Amazon’s stock looks tired. Consider buying shares of these five fast-growing e-commerce plays instead

Shares of Amazon person underperformed the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 NDX, +0.58% and the S&P 500 SPX, +0.66% successful 2021, adjacent arsenic the coronavirus pandemic forced Americans to trust connected its work during the darkest days.

Given each this, it is worthy considering e-commerce alternatives if you’re disquieted that Amazon’s champion days are down it.

Here are 5 smaller high-growth companies you whitethorn privation to research:

Sea

Shares of Sea Ltd. SE, +0.75% are up astir 45% successful 2021, hitting caller all-time highs arsenic it continues its assertive maturation crossed Asia and Latin America.

The Singapore-based institution has a wide concern exemplary capitalizing connected e-commerce and integer retail operations astir the world. That includes its Garena integer amusement level that publishes video games and offers e-sports tie-ins, the Shopee e-commerce level and SeaMoney integer fiscal services that see mobile outgo services.

Sea was a darling successful 2020 arsenic it rode the “stay astatine location trade” to large success. Revenue doubled twelvemonth implicit twelvemonth successful 2020 to $4.4 billion, and the company’s momentum was the envy of Wall Street arsenic Sea banal racked up astir 640% gains connected the calendar year.

But the fundamentals shown by Sea successful 2021 hint that the surge successful stock prices were justified. Consider that successful its first-quarter study successful May, gross surged by astir 150% — portion gross nett tripled twelvemonth implicit year.

With its adjacent net study scheduled for mid-August, Sea banal could spot different limb up arsenic it continues to beryllium Amazon isn’t the lone e-commerce sanction worthy watching.

Coupang

While Sea has been a cult banal for a portion successful immoderate circles, 1 Asian e-commerce banal that is inactive flying nether the radar for galore is Korea-based Coupang Inc. CPNG, -2.26%.  South Korea’s biggest e-commerce institution began trading successful March aft an IPO that raised $4.6 billion, but since past shares person drifted little — and different cult-like stocks person won each the attention.

If you haven’t yet heard of Coupang, its exemplary should beryllium rather familiar. It sells assorted products including location goods, apparel, quality products, sporting goods and electronics. It’s besides looking beyond these tried-and-true categories to see a absorption connected caller nutrient and groceries, arsenic good arsenic services including question and edifice delivery.

Though the fundamentals are airy fixed its caller debut, the numbers we person bash amusement this determination e-tailer is connecting successful a large mode successful Korea. Namely, it saw nett gross maturation of 74% successful its first-quarter study successful May, and gross nett up 70% twelvemonth implicit year. Total customers grew 21%, and gross per lawsuit surged 44%.

Admittedly, the full lawsuit basal successful that 4th was conscionable 16 cardinal households — hardly Amazon-esque. And truthful acold successful 2021, stock prices has slumped slightly, adjacent though the S&P 500 has powered higher. But remember, this is simply a institution that conscionable raised $4.6 cardinal — with a “B” — and is superior astir growth. Considering the connection and logistical barriers to contention successful the markets it serves that intelligibly person semipermanent maturation potential, investors whitethorn privation to see the lull successful Coupang shares a buying opportunity.

MercadoLibre

Taking a leafage retired of the playbook of Silicon Valley stocks that boast precocious stock prices and a refusal to split, MercadoLibre Inc. MELI, +0.33% is presently trading good supra 4 figures — and based connected caller history, seems arsenic if it’s apt to enactment there.

MercadoLibre banal has cooled disconnected successful 2021 and is sitting connected a flimsy nonaccomplishment twelvemonth to date, compared with an uptrend broadly for U.S. stocks. However, that’s aft this Latin American banal racked up 200% gains past year. Argentina-based MercadoLibre is hardly slowing down, however, arsenic successful the archetypal 4th it reported 70 million progressive users — an summation of 62% supra the conscionable implicit 43 cardinal users successful the anterior year. Gross merchandise measurement was up adjacent much astatine a 77% year-over-year maturation complaint to conscionable implicit $6 billion, compared with $3.4 cardinal successful the archetypal 4th of 2020.

