Three Long-Term Stock Picks Worth Your Investment in 2026

With major equity indices trading near record levels, many investors assume the best buying opportunities have passed. However, the current market environment actually presents several compelling reasons to deploy fresh capital strategically. If you’re looking to invest around $10,000 with a multi-year horizon, there are still best-in-class opportunities available across different sectors and growth narratives. The three companies outlined below represent distinct investment angles that should perform well throughout 2026 and beyond.

Nvidia: Capitalizing on Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure

Nvidia stands as a prime long-term stock for investors seeking exposure to secular growth trends. The company has established dominance as the world’s largest by market capitalization, largely due to its graphics processing units powering virtually all major artificial intelligence development and deployment efforts.

The tailwinds for Nvidia remain substantial. Wall Street analysts project approximately 50% revenue growth for fiscal year 2027—a remarkable achievement for a company of Nvidia’s scale. This expansion will be fueled by several factors: continued elevated spending from AI hyperscalers building out infrastructure, and the planned rollout of its next-generation Rubin architecture designed for even more efficient AI workloads.

It’s exceedingly rare for established mega-cap corporations to sustain 50% revenue growth rates. Nvidia’s ability to do so underscores the strength of its competitive moat and the secular nature of AI spending. For investors seeking best long-term stocks with proven execution, this company remains a cornerstone holding.

MercadoLibre: Emerging Market E-Commerce and Financial Services

MercadoLibre deserves consideration as one of the best stocks for patient capital seeking emerging market exposure. Often described as Latin America’s equivalent to Amazon, this assessment actually understates the company’s competitive positioning and addressable market.

Beyond its massive e-commerce platform and logistics network enabling same-day and next-day delivery across much of the region, MercadoLibre operates a robust fintech division. Unlike developed markets, Latin America lacked digital payment infrastructure when e-commerce companies entered the region, forcing MercadoLibre to build financial services capabilities from the ground up. This dual-track business model gives investors exposure to two powerful secular trends—marketplace commerce and digital finance—that have driven decades of value creation in the United States.

The investment case strengthens further when considering valuation. MercadoLibre currently trades approximately 20% below its all-time high, presenting a rare opportunity to add shares of a best-in-class operator at a modest discount. After years of consistent outperformance, this pullback offers a tactical entry point for long-term investors.

The Trade Desk: Value Opportunity in Ad Technology

The Trade Desk represents a more nuanced opportunity within the advertising technology space. The company operates a demand-side platform connecting advertisers with premium digital inventory across the open internet—excluding walled gardens controlled by Facebook and Google—with particular strength in connected television advertising.

Recent results initially sparked investor concerns. The company reported its lowest growth rate in company history (excluding one COVID-affected quarter) when it delivered 18% year-over-year expansion in Q3 2024. This slowdown partially reflected execution challenges during the rollout of its new artificial intelligence-powered advertising platform, which the company continues to refine.

However, several factors contextualize this deceleration. The Trade Desk retained 95% of its customer base through Q3, maintaining this metric across 11 consecutive years—a testament to structural switching costs and customer satisfaction. More importantly, the previous year’s Q3 benefited from substantial political advertising spending that did not recur in 2025, creating a difficult comparison that exaggerated the growth slowdown.

Valuation provides additional appeal for investors seeking best long-term stocks at reasonable prices. The Trade Desk trades at approximately 18 times forward earnings, compared to 22.4 times for the broader S&P 500—meaning you can purchase a faster-growing company at a discount to the market. As the company stabilizes its platform and returns to normalized growth trajectories, significant upside remains available.

Why Now Represents an Attractive Entry Point

The confluence of reasonable valuations, strong secular tailwinds, and company-specific catalysts creates an environment where identifying best stocks to invest in becomes manageable. These three companies each benefit from structural advantages within their respective markets and offer differentiated return drivers heading into the latter stages of 2026.