Well, it has happened: After around two years of semismooth sailing, the Nasdaq has entered into correction territory. The Nasdaq Composite, one of the stock market's primary indexes, was down over 9% year to date as of market close March 10, and down roughly 13% since hitting a high on Dec. 16.
The current correction isn't a total surprise, but that doesn't make it easier to digest seeing many big-name stocks and major indexes in the red.
Despite the Nasdaq currently being in correction, the news isn't all bad. This can present an opportunity to buy some of the stock market's top stocks at a relative discount. The following two Nasdaq stocks are noticeably down this year, but are still great investments for the next decade, and beyond.
1. Amazon
Through March 10, Amazon's (AMZN +1.96%) stock was down 11% in 2025. The good news is that the drop isn't directly caused by fundamental changes in Amazon's business.
NASDAQ: AMZN
Key Data Points
When I look for companies I want to invest in for a decade-plus, I look for companies with diverse business models. Although Amazon's e-commerce business is its bread and butter, its cloud platform, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and emerging advertising business position it for sustained long-term growth.
I won't focus too much on Amazon's e-commerce business here, but I do want to highlight the progress it has made internationally. In 2023, Amazon's international segment had an operating loss of $2.7 billion. In 2024, it flipped the script with an operating income of $3.8 billion. That's a sign the company is beginning to improve its global operations and become even more of an international powerhouse.
Amazon's true growth driver is AWS. It's the profit machine that keeps fueling Amazon's expansion, and as AWS signs on more enterprise deals, the momentum should continue. Amazon noted that AWS recently brought on key enterprise customers including PayPal, Intuit, and Reddit.
The cloud industry will continue to grow as businesses embrace cloud technology, and short of an unforeseen hurdle, AWS should continue to be the leader of the pack. Much of the $83 billion it spent in capital expenditures in 2024 was dedicated to AWS' growth, and much of the $100 billion it plans to spend in 2025 will likely be the same.
This willingness to spend and reinvest in the business is crucial for Amazon's long-term success.
AMZN Capital Expenditures (Annual) data by YCharts.
2. Microsoft
Microsoft (MSFT +1.08%) has been a tech titan for decades, but it's not immune to slumps. Through March 10, its stock was down roughly 10% year to date and close to 19% from its July 2024 high.
NASDAQ: MSFT
Key Data Points
Microsoft might be the textbook example of a diversified business in the tech world. It has enterprise and consumer software, hardware, cloud computing, gaming, and social media. But it's more than just the amount of ground Microsoft's business covers that's important; it's how it has integrated itself into the fabric of the corporate world.
Between Microsoft Office, PCs, the Windows operating system, Azure, Microsoft Copilot, LinkedIn, and Dynamics 365, Microsoft fuels a lot of corporations' daily operations. That's a key to its sustained success and financial stability.
In Microsoft's second quarter of its fiscal year 2025 (ended Jan. 31), it generated $69.6 billion in revenue (up 12% year over year), and its operating income increased 17% year over year to $31.7 billion. Both of those growth numbers are impressive, considering the sheer size of Microsoft's business.
MSFT Revenue (Quarterly) data by YCharts.
Microsoft's large number of enterprise clients acts as a buffer during rough economic times because its products are essential to those businesses. It's much easier for a company to cut back on marketing than to forgo cloud services, software subscriptions, or employee hardware.
When investing for the long term, you want a company whose trajectory will remain positive regardless of the hiccups along the way, and that's Microsoft. It's essential to the corporate world, and it has a fast-growing cloud business and $71.5 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments to help it weather virtually any storm.
Microsoft's stock is traditionally expensive by most standards, but with its recent drops, investors can take advantage of scooping up shares of one of the world's top companies.
