If you think a growth stock's absolute price is an indication of the underlying company's quality, think again. Contrary to the once-popular belief, there are plenty of top growth investment prospects trading at less than $100 per share. Here's a rundown of three such possibilities to consider adding to your portfolio right now.
Tapestry
Changes in apparel shopping preferences are disrupting the overall industry, but the luxury apparel and accessories category is holding up surprisingly well. One only has to look at the numbers that luxury name Tapestry (TPR +4.39%) has continued to put up to see that.
You might be more familiar with the company than you realize. Tapestry is the parent to Coach, Kate Spade, and Stuart Weitzman. Although the rebound from the pandemic's impact is certainly helping, this organization's constant-currency sales growth of 5% during its most recently reported quarter is still an impressive show of defiance in the broader apparel retailing trend. That success follows 15% top-line growth for its fiscal 2022 (ended July 2, 2022).
To connect the dots, this company is connecting with customers even when it seems like it shouldn't be doing so.
NYSE: TPR
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And the future looks just as bright. While tougher comps will likely lead to a slight slowdown this fiscal year, easing inflation should still help per-share profits inch up from last year's $3.47 to $3.63 in fiscal 2023. That number should further climb to $4.18 per share next year. Perhaps the most important detail buried within that outlook, though, is the fact that Tapestry is consistently profitable within an industry that's anything but reliably profitable right now.
Still not convinced? Maybe this will help. Jefferies analyst Ashley Helgans has named Tapestry her firm's top fashion stock pick for 2023.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company
On the surface it looks like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM 0.17%) is starting to run into growing headwinds. Chipmakers like Intel and Micron are increasingly interested in manufacturing their own chips rather than outsourcing that work to contract manufacturers like TSM.
However, there are two reasons that TSM should be just fine despite this seeming sea change.
The first of these reasons is that, as much as the technology industry works to shift away from the use of foreign foundries and toward self-sufficiency, the growth of demand for semiconductors made in Taiwan will at least keep pace with the growth in additional production capacity outside of Taiwan. As Barclays economist Bum Ki Son recently told Bloomberg, "We believe Taiwan is irreplaceable in the near-term in the semiconductor industry." Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company dominates that "irreplaceable" production.
NYSE: TSM
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And the second reason? Much of the chipmaking self-sufficiency U.S. tech companies are establishing for themselves involves Taiwan Semiconductor anyway. The company intends to invest $40 billion in production facilities in Arizona, and it has already lined up Apple and Nvidia as domestic customers.
And that's just a glimpse of what's to come.
Most established chipmakers don't really want to invest time and money into foundries that may not need to operate at full capacity year-round. And even the ones that are willing to do so don't have the experience and expertise that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company does. That's why, while this year's top-line growth is expected to be stagnant, next year's projected sales growth of more than 20% is likely in line with its long-term growth rate.
JD.com
Finally, add JD.com (JD 0.55%) to the list of growth stocks you can buy right now for less than $100 per share.
If you're not familiar with the company, JD.com helps companies do business online in China as well as a few surrounding countries. A comparison to Amazon isn't an unfair one, although it is incomplete. JD's offerings also mirror those of eBay and Shopify, and yet in some ways, it's still unique compared to those three names.
Prior to the disruption stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, the company was regularly growing sales between 20% and 30%. Then, COVID-19 took hold. In some ways, it stifled JD.com's business and its ability to operate, but as was the case with so many of its e-commerce counterparts abroad, the pandemic helped too. While its year-over-year comps are even tougher now than they were then, the analyst community's projection for full-year 2022 sales growth of nearly 18% followed by more than a 14% improvement this year makes clear that this company is built to survive -- and thrive -- in any and all environments. Better still, JD.com is also not only profitable but growing its bottom line in step with sales growth.
NASDAQ: JD
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Curiously, the stock's performance over the course of the past year isn't reflecting this continued progress. Shares are down more than 20% for the past twelve months, and off by roughly a third for the past couple of years. The bulk of that weakness is most likely the result of pandemic-prompted lockdowns in China, which some have argued are too heavy-handed and economically stifling.
Fortunately, the bulk of Beijing's restrictions are now lifted, and onlookers are already seeing the economic benefits within and outside of the country. Several forecasts call for China's economy to grow on the order of 5% this year, with consumers driving much of that rebound from last year's relatively slow pace of only 3%.
