5 Stocks to Buy and Hold Forever

 

In a world where markets move at lightning speed and trends shift faster than ever, finding high-quality businesses to buy and hold for the long term can feel almost impossible.

But as a long-term investor, that challenge is exactly where the opportunity lies. I focus on finding companies with durable competitive advantages, strong fundamentals, and consistent growth—businesses that can continue to perform and compound value over time.

In this article, we’ll explore five stocks to buy and hold forever in 2026. These aren’t your average companies. They are businesses with powerful economic moats, exceptional long-term potential, and in some cases, dominance so strong that competition is minimal. These are the kinds of companies that can ride out market cycles and continue growing year after year.

If you’re building a portfolio for the next 10, 20, or 30 years, these are stocks that deserve serious consideration..

1. Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN)

When most people think of Amazon, they picture online shopping—but its power goes way beyond that. Amazon is the largest online retailer in the world, with millions of products, fast delivery through Prime, and a user experience that keeps customers coming back. Sellers also rely on Amazon to reach buyers, creating a strong network effect that’s tough for competitors to break.

What many people don’t realize is that Amazon is also the largest cloud computing provider globally through Amazon Web Services (AWS), followed by Microsoft Azure.  AWS powers businesses everywhere with cloud infrastructure, AI tools, and data services, and it’s one of Amazon’s most profitable segments.

The company also makes money from advertising, subscriptions like Prime, and its own devices like Kindle and Echo, making its business model highly diversified and resilient. This mix of revenue streams helps Amazon weather market ups and downs while continuing to grow.

Looking ahead, the growth story isn’t slowing down. E-commerce still has room to expand globally, cloud demand keeps rising, and new tech like AI opens more opportunities for AWS. With its scale, innovation, and strong competitive advantages. Amazon is well positioned to keep compounding value for years, making it a solid pick for a "buy and hold forever" portfolio.

2. Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) (NYSE: BRK.B)

Next on the list is Berkshire Hathaway, the legendary holding company once led by Warren Buffett. Think of it as owning a collection of amazing businesses all under one roof—insurance companies like GEICO, railroads, utilities, and even major stakes in giants like Apple. 

Berkshire’s business model is simple but powerful. It owns operating businesses that generate reliable cash flow, especially in insurance, which provides a huge “float” of money it can invest before claims need to be paid. It also holds long-term investments in public companies, collecting dividends and benefiting from growth over time. This combination of owning both fully operational businesses and equity stakes allows Berkshire to earn money in multiple ways while reducing reliance on any single source of revenue.

What makes Berkshire even more attractive is its disciplined approach to capital allocation. Buffett built a system that focuses on companies with strong competitive advantages, excellent cash flow, and trustworthy management—and he held onto them for decades. Now, even with Buffett retired, his successors, including Greg Abel and Ajit Jain, continue the same long-term, patient approach.

Over the past 30 years, Berkshire Hathaway’s total returns have significantly outpaced the S&P 500. Between March 1996 and March 2026, a hypothetical investment in Berkshire Hathaway grew by about 2,123 %, while the same investment in the S&P 500 nearly 959 % — meaning Berkshire roughly more than doubled the index’s growth over that period.

For anyone building a portfolio to hold for the long term, Berkshire Hathaway is a textbook example of a “buy and hold forever” stock.

3. S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI) 

S&P Global is essentially the backbone of global finance. Its core business revolves around providing credit ratings, market intelligence, and analytics that investors, banks, and governments rely on to make billions of dollars in decisions every day.

This isn’t just a U.S.-based company—they operate globally. In fact, S&P Global has become the standard language of trust in finance. Whenever a company wants to issue debt, they turn to S&P Global for a rating. This rating signals to investors that the company is likely to repay its debt. Without it, investors may demand higher interest rates to compensate for the risk, which makes borrowing more expensive. In other words, companies essentially come to S&P Global because it saves them money and builds credibility in the market.

I consider S&P Global a natural monopoly. They didn’t have to force their product onto the market—companies actively seek them out. Every company wants a strong rating to lower borrowing costs and, in some cases, to be included in prestigious indices like the S&P 500. The company holds this position because of the trust and authority it has built over decades.

