Looking to add to your basket of stocks before the year is out? Even a relatively modest amount of investment capital like $1,500 can help you build a meaningful starter position in stocks you love.
If you’re hunting for great companies to add to your portfolio before 2023 hits, here are two wonderful growth stocks that are no-brainer buys right now.
1. DexCom
Healthcare has proven over the years to be a particularly resilient sector in a wide variety of market environments. One of the key reasons for this is that healthcare companies tend to sell products and services that consumers need no matter what the economy or the market is doing. This is certainly true in the case of DexCom (DXCM), a company that has delivered a total return nearly 700% for investors over past five years alone.
DexCom is a medical device company, focused exclusively on the area of diabetes care. Its continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices, which are used by millions of type one and type two diabetics around the world, are designed to help consumers keep constant watch on blood sugar levels and avoid unwanted blood sugar spikes.
Every few years, DexCom releases the latest generation of its CGM device. The most recent update to its flagship product is the G7, which just garnered approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in December and is already launching in various international markets, including in Asia and Europe. The latest model features a range of improvements compared to the previous one, including a device structure that is 60% lighter and has a much faster warm up time.
DexCom has built a strong financial foundation due to consistent and growing demand for its products. Over the trailing decade, the healthcare company’s revenue has increased by an incredible 2,400% while growing its cash position by about 13,000% in that same stretch.
The company has also been consistently profitable in recent years, with net income rising by 53 % just since 2020. A $1,500 investment in DexCom would add 14 shares to your portfolio right now.
2. Ulta Beauty
Even as many retailers are dealing with declining margins and decelerating growth in the current environment, Ulta Beauty (ULTA) continues to go from strength to strength. The company boasts a strong in-store retail presence as well as a booming online business through which it continues to derive both strong revenue growth as well as consistent profits.
While the beauty industry might not be one that investors think of first when considering recession-resilient ways to park their cash, this space has had a tendency to buck unfavorable macroeconomic trends and still garner plenty of consumer spending even in recessionary environments. This idea goes back to something known as the lipstick index, a term that was coined two decades ago during the financial crisis. In essence, the idea is that even as consumer spending declines when economic conditions are difficult, people still want to spend money on little things to treat themselves. And beauty products (like lipstick) are one of them.
In the most recent quarter, Ulta Beauty reported net sales of $2.3 billion and net income of $275 million, representing respective increases of 17% and 28% from the year-ago quarter. Over the trailing decade, Ulta Beauty has grown its annual revenue and earnings by eye-popping amounts of 290% and 471%. For investors who have held onto the stock throughout the entire past 10 years, they have benefited from an incredible total return of nearly 380%.
As of 2021, the company’s management estimated that its total addressable market was a whopping $92 billion, while it had currently penetrated just around 7% of the total industry. While that figure is no small feat, this also means that the company has tremendous runway left to explore in the years ahead.
Ulta’s growing share of the lucrative beauty market as well as its strong core financials have established a solid foundation on which it can deliver continued growth and enrich investors while moving beyond any challenges posed by the current market environment. A $1,500 investment in Ulta Beauty would add 3 shares to your portfolio right now.
— Rachel Warren
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Source: The Motley Fool