There are some companies' stocks that you can buy with full trust that their businesses will continue growing well into the future. Investing in leaders of consistently developing markets is an excellent way to keep your portfolio expanding.
Amazon (AMZN -1.65%), Disney (DIS -1.01%), and Alphabet (GOOG -1.96%) (GOOGL -1.97%) each have substantial market shares in industries that are on the rise. Their brands have permeated the consumer consciousness like few companies before them, making their stocks compelling investments.
Here's why those stocks are no-brainer buys right now.
Amazon
Amazon landed on the scene almost 30 years ago, in 1994, as an online book retailer. Since then, its market cap grew to $959.1 billion, making it the fifth-largest public company in the world. Its success primarily came from its leading 37.8% market share in e-commerce, with the company a major reason why online retail skyrocketed over the last decade.
In 2015, e-commerce sales comprised 7.4% of all retail sales worldwide. That share hit 19.7% in 2022 and is expected to reach 24% by 2026.
Amazon's e-commerce business suffered in 2022 as economic volatility led to decreased consumer discretionary spending. The company's e-commerce segments reported operating losses totaling about $10.6 billion for the year. However, e-commerce has a long future ahead, and the current headwinds are only temporary.
Once the e-commerce market does recover, Amazon will be home to a solid business in online retail and a lucrative cloud computing platform with Amazon Web Services. As a result, Amazon's stock dip of 31% over the past 12 months makes it a no-brainer buy right now.
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, which turns a century old this year, has grown into one of the most successful entertainment enterprises in history. Unlike big tech companies, which tend to have considerable growth over short periods, Disney has delivered gradual but consistent gains over many years. For instance, though its stock declined by 4% over the last five years, it shares climbed 76% over the last decade.
Disney's longevity and powerful content library make its stock an excellent option to hold indefinitely. After all, entertainment is a market that will never dissipate.
After a challenging 2022 when Disney's stock plunged 44%, the company looks to be back on a growth path. Its shares rose about 14% year to date at this writing. Meanwhile, theme park guests and theater audiences appear to be back in full force after the period of pandemic closures.
In its fiscal 2022, which ended Oct. 1, 2022, Disney's parks revenue increased 73% year over year to $28.7 billion, and operating income soared by more than 100% to $7.9 billion as guests returned in droves.
Additionally, the company enjoyed a smash hit at the box office in the current fiscal year. Ticket sales for Avatar: The Way of Water, which was released in December, reached $2.24 billion in mid-February, moving it past 1998's Titanic to take the spot of third-highest-grossing film of all time.
Disney has faced a challenging few years as the pandemic was followed by an economic downturn. However, the company's position as an entertainment powerhouse and signs that its business is recovering make its stock a screaming long-term buy.
Alphabet
Wall Street shied away from Alphabet in 2022, dragging its price down 38% over the year. Macroeconomic headwinds led to declines in advertising, the company's primary revenue source. However, hope is not lost for this tech giant, and it continues to have a lot to offer as a long-term investment.
Over the last five years, Alphabet's stock has risen 68% and it's up around 240% over the last decade. The growth came alongside revenue which climbed by 106.7% since 2019, and operating income that soared 128%.
Alphabet's development over the years is mainly owed to the dominating brands under its umbrella, including YouTube, Android, Fitbit, and the many services under Google. These subsidiaries give the company substantial market shares in smartphones, advertising, search engines, cloud computing, and more.
Digital ad spending may have declined last year. However, the market still has plenty of room for growth over the long term. In 2021, ad spending worldwide hit $522.5 billion, and that figure is projected to rise by 60% to $835.82 billion by 2026 (per Statista). As a result, Alphabet is not through profiting from the lucrative market. Meanwhile, its growing positions in other industries, such as cloud computing, will continue offering earnings boosts as ad spending recovers.
Alphabet is a tech behemoth, likely to continue dominating the space for decades. Its price-to-earnings ratio of 20.80 is the lowest among competitors like Apple, Microsoft, and Meta, making the Google company's stock a great value and a no-brainer investment right now.
