One of the coolest parts about investing is that there are a variety of ways to reach your goal. It doesn’t matter whether you prefer high-flying growth stocks or slow and steady dividend stocks; you can build wealth with almost any strategy. The most important thing is buying stocks representing high-quality companies. A quality business steadily grows and creates value for its shareholders, making you wealthy over time.
One stumbling block for this investing strategy is the propensity to overthink investing. Overthinking can sometimes cause investors to pass on proven winners to instead focus on riskier stocks that might be successful.
Here are three magnificent stocks that have made people rich and have the ingredients to do it for you as well.
1. Amazon
E-commerce and technology company Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) is the textbook example of a millionaire-making stock. Its shares have returned over 179,000% since its IPO in 1997. How? By dominating colossal market opportunities. Amazon started as an online bookstore in the earliest days of e-commerce. Today, Amazon sells virtually anything you could think of and controls almost 40% of online sales in the United States. However, Amazon didn’t stop there; its innovative culture led it to sell its IT infrastructure to the public as AWS, the world’s leading cloud platform today. Roughly 200 million households subscribe to Amazon’s monthly Prime membership, which it has used to build growing businesses in advertising and streaming entertainment content.
Amazon’s massive size gives it cost advantages against most competitors across its business models. Additionally, these various businesses have room to keep growing for the foreseeable future. For example, online shopping is still just 16% of total retail sales in America. Meanwhile, global cloud infrastructure spending is poised to grow by nearly 20% annually over the coming years on cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) demand.
Analysts believe the company’s earnings will increase by 27% annually over the long term, which means this multitrillion-dollar company should continue compounding wealth for those holding the stock.
2. Chipotle Mexican Grill
Successful companies are frequently boring; Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) sells burritos and rice bowls to hungry customers. Yet, the stock has appreciated over 6,000% since going public in 2006. Chipotle’s fresh and popular products have fueled steady store expansion for three decades. Today, the company owns and operates roughly 3,146 stores (primarily) in the United States and international markets like Canada and the United Kingdom. The company splits its profits between opening stores and repurchasing its stock to help boost earnings per share, ultimately helping drive its share price higher. Chipotle has reduced its share count by nearly 12% over the past decade.
The great thing about a business like this is that it’s predictable. Chipotle shouldn’t have any problems continuing its success as long as people still enjoy its food. More mature restaurant chains have thousands more stores, meaning Chipotle can continue opening stores for years. Its Tex-Mex cuisine is also popular worldwide, so international markets could play a more significant role in Chipotle’s growth as its footprint in the U.S. market matures. Analysts believe Chipotle can grow earnings by 22% annually moving forward, so there is still plenty of upside ahead for long-term investors.
3. Coca-Cola
Beverage giant Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) is a Warren Buffett favorite and bona fide wealth-building machine. Coca-Cola doesn’t grow fast, but the slow and steady winner has returned over 12,000% in total gains to investors since the early 1970s. The company sells dozens of brands of soda, water, juices, tea, and other beverages worldwide through grocery stores, vending machines, restaurants, and just about anywhere you might find a drink. Coca-Cola is highly profitable, so it shares its profits with investors via dividends. The company has paid and raised its dividend for 62 consecutive years. Want to get the most out of Coca-Cola stock? Buy, hold, and reinvest those dividends to buy more shares.
It’s a boring company, but you might regret passing on it. Although Coca-Cola is not fast-growing, it still has a tremendous runway for long-term expansion. The beverage industry is so fragmented that an estimated 70% of consumers in developed countries still don’t drink a Coca-Cola product more than once a week. The penetration is even lower in emerging markets like Africa, India, and Latin America. Coca-Cola’s brands are known worldwide, so the company should tap into that growth as economies mature and consumers have the discretionary income for things like packaged beverages. Analysts believe Coca-Cola will grow earnings by 6% annually over the long term, adding to the stock’s nearly 3% dividend yield.
Should you invest $1,000 in Amazon right now?
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John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Justin Pope has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon and Chipotle Mexican Grill. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: short September 2024 $52 puts on Chipotle Mexican Grill. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
3 Magnificent Stocks That Created Many Millionaires and Will Continue to Make More was originally published by The Motley Fool
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