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The Zacks Internet Software industry is benefiting from accelerated demand for digital transformation and the ongoing shift to the cloud, as well as the rapid evolution of the Metaverse. The high demand for Software as a Service or SaaS-based solutions due to the increasing need for remote working, learning and diagnosis software, as well as cybersecurity applications, has been a major driver for players like Meta Platforms, Box and CrowdStrike.
The growing demand for solutions, which support hybrid operating environments, is noteworthy. Robust IT spending on software is another positive for industry participants. However, industry players are suffering from increased geopolitical risks due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, higher wage inflation, currency fluctuations and the pandemic-induced supply-chain disruptions.
Industry Description
The Zacks Internet Software industry comprises companies offering application performance monitoring, as well as infrastructure and application software, DevOps deployment, and Security software. Industry participants offer multi-cloud application security and delivery, social networking, online payment, and 3D printing applications and solutions.
The industry participants use the SaaS-based cloud computing model to deliver solutions to end-users, as well as enterprises. Hence, subscription is the primary revenue source. Advertising is also a major revenue source. Industry participants target a variety of end markets, including banking and financial services, service providers, federal governments, and animal-health technology and services.
3 Trends Shaping the Future of the Internet Software Industry
Adoption of SaaS Growing: The industry is benefiting from the continued demand for digital transformation. Growth prospects are alluring primarily due to the rapid adoption of SaaS, which offers a flexible and cost-effective delivery method of applications. It also cuts down on deployment time compared with legacy systems. SaaS attempts to deliver applications to any user, anywhere, anytime and on any device. It has been effective in addressing customer expectations of seamless communications across multiple channels, including voice, chat, email, web, social media and mobile.
This increases customer satisfaction and raises the retention rate, driving the top lines of the industry participants. Moreover, the SaaS delivery model has supported the industry participants to deliver software applications amid the coronavirus-led lockdowns and shelter-in-place guidance. Remote working, learning and diagnosis have also boosted the demand for SaaS-based software applications.
Pay-As-You-Go Model Gaining Traction: The increasing customer-centric approach is allowing end-users to perform all required actions with minimal intervention from software providers. The pay-as-you-go model helps Internet Software providers scale their offerings per the needs of different users. The subscription-based business model ensures recurring revenues for the industry participants.
The affordability of the SaaS delivery model, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses, is another major driver. The cloud-based applications are easy to use. Hence, the need for specialized training reduces significantly, which lowers expenses, thereby driving profits.
Ongoing Transition to Cloud Creating Opportunities: Additionally, the growing need to secure cloud platforms amid the growing incidences of cyber-attacks and hacking drives the demand for web-based cyber security software. Further, as enterprises continue to move their on-premise workload to cloud environments, application and infrastructure monitoring is gaining importance. This is increasing the demand for web-based performance management monitoring tools.
Zacks Industry Rank Indicates Bright Prospects
The Zacks Internet Software industry, within the broader Zacks Computer And Technology sector, carries a Zacks Industry Rank #111 that places it in the top 44% of more than 250 Zacks industries.
The group's Zacks Industry Rank, which is the average of the Zacks Rank of all the member stocks, indicates bright near-term prospects. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperforms the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.
The industry's position in the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries is a result of a positive earnings outlook for the constituent companies in aggregate. Looking at the aggregate earnings estimate revisions, it appears that analysts are optimistic about this group's earnings growth potential. The industry's earnings estimates for 2023 have moved up 64.3% since Oct 31, 2022.
But before we present the top industry picks, it is worth looking at the industry's shareholder returns and current valuation first.
Industry Lags Sector and S&P 500
The Zacks Internet Software industry has underperformed the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector, as well as the S&P 500 Index, in the past year.
The industry has declined 3.5% over this period against the S&P 500 Index's growth of 3% and the broader sector's rise of 5.9%.
Industry's Current Valuation
On the basis of trailing 12-month price-to-sales (P/S), which is a commonly used multiple for valuing Internet Software stocks, we see that the industry is currently trading at 2.38X compared with the S&P 500's 3.59X and the sector's trailing 12-month P/S of 3.99X.
