It can be tempting to try to predict market movements so you buy low and sell high, but it's notoriously difficult to execute successfully. Even if you succeed once or twice, replicating that often enough to build a profitable portfolio that stands the test of time is next to impossible.
The good news is you don't have to try to time the market to enjoy enviable market returns through the decades.
Taking the time to carefully research the stocks you buy, understanding the ins and outs of their underlying businesses, and ensuring you're only putting cash into quality stocks that you're willing to hold for years can help maintain your investing advantage without compromising returns. It's wise to build a diversified portfolio of 25 or more stocks representing various sectors and industries so you can benefit from a wide range of growth sources during market ups and downs.
With that said, if you have $5,000 to put into stocks and a time horizon of a decade or more for your investments, here are two companies to consider putting part or all of that capital into.
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1. Zoetis
Zoetis (ZTS -0.61%) is an animal health company, specializing in the discovery, manufacture, and commercialization of veterinary medicines, vaccines, and diagnostics. The company was founded in 2013 as a spinoff of Pfizer's animal health division. Zoetis generates revenue from products for pets and livestock.
Of its approximately $9.3 billion in revenue in 2024, about 68% stemmed from its pet portfolio and 31% from livestock products. Examples of its pet products include treatments for osteoarthritis pain (Librela for dogs and Solensia for cats); flea, tick, and heartworm preventatives (Simparica Trio); and dermatology products (Apoquel and Cytopoint). Key products in its livestock segment include the antibiotic Draxxin and the cattle hormone implant Synovex.
Zoetis had a strong start to the year in its first quarter of 2025, reporting revenue of $2.22 billion, a 1% increase year over year, and adjusted earnings of $1.48 per share, an 8% rise year over year. The Simparica franchise clocked 19% operational growth, which was driven by numerous factors including the continued shift toward triple-combination products. Its dermatology franchise also grew revenue 10% operationally.
The international segment showed impressive 11% organic operational growth in the first quarter. This was driven by strong demand for cattle products in Brazil and other emerging markets, and increased vaccine sales in key salmon markets.
Consumer priorities are shifting toward wellness and personalized medicine for pets, driving growth in areas like nutrition, supplements, and advanced therapies, all of which bodes well for Zoetis' leading pet business.
The underlying strength of the business continues to support its status as a faithful dividend payer. The company has increased its dividend for 11 consecutive years at this point, and its yield is in the ballpark of 1.3%, which is in line with the average S&P 500 stock. For long-term value-focused investors, Zoetis could well be worth a second look.
2. Reddit
Reddit (RDDT 1.75%) has had a considerable run-up over the last year, with shares rising by 318% as of market close Aug. 7. Investors seem to be more and more enthusiastic about the near- and long-term potential of the popular social platform, which is delivering increasingly impressive growth and financial results.
It primarily generates revenue through advertising right now, offering a platform where advertisers can bid on ad placements through an auction system while also engaging in direct ad sales to larger companies. And Reddit has begun exploring other revenue streams, like licensing its data to train artificial intelligence (AI) models. It already has data-licensing deals with OpenAI and Alphabet's Google.
Management is actively integrating AI in several key areas, including content moderation, advertising, and search. And the company is developing AI-powered search features, like Reddit Answers, to provide users with summarized responses based on content across the platform.
Reddit had an incredibly positive second quarter. Its revenue reached $500 million, a 78% year-over-year increase, and the company achieved net income of $89 million, reversing a steep loss one year ago.
Its advertising revenue clocked an 84% year-over-year increase, reaching $465 million. Meanwhile, daily active unique visitors grew by 21% year over year to 110.4 million, and average revenue per unique user (ARPU) increased by 47%. Reddit's platform offers special advantages for advertisers, like highly targeted ad options and opportunities for authentic engagement within niche communities.
Its efforts to expand internationally, including through machine translation capabilities on its platform, have resulted in accelerated user and revenue increases in a growing cohort of non-English-speaking markets. These are just a few of the durable trends driving Reddit's financial story. Growth-focused investors with a well-diversified portfolio and sufficient time horizon may want to consider taking a slice of the action.
