I was walking the dog yesterday and I had a scary thought. I think I might miss the pandemic. Not the masks, the dying, the distanced learning, the overwhelmed hospitals, the shuttered businesses or the inability to travel or see loved ones. Nope. None of that. But the one thing I will miss is being able to stay home every weekend without feeling like a total loser.
Remember when you were in high school and there was a big party on Saturday night and you didn’t really want to go but everyone else was going so you felt like you had to go because you didn’t want to miss out on something huge? For introverts, the pandemic has been one big global excuse to skip the party. And for many of us, it’s been a bit of a relief. There’s a feeling of comfort that comes with knowing you’re not supposed to go out and do anything every night because it’s safer to stay home. Who needs all the anxiety that goes along with picking out the right shoes and shirt when you can just chill in the same pair of sweatpants you’ve worn for the past nine months?
As the Biden administration begins to put its vaccination plan into place and our country, hopefully, gets back to normal by the end of the summer, it’s going to take some time for many of us to return to any semblance of a normal social life. Just the idea of meeting up with a friend for a beer seems so foreign right now, right?
Friend: Want to meet up for a beer?
Me: No.
Friend: Why?
Me: Because I don’t want to die.
Friend: You won’t die.
Me: But I could.
Friend: That’s true.
Me: So no.
Friend: OK. See ya.
And introverts aren’t the only ones who will need a little time to adjust. A variety of companies might miss the supersonic growth the pandemic afforded them. Here’s a few that could see a whole lot of volatility in the short term.
Stocks That Will Miss The Pandemic
Zoom (ZM)
It’s never a good sign when pretty much the entire world would love to take a break from using your product. I feel like Zoom should get out in front of the situation and declare a national No Zoom Day around the world. Eric Yuan would (ironically) set up a Zoom call to encourage everyone to get off Zoom for the day to go hug a neighbor, a health care worker or the first homeless person you see. This could be big for Zoom. As for the stock, at $382/share and a P/E of 266, you may want to wait awhile before buying.
Paypal (PYPL)
I know, I know, electronic payments are only going to become more ubiquitous but don’t you think that just for a few months this summer, good old fashioned cash might make a return? Personally, I’m looking forward to restocking my wallet with as many dirty, COVID infested dollar bills as possible. I miss paying people with cash. There’s just something that feels good about having a few bucks in your wallet and I don’t want that to permanently change even if I know it has.
Tesla (TSLA)
Telsa and the pandemic will always be synonymous for me. It’s as if this single company pulled the entire S&P 500 along for an oil-free ride from March-December ensuring the market didn’t reflect the true nature of things happening to the economy. Depending on your perspective, that’s either a really good thing or a really bad thing. Either way, the rest of the automakers are finally coming around to the whole EV thing and I can’t see how this company maintains such a ridiculous valuation moving forward.
DraftKings (DKNG) and Penn National (PENN)
Staying at home means watching sports. Watching sports increasingly means gambling on sports. I guess that won’t change when the pandemic ends. You’ll just have to place your bets before you go out to dinner and make sure your wife doesn’t catch you checking the scores before dessert is served.
Stocks That Don’t Care About The Pandemic
Waste Management (WM)
COVID or no COVID, we produce garbage and WM is one of the best companies in the world at picking up your trash. There aren’t a ton of companies that aren’t effected one way or another by a global pandemic but this is one of them. At $115/share with a P/E of 32 and a 2.00% yield, buying shares of WM is about as safe an investment as you can make if you’re worried about a market pullback.
Stocks That Can’t Wait For The Pandemic To End
Disney (DIS)
Can you imagine what happens to this stock when the theme parks re-open and Disney+ rolls out roughly 146 new Star Wars series all featuring Baby Yoda in some shape or form? Yes, there’s already been a huge run up and at $173 the stock is not cheap. But they essentially added an entirely new line of business to go along with one that was pretty good to begin with.
Hawaiian Holdings (HA) and Southwest Airlines (LUV)
Think there’s going to be a little pent up demand for travel? Think people will go to Hawaii and look to fly the least expensive airline? Think an investment in either of these two companies will receive a boost when that happens? At $21 and $48/share, both are still reasonably priced by historical standards.
Airbnb (ABNB)
The stock is outrageously priced but can you imagine the volume of travel we’ll see later this year and beyond? If you’ve got a vaccine card and can verify that your host has been vaccinated, you’d be happy as a clam to stay in someone else’s musty basement as long as it’s not your musty basement.
It’s going to a be a crazy year for investing and the country. I’m excited to put on my sweatpants and watch it all unfold.
