Cloud computing stocks took a major haircut last year, perhaps more so than other sectors. The industry is home to some of the most prolific growth stocks, which faltered in the risk-off sentiment in the market last year. Nevertheless, the bull case for the sector remains as strong as ever, so investors can scoop up some of the best growth cloud computing stocks at historical lows.
Cloud computing has revolutionized how organizations work, significantly boosting efficiency levels for their digital operations. With cloud computing, businesses can now better analyze data, build advanced machine learning models, and collaborate with teams from any place. Moreover, companies worldwide are leveraging this technology to create a more connected workplace that accelerates digital transformation.
Additionally, recent estimates suggest that the industry will be worth around $483 billion by 2022 and could even triple in size to over $1.5 trillion, pointing to the massive potential of this area. Therefore, investing in the top growth cloud computing stocks could be incredibly lucrative over the long term.
| Ticker | Company | Price |
| PANW | Palo Alto Networks | $187.27 |
| CRM | Salesforce | $165.68 |
| AMZN | Amazon | $91.78 |
Palo Alto Networks (PANW)
The robust growth in cloud-based platforms has caused a seismic shift in cybersecurity. The concept of cloud security has never been more relevant, with the market expected to grow at a spectacular 18.1% through 2029. Naturally, top cybersecurity plays such as Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) are set to benefit immensely from this burgeoning new trend.
The company provides innovative security solutions to help protect cloud environments from cyber threats. With integrations with popular cloud platforms, such as AWS, Azure, and GCP, it provides some of the most powerful tools for protecting their data in the cloud. Its comprehensive, cloud-delivered Prisma Cloud service provides a single platform for continuous security and compliance oversight and threat detection and response capabilities across multiple cloud platforms. The firm’s Prisma offering has generated over 40% year-over-year growth.
Palo Alto boasts robust fundamentals, with forward estimates suggesting it will continue generating double-digit top-line growth. Additionally, its profitability metrics are eye-catching, with gross margins close to the 70% mark.
Salesforce (CRM)
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) has revolutionized the way organizations manage customer relationships. The company’s cloud-deployed software has become the go-to platform for enterprise sales representatives, marketing departments, and data analytics teams across various industries. It takes an all-in-one approach to its offering, aptly named Customer 360, allowing companies to optimize their interactions with prospects and customers through centralized access points. Even more impressive is that the management estimates a total addressable market (TAM) of a colossal $290 billion globally by 2026.
The firm boasts an amazing track record of taking advantage of its burgeoning addressable market. It boasts an average revenue and EBITDA growth of over 25% in the past five years. Moreover, in fiscal 2023, Salesforce expects to generate $31 billion in revenue, more than 7.5 times its sales in 2014. The goal is to speed past the $50 billion mark in annual sales and to reach adjusted operating margins of 25% by fiscal 2026.
Additionally, with CRM stock down over 20% last year and trading under six times forward sales estimates, it’s perhaps an ideal time to load up on it.
Amazon (AMZN)
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) remains the best bet among the Cloud Czars at this time, despite taking a hammering at the stock market last year. Nevertheless, the early leader in cloud infrastructure has successfully built a behemoth of a cloud platform in Amazon Web Services (AWS). The platform dominates the worldwide cloud sector, with a 34% market share exceeding the total market share of two of its largest competitors, Google Cloud and Azure.
AWS has proven to be an anomaly for Amazon, generating rock-solid top and bottom-line growth each quarter. Trailing twelve-month (TTM) sales from the segment are at a whopping $80.1 billion, contributing 16% to its total sales. More impressively, it has generated $22.8 billion in TTM operating income while profits dwindled for its other core segments.
As we advance, the division will likely continue generating stellar growth numbers for the online retail giant. Alex Haissl, an analyst at research firm Redburn, believes that AWS is on a course toward a $3 trillion value, more than three times the current market capitalization of the Amazon stock.
On the date of publication, Muslim Farooque 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.
