While there are never any guarantees in investing, you can increase your chances of success by ensuring you're investing in blue-chip stocks and companies that have not only shown past success, but are also positioned to continue their success by growing their offerings and investing in the future. Here are three stocks to consider for the long haul.
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American Express
With a merchant network of 60 million, American Express (AXP -0.84%) trails behind industry leaders Visa and Mastercard, which have 80 million in their networks. But that shouldn't make the financial giant any less attractive to investors. While Visa and Mastercard don't actually issue credit cards (their partner banks do), they process the transactions. However, American Express both processes transactions and issues its own credit cards, putting it in a unique position to increase its revenue from fees.
In fiscal year 2021, American Express brought in $42.4 billion (up 17%) in revenue, with $12.1 billion (up 30%) coming in the fourth quarter alone. This was largely due to record spending from cardholders, but the company doesn't believe this will slow down anytime soon and expects revenue growth from 18% to 20% in FY 2022.
What makes American Express a good investment for the long haul isn't just its increasing merchant network, but also its position to introduce other successful financial products, like its new Rewards Checking account. Rewards Checking offers consumers Membership Rewards points for purchases and a 0.50% APY, 10 times higher than the national average.
As its suite of products continues to grow, American Express is in a good position to increase its consumer base and create lifelong customers.
Coca-Cola
As the world's largest beverage company, very few companies have worldwide brand recognition like Coca-Cola (KO 0.31%). The company is a blue-chip stock that has proven it can stand the test of time, regardless of economic conditions. While the company had a successful 2021 financially -- increasing revenue by 10% for the fourth quarter and 17% for the full year -- what makes it a good investment for the long term is its portfolio of impressive brands.
Coca-Cola has 200 brands globally, including Sprite, Simply, Powerade, Fairlife, and many more. Even as an industry leader for more than 135 years, Coca-Cola has shown it never gets complacent and continues to embrace changes in the market and new consumer tastes. Take alcoholic beverages, for example. With the emergence of hard seltzers, instead of watching from the sidelines, Coca-Cola got some skin in the game with its Topo Chico Hard Seltzer.
While its flagship Coca-Cola product will undoubtedly carry the company for the long term, as it embraces new brands and adds them to its portfolio, we will likely see the beverage giant expand its reach and dominance in the space.
Verizon
As the world's second-largest telecommunications company, Verizon (VZ -0.68%) is in a position to flourish in the long run. The company had a good 2021, growing its revenue by 4.7% while also achieving $10 billion in cost savings. One of Verizon's priorities going forward is strengthening and growing its 5G capabilities, and if it can do so effectively, it can grow its core business and attract new customers.
One thing that should really stand out for investors is Verizon's dividend. With a 4.87% dividend yield, Verizon's stock is a cheap purchase that can provide substantial gain for investors looking to grow their investment income. The company has increased its annual dividend for 15 consecutive years, and there's no reason to believe it won't reach Dividend Aristocrat status in the coming decade.