S&P Global doesn’t just earn from credit ratings. They also make substantial revenue from indices like the S&P 500. An index is essentially a list of companies representing a segment of the stock market. Other firms—mutual funds, ETFs, and pension funds—pay S&P Global to track these indices. This creates a steady, recurring revenue stream that is both highly profitable and difficult for competitors to replicate.

For anyone serious about investing, S&P Global is a company worth paying attention to. Its business model, global influence, and durable moat make it a strong company in the financial space.

4. ASML Holding NV (NASDAQ: ASML)

When people talk about the backbone of the semiconductor industry, they’re really talking about ASML Holding—even if they don’t realize it. ASML doesn’t make chips like NVIDIA or Intel. Instead, it builds the machines that make those chips. Its core product is lithography systems—extremely complex machines that use light to etch tiny circuits onto silicon wafers. And here’s the key: for the most advanced chips in the world, ASML is the only company capable of producing EUV (extreme ultraviolet) lithography machines. Without ASML, cutting-edge chips simply wouldn’t exist.

What makes this business model so powerful is how deeply embedded ASML is in the entire semiconductor ecosystem. Chipmakers don’t just buy one machine and walk away—they rely on ASML for ongoing servicing, upgrades, and next-generation technology. Each EUV machine can cost over $150 million, and once a customer commits, they’re locked into ASML’s ecosystem for years. 

The moat here is almost unreal. ASML’s technology took decades to develop and required collaboration with suppliers and partners across the globe. The level of precision involved—working at the atomic scale—is so advanced that no competitor has been able to catch up. On top of that, the company is protected by a dense web of patents, specialized suppliers, and geopolitical importance. Governments and leading chipmakers like TSMC and Samsung Electronics are heavily dependent on ASML, which only strengthens its position over time.

Looking ahead, the growth story is still very much intact. As the world becomes more digital—AI, cloud computing, autonomous vehicles, and advanced smartphones—the demand for smaller, faster, and more efficient chips keeps rising. And every step forward in chip technology requires more advanced lithography, which plays directly into ASML’s hands. Financially, this shows up in strong free cash flow, driven by high margins and disciplined spending. 

The combination of pricing power, recurring revenue, and long-term demand makes ASML one of those rare businesses you can realistically buy and hold for decades without losing sleep.

5. Visa Inc (NYSE: V)

When you think about how money moves around the world, chances are Visa Inc. is quietly involved somewhere in the process. But here’s what many people don’t realize—Visa doesn’t actually issue credit cards or lend money. Instead, it runs the network that connects banks, merchants, and customers. Every time you tap your card, pay online, or use your phone to buy something, Visa is quietly processing that transaction in seconds. It’s like a toll road for payments—Visa doesn’t own the cars, but it gets paid every time someone drives through.

This business model is incredibly simple but powerful. Visa earns a small fee on every transaction that goes through its network. And because billions of transactions happen every day around the world, those small fees add up very quickly. The beauty is that Visa doesn’t take on credit risk—if someone doesn’t pay their credit card bill, that’s the bank’s problem, not Visa’s. This means the company can grow as spending grows, without worrying too much about losses from bad debt.

The moat here comes from scale and trust. Visa has spent decades building relationships with banks, businesses, and governments across the world. Today, it has one of the largest payment networks globally, and it’s extremely hard for a new competitor to replicate that. People trust Visa, merchants accept Visa, and banks partner with Visa—it’s a system that reinforces itself. On top of that, switching costs are high. Once a bank or business is integrated into Visa’s network, there’s very little reason to leave.

As the world slowly moves away from cash, Visa is in a great position to benefit. Every shift toward card payments, online shopping, or international spending naturally flows through its network. What makes this even better is how efficient the business is—Visa doesn’t need to spend heavily to grow, so a large portion of its revenue turns into free cash flow. It’s a simple but powerful setup: as people spend more, Visa earns more, without needing to take on much risk.

Closing Thoughts

At the end of the day, these are the kinds of businesses that quietly grow stronger over time, no matter what the market is doing. If you’re thinking long term, owning great companies and simply staying patient is often the smartest strategy of all.