Crocs (CROX) is a fantastic growth play. It’s a name you’re probably familiar with — but its growth story is still ramping up, notes Luke Downey, editor of The Big Money Report.
The company burst onto the shoe scene over a decade ago. Depending on your fashion tastes, you either love or hate its classic, foam-resin clogs.
Regardless of their looks, the shoes are super comfortable. They’re popular with folks that spend a lot of time on their feet (like healthcare workers). Kids love them. And the company has since rolled out various other designs, ranging from workplace to wedding appropriate.
Most importantly, there’s no denying Crocs’ growth story. As the pandemic shook the economy, the company’s sales fell 6% during Q2 2020. That’s a pretty solid result considering the massive slowdown in consumer spending. Management temporarily suspended guidance — admitting it was unsure how bad things would get.
But in September 2020, the company resumed guidance and announced sales were on track to grow 10% vs. Q3 2019. When Crocs reported results in late October, sales growth came in just under 16%… easily beating management’s expectations.
The same thing happened in Q4 2020. After providing guidance for 20–30% sales growth, the company grew revenue by an incredible 56%.
And last quarter (Q1 2021), Crocs destroyed its own guidance again. Despite setting high expectations for sales growth of 40–50%, the company delivered growth of more than 60%!
In short, Crocs is firing on all cylinders. These growth numbers are insane. And as you probably know, Big Money loves growth.
Keep in mind, this is a relatively small company, with a market cap under $7 billion. That means there’s plenty of room for additional long-term growth. And while I don’t normally focus too much on valuation, Crocs’ price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is around 16–17. That’s super cheap for a company growing this fast.
Turning to the Big Money data, institutions are definitely noticing Crocs’ strong growth. Over the past one-year, we've seen Big Money buying more than a dozen times — each a day when institutions were buying heavily. And CROX popped up repeatedly in my top 20 list of Big Money buys.
I’m comfortable buying the stock up to $104… it’s an all-star stock and I wouldn’t be surprised if it blasts higher from here. When it’s trading above $104, please be patient and wait for a pullback before buying. Use a 50% hard stop.
