Ideally, investing is like making good BBQ: it takes time, but if you do it right and leave it alone, the results are undeniably delectable. The right stocks could create generational wealth over decades while you sleep well at night.
It does take the right stocks, though, which isn't necessarily easy because few companies excel long enough that you can buy and hold them for years on end.
However, it's not impossible.
Here are five standout companies that lead their industries and have growth prospects to fuel decades of steady expansion. Consider partnering with them for the long term.
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1. Amazon
Retail is becoming increasingly digital, and there's no better e-commerce company in the U.S. than Amazon (AMZN +3.51%), which has approximately 40% of the online shopping market. Its superior supply chain dominates the competition, and e-commerce is still just 16% of total retail in America. The company is constantly pushing into new markets and has growth opportunities in grocery, healthcare, and automotive sales.
NASDAQ: AMZN
Key Data Points
Plus, Amazon is the world's leading cloud company, which gives it an inside track to artificial intelligence (AI)-fueled growth. This makes it a diversified business with multidecade growth opportunities ahead as cloud computing and e-commerce continue expanding for the foreseeable future. One of the best-performing stocks of all time still has plenty of long-term upside.
2. Coca-Cola
Despite a generations-old business model, Coca-Cola (KO 0.29%) continues to grow. The conglomerate sells a wide variety of sodas, waters, juices, teas, and coffee under dozens of worldwide brands, yet roughly 68% of people in emerging markets, which is 80% of the global population, still don't consume commercial beverages. A combination of population growth, product development, acquisitions, and pricing power fuels Coca-Cola's steady growth.
NYSE: KO
Key Data Points
Investors know Coca-Cola most as a core Warren Buffett stock within Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio, and as a Dividend King with 62 consecutive annual dividend raises. Investors who buy, hold, and reinvest Coca-Cola's famous dividend for a few decades are bound to create a dividend machine that showers them with passive income down the road. This is the quintessential get-rich-slowly stock.
3. Realty Income
Owning real estate is a timeless investment strategy. Realty Income (O +0.49%) is a popular real estate investment trust that allows people to invest in commercial real estate without actually buying properties. Realty Income is a popular dividend stock for its higher yield -- 5.7% at its current price -- and monthly dividend schedule, a rarity for U.S. companies.
Realty Income has paid and raised its dividend yearly as a public company for 32 years. It uses net leases and deals primarily with tenants who operate consumer-facing businesses, so the company has enjoyed very durable revenue streams, allowing it to pay and raise its dividend through tough times, like the COVID-19 pandemic. The business only grows at a low to mid-single-digit pace, but reinvesting the dividends over time has produced market-beating results.
4. Philip Morris International
Tobacco stocks have been around for generations and were long considered a dying breed. However, Philip Morris International (PM +0.31%) has become a thriving business due to its success in next-generation nicotine products, like heat-not-burn devices and oral nicotine pouches. While they are still unhealthy and addictive, regulators have accepted these products as less harmful than traditional cigarettes since they don't produce smoke.
NYSE: PM
Key Data Points
Philip Morris International still sells Marlboro cigarettes to non-U.S. markets, but next-generation products, primarily IQOS and Zyn, now account for 42% of the company's net revenue. They are the future of Philip Morris International, which should continue to grow and pay dividends for the foreseeable future.
5. Take-Two Interactive Software
Investors shouldn't sleep on the video game industry. It's especially popular with younger generations, and the global gaming market could reach $257 billion by 2028. Gamers will be very familiar with Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO +2.29%), which owns major game developers like Rockstar Games, Zynga, and 2K, responsible for popular franchises, like Grand Theft Auto, NBA 2K, Red Dead, and more. Its most recent Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer is breaking YouTube viewership records.
Intellectual property can be a powerful competitive advantage, as a new hit gaming franchise can create billions of dollars in revenue opportunities. Take-Two Interactive is becoming the Walt Disney of the gaming industry; its high-end franchises have cult-like followings. Those franchises have made Take-Two Interactive a market-beating stock, which could continue if the company generates high-level content that gamers love.
