Although stock market corrections can be painful in the short run, they're a normal part of long-term investing. Since the beginning of 1950, there have been 39 double-digit percentage corrections in the broad-based S&P 500, which equates to one about every 1.9 years.
In 2022, all three major U.S. stock indexes firmly fell into respective bear markets, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite producing their worst full-year returns in 14 years.
But when there's uncertainty on Wall Street, there's also opportunity. Even though we'll never be able to accurately predict when downturns will start, how long they'll last, or how steep the decline will be, we do know that every single correction and bear market throughout history (excluding the ongoing bear market) has eventually been cleared away by a bull market. It makes big dips in the major indexes a surefire buying opportunity for the patient.
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The best thing about putting money to work on Wall Street is that you don't need a mountain of cash to build wealth. Since most online brokerages have done away with minimum deposit requirements and commission fees, any amount of money -- even $200 -- can be the ideal amount to invest.
If you have $200 ready to put to work right now, which won't be needed to pay bills or cover emergencies as they arise, the following three stocks stand out as no-brainer buys.
PayPal Holdings
The first smart buy right now for long-term investors with $200 is fintech stock PayPal Holdings (PYPL -2.69%). Despite historically high inflation weighing on the purchasing power of low-earning workers, PayPal's key performance metrics indicate a company that's perfectly positioned to benefit from growing digital payment adoption.
Even with the U.S. economy delivering two consecutive quarters of gross domestic product retracement to begin 2022, PayPal closed out last year with total payment volume (TPV) of $1.36 trillion -- a 13% increase, when currency movements are excluded. PayPal has demonstrated that it can grow TPV in the neighborhood of 20% when the U.S. economy is firing on all cylinders, and, as noted, is still benefiting from the early adoption of digital payment technology.
But among all of PayPal's business metrics, including new account generation, TPV, and net revenue, the one that's most impressive is the engagement from active accounts. Between the end of 2020 and the end of 2022, the number of transactions completed over the trailing-12-months by an active account jumped from 40.9 to 51.4. PayPal and Venmo are fee-based digital payment platforms that are driven by usage. If active accounts are completing more transactions, it means more gross profit for PayPal.
Activist-investing pressure has also made PayPal's management team more mindful of value-creating tools. CEO Dan Schulman, who's set to retire at the end of 2023, announced plans to reduce operating expenditures by at least $1.3 billion this year. Further, the company's board approved an up to $15 billion share repurchase program last year. With PayPal's net income likely to rise over time, a reduced share count should help lift earnings per share.
At 13 times Wall Street's forecast earnings for 2024, PayPal looks to be as cheap as it's ever been as a publicly traded company.
Fiverr International
A second no-brainer stock that's begging to be bought with $200 right now is up-and-coming gig economy company Fiverr International (FVRR 1.17%). Although growing concerns about a U.S. recession hurting the labor market may weigh on Fiverr stock in the short run, the company has a trio of competitive advantages in its sails that should help it outperform its peers.
To begin with, the labor market has completely changed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. While some people have returned to an office setting, more workers than ever are choosing to stay remote. This new hybrid-work dynamic favors online-service marketplaces like Fiverr in any economic environment.
The second key advantage Fiverr brings to the table is its unique marketplace. On most competing platforms, freelancers list their tasks at an hourly cost. With Fiverr, freelancers are pricing their jobs at an all-inclusive price. The superior price transparency Fiverr offers buyers has been instrumental in continuing to grow average spend per buyer, as well as the aggregate number of buyers on its platform.
But the differentiating factor that should have prospective investors salivating is Fiverr's take-rate -- the percentage of each negotiated deal it keeps. The company's chief rivals typically have a take-rate in the mid-teens. Meanwhile, Fiverr's take-rate hit 30.2% in the fourth quarter and has continued to expand. It's able to keep more of each deal negotiated on its platform without chasing away buyers or the freelancers that make its online-services marketplace tick.
Since economic expansions last considerably longer than downturns, any substantive pullback in Fiverr is the ideal time for long-term investors to pounce.
Image source: Getty Images.
CrowdStrike Holdings
The third no-brainer stock to buy with $200 right now is cybersecurity company CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD -0.27%). Even though the 2022 bear market put pressure on growth stocks trading at a premium like CrowdStrike, this is a company whose operating performance shows it's worth every cent of its premium.
Before digging into company specifics, it's important for investors to understand the stability of demand associated with the cybersecurity industry. Hackers don't take time off just because Wall Street has a bad day or the U.S. consumer is struggling. Businesses with an online or cloud presence need to protect their data at all times, which leads to predictable demand and cash flow for cybersecurity companies.
CrowdStrike is focused on end-user protection, with its cloud-native platform known as Falcon doing the heavy lifting. Falcon employs artificial intelligence (AI) and machine-learning technology to grow smarter over time. This is a platform analyzing trillions of weekly events in order to more effectively recognize and respond to threats.
The measure of Falcon's worth to the enterprise world can be seen in the CrowdStrike's gross retention rate. Though there are less-costly software-as-a-service (SaaS) end-user solutions available, CrowdStrike's gross retention rate rose by more than 400 basis points to 98% over the trailing five-year period. Businesses are sticking with CrowdStrike's services once they become customers.
What's even more impressive has been CrowdStrike's ability to get its existing subscribers to spend more. As of Jan. 31, 2023, which is when CrowdStrike's fiscal year ends, 62% of its more than 23,000 clients had purchased five or more cloud-module subscriptions. For some context here, a single-digit percentage of its less than 500 total subscribers had purchased four or more cloud-module subscriptions six years ago. Not only is CrowdStrike growing at a lightning-fast pace, but it's generating exceptionally high margins from these add-on purchases.
