If you're investing in the stock market right now, it's important to focus on companies that have staying power in your portfolio and can rely on strong tailwinds for long-term growth. In the current environment, with ongoing macroeconomic and foreign currency headwinds, geopolitical unrest, and fears of a global recession, companies across all sectors are being tested. 

Even so, opportunities to invest in wonderful companies -- often, at discounted prices -- are still ripe for the taking. We're going to look at two top stocks to consider buying and holding in your portfolio for 10 years or longer. 

Let's dive right in. 

1. Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Biotech stocks tend to be somewhat volatile, higher-risk investments in the world of healthcare stocks. These companies are often in the earlier stages of growth and work on experimental, novel treatments. As always, though, there are exceptions, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX 2.30%) is arguably one of the most prominent. 

There are a few reasons Vertex Pharmaceuticals is such a resilient play in the broad universe of biotech companies. The company focuses primarily on drugs that treat rare diseases. Its current pipeline includes therapy candidates targeting Type 1 diabetes, sickle cell disease, beta thalassemia, and APOL1-mediated kidney disease.

Right now, the company's "bread and butter" comes from its cystic fibrosis drugs. Its portfolio consists of four drugs, all approved to treat this rare genetic disease. Vertex's blockbuster Trikafta, which was approved in 2019, captures more than 90% of the cystic fibrosis patient population.  

Vertex's portfolio of medicines accounts for the lion's share of all revenues generated in the global cystic fibrosis treatment market. Last year, the company reported revenue to the tune of $7.5 billion, a 22% increase from 2020. Vertex is also consistently profitable and has increased its bottom line by nearly 800% over the past five years alone.  

Vertex's singular leadership in the cystic fibrosis treatment market -- which is expected to hit a global valuation of $14 billion by the year 2025 -- can continue to reap generous rewards for its balance sheet, and for investors in the process. The stock has delivered a return of more than 60% over the trailing 12 months alone, no small feat in an environment where the S&P 500 has declined about 20% during that same period. 

At current share prices, a $1,000 investment in Vertex Pharmaceuticals would give you approximately three shares. 

2. Amazon

Amazon (AMZN -1.56%) investors -- myself included in that lot -- have experienced somewhat of a bumpy ride lately. Broad sentiment has turned against growth-oriented tech businesses, not to mention that issues like supply chain constraints and the strength of the U.S. dollar have weighed on the company's margins. Even so, Amazon's core portfolio of businesses remains strong and poised for future growth that patient, forward-thinking investors can tap into for the long term.

When the company reported its third-quarter results on Oct. 27, which promptly sent the stock even further downward, investors were responding to a few standout areas from Amazon's earnings report. These included a more conservative revenue increase, a decline in operating income, and moderate fourth-quarter guidance. However, if you look beyond the headlines and closer at the key points and numbers from Amazon's recent report, the growth story isn't nearly so bleak. 

Amazon's top and bottom line results all came well within the company's previous guidance for the Q3 period. In addition, its net sales still represented a 15% increase from the same stretch in 2021, boosted by a respective sales increase of 20% and 27% from its North America and Amazon Web Services (AWS) segments.  

While Amazon's operating income and net income represented decelerations on a year-over-year basis, these still came in at respective figures of $2.5 billion and $2.9 billion for the three-month period.  Stepping back from the most recent quarter -- and a single quarter alone shouldn't cause you to pull the plug or hit the buy button on any stock -- Amazon has delivered respective increases to its annual revenue and net income of 68% and 188% over the trailing three years alone.  

Although the current macro environment is presenting challenges, even for a behemoth like Amazon, the company's leadership in the e-commerce and cloud computing spaces remains unmatched. It also operates in many other lucrative areas, including entertainment, grocery, and healthcare. Over the long term, these are tailwinds that can propel Amazon's financial growth and drive generous investor returns in the process. 

At current share prices, a $1,000 investment in Amazon would give you approximately 11 shares.