What’s truly breathtaking for investors, however, is that the gains successful halfway e-commerce transactions is supplemented by continued maturation into fiscal services. MercadoLibre reported an awesome $2.9 cardinal successful outgo measurement done its mobile wallet platform, and its Mercado Credito lending level saw its portfolio turn to $576 cardinal — much than doubling implicit the anterior year.

Amazon has taught e-commerce companies that dominating each aspects of the user acquisition is however to genuinely physique a ascendant operation. With MercadoLibre increasing income but besides progressively connecting connected the fiscal side, it is mounting up itself to beryllium a unit successful Latin America — and a existent rival to adjacent entrenched occidental e-commerce brands.

Newegg

Newegg Commerce Inc.  NEGG, -5.81% is simply a consumer-electronics e-tailer that has a spot of a pursuing successful machine geek circles but mostly has gone unnoticed by astir consumers and investors. That is, until it spiked from $10 a stock to a little precocious supra $60 a stock successful July.

The inciting incidental was quality that Newegg would transportation hard-to-get Nvidia NVDA, -1.50% graphics hardware, and theoretically spot a large bump successful gross and profits arsenic a result. However, Newegg whitethorn beryllium proving that it is overmuch much than conscionable a tangential play piggybacking disconnected Nvidia arsenic it proves determination is existent worth to specialty retailers that service a circumstantial assemblage — and tin connection in-demand products alternatively of knock-offs propped up by fraudulent five-star reviews.

Newegg went nationalist via a SPAC, truthful it doesn’t person a batch of past to amusement investors conscionable yet. But what small we cognize is impervious that Newegg banal has potential. Consider it commands an awesome marketplace stock erstwhile it comes to halfway hardware items similar PC processors, motherboards and the like. It besides ranks arsenic a top-five website worldwide erstwhile it comes to machine and electronics retailing sites, and is simply a go-to tract for cryptocurrency miners arsenic good arsenic PC gamers.    

According to what we cognize astir the financials, Newegg topped $2.1 cardinal successful sales, acknowledgment to its dominance successful this profitable niche of machine components. And arsenic evidenced by its caller Nvidia score, it has heavy relationships with user electronics suppliers to guarantee it is not conscionable different Amazon clone selling cut-rate level screens.

Shopify

If you’re funny successful what beingness looks similar for e-commerce beyond Amazon, look nary further than Shopify Inc. SHOP, +0.71%. This Canada-based tech institution offers a level for immoderate institution to physique retired web and mobile storefronts, integrate those operations into carnal retail locations and past assistance with the nitty gritty of inventory, shipping and payments.

Shopify banal was 1 of those names that made a batch of headlines successful 2020 arsenic portion of the pandemic-related surge successful work providers made for societal distancing. Shares surged from astir $400 to $1,100 past twelvemonth arsenic a effect of everyone looking to bash concern digitally. But successful 2021, Shopify banal has tacked connected astir 40% more, proving this is not conscionable a COVID trade. After all, the e-commerce imaginable it helps merchants recognize is existent and lasting beyond the pandemic.

Case successful point: Fiscal first-quarter gross growth reported astatine the extremity of April was a reddish blistery 110%. But what semipermanent investors volition similar adjacent much is that its subscription work metric MRR — that is, monthly recurring gross — accelerated 62% year-over-year to beryllium that galore of the archetypal walk connected gathering retired these platforms is sticking arsenic clients support their Shopify presence.

Shopify isn’t rather the standard of Amazon, but astatine $200 cardinal oregon truthful successful marketplace worth close present with a comfy operating nett to prolong it, investors who privation to stake the tract vs. Bezos & Co. could bash worse than plug into Shopify stock.

Jeff Reeves is simply a MarketWatch columnist. He doesn’t ain immoderate of the securities mentioned successful this article.