2 Growth Stocks to Buy and Hold Forever

Buying growth stocks that you intend to hold forever is a smart strategy. It forces you to think about companies that will still be around in 50 years. This raises the odds that the stock will keep compounding in value over your lifetime, which is the lazy way to get rich without doing much work.

If this sounds like a good plan, here are two stocks to consider buying.

Image source: Amazon.

1. Amazon

Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) has profitable revenue streams coming from e-commerce, cloud computing, retail advertising, and third-party fulfillment services. It generated $21 billion in free cash flow on $650 billion of revenue over the last year.

The foundation of Amazon's business is its online store, making up 37% of first-quarter revenue. Its wide selection, delivery infrastructure, and large customer base with more than 200 million Prime members give Amazon a strong competitive advantage.

Amazon's investments in robotics to automate inventory management and order processing are strengthening its competitive advantage in a $4 trillion global e-commerce market. Amazon continues to push the limits of delivery speeds.

In Q1, it set a new record for items delivered the same or next day. It's probably not by accident that this accomplishment follows the unveiling of its next-generation fulfillment center in Shreveport, Louisiana, in 2024. This facility is powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and uses 10 times more robotics than the company's other facilities.

Amazon said its new fulfillment center will set a new standard for the retail industry. This is an incredibly innovative company that has progressed from selling out of a garage 30 years ago to using AI to deliver millions of items at blazing speed. That's the kind of business you want to invest in.

Amazon's investments in AI bolster its long-term prospects. Analysts currently expect the company's earnings to grow at an annualized rate of 17% in the coming years, which reflects expectations for improving margins in its retail business, in addition to strong growth from other high-margin services like cloud computing and advertising. Amazon has a lot of levers it can pull to create shareholder returns.

Image source: Netflix.

2. Netflix

Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) stock continues to hit new highs. It has evolved from a DVD-by-mail rental service 20 years ago to a dominant streaming service. Over the last year, the company generated $7 billion in free cash flow on $40 billion of revenue, and it keeps growing.

Its growing cash flow paves the way for increasing content spend to keep winning more subscribers. People have varying entertainment preferences, and Netflix can afford to make a wide variety of content that pleases everyone. It spent $17 billion in content production last year and still reported a stellar 22% profit margin.

Netflix still has a huge opportunity internationally. Its growing budget will allow it to invest in widening its content offering to appeal to different cultures. Netflix started investing in local infrastructure to support its growth plans a decade ago and is now producing content in more than 50 countries.

What's more, Netflix is testing new content formats to widen the viewership. Its livestream of the Taylor-Serrano fight in November was the most-watched professional women's sports event in U.S. history.

With more than 700 million people watching content on its platform, Netflix could also see advertising revenue soar in the coming years. Ad-supported subscriber plans come at a lower price point, helping the company expand its audience reach and boost margins at the same time.

Analysts expect its earnings to grow at an annualized rate of 22% over the next several years. Netflix's strong brand and high-margin business have the makings of a stock that is going to reward shareholders for many years.

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. John Ballard has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon and Netflix. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.