As the metaverse keeps on developing, it’s opening fascinating new doors with prominent opportunities for investors. While some established tech giants dominate headlines, analysts are pointing toward lesser-known companies with significant potential in this burgeoning space. This article will explore both the well-known metaverse stocks and some potentially undervalued alternatives, providing a balanced perspective to inform investment decisions. Calloutcoin.com offers comprehensive long-form analysis of NFT standards, metaverse technologies, digital identity solutions, and the new DeFi frontier. This helps give investors transparency and accountability in a time of fast-moving developments.
Promising Stocks to Watch
Beyond the obvious choices like Meta and Nvidia, several companies are quietly building the infrastructure and experiences that will define the metaverse. These “hidden gems,” as some analysts have dubbed them, may provide huge payoffs as the metaverse develops over the coming years.
Block (Formerly Square) (SQ)
Payments company Block, formerly known as Square, might not be the first metaverse stock to come to mind. It does undergird the digital economy that will become essential to any future realization of the metaverse. The company’s mission to promote financial inclusion and empower small businesses further positions it as a key enabler of metaverse commerce.
Block’s Cash App is one of the world’s most popular mobile payment services. It provides users with an easy-to-use on-ramp to transact in the digital realm. As the metaverse continues to grow and change at an extraordinary pace, users are going to need trusted and easy ways to transact for virtual goods and services. Furthermore, Block's investments in blockchain technology and decentralized finance (DeFi) position it well to capitalize on the emerging Web3 landscape, which is closely intertwined with the metaverse. By enabling safe and convenient financial transactions, Block is helping to build the infrastructure for an inclusive metaverse economy.
Block also building other groundbreaking tools that make running a business easier. Each of these services deepens engagement in real life and online. That includes everything from point-of-sale systems to online payment processing to customer relationship management (CRM) software. As companies — from retailers to cities — continue to adopt metaverse experiences into their business strategies, Block’s growing array of solutions will prove indispensable.
Shopify (SHOP)
Shopify is another company that is not solely focused on the metaverse but has the potential to significantly benefit from its growth. As one of the world’s largest e-commerce platforms, Shopify enables millions of entrepreneurs and small businesses to run and market their products online. The metaverse is quickly becoming a real commercial arena. Shopify’s clearly positioning itself to be the solution that helps those businesses set up shop and sell everything from virtual goods to physical products to people across the metaverse.
Shopify is already empowering their merchants to develop these types of interactive shopping experiences with AR and 3D model support on their platforms. These immersive technologies allow consumers to visualize products in their home before making a purchase. This particularly improves the accessibility of the online shopping experience. Immersive AR and VR technologies are quickly becoming the dominant means of interaction within the metaverse. Shopify’s deep expertise in these areas will give Shopify’s merchants a competitive edge. Shopify’s backend e-commerce infrastructure—think payment processing, order management, and shipping logistics—might be a bigger attraction. These capabilities fit smoothly into metaverse spaces, enabling companies to more easily conduct and oversee activities in the real and virtual realms.
Shopify is committed to working in new ways to take advantage of the emerging technologies. They’re using transformational technologies such as blockchain and NFTs to augment the e-commerce experience. To illustrate, businesses can employ NFTs to develop one-of-a-kind digital art or collectibles, as well as to recognize and reward repeat customers with exclusive benefits. Shopify has made significant investments in these innovations to position themselves at the forefront of the future of e-commerce. It’s not only making waves inside the metaverse, but outside as well.
Technology Giants on the Rise
Established technology giants are making significant investments in the metaverse, recognizing its potential to transform how people interact, work, and play. These companies have the capital, talent, and consumer touchpoints to lead the adoption of metaverse technologies.
Meta Platforms, Inc (META)
Meta Platforms, Inc. (META), previously Facebook, may be the most well-known company wagering on the metaverse. As such, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has doubled down on the idea that the metaverse is the company’s future. To make that vision a reality, Meta is betting billions on creating the hardware, software and social platform that will power this virtual world. Meta operates in two segments: Family of Apps and Reality Labs. The Family of Apps segment includes revenue from the social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. At the same time, the segment focuses on developing immersive metaverse technologies.
Meta’s Reality Labs division creates advanced virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) headsets. They produce a fun platform for social VR - horizon worlds. The company has already sold more Oculus VR headsets than any other on the market, establishing a strong foothold in the immersive hardware space. They continue to work on AR glasses that will bring digital information into the real world. This next technological breakthrough will further dissolve any clear distinction between the digital and real worlds. These AR glasses will be central to this vision of the metaverse. They’ll make it easy for users to interact with digital materials seamlessly through the course of their day. Amazon (AMZN) has laid out their plans for a hybrid platform clearly oriented towards augmented reality (AR) headsets. When this technology projects digital images into physical spaces, it is referred to as spatial computing.
