These 10 Companies Are Getting a Boost From the Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc around the world. Millions have caught the coronavirus, and billions have suffered through the economic consequences of business closures and job loss. Yet some companies have found opportunities in the pandemic. Investors have responded by sending their share prices higher -- sharply higher in some cases. Here are 10 companies that have grown dramatically during the coronavirus crisis.

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Zoom Video Communications (NASDAQ: ZM) has been a standout stock in 2020, as its video collaboration business has taken off. Users of the Zoom platform include not only business workplaces but also schools, social groups, and a wide range of others looking for alternatives to in-person communication. Although many people have taken advantage of Zoom's free services, plenty have signed up and paid for subscription packages to unlock additional features. The result has been immense growth in revenue and the number of people on Zoom. Investors see that trend continuing well into the future.

Businesses have had to scurry in order to find ways to keep operating even with their stores closed. Enter Shopify (NYSE: SHOP), whose digital platform helps businesses of all sizes create a presence on the internet. With a host of tools designed to help business users create websites, take orders, and deal with payments, Shopify found itself seeing huge demand. Even now, new clients are pouring in, especially among small and mid-sized businesses. Moreover, a recent partnership with Walmart (NYSE: WMT) should keep the growth going indefinitely.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) has been a key player in the e-commerce industry for more than 20 years, but it's really stepped up its game during the pandemic. With unprecedented demand for online orders, Amazon has been able to mobilize its team of in-house and third-party sellers to get people what they need. Moreover, the Amazon Web Services division has also ramped up, helping businesses take advantage of cloud computing to be more efficient with their operations. Amazon is poised to maintain its dominance even in the face of competition.

ALSO READ: 3 New Industries Amazon Could Dominate by 2030

The combination of a rise in online ordering and plenty of extra time at home with pets helped vault Chewy (NYSE: CHWY) into the stratosphere in the first half of 2020. Already benefiting from the tailwinds of a culture that has increasingly prized relationships between pet owners and their animals, Chewy capitalized on the opportunity to set itself apart from other e-commerce providers of pet products. Chewy's looking to keep its customers stuck on its services, and so far, it's been a hit for Fido, Fifi, and millions of pets and their owners.

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.

Time at home also helped increase demand for entertainment stocks, and Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) emerged as a big winner. Subscriptions have done exceptionally well as more people turned to the streaming video giant during the pandemic, and continuing stay-at-home orders in many parts of the world could continue to lift Netflix's prospects. Even with emerging competition, there are more than enough people needing things to watch for Netflix to keep growing indefinitely.

Also on the list of companies helping business customers collaborate more effectively is Slack Technologies (NYSE: WORK). The company's chat-based messaging and work-sharing platform lets companies divide workers across channels to keep them informed instantaneously of necessary developments, while eliminating unnecessary emails that clog up networks and reduce productivity. Slack's stock hasn't jumped quite as much as Zoom and some other tech companies, but rising interest from corporate clients should lead to some of the same growth trends throughout the rest of 2020 and beyond.

It shouldn't be any surprise to see cleaning product giant Clorox (NYSE: CLX) on the list of big stock winners in the first half of 2020. The company behind its namesake Clorox bleach has a whole host of disinfecting and cleaning supplies in its product line, and customers grabbed up whatever goods they could to protect themselves from the coronavirus in an effort to avoid catching COVID-19. Clorox has plans to turn short-term opportunity into long-term growth, and investors so far like what they're seeing.

A host of biotech and pharmaceutical companies are trying to come up with treatments to help patients suffering from COVID-19 or to prevent them from catching the disease in the first place. Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) has been in the forefront of the coronavirus vaccine race. It's far from certain whether the company will end up first to the finish line, but Moderna is further along in its clinical trials of its vaccine candidate than many of its rivals. With a place on the federal government's Operation Warp Speed list of highly promising vaccines, many investors like Moderna's chances.

ALSO READ: Could Moderna Be a Millionaire-Maker Stock?

The pandemic has disrupted many things that people took for granted before the outbreak. The simple act of signing legal documents became a nightmare when parties could no longer meet to go through signature after signature, but that led more businesses to turn to DocuSign (NASDAQ: DOCU) and its electronic digital signature service. With the rise in remote work likely to continue for months to come, DocuSign will continue to play a key role in making sure that its clients can count on legally binding agreements with key strategic partners. Investors think that rising demand will show up in future revenue figures as well.

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.

With gyms and fitness centers closing up shop for health concerns, millions of people needed new ways to work out and stay in shape. Peloton Interactive (NYSE: PTON) answered the call with its line of stationary bikes and treadmills, featuring interactive video feeds to connect exercise fans with online fitness instructors on demand. To answer critics who argue that its products are too expensive, Peloton is looking at offering a cheaper treadmill to broaden its customer base. That could keep people coming back as subscribers even when other fitness options open back up again.

Unfortunately, the pandemic is far from over, and it could be months before things start to calm down. For investors, focusing on companies that have successfully found ways to help clients weather the coronavirus storm should continue to be a winning strategy both now and in the future.

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