If I Could Buy and Hold Just 1 Stock Forever, This Would Be It

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for·ev·er — for all future time, for eternity, in perpetuity. — Oxford English Dictionary

Let’s tackle the obvious issue head-on: Permanently holding onto a single stock? Frankly, it’s challenging for me to pinpoint any stock I would buy once and never reconsider. The investment landscape is intricate, and numerous events could occur that might disrupt an investment strategy.

In a similar vein, Warren Buffett expressed in the 1988 Berkshire Hathaway shareholder letter that when we possess shares in exceptional businesses run by exceptional management teams, our preferred holding timeframe is indefinitely, or in other words, forever.

Initially, some people interpreted Buffett’s statement as meaning he would never sell stocks, but his subsequent actions and clarifications indicate otherwise. In fact, the renowned investor has stated that he would indeed sell stocks under specific conditions. He explained that if he required funds for something else, or if he no longer believed in a company’s competitive advantage as strongly as he did when the initial investment was made, then he would consider selling those stocks.

Given the diverse avenues for success these companies possess, it makes perfect sense to think about keeping them as part of one’s portfolio indefinitely. This is exactly why I am choosing to keep Amazon (AMZN) shares for an extended period.

Digital retail is just the beginning

Amazon has achieved significant recognition for its impressive performance in internet-based shopping. Originating as a simple online bookstore, Amazon has grown to become the biggest global marketplace for digital goods and services, often referred to as “The All-in-One Shop.

The immense scale of Amazon’s sales has led to a decrease in its annual growth rate to just a few percentages, but this decline doesn’t diminish its remarkable performance. In the first three months alone, Amazon generated e-commerce revenues amounting to $126 billion, which represents a 6% increase compared to the same period last year. This means that Amazon added approximately $7 billion more in retail sales compared to the previous year’s quarter.

That’s impressive, particularly given the size of Amazon’s existing sales base.

On a cloudy day

As Amazon broadens its digital retail dominance, other parts of the business are experiencing double-digit growth. For instance, Amazon Web Services (AWS), their cloud computing division, reported over $29 billion in revenue, an increase of 17%. The surge in generative AI technology is fueling AWS’s expansion, as businesses big and small race to incorporate AI for efficiency improvements, better decision-making, and customized services.

Amazon is emphasizing AWS as the primary choice for artificial intelligence. They provide a expanding collection of large language models (LLMs) to their cloud users, which encompasses a lineage of its own AI models. In a recent blog post, CEO Andy Jassy stated that the company has “over a thousand generative AI services and applications in development or constructed … this is just a tiny part of what we will eventually create.” Amazon has also injected approximately $8 billion into AI start-up Anthropic, whose Claude models are in direct competition with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Alphabet’s Gemini.

As an ardent follower of tech trends, I can’t help but marvel at Amazon’s ambitious move to establish itself as the one-stop shop for Artificial Intelligence (AI). This strategic decision seems to me like a smart bet on expanding their share in the lucrative AI market, and in turn, boosting the growth of their AWS sector.

You see, the cloud segment is where Amazon’s wealth primarily lies; it contributes about 19% of the company’s total revenue and an impressive 63% of its operating income! So, this strategy appears nothing short of brilliant to me.

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This is the fastest-growing business

While AWS significantly contributes to Amazon’s overall prosperity, it is no longer the company’s swiftest expanding business sector. That title now belongs to the digital advertising division, which saw a 18% increase year over year in Q1 alone. In fact, Amazon has climbed up the ladder and taken the third position among global digital advertisers, trailing behind Alphabet and Meta Platforms.

Initially, Amazon used its e-commerce site as a foundation for its ad business, but it has since grown independently. Now, Prime Video includes ads unless users opt for an extra $3 per month fee to eliminate them. The platform’s live sports events, such as NFL games, have significantly boosted its advertising potential.

In the last year, advertising services accumulated approximately $58 billion. Interestingly, it’s projected that the worldwide advertising market will exceed one trillion dollars by 2025, underscoring the enormous potential yet to be tapped.

Not one top-tier business, but three

It’s challenging to locate another business conglomerate that boasts as many pioneering industries under its umbrella as Amazon does. This tech giant reigns supreme in global digital retail and ranks second among all retailers worldwide. Furthermore, Amazon Web Services (AWS) maintains a commanding position in the global cloud infrastructure market, controlling approximately 32% of it, according to Canalys’ market analysis. Lastly, as we’ve mentioned earlier, it’s also one of the top three digital advertisers globally, narrowing the gap with its larger competitors.

As an onlooker, I’d say that by integrating AI technology – a game-changer that enhances operational efficiency and boosts profitability across key business sectors – this company seems to have the perfect recipe for a continuously thriving investment, aka a “perennial” stock.

In contrast, even though there are several factors at play, Amazon’s shares are currently valued at 31 times the projected earnings for the coming year. Considering the company’s impressive history of success and the vast opportunities for future growth, I strongly believe that this price is quite appealing for a business with numerous avenues for continued triumph.

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2025-07-19 11:38