Whether it be online shopping or social media, secular forces are propelling consumer internet businesses forward. Luckily for them, the market seems to believe there is a long runway for growth as the industry has recorded a 12.4% gain over the past six months, beating the S&P 500 by 3.5 percentage points.
However, long-term winners that can stand the test of time are rare in this space because competition is fierce with many well-capitalized companies. Keeping that in mind, here is one internet stock boasting a durable advantage and two best left ignored.
Two Consumer Internet Stocks to Sell:
Snap (SNAP)
Market Cap: $11.81 billion
Founded by Stanford University students Evan Spiegel, Reggie Brown, and Bobby Murphy, and originally called Picaboo, Snapchat (NYSE: SNAP) is an image centric social media network.
Why Does SNAP Worry Us?
- Sales trends were unexciting over the last three years as its 7.5% annual growth was below the typical consumer internet company
- Focus on expanding its platform has led to weaker growth in its average revenue per user
- Issuance of new shares over the last three years caused its earnings per share to fall by 2.3% annually while its revenue grew
Snap’s stock price of $7 implies a valuation ratio of 18.8x forward EV/EBITDA. To fully understand why you should be careful with SNAP, check out our full research report (it’s free).
Chewy (CHWY)
Market Cap: $16.69 billion
Founded by Ryan Cohen, who later became known for his involvement in GameStop, Chewy (NYSE: CHWY) is an online retailer specializing in pet food, supplies, and healthcare services.
Why Does CHWY Give Us Pause?
- Scale is a double-edged sword because it limits the company’s growth potential compared to its smaller competitors, as reflected in its below-average annual revenue increases of 9.3% for the last three years
- Estimated sales growth of 5.1% for the next 12 months implies demand will slow from its three-year trend
- Gross margin of 29% reflects its high servicing costs
Chewy is trading at $40.53 per share, or 23x forward EV/EBITDA. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including CHWY in your portfolio.
One Consumer Internet Stock to Buy:
Airbnb (ABNB)
Market Cap: $79.5 billion
Founded by Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia in their San Francisco apartment, Airbnb (NASDAQ: ABNB) is the world’s largest online marketplace for lodging, primarily homestays.
Why Is ABNB a Good Business?
- Nights and Experiences Booked have grown by 10% annually, allowing for more profitable cross-selling opportunities if it can build complementary products and features
- Share buybacks catapulted its annual earnings per share growth to 28.4%, which outperformed its revenue gains over the last three years
- ABNB is a free cash flow machine with the flexibility to invest in growth initiatives or return capital to shareholders
At $129.50 per share, Airbnb trades at 18.7x forward EV/EBITDA. Is now the time to initiate a position? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.
Stocks We Like Even More
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