Are WANG Stocks Really the New FANG?

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WANG stocks - Are WANG Stocks Really the New FANG?

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A few years back, CNBC personality and former hedge fund manager Jim Cramer coined the FANG acronym. Last week, he replaced it with WANG stocks.

The FANG acronym was supposed to encapsulate the market’s four big growth tech stocks that represented the future and would lead the market to new highs. Indeed, since the coining of FANG in February 2013, Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), and Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) have all risen by more than 115%, while the S&P 500 has rallied more than 50%.

Clearly, FANG worked. Not only did the FANG stocks post huge gains, but they also led the market to new highs.

Now, Cramer is walking back on the FANG acronym. FANG just hasn’t been itself recently. Over the past three months, two of the four FANG stocks have posted negative returns, while the market is actually up 4% during that stretch.

As such, Cramer is introducing a new acronym: WANG. According to Cramer, WANG stocks are the new FANG stocks. WANG stands for Walmart (NYSE:WMT), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Netflix, and Google, meaning WANG is FANG, except with two trades (Facebook and Amazon are out; Walmart and Apple are in).

Does this WANG acronym make sense? Will these WANG stocks be the market’s leaders as it powers to new highs over the next several years?

I don’t think so. Here’s why.

Don’t Drop Facebook & Amazon

My biggest problem with FANG to WANG is that it drops two hyper-growth tech stocks for mild-growth consumer companies.

Don’t get me wrong. I love the narratives surrounding both Apple and Walmart. Both of those companies are doing really well. But, they are also growing revenues at just 17% and 4%, respectively. Amazon and Facebook are both growing revenues in the 40% range.

In its simplest terms, it doesn’t really make sense for a high-growth acronym to drop Facebook (40%-plus revenue growth) for Walmart (4% revenue growth), and drop Amazon (nearly 40% revenue growth) for Apple (under 20% revenue growth).

Moreover, investors shouldn’t really give up hope on Facebook or Amazon. The Facebook bear thesis is predicated on the idea that its digital advertising empire is crumbling due to lower engagement and privacy concerns. The Amazon bear thesis is predicated on the idea that regulation and competition will dilute growth going forward.

Both of these ideas are flawed.

Facebook platform engagement is down, yes, but that is because Instagram platform engagement is up. Facebook owns Instagram, so that is like saying Walmart is losing because more people are shopping at Sam’s Club. Plus, Facebook is only at the tip of the iceberg in terms of monetizing its whole ecosystem, which includes a billion-plus users on each of its four platforms. Long term, Facebook will remain one of the world’s biggest and most effective digital advertisers.

Meanwhile, everyone is stepping up their e-commerce game to compete with Amazon. This is true. But, Amazon is much more than e-commerce. It is a disruptive business that is starting to make in-roads in logistics, pharmaceuticals, financial services, digital advertising, and more. Put all those growth drivers together, and increased competition on the e-commerce front is just a blip in the big picture.

Maybe Drop Netflix

If you are going to drop any of the FANG names, the one to drop would be Netflix.

NFLX stock trades at the biggest valuation in the group (120X forward earnings), yet revenue growth was just average for a FANG stock last quarter (~40%). Also, the company is staring at some huge competitive threats which are coming to market over the next twelve to eighteen months. The other FANG stocks have shown an unparalleled ability to squash competitors (Amazon dominate a crowded e-commerce space, while Facebook and Google dominate a crowded digital advertising space).

Netflix hasn’t shown that ability yet, mostly because they have operated largely without competition. That competition is coming, and because there is no precedent, there is a massive question as to how much viable competitors like Disney (NYSE:DIS) will cut into market share.

All together, then, FANG shouldn’t drop Facebook or Amazon. Instead, if the acronym needs to be reworked, the only revision should happen with Netflix.

Bottom Line on WANG Stocks

I’m not a fan of the WANG stocks acronym.

Walmart is doing some great things and is emerging as an omni-commerce leader, but it doesn’t belong in the same growth category as Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, and Google (4% revenue growth doesn’t stack up well against 40% revenue growth). Meanwhile, Apple is also doing some great things as it transitions to a software business model, but it shouldn’t take Amazon’s place in the high growth acronym.

Overall, I think FB, AMZN, NFLX, GOOG, WMT, and AAPL will all do well over the next several years. But, when it comes to leading this bull market higher, FANG will do much a better job than WANG.

As of this writing, Luke Lango was long FB, AMZN, GOOG, WMT, AAPL, and DIS.  


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2018/08/are-wang-stocks-really-new-fang/.

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