With the Federal Reserve committed to doing whatever it takes to tackle soaring inflation, investors will likely see their favorite tech stocks to buy stumble. Still, this may not be the appropriate time to give up on the broader innovation sector. Indeed, patient market participants should be ready to acquire compelling discounts.
For now, the narrative presents myriad risks. As Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaled in his monetary policy speech at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, soaring consumer prices must be controlled now before it escalates into a much steeper crisis. Powell made good on his word, with the central bank hiking the benchmark rate by 0.75%. Naturally, the associated rise in borrowing costs hurt formerly exciting tech stocks to buy.
Still, the market will not be dour forever. Therefore, those with an eye toward the future should consider acquiring shares of the most innovative firms that can drive economic activity. Below are the tech stocks to buy at a potential discount.
| TSLA | Tesla | $275.95 |
| META | Meta Platforms | $139.70 |
| SQ | Block | $55.27 |
| AMD | Advanced Micro Devices | $67.26 |
| TTD | The Trade Desk | $57.13 |
| CRWD | CrowdStrike | $160.48 |
| MORN | Morningstar | $213.47 |
Tesla (TSLA)
Should equities implode, patient investors ought to consider Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) as a discounted name among tech stocks to buy. While the underlying electric vehicle (EV) industry features more competition than ever before, Tesla remains the dominant player. Further, I’m not entirely sure that this dominance will fade anytime soon.
According to an August 2022 Electrek.co post, Tesla commands a U.S. market share of 68%. To be fair, as more companies enter the EV space, this figure steadily declines. Though this dynamic may represent a source of criticism, it’s also worth reminding ourselves that entering an arena is the easy part. Surviving and later thriving represent a whole new ballgame.
While many upstart EV manufacturers present an aspirational profile, Tesla now operates well beyond that space. Here, the long-term retained earnings line item says everything. Back in 2019 (and before the coronavirus pandemic), the company suffered a retained earnings loss of over $6 billion. At the end of 2020, this metric stood at a loss of $5.4 billion.
But by 2021, retained earnings went positive at $331 million. At last count, the stat soared to $5.9 billion. If you see a discount with Tesla, it’s one of the tech stocks to buy.
Meta Platforms (META)
At the moment, social media giant and tech innovator Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) isn’t looking so hot. On a year-to-date (YTD) basis, META has suffered a 58% loss of market value. Therefore, investors don’t need to wait for a total implosion in the broader equities sector to pick up a relative discount. That discount is already here.
However, even contrarian investors aren’t exactly thrilled about acquiring META despite the massive hemorrhaging. According to an NPR report in July, Meta — which owns the valuable Facebook network — suffered its first-ever loss in revenue. But that wasn’t the worrisome part, because, let’s face it, companies can’t keep growing sales forever.
Rather, CEO Mark Zuckerberg warned that the social media space suffers from a decline in digital advertising business. As the lifeblood of internet firms, losing ad revenue presents overarching problems.
However, it’s also important to point out that Facebook represents the biggest social media network by a wide margin. Moving forward, such a canvas will command an exceptional premium. Therefore, META is one of the tech stocks to buy following a market implosion.
Block (SQ)
Currently, Block (NYSE:SQ), like many of the other popular tech stocks to buy is reeling from a tough economic environment. Moreover, longtime stakeholders received another gut punch, this time from Mizuho Securities analyst Dan Dolev. Just recently, Dolev downgraded his “buy” rating to “neutral,” citing “user fatigue” and a fascination with cryptocurrencies.
“SQ still has enormous potential, but it is not being realized,” Dolev said. Although I like Block as a long-term idea among tech stocks to buy, I can’t say I disagree with Dolev’s present assessment. Still, if the market melts down, patient investors should consider adding SQ to their portfolio.
As you probably know, Square empowers small- and medium-sized businesses to compete with their larger counterparts. Initially, the company started off with card payment readers, expanding to myriad other business ecosystem solutions.
