on its platform. These two metrics rose 17% and 14% year over year, respectively, in the most recent quarter alone. Meanwhile, its net loss shrank to about $74 million in the third quarter compared to $3.1 billion in the prior one, and it reported adjusted EBTIDA of $51 million.
This follows upon trailing-five-year revenue growth of nearly 800%. The current down market won't hate on growth stocks forever. Over the long term, the instrumentality of a healthcare stock like Teladoc to meet the demands of healthcare consumers in the digital age can propel its business forward and shares back skyward.
2. Chewy
Chewy (CHWY 4.42%) was another pandemic favorite stock that investors have retreated from in droves in recent months. Shares of the company are down by roughly 30% year to date again the S&P 500's decline of about 20%.
However, Chewy's business remains stronger than ever. The company has only been around for a little over a decade, but since that time has managed to expand far beyond a pet supplies business. Chewy sells all manner of pet products for household pets and larger animals, including well-known name brands as well as its own private-label products that continue to drive strong sales growth for the company.
However, Chewy has also expanded into other lucrative arenas like pet healthcare and even pet insurance. The company launched its own pharmacy in 2018 and started offering compounded medications for pets in 2020. It also launched a telehealth service in 2020 where pet owners can connect with licensed veterinarians for as little as $14.99 a visit. Then, in 2021 Chewy announced that it was partnering with Trupanion to provide pet insurance plans to its more than 20 million customers nationwide.
Chewy doesn't just make money from one-time sales of pet products and services. It is increasingly seeing growth in its autoship segment, which allows business owners to set up recurring deliveries of their preferred pet items. In the most recent quarter, autoship deliveries were up 19% year over year and comprised more than 73% of Chewy's total net sales.
And at a time when supply chain disruptions have curtailed business growth across all segments, Chewy's streamlined network of its own fulfillment centers has allowed the company to stay on course and continue meeting customer expectations.
In the most recent quarter, Chewy reported net sales of $2.5 billion, up 15% from the year-ago period, with net income of $2.3 million compared to a net loss of $32 million in the same quarter last year. All this portends well for Chewy's growth in the years ahead, even if near-term macro headwinds cause consumers to pull back on spending.
However, even when consumers are cutting back on costs, they're still going to shop for their pets. Over the long run, the broader tailwinds driving the $160 billion pet care industry hold tremendous promise for a market giant like Chewy that's only in the relatively early stages of realizing its long-term growth runway.
