We recently compiled a list of 10 Safe Stocks To Invest In For The Long Term in 2024. In this article, we will look at where Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) ranks among 10 Safe Stocks To Invest In For The Long Term in 2024.

The Sectors with Promising Growth

The recent market action can be attributed to the Fed’s decision. To discuss the future of the equity market, Drew Pettit, Citi US equity strategist, appeared in an interview on Yahoo Finance on September 26, 2024.

According to Pettit, the market is yet to hit an all-time high if you look beneath the surface. He suggests that the Fed’s decision and if the potential softness in the labor data comes through, investors may regain confidence positioning the market for recovery. He adds that in the past quarter, cyclical and secular stocks have been performing well, but are yet to hit the market peak.

Speaking of growth sectors, some sectors have outperformed others, growing exponentially. Pettit adds that stocks with mature business models have yielded greater returns from minuscule upsides in sales. As for the tech sector, he believes that stocks will remain resilient and will be able to handle some deceleration. He advises investors to remain cautious of tech stocks moving forward and focus on overlooked areas of the market such as consumer goods, financials, and cyclicals.

Investors Must Focus More on Fundamentals

The market saw a great run-up after the easing cycle. However, the question of a soft landing still stands. On September 30, Liz Young Thomas, SoFi head of investment strategy, appeared in an interview on CNBC to discuss the latest market trends and opportunities for investors.

Thomas believes that the maximum gains have already been achieved up until the easing cycle, however, growth may continue till the end of 2024. She stresses that the next 30 to 60 days are extremely crucial for the market and will help investors understand the motive behind the rate cuts, and whether the cuts were needed in the first place.

While growth in the tech sector has been slowing down, other sectors have reportedly grown and more than 80% of the S&P 500 has been trading above the 200-day moving average. She adds that the tech sector has started to strengthen and the optimism surrounding the Chinese economy may combine to yield positive results for the market.

Thomas reiterates that while multiples are rich, to ensure a soft landing, the market must move to trade based on fundamentals rather than on multiples. She explains that this simply means that multiples are unlikely to expand from here, but earnings may get more steady. Sectors such as industrials have been growing and expanding while financials have been slower. Thomas advises investors to focus on stocks that have strong fundamentals and steady earnings growth.

Our Methodology

To come up with the safest stocks to invest in for the long term in 2024 we consulted multiple reports and also screened for reliable growers using the Finviz stock screener. We compiled an initial list of 30 stocks. We then referred to the 10% year revenue growth rate for each of the stocks along with their history of dividend payouts. Companies with the highest growth rates and a history of dividend growth were included in the list. The 10 safe stocks to invest in for the long term in 2024 are in ascending order of their 10-year revenue growth rate.

Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

10 Year Revenue Growth: 10.94%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 279

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is one of the biggest technology companies in the world that develops productivity and business suite applications, cloud products, and personal computing products.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) reported revenue worth $64.7 billion in FQ4 2024, up by 15% year-over-year. During the same quarter, Microsoft Cloud had $36.8 billion in quarterly revenue, up by 21%. Its productivity/business processes and intelligent cloud segment, on the other hand, logged revenue worth $20.3 billion and $28.5 billion respectively.

The company is a leading investor in artificial intelligence technology. In July, Microsoft and Lumen Technologies partnered to enhance and modernize Lumen’s workloads to Microsoft Azure. Earlier in August, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) partnered with Palantir Technologies, a data software company, to deploy its suite of products in Microsoft Azure. Only last week, the company partnered with Rezolve AI to change the online retail landscape with AI-backed solutions.

The company’s partnerships do not end here. BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners, Microsoft, and MGX recently made a $100 billion deal to enhance the functioning of data centers and AI. The company is also expanding its footprint by establishing engineering development centers in Abu Dhabi, UAE. In addition to that, Microsoft invested a staggering EUR 4.3 billion to boost AI infrastructure and cloud usage in Italy.

Overall, Microsoft Corporation’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) financial strength coupled with its strategic partnerships in various industries make it one of the safest stocks to invest in for the long term. In the second quarter, 279 hedge funds held positions in Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and their stakes amounted to $89.07 billion. As of June 30, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust is the most dominant shareholder in the company and has a position worth $15.6 billion, according to the Insider Monkey database.

Fred Alger Management’s Alger Spectra Fund stated the following regarding Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:

“Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is a beneficiary of corporate America’s transformative digitization. The company operates through three segments: Productivity and Business Processes (Office, LinkedIn, and Dynamics), Intelligent Cloud (Server Products and Cloud Services, Azure, and Enterprise Services), and More Personal Computing (Windows, Devices, Gaming, and Search). During the quarter, shares contributed to performance after the company reported strong fiscal third quarter results, underscoring its leadership position in the cloud and highlighted its role as a primary facilitator and beneficiary of AI adoption. Company revenue growth, operating margin, and earnings growth surpassed consensus expectations. The utility scale Azure cloud business grew 31% in constant currency of which 7% was AI related versus 3% two quarters ago. Further, management noted most of the AI revenue continues to stem from inference rather than training indicating high quality AI applications by Microsoft’s clients. Management also indicated that the significant cost-cutting programs in corporate America are done, suggesting that the cost optimization headwinds previously impacting Azure’s growth are over. Separately, management provided color on their new AI-productivity tool, Copilot, noting that approximately 60% of Fortune 500 companies are already using Copilot, and that the quarter witnessed a 50% increase in Copilot assistance integration within Teams. We continue to believe that Microsoft has the potential to hold a leading position in AI, given its innovative approach and demonstrated high unit volume growth opportunity.”

Overall MSFT ranks 3rd on our list of safe stocks to invest in for the long term in 2024. While we acknowledge the potential of  MSFT as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than MSFT but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published on Insider Monkey.