The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 0.56%) hugely outperformed the other two major indexes in 2022 -- the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite -- but it's still down about 10% so far.
If you look at how the 30 Dow stocks have individually performed this year, it's a motley crew. While some Dow stocks have nearly halved, a few handily helped the index outpace. Some of them are no-brainer buys right now as we head into 2023. Here are two such Dow stocks to buy more of in December.
This Dow stock deserves a premium, not a discount
The first Dow stock you'd want to buy right away is payments processing giant Visa (V -0.59%). High inflation and a potential economic downturn sent the fintech stock tumbling this year, but the company has shown its resilience even in a challenging year and is stepping into 2023 on a solid footing. Here's how Visa fared in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30:
- Revenue grew 22% to $29.3 billion.
- Visa earned $15 billion in net income, up 21%.
- Its payments volume jumped 15%, with cross-border volume climbing 38% as borders reopened after COVID-19 lockdowns.
The number that stands out, though -- and which is also one of the biggest reasons why Visa is such a compelling stock to buy and hold -- is its cash flow. Visa is a cash machine. It generated nearly $18 billion in free cash flow in fiscal 2022. The company used much of that cash to reward shareholders in the form of share repurchases and dividends, with enough left over for the company to invest in high-growth areas that should eventually be reflected in its share price.
Although Visa focuses primarily on consumer-to-merchant payments, it is penetrating other high-growth markets like business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C). In B2B alone, Visa's payments volume hit nearly $1.5 trillion in fiscal 2022. Then there are newer markets like digital wallets and Visa's value-added services, which brought in $6 billion in revenue in 2022.
Even if macroeconomic circumstances change for the worse in 2023, Visa's long-term growth story won't change given how much cash there still is in the world to digitize. It's an opportunity you don't want to miss betting on. All you need to do is take advantage of this Dow stock's underwhelming recent performance.
This stunning Dow stock is looking better than ever now
Chevron (CVX 1.54%) is the second Dow stock you'd want to buy this month. You may ask, why buy more of a stock that has already surged more than 40% this year? That's because where Chevron stands right now, the stock could rally even higher in the coming months, while you enjoy steady dividend growth and a 3.3% yield.
The oil and gas sector absolutely crushed the markets in 2022 as crude oil prices surged. Chevron made the most of the boom by not only fortifying its balance sheet but also investing in the future. Chevron's cash flow from operations (CFO) hit a record high in its third quarter.
Chevron is clear about how it wants to use incremental cash flows, and it is this vision that makes this oil stock a long-term winner in the making. Balance sheet is a priority, with management consistently striving for net debt between 20% to 25%. You'd be surprised to know that the oil giant brought down its net debt ratio to only 5% as of Sept. 30.
Chevron is, in fact, so particular about maintaining financial fortitude that it admitted it could have repurchased a lot more shares in 2022 but limited buybacks to prioritize debt at levels that are sustainable even if oil prices tumble.
So yes, even if crude oil prices fall in 2023, you needn't worry if you're a Chevron shareholder. The company is committed to dividend growth; it has grown dividends every year for 35 consecutive years now and should announce a 36th dividend hike in early 2023. Meanwhile, Chevron has already chalked out its capital spending plan for 2023, and it includes big investments in renewable fuels. These low-carbon investments should again be a big growth driver for Chevron in the years to come.
CVX Price to CFO Per Share (TTM) data by YCharts.
Chevron is on solid footing, and although its cash flows are hitting record highs, the stock is still trading considerably below its five-year average price-to-CFO ratio. Aside from an upcoming dividend raise, that valuation is one of the biggest reasons you'd want to buy this Dow stock in December for 2023.
