Goldman Sachs economists estimate that a government shutdown would decrease growth by roughly 0.2% per week due to federal workers going unpaid. However, these economists anticipate growth to rebound by the same amount in the quarter following the shutdown as federal work resumes paired with employees receiving back pay. This has led to the rise of tech stocks to buy.
This estimate aligns with previous research by economists from the Federal Reserve, Wall Street, and past presidential administrations. For instance, Trump administration economists found that a one-month shutdown in 2019 reduced growth by 0.13% points per week.
Interestingly, this dynamic is favorable for the stock market. The anticipation of a rebound in economic activity after the shutdown boosts investor confidence and can stimulate stock market investments, driving stock prices higher as businesses and federal agencies return to normal operations. Because of this, these three tech stocks are set to explode in long-term growth.
Helix Energy Solutions (HLX)
Helix Energy Solutions (NYSE:HLX) is an oil and gas services company specializing in well intervention and full-field decommissioning operations. Using its top-tier robotic equipment, Helix offers unrivaled quality for companies looking for decommissioning and abandonment services.
HLX stock is up 60.06% YTD. Analysts on Yahoo Finance rate the stock from a buy to a strong buy, targeting a price of $13.17 from the current $11.22.
Helix competes in the offshore decommissions industry, which is projected to grow from $3.5 billion in 2022 to $9.2 billion in 2030 for a CAGR of 7.4%. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) requires members to remove abandoned or decommissioned structures in order to certify navigational safety and satisfy international standards. Increased spending by governments on well-plug and abandonment programs has also contributed to industry growth, and aging infrastructure in the North Sea is predicted to catapult industry growth in the future.
A fundamental part of Helix Energy is also the robotics industry, which has a forecasted CAGR of 11.4% from being worth $48.5 billion in 2022 to $142.8 billion in 2032. Utilizing the power of machine learning, AI allows industrial robots to manufacture products and complete tasks with unmatched efficiency. Demand for robotics is also on the rise due to the value of the reduction of human error through automation. This makes it one of those tech stocks to buy.
The pandemic caused Helix sales to drop slightly because of lockdown restrictions on field operations. However, recently Helix has been on the road to recovery. The company’s sales grew by 29.4% in 2022 for revenue of $873.1 million, a massive increase from the previous year’s income of $674.728 million. Although Helix’s EPS dropped by 40.95% last year, the figure looks much better than a drop of 414.27% the year before. These financials indicate a healthy path to recovery and eventually growth for the company.
Helix’s assets prove to be key catalysts as they will continue to provide value as the sector grows. In its second quarter results the company reported an 84% increase in well intervention vessel usage compared to an 80% increase during the prior quarter. Last year, Helix acquired the Alliance, a company issuing various services in the upstream and midstream industries in the Gulf of New Mexico shelf. Following the acquisition, the company was recently given a contract for a full-field decommissioning operation in the Gulf of Mexico shelf, consisting of the plug and abandonment of 39 wells and 15 pipelines, along with 7 other structures.
In conclusion, from its promising growth prospects, Helix is a strong buy for those interested in robotics-based stocks. It’s also firmly in our list of the best tech stocks to buy.
DoorDash (DASH)
DoorDash (NYSE:DASH) is an online food ordering and food delivery company with over 390,00 restaurants and groceries in over 4000 cities.
DASH’s stock is up 56.10% YTD at $76.21 and is covered by 29 analysts who are offering 12-month forecasts. The median-high price of these forecasts is $95-$125, representing an increase of 24.7% and 64.0% respectively.
The Digital Food Delivery Market was valued at $203,866.18 million in 2023 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.03% from 2023-2030 to $473,069.33 million. Factors for this steep growth include the growing use of smartphones which gives more people access to delivery apps and rapid urbanization which gives people less time to cook or go out for good. All in all, it’s one of those tech stocks to consider.
DoorDash has seen a rise in revenue from 2022-2023 seeing profits soar from $6.58 billion to 7.68 billion representing an increase of 16.77%. This however represents a trend as from 2020-2021 DASH saw a revenue increase of 69.37% and from 2021-2022 it saw an increase in revenue of 34.68%. These metrics indicate that DASH is constantly seeing revenue increases meaning that its profitability is extremely high. In addition, DoorDash saw a Levered FCF Growth(YoY) of 61.65% which is 385.06% more than the sector median of 12.71%. DASH also saw ROE Growth(FWD) of 44.76% which is clearly larger than the sector median of -6.45%. These metrics indicate that DoorDash is growing at a fast efficient rate while also remaining immensely profitable.
DoorDash capitalized on customers and revenue during COVID-19 in which people were scared to go outside for food and groceries. This allowed DoorDash to prove itself and gain loyal customers. DoorDash also got a brand new workforce during COVID-19 due to the many layoffs that left many jobless. To keep these levels of productivity and profitability, DoorDash has recently implemented the “Openbay” system. This system allows dashers to gain discounted car repairs through various incentives as well as enhancing time management. Openbay Plus incentivizes drivers to keep working which improves productivity across the company and leads to more sales which should lead to higher revenues and in return see the stock price skyrocket.
As Openbay influences the food delivery market, Doordash should see profits soar. Therefore, I give Doordash a “buy” rating as it is set to explore and pioneer a new age in the industry.
Tencent (TCHEY)
Tencent (OTCMKTS:TCHEY) Tencent Holdings Ltd. is a Chinese multinational technology and entertainment conglomerate and holding company headquartered in Shenzhen. China has recently hosted the Biggest Esports Moment in the world with Tencent at the helm, and it is one of the highest-grossing multimedia companies in the world based on revenue.
TCHEY is unsurprisingly performing well, gaining 8.61% in the past year, currently sitting at $38.17. The global Technology market size was valued at USD $802.07 million in 2021 and is expected to expand at a CAGR of 25.73% during the forecast period, reaching USD $3168.13 million by 2027.
Financials are faring well, with total revenues increasing 11.32% YoY to a record high of $149.21 billion CNY. Additionally, TCHEY’s net profit margin grew by 26.28% YoY, and operating income increased by nearly 60% to over $37 billion CNY.
Finally, at the most important global Digital Ecology Conference of Tencent Cloud every year, the mysterious Tencent Hunyuan model has finally come. Tencent’s AI language model, Hunyuan, has a scale of over 100 billion parameters and a pre-training corpus of over 2 trillion tokens. At present, Hunyuan has extensive compatibility and integration with Tencent’s products, in Tencent cloud, Tencent advertising, Tencent conference, Tencent documents, WeChat search, and other business line applications. This new technology positions it ahead of the competition and gives it high-growth potential by continuously pleasing customers through optimization and efficiency.
Accordingly, Yahoo Finance analysts see the value Tencent holds for future growth, with every analyst labeling it as a “Buy”. Moreover, the average analyst target price is $52.92. Given that TCHEY stock currently sits at $38.35 as of September 27, many feel it is undervalued. It’s another reason it’s one of those tech stocks to buy.
The AI sector shows no signs of slowing down, and Tencent may be at the forefront of this exciting new age of AI everything.
On the date of publication, Michael Que 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.
The researchers contributing to this article did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.