While the immediate environment of higher interest rates hurts entrepreneurial incentivization, rates may not rise indefinitely. At some point, the Fed must pivot to supporting business growth, making SQ one of the tech stocks to buy.
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)
Throughout much of last year, chip manufacturer Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) generated intense upside interest. Of course, during that time, the cryptocurrency sector went on a wild rally. AMD makes some of the most popular graphics processing units, which in turn help drive the mining process for blockchains associated with proof-of-work consensus mechanisms.
Unfortunately, this year, the paradigm shifted negatively and dramatically. With cryptos now suffering from lackluster demand, AMD lost much relevance. As well, events such as the Merge — essentially a pivot to a more energy-efficient proof-of-stake consensus mechanism — translate to less need for crypto-mining equipment.
Factor in declining PC demand and the present case for AMD seems ominous. Nevertheless, the company presents an argument for tech stocks to buy if the market melts down.
As AMD’s second quarter of 2022 earnings report demonstrates, revenue performance (up 70% year-over-year) remains unquestionably strong. It’s just that the headwinds associated with the new normal — such as supply chain disruptions — imposed likely one-off dilemmas. Remove these extraordinary obstacles and AMD could fire back resolutely.
The Trade Desk (TTD)
In most other circumstances, The Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD) would represent one of the discernably bright tech stocks to buy. Specializing in programmatic advertising, the explosion of streaming services bodes very well for the company. In addition, it’s not just the usual suspects. Some of the biggest names in the legacy entertainment space muscled their way into the streaming arena.
If that wasn’t enough, the giants of streaming also recognize the need for pricing diversification. Therefore, household platforms began targeting advertisement-driven subscriptions. On a downwind basis, that should help Trade Desk. However, TTD is down more than 34% YTD, thus requiring investors to have a forward-looking vision.
Still, the company’s Q2 2022 earnings report provides much encouragement. The Trade Desk posted revenue of $377 million, up nearly 35%. However, the glaring issue is the net loss of $19 million contrasted sharply with net income of $48 million in the year-ago quarter.
Still, once the economy gets back on a normal footing, the fundamentals undergirding The Trade Desk offer much potential.
CrowdStrike (CRWD)
A cybersecurity specialist, CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD) easily represents one of the best tech stocks to buy for long-term investors. Frankly, I don’t care what the context is — CrowdStrike will almost surely be relevant for years to come.
While the digitalization of the global economy facilitated unprecedented conveniences and efficiencies, it also created massive risks. Basically, the same connectivity that fosters communication also enables nefarious activities. According to Forbes, in 2021, “the average number of cyberattacks and data breaches increased by 15.1% from the previous year.” Just one disruption can cripple an enterprise, making CrowdStrike’s endpoint security solutions so vital.
Even though the post-Covid new normal imposed substantial disruptions on the global economy, CrowdStrike continues to expand its business. In the company’s latest earnings report for Q2 2022, it posted revenue of $535 million. This represented a 58% swing higher.
Should the markets melt down, CRWD belongs on a list of tech stocks to buy; that is, unless you believe that cybersecurity won’t be relevant in the future.
Morningstar (MORN)
As a financial services firm, Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) might not be the most obvious choice as one of the best tech stocks to buy. However, the company utilizes myriad software-based technologies to provide investors with a library of insightful and actionable data. If I may inject my own experience into the narrative, Morningstar has been invaluable in writing articles such as this.
Strangely enough, Morningstar presents an attractive profile, in large part because of the meme-stock phenomenon. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, financial analysts bemoaned that younger demographics weren’t as focused on wealth building through equities as prior generations. However, the hostage audience dynamic of the global health crisis changed everything.
Suddenly, as the Wall Street Journal pointed out, seemingly everybody became a day trader. Moving forward, retail investors are unlikely to forget the lessons learned about investing. Therefore, once the toxicities of the current market wash away, these older and wiser former meme traders may look to “real” resources like Morningstar. Thus, MORN could be an intriguing name among tech stocks to buy.
On the date of publication, Josh Enomoto 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.