You can find plenty of great investing advice. However, I think the best advice of all can be summed up in just two words: Think long-term. Granted, one of those words is hyphenated, so I could be accused of cheating a little.
One of the practical applications of thinking long-term is to buy and hold exceptional stocks with strong growth prospects. Here are three brilliant growth stocks to buy now and hold for the long term. (And, yes, "long term" is two words here with no hyphen. English is a quirky language.)
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1. Apple
Apple (AAPL 2.10%) is back. For a while, some viewed the giant iPhone maker as something of a has-been in generative AI. When Apple finally unveiled generative AI functionality, it didn't receive a resounding ovation.
However, the company continues to deliver robust sales growth. Services revenue reached an all-time high in the latest quarter, while overall revenue set a September quarterly record. Apple's adjusted diluted earnings per share jumped 13% year-over-year.
NASDAQ: AAPL
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I expect the good times to keep rolling. The company has a fiercely loyal customer base. As long as Apple continues to roll out new iPhone models, customers will continue to buy them (and the ever-expanding array of ancillary products and services that comprise the iPhone ecosystem).
Importantly, Apple's customer base also gives it a built-in market for any new devices it might launch in the future. For example, I believe the company could be the biggest winner in the fast-growing smart glasses market. When Apple debuts its first smart glasses product (which could be as soon as late 2026), I predict the device will become an overnight success.
2. MercadoLibre
It would be only half-correct to call MercadoLibre (MELI 6.77%) a big fish in a small pond. The company is definitely a big fish. MercadoLibre is one of the world's top e-commerce companies. It's also the biggest Latin American company. However, Latin America isn't a small pond. Its population tops 500 million, and the region has a GDP of over $5 trillion.
MercadoLibre has earned the nickname, the "Amazon (AMZN 1.40%) of Latin America." That's not a bad description. Like Amazon, MercadoLibre operates a popular e-commerce platform and offers logistics services. However, the comparison has some limitations. For example, MercadoLibre is more heavily focused on the fintech market than Amazon is.
NASDAQ: MELI
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Fintech presents a tremendous opportunity for the company. Although MercadoLibre has disrupted the banking market in Brazil, four traditional banks still account for roughly 59% of credit operations. Mexico is an especially promising market. Only 50% of the country's population has a bank account, and less than 20% own credit cards.
I still think that e-commerce will remain MercadoLibre's strongest growth driver over the long term, though. Management predicts the Latin American e-commerce market will more than double over the next few years.
3. Vertex Pharmaceuticals
Investing in biotech stocks can be a high-risk endeavor. However, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX 1.57%) isn't your run-of-the-mill biotech stock. The company commands a monopoly in treating the underlying cause of the rare genetic disease, cystic fibrosis (CF). Vertex expects to generate around $12 billion in sales this year, with the majority of this revenue stemming from its CF franchise.
Importantly, though, Vertex is expanding beyond CF. The company now has two non-CF products on the market. Casgevy is the first approved CRISPR gene editing therapy. It treats two rare blood disorders, sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia. Journavx is the first new type of pain medication approved in the U.S. in more than two decades. It has significant commercial potential as a safe and effective non-opioid pain therapy.
NASDAQ: VRTX
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However, these products don't make Vertex a brilliant growth stock to buy and hold for the long term by themselves. The company's research and development expertise does, though. I think Vertex's pipeline is especially promising.
The company has already begun a rolling regulatory submission for povetacicept in treating IgA nephropathy, a chronic kidney disease. Vertex is also evaluating povetacicept in a phase 3 clinical study targeting another kidney disease, primary membranous nephropathy. Additionally, it's conducting a late-stage study of inaxaplin in treating APOL1-mediated kidney disease. These three kidney indications targeted by povetacicept and inaxaplin affect more than six times the number of patients as CF.
