PayPal, Aspermont, ProSiebenSat.1: Digital media drives growth

PayPal: This trendsetter is already expensive

PayPal is no longer a new discovery for investors. Those who invest here benefit from an established product, PayPal's market power and the constant demand for payment-related services. In Germany, PayPal achieved its breakthrough as an appendage of eBay. Thanks to buyer protection and payment with just a few clicks, millions of people created a PayPal account many years ago. Later, more and more online merchants also relied on the convenient payment offer and the maximum level of security.

With the boom in mobile payments, PayPal turned the slowness of established banks to its advantage a few years ago. While banks took forever to offer Google Pay to their customers, PayPal put its money where its mouth was, launched a virtual credit card in cooperation with Mastercard and was one of the first in Germany to offer Google Pay. Although many banks have since followed suit, some users probably still have PayPal's virtual credit card on file by default when it comes to contactless payment. PayPal has also demonstrated a good feel for the market with its venture into cryptocurrencies. The stock is already expensive but is in a flawless uptrend.

Aspermont: The digital small-cap with powerful customers

Also in an uptrend is the stock of Aspermont, an Australian media Company. The Company publishes Mining Journal and Mining Magazine, both of which have been published continuously for more than one hundred years. However, Aspermont has long since gone digital, distributing content and data on a subscription basis. There are also eLearning offerings and services for the technology sector. Aspermont has offices in London and is present in Australia, North America, Brazil, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines. In the future, much of the content will also be prepared in other languages to ensure growth. The Company has identified further potential in its extensive contact database of 7 million decision-makers. Since the Company has often been accommodating with subscriptions in the past and allowed several employees to share an offer, there is a chance of growing subscription numbers.

Aspermont's newly developed virtual events and exhibitions (VEE) segment should also bring long-term growth. The Company has generated USD 1 million in revenue from the new segment in the first five months. Aspermont emphasizes that virtual events are repeat business with attractive margins and strong cash flows. As Aspermont looks to leverage its strong contacts in numerous companies' executive ranks and target audiences more precisely in the future, the latest development could be just the beginning. "While the COVID pandemic obliged us to focus on VEE products as physical events were not possible, our existing platform technology and global subscriber base has enabled us to deliver profitable new businesses from launch, which encourages us to scope similar offerings for the energy and agriculture sectors," Aspermont CEO Alex Kent said in a recent company announcement.

After the share was in great demand at the beginning of the year and even recently reached the EUR 0.04 mark, Aspermont now trades at EUR 0.02. At this level, a single major investor from Germany also recently invested in the Company and made it clear that it wanted to support Aspermont's business strategy. As a penny stock, the share seems somewhat daunting for German investors at first glance, but a high number of outstanding shares is nothing unusual in Australia. As a profitable Company with more than AUD 7 million liquidity, a large customer base and visions for new business areas, Aspermont is an exciting player.

ProSiebenSat.1: TV and dating have boosted the stock

ProSiebenSat.1's stock also proves that new business areas can pay off. In addition to its business with TV stations and traditional media, the Company also has a stake in the ParshipMeet Group, which includes LOVOO as well as Parship and Elite Partner. In 2022, the lucrative subsidiary could even go public. Until then, the websites and apps will flush profits into the coffers of the traditional media company. ProSiebenSat.1 operates 15 free and pay-TV stations and is also active in streaming with Joyn. The share has gained more than 140% in the last year and has already performed very well. In the long term, however, there is still further potential. As with PayPal or Aspermont, the opportunities for new business areas are great.