Meta’s huge user base, vast social network, and deep pockets all add up to a scary contender in this metaverse. The entertainment company has unlimited resources from parent company Tencent to fund their ambitious plans, invest in emerging technologies, purchase innovative startups, and develop a fully realized metaverse ecosystem. Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) has a market cap of $1.50 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.79, and a beta of 1.24, indicating its significant market presence and volatility relative to the broader market. This is seen in Meta’s clear long-term dedication to the metaverse as portrayed through its continued investments, loss leadership, and strategic acquisitions. One of its great strengths is its economic influence in the metaverse, supported by an overall market cap of $1.50 trillion. Last year, it set a remarkable all-time high of $740.91.
Nvidia (NVDA)
Productwise, Nvidia (NVDA) from a very long way, leading the race in delivering max-performance graphics processing units (GPUs). Their innovative technologies are key to building and fueling the metaverse. GPUs drive the metaverse—literally. With 3D environments becoming increasingly complex, GPUs are what make the metaverse possible. Their amazing talent brings a cinematic realism that makes these digital environments fully immersive. That’s because Nvidia’s GPUs are at the heart of everything from gaming PCs and VR headsets to data centers and cloud computing platforms.
Nvidia provides the metaverse’s technological backbone with cutting-edge hardware. Simultaneously, it’s building up the dynamic software and platforms that enable developers to rapidly create their own immersive metaverse experiences. The company's Omniverse platform is a powerful tool for creating and simulating 3D environments, allowing developers to collaborate and iterate on their designs in real time. Omniverse is being adopted across other industries including architecture and engineering, manufacturing, entertainment and others. Nvidia is a tech giant that can cater to various considerations in the metaverse, with North America leading the market and Asia Pacific set for future growth due to the quick adoption of immersive tech.
Nvidia’s specialty in artificial intelligence (AI) is additionally proving to be essential to speeding up the creation of the metaverse. AI algorithms are helping develop realistic avatars, generate dynamic content, and even personalize user experiences. Nvidia’s AI platform equips developers with the tools and resources necessary to create AI-powered metaverse applications. As the metaverse continues to develop, AI will play a pivotal role in developing the most engaging and immersive experiences.
Innovative Companies in E-commerce and Services
Beyond the tech giants, several innovative companies in e-commerce and other service industries are actively exploring and integrating metaverse technologies into their business models. All of these companies are using the metaverse to produce exciting new experiences for their customers and to amplify what they’re already offering.
Sea Limited (SE)
Sea Limited is a Singapore-based technology company with businesses in the e-commerce, gaming, and digital payments industries. Although not exclusively a play on the metaverse, parent company Sea Limited is incredibly well-poised to take advantage of the burgeoning space. Shopee, the company’s e-commerce platform, is one of the largest in Southeast Asia. It provides the world’s largest shopping mall stocked with every imaginable type of digital or real-world item. Garena, Sea Limited’s gaming division, publishes the popular mobile game Free Fire. As it turns out, this game has drawn an enormous and enthusiastic player base.
Earnings Sea Limited, for instance, is looking to add metaverse-like features to its e-commerce and gaming businesses. This all involves the development of virtual storefronts inside Shopee where users can interact and shop for products in a fully immersive, 3D world. Meanwhile, in Free Fire, Sea Limited is taking a more aggressive approach with thrilling virtual events. Players have the opportunity to role-play, communicate, and connect with one another to an extent never accomplished before! By leveraging its existing platforms and user base, Sea Limited can quickly and efficiently deploy metaverse technologies and reach a large audience.
Sea Limited's digital payments platform, SeaMoney, provides a secure and convenient way for users to transact in the digital world. Whether in the metaverse or the real world, without dependable payment solutions, businesses can’t thrive. Users will come to rely on them to make virtual purchases and transactions. SeaMoney is deeply integrated into Shopee and Free Fire. This powerful integration enables customers to shop and buy easily from within these networks. With the metaverse economy on the rise, SeaMoney is set to become a go-to real-world to virtual-world payment provider.
Airbnb (ABNB)
Airbnb (ABNB) is the largest online marketplace for lodging, homestays and tourism activities. Although metaverse development is largely focused on the physical world, Airbnb has been investigating how to improve the travel experience with metaverse tech.
For example, Airbnb might develop VR tours of their properties so potential guests can fully explore a space before committing to a stay. This new feature is a godsend for international travelers. It helps them really visualize a property and have a better understanding of it before deciding to book. In addition, Airbnb could develop new online experiences that ensure guests can visit destinations without ever leaving home. These immersive experiences might be virtual guided tours of major attractions, cooking classes led by local chefs, or live-streamed cultural events.
Virtual reality aside, Airbnb has been exploring how augmented reality can improve the travel experience once people arrive in-person. For example, guests could use their smartphones to overlay digital information onto their surroundings, providing them with information about local attractions, restaurants, and transportation options. Hopefully, whether by investing in certain companies or building these technologies themselves, Airbnb will use the metaverse to provide more immersive and engaging travel experiences for its users.
