3 Top Stocks to Buy for the Long Haul

So you're looking for some additions to your portfolio that you can aim to hold for many years. Bravo -- aiming to buy and hold great companies over many years is a terrific way to build wealth.

Here are three portfolio candidates presented for your consideration. Each has a strong track record of growth, plus plenty of potential for further growth. If any intrigue you, dig into them further.

1. Microsoft

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) needs little introduction. It's a massive technology powerhouse -- its recent market value was $2.8 trillion -- with a wide variety of operations. In its first quarter of its fiscal 2024, it collected $24.3 billion from its "Intelligent Cloud" segment, which features the widely used Azure cloud computing platform -- with revenue growing by 19% year over year.

Its "Productivity and Business Process" division includes what might be Microsoft's most well-known offering: its Microsoft 365 suite of productivity software (think Word, Excel, Outlook, etc.). This segment grew by 13% to $18.6 billion. There's much more to Microsoft, too, such as its devices, Xbox, and LinkedIn operations -- not to mention its recently acquired Activision Blizzard business.

The company's future is promising, too, with Microsoft already active in artificial intelligence, offering its Microsoft Copilot service, and some suggest that it might add anywhere from $25 billion to $100 billion in revenue within a few years.

2. Intuitive Surgical

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) is a giant (recent market value: $119 billion) in robotic-assisted surgery. More than 8,200 of its da Vinci systems are installed in 70-plus countries, on which more than 13 million procedures have been performed -- 1.8 million in 2022 alone.

Intuitive's business model is quite attractive. The price tag for each of its da Vinci systems is quite high -- generally more than $1 million or much more -- meaning that it doesn't sell lots of them per day. But it makes a lot of its income via accessories, supplies, and servicing of those systems. Indeed, 79% of its revenue is from such offerings, and that's recurring revenue, the best kind!

Intuitive's third quarter featured procedures growing by 19% year over year, and the installed base of da Vinci systems growing by 13%. Revenue rose by 12%, with net income up 28%. It's reasonable to expect Intuitive Surgical to keep growing at a decent clip for the foreseeable future -- due to new kinds of procedures that will be able to be performed with its system over time, and new systems being introduced.

3. Invesco Nasdaq 100 ETF

The Invesco Nasdaq 100 ETF (NASDAQ:QQQM) isn't a stock -- it's an exchange-traded fund (ETF). ETFs are stock-like funds that typically encompass many holdings of various kinds. The Invesco Nasdaq 100 ETF is an index fund that is based on the Nasdaq 100 Index and describes itself like this:

The Fund will invest at least 90% of its total assets in the securities that comprise the Index. The Index includes securities of 100 of the largest domestic and international nonfinancial companies listed on Nasdaq. The Fund and Index are rebalanced quarterly and reconstituted annually.

The beauty of this ETF is that with just one investment you'll immediately be invested in 100 of the biggest non-financial companies on the Nasdaq stock exchange -- names such as Apple, Microsoft, Amazon.com, Facebook parent Meta Platforms, Tesla, Nvidia, Google parent Alphabet, and Costco Wholesale. If you expect such companies to grow over the coming years and/or decades, this ETF is worth considering.

These three investment ideas look quite solid and are probably ones you can buy and hold for many years, being well-rewarded over that period. But no business is 100% bullet-proof, so if you buy, plan to check in on their progress regularly to make sure they're remaining healthy and promising.

And always remember: If the idea of studying and investing in individual stocks seems too daunting, you can always do very well just by sticking with broad, low-fee index funds that track the S&P 500.

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Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Selena Maranjian has positions in Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Costco Wholesale, Intuitive Surgical, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Costco Wholesale, Intuitive Surgical, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.