What you do in the present makes a huge difference in how successful you will be in the future. This applies to a wide range of activities, including investing.
Do you want $1 million in retirement? Here are three stocks you can buy now and hold for decades.
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Amazon(NASDAQ: AMZN) CEO Andy Jassy often predicts what he thinks will happen to the cloud market in his company’s quarterly conference calls. Jassy will first note that at least 85% of global IT spending still happens on-premises and the rest in the cloud. He will then add that he thinks “that equation will reverse in ten years” (or words to that effect).
Interestingly, Jassy had a similar forecast in Amazon’s latest quarterly earnings call. This time, however, he talked about the global retail market. He said between 80% and 85% of retail still takes place in physical stores. However, Jassy believes that “that equation will change in the next ten to twenty years.”
If Jassy’s predictions are correct, Amazon has enormous growth ahead of it. The company’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) unit is the world’s largest cloud service provider and Amazon’s largest profit center. Of course, Amazon is the 800-pound gorilla of e-commerce.
Even if Jassy is overly optimistic, Amazon’s cloud and e-commerce businesses should be much bigger in the future. And we haven’t yet discussed the company’s other capabilities, including healthcare and robotaxis. Is Amazon a stock you can buy and hold for decades? I think so.
Metaplatforms(NASDAQ: META) reported one figure in the Q3 update that is simply staggering: 3.29 billion. That’s the number of people around the world who use Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and/or WhatsApp at least once a day. To put Meta’s number into context, the population of the entire Earth is approximately 8.2 billion.
The number of users on Meta’s social media platforms continues to grow (albeit slowly, which is understandable given the high market penetration). Meanwhile, the company is harnessing the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to spend more time on its apps and help advertisers reach potential customers more effectively. All this translates into impressive profits.
What does Meta do with the load of money it earns? A large part of this goes to investments in augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). CEO of Meta Platforms, Mark Zuckerberg, said in his company’s Q3 conference call: “We’re not far away from being able to deliver great-looking glasses that allow you to seamlessly merge the physical and digital worlds, so you can connect with everyone can feel present, wherever they are.” they are.” I fully expect AR/VR to be a major growth driver for Meta over the next decade and beyond.
Meta is also investing heavily in the development of AI, including artificial general intelligence (AGI). The Llama open-source large language model (LLM) enjoys wide acceptance. Zuckerberg thinks Llama could become the industry standard for generative AI. Meta should be a fun company to watch in the coming years – and a great stock for building retirement portfolios.
Do you think a company that can cure type 1 diabetes (T1D) could be a big winner in the not-too-distant future? If so, you may want to consider investing in it Vertex Pharmaceutica(NASDAQ: VRTX). This major biotech innovator has one potential curative therapy for T1D in pivotal clinical trials and another in phase 1/2 clinical trials.
Vertex already has an approved therapy that cures two rare blood disorders. Commercial launch of Casgevy, a gene-editing therapy that is a one-time treatment for sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia, is ramping up.
Meanwhile, the company enjoys a monopoly in the treatment of the underlying genetic cause of cystic fibrosis (CF). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plans to announce an approval decision for the triple combination of vanzacaftor for the treatment of CF by January 2, 2025. If approved, I believe the combination will become Vertex’s most successful CF therapy to date.
Do you want more? Vertex is also awaiting FDA approval of suzetrigine in January. This non-opioid offers a way to relieve acute pain without the risk of addiction. The biotech leader’s pipeline includes two other drugs that are in late-stage testing and have blockbuster potential: inaxaplin in the treatment of APOL1-mediated kidney disease and povetacicept in the treatment of immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN), a chronic kidney disease.
Vertex has proven its ability to develop successful therapies and then invest the profits in research and development and acquisitions that drive further growth. This rinse-and-repeat strategy should make this stock an ideal choice to buy now to build a $1 million pension in the future.
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*Stock Advisor returns November 25, 2024
John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister of Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Keith Speights holds positions at Amazon, Meta Platforms and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The Motley Fool holds positions in and recommends Amazon, Meta Platforms, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Do you want $1 million in retirement? 3 Stocks to Buy Now and Hold for Decades was originally published by The Motley Fool
