These two companies can keep winning long after the current crisis subsides.
Aug. 1, 2020
This article originally appears on The Motley Fool, written by Prosper Junior Bakiny.
The stock market has been a bit of a roller coaster of late. During the first quarter, the market crashed hard, but it has been recovering nicely since late March. However, some stocks have performed consistently well throughout, including Livongo Health (NASDAQ:LVGO) and Spotify (NYSE:SPOT). Both of these companies have a lot more in their engines, too. Here’s why you should consider purchasing shares of these companies if you have an extra $2,000 lying around.
1. Livongo Health
Managing chronic health conditions such as diabetes is both difficult and expensive. Fortunately, Livongo Health makes this task much simpler and much more convenient. The company offers glucose meters, tips and coaching based on the data it collects and analyzes, and many more services. Its stated goal is to help patients with chronic health conditions live healthier lives. So far, Livongo Health’s business seems to be working wonders, even amid the pandemic. The table below shows the company’s revenue growth since it went public in July 2019.
| Metric | Q2 2019 | Q3 2019 | Q4 2019 | Q1 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $40.9 million | $46.7 million | $50.4 million | $68.8 million |
| Year-over-year revenue growth | 156% | 148% | 137% | 115% |
For the second quarter of the current fiscal year, the company expects revenue to come in between $86 million and $87 million, above its previous estimate of $73 million to $75 million. The midpoint of this new guidance would represent year-over-year revenue growth of about 111%.
What’s more, Livongo Health has barely scratched the surface of its addressable market. As of March 31, the company had 328,000 members enrolled in its diabetes platform.According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), some 34.2 million people in the U.S. have diabetes and an additional 88 million people have prediabetes (the company also offers services to prediabetes patients). There are more than 500,000 new diabetes diagnoses every year as well. In other words, Livongo Health’s market remains severely underpenetrated.
And we haven’t even talked about the company’s potential market within the hypertension space, or the opportunities it could have outside the U.S. Given all these avenues for growth, Livongo Health’s 46.4 price-to-sales ratio — and 31.6 forward price-to-sales — seems more reasonable. Investors would do well to add shares of this healthcare company to their portfolios today.
2. Spotify
Spotify is the leader in the music-streaming industry, which is an accomplishment in and of itself. After all, the company has to compete with none other than Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), among others. But Spotify continues to make headway within this market, and moving forward, it will have a powerful growth engine at its disposal: podcasts.
Spotify famously decided to make podcasts one of the pillars of its growth strategy, and so far this move has worked wonders. In its fourth-quarter 2019 update, the company said: “We … are now seeing clear indications that podcast usage is driving increased overall engagement and retention. We have seen early indications that our investments in podcasts are having a positive impact on conversion of free to paid users.”
Spotify derives the bulk of its revenue from its premium subscription offerings. If podcasts are helping the tech giant to convert more free subscribers into paying ones — as seems to be the case — that can only be good in the long run. Meanwhile, Spotify continues to make investments in podcasts to attract more consumers. Back in May, the company signed a deal for The Joe Rogan Experience, one of the most popular podcasts in the world.
And in June, the company signed an exclusive podcast deal with reality TV star Kim Kardashian. Lastly, it recently announced an exclusive podcast hosted by popular former first lady Michelle Obama. With its rich library of content only getting larger, Spotify’s user growth and engagement will continue to improve, which will translate into stronger revenue growth.
Spotify is currently trading at 6.3 times sales and 5.4 times forward sales. In my view, this is a fair valuation considering the company’s thesis. Buying the company’s stock now would be a great move.
MyWallSt operates a full disclosure policy. MyWallSt staff currently hold long positions in companies mentioned above Read our full disclosure policy here.
John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Prosper Junior Bakiny has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon, Apple, Livongo Health Inc, and Spotify Technology and recommends the following options: long January 2022 $1920 calls on Amazon and short January 2022 $1940 calls on Amazon. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.