Businesses that Boomed in 2020
The global pandemic was difficult for people worldwide, but while personal hardships were considerable, another affected area is often overlooked. COVID-19 significantly impacted the business landscape on multiple levels. From crashing market values to interrupted operations and displaced workforces, the unprecedented event caused many companies in various industries to struggle. However, a select few rose to the challenge and instead cemented their position at the top with increasing stock prices.
Here are some of the organizations that prospered amid the pandemic and the best share tips 2021 that can boost business too.
Tesla
Tesla was already doing well at the start of 2020 with a value of $75bn. The company quickly overshot even the most generous of predictions for annual gains, however, leaving the manufacturer as the most successful carmaker on the market and closing out the year with a valuation of $102bn. The business also grew in stock price during 2020, seeing gains of around 740%.
The future of the business is hotly debated, but Tesla’s 2020 market domination certainly is not.
Zoom
Perhaps unsurprisingly, one big winner of 2020’s unforeseen events was Zoom. The technology quickly became the go-to method for professional collaboration and personal meetups alike as the virus rendered traditional meetings almost impossible. Stock prices are often used as a metric to measure success, and there was an increase of 450% from the end of 2019 to the end of 2020. The company’s revenue also grew last year, rising to $777m by the end of the year, an increase of 367%.
Zoom video is poised to continue its meteoric rise in 2021, with market shares up 14.7% by the close of the first half of 2021.
CrowdStrike
As the pandemic necessitated an unprecedented shift to digital operations, the demand for effective cybersecurity methods boomed. CrowdStrike saw its market value rise accordingly during 2020, closing out the year 357% higher than it began at $47bn. The company also had stock prices that increased from an open of $50.03 to $207.77 from December 2019 to December 2020.
The growth is expected to continue as the increased need for cybersecurity will likely not wane in the foreseeable future.
o successful growth, Pinterest nevertheless exceeded expectations in 2020. This growth was likely the result of an audience spending more time at home searching for entertainment, and the business reached 400 million users by the close of July 2020. Advertisers noted the increased attention and turned to the social media platform to reach new users as the pandemic necessitated a shift in traditional marketing norms. Overall, the market shares rose 254% in 2020.
Chewy
As reports of increased pet adoption continued throughout 2020, businesses focused on pet care unsurprisingly saw their business boom. Chief among these winners is Chewy, which now derives 70% of its sales from food and supply memberships that ship selected food and other various items to owners automatically each month. The business saw a 221% increase in its market value during 2020, and the stock has risen over 184% from its 2019 market debut. And while the number of people spending most of their time at home is dwindling as vaccination rates increase across the world, analysts still believe Chewy’s stock is poised to continue its success in the coming years.
DocuSign
Yet another result of the pandemic-related upheaval in 2020 was DocuSign. The e-signature company unsurprisingly saw record market growth last year with a 212% in market value. It closed out the year with a valuation of $41bn and stock prices that were up more than 500% from their 2018 market debut. As digital document processing continues to boom in the years to come, the outlook for DocuSign is a bright one.
Shopify
Canada-based e-commerce company Shopify grew by leaps and bounds in 2020, with market value nearly tripling at $139bn by the close of the year. The gains came after the provider became heavily used by social media platforms TikTok and Instagram to fuel buying habits during the pandemic. Its stock rose accordingly, too, by an estimated 177.6% over the year. That is more than a tenfold rise since 2018.
Kakao
South Korea’s popular chat application Kakao offers users an integrated offering of mobile shopping and online entertainment such as games. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the business did exceptionally well in 2020, with a market value that soared by 182% to $31bn by the end of the year.
The future is never guaranteed, but these businesses have shown remarkable growth in a short time and should stand as an example of just how unpredictable the market can be.
