When Square (NYSE:SQ) came on the scene, it changed the retail payments game for good. Now, anyone with a mobile device could turn it into a portable “cash register” just by plugging in a Square Reader. Square also offers wireless terminals, app payments, and even online-store platforms.
Square is a dream come true for small business owners. And, as of Thursday, that’s now true for a whole new (and red-hot) market: cannabidiol (CBD). The news gave SQ stock a nice bump; now let’s take a deeper look at the opportunity here.
CBD is found in both cannabis plants and industrial hemp, but it’s a non-psychoactive compound. In other words, CBD will not get you “high.”
I could write an entire book on the benefits of CBD (I’m a fan of it myself), but I’ll keep it simple: CBD can help with everything from anxiety and depression to chronic pain and inflammation to childhood epilepsy. Best of all, it does so without the nasty side effects of many drugs. So, it’s become an incredibly popular alternative to traditional pharmaceuticals.
CBD has actually been legal for nearly a year, thanks to the 2018 U.S. Farm Bill ending the prohibition on hemp. But there is still some “red tape” involved. For example, each state has its own laws and licensing requirements. Plus, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is still working out the details of how CBD will be regulated.
Up until now, this has made many financial companies wary of anything cannabis-related. Square started small in May with an invite-only pilot program.
Then came Thursday’s announcement that Square was ready to dive into the CBD market – nationwide. Below you see the various options CBD sellers will now have.
So why now?
For one thing, Congress is fast-tracking the new FDA policy. Specifically, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell gave regulators 120 days to “issue a policy of enforcement discretion” for CBD, and that was in mid-September. I’m not a fan of regulations when they become a burden, but in this case, regulation is great news.
Once rules are in play, it not only levels the playing field and allows the best companies to rise to the top – it also lends legitimacy. And that gives CBD companies more freedom. Already, since the Farm Bill legalized hemp products with 0.3% THC or less (that’s the compound that does get you “high”), Square is now comfortable with those products being sold through its platform nationwide.
But there’s another, bigger reason that companies like Square are moving into CBD: the sheer size of the market. And, most importantly, CBD’s growth prospects are incredibly compelling. It’s a major catalyst for many others than just SQ stock.
By 2022, hemp-CBD will be a $22 billion market, including $14.1 billion in sales at “big box” chain retailers.
To put that number into perspective, in 2018, the total sales from chain retailers was… zero! But now, everyone from Kroger (NYSE:KR) to Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA), GNC (NYSE:GNC), The Vitamin Shoppe (NYSE:VSI), and even Walgreens (NASDAQ:WBA) and CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) are in on the action.
So, that gives investors a lot of options for playing the CBD craze. But rather than Square stock or any of the retailers, I prefer a pure play for my CBD stocks.
Be an Early Investor in CBD
My #1 CBD Stock in the World is already gobbling up much of the market share in CBD. In doing so, it’s among the first companies to turn a profit in the entire cannabis industry! Even better, it’s got top-shelf executives behind the wheel… revenues are expected to double by 2020… and earnings are set to grow 3.5X in the same time.
These high-growth stocks usually trade at higher valuations than other groups. But right now, it’s a bargain. The price-to-earnings ratio (and the price-to-sales, for that matter) is below 15-to-1! I expect that’ll reach a more typical level within two years – causing the share price to triple.
The action in cannabis stocks right now reminds me of Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN). Remember, as recently as 2013, people loved to bash Amazon for having yet to turn a profit. Forget that sales were booming. The stock fell 30% by 2014. Then, it promptly went from $300 to more than $2,000 per share by 2018!
Now it’s cannabis stocks that are down about 50% as a group from their 2019 high. And yet the industry is set to double in the next few years.
That’s especially true of CBD, as the products pop up at corner shops, drugstores, and shopping malls nationwide. So, while my CBD stocks are still small — they won’t stay small for long.
I’ve put together a complete research package with The #1 CBD Stock in the World and Three More CBD Stocks to Fatten Your Wallet. Thanks to legalization — and demand for CBD that’s just snowballing nationwide — these companies are set to multiply their revenues over time. You’ll see their names, ticker symbols, and buy under prices in my full report.
But if you’re like me, you want to see what all the fuss is about — by getting to know the product yourself.
So, I’m making this a true CBD Early Investor’s Kit by also including an actual, 15-day supply of high-grade CBD from CannaComplete. You won’t have to rely on all the rumors about CBD. You can see the real deal for yourself.
Click here for more details and to claim your research package now.
Matthew McCall left Wall Street to actually help investors — by getting them into the world’s biggest, most revolutionary trends BEFORE anyone else. The power of being “first” gave Matt’s readers the chance to bank +2,438% in Stamps.com (STMP), +1,523% in Ulta Beauty (ULTA) and +1,044% in Tesla (TSLA), just to name a few. Click here to see what Matt has up his sleeve now.
