It’s common to get stuck on the latest headlines and fixate on what they mean for your portfolio. But regardless of what parts of the stock market rise and fall based on the latest news out of Washington or the Middle East, the reality is that a long-term approach to investing remains one of the most powerful ways for regular folks to provide for retirement.
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Consider data from the New York University Stern School of Business that show a median annual return of about 12% for the S&P 500 from 1928 to 2024. Yes, some years are worse than others, but if you hang on for the long haul, then you can often tap into significant growth regardless of short-term volatility.
The following list of long-term growth stocks shows the power of this strategy. All have significant outperformance under their belts already, as well as a position at the center of megatrends that make them likely winners over the decade to come:
| Stock | Market Value | Sector |
| Coinbase Global Inc. (ticker: COIN) | $85 billion | Financials |
| Hims & Hers Health Inc. (HIMS) | $10 billion | Consumer defensive |
| McKesson Corp. (MCK) | $90 billion | Health care |
| MercadoLibre Inc. (MELI) | $127 billion | Consumer discretionary |
| Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) | $3.6 trillion | Technology |
| Netflix Inc. (NFLX) | $543 billion | Communication services |
| Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) | $3.5 trillion | Technology |
| Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR) | $334 billion | Technology |
| Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC) | $16 billion | Health care |
Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN)
Market capitalization: $85.5 billion Sector: Financials
Coinbase is perhaps the most established and legitimate way to play the digital asset revolution. A publicly traded crypto exchange listed on the Nasdaq, COIN is one of the few major players in good standing with U.S. regulators and not just an offshore play on digital assets. It also continues to broaden its reach with business relationships, including Visa cards that pay rewards in crypto.
Continued operational improvements, including double-digit revenue growth projected this year, along with hopes for a more crypto-friendly environment in D.C. over the next four years, will help provide a strong tailwind for this leading crypto stock.
Hims & Hers Health Inc. (HIMS)
Market capitalization: $9.7 billion Sector: Consumer defensive
Hims & Hers is a unique mid-cap telehealth and nutritional supplements company that takes some of the embarrassment out of personal issues like hair loss and sexual performance through virtual visits and mail-order treatments. It offers a range of health and wellness services, including mental health visits and consultation on prescription medications as well as recurring fulfillment on those drugs.
HIMS also offers a host of over-the-counter products and cosmetics such as vitamin supplements and skincare to ensure its customers are doing their self care the right way. Analysts project this fast-growing business will add 35% top-line expansion this year and about 19% growth next year on top of that. With a great track record and strong forecasts, it’s no wonder shares are up about 100% in the last 12 months and about 330% in the last five years.
McKesson Corp. (MCK)
Market capitalization: $90 billion Sector: Health care
While other health care companies may spring to mind first, McKesson is a standout in the sector both for its specialty and its growth over the last several years. Its focus isn’t on researching the next obesity drug or operating hospitals directly, but rather on supporting other health care companies through products including supply chain management, technology and business solutions, and wholesaling of basic medical supplies.
Shares are up 377% in the last five years thanks to steady growth, and the company continues to project double-digit revenue expansion in 2025 on top of its prior success. Rather than horserace which branded drug will be the next blockbuster, MCK allows investors to play the long-term growth of health care spending in a simple and effective way.
[Read: 7 Best ETFs to Buy Now.]
MercadoLibre Inc. (MELI)
Market capitalization: $127 billion Sector: Consumer discretionary
Often called the Amazon.com of Latin America, fast-growing overseas retailer MercadoLibre remains highly rated and continues to offer a great long-term outlook as it comes into its own. MELI operates a consumer-focused internet marketplace that dominates the most populous and lucrative regions in the area, including thriving city centers in Brazil and Argentina.
Due to its rapid expansion, Wall Street is expecting phenomenal revenue growth of about 31% this fiscal year and another 24% or so in fiscal 2026. The stock has risen an impressive 59% in the last 12 months and 163% in the last five years to show that this consumer-focused stock can provide long-term outperformance as it taps into the future growth of Latin America.
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)
Market capitalization: $3.6 trillion Sector: Technology
Up about 148% in the last five years compared with just 100% for the S&P 500, Microsoft shows that you can be a trillion-dollar tech stock and keep getting bigger. MSFT has organically grown its Azure cloud business, but is also expanding via acquisition as evidenced by a nearly $70 billion deal approved in 2023 to acquire game studio Activision Blizzard.
Already a major player in productivity software and cloud services, the firm is also looking to the future of the workplace by partnering with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI in 2019. With current dominance and a lot of ambitious efforts in the pipeline, Microsoft is a Big Tech stock with a big-time growth outlook.
Netflix Inc. (NFLX)
Market capitalization: $543 billion Sector: Communication services
While it has been overshadowed a bit by other tech stocks after the hype around AI and the influx of streaming competitors, a closer look at the performance of Netflix shows this isn’t just a first-mover that has run out of headroom. As proof, the company added 41 million new customers last year to top 300 million total subscribers at the end of 2024.
The stock is up about 90% in the last 12 months despite stiff competition from other services, and analysts predict 14% revenue growth this fiscal year and 12% next year. What’s more, its profitability continues to be best-in-class even as other platforms spend heavily to take market share without generating the same bottom-line impact.
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA)
Market capitalization: $3.5 trillion Sector: Technology
Nvidia is the go-to name for many investors in the race for AI, but its long-term growth outlook depends on more than just this emerging technology. NVDA hardware has long been the gold standard for digital graphics processing, and it remains the leader in categories from cryptocurrency mining to quantum computing to autonomous driving hardware.
Though shares have cooled off over the last year or so, NVDA is one of the most dramatic growth stories of the past five years, with a roughly 1,500% return. And with sales expected to grow by 53% this year, it’s clear that the growth trend powering this chipmaker is far from over.
Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR)
Market capitalization: $334 billion Sector: Technology
Palantir is up 487% in the last 12 months and more than 1,300% over the last five years to rank among the very best S&P 500 performers out there. There’s good reason for that, too, as the data analytics and artificial intelligence platform is plotting 36% revenue growth this year and another 29% in next year on long-term growth prospects. A long-term partner of the U.S. Department of Defense, PLTR has proven to be much more than a flash in the pan based on profit and sales trends.
There’s volatility in this red hot stock, which leads in trading volume and is among the most closely followed companies on social media platforms, but the long-term growth story of Palantir is one that’s hard to argue against.
Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC)
Market capitalization: $16 billion Sector: Health care
Operating 535 ambulatory surgery centers and surgical hospitals, 49 hospitals, and about 160 additional outpatient centers in the U.S., Tenet is a critical part of American health care infrastructure. And unlike some other facility operators, the stock has figured out how to make the economics work at scale.
Shares are up about 35% this year in an otherwise challenging year for Wall Street, and have surged about 853% in the last five years. That’s thanks to continued acquisitions like the $1 billion buyout of 45 SurgCenter Development care facilities a few years back as well as the continued upward march of health care spending. There are few certainties in life, but the chance of big medical bills seems to be one of them — and THC is uniquely positioned to tap into this long-term megatrend.
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Update 06/24/25: This story was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
