I am turning 38 next month. No, the milestone doesn't find me staring at the mirror and swearing at my own aging mortality; I'm cool with the graying process. However, sadly, I have come to grips with the fact that my wife isn't going to throw me a birthday bash at the local Chuck E. Cheese's.
It's true. It's time I grow up. In fact, I probably have a good deal of catching up to do on that front. It wasn't until earlier this month that I thumbed through our Rule Your Retirement newsletter for the first time. Asset allocation models? Retirement planning strategies? Savings calculators? Robert Brokamp's newsletter covers a lot of the stuff that I know I should be boning up on -- as well as things I had no idea that I should be thinking about as the burning candles begin to pile up on the annual celebratory cake.
So I donned my thinking cap and challenged my inner stockpicker to come up with a handful of stocks that I would feel comfortable holding for the next 20 years. You should try it sometime. It forces you to think about which companies you think will still be around in a few decades, as well as their prospects for growth.
I settled on four stocks. It wasn't easy. I just put myself in a position that would make Rip Van Winkle's slumber seem like a mere catnap. If in a blink, 20 years should lap me by, which four companies would I like to own?
Wal-Mart
Google
Google didn't simply build a great search engine. It perfected the art of monetizing page views and has done so with inspiring margins. In its first three quarters as a public company, Google has blown past estimates. Three months ago, Google was trading at 50 times next year's profit estimates. So why has the stock risen by 20% in that time while trading now at just 39 times Wall Street's targets? Yes, those projections have had to be revised higher -- from $4.38 a share to $6.51 a stub. That may sound aggressive, but they have still fallen short of reality so far. While the market may eventually come to grasp Google's true earnings potential, I think it will outlive most of its naysayers.
Disney
Apple Computer
I can definitely see Wal-Mart, Google, Disney, and Apple slapping on their name tags at a 20-year reunion come 2025. While others may attend, these will be the ones with the fancy cars, the hot dates, and -- drats! -- the ones who got to spend their 38th birthday at Chuck E. Cheese's.
Wondering where to go next?
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Pixar is a recommendation of the Motley Fool Stock Advisor newsletter.
Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz has his own 20-year reunion to attend later this year. He owns shares in Disney and Pixar. The Fool has a disclosure policy. Rick is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early.