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Palantir stock has gone on a miraculous run but is now overvalued.
Airbnb has a long runway to expand globally.
Coupang is bringing its e-commerce network to Taiwan.
The investor love affair with Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR) may be ending. Its stock has quickly fallen 17% from all-time highs but still trades at a blistering price-to-sales ratio (P/S) of 112 with a market cap of $385 billion, making the stock wildly overvalued.
Palantir, which sells software to large businesses and the U.S. government, is a great company. But with the stock up 1,600% in the last five years, it is time for investors to turn the page.
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Instead of buying Palantir at an overvalued price, they should look at these two steadily growing technology stocks instead: Airbnb (NASDAQ: ABNB) and Coupang (NYSE: CPNG). Here's why.
Airbnb is one of the largest travel platforms in the world. It operates in virtually every country, but few investors know that the majority of its bookings come from a select few countries like the United States, Australia, and France.
Growth in these markets has driven Airbnb's business for years. Now, it is looking to expand into new geographies to drive more adoption. These include heavily traveled countries such as Brazil and Japan. Last quarter, first-time bookers in Brazil grew 20% year over year, and that same figure grew 15% year over year in Japan.
The North American market is growing its nights booked by only a low single-digit rate as of last quarter (Airbnb doesn't give out precise details), but other regions like Asia and Latin America are growing that metric by 15% to 20% year over year. Revenue grew 13% year over year last quarter to $3.1 billion, and as the number of nights booked grows, so will spending volume on the company's platform, which will drive revenue and earnings even higher.
Over the last 12 months, Airbnb generated $4.3 billion in free cash flow. Management is doing two things with all the cash flow its core business is generating. First, it is repurchasing stock, which has started to bring down its number of shares outstanding.
Second, it is building new capabilities for hosts and guests on Airbnb such as the recently launched Experiences and Services tabs. These enable people to shop for things like tours while on vacations or private chefs in their homes, which greatly expands the company's addressable market.
Time will tell how successful this endeavor will be, but the company has many levers to pull to keep raising its revenue over the long term. Investors who hold on to Airbnb shares should be happy 10 years from now.
Image source: Getty Images.
A company that few people outside of South Korea have heard of is Coupang. It is the dominant e-commerce platform in that country, operating a business model similar to Amazon's.
With rapid shipping, an annual subscription plan, and a wide selection of virtually any product you can buy (including food and grocery delivery), Coupang has taken a ton of market share in retail spending in South Korea.
Revenue was up 19% year over year to $8.5 billion in constant currency last quarter, while gross profit grew even faster at 22% year over year. Faster growth in gross profit indicates that Coupang's unit economics are getting better with more experience and scale in e-commerce shipping.
Product commerce EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) was $663 million in the quarter, for a margin of 9%. This encapsulates the core e-commerce business in South Korea.
Looking at its consolidated net income of $31 million, Coupang as a whole is barely profitable as its investing heavily in new initiatives, such as its expansion into Taiwan. Coupang hopes to replicate its e-commerce system and drive rapid customer adoption.
Revenue growth in Taiwan was 54% quarter over quarter in the second quarter and is rising by well into the triple digits year over year. Due to the up-front investments needed to build its e-commerce system, the company's Taiwan growth will temporarily hurt its consolidated earnings figures. However, over the long run, it will lead to even more earnings and cash flow.
At a market cap of $52 billion, the stock looks cheap today. The company currently generates over $30 billion in revenue and is growing quickly. If it can reach $50 billion in revenue and achieve steady profit-margin gains once these new initiatives bear fruit, then the stock's price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of 140 will quickly get cheaper in the next few years.
For that reason, investors should buy Coupang stock today and hold for the long term.
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Brett Schafer has positions in Coupang. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Airbnb and Palantir Technologies. The Motley Fool recommends Coupang. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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