Mega-Trend Movers: 7 Stocks Capitalizing on Global Shifts
Megatrends will continue to develop, creating incredible opportunities. Here are seven of the top megatrend stocks that are capitalizing on one or more powerful trends you shouldn’t avoid. I’ll be talking about fintech, e-commerce, emerging economies, the rise of India, and the true beginning of the metaverse. That’s not an exhaustive list of current megatrend stocks, but it’s a good start.
MercadoLibre (MELI)
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One of the top megatrend stocks to consider is MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI). As one of the fastest-growing e-commerce companies in the world, it’s been compared to Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN). The only difference is that MELI serves the Latin American market. So, right off the bat, MercadoLibre touches on e-commerce, fintech, and rising interest in emerging economies.
The primary reason an investor should consider investing in any company is for its fundamentals. Fortunately, Mercado Libre is very strong fundamentally. The growth metrics underpinning the firm are very, very strong. For example, in the third quarter, revenues increased by 69.1% reaching $3.8 billion.
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Total payment volume grew by 121.3%, growing to $47.3 billion. In addition, it’s abundantly clear that MercadoLibre’s fintech payments system, Mercado Pago, is growing incredibly fast.
Sify Technologies (SIFY)
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Next up is Sify Technologies (NASDAQ:SIFY). The reason I wanted to focus on Sify is that India is becoming much more important to the global economy. The country is one of the fastest growing in the world, clocking an annual GDP growth rate of 5.5%. Better, India is expected to become the world’s third-largest economy by 2027.
The company grew by 11% in the most recent quarter and continues to be profitable, although decreasingly so. India continues to be noted for its burgeoning IT sector. So investors should expect companies like Sify Technologies to increasingly gain exposure.
Apple (AAPL)
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2024 promises to be a big year for megatrend stocks, like Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL). For one, Apple is set to release its Vision Pro augmented/virtual reality headset in late January or early February. The first wave of Vision Pros should be shipped in about a month. It’s also expected that the company will ship roughly 500,000 headsets in 2024.
The headset, priced at $3,499, isn’t expected to have a large impact on Apple financially. Remember, Apple sells roughly 200 million iPhones per year so the Vision Pro isn’t particularly important from a fiscal perspective. However, it is important in that it will propel Apple farther into the metaverse. It simply gives investors another reason to consider Apple which has a track record of releasing viral products that the world is very quick to adopt en masse.
Grab Holdings (GRAB)
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Grab Holdings (NASDAQ:GRAB) is a mega app serving a diverse base of customers across a handful of emerging Southeast Asian growth economies. The stock hits on a few important megatrends, specifically the emergence of Southeast Asia and emerging technologies overall.
When I say emerging technologies, I’m referring to Grab Holdings and its development of a super app that places a huge variety of services at users’ fingertips. The company’s app allows a user to hail a taxi, get food delivered, pay for services, get insurance, and access telemedicine among other things.
Investors continue to be interested in Grab Holdings because the company is located in Singapore, one of the world’s great financial hubs. further, Singapore is centrally located and provides close access to burgeoning Southeast Asian economies that continue to gain attention. As the world’s mega powers continue to deal with difficulties of their own investors are increasingly looking to untapped markets to satisfy their desire for growth. Southeast Asia is full of such potential.
2024 is going to be marked by quantitative easing which will make Grab Holdings’ losses look less important and its 61% revenue growth look that much more attractive.
Adyen (ADYEY)
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Adyen (OTCMKTS:ADYEY) Is a leading fintech stock and a company capitalizing on a global shift in payments. It’s another one of the top megatrend stocks you may want to consider.
Brick-and-mortar retail is fading as e-commerce continues to grow. Likewise, cash is beginning to take a back seat to digitized payments. These shifts are broadly called fintech which is the emergence of new payment systems.
Add Yin is also one of the leading firms in the unified payments space. The unified payments space refers to the idea that all of your various digital payments can be unified into a single swipe, for example. The company saw a 25% increase in its unified payments volume in the third quarter. Revenues increased by 22%, reaching 413.6 million euros.
A report from McKinsey pegged fintech growth between 2022 and 2028 at 15% annually. The payment space will continue to provide strong growth opportunities for investors in the years to come.
Meta Platforms (META)
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Or, take a look at megatrend stocks, like Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), which is set to capitalize on the long arc of metaverse development. The company famously changed its stock name from Facebook to Meta Platforms in late 2021 signaling a larger shift.
Then things rapidly unraveled as the realities of 2022 set in. The era of pandemic largess, stimulus payments, and runaway inflation was over. A period of fiscal conservatism marked by a series of rapid decreases in the federal funds rate resulted in a rapid decline in the company’s share price.
To be clear, Meta Platforms 2022 troubles were a consequence of declining ad revenues much more than its choice to rebrand. Ad revenues from its family of apps segment continue to drive the business and its results. So, META stock is more a macroeconomic story than it is a metaverse story if you follow my message. Revenues are again strong as the economy continues to show signs of strength, resulting in 23% top line growth.
Meanwhile, the company continues to run the advertising that shows real utilitarian development of its metaphors applications. The company is in position to see some real returns from what once looked like a crazy investment.
Fiverr (FVRR)
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Fiverr (NYSE:FVRR) is a solid stock to consider for investors looking to capitalize on seismic shifts in labor. The company has successfully developed an e-commerce platform that allows freelancers to sell their services efficiently.
The result is that today the company sees more than 92 million in quarterly revenues which translates to a moderate growth rate. more importantly, it’s a well-established, stabilizing firm overall. Of course, Fiverr benefits from the continued growth in freelance work and the movement away from traditional employment. What’s particularly important to note about the company from a fundamental perspective is that it is rapidly approaching profitability.
The company did produce a moderate net income of $3.03 million in Q3. Its net loss through the first nine months of 2023 declined from more than $70 million to just above $1 million. As more and more people shun the traditional work environment and Fiverr marches toward increasing profitability, expect its share price to rise.
On the date of publication, Alex Sirois did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
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