Billionaire investor Warren Buffett once said, "All there is to investing is picking good stocks at good times and staying with them for as long as they remain good companies."
Uber Technologies (UBER +0.84%) and Docebo (DCBO +2.77%) satisfy those requirements. They are key players in expanding markets and are executing sensible growth strategies. The stocks also trade at reasonable valuations, and they are widely accessible at less than $100 per share.
Meanwhile, the S&P 500 bull market became official in January when the index reached a record high for the first time in two years. Past bull markets have entailed sustained upward momentum across the stock market, with the S&P 500 gaining an average of 169% over about five years. And many stocks are sure to soar during the current bull market.
Those favorable conditions collectively make Uber and Docebo no-brainer buys right now. Here's what investors should know.
NYSE: UBER
Key Data Points
1. Uber Technologies
Uber breaks its business into three segments: mobility, delivery, and freight. Mobility connects riders with drivers and transportation. Delivery connects consumers with restaurants and retailers. And freight connects shippers with carriers. Uber dominates U.S. ride-sharing services with 75% market share, and it ranks second in U.S. restaurant-delivery services with 23% market share, according to Bloomberg.
The same pattern holds globally. Uber is the largest ride-sharing company and the second-largest food-delivery company in the world. That scale is an important advantage for two reasons. First, it creates a network effect that brings more users to the platform over time. That network effect is particularly powerful because Uber can use one service to promote the other. Second, scale gives the company a data advantage that supports more efficient dispatching and routing of drivers than its peers.
Uber reported encouraging results in the fourth quarter. Monthly active platform consumers increased by 15% year over year to 150 million. Revenue rose 15% to $9.9 billion on strong growth in mobility and modest growth in delivery, offset by a decline in freight. On the bottom line, generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) net income jumped 140% year over year to $1.4 billion as cost-control efforts continued to pay off.
Management gave other encouraging news on the earnings call. Total drivers increased 30% year over year, and driver engagement increased 10% during the quarter, indicating the underlying network effect is healthy. Uber also gained share in delivery services across its 10 largest markets, signaling the company is successfully using its leadership in ridesharing to expand its delivery presence.
Going forward, the ride-sharing market is forecasted to grow at 16% annually through 2030, while the online food delivery market is expected to expand at 19% annually during the same period. That gives Uber a good shot at mid-teens revenue growth through the decade. That makes its current valuation of 4.4 times sales seem quite reasonable. Investors with a five-year time horizon should feel comfortable buying a small position in Uber stock.
NASDAQ: DCBO
Key Data Points
2. Docebo
Docebo specializes in corporate learning. Its learning management system (LMS) lets businesses create, curate, deliver, and measure the impact of personalized training content across internal and external audiences, such as employees and customers, respectively. Docebo is the market leader in external LMS use cases and the company taking share in internal LMS use cases due to the broad scope of its platform, according to Morgan Stanley.
Docebo offers two particularly innovative applications. First, Docebo Flow lets businesses embed training material into third-party systems so that users can learn during the flow of normal work. Second, Docebo Shape leans on generative artificial intelligence (AI) to automate content creation. Specifically, Shape turns source material like presentations, documents, and case studies into learning content.
Morgan Stanley selected Docebo as one of the software vendors best positioned to benefit from generative AI, citing its position as an innovation leader. Analysts believe the market is underestimating Shape. The application already improves operational efficiency, but Docebo will release new features later this year that make it more compelling, including virtual role-play and a conversational interface that supports higher automation.
Docebo reported better-than-expected financial results in Q4. Its customer count rose 11% to 3,759, and the average customer spent 4% more. In turn, revenue increased 27% to $49 million, and non-IFRS net income soared 145% to $8.3 million.
The LMS market is forecasted to grow at 20% annually through 2030. Docebo should match that pace at a minimum, though the company could certainly grow more quickly given its strong market position and its capacity for innovation. Indeed, Wall Street expects sales to grow at 25% annually over the next five years. Compared to that consensus estimate, its current valuation of 10.3 times sales appears downright cheap. Patient, risk-tolerant investors can purchase a small position in this growth stock without hesitation.
