Predicting a fivefold increase in a stock is often tricky. Even if a stock holds such potential, a variety of internal and external factors can derail a growth story.

While no one can guarantee such a gain, some stocks hold a higher probability of achieving such growth. Investors wanting to increase their odds of profiting from such growth might want to consider CrowdStrike (CRWD 2.99%) and Shopify (SHOP 5.49%) as they build on past successes and considerable potential for further growth. 

CrowdStrike

One of the current stories of the tech industry involves the secular shift to the cloud. Operating from such an ecosystem can dramatically increase an entity's productivity.

However, the cloud cannot succeed without top-notch security, and this is where CrowdStrike helps customers. Its specialty is securing endpoints -- the laptops, smartphones, and other devices that connect to the cloud.

The company also succeeded by using endpoint security as a segue into selling other security modules to its customers. As of April 30, the end of the first quarter of its fiscal 2024, 62% of its customers had adopted at least five of its modules.

Admittedly, competition in cybersecurity is intense, and CrowdStrike must compete with the likes of Zscaler, Palo Alto Networks, Okta, and numerous others to stay ahead. Still, neither competition nor an uncertain economy has stopped its rapid growth. In fiscal Q1, its revenue rose 42% from the year-ago quarter to $693 million. Also, thanks to a surge in interest income, it reported a fiscal Q1 net income of $491,000.

Furthermore, while it lost money from an operations standpoint, conditions should improve. For fiscal 2024, CrowdStrike forecasts revenue of just over $3 billion at the midpoint of its guidance range, a 35% increase.

Investors have already begun to notice the company's improvements. After a brutal sell-off in 2022's bear market, CrowdStrike stock is up about 47% so far this year. And even though it trades at a somewhat lofty price-to-sales ratio of 15, the sales multiple is recovering from record lows. That could bring about an eventual fivefold increase as more companies adopt, grow, and secure their cloud networks.

Shopify

Shopify increasingly stands out in the competitive field of e-commerce platforms. Its customers responded well to the relative ease and optionality they have in setting up and operating a sales site.

Moreover, Shopify offers an extensive ecosystem that can help in areas ranging from funding to inventory management to payments. Such options make sellers more likely to choose it over Wix, Squarespace, and other competitors as it seeks to become a "100-year company."

Grand View Research forecasts a compound annual growth rate for e-commerce of 15% through 2027. The extent and improvements of Shopify's ecosystem should help it capture much of that growth.

More recently, the company has stood out with two key decisions. One is adding Shopify Plus. This expands its target market from small and medium-sized businesses to address the specific needs of larger entities, thus expanding its addressable market. Also, it reversed its decision to enter the logistics business and sold its fulfillment network. By removing this expense, it made a quick return to profitability.

In Q1, its revenue rose 25% from the same quarter last year to $1.5 billion. And without a fulfillment network to fund, it earned $77 million in the period after posting losses in prior quarters.

Additionally, an improving market and recent changes amounted to huge tailwinds for Shopify stock. So far, the stock has nearly doubled since the beginning of the year, though it sells at about a 65% discount from its 2021 high.

Currently, its price-to-sales ratio is around 14. While that's not a record low, it closely approximates the level where Shopify began its stock surge in early 2019. As more customers adopt the platform, that valuation could eventually help this top e-commerce stock match and surpass record levels.