Most growth stocks may not be delivering the mouth-watering returns from the earlier days of the pandemic, but that doesn't mean the best days are behind them. Looking beyond share price fluctuations, there's an abundance of strong, growth-oriented businesses that are well poised to capitalize on a future market recovery. And they are still delivering impressive financial results in the current environment.
Here are two such powerhouse stocks that you can easily buy and hold for years as you build out your retirement nest egg.
1. Airbnb
Airbnb (ABNB -0.96%) continues to impress quarter after quarter. While there's no doubt that companies with heavy exposure to discretionary consumer spending could face some headwinds in a full-blown recession, that's not a foregone conclusion. And even if a recession does occur, Airbnb continues to prove that it is building a business fit to withstand the test of time and the changing needs of the modern traveler.
The company is witnessing remarkable growth quarter over quarter, year over year, and even compared to pre-pandemic levels. Case in point: Airbnb's revenue of $8.4 billion in 2022 represented a hike of 40% from 2021, but was actually up 75% from three years ago in 2019. And while gross booking value of $63 billion in 2022 clocked a healthy increase of 35% from the prior year, that paled in comparison to Airbnb's three-year growth rate of 67%. Meanwhile, the company is consistently profitable, and reported its first full year of profitability in 2022 in the amount of $2 billion.
So, what's the explanation behind Airbnb's continued success even as other travel-facing companies are witnessing mixed results in a difficult consumer spending environment? For one, there's a two-sided benefit to Airbnb's platform that gives it a certain durability in a wide array of economic environments. Individuals searching for a way to make a second income or replace a primary one -- particularly against the backdrop of a shaky economic landscape -- can rent out part or all of their home on Airbnb.
On the other side of this equation is Airbnb's platform, which offers just about any type of stay imaginable for the modern traveler. The fact that Airbnb caters to so many different types of travel needs is particularly important in the post-pandemic environment -- a time when more people are not only returning to familiar modes of travel but trying new ones, such as the blending of business and leisure thanks to the flexibility remote work.
These aren't short-term trends, and while they may fluctuate in a changing economic environment, there's no doubt that people will keep taking vacations and the continued rise of remote work will fuel a new, flexible kind of traveler. All of this portends well for Airbnb's growth over the long term, and patient and risk-resilient investors may do well to capitalize on it in the near future.
2. Chewy
Chewy (CHWY -1.92%) is still trading down by double-digits from a year ago, but the stock has risen 14% since the beginning of 2023 on the heels of a number of strong market days. The stock is one of many pandemic favorites that have since fallen from the graces of investors in the past year. However, a closer look at the resilience of this business and its diverse range of offerings could make it an intriguing buy for investors seeking growth stock opportunities in the current market.
First off, it's important to understand that Chewy isn't just a pet food company. The e-commerce platform certainly sells everything from pet food to toys to daily use supplies, as well as items for larger animals like farm animals. However, Chewy is rapidly proving that it's aiming to meet the entirety of needs that animal owners may have to contend with, both now and in the future. In addition to selling thousands of branded products for animal owners, it has other key business lines like its pharmacy, which offers both generic and compounded medications. Chewy also provides telehealth services, which allow pet owners to access a licensed veterinarian via chat or video call in just minutes.
The company also has a growing collection of pet health insurance offerings. To give you an idea of the potential addressable market opportunity for this segment of its business alone, it's estimated that the pet health insurance space will hit a total valuation of $17 billion by the year 2030. Bear in mind, Chewy isn't offering these plans alone, but is partnering with well-known industry heavy-hitters like Trupanion and Lemonade to make these solutions available to its millions of customers. The company is also working on expanding its presence within the non-prescription pet wellness space, and recently introduced its own line of supplements for pets, marking a foray into an industry that alone is estimated to be worth more than $2 billion.
Even if a recession hits, people are still going to spend money on their pets. And pet spending is only expected to grow in the years ahead as the incidence of pet ownership rises. From quality healthcare to healthcare coverage to general pet care, Chewy's business is increasingly revolving around all angles of pet spending, a move that could pay off in spades in the years ahead. Meanwhile, the company is continuing to see an increasing share of revenue come from subscriptions, derived from its autoship division that allows users to set up recurring deliveries of products from its e-commerce site.
As of the third quarter, autoship sales comprised more than 73% of the company's net sales for the entire three-month period. Chewy's revenue grew double-digits in the quarter compared to the year-ago period, while it generated earnings of over $2 million. Given the multibillion-dollar potential of the pet care industry, and Chewy's evolving position as a key player in this space, there is abundant room for this growth-oriented company to grow in the years ahead. As such, long-term shareholders should also reap the rewards from its growth, assuming it's able to maintain its strong trajectory in the space.
