Economic conditions have been improving globally. The unemployment rate seems to be declining, while consumer confidence readings have been rising. For these reasons, retail stores should fare well in the interim. Overstock.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:OSTK) is an online retailer that has rallied 88% YTD. Even with this performance, I believe the company is still posed for more growth.
The stock that should be in your growth portfolio
Overstock.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:OSTK) trades with a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.91, while the industry’s average is 55.9. Its PEG ratio is 0.96, and its balance sheet does not carry any debt. It operates with ROAs and ROEs above the industry’s average, with an ROA of 12.8, and an ROE of 72.3. Its revenue increased 19% to $312 million for the three months ending in 2013 from last year, and its net income increased 266% to $8 million, or $0.32 per share, from $3 million, or $0.12 per share.
Overall, the company has solid fundamentals, and it should continue to perform well in the future. Although the Internet tax bill passed the senate quickly, Overstock.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:OSTK) should not lose a significant number of customers to brick-and-mortar retailers. The price tags for items on this website are still much cheaper than brick-and-mortar retailers. Also, the company has been awarded with the 2012 Compuware Best of the Web Gold Award due to excellent service in response time, availability, and consistency. There is a direct relationship between customer satisfaction and the company’s revenue and, ultimately, the stock price. The company is also expanding operations as one more warehouse was incorporated to the business due to high demand for its products. The company must be confident in its revenue-generation ability to add another warehouse, and it should be taken as a strong sign of growth.
Overall, the company should continue to grow, and every dip in the share price may be an opportunity to buy.
Other options to gain exposure to the online retail sector
The online industry is becoming more important each day. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY) are two well-established online retailers that also deserve mentioning.
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is one of the big players in the online retail sector. Although the company trades with a negative P/E, and its ROA and ROE are below the industry’s average, the company’s revenue increased 22% to $16 billion for the first quarter of 2013.
The company has supported the Marketplace Fairness Act, even though it will be required to collect sales taxes. Analysts believe this may have a positive impact on Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) by allowing the company to build warehouses in the U.S. If this happens, shipping costs and delivery times will be reduced significantly, which will attract many customers.
Further, the company’s revenue from its Media section has increased 14% on a year-over-year basis. The company has expanded to other areas such as video streaming. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) Instant Video provides the opportunity for customers to rent or buy titles, while Prime Instant Video provides unlimited streaming of thousands of movies and TV shows. The Instant Video competes with the “On Demand” service of Time Warner Cable Inc (NYSE:TWC). Personally, I like this idea because I am against paying for Time Warner Cable Inc (NYSE:TWC)’s digital cable service just to be able to rent new movies. Prime Instant Video will continue to compete with Netflix, and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)’s ability to take market share from Netflix will depend directly on the quality of available content.
Overall, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) has potential for growth. Amazon’s revenue should not be substantially affected by the Marketplace Fairness Act. Further, the company is diversifying to other sectors, which shows that management has a solid expansion strategy.
