Learn how to turn a stock market sell-off into your advantage.
Smart investors know that buying on the dip is a winning strategy. Stock market sell-offs are inevitable, so why not use them as an opportunity to snap up shares of excellent companies at cheap prices?
Today, let’s examine two unstoppable growth stocks that investors should consider adding if there’s a stock market sell-off: Alphabet (GOOG -2.35%) (GOOGL -2.40%) and Visa (V 0.24%).
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Alphabet
First up is Alphabet, the parent company of Google.
Without a doubt, Alphabet is an unstoppable growth stock. The company is one of the most significant players in digital advertising, thanks to its top position in the internet search market. The digital advertising market is massive, and Alphabet generates billions of dollars from it. Over the last 12 months, Alphabet has made $328 billion in revenue — almost $1 billion in revenue per day. And roughly 75% of that revenue comes from advertising.
What’s more, Alphabet has grown this massive amount of revenue at an incredible clip over the last decade. Its quarterly revenue growth averaged 19% quarter-over-quarter during that stretch. That helps explain why the company’s stock generated a wonderful 20% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) since 2014.
GOOG Total Return Level data by YCharts
Yet, the real reason I want to buy Alphabet if the stock market sells off is that it’s already cheap. Alphabet shares already trade at a significant discount to their historical price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio. Indeed, they are currently trading with a P/E ratio of 25, which is significantly lower than their 10-year average of 30.
GOOG PE Ratio data by YCharts
Granted, there are reasons why the stock is somewhat unloved right now, including an ongoing antitrust lawsuit brought by the federal government.
Nevertheless, I view that uncertainty as an opportunity to accumulate discounted Alphabet shares. And if the broader market sells off and pushes Alphabet shares even lower, I would welcome the chance to snap them up then, too.
Visa
Another unloved stock that investors should keep an eye on is Visa.
Similar to Alphabet, Visa’s shares performed well over the last decade. The company’s shares generated an excellent 10-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18%, which outpaces the performance of the benchmark S&P 500 index over the same period (13%).
V Total Return Level data by YCharts
What’s behind Visa’s fantastic performance is a simple business model that works thanks to its global scale. In short, Visa facilitates hundreds of billions of transactions per year — roughly 750 million per day. Each transaction results in a fee paid to Visa to use its network.
Ultimately, that adds up to billions in revenue for Visa. Over the last 12 months, Visa generated $35 billion in revenue. What’s more, since its business model is asset-light, much of that revenue is converted to profits. The company reported almost $19 billion in net income over the same period.
Yet, for a variety of reasons, Wall Street is not in love with Visa right now. Shares trade at a below-average P/E ratio of 28 right now, compared to its 10-year average of 34.
V PE Ratio data by YCharts
Not unlike Alphabet, one of the reasons for concern is an antitrust lawsuit. In June, a federal judge rejected a proposed $30 billion settlement between Visa, Mastercard, and merchants, sowing uncertainty about the costs of the litigation.
Yet, as an investor, I can’t help but see this as a buying opportunity, particularly if the market sells off. Visa’s network is ubiquitous and provides advantages to consumers and merchants alike. Eventually, the lawsuit will be resolved, and Visa can once again focus on what it does best — delivering value for shareholders.
Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Jake Lerch has positions in Alphabet and Visa. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Mastercard, and Visa. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2025 $370 calls on Mastercard and short January 2025 $380 calls on Mastercard. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.