The stock market is still digesting the ongoing economic volatility and impact of inflation, and choppy investment sentiment remains evident across a range of sectors and stocks. Still, if you're investing your capital with the intention of leaving it in any given stock for at least three to five years, and you have the fortitude to ride out the ups and downs that the market will surely bring, you should be able to build some healthy returns.

If you're planning on adding $1,000 or more to stocks this month, here are two companies to consider putting on your buy list. 

1. Pfizer

Pfizer (PFE -3.85%) has had an incredible few years on the heels of its successful COVID-19 portfolio. In 2022, the pharmaceutical giant raked in $100 billion in revenue -- $57 billion of which came from its COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty, and its COVID-19 antiviral therapy, Paxlovid -- and $31 billion in profits.  

Now, with demand for COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics slackening considerably, investors might be wondering whether the company has exhausted its growth runway. While it's certain that growth will normalize, Pfizer is setting its sights on attainable targets for future business wins. And the company is targeting 7% to 9% revenue growth in 2023 -- when factoring out the contributions of its COVID-19 products.

Management expects revenue and profits from its COVID-19 portfolio will rise again in 2024 after the supplies of vaccines and antivirals it has already delivered to governments around the world run out. Pfizer has also leveraged the unusual earnings surge of the last few years to fuel a series of investments in its pipeline, making strategic acquisitions and funding the study of more drug candidates developed in-house.  

On the fourth-quarter 2022 earnings call, CEO Albert Bourla affirmed that Pfizer plans to launch a whopping 18 to 19 new products in the coming months, 15 of which are anticipated to have come from its internal pipeline. He noted:

We believe we have the ability, if successful, to add at least $25 billion of risk-adjusted revenues to our 2030 top-line expectations through business-development activity. As we have said previously, we believe the deals we have already done for Arena, Biohaven, Global Blood Therapeutics, and ReViral have the potential to get us more than 40% of the way there with approximately $10.5 billion in expected 2030 revenues.  

Pfizer's blockbuster success over the past few years has been integral to its ability to expand its pipeline, which now looks poised to usher in a new era of growth for this established business over the next five to 10 years and beyond. Investors may want to take advantage of this opportunity to make a buy-and-hold investment in this top healthcare stock.

2. Shopify 

Shopify (SHOP -2.37%) is one of the world's leading e-commerce platforms, and while its shares have suffered amid the ongoing volatility afflicting growth stocks in general, its long-term competitive advantages bode well for its future. Roughly 21% of all e-commerce sites globally are built on Shopify's platform, and the company now facilitates 10% of the multitrillion-dollar U.S. e-commerce market.  

A whopping 561 million unique shoppers purchased products from its merchants in 2022 alone, a period during which the company generated revenue of $5.6 billion. Not only was that revenue figure up 21% from 2021, it represented an increase of 250% from 2019, the year before the pandemic began.  

The reason Shopify stock has continued to be rocked by volatility in the current market largely goes back to its current unprofitability. However, management has been clear that they intend to return the company to turning a profit. Moreover, this is to a certain extent a part of management's overall strategy to invest in the growth of the company now to provide it with a durable competitive edge in the future. 

As President Harvey Finkelstein noted in the 2022 earnings call, in the seven years since Shopify became a publicly traded entity, the company has been profitable in all but two of them. Also speaking to this issue in the earnings call, CEO Tobi Lütke commented:

Profitability is a consequence of growth and efficiency combined over time.... how to be the best company given the opportunity that's really in front of you. And I believe that over time, profitability will take care of itself if this is the kind of type of company you're building.  

One prime example of its focus on investing in growth now that will drive better returns later is the Shopify Fulfillment Network, which it boosted with the acquisition of Deliverr last year. While investments in its fulfillment network and the manpower needed to grow its operations (hence the continued high levels of stock-based compensation) are weighing on the bottom line, Shopify is already seeing the fruits of its labors. 

For example, because of its investment in Deliverr, Shopify was already witnessing a 40% jump in orders per merchant and a 50% increase in units fulfilled as of the end of 2022. Given the company's strong growth from its pre-pandemic levels, its investments in core areas that can drive its business forward over the long term, and steady top-line growth, the stock still looks like a buy in my book, and I remain a long-term shareholder in this business.