Whatever Happened to Pandemic Stocks? Some Are Showing Life Again

A handful of stocks benefited massively during the pandemic. It was an interesting time to be an investor, to say the least, and those who targeted the stay-at-home stocks were rewarded handsomely with considerable gains.

A few of those stocks include Shopify SHOP, Zoom Video Communications ZM, and Peloton Interactive PTON. Below is a chart illustrating the performance of each over the last year, with the S&P 500 blended in as a benchmark.

As we can see above, the bunch has quietly outperformed the S&P 500 over the last year, perhaps a surprise to many. Let’s take a closer look at each.

Shopify Stock Keeps Firing

Shopify’s platform gained widespread attention during the period as consumers shifted to online shopping. SHOP shares always felt like the strongest bet out of the ‘pandemic basket’ of stocks, particularly so due to the staying power of online shopping.

And its earnings results have helped reinforce the idea, which have regularly been strong over recent periods. Sales grew 27% year-over-year throughout its latest period, with SHOP posting double-digit percentage YoY sales growth in ten consecutive periods.

Below is a chart illustrating the company’s sales on a quarterly basis.

Jeff Hoffmeister, CFO, on SHOP’s latest release –

 “Q1 marked another very strong set of financial results for Shopify, with 27% revenue growth and 15% free cash flow margin. We have now achieved eight consecutive quarters of pro forma revenue growth of 25% or more and seven consecutive quarters of GMV growth greater than 20%, all while increasing our free cash flow. These metrics highlight our strong performance and dedication to supporting our merchants’ success.”

ZM Sales Remain Weak

Zoom Video Communications’ cloud-native unified communications platform combines video, audio, phone, screen sharing, and chat functionalities. It’s easy to understand why shares were so beloved during the period, as many were forced onto the platform.

As you can see in the chart below, sales exploded during the pandemic before leveling off significantly over recent years.

ZM’s sales grew by a modest 3% from the year-ago period in its latest release, with adjusted EPS of $1.43 climbing 6% year-over-year. Its cash-generating abilities took a big hit, with operating cash flow of $489 million down from the $588 million mark in the same period last year. Free cash flow of $463 million compared to $569.7 million in the year-ago quarter.

EPS expectations for its current fiscal year do reflect positivity, with the current $5.36 Zacks Consensus EPS estimate up 5% over the last year. Growth remains muted, though, with the estimate suggesting a 3% pullback year-over-year.

The company needs to see meaningful sales growth to get investors interested again, which it’s largely struggled to achieve.

Can PTON Stock Turn Around?

Peloton shares have been hit the hardest out of the group, down more than 90% since making all-time highs back in January of 2021. Weak quarterly results have continued to drive shares lower over the past year, with PTON again falling short of our consensus estimates in its latest release.

Sales of $624 million in the above-mentioned period fell 13% YoY, with its Subscription revenue also declining 4% from the same period last year. Connected Fitness Products Revenue also decreased 27% year-over-year, driven by lower sales and deliveries across all its Connected Fitness Product categories.

Below is a chart illustrating the company’s sales on a quarterly basis.

Consumers just haven’t found PTON’s products appealing post-pandemic, resulting in the above sales decline and subscription losses.

Bottom Line

While stocks such as Shopify SHOP, Zoom Video Communications ZM, and Peloton Interactive PTON were all widely hailed during the pandemic, they’ve seemingly been shoved to the back of investors’ minds since.

Shopify has, and remains, the true leader of the group concerning overall performance and fundamentals. The company hasn’t struggled post-pandemic like the others, with the staying power of online shopping driving the positivity.  

Zoom has traded sideways for what has felt like forever, with shares in desperate need of a strong quarterly release that reveals meaningful sales growth.

Peloton is currently in a more concerning spot, primarily due to weak sales and an overall uninterested consumer.

Out of the bunch, Shopify shares continue to reflect the most attractive opportunity.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research