The inventory market has an extremely spectacular long-term monitor document of wealth creation, and we are able to fairly count on it to proceed delivering wonderful returns over the subsequent 20 years. Traders can capitalize on this by shopping for ETFs that monitor main indexes, or by investing in particular person shares that may carry out as nicely, if not higher, than broader equities.
Two wonderful prospects over the subsequent couple of many years are Microsoft (MSFT 1.58%) and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG 0.74%). Here is why.
1. Microsoft
Everyone seems to be acquainted with the Microsoft model, however many nonetheless affiliate it with the corporate’s legacy laptop working system (OS) enterprise. There’s a good motive for that. Microsoft stays the runaway chief within the working software program area in each private and enterprise computing, and this phase continues to make significant contributions to the corporate’s complete income and earnings. Nonetheless, Microsoft’s most vital progress driver nowadays is its cloud computing enterprise, Microsoft Azure.
The tech chief is second solely to Amazon in cloud computing — and in reality, it has been gaining floor on its longtime competitor.

Picture supply: Getty Pictures.
Amazon’s CEO, Andy Jassy, has mentioned that greater than 85% of IT spending nonetheless occurs on premises (i.e., off the cloud), regardless of the advantages of the latter. That grants cloud leaders, together with Microsoft, ample addressable market to take advantage of within the subsequent 20 years. Microsoft ought to stay a prime participant within the area of interest for not less than two causes. First, it advantages from a moat because of switching prices.
Second, Microsoft generates a considerable amount of money to spend money on the enterprise.
The corporate generated $69.4 billion in free money stream over the trailing-12-month interval. Additional, Microsoft’s work in synthetic intelligence (AI) is offering it with one other increase. Driving this tailwind for the subsequent 20 years ought to result in constant earnings and market-beating performances for the inventory, a continuation of what Microsoft has been doing for a really very long time.
Lastly, Microsoft is a wonderful dividend inventory. True, yield seekers will not discover what they’re on the lookout for right here. The corporate’s ahead yield is a paltry 0.7%, decrease than the S&P 500‘s unimpressive common of 1.3%. Nonetheless, with a rock-solid underlying enterprise and an excellent monitor document — Microsoft has elevated its payouts by nearly 168% prior to now decade — the corporate can supply loads to earnings seekers in addition to growth-oriented traders.
2. Intuitive Surgical
Intuitive Surgical has dominated the robotic-assisted surgical procedure (RAS) market over the previous 20 years. It has had little competitors to talk of, which, coupled with its fixed improvements and enhancements to its well-known da Vinci surgical system, has led to sturdy monetary outcomes. Nonetheless, different firms, notably Medtronic, appear near posing a a lot larger direct risk to Intuitive Surgical’s management.
Here is why traders should not fear about that. First, it would take years for even a medical machine big like Medtronic to earn clearance for its machine, the Hugo system, throughout a lot of the areas by which the da Vinci system has obtained approval. Second, Intuitive Surgical additionally advantages from switching prices. Its gadgets aren’t low-cost, and it takes time to coach medical personnel on them.
After investing time, power, effort, and cash on a da Vinci system, healthcare amenities will not wish to swap to a competing one. Third, and maybe most significantly, there’s large alternative within the RAS market. That is a key motive why extra firms are getting into the market. As Medtronic identified two years in the past, lower than 5% of eligible surgical procedures had been carried out robotically at the moment.
It is unlikely to have modified a lot since. That is earlier than we take note of the truth that over time, there shall be a better demand for these robotic procedures because the world’s inhabitants ages. Intuitive Surgical is best positioned than every other firm to trip that wave within the subsequent 20 years, particularly because it retains innovating. It launched the fifth era of its da Vinci system final 12 months and has began integrating AI into a few of its options.
Intuitive Surgical’s future seems to be promising regardless of mounting competitors, which is why the corporate’s shares stay a worthwhile funding for the long run.
John Mackey, former CEO of Complete Meals Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Idiot’s board of administrators. Prosper Junior Bakiny has positions in Amazon and Intuitive Surgical. The Motley Idiot has positions in and recommends Amazon, Intuitive Surgical, and Microsoft. The Motley Idiot recommends Medtronic and recommends the next choices: lengthy January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft, lengthy January 2026 $75 calls on Medtronic, quick January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft, and quick January 2026 $85 calls on Medtronic. The Motley Idiot has a disclosure coverage.