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Nvidia vs. Netflix: Which Stock Is the Real "N" in FANG?
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Earlier this week, CNBC’s Jim Cramer echoed some interesting sentiment when he mentioned that chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA - Free Report) should replace video streaming giant Netflix (NFLX - Free Report) as the “N” in the infamous FANG stocks group.
The FANG acronym was created by Cramer several years ago as a method of tracking some of the world’s biggest and trendiest tech stocks. It includes Facebook , Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) , Netflix, and Google (GOOGL - Free Report) .
Of course, a lot has changed since the original formulation of the FANG group, and it would seem that Nvidia does indeed have a legitimate claim to the “N” spot. To understand why, we really have to get down to the bottom of why the FANGs are appealing in the first place.
So what do all of these companies have in common? Well, they are obviously all focused on technology and internet services. But there’s a lot of tech companies out there, so we also have to recognize that each of the FANGs are large caps stocks and companies that hold a massive share of their respective markets. What’s more, these markets could have been considered key growth opportunities several years ago when the term “FANG” first emerged.
And sure, there is still plenty of room for growth across the social media, cloud/internet services, video streaming, and e-commerce marketplaces. The original FANG stocks are certainly still interesting.
Nevertheless, one could construct a compelling argument to substitute Netflix at this point. The pioneer of video streaming recently completed its international expansion, and now the company wants its investors to shift their focus away from the shocking membership growth numbers we are accustom to.
“For the last several years we’ve had flat operating margins due to established markets funding international expansion with every spare dollar we had… the major indicators of our progress were member and revenue growth and US contribution margins,” the company said in its most recent shareholder letter. “Starting this year, we can be primarily measured by revenue growth and (global) operating margins as our primary metrics.”
To be fair, this isn’t necessarily bad news for growth-minded investors. In fact, these types of investors tend to be focused primarily on earnings and revenue growth, not just a one-line item like user growth. And in this vein, Netflix still is still impressive. Our current consensus estimates call for sales growth of 28% and earnings growth of 144% this year.
However, we should note that Netflix only sports a “D” grade for Growth, while Nvidia currently has “B” in that category. Nvidia is expected to post sales and earnings growth of 19% this year, which is also impressive, but its grade in our Growth category is lifted by its stronger ROE, net margin, and cash flow growth.
While we’re on the topic of growth, it could also be argued that Nvidia has a much more exciting opportunity at capturing massive shares of key long-term growth markets. The video-streaming space hasn’t necessarily hit a plateau for Netflix, but Nvidia’s core growth drivers fall into four distinct categories—gaming, virtualization, data centers, and self-driving cars. All of these areas are likely just getting started.
For Nvidia, the most exciting aspect of these markets is that the company is positioned well enough to dominate all four of them. On the other hand, Netflix is now facing more competition than it has ever seen before. Hulu recently debuted a live TV service, fellow FANG-er Amazon has expanded its media offerings, and rumors point to Apple (AAPL - Free Report) launching its own streaming platform soon.
Finally, we have to acknowledge that a large reason to buy FANG stocks is that they’ve all proven to deliver consistent share price growth. NVDA is up 30% year-to-date, while NFLX has gained 28% so far. This is clearly a very close race, and we can’t simply disregard Netflix.
Nevertheless, it’s probably reasonable to admit that some investors are fine with creating their own version of FANG—one that includes Nvidia.
Want more stock market analysis from this author? Make sure to follow @Ryan_McQueeney on Twitter!
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Nvidia vs. Netflix: Which Stock Is the Real "N" in FANG?
Earlier this week, CNBC’s Jim Cramer echoed some interesting sentiment when he mentioned that chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA - Free Report) should replace video streaming giant Netflix (NFLX - Free Report) as the “N” in the infamous FANG stocks group.
The FANG acronym was created by Cramer several years ago as a method of tracking some of the world’s biggest and trendiest tech stocks. It includes Facebook , Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) , Netflix, and Google (GOOGL - Free Report) .
Of course, a lot has changed since the original formulation of the FANG group, and it would seem that Nvidia does indeed have a legitimate claim to the “N” spot. To understand why, we really have to get down to the bottom of why the FANGs are appealing in the first place.
So what do all of these companies have in common? Well, they are obviously all focused on technology and internet services. But there’s a lot of tech companies out there, so we also have to recognize that each of the FANGs are large caps stocks and companies that hold a massive share of their respective markets. What’s more, these markets could have been considered key growth opportunities several years ago when the term “FANG” first emerged.
And sure, there is still plenty of room for growth across the social media, cloud/internet services, video streaming, and e-commerce marketplaces. The original FANG stocks are certainly still interesting.
Nevertheless, one could construct a compelling argument to substitute Netflix at this point. The pioneer of video streaming recently completed its international expansion, and now the company wants its investors to shift their focus away from the shocking membership growth numbers we are accustom to.
“For the last several years we’ve had flat operating margins due to established markets funding international expansion with every spare dollar we had… the major indicators of our progress were member and revenue growth and US contribution margins,” the company said in its most recent shareholder letter. “Starting this year, we can be primarily measured by revenue growth and (global) operating margins as our primary metrics.”
To be fair, this isn’t necessarily bad news for growth-minded investors. In fact, these types of investors tend to be focused primarily on earnings and revenue growth, not just a one-line item like user growth. And in this vein, Netflix still is still impressive. Our current consensus estimates call for sales growth of 28% and earnings growth of 144% this year.
However, we should note that Netflix only sports a “D” grade for Growth, while Nvidia currently has “B” in that category. Nvidia is expected to post sales and earnings growth of 19% this year, which is also impressive, but its grade in our Growth category is lifted by its stronger ROE, net margin, and cash flow growth.
While we’re on the topic of growth, it could also be argued that Nvidia has a much more exciting opportunity at capturing massive shares of key long-term growth markets. The video-streaming space hasn’t necessarily hit a plateau for Netflix, but Nvidia’s core growth drivers fall into four distinct categories—gaming, virtualization, data centers, and self-driving cars. All of these areas are likely just getting started.
For Nvidia, the most exciting aspect of these markets is that the company is positioned well enough to dominate all four of them. On the other hand, Netflix is now facing more competition than it has ever seen before. Hulu recently debuted a live TV service, fellow FANG-er Amazon has expanded its media offerings, and rumors point to Apple (AAPL - Free Report) launching its own streaming platform soon.
Finally, we have to acknowledge that a large reason to buy FANG stocks is that they’ve all proven to deliver consistent share price growth. NVDA is up 30% year-to-date, while NFLX has gained 28% so far. This is clearly a very close race, and we can’t simply disregard Netflix.
Nevertheless, it’s probably reasonable to admit that some investors are fine with creating their own version of FANG—one that includes Nvidia.
Want more stock market analysis from this author? Make sure to follow @Ryan_McQueeney on Twitter!
Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside?
Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana.
Ignited by new referendums and legislation, this industry is expected to blast from an already robust $6.7 billion to $20.2 billion in 2021. Early investors stand to make a killing, but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look. See the pot trades we're targeting>>