While some segments of the stock market may be experiencing particular volatility, and growth-oriented stocks have been afflicted with especially turbulent investor sentiment over the past year, intriguing businesses with promising growth stories remain. For investors with a multi-year investment horizon, as well as the capital and risk tolerance to put cash to work right now, it's still a fortuitous time to continue building your portfolio.
On that note, if you have as little as $3,000 that you will not use for immediate or essential purposes, and are looking for companies to add to your stock investment portfolio, here are two unstoppable stocks to consider today.
1. Teladoc
Teladoc (TDOC -1.52%) hasn't yielded the same illustrious returns for investors that it did in the earlier days of the pandemic, but a look beyond the share price movements at the underlying business paints a far less dire picture than the stock's fluctuations might portend. First, let's deal with the less-than-stellar figures that have some investors worried. One reason the stock has been so heavily sold over the past year likely goes back to the company's recent streak of unprofitability.
Teladoc recorded a net loss of $13.7 billion in the full year 2022. At first glance, that's downright alarming. However, $13.4 billion of that total amount was derived from a series of three non-cash impairment charges.
In short, Teladoc took on these three blistering write-downs because it appears to have overpaid for Livongo back in 2020, a type of move many companies made when much more capital was flowing and merger and acquisition activity was hotter than ever. Bottom line: While these net loss figures aren't pretty, they aren't due to operational issues with the business itself.
Now, for the good news. Teladoc continues to grow its business at a remarkably steady pace, both from pre-pandemic levels and on a year-over-year basis. Its revenue of $2.4 billion in 2022 was up 18% from 2021 but well over 300% from the full year 2019.
The company closed out 2022 with a whopping 80 million people having access to its platform, a mere fraction of the more than 300 million with health insurance in the U.S., not to mention the roughly 30 million healthcare consumers in the nation who are uninsured. Total visits on Teladoc's platform jumped 20% in 2022, while the company's fast-growing teletherapy segment BetterHelp saw paying users surge nearly 40% and raked in $1 billion in revenue in the 12-month period.
No investment is without risk, and I'm not here to say that Teladoc doesn't have some work to do to move on from its recent stretch of unprofitability. On the bright side, the company generated positive free cash flow of about $17 million and cash from operating activities in the amount of about $190 million in 2022 alone, while adjusted EBITDA came to $247 million for the full year.
The catalysts needed to sustain revenue growth and get back to profitability -- from membership growth to continued adoption across its range of virtual care programs to a diversified business poised to keep seizing market share to cash generation-- are there. For investors with the risk appetite to invest in the current market, this healthcare stock still looks like an attractive buy given its long-term potential and continued strides in the explosive telehealth industry. After assessing the business's risk levels, putting away $1,000 for around 40 shares in Teladoc should be a prudent move.
2. Chewy
Chewy (CHWY 0.19%) is coming off of a banner year in 2022. Despite the continued uncertainty afflicting the broader macroeconomic environment and the impact this is having on consumer spending, people are still continuing to shell out cash on their pets. Pet spending on the whole tends to remain more resilient during a wide range of economic cycles due to the essential underlying costs involved, and Chewy's business is increasingly targeting all angles of the pet owner's journey.
With an online pharmacy, thousands of products available on its platform, a telehealth service, and a growing selection of pet health insurance plans, Chewy's business is tapping into all forms of pet spending. That strategy, coupled with its aggressive measures to ensure cost-efficiency -- such as the build-out of its automated fulfillment network -- are paying out in spades. Chewy not only saw incredible top-line growth in 2022, but generated stellar free cash flow and profits.
The company's total net sales hit $10 billion in 2022, up 14% compared to the full year 2021. Chewy also generated an incredible $119 million in positive free cash flow in the 12-month period, while profits for the year came to $49 million. In 2022, 73% of Chewy's total net sales were derived from its Autoship program, up 18% from 2021 and a new record high for the company.
Chewy is shuttering two of its older, non-automated fulfillment centers, while it plans to open its fourth automated fulfillment center in the next few months. Meanwhile, 30% of all orders are already being shipped through these automated fulfillment centers, which not only cut down on operating costs but optimize fulfillment times for customers.
Moreover, Chewy's utilization of its growing automated fulfillment network helped the company realize 13% in savings on variable fulfillment cost per order in 2022. This is a profitable company operating in an industry with minimal cyclicality that is building out a highly diversified business. Investors who wish to capitalize on the multibillion-dollar growth trajectory of the pet care industry may want to scoop up this stock on the dip before it rockets higher in the years ahead.
Given Chewy has already turned profitable, it'd make sense to scoop up 54 shares in this e-commerce company with the remaining $2,000 today.
