The current market has many investors feeling discouraged, and that's completely understandable. No one likes to see the value of their portfolio decline months in a row, and even the most robust of mainstay businesses have seen shares plummet in the 2022 market.
It's also wise for long-term investors to check the balance of their portfolios from time to time to ensure that their thesis holds for each stock they own, or make adjustments accordingly.
But completely cashing out of the stock market just ensures that volatile portfolio movements become permanent losses, which can significantly derail long-term financial goals.
If you're in a position to keep investing in the current market, there is no shortage of wonderful companies begging to be bought at discounted prices. Here are two you might want to consider if you have $1,000 to spend before the end of 2022.
1. Chewy
While consumers might be pulling back on spending in certain areas, some expenses are nonnegotiable, even in the current environment. And considering that two out of three American households own a pet, expenditures on your furry friends would appear to be one of the essentials.
The number of insured pets in the U.S. alone has exploded over the past few years, up 63% in 2021 compared to 2018. All of this bodes remarkably well for Chewy (CHWY +2.08%), one of the leading pet brands in the nation.
It is anything but just a pet food company. The rapidly expanding and diversified business model is designed to cover all the bases for pet owners. It doesn't just sell products for household pets, either, but also for large farm animals like horses.
Beyond the name-brand and private-label pet products like food, toys, treats, and supplies, Chewy has a growing collection of services that include pet telehealth, pet health insurance plans, and a pharmacy that sells both generic and compounded medicines.
The company launched a suite of health insurance plans for pets in partnership with Trupanion in 2021, and is launching another round with artificial-intelligence-driven health insurance company Lemonade in 2023.
Meanwhile, the company announced in the most recent quarter that it had passed 20.5 million active customers, with gross customer additions rising 9% compared to the same quarter in 2019.
NYSE: CHWY
Key Data Points
Chewy also just launched Vibeful, a line of supplements that is its first private-label pet wellness brand. Management noted in the most recent earnings call that nonprescription pet health and wellness products represent a total addressable market of more than $2 billion.
Speaking about the launch in the most recent earnings call, CEO Sumit Singh said "... given the increased consumer focus on wellness and the ongoing trend toward pet humanization, we believe this launch gives us another opportunity to strengthen our connection with customers and to drive top- and bottom-line results."
In the most recent quarter, the company saw its revenue grow 15% from the year-ago period to $2.5 billion. Although Chewy reported a net loss in the year-ago period, it generated net income of $2.3 million in the most recent quarter, along with adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of $70 million.
According to a 2021 study by Morgan Stanley, the pet industry is on track to hit a valuation of $275 billion by the year 2030, with 65% of those 18 to 34 years old intending to buy a pet in the next several years. As a leading player in this space, Chewy can benefit from an increase in pet ownership and consumer spending on pets for many years to come. Investors who buy and hold this stock in the years ahead can also capitalize on this growth story.
A $1,000 investment in this growth stock would add 26 shares to your portfolio.
2. Match Group
Some industries rise and fall, but dating isn't one of them. In fact, the dating industry is on track to hit a valuation of $16 billion by the year 2030.
Match Group (MTCH +2.20%), which owns some of the best-known and most-frequently used dating apps, accounts for a substantial share of this rapidly growing space. The global online dating market was valued at $9 billion in 2021, a year in which Match Group reported total revenue of $3 billion, giving it a global market share of a little over 30%.
The company's family of apps includes Tinder, Hinge, Match.com, and OkCupid. Like most dating apps, Match Group's products operate on a freemium model. This means that users can sign up, create a profile, and start matching with people of interest for free; but they can't access certain perks (i.e., boosting profile visibility or enhancing match opportunities) without signing up for a paid subscription.
Match Group makes most of its revenue from these subscription fees, although it does derive some revenue from other sources, like advertising. Even though there are incentives to sign up for paid tiers on its various apps, CEO Bernard Kim said in the most recent earnings call that around 85% of the company's users are non-subscribers.
So even as Match Group maintains a significant foothold in the online dating market, and continues to grow revenue while remaining profitable, there is a significant untapped market opportunity for the company.
NASDAQ: MTCH
Key Data Points
Foreign currency weaknesses and the resurgence of COVID-19 cases in certain regions weighed on Match Group's top and bottom lines in the most recent quarter. That being said, on a currency neutral basis, total revenue rose 10% year over year to $810 million, while total paying users across its family of apps jumped 2% year over year. Net earnings totaled $129 million for the three-month period.
Taking out the impact of foreign currency weaknesses, Tinder alone saw revenue jump 16% from the year-ago period, while paying users on the popular app rose 7%. The company closed the period with about $400 million in cash and investments on its balance sheet.
Even as Match Group remains a key figure in the online dating market, large swathes of this space (like Japan, which represents the third largest economy globally) remain vastly underserved. This creates abundant opportunity for even an established player like Match Group to expand and continue monetizing users in the years ahead, a tailwind that long-term investors can also benefit from.
A $1,000 investment in Match Group would add 25 shares to your portfolio.
