Long-Term Stock Portfolio: 15 Best Stocks for 15 Years

2. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

10-Year Revenue Growth: ~10.8%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 317

Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated its “Overweight” rating on Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s stock, citing the company’s healthy performance, particularly in its Azure cloud services. Furthermore, the positive outlook stems from a healthy demand for AI capabilities within Azure, which has been a critical growth driver. Notably, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s Azure cloud platform was singled out as being mainly well-equipped to handle the current macroeconomic situation. Notably, in Q2 2025, Microsoft Cloud revenue came in at $40.9 billion, reflecting a rise of 21% YoY.

Overall, the commentary from the firm demonstrates a picture of resilience as well as strategic growth for the company, with AI and cloud services remaining at the forefront of the company’s strong market performance. The firm’s analysts believe that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) will continue to thrive in the current economic landscape, thanks to its comprehensive product offerings and emphasis on emerging technologies. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s healthy position in the public cloud market, together with the integration of AI models, offers a strong competitive advantage.

Generation Investment Management, an investment management firm, released its Q4 2024 investor letter. Here is what the fund said:

“Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), the world’s largest software company, has been in the portfolio for over a decade. We like the firm because its products align closely with society’s evolving needs. As the world digitises, demand for Microsoft’s tools will continue to grow. The company enjoys a wide economic moat – built on its unique market position, deep customer understanding and extensive global footprint.

Microsoft’s management team has a long-term vision. It makes bold investments in future growth, most recently in AI. We forecast that the IT intensity of the economy will double over the next 15 years. Microsoft is a rare company with USD 250 billion in revenues, projected to grow at 16% annually over the next five years.14 Earnings-per share could grow faster. Despite its near-term valuation appearing high, we believe Microsoft is well positioned to lead in the AI era, potentially doubling or tripling its market share. Additionally, we expect returns on capital (ROC) for its AI related investments to match historical levels, despite market scepticism.

There are risks. Demand for AI systems may not materialise as expected, and increasing pricing power among suppliers like Nvidia could pressure margins. Still, from our analysis we see substantial long-term value in this name.”