Over the last three years, the industry has traded as high as 7.55X, as low as 1.62X and at the median of 4.85X.
3 Stocks to Buy Right Now
Meta- This Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) company is benefiting from steady user growth across all regions, particularly the Asia Pacific. Increased engagement for its products like Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger and Facebook has been a major growth driver. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Meta's focus on developing its footprint in the rapidly evolving Metaverse has been a key catalyst. However, the company is suffering from challenging macroeconomic conditions, which are negatively impacting advertising revenues.
Meta shares have gained 96.1% in the year-to-date period. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company's 2023 earnings is pegged at $11.76 per share, up 12.6% in the past 30 days.
Box- This Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company is benefiting from the growing adoption of its content cloud by existing and new customers. Moreover, enhanced security, compliance, data governance and privacy capabilities of Content Cloud are constantly driving its momentum across government and private organizations.
This Redwood City, CA-based company's shares have declined 14.8% in the year-to-date period. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Box's fiscal 2024 earnings has been unchanged at $1.45 per share over the past 30 days.
CrowdStrike- This San Francisco, CA-based company is gaining traction from healthy customer engagement, evident from the consistently high net retention and competitive win rates, alongside solid momentum with large orders overall.
Shares of this Zacks Rank #2 company have gained 26.9% year to date. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CrowdStrike's fiscal 2024 earnings is pegged at $2.30 per share, up a couple of cents in the past 30 days.
Why Haven't You Looked at Zacks' Top Stocks?
Since 2000, our top stock-picking strategies have blown away the S&P's +6.2 average gain per year. Amazingly, they soared with average gains of +46.4%, +49.5% and +55.2% per year. Today you can access their live picks without cost or obligation.
Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
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Zacks Industry Outlook Highlights Meta Platforms, Box and CrowdStrike
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – May 16, 2023 – Today, Zacks Equity Research discusses Meta Platforms (META - Free Report) , Box (BOX - Free Report) and CrowdStrike (CRWD - Free Report) .
Industry: Internet Software
Link: https://www.zacks.com/commentary/2095447/3-internet-software-stocks-to-buy-in-a-prospering-industry
The Zacks Internet Software industry is benefiting from accelerated demand for digital transformation and the ongoing shift to the cloud, as well as the rapid evolution of the Metaverse. The high demand for Software as a Service or SaaS-based solutions due to the increasing need for remote working, learning and diagnosis software, as well as cybersecurity applications, has been a major driver for players like Meta Platforms, Box and CrowdStrike.
The growing demand for solutions, which support hybrid operating environments, is noteworthy. Robust IT spending on software is another positive for industry participants. However, industry players are suffering from increased geopolitical risks due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, higher wage inflation, currency fluctuations and the pandemic-induced supply-chain disruptions.
Industry Description
The Zacks Internet Software industry comprises companies offering application performance monitoring, as well as infrastructure and application software, DevOps deployment, and Security software. Industry participants offer multi-cloud application security and delivery, social networking, online payment, and 3D printing applications and solutions.
The industry participants use the SaaS-based cloud computing model to deliver solutions to end-users, as well as enterprises. Hence, subscription is the primary revenue source. Advertising is also a major revenue source. Industry participants target a variety of end markets, including banking and financial services, service providers, federal governments, and animal-health technology and services.
3 Trends Shaping the Future of the Internet Software Industry
Adoption of SaaS Growing: The industry is benefiting from the continued demand for digital transformation. Growth prospects are alluring primarily due to the rapid adoption of SaaS, which offers a flexible and cost-effective delivery method of applications. It also cuts down on deployment time compared with legacy systems. SaaS attempts to deliver applications to any user, anywhere, anytime and on any device. It has been effective in addressing customer expectations of seamless communications across multiple channels, including voice, chat, email, web, social media and mobile.
