10 Best Stocks for the Next Decade

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A decade might as well be an eternity for the equity markets, but that shouldn’t stop investors from trying to identify the 10 best stocks to hold onto for the long haul. Of course, there are countless variables that can influence a stock, a sector, and the economy at large over such an extended period, and that makes trying to identify the 10 best stocks from the thousands that trade each day a daunting task.

Still, it pays to take the cover off the crystal ball from time to time and try to prognosticate as to which companies will give investors the best chance of a long-term profit.

Investors should start with the famous Shakespearean line, “What’s past is prologue,” meaning the companies that performed well over the past decade are ones to watch in the next decade. Of course, past performance is no guarantee of future results, and those that made the 10 best stocks list last decade might not come close to making the list for the coming decade.

Equally important is identifying a company’s ability to adapt to changing market conditions. The mark of any “best stock” is a company’s acumen when it comes to creating new products and/or keeping revenue and profit streaming in regardless of economic conditions. That’s what the following stocks, listed in alphabetical order below, have done over the past several decades, and that’s what each should continue doing over the next decade.

Best Stock – Amazon.com

The company that essentially started the online retail revolution, Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN), is a true American success story. Founder, Chairman and CEO Jeff Bezos is a bona fide business genius, and his vision has almost singlehandedly changed the way we buy everything from books to clothing. The stock was one of the darlings of the 1990s, and again in the 2000s. As we keep buying more and more products online over the next decade, look for AMZN shares to continue to deliver stellar returns.

Best Stock – Apple

The iconic personal technology firm, co-founded by the inimitable Steve Jobs, has been one of the greatest stories in corporate history. Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) products have changed the way we live our lives, from computing with the Mac and the iPad, to communicating via the iPhone, to listening to music with our iPods and buying music via iTunes, the Apple revolution has had a profound effect on society. Steve Jobs may be gone, but his spirit lives on in Apple products.

See also: The Worst Stocks to Own Now

Best Stocks – AT&T

Talk about an iconic company that’s been around for decades, AT&T (NYSE:T) is a stalwart with a storied corporate history that continues providing telecom services to new generation of customers around the world. The latest high-profit area for AT&T is cellular phone service, but who knows where the possible revenue streams will come from over the next 10 years. One thing for sure is that wherever there’s money to be made in telecom services, AT&T has the fiscal might and management acumen to adapt and overcome to virtually any challenge the future may pose.

Best Stock – Caterpillar

A growing global economy requires equally huge construction projects to reshape the landscape for human use. Those projects involve big, heavy-duty construction equipment of the type made by Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT). The iconic brand can be found in nearly every corner of the globe, and with big infrastructure projects in emerging markets such as China, India, Brazil and Russia over the next decade, you can bet that Caterpillar will have a serious revenue pipeline coming in to support its shares.

Best Stock – Coca-Cola

No brand is more ubiquitous around the world than Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO). The beverage giant can be found even in the far reaches of the third world, and as third-world nations become second-world nations, and as second-world nations grow their way into first-world status, we are liable to see the already mammoth Coca-Cola brand become exponentially bigger. KO shares have been huge winners over the past decade; however, the fizz is by no means over.

Best Stock – Exxon Mobil

Oil is the lifeblood of the global beast, and providing that oil to a thirsty world is Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM). This is one of the most profitable companies in history, and that’s because Exxon has managed to keep the cost of finding, extracting and refining oil into usable petroleum products well below the price at which it can sell those products. Global demand from burgeoning emerging markets will be the key to Exxon Mobil’s growth over the next 10 years.

Best Stock – Goldman Sachs

The quintessential Wall Street investment bank, trading house, and all-around money making giant, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) has become the darling of Wall Street. The company also has become the fulcrum in the nexus of Washington and Wall Street. Top executives from Goldman manage to find their way into positions of power at the top levels of government, and this has helped the firm secure some of the best treatment any financial firm has ever enjoyed from the feds. Moreover, this relationship isn’t likely to get any weaker over the next decade. More importantly, Goldman will surely continue raking in huge revenue from its investment banking and trading operations around the world, and that means we should see a repeat performance of the big gains the stock enjoyed over the past 10 years.

Best Stock – IBM

Once known for the typewriter, IBM (NYSE:IBM) has transformed itself into one of the most sophisticated information technology companies in the world. Big Blue’s memory technologies, such as the latest phase-change memory systems, are revolutionizing the data storage market. As the world generates more data at a breakneck pace, a company like IBM is essential to making sure that data is processed and stored. The migration to “the cloud” over the next decade will be one key to IBM’s success, and that success will continue driving the shares into 10-best-stock status.

Best Stock – Johnson & Johnson

More people in America are approaching those golden years, and this massive demographic shift by the Baby Boom generation means more demand for healthcare products like the kind made by Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ). The company’s diverse product lines — everything from oral care to pain relievers to prescription arthritis medications — means that whatever ails the world, Johnson & Johnson is likely to provide a remedy. More healthcare products consumed by a growing global population over the next decade, and that means JNJ shares could be just what the doctor ordered for maintaining a healthy investment portfolio.

Best Stock – McDonald’s

Big Mac, fries and a chocolate shake — is there anything more iconic than that combination in the world of fast food? This palatably profitable combination is the province of restaurant giant McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD), a company that’s made a mission out of providing fast food to more countries than any other restaurant chain in history. In fact, McDonald’s global growth has helped fuel the company’s profits over the past 10 years.

At the time of publication, Jim Woods held no positions in any of the stocks mentioned in this article.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2011/10/10-best-stocks-for-the-next-decade/.

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