After a terrible January, investors had hoped that stock markets would be able to recover in February. Yet volatility has continued to rule the day, and persistent fears about interest rates and inflation have been particularly hard on the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC). As of 2:45 p.m. ET, the Nasdaq was down almost 2.5% Thursday afternoon.
Yet some companies have been able to keep generating good financial results and keep their businesses moving in the right direction. Today, some of the best performers include Nasdaq stocks Outset Medical (NASDAQ: OM) and Global-e Online (NASDAQ: GLBE). Below, we'll look more closely at these stocks to see why people are excited about their future prospects.
Outset looks healthy
Shares of Outset Medical moved higher by 16% on Thursday afternoon. The medical technology company reported fourth-quarter financial results that made investors excited about its future.
Outset Medical's growth was strong. Revenue of $28.2 million rose 63% from year-ago levels, completing a full year in which sales more than doubled from 2020. Product revenue was especially favorable, posting quarterly growth of nearly 80% year over year as demand for its portable dialysis equipment remained robust.
Moreover, Outset was upbeat about its future prospects. Guidance for 2022 included revenue projections of $142 million to $150 million, which would be 38% to 46% higher than 2021's final sales tally of $102.6 million.
Outset is still a long way from being profitable, with its fourth-quarter losses widening to $0.77 per share for the quarter. Adjusted net losses almost doubled in 2021 from 2020 levels on an absolute basis. However, investors are pleased just to see the medical equipment maker gain traction and help more patients, and that's helping the healthcare stock regain some of the ground it had lost in the past few months.
Global-e gets a boost
Elsewhere, shares of Global-e Online rose 15%. The international e-commerce facilitator rose on favorable results from its fourth-quarter report.
Global-e's numbers looked great. Fourth-quarter revenue climbed 54% on a 66% rise in gross merchandise value. The company posted a net loss, but that came primarily due to warrant-related expense tied to Global-e's strategic partnership with Shopify. Global-e's full-year 2021 results were also encouraging, with gross merchandise value soaring 87% to $1.45 billion and full-year revenue rising 80% year over year to $245 million. When you exclude the impact of the Shopify warrants, Global-e posted profits for both periods.
Global-e has gained traction quickly. Retention rates of more than 98% show that merchants tend to stick with the company once they come on board, and net dollar retention rates of 152% show that those customers expand their business over time. Global-e has been especially successful in providing its services to U.S. merchants looking for help in selling their goods and services internationally, as its U.S. outbound revenue more than doubled in 2021.
Best of all, Global-e expects another strong year in 2022. Gross merchandise value projections of $2.445 billion to $2.495 billion would represent growth of about 70% from 2021 levels. Revenue of $411 million to $421 million would be up in the same neighborhood year over year, and the company is looking for positive adjusted pre-tax operating earnings of between $38 million and $42 million for the year.
Growth stocks have to deliver the goods in today's stock market environment. When they do, though, shareholders can still see the gains that Global-e and Outset Medical produced Thursday.
