Forever stocks can help set you up for life. Consider this: If you had invested $5,000 in Apple in 1999, you'd have $2.54 million today. And that's just one example of how long-term, buy-and-hold investing can pay off. 

With that in mind, let's take a look at three stocks with excellent long-term prospects that investors should feel comfortable holding for many decades to come: Coca-Cola (KO 0.54%), NextEra Energy (NEE 0.63%), and Microsoft (MSFT -3.27%).

Stacks of gold coins increasing from small to large.

Image source: Getty Images.

Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola is more than just another value stock. It's the biggest non-alcoholic beverage company in the world. It's also been an outstanding stock to own. Over the last 20 years, Coca-Cola shares have returned more than 396%. And there remain plenty of reasons to be bullish -- for instance:

  1. Iconic brand: Coca-Cola still regularly ranks among the top 10 brands in the world. The company's products include household names like Coca-Cola classic, Diet Coke, Dr. Pepper, Sprite, Powerade, Smartwater, and many others.
  2. Global reach: Coca-Cola products are available in over 200 countries. Because of this, Coca-Cola is somewhat insulated from localized economic downturns. Moreover, its diversified product mix and affordable pricing provide some protection against inflationary concerns.
  3. A rock-solid Dividend: Many companies pay dividends, but few have records of paying dividends like Coca-Cola. The company has paid a dividend every year dating back to 1920. That's an astounding record of 123 years! What's more, Coca-Cola has raised its dividend in each of the last 60 years.

To sum up, Coca-Cola is pretty much the epitome of what investors should look for in a forever stock. It has global reach, legendary brands, and an unbeatable record of returning value to stockholders via its can't-miss dividend.

NextEra Energy

One industry that oozes dependability is the utility sector. And within that industry, I think NextEra Energy provides a good balance between reliability and growth. 

The company includes two key components. The first is Florida Power & Light (FPL), which is Florida's largest electric utility provider. The second segment, NextEra Energy Resources (NEER), is a subsidiary that produces and sells renewable energy on the wholesale energy market.

Taken together, the two segments provide a decent mix of stable cash flows and opportunities for growth. FPL's customer base of over 12 million is served mostly by natural gas and nuclear production plants. Meanwhile, NEER generates the bulk of its renewable energy via wind and solar.

For income-oriented investors, the company currently pays a dividend of $1.87 per share, equating to a dividend yield of 2.5%. And while that's not the largest dividend you'll find in the utility sector, it's nothing to sneeze at either. Moreover, the company's significant renewable energy assets provide a growth driver, with analysts expecting 16% revenue growth in 2023 and 7% growth in 2024.

Essentially, NextEra offers investors a great way to play the transition from fossil fuels to renewables, which might take decades to fully play out.

Microsoft

Few stocks have outperformed Microsoft over the last 40 years. With a market capitalization of over $2 trillion, Microsoft is second only to fellow American tech mega-cap Apple in terms of overall size.

However, what makes me bullish on Microsoft is not its past but its future. The Microsoft of today is much different from the company that came to prominence on the back of the Windows operating system. Looking ahead, Microsoft will rely on some key factors, such as:

  1. Diverse business segments: It operates in numerous fields, ranging from Gaming to Social Networking (LinkedIn) to online search (Bing). Most importantly, its Cloud business, Azure, is now the company's largest and most-profitable segment. What's more, the company's much-hyped alliance with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI gives it a leg-up in the coming struggles for Artificial Intelligence (AI) dominance.
  2. Locked-in leadership: It might be hard to believe, but Microsoft has only had three chief executive officers (CEOs). Satya Nadella became the third in 2014 and has done a marvelous job. During his tenure, Microsoft's market cap has grown from $290 billion to over $2 trillion today. With his steady hand on the till, investors can rest easy. 
  3. Plenty of cash: Microsoft runs an array of lucrative businesses that generate a mountain of cash flow. The company currently has over $100 billion of cash on the balance sheet, and it's well-positioned to endure any economic downturn. In fact, with so much cash, it's conceivable that Microsoft would simply use a recession as an opportunity to gobble up struggling but promising competitors on the cheap.

Naturally, there are risks to owning Microsoft. With a price-to-earnings multiple over 30, it's not a cheap stock. However, if you're looking for a stock you can own forever, Microsoft is a great place to start.