It's not always easy to hold onto a stock for the long haul, especially if it's volatile. This applies to companies from any sector, but tech stocks tend to experience more swings. When it's great, it's amazing. When it's bad, it's horrible.
Some tech companies are right for the moment, while others are built to be long-term industry staples. It's not always easy to determine the difference, but the following two companies check the box. If you have $5,000 available to invest, dividing it between them is worth considering.
Image source: Amazon.
1. Amazon
Although Amazon (AMZN 1.52%) became a household name through its e-commerce business, investing heavily in cloud computing is arguably the company's smartest move, second only to pivoting from being a pure bookseller.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the world's largest cloud platform and has become the backbone of the internet. If there's an issue with AWS, thousands of websites and apps simply can't work because they rely on AWS' servers and infrastructure. This is why Amazon is one of the most important tech companies in the world.
NASDAQ: AMZN
Key Data Points
Microsoft's Azure and Alphabet's Google Cloud have been picking up steam, but the overall cloud industry is growing to the point where AWS can sacrifice some of its market share and still grow impressively.
AWS aside, Amazon has continued to expand its business into various industries, including advertising, streaming, and healthcare. AWS will continue to be its biggest profit maker for the foreseeable future, but it's developing a nice suite of tech companies that are holding their own weight.
With Amazon, you know you have a lucrative retail business that can continue to fund its high-growth, higher-risk tech endeavors.
2. CrowdStrike
The cybersecurity industry isn't a fad. The world is only going to get more digitally connected, and that's going to require more and more cybersecurity protection. As this happens, you can bet CrowdStrike (CRWD 0.13%) will be growing alongside it.
CrowdStrike is a pioneer in artificial intelligence (AI) cybersecurity solutions and is widely regarded as one of the best companies in the industry. That's why it's the go-to for many of the world's top companies and 24% of its customers use at least eight of its security solutions.
NASDAQ: CRWD
Key Data Points
As one of the first AI-first cybersecurity companies, CrowdStrike has a major advantage: data. Over the years, it has collected trillions of data points it can use to strengthen its AI models and, in turn, its products. More data is the gift that keeps giving with time and use.
CrowdStrike's stock is expensive right now, trading at around 84.8 times its projected earnings over the next 12 months. For perspective, that's more than three times more expensive than Amazon's 27.6. However, that's not as big an issue for long-term investors.
CrowdStrike's stock isn't a stranger to volatility, but the trend since being on the market has been positive. As of Feb. 11, its stock is up around 540% since its June 2019 initial public offering (IPO).
