A business can dominate today’s headlines and still lose its edge before the next decade ends. Finding the best stocks to buy for the next 20 years means examining which companies can adapt, protect their profits, and keep serving customers as industries change. Artificial intelligence and cloud computing offer substantial opportunities, but healthcare, financial services, consumer spending, and energy infrastructure also belong in the conversation about long-term stocks.
The Digital Economy Still Needs Physical Infrastructure
Behind every AI application sits a network of chips, servers, cooling systems, and electricity connections. The International Energy Agency’s 2025 outlook projected that global data center electricity consumption would more than double to around 945 terawatt-hours by 2030, roughly matching Japan’s electricity use at the time. For investors researching stocks for long-term growth, that links the technology boom to opportunities in power generation and supporting infrastructure. www.iea.org
Healthcare follows another powerful trend. The World Health Organization projects that one in six people worldwide will be at least 60 years old by 2030, suggesting greater needs for treatment, diagnostics, and care. Meanwhile, businesses providing everyday goods, waste collection, and financial services serve recurring needs that can endure through successive technology cycles. The investment challenge is identifying which providers can turn that demand into sustainable earnings. www.who.int
Twenty Years Gives Compounding Room to Work
The mathematics explains the appeal of buy-and-hold stocks. At a hypothetical annual return of 8%, an investment would grow to approximately 4.7 times its starting value over 20 years, before taxes and fees. Real markets follow a bumpier path, and holding an investment longer cannot rescue a deteriorating business.
Strong long-term candidates need competitive advantages, sound finances, and opportunities to reinvest cash profitably. The purchase price also matters because even impressive growth can disappoint investors when expectations are already stretched. A decades-long horizon rewards patience most effectively when it comes with careful valuation and regular checks that the business still deserves its place in the portfolio.
S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) ranks 6th in our list of 10 Best Stocks to Buy for the Next 20 Years. Click HERE to find out other stocks on the list.
6. S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 124 | Market Capitalization: $120.9 billion
Financial Markets Run on Information
S&P Global Inc. (NYSE: SPGI) operates across credit ratings, market intelligence, benchmarks, and other financial information services. Its products help market participants assess borrowers, compare investments, and interpret complex financial data.
The long-term appeal involves becoming part of how customers work. Financial institutions need information they can compare across companies and markets, while investment products depend on clearly defined benchmarks. Established datasets, analytical tools, and distribution relationships can make these services difficult to reproduce at comparable scale.
Artificial intelligence introduces both an opportunity and a competitive challenge. S&P Global Inc. (NYSE: SPGI) has described tools that help users retrieve research, summarize credit information, and work with financial datasets through natural-language interfaces. The commercial opportunity lies in making proprietary information more useful within customers’ existing processes.
Still, financial activity moves in cycles. Lower debt issuance can affect ratings activity, and customers may scrutinize subscription spending during weaker conditions. For investors researching financial data stocks, the important measures include customer retention, organic growth, margins, and the ability to charge for improved products. A valuable database becomes a stronger investment asset when customers continue paying to use it.
Ranking Rationale
S&P Global Inc. (NYSE: SPGI) ranks sixth with 124 hedge fund holders. Its role in credit ratings, financial information, and investment benchmarks supports its inclusion, with established customer relationships and proprietary data providing potential competitive advantages.
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Disclosure: No material interests to disclose. This article was originally published on Global Market Bulletin.
