It’s an undeniable fact that many companies have been adversely impacted by the pandemic.
But conditions are rapidly improving.
Many countries are reopening their economies.
Meanwhile, vaccine rollouts are continuing, giving us hope that some semblance of the pre-COVID life will return.
Despite the odds, some companies have managed to stay resilient or have even thrived.
The reasons for this outperformance vary.
Some companies are benefiting from a change in human habits that pushed up demand for their goods and services.
Others were already enjoying increased demand but saw the crisis accelerate trends that were already present.
Here are five US companies that continued growing through the pandemic.
Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ: TSCO)
Tractor Supply Company is the largest rural lifestyle retailer in the US.
The company operates 1,944 stores in 49 states as of 27 March 2021 and employs 42,000 people.
With Americans increasingly moving to rural areas, Tractor Supply reported strong results for 2020.
Net sales jumped 27.2% year on year last year while comparable-store sales increased by 23.1%.
Net profit after tax surged by 33.2% year on year to US$749 million.
The company hiked its quarterly dividend by 30% year on year to US$0.52 per share in line with the strong performance.
The first quarter of 2021 has seen the momentum continue.
Net sales increased by 42.5% year on year while net profit more than doubled from US$83.8 million to US$181.4 million.
Mercadolibre (NASDAQ: MELI)
Mercadolibre is a leading e-commerce company operating in Latin America.
The company’s technology platform matches buyers and sellers of goods and allows them to transact online, and it also offers an online payment function through its Mercado Pago platform.
The company witnessed a strong surge in transactions and payments in 2020 as numerous people moved online for the first time due to the pandemic.
Net revenue was US$1.3 billion, up 149% year on year, accompanied by a doubling of gross merchandise volume to US$6.6 billion.
Unique active users jumped from 74.2 million in 2019 to 132.5 million last year.
And total payment volume surged 76% year on year to US$49.8 billion.
Etsy (NASDAQ: ETSY)
Etsy is an e-commerce platform focused on handmade gifts and niche crafts.
With shopping behaviour shifting from offline to online, the company recorded one of its best years that saw active buyers on its platform rising from 46 million in 2019 to 81 million last year.
Active sellers jumped by 64% year on year to hit 4.1 million, with trailing 12-month gross merchandise sales per seller increasing by 22% year on year to US$2,281.
The increased activity led to a doubling of gross merchandise sales for the company to US$10.3 billion for last year.
Revenue for the e-commerce player rose in tandem, jumping 111% year on year to US$1.7 billion, while net profit more than tripled to US4$349.2 million.
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL)
Apple has demonstrated remarkable resilience throughout the pandemic and has seen strong demand for its products and services.
For its fiscal 2021, second-quarter earnings ended 31 March 2021, revenue increased by 54% year on year to hit a new record for March at US$89.6 billion.
All of Apple’s divisions saw broad-based, double-digit year on year growth.
Revenue for the technology company’s Macs and Services hit new all-time highs, up 70.1% and 26.6% year on year, respectively.
Services now make up 19% of Apple’s revenue in the current quarter, and the company ended the quarter with close to US$204.4 billion in cash and investment securities.
In response to the impressive results, Apple also increased its quarterly dividend by 7% year on year to US$0.22 per share.
Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX)
Netflix is an entertainment company that provides on-demand streaming television and has a vast library of movies, documentaries and TV series.
2020 saw a significant surge in paid memberships as more people signed up with Netflix due to movement restrictions and lockdowns.
The company announced 37 million additions that brought its member base above the 200 million level for the first time.
The momentum has continued into the first quarter of 2021 as membership hit 208 million, up 14% year on year.
Revenue grew 24.2% year on year to US$7.2 billion and net profit more than doubled year on year to US$1.7 billion.
The company intends to spend US$17 billion on new content for 2021 and plans to deliver more original titles compared to last year.
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Disclaimer: Royston Yang owns shares of Apple.
