After more than a decade of incredible outperformance, growth stocks badly underperformed a falling market in 2022. With the Federal Reserve bringing the era of ultra-low interest rates to an end (at least for now), value stocks are back in fashion.

But that doesn't mean growth companies are dead. Far from it. Many companies that can generate strong sales and profitability look like compelling buys as we kick off 2023, and the five I'm most excited about are Alphabet (GOOGL 0.35%) (GOOG 0.37%), ASML Holding (ASML -2.05%), Crocs (CROX 1.47%), Fortinet (FTNT -0.97%), and Lululemon Athletica (LULU 0.77%).

1. Alphabet: Internet search is a foundational, utility-like business

There's no shortage of worries for Google parent Alphabet right now. There are antitrust issues, and it has been fined repeatedly by regulators in the European Union, the U.S., and elsewhere. Google has a new competitor on its hands with the explosion in popularity of OpenAI's ChatGPT. And the advertising industry, through which Google monetizes its core internet search business, has slowed significantly due to global macroeconomic problems. Alphabet's growth and profit margins took a big hit in 2022 as a result.

Specifically, Alphabet's revenue grew just 6% year-over-year in Q3 2022, and its operating profit margins were 25%. That compares to 13% revenue growth and a 28% operating profit margin just three months prior. Clearly, the global economy is a headwind for Google.

Nevertheless, there's still a lot to like about this tech giant. While digital ad sales have hit a snag in the past year, the growth of that market segment is still a long-term secular trend. I expect Alphabet's revenue and profit margins to eventually rebound.

Meanwhile, the company is repurchasing massive amounts of stock, returning cash to shareholders -- $43.9 billion worth through the first three quarters of 2022 alone. As of the start of 2023, its shares trade for less than 19 times trailing 12-month free cash flow. I remain a buyer of Alphabet using a dollar-cost averaging plan.

2. ASML: Top technology for the chip industry

ASML currently has a monopoly on the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) technology that chipmakers such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing use to manufacture their most advanced logic chips. As a result, ASML has been a top chip growth stock in recent years. But the company has plenty left in the tank.

The semiconductor industry is expected to go from about $600 billion a year in global sales in 2022 to $1 trillion a year or more by 2030. Additionally, more mature chips are increasingly being produced using the advanced machines ASML offers. ASML's new baseline projections for growth imply an average sales growth rate of 18% from now until 2025, and 12% average annualized sales growth from now until 2030.

Because it plans to repurchase stock along the way, ASML's earnings per share could grow at an even faster pace than revenue each year. Shares of this chip fabrication equipment leader trade for nearly 23 times trailing 12-month free cash flow. That's a premium price, particularly if the world slips into recession in 2023, but given the long-term outlook, ASML looks like a great value.

3. Crocs: A casual shoe stock running fast

Crocs' stock chart from the last couple of years is a bit misleading, but the company is still doing just fine. After an absolute explosion in sales during the early pandemic, the foam clogs maker is more than holding on to its greater sales levels -- it's building on them. When excluding the effects of currency exchange rates, the Crocs brand grew 20% year-over-year in Q3 2022, driven by a massive 82% rise in sales in Asia. Its acquisition of casual shoe brand Hey Dude is also paying off. As a stand-alone business, Hey Dude would have grown 87% year-over-year in the last quarter.

Hey Dude's growth and Crocs' international expansion have given management plenty of optimism about the next few years as they try to sustain an average double-digit percentage rate of sales growth. That makes me optimistic that the stock will sustain a recovery from its 2022 slump. But there are risks, chief among them the balance sheet. After closing its Hey Dude acquisition, Crocs ended September 2022 with cash and equivalents of $143 million on the books, and total debt of $2.62 billion.  

However, Crocs trades for just 12 times trailing 12-month earnings per share, and 19 times free cash flow. If it can continue to grow revenues and expand its profit margins in 2023 as expected, this top shoe company stock looks like a great value.

4. Fortinet: Cybersecurity is more important than ever

Thanks to the efficiency that cloud computing offers, the world is rapidly moving to digital-first work environments. But with those new efficiencies come trade-offs -- among them, security risks. Fortinet has long been a leader in cybersecurity hardware and software, and it's enjoyed a fresh growth phase in recent years thanks to the massive network upgrades necessitated by the pandemic. 

One secret to Fortinet's success -- and something that differentiates it from a lot of other cloud-based security companies -- is that it designs the custom chips used in the network security hardware it sells. These chips are consistently ranked best in class. The real beauty here is that after Fortinet lands a hardware sale, the customer turns on the attached software services, which drive its recurring revenue streams.

The result? The company expects to average annual revenue growth of about 22% through 2025 while maintaining operating profit margins in the mid-20% to high-20% range. Since the company generally uses some of its profits to repurchase stock, earnings on a per-share basis should expand much faster than sales for the next few years. Fortinet is trading at 34 times trailing 12-month free cash flow now, making it a real value if it can deliver on its goals over the next three years.

5. Lululemon: Winning lots of market share among consumers

Athletic apparel company Lululemon delivered an earnings update in early December, and the market was slightly disappointed by management's weaker-than-expected holiday shopping season outlook. For Lululemon, that equated to an expected 25% year-over-year growth rate for the final quarter of 2022. Hardly anything to balk at.

Paired with lucrative profit margins (operating profit was 19% in Q3, dragged down a bit by inflationary forces) and a share repurchase program, Lululemon stock looks like a timely purchase right now. The stock trades for 35 times trailing 12 month earnings-per-share, though free cash flow is thin at the moment as the company builds up its inventory in anticipation of a busy year ahead. Management forecasts double-digit percentage annual sales growth over the next few years, so its shares look fairly valued to me.

But is this kind of momentum sustainable? I think so. In the wake of the pandemic, consumers are more inclined toward comfort and athletic-inspired clothing than ever before. Lululemon focuses on the high end of the athleticwear spectrum, and has a stellar online business that it uses to connect with customers. With many markets around the world still largely untapped, Lululemon could continue its hot streak for years to come.