Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) surprised investors when management shared its plans to start offering an ad-supported tier of the streaming service in the near future. "We can be a straight publisher and have other people do all of the fancy ad-matching," co-CEO Reed Hastings said during Netflix's first-quarter earnings call. With the massive popularity of Netflix, those "other people" could have a big opportunity ahead.
These seven companies offer an intriguing blend of niche dominance, powerful underlying operations, and bargain share prices.
In 2021, tech stock valuations were extremely elevated, and now many have swung too far to the downside. Investors tend to throw away exceptional companies right along with mediocre ones when broad market events happen.