For those seeking big gains from stocks, the Technology sector’s a good place to look for opportunities. In this sector, there are a lot of companies rolling out innovative new products and experiencing strong growth in the process.
Looking for tech stocks to buy for the long term today? Here are two under-the-radar ideas to consider.
Technology that’s in demand today
First up is Workiva (NYSE: WK). It’s a $3bn market-cap (relatively small) software company that specialises in solutions that simplify financial, compliance, and ESG reporting for businesses.
I think this company has bags of potential. Speak to any financial company today and they’ll tell you their biggest headache is compliance reporting. This is where Workiva comes in. Using its software (which integrates with other platforms and offers artificial intelligence (AI) functionality) employees can navigate datasets and create important reports seamlessly.
It’s worth noting that the company’s having a lot of success today. In the fourth quarter of 2024, revenue was up 20% year on year to $200m. Meanwhile, customers with annual contract value over $500,000 grew 32% year-over-year. “Our platform continues to resonate resulting in broad-based global demand for our solutions,” said president and CEO Julie Iskow.
We enter 2025 confident about our market opportunity and ability to execute on our large and untapped total addressable market.
Workiva President and CEO Julie Iskow
Now recently, this stock’s been hit by two factors. One is concern that deregulation under the Trump administration will result in less demand for its products. Another is concern that a slowdown in the economy will result in less software spending.
These are both valid risks. However, with the stock down 40% in less than three months and now trading on a price-to-sales ratio of five, I think a lot of risk is baked into the share price.
Taking a five-year view, I think Workiva stock will do well. I bought some shares recently, and I’m most likely going to add to my position in the next few weeks.
Software that companies can’t afford to ignore
The second stock in focus is Fortinet (NASDAQ: FTNT). It’s one of the world’s leading cybersecurity companies.
Cybersecurity’s an area of technology that no company can afford to ignore. Ultimately, the risks associated with cybercrime (eg going out of business) are too high. So I see a long growth runway ahead for Fortinet. With the cybersecurity industry forecast to grow by around 13% a year over the next five years, this company could get significantly bigger.
What I like about this cybersecurity stock in particular is that it has a lot of quality. Top-line growth has been strong in recent years, with revenue climbing from $2.2bn to $6bn between 2019 and 2024 (173% growth). Meanwhile, return on capital employed is very high (an average of 26% over those five years). There are not many companies in this industry with that level of profitability.
It’s worth pointing out that cybercrime’s extremely dynamic. So there’s no guarantee that Fortinet will continue to have success. This company has a great long-term track record when it comes to navigating industry changes (look at the long-term share price chart). So I’m optimistic it’ll continue to do well.
