10 Best Long-term Investments In 2026

There are a number of reasons why investing in value stocks can be a good strategy. Some signifiers of this are a low valuation like a price-to-earnings ratio, a track record of returning capital to shareholders through dividends or share buybacks, or an undervalued asset on the balance sheet. Value investors also attempt to buy stocks trading at a discount, or that offer good long-term value. Some stocks have both attributes or fit in with average valuations or growth rates, so whether they are value stocks depends on the number of pertinent characteristics they possess. With a market cap of just $3.6 billion, it’s much smaller than any of the other stocks on this list, but value stocks come in all sizes. The company has started to benefit from slowing growth in electric vehicles (EVs), though it has a number of them on the market, as the transition will support sales of its combustion vehicles.

As a result, the stock traded at a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 12 in January 2026. Stocking up on dry powder is another smart strategy of value investors like Buffett, and it will likely pay off if stocks pull back again as they did at the beginning of 2025. One sign that even value stocks are getting expensive is that Berkshire was a net seller of stocks in 2024, signaling that Buffett may believe the market is overvalued. As part of their value investing strategy, Buffett and his late business partner Charlie Munger kept large cash reserves to deploy when they spotted an opportunity. That’s largely because longtime CEO Warren Buffett, who stepped down at the end of 2025, is the world’s most admired value investor, and his investing acumen is the biggest reason for the company’s success.

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• Apple is often highlighted as a top choice due to its consistent innovation and impressive growth since its IPO.
• TSMC is the world’s largest independent semiconductor foundry, making chips for many of the top global tech companies.
• Results produced by the tool will vary with each use and over time.
• Bonds are considered safe relative to stocks, but not all issuers are the same.
• Bancorp tops our list of the best value stocks to buy for the long term, given that the banking crisis has pummeled regional bank stocks during the past several weeks.

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Our experts picked 7 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buy stocks with the best chance to skyrocket within the next days. For fiscal 2026, three analysts revised their earnings estimate upwards in the last 60 days, and the Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased $0.03 to $4.15 per share. Thus, the more stocks you own with a #1 or #2 Rank and Scores of A or B, the better. You want to make sure you’re buying stocks with the highest likelihood of success, and to do that, you’ll need to pick stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 or #2 that also have Style Scores of A or B. Investors can count on the Zacks Rank’s success, with #1 (Strong Buy) stocks producing an unmatched +23.83% average annual return since 1988, more than double the S&P 500’s performance.

Value Stocks Vs Growth Stocks

Another cheap healthcare stock landing in the value portion of the style box, Gilead stock GILD is trading 28% below our US$97 fair value estimate. Overall, we expect that Comcast will deliver only modest growth but with strong cash flow for the foreseeable future. Comcast stock CMCSA is trading 31% below our fair value estimate. The firm has brought in partners to share the development costs and diversify the risks of clinical and regulatory failure. Given the firm’s recent oncology research and development presentation that showed a strong lineup of new potential blockbusters, we also think the market appears to underappreciate the company’s pipeline, he adds. But like many Big Pharma stocks, Pfizer lands in the value portion of the style box.

• The only mid-cap stock on our list of cheap value stocks, Northern Trust stock is 19% undervalued relative to our fair value estimate.
• Its affluent clientele is still spending, and the company is reaching new, younger customers with its fully refreshed rewards program.
• An aggressive accountant can do plenty of things to manipulate earnings, for example, but it’s tough to fake cash in the bank.
• Merck stock is trading 22% below our fair value estimate of $111 per share.
• EPS indicates a company’s profitability on a per-share basis, helping investors determine how much profit a company generates for each share of its stock.

Vanguard’s Forecasts Of Asset Class Performance, As Of December 31, 2025: An Interactive View

He adds that "share repurchases are likely to be a more consistent contributor to EPS growth in the coming quarters." Jefferies analyst Dan Fannon has a Buy rating on the financial stock. Charles Schwab (SCHW) is a well-known discount brokerage firm and investment banking company with which many folks are familiar.

Long-term Dividend Stocks

• Fundamental analysis is a technique to measure a company’s value based on its financials and other objective metrics, as opposed to market price trends.
• The best long-term stocks are often led by executives who think like owners and communicate clearly.
• Third, the company’s relatively low overhead and focused asset base allow it to benefit disproportionately when commodity prices recover or remain at favorable levels.
• The model forecasts distributions of future returns for a wide array of broad asset classes.

They might include the quality of a company’s key executives, brand-name recognition, patents, and proprietary technology. The most significant source of quantitative data is financial statements. This is especially important during periods of economic uncertainty or market volatility.

Compared with other fund types such as mutual funds and closed-end funds (CEFs), ETFs have grown far faster and have taken in steady inflows for years. That level of proliferation speaks to how deeply ETFs have saturated every corner of the market. If you search for MSTR in most brokerage apps, you will find dozens of ETFs offering leveraged, inverse or income-oriented exposure to the stock. A great example is Strategy (MSTR), the software company turned bitcoin treasury formerly known as MicroStrategy.

Costar Group

When that happens, many investors turn to value stocks as a way to be more defensive and still potentially earn attractive returns. Dividend stocks are good for long-term buy-and-hold investors, especially those who want less volatility than average and who enjoy or need a cash payout. Many stocks offer a dividend, but dividends are more typically found among older, more mature companies that have less need for their cash. By buying a stock fund, you’ll get the weighted average return of all the companies in the fund, so the fund will generally be less volatile than if you had held just a few stocks.

Investing involves risk including the potential loss of principal. Bankrate does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it provide individualized recommendations or personalized investment advice. Founded in 1976, Bankrate has a long track record of helping people make smart financial choices. While we adhere to stricteditorial integrity, this post may contain references to products from our partners. At Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions.

• Plug Power is a bold long-term play, suitable for investors who believe the hydrogen economy will mature over the next decade and beyond.
• Buffett is perhaps the best-known value investor of all time.
• GM also announced in late 2024 that it would shut down its Cruise autonomous vehicle business, which had cost it an estimated $10 billion.
• The model generates a large set of simulated outcomes for each asset class over time.
• Companies that reinvest profits wisely, instead of chasing fads, tend to outperform over time.

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I’m also not concerned about Azure’s potential growth slowdown. Regarding Microsoft’s spending, yes, it’s a lot, but I think investors are falling victim to impatience (nothing new there). Azure also posted an impressive quarter, up 39% year over year, but the focus was on its likely slower growth in the near future.

Consider including a mix of individual stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and mutual funds in your portfolio to spread risk. Keep in mind that while long-term growth stock investing has historically provided better returns compared to other asset classes, there are no guarantees of success. However, it’s crucial to recognize that investing in stocks is not without risk. Volatility will be higher than with a classic dividend stock, but the upside from cash-flow growth and disciplined returns is meaningful. Based on a series of inputs—including a company’s historical and long-term projected growth and its historical and forward-looking price multiples—a stock is classified as either a value stock, a growth stock, or a core stock. The Morningstar Style Box is a nine-square smartytrade review grid that provides a graphical representation of the investment style of stocks, bonds, or funds.