10 Growth Stocks to Buy When the Market Crashes

A growth stock is a stock that consistently outpaces its competitors or the wider market in its expansion of revenue and profits. Growth stocks tend to come at a higher price point, but can be an excellent long-term play to boost the value of your portfolio and build wealth. Finding the right growth stocks to invest your hard-earned money in amidst a global recession may feel like searching for a needle in a haystack, but it doesn't have to be.

Whether the next market crash is weeks, months, or years down the line, these are 10 growth stocks you can buy and hold for the long haul.

5 Winning Stocks Under $49
We hear it over and over from investors, “I wish I had bought Amazon or Netflix when they were first recommended by the Motley Fool. I’d be sitting on a gold mine!” And it’s true. And while Amazon and Netflix have had a good run, we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $49 a share! Simply click here to learn how to get your copy of “5 Growth Stocks Under $49” for FREE for a limited time only.

Shares of multinational e-commerce company Shopify (NYSE:SHOP) have risen substantially on a year-over-year basis and since the market's bear lows in March. Last August, you could purchase Shopify stock for about $362. Now, a single share of the company costs a little over $1,000. In the second quarter of 2020, there was a 71% increase of new storefronts on the Shopify platform. Shopify's total revenue for Q2 hit $714.3 million, a nearly 100% boost from Q2 2019, while it closed the quarter with $4 billion in cash.

Shopify's merchant and subscription-based business model was already wildly successful pre-pandemic. But, with the mass closures of brick-and-mortar stores in recent months due to lockdowns, the platform's appeal to merchants and consumers alike is more relevant than ever before. When you consider that retail e-commerce sales are expected to hit $476.5 billion by 2024, Shopify appears more than ready to weather another market storm.

ALSO READ: Will Shopify Quadruple Sales by 2025?

No list of recession-resistant growth stocks would be complete without mentioning this tech giant. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) not only just became the first company in the U.S. to reach a market capitalization worth $2 trillion, but could reach a $3 trillion market cap as soon as 2023. This stock really is the gift that keeps on giving.

Although shares fell about 24% in the March plunge, Apple stock is currently up around 54% from its closing price on Jan. 2. In fiscal Q3, which concluded on June 27, Apple’s revenue was up 11% on a year-over-year basis. The company’s vast popularity with a wide array of consumers as well as the continued diversification of its offerings and products are two reasons this stock dominates the market while others struggle in the pandemic economy.

As one of the largest e-commerce entities in the world, Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) continued to dominate key sectors of the online retail and tech sectors at the height of the pandemic. The China-based company's strategy of diversification has led it to achieve a market capitalization worth more than $700 billion, and capture 60% of the Chinese e-commerce market.

Alibaba's flourishing cloud computing and domestic retail segments allowed the company to finish fiscal 2020 on a high note, despite the pandemic. Revenue was up 35% at approximately $72 billion, with nearly one billion annual active consumers using the Alibaba platform by the conclusion of the fiscal year on March 31.

Growth stocks don't come cheap. But Alibaba is on the more affordable end of the spectrum, with shares costing about $260 each at the time of this writing. The stock is up roughly 19% year to date.

Founded in 1999, MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) is another e-commerce stock with explosive growth potential that has continuously proved its mettle in the current global recession. The company's innovative dual business model as both an online shopping platform and payment ecosystem have made MercadoLibre the leading e-commerce company in the whole of Latin America. With a presence in 18 Latin American countries, an area of the globe boasting more than 635 million inhabitants, MercadoLibre is giving competitors like Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) a run for its money in that sector of the online retail market.

Shares of the company have grown significantly since MercadoLibre went public on Aug. 10, 2007. On the day of its initial public offering, the stock closed at $28.50. If you had invested $10,000 in the company then, you could have purchased about 351 shares. Now, that investment would be worth more than $425,000. MercadoLibre's market capitalization now exceeds $60 billion.

The company's net revenue was up 37.6% in Q1 of this year, and a whopping 61.1% in Q2. In the second quarter alone, revenue in the company's commerce segment grew nearly 80%.

5 Winning Stocks Under $49
We hear it over and over from investors, “I wish I had bought Amazon or Netflix when they were first recommended by the Motley Fool. I’d be sitting on a gold mine!” And it’s true. And while Amazon and Netflix have had a good run, we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $49 a share! Simply click here to learn how to get your copy of “5 Growth Stocks Under $49” for FREE for a limited time only.

San Francisco-based company Dropbox (NASDAQ:DBX), known for its cloud storage and software, is a less-talked-about growth stock that has demonstrated high recession resistance throughout the pandemic. Dropbox currently trades at around $20 per share, making it one of the cheapest growth stocks on this list. As much of the broader market took a nosedive in March, Dropbox managed to avoid such sharp declines while reporting consistent quarterly growth during the pandemic.

Last year, the company achieved 19% growth in its total yearly revenue, which was $1.7 billion. In fiscal Q1, Dropbox reported an 18% increase in revenue to $455 million. The company's revenue reached $467.4 million in fiscal Q2, a 16% year-over-year increase. Dropbox closed out the most recent quarter with nearly $120 million in free cash flow and 15 million paying users on its platform, up slightly from 14.6 million paying users in Q1.

