Successful growth stock investors employ many tools, but few are more important than patience and a long-term mindset. Hardly anyone predicted the Nasdaq Composite index, which is chock-full of growth stocks, would tank more than 33% in 2022. Even fewer thought it would break a record by rising nearly 32% in the first six months of 2023.
The market can be dangerous for folks who think a few months is a long time to hold their stocks. For the most part, though, growth-stock investors who regularly added to their portfolios last year instead of panic-selling when they tanked are sitting on impressive gains right now.
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These two businesses are growing fast now, and they're positioned well enough that they'll most likely continue making gains for many years to come. Their stock prices might bounce around from month to month, but over the coming decade, there's a good chance they could rise fivefold or more.
Zoom Video Communications
Zoom Video's (ZM 1.57%) business isn't growing nearly as fast as it did when the COVID-19 pandemic sent everyone scrambling for work-from-home solutions. As a result, the stock is around 88% below the peak price it set in 2020 and trading at a very reasonable earnings multiple.
At the moment, you can buy shares of Zoom for just 16.3 times management's estimate for adjusted earnings during its fiscal 2024, which ends next January. At this valuation, investors can come out ahead over the long run even if the company's bottom line grows by a single-digit percentage.
Zoom's main source of revenue is transitioning away from individuals and small businesses. Total first-quarter revenue grew just 3% year over year, but that doesn't tell the whole story. New enterprise customers are still signing up in droves, and existing enterprise customers are deepening their relationships.
At the end of the fiscal first quarter, ended April 30, Zoom had nearly 215,900 enterprise customers, which was 9% more than it had a year earlier. Enterprise customers who contribute more than $100,000 in annual revenue rose 23% year over year. Now, Zoom's six-figure customers are responsible for 29% of total revenue, up from just 24% a year ago.
Larger businesses that want to retain valuable employees with hybrid or fully remote work options are signing up in droves, and Zoom is taking steps to make sure they continue. In April, the company acquired Workvivo, an employee-experience platform that combines communication and social networking tools.
Uber Technologies
Shares of Uber Technologies (UBER -0.38%) are still 29% below the high-water mark they set back in early 2021. While famous for recording enormous losses in the past, this ever-changing mobility business is approaching sustainable profitability.
Right now, you can buy Uber for around 41.5 times forward-looking earnings expectations. Investors should understand that this is a high multiple, and the stock could get crushed if the business can't maintain a rapid earnings growth rate.
If Cathie Wood's predictions regarding the future of ride-hailing come true, patient investors who buy Uber could see a fivefold gain in the coming decade plus a lot more. Earlier this year, Ark Invest's Big Ideas report said the ride-hailing market could be worth $11 trillion with the addition of accessible autonomous travel.
Labor is far and away Uber's single largest expense, so less reliance on people could cause profits to explode. Investors will be glad to know that Uber can probably provide a positive return even if autonomous taxis never catch on. First-quarter adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) jumped 353% year over year.
Extra cautious investors like me are waiting for another quarter or two of earnings growth before they make a bet on Uber. Investors at the upper end of the risk tolerance spectrum, though, will want to put some shares of this mobility stock in a diversified portfolio right now.
