10 Safe Stocks To Invest In For The Long Term in 2024

5. Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

10 Year Revenue Growth: 8.49%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 71

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) ranks fifth on our list of the safest stocks to invest in for the long term. The company is a wholesale corporation with over 891 warehouses across the globe, of which 614 are based in the United States of America.

Historically, the company has always been the epitome of solid growth. Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) is one of the few companies that managed to reach $3 billion in sales within the first six years of operation. By 1993, the company was generating $16 billion in annual sales. In 2023, Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) ended the year with a revenue of over $242 billion.

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) reported $78.2 billion in sales, an increase of 1% year-over-year, during the fiscal fourth quarter of 2024. For the full fiscal year 2024, the company logged $249.6 billion in sales, up by 5% year-over-year.

The company’s reliable growth trajectory is what investors like about the stock. Before the end of 2024, the company plans to open another 12 locations, bringing the total to 30 for this year alone. The company spent over $1.06 billion on capital expenditures during the fiscal third quarter of 2024, bringing the full-year total to $4.3 billion.

Analysts are bullish on COST and their 12-month median price target of $950 points to an 8% upside from current levels. By the end of the second quarter, 71 hedge funds held shares in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) with total stakes amounting to $5.96 billion. The largest shareholder was Fisher Asset Management with a position worth $2.51 billion, as of June 30.

ClearBridge Investments’ ClearBridge Sustainability Leaders Strategy stated the following regarding Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:

“Consumer staples holdings were also standouts in the quarter, such as Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST), which continues to execute well and delivered better than expected earnings, helped by strong traffic driving better expense leverage. Customers also looked to be shifting toward more discretionary purchases.”