2 Stocks That Plunged on Oct. 29 to Buy and Hold Through 2030

Oct. 29 was a bad day for two really different tech stocks. Marvell Technology (NASDAQ:MRVL) dropped around 13%, to $218.34, after an Oct. 28 report that the chipmaker was in advanced talks to buy optical parts maker Lumentum Holdings (NASDAQ:LITE).

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) had it worse, losing about 27% to close at $109.67 after its third-quarter results.

Neither stock has recovered. As I write, Marvell sits near $171 and ServiceNow around $102 -- each about 32% below its Oct. 28 close.

But neither fall came from a cut to either company's long-term plans. And compared with the targets each company has set for around 2030, I think both stocks look cheap now.

Matt Murphy. Image source: Getty Images.

1. Marvell: paying for Lumentum in stock

Marvell made the deal official on Nov. 2. Every Lumentum share becomes 4.5 Marvell shares, a deal that valued Lumentum at around $115 billion, counting its debt, at Oct. 28 prices.

Current Marvell shareholders wind up with around 67% of the combined company, so the share count climbs by about half. This dilution is what investors were selling.

Yet management expects the deal to raise non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings per share starting in the first year after it closes, and it sees over $1 billion in annual cost savings. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2028.

Plus, Marvell's own plan was already big before Lumentum. At its Oct. 6 investor day, management mapped out revenue rising from $8.2 billion in fiscal 2026 to around $12 billion this fiscal year and about $20 billion next year. These numbers mean growth of about 47%, then about 67%. Simply put, Marvell expects its growth to accelerate as the company grows. Its revenue target for fiscal 2031 (which ends in early 2031) is $70 billion to $90 billion, and its long-term model points to adjusted earnings of over $30 a share that year.

At about $171, Marvell stock costs under 6 times those targeted earnings. Sure, targets can slip, and this one came before a deal that adds shares. But even at half that per-share number, shares would cost under 12 times earnings.

2. ServiceNow's revenue growth is picking up

ServiceNow's third quarter itself was good. Subscription revenue climbed 21% year over year to around $3.99 billion, and free cash flow jumped about 39% year over year to $822 million.

The sell-off came from one line in the forecast. Management guided for fourth-quarter growth of 18.5% in current remaining performance obligations (cRPO), the contract revenue it expects to recognize in the next 12 months, down from 21% in constant currency in the third quarter.

Just after the fall, I wanted to see fourth-quarter cRPO hit that guide before buying. For someone holding through 2030, though, I think the lower price makes one quarter's number matter less.

Management blamed early renewals pulled into the third quarter, more on-premise deals with public sector customers, and contracts that count toward revenue but not cRPO.

"[W]hile cRPO is a good indicator of next year's revenue, it's certainly not perfect," CFO Gina Mastantuono said on the third-quarter earnings call.

Revenue guidance backs her, at least for now. Subscription revenue growth in constant currency dropped from 23% in the second quarter to 20.5% in the third. But management sees 21.5% in the fourth quarter.

At its May 4 Financial Analyst Day, ServiceNow targeted over $30 billion in subscription revenue by 2030, almost twice its 2026 guidance of around $15.8 billion. At this year's guided free cash flow margin of 36%, $30 billion could mean around $11 billion in free cash flow. ServiceNow's market value is about $105 billion, or about 10 times that free cash flow.

Why own both through 2030?

The two are at opposite ends of artificial intelligence (AI) spending. Marvell sells the chips that carry data around AI data centers, and Lumentum would add lasers and optical parts.

ServiceNow sells software that businesses use to put AI agents to work -- and to keep them in check. And it raised its 2026 target for annual AI contract value to $1.7 billion, up from $1 billion at the start of the year.

Sure, each has its own risk. Marvell's largest customers might slow AI spending well before 2031, and ServiceNow could see AI agents doing work that customers pay it for today.

Still, each stock now trades at a low price compared to its company's own long-term targets. I think both are worth considering for a buy-and-hold investor, ideally bought a little at a time. I'd just expect Marvell's share price to keep swinging hard until the deal closes.

Daniel Sparks and his clients do not have positions in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Lumentum, Marvell Technology, and ServiceNow. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.