Growth stocks are companies generally expected to expand faster than the overall market or their industry peers. These stocks may offer higher potential returns to faithful shareholders in the long run. Including growth stocks in a diversified portfolio can complement investments in other asset classes, like value stocks or dividend-paying companies.
If you have cash to put to work right now and want to put some of that to work in growth-oriented businesses, here are two stocks to consider buying right now and holding indefinitely.
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1. Amazon
Amazon (AMZN -0.38%) continues to demonstrate its abilities as an e-commerce and cloud computing powerhouse in a rapidly evolving business landscape. In the second quarter, Amazon's e-commerce business, which includes online stores and third-party seller services, accounted for approximately $102 billion out of its total $167.7 billion in net sales, up 11% year over year. That represented roughly 61% of Amazon's total revenue for the quarter.
The company's other core growth catalyst is Amazon Web Services (AWS). While not accounting for as large a piece of the business as e-commerce does, it remains Amazon's leading driver of profitability. AWS delivered $30.9 billion in revenue in Q2 alone, an 18% increase year over year and accounting for about 18% of Amazon's total net sales in Q2 2025. In terms of profitability, AWS generated $10.2 billion in operating income in the three-month period, which was more than half of Amazon's total operating income of $19.2 billion for the quarter.
Another key area to watch as its long-term growth runway evolves is Amazon's advertising segment. In Q2, Amazon generated $15.7 billion in ad revenue, which was a 23% increase from the same quarter one year ago. While that revenue figure is still a relatively small piece of the pie for Amazon, the growth rate surpassed the increase in its core retail business and highlights the role this asset-light segment could play in the years ahead.
AWS is one key part of the business that showcases Amazon's evolving approach to artificial intelligence (AI) and related technologies like machine learning (ML). For example, Amazon Bedrock is a fully managed service that simplifies the development and scaling of generative AI applications. It uses a selection of foundation models from various AI companies and Amazon's own models, and also facilitates the creation and deployment of AI agents.
Beyond Bedrock, AWS provides a wide range of AI services, including SageMaker (a fully managed ML service for building, training, and deploying ML models at scale), Amazon Q (a generative AI-powered assistant for businesses and developers), and Amazon Connect (a cloud-based contact center solution that uses AI for purposes like AI assistants).
Amazon's continued status as the world's leading e-commerce company and its aggressive investments in AI could make it a compelling buy for investors of all trading styles and interests. Amazon still looks like a smart stock to buy and hold forever.
2. Carnival Corp.
Carnival Corp. (CCL 0.37%) is known for being the world's largest cruise company, operating multiple cruise lines that cater to various travel preferences across ages and budgets. Carnival owns and operates Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, P&O Cruises, Cunard, Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises, and Seabourn.
Carnival demonstrated a remarkable recovery since the pandemic-induced shutdowns, but it has still faced challenges related to its substantial debt burden acquired during that era. And, of course, there are now growing concerns that macro developments could turn and consumer spending might falter, affecting businesses like Carnival's.
The good news is that the company has consistently reported occupancy rates above pre-pandemic levels, reaching 104% as of the end of Q2 2025. Carnival had a strong second quarter overall as well, reporting record revenues of $6.3 billion, and it exceeded its own guidance by more than tripling adjusted net income. Customer deposits also hit an all-time high of $8.5 billion. Bookings for 2025 are at an all-time high in both pricing and occupancy, and early bookings for 2026 are even showing similar strength.
As a whole, the cruise industry is attracting younger travelers and first-time cruisers, which is proving to be the tide that lifts all boats. Last year, Carnival's revenue reached an unprecedented $25 billion in fiscal year 2024, a 15% increase year over year. The company also achieved its first annual profit since the pandemic in 2024, reporting a $1.9 billion profit driven by increasing operating income and expanding margins.
Carnival has been actively reducing its substantial debt load, which increased significantly during the pandemic's height. For example, in May of this year the company refinanced $993 million of 7.625% senior unsecured notes due in 2026. The new notes are priced at 5.875% maturing in 2031, which is expected to save over $20 million in annual interest expenses through 2026.
With the stock trading up nearly 100% over the last year alone, it seems that many investors are growing bullish about the company. If you have the risk tolerance to put cash into the cyclical cruise industry, Carnival is looking like an increasingly attractive buy in this space.
