Finding stocks that are great candidates to buy now and hold forever isn't easy. These need to be fairly stable companies, with several avenues to continue their growth path. Furthermore, they need to have market-beating growth opportunities, as owning stocks that underperform the market misses the whole point of investing in individual stocks.
Two that I think investors can buy in 2026 and hold forever are Alphabet (GOOG 1.52%) (GOOGL 1.43%) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM 4.44%). Each of these stocks has massive tailwinds blowing in its favor and is a vital part of the industries in which they operate. I think investors can confidently buy them now and hide them away in their portfolio, as they are slated to deliver market-beating returns for the foreseeable future.
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1. Alphabet
Alphabet is the parent company of businesses like Google, YouTube, Waymo, Android, and many others. While it has a wide reach, the largest part of its business operates on advertising revenue. This primarily comes via its Google Search engine, which has evolved to integrate generative AI summaries in each search result. This innovation will keep Google relevant for years to come, allowing it to maintain its cash cow.
Additionally, Alphabet is emerging as a generative AI leader. While it stumbled out of the gates, it has quickly caught up to become a leader, making it one of the more popular models available. While this isn't generating a ton of revenue right now, it has the potential to down the road.
NASDAQ: GOOGL
Key Data Points
One area where it could see a boost is in its cloud computing business. Google Cloud is one of the big three of cloud computing, and its popularity could rise as Gemini's status does. Similar to how Azure has grown quickly due to its tie-in with ChatGPT, Google Cloud could experience outsized growth thanks to Gemini.
Alphabet is in a great position to grow its core business and expand into artificial intelligence (AI) over the next few years. Alphabet has proven that it's a relevant force in any industry it operates in, and if it ever falls behind, it has the resources to catch up. This makes for a great company to invest in, and I think Alphabet can be a breakthrough position in any investor's portfolio.
2. Taiwan Semiconductor
There are several vital companies in the world, but I'd argue that Taiwan Semiconductor is among the most important. It produces the majority of the world's cutting-edge chips, and this position is relatively unchallenged, as there aren't many chip foundry businesses operating around the world due to the high cost to enter this field.
Additionally, Taiwan Semiconductor is also a fierce competitor, and it is consistently innovating to launch new chip technologies. Right now, Taiwan Semiconductor's next-generation 2-nanometer chip has just started production. This chip offers vast improvements in energy efficiency, consuming 25% to 30% less power than its previous 3nm chip when configured to run at the same speed.
It isn't stopping there, either. Taiwan Semiconductor has several more technologies launching over the next few years, and each will offer improvements over the others.
NYSE: TSM
Key Data Points
Without Taiwan Semiconductor's capabilities, tech wouldn't look the same as it does now. An investment in Taiwan Semiconductor is a bet that we're going to use more advanced chips in greater quantities in the future. That seems like a no-brainer to me, making Taiwan Semiconductor an excellent stock to buy now and hold forever.
However, there is one caveat with Taiwan Semiconductor: its location. Many investors are worried that China could invade Taiwan to bring it back under its control. While this would be bad for the stock, it would also be bad for the world. Military action like that could drag the U.S. and its allies into a conflict with China, which would tank the stock market in its entirety.
So if this happens, there would likely be few safe havens. As a result, I tend to downplay that risk, as there will be far wider implications if military action does occur. What's more, Taiwan Semiconductor is expanding geographically, building fabrication plants in such places as the U.S., Japan, and Germany.
I still think Taiwan Semiconductor is an excellent stock to buy now and hold forever, as there are far too many tailwinds blowing in its favor to miss out on this huge winner.
