Global equities markets fell sharply last year as macroeconomic headwinds hammered economies around the world. The S&P 500 -- a diversified index that covers more than half of global equities by market capitalization -- is still down nearly 10% from its all-time high. But investors have reason to be optimistic.
The fourth quarter has historically been the strongest quarter of the year for the S&P 500. The index, buoyed by holiday enthusiasm, has returned an average of 4.6% during that three-month period since 1980, according to Argus Research. But should those gains fail to materialize, investors still have reason to be optimistic.
The S&P 500 has never failed to recoup its losses from any past drawdown, meaning the index will almost certainly reach a new record high in the future. That makes the present a good time to buy stocks, and DigitalOcean Holdings (DOCN 8.04%) and Adyen (ADYE.Y +3.27%) -- both of which trade near their 52-week lows -- look particularly attractive at their current valuations.
NYSE: DOCN
Key Data Points
1. DigitalOcean
Public cloud vendors like Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS) offer a broad range of infrastructure and platform services, and both companies are consistently on the cutting edge of cloud technology. But their products are generally engineered for enterprises with large IT departments, meaning small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are often overlooked.
DigitalOcean simplifies cloud computing to address that underserved market segment. Its intuitive interface features click-and-go options that make it possible for SMBs to provision cloud services in minutes, without any specialized training. The company also provides 24/7 customer and technical support, and thousands of developer tutorials.
The company has stumbled as SMBs have pared back spending in response to macroeconomic uncertainty, but it's still growing at a steady clip. Its customer count increased 12% year over year in the second quarter, revenue climbed 27% to $170 million, and non-GAAP net income nearly doubled to reach $45 million. The business should be able to maintain a similar trajectory for years to come.
DigitalOcean may not offer the same sophistication as Azure and AWS, but the company is steadily expanding its portfolio, and its product development efforts are paying off. To quote CEO Yancey Spruill, "The newer capabilities that we've introduced over the past 10 months are growing significantly faster than is our overall company." He expects similar success with product launches planned for the second half of the year.
Of particular note, DigitalOcean recently acquired supercomputing infrastructure provider Paperspace to accelerate its entrance into the artificial intelligence (AI) market. With access to the latest Nvidia GPUs, DigitalOcean customers can now build and deploy AI applications more easily. That could be a powerful tailwind for the company.
On that note, DigitalOcean expects its SMB market opportunity to increase 26% annually to reach $195 billion by 2026, so investors can conservatively expect annual revenue growth in the mid-teens (at a minimum) over the next three to five years. That makes its current valuation of 3.6 times sales -- almost the lowest in company history -- look like a bargain. Investors should feel comfortable buying this growth stock today.
OTC: ADYE.Y
Key Data Points
2. Adyen
Businesses typically need to form relationships with payment gateways, processors, and acquirers to accept electronic payments. Gateways initiate transactions, processors transmit authorization requests to issuing banks through the appropriate card network, and acquirers handle settlement on behalf of merchants.
Adyen unifies the roles of gateway, processor, and acquirer on a single platform, allowing it to capture more data than any party would alone. That data informs artificial intelligence models that help Adyen boost authorization rates, guide marketing decisions, and prevent fraud for its merchants. That value proposition has won the business of enterprises like Booking Holdings and McDonald's. But Adyen also caters to marketplace-style businesses like Etsy and Uber with embedded financial services for card issuance, account creation, and instant payouts.
Adyen saw its share price plummet 40% following the release of its financial report for the first half of 2023. Revenue increased 21% to 739 million euros through June, a steep shortfall compared to the 40% growth forecasted by analysts. To make matters worse, net income remained flat at 282 million euros due to aggressive headcount expansion. While those results are disappointing, the market overreacted. Macroeconomic challenges will fade in time, and the stock appears significantly oversold with the added context of future growth prospects.
Looking ahead, the global digital payments market is expected to increase at 21% annually through 2030, according to Grand View Research. So investors can reasonably expect Adyen to grow revenue in the mid-teens annually over that period, a conservative estimate that leaves room for surprise to the upside. That makes its current valuation of 3.9 times sales look quite attractive, especially when its three-year average is over 10 times sales. That's why now is a good time to pick up this fintech stock.
