Just been thinking about some solid growth stocks that were heavily beaten down a few years back, and there's an interesting pattern worth discussing.

So picture this: the market had a rough stretch with the S&P 500 dropping hard, but that created some genuine opportunities for patient investors. I noticed three businesses that caught my attention back then, and they're worth revisiting now.

First up is Block, the fintech powerhouse. What fascinated me was their market position - they had just 3% penetration of a massive $190 billion addressable market. Their Square division was crushing it with nearly $800 million in gross profit, and Cash App had grown to 49 million active users. Even with the stock down 58% that year, the fundamentals looked solid. The company essentially owned a piece of users' financial lives, constantly adding features like buy now, pay later. As digital payments kept replacing cash, this seemed like a no-brainer growth play.

Then there's Crocs, which honestly surprised a lot of people. Revenue jumped 57% in one quarter alone, and that HeyDude acquisition they pulled off added another layer - those sales grew 87% year-over-year. Management was so bullish they raised guidance to 50%+ revenue growth. Finding any retail business posting those numbers in a tough economy was rare. Their sights were set on $6 billion in annual revenue, with Asia expansion as the next frontier. China being the world's second-largest footwear market meant serious runway ahead.

Lululemon was the third one I kept circling back to. Their same-store sales jumped 23%, e-commerce was already 42% of revenue, and Gen-Z loved the brand. The gross margins at 56.5% showed real pricing power. Management laid out ambitious targets - doubling 2021 sales to hit $12.5 billion by 2026, with international revenue quadrupling. When a company has that kind of brand equity and growth trajectory mapped out, the valuation matters less.

The broader point here is that these growth stocks offered compelling opportunities when sentiment was worst. The market was down, valuations compressed, but the businesses themselves were still firing on all cylinders. Sometimes the best time to think about growth opportunities is when everyone else is panicking.