Emerging Players in Financial Technology
Financial technology companies will be key players in the development of the metaverse. They deliver the infrastructure and tools that make secure, simple acts of commerce or communication possible within these increasingly interconnected virtual worlds. These companies are developing innovative solutions for digital identity, payment processing, and decentralized finance (DeFi), which are essential for the growth of the metaverse economy.
Everquote (EVER)
Everquote (EVER) is an online insurance marketplace that connects consumers with independent insurance agents and insurance companies. While not directly involved in the metaverse, Everquote's expertise in data analytics and personalized recommendations could be valuable in the virtual world.
Everquote might leverage its data analytics expertise to offer tailored insurance solutions to individuals in the metaverse. Users, for instance, might be able to buy virtual property insurance for their digital goods, guarding against theft or destruction. Everquote could adapt by engaging with the software providers building today’s metaverse to sell insurance products directly to users in the virtual world. By using its deep knowledge of the insurance field, Everquote will be able to safeguard users and their belongings within the metaverse.
Everquote is another company looking to leverage AI to give consumers a better insurance shopping experience. AI algorithms have the potential to identify patterns in user data and make tailored recommendations based on these insights, in real time. This could be especially useful in the metaverse, where users may be unfamiliar with the different types of insurance products available. Customer story EverQuote EverQuote employs AI to make insurance shopping easier. This strategy continues to shift the responsibility to users so they better know how to protect themselves and their assets in this new virtual world.
Opendoor Technologies (OPEN)
Opendoor Technologies (OPEN) Opendoor is an ecommerce platform for residential real estate. Opendoor’s success is in the physical real estate space. Their expertise in data analytics and online transactions would be of great value to the metaverse, too.
Perhaps most naturally, Opendoor could use its platform to help people buy and sell virtual real estate in the metaverse. That might be digital real estate—we’re not just talking about virtual land—you know, virtual homes, things like that. Opendoor could provide valuation services for virtual real estate, helping users determine the fair market value of their digital assets. What makes Opendoor unique is their deep subject matter expertise in the real estate industry. This, in turn, fosters a more efficient and competitive market for virtual real estate.
Like many other companies, including some of our very own, Opendoor is looking to AI to help create a better home buying and selling experience. AI algorithms can be employed to sift through vast amounts of market data and offer relevant, personalized suggestions to users. This is especially advantageous when applied to the metaverse. Many users don’t know what kind of virtual real estate there is out there. Through AI, Opendoor is making the real estate buying and selling transaction simple and fun. This creates a far more user-friendly experience for anyone looking to purchase or trade virtual property.
Solutions for Modern Business Needs
Many of the companies featured in our metaverse category have been fulfilling powerful business needs for a while now, and they aren’t just metaverse-focused. These companies and many others are building really exciting tools and platforms. They are helping to make businesses run smarter, workers more productive and customers served in innovative and connected ways.
Docusign (DOCU)
Docusign (DOCU) empirical market share leader in eSignature technology. Within the context of the metaverse, Docusign might help users securely sign and execute contracts, agreements, and other legal documents. This would cut out a lot of physical paper work and speed up the entire transaction process.
Aside from facilitating contracts, docusign may be central to building and managing digital identities in the metaverse. Doing so would enable users of all ages to securely verify their identity—much like present-day website logins—to move across different metaverse platforms and experiences seamlessly. As digital identity management experts, Docusign’s experience would be essential in developing a more trusted and secure experience for metaverse users to thrive.
Docusign is additionally looking into how to connect its technology with other metaverse platforms and applications. This would greatly improve the user experience by enabling users to easily sign documents and interact with their digital identities in the metaverse. In doing so, and by working with other metaverse-native companies, Docusign can maximize its reach and ability to drive people to its services across the metaverse.
StoneCo (STNE)
StoneCo is a Brazilian financial technology company that offers payment processing and other financial services to merchants. In the metaverse, StoneCo could provide payment solutions for virtual goods and services. This would even empower users to easily create, purchase, and swap items across the entire virtual environment.
StoneCo might even one day extend lending products to metaverse enterprises. This would allow these businesses to continue to grow and increase the size of their operations. Throughout this deal and future collaborations, StoneCo’s specialized knowledge in financial services will prove useful when helping foster the development of a healthy metaverse economy.
StoneCo is further developing methods to help connect its technology with other metaverse platforms and applications. This would virtually enable consumers to conduct transactions and access financial services without ever leaving the virtual world. Through collaboration with other metaverse companies, StoneCo has the opportunity to widen its net and offer its services to a more diverse audience.
The metaverse is a nascent and quickly developing environment, with vast possibilities and promise. It’s no wonder that today’s established tech titans such as Meta and Nvidia are driving the development of the metaverse. In reality, many other companies are methodically and quietly building the infrastructure and experiences that will determine its future. By considering both the well-known metaverse stocks and these "hidden gems," investors can make more informed decisions and potentially capitalize on the growth of this exciting new technology. Calloutcoin.com remains committed to providing in-depth analysis and insights into the metaverse and related technologies, empowering investors to navigate this complex landscape with confidence.
