Caterpillar (CAT 1.00%) and Okta (OKTA 2.35%) are two of the best stocks to buy and hold onto for the next decade. They benefit as surprising artificial intelligence (AI) pick-and-shovel plays, but their other non-AI-oriented businesses provide enough diversity to stabilize them.
Neither of these stocks is cheap, because the smart money has already seen their potential. However, there is still an opportunity to buy into these companies before the AI cash comes pouring in.
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Caterpillar has a one-two AI punch
Caterpillar benefits from AI growth in two ways. Its construction equipment is needed to build data centers. Meanwhile, the company's Power & Energy segment is soaring, as it helps data centers meet their redundant power needs by supplying turbines and large reciprocating engines.
The company, in its 100th year in 2025, reported a record $67.6 billion in revenue, up 4%, thanks mainly to growing equipment sales. The company operates in three segments, but its Power & Energy segment, which includes natural gas generators and battery storage, saw fourth-quarter sales of $9.4 billion, up 23%, year over year.
The one downside was that full-year profit per share fell by 14.6% to $18.81, mainly due to higher incremental costs, including those from tariffs.
This year appears promising as Caterpillar reported a record backlog of $51.2 billion in the fourth quarter. On Jan. 28, it announced a deal with the American Intelligence and Power to provide 2 gigawatts of power to AIP's Monarch Compute Campus in West Virginia by 2027, by supplying natural gas generators and battery storage.
NYSE: CAT
Key Data Points
Another key growth area for Caterpillar is autonomous vehicles, particularly self-driving trucks. These vehicles work well in dangerous environments, such as mines. Caterpillar also makes autonomous excavators, dozers, and loaders to help construction companies cope with a lack of skilled workers.
The company's stock is up about 119% over the past year and more than 35% so far this year. It is trading at around 41 times earnings and around 34 times forward earnings. While that seems high for an old-school industrial stock, it's a bargain for a company with so much AI exposure.
There's also the matter of its dividend, which Caterpillar has raised for 32 consecutive years, including a 7% bump in 2025 to $1.51 per quarterly share.
Okta stock won't stay down for long
Okta is a leader in cybersecurity, providing zero-trust identity and access management, ensuring that users are regularly verified to gain access to data and software applications.
NASDAQ: OKTA
Key Data Points
Okta's stock is down 9.4% over the past year. The main reason for that is Okta's revenue growth has slowed. It also faces increased competition in access management from Microsoft and CrowdStrike.
Okta's finances remain strong, though. It has forecast 2026 revenue of around $2.9 billion, a 11% increase, and earnings per share (EPS) of $3.43 to $3.44, compared to $2.81 in 2025.
While some see AI as the death of software, that case is overstated. What's not overemphasized is that Okta is becoming a leader in providing security for AI agents, enabling data transport between apps through its Identity Security Fabric.
The company got a black eye in 2023 after it had a support system breach. I think it has learned from that and is now using AI to fight AI-generated hacks. Its Identity Threat Protection uses AI to detect behavioral shifts to lock out bot-driven fraud.
