It may seem hard to find bargains in the market these days, but they're definitely out there. From low earnings multiples to undervalued cash-rich balance sheets, if you dig hard enough you will find value even in an otherwise overvalued market.
Where am I finding deep value these days? Crocs (CROX 1.53%) and Huya (HUYA -0.68%) are two stocks that are absurdly cheap right now. Crocs is growing faster than you think with an earnings multiple you may find hard to believe. Huya is not at its best right now, but just wait until you see its balance sheet. Let's take a closer look at these two stocks.
1. Crocs
You might initially dismiss Crocs as a growth stock. A lot of people may see the maker of distinctive and comfortable footwear as an obvious candidate for faddishness. It's easy to dismiss Crocs as a novelty, but history paints a more favorable portrait.
Crocs has now been around for more than 20 years, and it's not going away. Revenue will top $4 billion this year. This will be the fifth consecutive year of organic double-digit revenue growth for Crocs. The top line surged 57% last year, but that was padded heavily by its HEYDUDE acqusition. Organic growth still clocked in with a double-digit gain. Its signature clogs have holes, but you won't find too many in the business itself.
Image source: Crocs.
Crocs raised its full-year guidance this summer. It sees 12.5% to 14.5% revenue growth for all of 2023. The year-over-year comparisons for the current quarter may be weak, but the year itself should be solid.
Like many fringe growth stocks, Crocs has been giving back many of its earlier gains lately. The stock has fallen by more than 40% since its springtime peak, but the market's dismissal could be your opportunity. A major advantage of cranking out fashionably polarizing but unique shoes is that you can deliver healthy markups in the marketplace. Crocs is very profitable.
You can buy Crocs stock for just 7 times its earnings guidance for 2023. The profit multiple drops to 6 if we look out to next year. Its debt ballooned after the $2.5 billion HEYDUDE buyout, but its leverage is more than manageable. Picking up an out-of-favor growth stock with double-digit revenue growth -- a welcome anomaly in the realm of shoe stocks -- at a single-digit earnings multiple looks pretty smart right now.
2. Huya
A lot of investors are sidestepping Chinese stocks these days. The esports stocks market in general has also lost some steam. Huya is essentially the Twitch of China as a gamer-centric streaming platform. It's at the intersection of two out-of-favor investing trends, but what if you could get the company for less than free?
I'll get to that last pitch shortly, but let's talk about the business itself. Being the top streaming platform for gamer videos in the world's most populous nation was a great place to be a couple of years ago, but growth has decelerated sharply in the last few years.
- 2017: 174%
- 2018: 113%
- 2019: 80%
- 2020: 30%
- 2021: 4%
- 2022: (19%)
Revenue is down another 20% through the first half of 2023. It's easy to see why this was a hot IPO in 2018 given its heady growth prospects at the time. Huya went public at $12, poking its head above $50 a few weeks later. It's now trading for $3 and change. It's a broken IPO, but it's been able to keep most of the money it raised at a much higher debutante price.
Despite its $740 million market cap, Huya has more than $1.2 billion in net cash on its debt-free balance sheet. Huya trades at an enterprise value of negative $490 million. It's less than free, but these situations don't always work out well for investors. A company can burn through cash, and being waist-deep in another year of double-digit revenue declines isn't a good look.
Thankfully, Huya -- profitable for three years before dipping into the red last year -- is back on track on the bottom line. It has posted back-to-back profitable quarters. Analysts see a challenging second half with losses returning and the revenue declines getting worse, but most Wall Street pros following the stock see full-year profitability and a stabilizing top-line performance in 2024.
