Want $1 Million in Retirement? 3 Stocks to Buy Now and Hold for Decades.

What you do in the present makes a huge difference in how successful you'll be in the future. This is true in a wide array of activities -- including investing.

Do you want $1 million in retirement? Here are three stocks to buy now and hold for decades.

1. Amazon

Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) CEO Andy Jassy often predicts in his company's quarterly conference calls what he thinks will happen with the cloud market. Jassy will first note that at least 85% of global IT spending is still on-premises with the rest in the cloud. He'll then add that he thinks "that equation is going to flip in 10 years" (or words to that effect.)

Interestingly, Jassy had a similar forecast in Amazon's latest quarterly call. This time, though, he spoke about the global retail market. He said that between 80% and 85% of retail business is still conducted in physical stores. However, Jassy believes "that equation is going to flip in the next 10 to 20 years."

If Jassy's predictions are right, Amazon has a tremendous amount of growth ahead. The company's Amazon Web Services (AWS) unit is the world's largest cloud service provider and Amazon's biggest profit center. Of course, Amazon is the 800-pound gorilla in e-commerce.

Even if Jassy is overly optimistic, Amazon's cloud and e-commerce businesses should be much larger in the future. And we haven't addressed the company's other opportunities, including healthcare and robotaxis. Is Amazon a stock to buy and hold for decades? I think so.

2. Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) reported one number in its Q3 update that's simply staggering: 3.29 billion. That's how many people across the world use Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and/or WhatsApp at least once per day. To put Meta's number into context, the population of the entire earth is around 8.2 billion.

The number of users on Meta's social media platforms continues to grow (albeit slowly, which is understandable considering its high market penetration). Meanwhile, the company is harnessing the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to drive increased time spent on its apps and help advertisers reach potential customers more effectively. All of this translates to impressive profits.

What's Meta doing with the boatload of money it's making? Much of it is going toward investments in augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in his company's Q3 conference call, "We're not too far off from being able to deliver great-looking glasses that let you seamlessly blend the physical and digital worlds so you can feel present with anyone no matter where they are." I fully expect AR/VR will be an important growth driver for Meta over the next decade and beyond.

Meta is also investing heavily in AI development, including artificial general intelligence (AGI). Its Llama open-source large language model (LLM) is enjoying widespread adoption. Zuckerberg thinks Llama could become the industry standard for generative AI. Meta should be a fun company to watch over the coming years -- and a great stock for building retirement portfolios.

3. Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Do you think a company that could cure type 1 diabetes (T1D) in the not-too-distant future might be a big winner? If so, you should consider investing in Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: VRTX). This big biotech innovator has one potential curative therapy for T1D in pivotal clinical testing with another in phase 1/2 clinical studies.

Vertex already has an approved therapy that cures two rare blood disorders. The commercial launch for Casgevy, a gene-editing therapy that's a one-time treatment for sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia, is ramping up.

Meanwhile, the company enjoys a monopoly in treating the underlying genetic cause of cystic fibrosis (CF). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plans to announce an approval decision for the vanzacaftor triple-drug combo in treating CF by Jan. 2, 2025. If approved, I think the combo will become Vertex's most successful CF therapy yet.

Want more? Vertex also awaits FDA approval of suzetrigine in January. This non-opioid offers a way to alleviate acute pain without the risk of addiction. The biotech leader's pipeline features two other drugs in late-stage testing that have blockbuster potential: inaxaplin in treating APOL1-mediated kidney disease and povetacicept in treating immunoglobulin-A nephropathy (IgAN), a chronic kidney disease.

Vertex has proven its ability to develop successful therapies and then invest the profits in research and development and acquisitions that fuel further growth. This "rinse-and-repeat" strategy should make this stock an ideal pick to buy now to help build a $1 million retirement in the future.

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. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Keith Speights has positions in Amazon, Meta Platforms, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Meta Platforms, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.