5 Stocks To Hold For The Next 20 Years

With so much economic uncertainty, investors are seeking safe long-term investments. Although finances are rocky today, you still need to save for your retirement.

Established businesses went bankrupt in 2020 in the aftermath of the novel coronavirus pandemic, leaving many shareholders empty handed. So, what’s a safe investment – what are stocks to hold for the next 20 years to secure your financial security?

That’s the question we’ll answer in this guide. It explores five top-performing stocks with a positive outlook for the next two decades.

While nobody can see the future, analyzing historical performance, current assets held, and the company’s road map for the future provides a glimpse into which investments will still be healthy in two decades. Here’s what you need to know.

Apple Is A Cash Generating Machine

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) needs no introduction. The company has been focused on creating a safe, enclosed hardware and software ecosystem since the dawn of the personal computer, and it led the way toward the connected mobile world we live in today.

Although Apple’s retail stores took a revenue hit in the midst of the COVID-19 quarantines, the company successfully pivoted to a work-from-home environment, allowing its employees to avoid the office until 2021. Since Tim Cook took the reigns of CEO from Steve Jobs in 2011, the value rose nearly 700%.

In fact, Apple came out the other end of the pandemic as the only American company with a $2 trillion market cap. Since going public in 1980, the stock split five times, with the most recent being a 4-for-1 split on August 28, 2020.

This sent the stock skyrocketing, pleasing investors and showing just how powerful this legendary company has become in 40 years. It also provided an opportunity for more retail investors to become shareholders and join on the profits.

If you bought one $22 share of Apple during its IPO, you would now own 224 shares after all five splits (four at 2-for-1, one at 7-for-1, and one at 4-for-1).

With a value hitting over $130 by September 2020, you would have $29,120 worth of Apple stock, not including Apple’s steady quarterly dividend payment history. That all happened in the past 40 years, leaving investors feeling optimistic about the next 20, even if the gains are a little slower.

Long-Term, Berkshire Has Crushed The S&P 500 

Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A) is the holding company of famed investor Warren Buffett, also known as the Oracle of Omaha. The example of Apple gains above is relevant also to Berkshire Hathaway, which owned $91.3 billion worth of Apple stock before the most recent split.

AAPL represents 43% of Berkshire’s extensive portfolio, which is mostly focused on the financial sectors, like banks and insurance.

After the split, it owns approximately 981 million shares, worth over $130 billion. And that’s just one of Berkshire’s assets – in fact, it even made $800 million cash by selling off some of its Apple position at the onset of the pandemic.

Aside from its wholly owned insurance subsidiaries, Berkshire Hathaway also is also a majority shareholder of an electric company, RV dealer, clothing brands, construction products, aviation, retail, media, and more. It even owns shares in heavy hitters like Amazon and Bank of America, giving it a large cache of cash, which it uses to buy whatever companies it needs.

Berkshire Hathaway went public in 1962, but Buffett took control in 1965 and transformed it into what it is today. If you invested $100 in Berkshire Hathaway stock in 1965, you would have over $2.6 million worth of stock today.

Even if you bought in at $100,000 per share at the start of 2010, you would have more than tripled your investment at September’s price of over $330,000, although you wouldn’t have a dividend. The only wild card is what happens when 90-year-old Buffett passes away at some point over the next 20 years.

Alphabet Is Much More Than A Search Engine

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Google are often used interchangeably. While Google is a subsidiary of Alphabet, it’s separate from other subsidiaries, including Waymo, DeepMind, and Verily.

Of course, the umbrella company still ensures all companies work together to create a powerful conglomerate. Google generates most its revenue from advertising, and this advertising occurs across all of its platforms, including YouTube, Google Maps, and Google Search.

Data collection used for these purposes is also harvested from places like Nest, Android, Chromebooks, and Chrome/Chromium-based web browsers.

If you’re unclear the power of Alphabet, Google and YouTube are the top two most visited sites on the entire worldwide internet. Google controls over 90% of all online search traffic, and life has generally been that way for the past 20 years.

While many businesses (Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Yahoo, etc.) try to compete, the fact is Google is a foundational part of the web.

Buying Google’s IPO in January 2004 gave you one share at $85, which soon split into one each of Class A and Class C shares, each of which is worth over $1700 in September 2020. In lieu of dividends, the company regularly performs stock buybacks to distribute profits to investors.

Clorox Has Products That Never Go Out Of Fashion

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) is more than just bleach, although need for the companies line of disinfectants rose in the aftermath of the COVID-19 outbreak. This sent shares skyrocketing, as the revenues also allowed the company to continue its dividend payment streak.

It outperformed the stock market on the back of this alone, but it has plenty of other household brands. Clorox also owns Pine-Sol, Tilex, KC Masterpiece, Kingsford charcoal, Glad trash bags, and more.

This focus on household essentials has kept Clorox on top of the business world since its public IPO in 1928, making it one of the oldest stocks still on the market. Investors have a healthy outlook on Clorox continuing its long-lasting legacy.

Walmart Has An Unrivaled Retail Footprint

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) has proven itself to be a powerhouse in retail, using a slick strategy of buying real estate around its stores. This means every store in the plaza is paying the company rent, giving it a wide brick-and-mortar footprint that helped it compete against e-commerce giants like Amazon.

In fact, Amazon went head-on with Costco, grocery stores, and other essential businesses during the COVID-19 crisis. Its Flipkart subsidiary, along with partnerships with Instacart and other delivery services, keeps Walmart in the game in a world with on-demand delivery.

If you bought one share of WMT during its October 1, 1970 IPO, it was worth $16.50. Since then, the company had eleven 2-for-1 splits, which would give you 2,048 shares worth over $300,000 in September 2020.

The company also increased its cash dividend every year since March 1974 and is paying $0.54 in 2020, leaving a positive 20-year outlook.

Stocks To Hold For The Next 20 Years: Bottom Line

Not every investment is worthwhile. Some businesses fail, a lesson learned the hard way during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.

Others thrive, however, and can provide long-term gains for those willing to hold them. Even if a stock seems like it’s expensive today and may never go up, history shows that successful, sustainable businesses continue to grow.

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The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Financhill has a disclosure policy. This post may contain affiliate links or links from our sponsors.