ALSO READ: $2,000 Can Go a Long Way With These 3 Stocks

As the largest telehealth provider in the U.S., Teladoc Health (NYSE:TDOC) has gone from strength to strength this year as more and more patients require virtual solutions to meet their non-emergency healthcare needs. The stock has risen about 160% since the beginning of the year.

Telehealth was gaining popularity before the pandemic, but demand has surged exponentially in recent months and doesn't look to be going anywhere. According to a study recently released by consulting firm McKinsey & Company, in 2019, only 11% of patients in the U.S. chose telehealth when an in-person medical appointment was cancelled. In contrast, 46% of patients now choose telehealth in lieu of cancelled medical appointments. In the second quarter of this year, Teladoc's revenue was up 85%, while visits conducted on the platform rose 203%.

With millions of people in lockdown around the world this spring, it's not surprising that users flocked to Netflix's (NASDAQ:NFLX) platform in droves. In fact, 26 million new-paying subscribers signed up for Netflix accounts in Q1 and Q2. During the first three months of 2020, Netflix saw a 28% surge in revenue at $5.8 billion. In the recent quarter, revenue was up nearly 25% on a year-over-year basis at $6.1 billion. Netflix closed out Q2 with $720 million in net earnings, much higher than its $271 million net earnings in Q2 2019.

Shares of Netflix are currently trading about 70% higher than they were one year ago. The video streaming market is projected to reach a $184.2 billion valuation by the year 2027, and Netflix looks set to snag a sizable piece of that pie.

The e-signature market amassed just over $951 million in worldwide revenue last year, according to Prescient & Strategic Intelligence. Between 2020 and 2030, the e-signature market is expected to achieve a roughly 25% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). DocuSign (NASDAQ:DOCU) is the driving force in this industry and comprises approximately a 70% share of the e-signature market.

When other stocks plummeted in March, shares of DocuSign started trending upward and haven't stopped since. The stock has jumped about 174% since January. During fiscal Q1 2021, DocuSign reported a 39% increase in total revenue to $297 million and a 59% boost in overall billings to $342.1 million. With more companies turning to remote options, e-signature solutions will continue to be in high demand. If you're looking to invest with long-term growth in mind, DocuSign's apparent coronavirus immunity makes this stock worth considering.

Another company that has flourished while the wider market struggled is Zoom Video Communications (NASDAQ:ZM). With important work meetings, family reunions, birthday parties, and even dates switching to a virtual setting, Zoom has increasingly become the fast and reliable solution users depend on to stay connected in the pandemic. The stock's high price tag (around $280) and sudden surge in demand has left some investors concerned regarding its long-term growth prospects. Back in January, you could buy one share of Zoom for about $70.

That being said, Zoom's growth trajectory looks to be far from over -- and some would argue, is just getting started. The global video conferencing market is a multi-billion dollar industry and an integral part of these changing times. Zoom is a major player in this market, which is expected to hit a CAGR of nearly 10% by 2027. In the fiscal first quarter of 2021, Zoom reported a 169% year-over-year boost in revenue. More than 265,000 users with over 10 employees were on the platform in this recent quarter, a 354% increase compared to fiscal Q1 2020.

ALSO READ: Here's the Surprising Coronavirus Stock You'll Really Want to Own

Diabetes stock DexCom (NASDAQ:DXCM) declined slightly in March. It recovered quickly and is up 97% from January, just shy of its 52-week high. Dexcom has a history of consistent earnings growth. The company reported annual revenue increases of 44% in 2018 and 43% in 2019. In the second quarter of this year, Dexcom's balance sheet augmented by 34% with $451.8 million in total revenue.

A leading developer and manufacturer of continuous glucose monitoring systems, DexCom's products were in high demand before the pandemic and remain at the forefront of the fight to manage the diabetes crisis.

5 Winning Stocks Under $49
We hear it over and over from investors, “I wish I had bought Amazon or Netflix when they were first recommended by the Motley Fool. I’d be sitting on a gold mine!” And it’s true. And while Amazon and Netflix have had a good run, we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $49 a share! Simply click here to learn how to get your copy of “5 Growth Stocks Under $49” for FREE for a limited time only.

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to leave a devastating global footprint, experts fear a second wave of cases that could cause the market to repeat the historic March crash. However, the market's significant recovery from its bear market low, such as the S&P 500's recent close at a new all-time high on Aug. 18, has raised some investor hopes for ongoing future gains.

In any case, no one can forecast the timing of another downturn with complete certainty. Now is the time to work on recession-proofing your portfolio. By investing in reliable growth stocks, you could set yourself up for higher, long-term returns if and when the next market crash comes.

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Rachel Warren has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Amazon, Apple, DocuSign, MercadoLibre, Netflix, Shopify, Teladoc Health, and Zoom Video Communications. The Motley Fool recommends DexCom and recommends the following options: short January 2022 $1940 calls on Amazon, long January 2022 $1920 calls on Amazon, and short August 2020 $130 calls on Zoom Video Communications. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.