14. April 2021 | 07:25 CET
SAP, wallstreet:online, Bitcoin Group: Where digitization creates growth
German government offices, doctors' offices and even schools show that digitization is far from complete. The current pandemic is ruthlessly exposing the problems. Processes are still too complex, characterized by media disruptions, and data cannot be exchanged efficiently. Companies that offer digital solutions and have already gained experience with digitization can be the beneficiaries of tomorrow. We present three stocks.
time to read: 3 minutes by Nico Popp
Author
Nico Popp
At home in Southern Germany, the passionate stock exchange expert has been accompanying the capital markets for about twenty years. With a soft spot for smaller companies, he is constantly on the lookout for exciting investment stories.
SAP: How are smaller customers coping with the pandemic?
Those who think very conservatively may consider the SAP share. The Walldorf-based group has been producing software for business customers for decades and has solutions for every area that can also be interlinked. The software regulates warehousing, accounting and also human resources from a single source. In this way, SAP has been able to gain around 400,000 customers over the years. In the first 9 months of the fiscal year, SAP nevertheless reported somewhat mixed figures. Sales climbed by only 1.5%.
To ensure that there is growth in the future, SAP is focusing on investments in research and development and wants to outsource more and more services to the cloud. By 2025, revenue from the cloud is expected to rise to over EUR 22 billion. This perspective is encouraging and also opens up price potential for the share. However, it is unclear how well the software Company's many customers will come through the crisis. As a rule, investments are postponed for the time being if the figures are not right. Since SAP's customers include more than just corporations, there are still some question marks surrounding the next quarterly figures. Otherwise, the Company remains solidly positioned - but the stock is not likely to make any great leaps.
wallstreet:online: Media + Brokerage = Growth
One share that has shown very dynamic development since the outbreak of the pandemic is wallstreet:online. The operator of stock market portals for discussions and financial news also entered the brokerage market more than a year ago. Smartbroker was able to exceed all growth forecasts. It quickly reached 80,000 customers and aims to win over as many as 200,000 customers with its service by the end of 2021. To make this happen, wallstreet:online recently invested in personnel. In addition to the experienced manager Matthias Hach (previously Comdirect, flatex/ViTrade and Etrade), the experienced financial expert Roland Nicklaus recently moved from the Supervisory Board to the Management Board and will be the new CFO. Nicklaus' responsibility: to intensify contact with investors.
At the same time, wallstreet:online is working on finally offering its customers a comprehensive app. The broker has long been on a par with typical smartphone brokers in terms of conditions - with better service. If customers can soon trade even more conveniently from their smartphones, there will be hardly any arguments against the broker, which is already winning over many customers. As a further boost to growth, the wallstreet:online team is planning to link its content more effectively with the brokerage offering in the future. In concrete terms, this could mean that readers can trade directly from articles or forum posts. According to the ulterior motive, anyone who makes it easy for customers to trade should also be pleased with rising sales. The stock has recently corrected about a third of its value. Investors are likely to have in mind that the growth of a broker also costs money. But since wallstreet:online itself has the best distribution channels in its portfolio with its portals, this growth should be cheaper to realize than with the competition. The share is interesting below EUR 20.
Bitcoin Group: Squinting at the Coinbase IPO
Things are also exciting at Bitcoin Group. The Company has its bank, a trading center for cryptocurrencies and the know-how to develop financial products around blockchain technology. The stock ran in step with the booming cryptocurrencies for a long time but corrected after the turn of the year. In the meantime, however, the value seems to have found a bottom. The IPO of the trading platform Coinbase could also be a trendsetter for the share: If the IPO is successful and the price continues to rise, this may also justify higher valuations for Bitcoin.de, the Bitcoin Group's trading platform. The stock is attractive, but the Company is by no means without competition. Given the combination of the media business and brokerage, wallstreet:online currently looks better.
