It's time to shop for holiday bargains, and with most of your gifts likely acquired by now, it's time for some impulse items to fill the stocking. We're talking about small and typically low-priced gifts that you hope will appreciate over time for the recipient. Let's take a similar approach to picking low-priced stocks as stocking stuffers.
I looked at some investing ideas under $10 and under $5 earlier this week. For the third and final entry in this series, let's move the limbo stick even lower. fuboTV (FUBO -3.50%) and Allbirds (BIRD -8.24%) trade for less than $3 a share. Stocks don't trade this low unless they're very risky, but let's see why I think these two investments have a chance to bounce back in 2023.
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1. fuboTV
There are plenty of live TV streaming services vying for cord-cutters kissing their cable or satellite TV providers goodbye, and fuboTV just found a way to stand out. It announced a deal with Sinclair Broadcasting (SBGI 2.58%) on Wednesday, giving viewers access to 19 Bally Sports regional sports networks.
This is a pretty big deal. Sinclair pulled its then-freshly acquired sports networks from fuboTV -- as well as larger rivals YouTube TV, Sling TV, and Hulu + Live TV -- a couple of years ago. Only customers of old-school satellite and cable TV bundles or the clunky DIRECTV STREAM have access to their local sports teams available exclusively on Bally Sports. Sinclair finally rolled out a stand-alone streaming app for its regional sports networks, but fans have to pay $20 to $30 a month for access to their hometown faves. This is a big win for fuboTV, and if its three larger competitors don't follow suit, you're going to see some defections coming its way.
fuboTV was gaining market share before this deal. Revenue rose 43% in its latest quarter, and its North American subscriber base grew by 31% to 1.231 million homes. This may seem like a small number of accounts, but keep in mind that fuboTV is collecting an average monthly subscription fee of $64.15 per user, as well as another $7.37 a month in ad revenue. It adds up.
Profitability has been problematic, and initially the deal with Sinclair Broadcasting will only make things worse. It's taking steps to improve its bottom line. It recently decided to back off its plans to become a sports betting hub for its growing audience of potential gamblers, and it now expects to be generating positive free cash by 2025.
The goal here is to use Bally Sports as a way to close the gap with larger live TV streaming services. If you happen to be a local fan of the pro sports teams in the 19 densely populated regions, fuboTV just jumped to the top of your list for cord-cutters now choosing from the growing number of streaming service stocks.
2. Allbirds
Look at a stock chart dating from its IPO, and it's easy to conclude that Allbirds has lost its wings. The maker of machine-washable wool sneakers has seen its shares plummet 95% since going public at $15 last year.
It's true that growth has slowed. Allbirds clocked in with a modest 16% in year-over-year growth for its latest quarter. The current quarter should be worse, as guidance calls for a top-line advance of just 10% to 14% over the prior year's holiday period. The trend isn't kind, but we're not far removed from the 13% growth it posted in 2020. This is still a growth stock.
The maker of lightweight shoes and apparel is still in the red, and that's not a good look. However, its balance sheet is still flush with its IPO cash. It also has no debt, a big deal for a company burning through greenbacks these days. It's cheap given its $344 million market cap, but it's an even better deal once you back out its net cash to arrive at its enterprise value of just $163 million. This bird doesn't have broken wings. Allbirds just needs to learn how to fly.
