Technology
Amazon – The online shopping stock has been the great beneficiary of the COVID-19 pandemic after showing a more than 70% gain over a year. The company reported $96 billion in revenue or a 37% gain from the same quarter a year ago. The world’s largest cloud computing provider expects to report $112 billion to $121 billion for the fourth-quarter earnings (NASDAQ: AMZN).
Google – Advertising and YouTube engagement during the pandemic will contribute significantly to Google’s bottom line. The technology company has benefited from the increasing advertisement revenue, which previously appeared in the shopping malls. The explosion of new content on YouTube increased the new user engagement, positively impacting earnings on the fourth-quarter (NASDAQ: GOOGL).
Alibaba – The Chinese e-commerce giant expects to deliver strong fourth-quarter earnings due to strong holiday sales and the Chinese economy’s speedy recovery. The stock suffered early in the year after its founder, Jack Ma, had a backlash with the Chinese government over the monopoly practice allegation. The US government is also putting tremendous pressure on the Chinese companies on their accounting practice with a threat to delist them from the US stock market (NYSE: BABA).
PayPal – The stock grew 116% in 2020 due to the increased use of digital payment and peer-to-peer payment app, Venmo, over the pandemic. The consumer behavior shifts from cash to online payment, increasing its revenue and leading the competition ahead from digital payment pioneers like Visa and Mastercard. The company has 361 million active users globally and expanded its QR technology to reach in-store payment (NASDAQ: PYPL).
Spotify – The music streaming market leader earns 90% of its revenue from subscriptions that provide unlimited access to millions of songs, audiobooks, and podcasts. The average revenue per user has been declining by 10% with a family plan that allows six users per account. The company hopes that the family plan will attract more users around the world. However, the ad-supported users have increased by 31%, with a total of 185 million active users (NYSE: SPOT).
Qualcomm – The world’s largest mobile chipset has generated a 320% return over the last five years. The company also produces CPU, GPU, and baseband modems for smartphone manufacture. Qualcomm expects strong earnings on the 5G smartphones, rolled out in early 2021 (NASDAQ: QCOM).
Snap – The popular social media app allows people to connect with friends, share photos, and read content from social media creators. Despite its popularity, the company is still unprofitable but has been reporting positive EBITDA. The company reported 52% revenue growth in the third quarter last year amid a pandemic with 249 million daily active users (NYSE: SNAP).
Pinterest – The internet media platform earns its revenue from targeted advertising from active users. The company invented “Pindrops,” which allows users to save and share pictures to generate ideas for artwork, projects, and crafts. It has 442 million active users and $443 million in revenue in the third quarter last year (NYSE: PINS).
Peloton – The stock was up 500% in 2020, driven by the demand for interactive fitness during the pandemic after the closure of gyms and fitness clubs. The company offers interactive media on an oversized screen on the stationary exercise bike. The company reported 232% year-over-year revenue in the third quarter of 2020 (NASDAQ: PTON).
Healthcare
Pfizer – The company is leading the COVID-19 vaccine battle with the highest overall effectiveness in the late-stage testing. The stock offers a 4.2% dividend yield, which makes the stock one of the highest paying dividends in the healthcare sector (NYSE: PFE).
Abbvie – The pharmaceutical company has increased its dividends for nearly 50 consecutive times, making it the top dividend stock in the S&P 500 list. The top drugmaker is currently trading at a 5% dividend yield. The company is the maker of the popular drug Humira that treats Crohn’s diseases (NYSE: ABBV).
Boston Scientific – The medical device maker serves more than 30 million patients annually with more than 13,000 products. The company employs more than 30,000 people with $10 billion annual income and $1 billion per year in research and development (NYSE: BSX).
Merck – The pharmaceutical company is no longer developing its COVID–19 vaccines after Pfizer and Moderna showed successful trials with a high effectiveness rate. However, the company produces an anti-inflammatory drug that effectively reduces mortality in respiratory failure (NYSE: MRK).
Gilead – The drugmaker earned $6.5 billion in the third quarter of 2020 with 29% growth in earnings per share after releasing the first coronavirus treatment drug Remdesivir. However, the World Health Organization produced a report showing that Gilead’s coronavirus treatment drug did not improve the COVID-19 patient’s survival rates (NYSE: GILD).
Bristol-Myers Squibb – The COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected the drugmaker’s sales as fewer patients could access doctor’s offices, clinics, and hospitals. The company produces cancer treatment drugs and other therapeutic medicine like HIV, cardiovascular disease, and hepatitis (NYSE: BMY).
