2 Top Stocks to Buy in October and Hold Forever

If you're looking for the best stocks to buy this month that you can hold in your portfolio -- and add to again and again -- you've come to the right place. While the stock market may be facing a turbulent environment at the moment, it's always a good time to invest in wonderful companies with great businesses that can generate prolonged portfolio returns. 

With the current state of the market, you're not alone if you're searching for investments that can provide a solid path to growth and whose products or services aren't prone to cyclicality or changes in consumer spending. 

Today, we're going to take a look at two such stocks which fit that bill. Let's dive in. 

1. AbbVie: A no-brainer for income investors 

If you're not familiar with pharmaceutical giant AbbVie (ABBV -0.38%), you're likely familiar with one of its star products, Humira. The world's top-selling drug raked in $20.7 billion in revenue for the company in 2021 alone.  Now, with patent exclusivity on the drug set to expire in the U.S. in 2023, you'll be glad to learn that Abbvie also has other highly lucrative products on which to rely for future revenue and profits.

AbbVie's products focus on areas ranging from neuroscience to immunology to oncology to virology. In the second quarter alone, six of its top-selling products -- Skyrizi, Rinvoq, Imbruvica, Venclexta, Botox Cosmetic, and Botox Therapeutic -- brought in respective revenues of $1.3 billion, $592 million, $1.1 billion, $505 million, $695 million, and $678 million.

In total, the company's second-quarter revenue rose 5% year over year, while diluted earnings per share (EPS) jumped 21%. That follows revenue and diluted EPS growth of 23% and 137%, respectively, in 2021. 

Taking a step back and looking at the healthcare stock's financial performance over the much longer period of five years, the company has boosted its annual revenue, net income, and cash from operations by 100%, 117%, and 129%, respectively.

Beyond the diverse streams of growth that AbbVie can tap into from its current portfolio, it also boasts an impressive pipeline of candidates that target diseases from rheumatoid arthritis to Alzheimer's to small cell lung cancer.  AbbVie's wide-ranging portfolio and robust financials tick multiple boxes for healthcare investors, but that's not all the stock has to offer. There's also its dividend, which currently yields 4.1%.

One final note: the Dividend King has delivered a total return of 93% for investors over the past five years alone. That leaves the S&P 500's total return of 56% in the same period well and truly in the dust.  

2. DexCom: A market leader with a record of growth

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly one in 10 Americans has diabetes. That's more than 37 million people in the U.S. alone. For many people with diabetes, a continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) device is a daily part of life, and in some cases, can truly make the difference between life and death. 

DexCom (DXCM -1.16%) is one of the top companies in the world that develops and makes CGM devices. Its leadership in the CGM market is no small feat -- this is a space that's on track to hit a global valuation of $13.2 billion by 2028, according to Vantage Market Research.  

DexCom has had incredible success with its flagship product, the G6 CGM system. The rollout of the next version, the G7 -- which is billed as 60% smaller than the G6 and features a faster sensor -- is expected in the U.S. soon and is already underway in multiple international markets including the U.K., Ireland, Germany, Austria, and Hong Kong.  

In the most recent quarter, DexCom's revenue increased 17% from the year-ago period, while U.S. revenue jumped 11% and international revenue growth surged 39%. The company is also profitable, reporting $50.9 million in net income for the three-month period. The company had $2.8 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities on its balance sheet at the end of the quarter.  

Looking back over the past five years, DexCom has grown its annual revenue and net income by 66% and 53%, respectively. It's also delivered a total return of 255% during that period, more than four times that of the S&P 500 during the same window.  

DexCom's continued leadership in the CGM device market, despite growing competition, provides a compelling path forward to growth. Long-term investors can capitalize on this and reap the rewards of its success.