“The e-commerce industry is a force that no investor can afford to ignore”
— Cushla Sherlock, Credit-Suisse
We couldn’t agree more — e-Commerce is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world.
Per market research firm eMarketer, globally consumers will spend $1.672 trillion online this year. By 2019, online purchases are projected to more than double to $3.551 trillion, which will include roughly 12.4% of overall retail sales worth $28.550 trillion.
Coming to the U.S, according to Fitch Ratings' 2016 U.S. retail outlook, e-Commerce will account for 15% of total retail sales and 50% growth in total retail spending in 2016.
Looking Beyond Amazon
In the e-Commerce space, the most-loved stock is still Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), and for good reason. The company has witnessed a surge in value of 111.19% year-to-date.
Amazon was one of the first companies to start selling things online. So it has enjoyed a first-mover advantage and also seen tremendous growth such that we cannot think about ecommerce without this company. Slice Intelligence said that Amazon accounted for 35.7% of all Black Friday Sales, with Best Buy second at just 8.2% and Macy’s third at 3.4%
Amid all the media attention that Amazon is getting, here are 4 e-Commerce stocks that are a good buy right now.
Our Picks
eBay Inc.EBAY carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and is one of the largest online retailers in the world. In the third quarter, reported recently, the company beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2 cents as the active buyer base rose 5% year over year to 159 million. Gross merchandise volume (GMV) went up 6%. Free cash flow was a solid $462 million.
It raised the full-year EPS to $1.80–$1.82 from $1.72–$1.77.
Though eBay is way behind Amazon, one cannot really ignore the fact that the company is still one of the top players in this growth industry.
Also, eBay has reached significant scale. The 5% year-over-year growth of active buyers on its platform in the third quarter clearly shows that the company is a force to reckon with.
eBay brings together buyers and sellers of all kinds of products. Thus, its business model has virtually no associated cost of inventory in all sales, and eBay has a huge profit margin in the neighborhood of 30% of revenues at the operating level.
Considering eBay’s promising prospects in the e-Commerce business and the fact that its business model generates above-average profits, this is a good pick.
The company’s earnings estimates for 2015 have moved up 3.3% to $1.56 per share, over the past 60 days. The company surpassed our estimates in all the four trailing quarters bringing the average positive surprise to 8.85%.
Stamps.com STMP provides easy, convenient and cost-effective Internet-based services for mailing or shipping letters, packages or parcels anywhere in the U.S. at any time. This Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stock delivered a robust third-quarter performance and raised the full-year outlook.
The company’s earnings estimates for 2015 moved 16.5% north to $3.11 per share, over the past 60 days. The company delivered an average beat of 41.43% over the trailing four quarters, with a positive surprise in each. Also, its 20% long-term earnings growth rate highlights its potential.
You may also add some sparkle to the portfolio with Blue Nile Inc. NILE, one of the leading online retailers of diamonds and fine jewelry.
The company’s earnings estimates for 2015 have moved 2% up to 91 cents per share, over the last 60 days. The company delivered an average positive earnings beat of 7.42% over the trailing four quarters. Also, the 17.80% long-term earnings growth rate underscores its potential.
Autobytel Inc. ABTL is an internationally branded online automotive commerce company that provides consumers with automotive solutions throughout the lifecycle of vehicle ownership.
The company’s earnings estimates for 2015 have moved up 1% to $1.01 per share, over the past 60 days. The company delivered an average beat of 169.02% over the last four quarters.
Conclusion
Alibaba’s BABA founder Jack Ma said, “I hope that 15 years from now, people would forget about ecommerce. It’s like electricity. Nobody thinks its high tech today.”
We believe e-Commerce is on its way to become that big a necessity. So look beyond Amazon and try your luck with these picks.
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