Companies that can build disruptive businesses in established markets can become some of the best stocks to hold in the long term. Disrupters in online shopping, streaming, PCs, and mobile have stocks that are crushing the market on performance, and there are opportunities emerging in some new industries.
Today, I see a few market shake-ups taking hold. Podcasts are disrupting radio and television, long-tail retail is reshaping brick-and-mortar retail, and digital services are helping upend a long-established real estate brokerage market. That’s why Spotify (NYSE:SPOT), Shopify (NYSE:SHOP), and Zillow (NASDAQ:Z) (NASDAQ:ZG) are disrupters and long-term growth stocks I absolutely love right now. Let’s find out a bit more about these three disrupter stocks.
Image source: Getty Images.
1. Spotify
There’s an incredible change happening in how we consume audio content. No longer are we tied to the limited offerings on terrestrial or satellite radio; podcasts allow anyone to have a voice and reach any listener at any time.
By enabling the podcast market, I see three disruptions taking place at once:
- Creation costs are dropping, and the hardware and technical expertise needed to produce and engineer a podcast are fading away.
- The discovery of podcasts can enable tightly focused niche content and serve audiences from anywhere in the world.
- Monetization is getting easier as subscriptions proliferate and targeted advertising platforms enable creators to make money more easily.
No company has done more to enable this reshaping than Spotify. The company has built or acquired creation tools that make it easier to make podcasts. And it has built the podcast platform and discovery tools, and it is expanding an advertising network that will make it easier to make money on podcasts.
I think the value in audio over the next decade will come from the companies that can connect creators big and small with listeners around the world. Spotify and Apple are the two biggest companies in podcasts today, and given Spotify’s investment in creation tools, ads, and exclusive content, it has a chance to be a very disruptive company in audio.
Image source: Getty Images.
2. Shopify
The internet has enabled small podcast creators to reach customers in the audio market. It has also helped small (and larger) retailers get the attention of more customers. Customers are no longer limited to shopping in their local area; the internet helps them buy goods and services from anywhere around the world.
Shopify makes it easy for retailers big and small to create an online store. Whether it’s a homegrown business selling a few niche items or a Fortune 500 company, Shopify has the infrastructure to run a modern online store.
This is reshuffling things for a couple of reasons. First, it’s another model aimed at brick-and-mortar retailers, which can’t even hope to carry the selection that’s on Shopify’s stores. Second, the…
Read More: 3 Disrupter Stocks I Love Right Now