3 Monster Stocks to Hold for the Next 10 Years

Holding on to solid growth stocks over the long term is a surefire way to build wealth for your retirement. The key is not to get distracted by stock market movements, short-term noise, and the daily barrage of headlines. You need to trust that a business has the qualities to deliver sustainable capital gains for your portfolio over years or even decades.

Selecting the right stocks is essential for long-term investment success since they will help to compound your wealth many times over. The key is to focus on companies with a strong competitive edge and a track record of growing earnings and cash flow. These businesses should also have catalysts or be able to ride long-term trends to help them continue growing.

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Here are three reputable stocks that you can add to your portfolio and hold for the long term.

Honeywell

Honeywell International (NASDAQ: HON) provides software to the automation, aviation, and energy sectors. The company has a solid track record of growing revenue, net income, and gross margin, as shown in the table below.

Data source: Honeywell. Fiscal years end Dec. 31.

The industrial giant also generated an average of $4.6 billion in free cash flow over these three years. Income investors will be pleased to know that Honeywell has increased its dividend for 15 consecutive years, with the latest quarterly payout being $1.13 per share.

Management says it will focus on three strategic priorities to continue growing its business. The first is to accelerate organic growth by targeting high-growth regions and monetizing its installed base while scaling up its software.

The second involves the enhancement of margins and improving cash generation by upgrading its digital operations. Lastly, the company intends to acquire bolt-on acquisitions to optimize its portfolio while divesting noncore units.

The company has a good track record of acquisitions. It bought Air Products' liquefied natural gas processing technology and equipment business for $1.8 billion last July. Earlier this month, it acquired Sundyne for $2.16 billion, helping expand its capabilities in the energy and sustainability-solutions segment.

As part of a comprehensive business portfolio review, management has announced the separation of the company's automation and aerospace divisions, spinning them off as industry-leading stand-alone companies. This move promises to unlock significant value for shareholders and will provide the operational independence and financial flexibility for each unit to pursue its growth strategies.

This separation, tax-free to Honeywell shareholders, is targeted to be completed by the second half of 2026.

Image source: Getty Images.

Chipotle Mexican Grill

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) owns and operates over 3,700 restaurants in North America, Europe, and the Middle East. The chain has grown its top and bottom lines steadily over the years, as shown below.

It also has increased free cash flow over the years, going from $844 million in 2022 to $1.51 billion by 2024. The company opened 304 company-owned stores last year and three international-licensed restaurants, bringing its store count to 3,726 at the end of 2024. Comparable restaurant sales (comps) also increased at a healthy 7.4% year over year for last year.

Data source: Chipotle Mexican Grill. Fiscal years end Dec. 31.

Management plans to open 315 to 345 new company-owned restaurants this year, with more than 80% of them having a Chipotlane, a drive-thru where customers can place orders via the company's website or mobile app and then pick them up without having to leave their vehicle. In November last year, it opened its 1,000th Chipotlane, with Chief Brand Officer Chris Brandt saying that the format has been proven to increase margins, sales, and returns.

The company is also confident that it will achieve low- to mid-single-digit comps growth for 2025. And it recently announced its latest menu addition: Chipotle Honey Chicken, with heat from chipotle peppers and sweetness from wildflower honey.

These periodic promotional items help to cement customer loyalty and attract new customers. CEO Scott Boatwright's long-term goal is to have 7,000 restaurants in the U.S. and continue its global expansion to become an international brand.

Microsoft

Microsoft's (NASDAQ: MSFT) suite of Office tools help with word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations. Despite its size, the company still posted healthy growth in its top and bottom lines recently, as shown below.

The business is also a free cash flow (FCF) machine, churning out $65.1 billion of FCF in fiscal 2022 and increasing it to $74.1 billion by fiscal 2024. The quarterly dividend has also increased every year without fail since fiscal 2010. Back then, the payout was just $0.13 per share but has soared more than sixfold to $0.83 by fiscal 2025.

Data source: Microsoft. Fiscal years end June 30.

The first half of fiscal 2025 also saw continued rises in revenue and net income. Sales increased 14.1% year over year to $135.2 billion, while net income climbed 10.4% to $48.8 billion. The company generated FCF of $25.7 billion for the first half of fiscal 2025.

There could be more to come. Microsoft is spending nearly $80 billion this year on data centers capable of handling increasing artificial intelligence (AI) workloads. The company intends to invest in developing and extending its AI capabilities, and last year unveiled innovations to assist its healthcare clients. These include a healthcare service agent accompanying its AI chatbot Copilot, and an AI-driven nursing workflow solution.

It's working with clients such as Siemens to scale up industrial AI, and Accenture to launch a version of Copilot to help businesses reinvent themselves. Management will also introduce new capabilities for each client and use AI to improve their business operations.

There is much more that can be achieved with agentic AI, and the company is probably just getting started when it comes to its Copilot deployment. Investors can look forward to more uses for AI and increased functionality when Microsoft innovates and builds its generative AI capabilities. These should lead to continued growth for the technology behemoth.

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Royston Yang has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Accenture Plc, Chipotle Mexican Grill, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft, short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft, and short March 2025 $58 calls on Chipotle Mexican Grill. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.