In this article, we will look at the Top 10 Stocks to Buy and Hold Forever.
People often say diamonds are forever, but in the world of investing, the right stocks can shine even brighter over time. That means markets rise and fall, but a select group of companies proves their worth year after year. That’s why identifying stocks you can hold for a very long time or forever remains the cornerstone of sound equity investing.
For a company to endure, it needs to have a durable moat, steady earnings power, and long-term growth drivers. Investment research firm Morningstar believes that the best long-term investment results come from owning undervalued companies with competitive advantages. Morningstar assesses a company’s moat or its long-term competitive advantage by using five factors: intangible assets, switching costs, network effects, cost advantage, and efficient scale.
Building on that framework, this article focuses on fundamentally strong companies that have competitive advantages, a sound returns performance track over 5-10 years (covering a few economic cycles), low debt, and shareholder returns through dividends or buybacks. These qualities make them well-positioned to create value and deliver growth even during periods of volatility, such as today’s uncertain market environment.
READ ALSO: 15 Best Data Center Stocks to Buy Now and 11 Deep Value Stocks to Buy According to Analysts.
That said, volatility remains top of mind for investors, and things don’t seem to be changing any time soon. Chris Hyzy, CIO of Merrill and Bank of America Private Bank, joined CNBC on August 22 to discuss the current market environment. Hyzy described the recent volatility in equities as a seasonal reset rather than a sign of weakness. With little fundamental news in late August, he said the market is taking a breather, and the pullback should be seen as a buying opportunity. Profit expectations remain resilient, with consensus earnings forecasts for this year and next continuing to move higher.
Hyzy pointed to earnings as the market’s main driver and noted that mega-cap tech, particularly companies linked to generative AI, is still leading, supported by rising hyperscaler capital spending. While valuations have stretched at times, he believes earnings momentum will keep these stocks at the forefront.
With that backdrop, let’s turn to the top 10 stocks to buy and hold forever.
Our Methodology
To create our list of the best stocks to buy and hold forever, we focused on U.S.-listed stocks with a market capitalization above $10 billion to filter out smaller and more volatile names. From the shortlisted universe, we narrowed the universe to stocks that delivered a 10-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in returns of at least 15–20%, have a debt-to-EBITDA ratio below 2, and paid a dividend, even if modest. We then screened for companies with durable competitive advantages, or “moats,” to ensure long-term resilience. From this refined pool, we identified the 10 stocks most widely held by hedge funds, using Q2 2025 data from Insider Monkey’s database, and ranked them by hedge fund ownership.
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 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
Note: All pricing data is as of market close on August 22, 2025.
Top 10 Stocks to Buy and Hold Forever
10. ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML)
Returns CAGR 10 Years: 25.5%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 78
ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) is one of the top stocks to buy and hold forever. The company enjoys an unrivalled competitive position due to its monopoly on EUV lithography technology, which is critical for advanced semiconductors. This unique position has also helped ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) to command one of the best operating margin profiles in the semiconductor equipment space, making it attractive to long-term investors.
Following its latest quarterly results on July 16, Wells Fargo analyst Joseph Quatrochi reiterated a Buy rating on ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) with an unchanged price target of $890. His view was supported by strong order momentum, particularly in non-EUV systems, and encouraging demand from China. For the rest of 2025, the company is expecting substantial revenue from China.
ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) had also raised its 2025 revenue outlook to roughly 15% year-over-year growth, broadly in line with consensus. However, the management refused to confirm revenue growth for 2026, citing macroeconomic uncertainty. This was against its earlier guidance of 2026 being a growth year, and market expectations of around 7% growth, which led to shares tanking around 8% on the results day.
Since Quatrochi’s update, the shares have largely moved sideways and now trade close to $754, the same level they settled at following that results day drop.
Despite the cautious guide, Quatrochi believed that while macro and geopolitical issues remain a risk for 2026, the company’s backlog and improving margins provided a buffer.
Later, on August 8 and 24, Goldman Sachs analyst Alexander Duval and Ruben Devos from Kepler Capital also reiterated their Buy ratings on ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML), reinforcing confidence in the company’s growth trajectory.
ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) is a Netherlands-based technology company that designs and manufactures advanced lithography systems. ASML is the world’s largest supplier of lithography equipment and remains the sole provider of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines, which are essential for producing leading-edge semiconductors at advanced process nodes (5nm and below).
9. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)
Returns CAGR 10 Years: 9.4%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 95
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) is one of the top stocks to buy and hold forever. Founded in 1887, the company has built a global brand and a portfolio of patent-protected drugs in oncology, immunology, neuroscience, and infectious diseases. Combined with its strong distribution network, these factors provide Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) with a durable competitive advantage and make it a solid name to hold for the long run.
On August 21, Citi analysts raised their price target on Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) from $185 to $200, while keeping a Buy rating. The adjustment came as part of the firm’s review of Q2 earnings across the medtech space. The analysts described the sector’s fundamentals as healthy and flagged Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), along with peers such as Edwards Lifesciences and Penumbra, as having potential positive catalysts ahead.
Around the same time, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) announced that it is expanding its U.S. manufacturing footprint with a new over 160,000 square foot facility at FUJIFILM’s biopharmaceutical site in Holly Springs, North Carolina. The company has committed $2 billion over the next decade to the project.
Chairman and CEO Joaquin Duato emphasized that the U.S. remains J&J’s largest base of operations. Earlier this year, the company also outlined a $55 billion investment plan over four years to support domestic manufacturing, R&D, and technology.
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) is a global healthcare company that engages in the research and development, manufacture, and sale of a wide range of healthcare products, including pharmaceuticals, medical technologies, and consumer health products.