Finding the next big winners in the stock market isn't so easy these days.
The bear market has crushed tech stocks as lots of growth stocks are announcing layoffs and focused on cutting costs to drive profitability, sacrificing earlier growth ambitions.
However, not every stock is a loser in the current market. Keep reading to see two stocks that are building momentum even in a bear market.
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1. Perion Network
Ad tech stocks have gotten hit hard in the sell-off. Digital advertising demand has slowed sharply as brands are hesitant to spend with a recession possibly around the corner.
However, that hasn't been a problem for Perion Network (PERI 4.41%). The small-cap stock was the only ad tech company to gain in the stock market last year. The company has generated strong growth thanks to the popularity of its intelligent hub, which connects ad buyers and sellers and optimizes spending for brands and inventory for publishers.
The company has also made smart acquisitions, building out its video monetization platform with the help of Vidazoo. It provides premium ad experiences, including offering a "connected cart" that will update products advertised on connected TV based on inventory levels at the advertising retailer. Perion has also rolled out its own cookieless tracking alternative called SORT, which has now signed up 59% of its customers. It generated nearly $60 million in revenue last year.
Finally, Perion stock has also surged this year thanks to its partnership with Microsoft's Bing search engine. Investors are hopeful that the new ChatGPT-powered Bing can drive significant market share gains, which could cause Perion's profits to soar.
Perion has demonstrated the ability to grow its top and bottom lines in a difficult environment, and through multiple channels. Despite its strong growth rate, the stock is still cheap at a price-to-earnings ratio of 16. The stock has a ton of upside potential if the new Bing takes off, but even without it, Perion should continue to outperform.
2. Remitly Global
Like ad tech stocks, the fintech sector has also struggled due to a slowdown in digital spending growth and increased competition. However, one fintech stock that has surged in recent months is Remitly Global (RELY -2.18%), which has nearly doubled since late last year.
Remitly Global is the leader in a niche fintech category, specializing in cross-border payments for remittances from migrant workers. Remitly sees itself as competing with traditional money-transfer services like Western Union and Moneygram that immigrants have relied on to send money, and is grabbing market share as it takes a digital-first approach to remittances.
The company is growing fast and penetrating a large and growing addressable market. In its fourth quarter, active customers rose 48% to 4.2 million, send volume increased 35% to $8.1 billion, and revenue was up 41% to $191 million.
Remitly is also gaining leverage on the bottom line. It flipped a loss in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) to a profit of $7.5 million in the fourth quarter.
Despite the slowing global economy in 2023, management expects another strong year of growth, forecasting revenue to grow 32% to 35% to $860 million to $880 million, and adjusted EBITDA of breakeven to $10 million.
Based on that forecast, the stock trades at a price-to-sales ratio of less than 4, making it reasonably priced for a company growing as fast as it is. Remitly is still investing in the growth opportunity ahead of it, which makes sense, but digital payments businesses tend to be highly profitable at scale.
Remitly can deliver strong margins over the long term, and it looks primed to continue growing as it penetrates a market ripe for disruption.
