2023 is still young, but it represents a brand-new year for investors to work on their financial goals. Whether you're a seasoned investor or newer to the stock market, there's no denying that the recent volatility has been challenging for everyone.
Investors who stay in the market and continue to invest regularly, even during rough patches, can build profitable, resilient portfolios over time. If you're looking for powerhouse stocks to add to your portfolio this month, here are two top contenders with serious multi-bagger potential to consider putting on your buy list right now.
1. Airbnb
Airbnb (ABNB 0.55%) has continued to prove to investors over the past several quarters that the travel industry is just one of many factors driving its long-term business story, and that its growth trajectory is anything but that of the average travel stock. If there were any doubt in investors' minds as to those points, the company's 2022 earnings, which it reported on Feb. 14, should have put those notions to rest.
It was a stellar year on all fronts, and not just because of favorable year-over-year comparisons. Airbnb's growth compared to pre-pandemic levels is equally impressive. 2022 was the first in Airbnb's history of it reaching annual GAAP profitability. The company reported net income of $2 billion for the 12-month period, along with revenue of $8.4 billion, the latter of which represented an increase of 40% from full-year 2021. However, compared to 2019, the company's revenue jumped by 75%. Airbnb also generated $3.4 billion in free cash flow in 2022, up 49% year over year and 3,072% on a three-year clip.
There are a range of factors to which Airbnb attributes its continued, impressive growth streak, even in an environment where fears of a recession still loom large and uncertainty about patterns of consumer spending remain. Of course, the return of cross-border travel, as well as growth in urban stays, are both core catalysts.
Beyond these traditional travel patterns, the emergence of a new kind of traveler -- one likely fueled by the independence available to many workers in an increasingly remote and hybrid-friendly labor economy -- is driving considerable growth in long-term stays. Long-term stays, which indicate bookings of at least 28 days, now comprise 21% of all reservations on Airbnb's platform. Moreover, in the final quarter of 2022 gross nights booked on Airbnb for more than a week saw a 40% surge on a three-year clip compared to the fourth quarter of 2019.
At the same time, demand for Airbnb's platform isn't just being fueled by eager vacationers, business travelers, nomads, and the like, but also by hosts looking to make or supplement their income, particularly in a fraught economic environment. I've said it before, but this two-sided component to Airbnb's platform is a key advantage, and one that it can continue to capitalize on against the backdrop of a wide range of economic cycles.
For now, whether or not a recession appears on the horizon, Airbnb looks to be well-positioned for what the future might hold, and that may present a buying opportunity that even the most risk-averse of investors would be hard-pressed to overlook.
2. Intuitive Surgical
Intuitive Surgical (ISRG -0.57%) has remained at the forefront of the surgical robotics industry since the early days of the adoption of these tools and solutions. There are many benefits to leveraging robot-assisted surgical tools in the operating room. Not only can these systems help to enable more accuracy and precision, but they can also reduce the risk of infection to the patient, and even promote a shorter recovery time.
Intuitive Surgical's da Vinci surgical suite was the first system of its kind to garner approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. That was well over 20 years ago, and in the decades that have followed Intuitive Surgical's first-mover's advantage and core group of products have created a market footprint that no competitor has come close to disrupting.
Today, Intuitive Surgical has approximately 7,544 of its da Vinci surgical systems installed globally. These systems are used in many different types of minimally invasive surgeries, including general surgery and colorectal procedures. The company also sells a surgical robotics system called the Ion, which is specifically for minimally invasive lung biopsies.
Intuitive Surgical's business has a history of steadily growing revenue and remaining profitable -- revenue jumped 9% in 2022 to $6.2 billion and net income totaled $1.3 billion -- and it owes its financial track record to the strength of its underlying business model.
While the revenue Intuitive Surgical earns from sales of its systems is nothing to scoff at (the da Vinci system reportedly starts at upwards of $2 million), it generates even more revenue from the instruments and accessories that go with these systems, plus recurring revenue for the replacement and installment costs these parts incur.
Despite the company's continued profitability and revenue, the market hasn't been particularly kind to the stock over the past year. This is due to the decline in procedure volumes Intuitive Surgical has reported in recent quarters -- not due to any fault with the business, but because of surgery delays caused by a resurgence of COVID-19 in certain regions.
Even so, these aren't long-term headwinds, and they don't detract from the competitive advantage and core strength of Intuitive Surgical's business. For forward-thinking investors, this could present a golden opportunity to scoop up some shares at a discount right now.
