Investing isn't an all-or-nothing venture. Making investing a steady habit will serve you far better in the long run than putting money into stocks sporadically in the hope of timing the best moments to buy.
If you want to build a portfolio that can thrive in a wide range of market environments, a wise strategy would be to take stakes in wonderful businesses, regularly add to them, and hold onto those shares for as long as your investment theses in the businesses hold up.
If you have $1,000 you're able to invest in stocks now, here are two companies worthy of your consideration.
1. Fiverr
Fiverr (FVRR 3.74%) continues to provide a market-leading platform for companies of all sizes to connect with the freelancers they need. From video and animation services to digital marketing services to AI-centric services, if you can name a service, you can probably find a freelancer offering it on Fivver.
Many investors have focused on the fact that Fiverr's growth has decelerated in recent quarters from its pace during the pandemic's earlier days. However, the company's overall growth from its pre-pandemic levels arguably provides a more accurate gauge of where the business is headed.
Case in point: Fiverr had 4.3 million active buyers on its platform in Q1 2023, with an average spend per buyer of $262. On a three-year basis, those two metrics were up by 74% and 48%, respectively.
Fiverr also continues to demonstrate that it's not only "sticky" -- holding onto its previous buyers of freelance services -- but that it remains adept at attracting new ones. In 2022, 63% of Fiverr's revenue was derived from repeat buyers, but the remaining 37% was attributable to buyers who were new to its platform. Over the past three years, Fiverr has grown its annual revenues by 80%.
Fiverr benefits from serving both the supply and demand sides of the freelance relationship. It's also worth noting that as economic conditions remain in flux, companies are showing a preference for hiring freelancers over long-term employees. Even the rise of artificial intelligence-based programs like ChatGPT should not damage its value proposition. While these new tools can help make workers more efficient and streamline tasks, companies will still need skilled individuals to perform a wide variety of key tasks.
Fiverr has reported seeing a huge spike not only in demand for AI-based services on its platform but in the availability of AI-centric gigs that freelancers are posting for buyers to purchase. The dynamics of the labor economy and the gig sector will continue to shift in the digital age. The need for platforms like Fiverr doesn't look to be going anywhere though, and investors can capitalize on this growth trajectory with a long-term buy-and-hold position.
2. Chewy
Chewy (CHWY 2.99%) is growing its footprint in the pet care space, an industry that has gone through a number of shifts over the years. Increasingly, this industry is moving away from brick-and-mortar-based solutions and toward e-commerce, a reality that Chewy is ideally positioned to continue capitalizing on. So extensive is Chewy's fulfillment network that it can get shipments to approximately 80% of the U.S. population overnight, and just shy of 100% in two days.
Not only does Chewy operate its own fulfillment network, but it's doing so with increased efficiency. The company just opened its fourth automated fulfillment center, while it recently closed down a few older, non-automated centers. The benefits of leveraging a growing network of automated fulfillment centers are myriad, from shorter shipping times to lower operational costs, all of which benefit the bottom line.
About 40% of all pet product sales in the U.S. now take place online, according to a report by Packaged Facts. Meanwhile, estimates show that nearly 50% of pet spending in the U.S. will occur online by 2026.
Over the last few years, Chewy has been able to steadily grow its revenue while slowly building a baseline of consistent profitability. Its top line jumped by a whopping 186% over the past five years.
Chewy's became profitable for the first time in the final quarter of 2020. Fast-forward to 2022, and Chewy pulled in an annual profit of $49 million, compared to a net loss of about $74 million for the prior year. This business has a lot of room to run, especially as it's looking toward its first international expansion (into Canada) in the third quarter. Investors may want to consider scooping up a few shares in the near future.
