History Says the S&P 500 Could Soon Soar to New Highs -- 2 Growth Stocks to Buy Now

The Federal Reserve has aggressively raised its benchmark interest rate over the past year in an effort to stamp out inflation, but projections from the Federal Open Market Committee suggest the rate hike cycle is nearing its end. Specifically, Fed officials anticipate one more rate hike this year, and they expect rates to begin falling in 2024. That bodes well for the stock market.

Dating back to 1970, the S&P 500 has climbed nearly 15% (on average) during the 12-month period following a rate hike cycle, according to Charles Schwab. The S&P 500 is currently down 13%, meaning a 15% gain would carry the index to new highs.

Here are two S&P 500 growth stocks to buy now.

1. Paycom Software

Paycom Software (PAYC 2.74%) provides human capital management (HCM) software, primarily to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Its core product is payroll software, but its HCM suite also includes tools for talent acquisition, time and labor management, and human resources management. In a nutshell, Paycom makes it possible for SMBs to manage the entire employee life cycle from a single platform. That gives the company an edge because many organizations currently rely on a patchwork of software from multiple vendors to meet their HCM needs.

Despite economic headwinds, Paycom delivered solid financial results last year. Its customer count increased 8% to 36,600, and its revenue retention rate came in at 93%, meaning the company kept the vast majority of its customers. In turn, revenue rose 30% to $1.4 billion and GAAP earnings jumped 44% to $4.84 per diluted share. That success hints at strong momentum across its entire HCM suite, but management specifically cited its new payroll software as a key growth driver.

Paycom recently launched Beti (Better Employee Transaction Interface), the first self-service payroll software in the HCM industry. Beti automates payroll by requiring employees to review and approve their paychecks prior to finalization, which improves operational efficiency by reducing the amount of time administrators spend fixing payroll problems. For context, an organization with 1,000 employees typically incurs $250,000 in annual expenses related to resolving payroll errors.

Looking ahead, investors should expect steady growth from Paycom. The company has captured just 5% of its addressable market, but it recently opened several new sales offices that should have a material impact on growth by 2024. More broadly, innovations like Beti -- a product that earned Paycom a spot on Fast Company's list of the most innovative businesses in the world in 2022 -- should keep Paycom on the cutting edge of the HCM industry.

Currently, shares trade for 12.3 times sales, a discount compared to the three-year average of 21.1 times sales. That creates an attractive buying opportunity for patient investors.

2. PayPal Holdings

PayPal Holdings (PYPL -1.91%) struggled with high inflation and unfavorable foreign exchange rates last year, along with the loss of eBay's business, and those headwinds led to lackluster financial results. Revenue rose 9% to $25.4 billion in 2022, and non-GAAP earnings dropped 10% to $4.13 per diluted share. But management expects cost-cutting measures to drive non-GAAP earnings growth of 18% in 2023, and PayPal should have no trouble reaccelerating revenue expansion in a more favorable economic environment.

PayPal operates one of the largest payment platforms in the world, with 432 million active accounts, and it holds an industry-leading 42% market share in online payment processing, according to Statista. That success stems in large part from its two-sided network. Many payment processors work only with merchants, but PayPal provides financial services to merchants and consumers, meaning it has established trust on both sides of the transaction. That leads to higher conversion rates and better fraud prevention for merchants. In fact, CEO Dan Schulman says PayPal has "the lowest loss rates in the industry and the highest approval rate."

PayPal's recent partnership with Apple could also help it gain market share offline. Apple Wallets will soon support PayPal- and Venmo-branded cards in the U.S., meaning cardholders will be able to make purchases anywhere Apple Pay is accepted. That could have a material impact for PayPal because Apple Pay is the most popular in-store mobile wallet in the U.S. by a wide margin.

With that in mind, digital payments revenue is expected to grow by 21% annually to reach $361 billion by 2030, according to Grand View Research. PayPal should be a major beneficiary of that tailwind, and with shares trading for 3.2 times sales -- a discount to the three-year average of 8.7 times sales -- now is a good time to buy this stock.