Companies with more cash than debt can be financially resilient, but that doesn’t mean they’re all strong investments. Some lack leverage because they struggle to grow or generate consistent profits, making them unattractive borrowers.
Not all businesses with cash are winners, and that’s why we built StockStory - to help you separate the good from the bad. Keeping that in mind, here is one company with a net cash position that can continue growing sustainably and two best left off your watchlist.
Two Stocks to Sell:
Coupang (CPNG)
Net Cash Position: $2.03 billion (3.9% of Market Cap)
Founded in 2010 by Harvard Business School student Bom Kim, Coupang (NYSE:CPNG) is an e-commerce giant often referred to as the "Amazon of South Korea".
Why Does CPNG Give Us Pause?
- Gross margin of 28% is below its competitors, leaving less money to invest in areas like marketing and R&D
- Lacking free cash flow generation means it has few chances to reinvest for growth, repurchase shares, or distribute capital
Coupang is trading at $28.53 per share, or 29.5x forward EV/EBITDA. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including CPNG in your portfolio.
NVR (NVR)
Net Cash Position: $1.18 billion (5.5% of Market Cap)
Known for its unique land acquisition strategy, NVR (NYSE:NVR) is a respected homebuilder and mortgage company in the United States.
Why Does NVR Worry Us?
- Backlog growth averaged a weak 1.5% over the past two years, suggesting it may need to tweak its product roadmap or go-to-market strategy
- Forecasted revenue decline of 8.2% for the upcoming 12 months implies demand will fall off a cliff
- Earnings per share lagged its peers over the last two years as they only grew by 1.1% annually
At $7,194 per share, NVR trades at 14.9x forward P/E. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why NVR doesn’t pass our bar.
One Stock to Buy:
Sea (SE)
Net Cash Position: $4.28 billion (4.2% of Market Cap)
Founded in 2009 and a publicly traded company since 2017, Sea (NYSE:SE) started as a gaming platform and has since expanded to offer a variety of services such as e-commerce, digital payments, and financial services across Southeast Asia.
Why Are We Backing SE?
- Paying Users are rising, meaning the company can increase revenue without incurring additional customer acquisition costs if it can cross-sell additional products and features
- Platform’s growing usage and its ability to increase user spending by 11.7% annually showcases its high switching costs
- Free cash flow margin increased by 27.3 percentage points over the last few years, giving the company more capital to invest or return to shareholders
Sea’s stock price of $170.20 implies a valuation ratio of 45x forward EV/EBITDA. Is now the right time to buy? See for yourself in our in-depth research report, it’s free.
Stocks We Like Even More
The market surged in 2024 and reached record highs after Donald Trump’s presidential victory in November, but questions about new economic policies are adding much uncertainty for 2025.
While the crowd speculates what might happen next, we’re homing in on the companies that can succeed regardless of the political or macroeconomic environment. Put yourself in the driver’s seat and build a durable portfolio by checking out our Top 5 Strong Momentum Stocks for this week. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 183% over the last five years (as of March 31st 2025).
Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,545% between March 2020 and March 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-micro-cap company Tecnoglass (+1,754% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today for free.