As nice as it would be if investors could predict what the market will do next with a modicum of certainty, no analyst or investing guru can do that. While the history and patterns of the stock market can certainly serve as a guide, and the market is known for its cyclicality, investing requires patience, consistency, and the fortitude to keep adding money to great companies in all types of environments.
Over the long term, quality businesses can continue to generate wins for faithful shareholders. If you're looking to invest $1,000 in stocks this month, here are two unstoppable stocks to consider when you do.
1. Amazon
Amazon (AMZN -0.68%) investors likely breathed a sigh of relief when its results for the first quarter of 2023 came out. As a long-term shareholder in this business, I wasn't particularly concerned by the company's 2022 results given the current economic conditions at play. Even though last year was the first time that Amazon was unprofitable in almost a decade, that net loss wasn't due to deep operational issues, but related to share price declines in its equity investments.
Fast-forward to the first three months of this year, and Amazon's aggressive cost-cutting efforts -- which have included a series of major layoffs following supercharged hiring initiatives earlier in the pandemic -- look to be paying off. The company's net sales of $127 billion in the three-month period represented a healthy 9% increase from the year-ago period. That figure was largely driven by an 11% increase in North American segment sales, and a robust 16% surge in sales at its Amazon Web Services Segment.
Amazon's bottom line was back in positive territory in the first quarter too. Net income totaled $3.2 billion for the three-month period, instead of a net loss of $3.8 billion at the same time last year. On another high note, operating cash flow for the trailing 12 months jumped by a whopping 38% to $54 billion.
Even as consumer wallets may be more constrained than in periods past, people are still spending money on a variety of goods. Amazon reported that almost 26 million individuals ordered items and chose same-day delivery in the first quarter of 2023, a 50% jump in this cohort of buyers from the prior-year period. In addition to the continued market leadership of its flagship e-commerce business and cloud computing giant AWS, Amazon's entertainment business is another segment that continues to thrive.
One of the most talked-about releases in the first quarter was the limited series Daisy Jones and the Six. Not only did the show snag the No. 1 spot on Prime Video as soon as it was released, but within a day, the soundtrack was the top-selling album on Amazon, and the book the series was adapted from was the top best-selling book on the platform.
Amazon continues to demonstrate that, while it's not immune to the economic challenges other businesses are facing, it can and will adjust to the demands of the environment while consistently moving toward growth and profitability. For long-term investors, scooping up this top growth stock could be a very shrewd move.
2. Chewy
Chewy (CHWY -2.23%) continues to go from strength to strength, even in a landscape where worries about consumer spending persist. This likely goes back to the fact that while pet owners may change the types of products they buy for their furry friends when money is tight, pet spending on the whole is less discretionary than other sectors. Chewy's platform offers everything from pet food to pet health insurance plans to an online pet pharmacy.
Its Autoship program generated record sales in the first three months of 2023, and net sales per active customer (NSPAC) also reached a new high. Chewy's Autoship sales were approximately $2 billion, up about 19% year-over-year. That figure means that Autoship sales now comprise 75% of Chewy's overall net sales. NSPAC hit $512, a healthy 15% increase on a year-over-year basis.
Chewy's total net sales improved 15% from the year-ago period, reaching $2.78 billion. The company is slowly but surely building a track record of profitability, with net income totaling $22 million, up 20% year-over-year. On an adjusted basis, that bottom-line figure was about $87 million.
Chewy is also continuing to make progress in reducing overhead costs and streamlining its order fulfillment process by expanding its automated fulfillment center network. In fact, it just opened its fourth automated fulfillment center in Nashville, Tennessee.
Free cash flow for the first quarter was $127 million, and management said they expect this metric to grow for the remainder of 2023. Chewy is also preparing for its first international expansion into the multi-billion-dollar Canadian pet care market. Bear in mind, pet owners across Canada spend about $7 billion every single year.
Chewy's continued advancement to consistent profitability, steady revenue growth, and impressive leveraging of its costs as it expands all bode extremely well for the business. Its foray into a new market, which could perhaps be the first of many, presents a significant revenue and profit opportunity. Investors would do well to take a long, hard second look at this pet stock, as its growth story looks to be just getting started.