Forever is a very long time. There’s a good case to be made that you shouldn’t hold your stocks forever. You may want to sell some in retirement, for example, to supplement your Social Security income. Selling is the right thing to do when a stock has lost your confidence, too.
Still, there are some terrific companies with corresponding stocks that have been great performers in the past and that seem poised to keep rewarding shareholders well for a long time. Such companies might stay in your portfolio for many decades — and possibly even for the rest of your life. After all, if you don’t need to liquidate your whole portfolio before you die, you can leave some valuable shares for your loved ones.
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Here then are four solid candidates for your long-term portfolio.
1. Veeva Systems
Veeva Systems (NYSE: VEEV) is only about 15 years old, but it has grown into a software-as-a-service (SaaS) company with a recent market value near $36 billion. It describes itself as “a leading global provider of cloud-based software solutions for regulated industries such as consumer goods, chemical, cosmetics, and life sciences.” It helps companies make sense of the data they collect, offers customer relationship management services, and helps drug companies manage their many clinical trial processes — among other things.
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So how much of a growth stock is Veeva? Well, over the past decade, its stock has grown by 505%, as of the end of January. Annualized, that’s 24%, versus just 14% for the S&P 500. (That 14% is very respectable, too.) Its last quarter featured results that underwhelmed some investors, but those results included revenue rising 26% year over year, while earnings advanced 9% on a generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) basis and 26% on a non-GAAP basis. (Investors would do well to learn more about GAAP to help them better understand financial statements.)
2. MercadoLibre
MercadoLibre (NASDAQ: MELI) is often described as “the eBay of Latin America,” but there’s a lot more to know about it than that. For example, it also encompasses a digital payment system, Mercado Pago — somewhat similar to PayPal, which eBay spun off in 2015. Meanwhile, consider that Latin America is home to more than 635 million people — roughly double the size of the U.S. — which means there’s a lot of growth potential.
And MercadoLibre is growing briskly, with …….