This increases customer satisfaction and raises the retention rate, driving the top lines of the industry participants. Moreover, the SaaS delivery model has supported the industry participants to deliver software applications amid the coronavirus-led lockdowns and shelter-in-place guidance. Remote working, learning and diagnosis have also boosted the demand for SaaS-based software applications.
Pay-As-You-Go Model Gaining Traction: The increasing customer-centric approach is allowing end-users to perform all required actions with minimal intervention from software providers. The pay-as-you-go model helps Internet Software providers scale their offerings per the needs of different users. The subscription-based business model ensures recurring revenues for the industry participants.
The affordability of the SaaS delivery model, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses, is another major driver. The cloud-based applications are easy to use. Hence, the need for specialized training reduces significantly, which lowers expenses, thereby driving profits.
Ongoing Transition to Cloud Creating Opportunities: Additionally, the growing need to secure cloud platforms amid the growing incidences of cyber-attacks and hacking drives the demand for web-based cyber security software. Further, as enterprises continue to move their on-premise workload to cloud environments, application and infrastructure monitoring is gaining importance. This is increasing the demand for web-based performance management monitoring tools.
Zacks Industry Rank Indicates Bright Prospects
The Zacks Internet Software industry, within the broader Zacks Computer And Technology sector, carries a Zacks Industry Rank #111 that places it in the top 44% of more than 250 Zacks industries.
The group's Zacks Industry Rank, which is the average of the Zacks Rank of all the member stocks, indicates bright near-term prospects. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperforms the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.
The industry's position in the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries is a result of a positive earnings outlook for the constituent companies in aggregate. Looking at the aggregate earnings estimate revisions, it appears that analysts are optimistic about this group's earnings growth potential. The industry's earnings estimates for 2023 have moved up 64.3% since Oct 31, 2022.
But before we present the top industry picks, it is worth looking at the industry's shareholder returns and current valuation first.
Industry Lags Sector and S&P 500
The Zacks Internet Software industry has underperformed the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector, as well as the S&P 500 Index, in the past year.
The industry has declined 3.5% over this period against the S&P 500 Index's growth of 3% and the broader sector's rise of 5.9%.
Industry's Current Valuation
On the basis of trailing 12-month price-to-sales (P/S), which is a commonly used multiple for valuing Internet Software stocks, we see that the industry is currently trading at 2.38X compared with the S&P 500's 3.59X and the sector's trailing 12-month P/S of 3.99X.
Over the last three years, the industry has traded as high as 7.55X, as low as 1.62X and at the median of 4.85X.
3 Stocks to Buy Right Now
Meta- This Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) company is benefiting from steady user growth across all regions, particularly the Asia Pacific. Increased engagement for its products like Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger and Facebook has been a major growth driver. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Meta's focus on developing its footprint in the rapidly evolving Metaverse has been a key catalyst. However, the company is suffering from challenging macroeconomic conditions, which are negatively impacting advertising revenues.
Meta shares have gained 96.1% in the year-to-date period. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company's 2023 earnings is pegged at $11.76 per share, up 12.6% in the past 30 days.
Box- This Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company is benefiting from the growing adoption of its content cloud by existing and new customers. Moreover, enhanced security, compliance, data governance and privacy capabilities of Content Cloud are constantly driving its momentum across government and private organizations.
This Redwood City, CA-based company's shares have declined 14.8% in the year-to-date period. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Box's fiscal 2024 earnings has been unchanged at $1.45 per share over the past 30 days.
CrowdStrike- This San Francisco, CA-based company is gaining traction from healthy customer engagement, evident from the consistently high net retention and competitive win rates, alongside solid momentum with large orders overall.
Shares of this Zacks Rank #2 company have gained 26.9% year to date. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CrowdStrike's fiscal 2024 earnings is pegged at $2.30 per share, up a couple of cents in the past 30 days.
Why Haven't You Looked at Zacks' Top Stocks?
Since 2000, our top stock-picking strategies have blown away the S&P's +6.2 average gain per year. Amazingly, they soared with average gains of +46.4%, +49.5% and +55.2% per year. Today you can access their live picks without cost or obligation.
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Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.
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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.