What's the most important thing an investor should do after buying a stock? Nothing.
The temptation, though, is to watch the stock like a hawk while continually fretting over whether or not you should sell. But there really should be no need to do anything except wait for the share price to rise as the underlying business grows.
However, the key is that you need to buy the right stock in the first place. Here are three unstoppable stocks you can buy and hold for the next decade (and beyond).
Image source: Getty Images.
1. Intuitive Surgical
Companies with strong recurring revenue tend to be ones you don't have to worry about. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG -0.55%) certainly checks off this box, with revenue from recurring sources making up 75% of total revenue.
Intuitive's recurring revenue percentage seems likely to increase over time. Hospitals that use its robotic surgical systems have a financial motivation to use those systems for as many procedures as possible. As they do, they buy more replacement instruments and accessories -- Intuitive's primary source of recurring revenue.
The company also should be able to deliver solid growth over the long term. There are far more procedures for which robotic systems could be used right now than the number of procedures actually performed with robotic assistance. And Intuitive Surgical continues to invest heavily in research and development to expand the types of procedures for which its systems can be used.
Intuitive dominates the robotic surgical systems space with a market share of around 80%. While the company has rivals, it's difficult for them to dethrone Intuitive because of its large install base and impressive track record. Because of these competitive advantages and its tremendous growth opportunity, I view Intuitive Surgical as one of the safest growth stocks on the planet.
2. MercadoLibre
First movers in fast-growing markets often become practically unstoppable. That's what happened with Intuitive Surgical. It's also the case for MercadoLibre (MELI -1.79%). The company stands out as a pioneer in the Latin American e-commerce market.
MercadoLibre began business in Argentina in 1999. Today, it operates the largest e-commerce platform in Latin America, serving 18 countries in the region.
E-commerce remains a significant growth market for MercadoLibre. The e-commerce penetration rate in Latin America in 2021 stood at 9%. Morgan Stanley predicts that e-commerce will make up 16% of total retail sales by 2025. No company is in a better position to profit from this growth than MercadoLibre.
But MercadoLibre has another big growth opportunity in addition to e-commerce. The company is also a major player in fintech in Latin America. As of the end of 2021, MercadoLibre's fintech platform had 34.5 million active users. With two huge markets in which to expand, I think this stock could realistically deliver a 10x return over the long term.
3. Nvidia
MercadoLibre isn't the only stock that can't be pigeonholed into one category. Nvidia (NVDA -3.33%) might be best known for its graphics processing units (GPUs) used in gaming systems. However, it's also a top artificial intelligence (AI) stock and an intriguing metaverse stock.
Nvidia would be able to deliver solid growth even if it only focused on gaming. In the fourth quarter of 2021, the company's gaming revenue soared 37% year over year. Its GPUs continue to enjoy strong demand in the gaming world.
But AI represents an even better opportunity for Nvidia. Its GPUs are ideally suited for powering servers that run AI apps. Nvidia's data center revenue skyrocketed 71% year over year in the fourth quarter of 2021 and could soon eclipse the company's gaming revenue. Near the end of last year, multiple vendors set new records for training AI models. All of them used Nvidia's AI platform.
Is the metaverse the riskiest growth opportunity for Nvidia? Maybe. However, the company already markets a metaverse platform, Omniverse, which enables virtual collaboration and simulation. In Q4, sales for Nvidia's professional visualization technology featuring Omniverse more than doubled year over year to a record $643 million. If the metaverse comes anywhere close to fulfilling its potential, I think that Nvidia is likely to be one of the biggest winners.
