Title: 10 Stocks for the next 20 years — Arka's selection (Part III of the series) Show: Compounding Quality (Substack, paid post — compoundingquality.net) Guest: Arka Bhattacharjee (Team Compounding Quality) — post byline; sign-off "Team Compounding Quality" Date: 2026-08-13 URL: https://www.compoundingquality.net/p/10-stocks-for-the-next-20-years-829 Length: written post — no timestamps Note: Paid-subscriber post captured via Stephen's logged-in session. Body text verbatim; UI chrome removed. Images noted inline as [Image — ...]; the two market-cap league tables published as images are transcribed below as [Table image — ...] blocks and the figures read directly from them. This is a DIFFERENT issue from the same-titled 2026-07-02 post, which was TJ Terwilliger's selection; the series has three parts (Pieter's, TJ's, Arka's) and only TJ's and Arka's are archived here.
Hi Partner
Welcome to the third edition of our 10 Stocks for the next 20 Years series.
You already received two parts:
Pieter's selection
TJ's selection
Today it's time for Arka's selection.
Let's dive in right away!
[Image — Compounding Quality Team: TJ (top left), Arka (bottom left), Willem (bottom center), Jochen (bottom right), Pieter (top center), Milan (top right), and Liesbeth (right).]
Built to last
At first glance, this challenge sounds very simple.
Just find 10 great companies and hold them for the next 20 years.
But history tells something different.
Do you remember the 20 biggest companies 20 years ago?
Here they are:
[Table image — the 20 largest S&P 500 companies by market cap, data as of December 30, 2005. 1 Exxon Mobil 349.49B; 2 Microsoft 278.24B; 3 Citigroup 245.51B; 4 General Electric 221.59B; 5 Walmart 194.84B; 6 Bank of America 185.34B; 7 Johnson & Johnson 178.80B; 8 Pfizer 162.90B; 9 Intel 150.48B; 10 AIG 146.90B; 11 JPMorgan Chase 138.88B; 12 Procter & Gamble 137.64B; 13 Chevron 127.45B; 14 IBM 124.05B; 15 Cisco Systems 105.17B; 16 Wells Fargo 105.05B; 17 PepsiCo 98.13B; 18 Amgen 97.31B; 19 Coca-Cola 95.90B; 20 Home Depot 85.98B. Top 20 market cap 3.230T; S&P 500 market cap 11.250T. Source: data compiled from EDGAR filings, YCharts, Bloomberg and Yahoo Finance.]
A lot of these are probably very familiar names.
But how many do you think are still in the top 20 today?
Here's the list as of today:
[Table image — the 20 largest S&P 500 companies by market cap, data as of June 23, 2026. 1 NVIDIA 4.845T; 2 Apple 4.317T; 3 Alphabet 4.194T; 4 Microsoft 2.778T; 5 Amazon 2.518T; 6 Broadcom 1.809T; 7 Tesla 1.433T; 8 Meta Platforms 1.427T; 9 Micron Technology 1.186T; 10 Berkshire Hathaway 1.063T; 11 Eli Lilly 1.045T; 12 Walmart 950.82B; 13 JPMorgan Chase 895.33B; 14 Advanced Micro Devices 847.36B; 15 Intel 664.44B; 16 Visa 619.07B; 17 Exxon Mobil 579.18B; 18 Johnson & Johnson 575.37B; 19 Cisco Systems 477.33B; 20 Oracle 474.84B. Top 20 market cap 32.699T; S&P 500 market cap 66.683T. Source: data compiled from EDGAR filings, YCharts, Bloomberg and Yahoo Finance.]
The number of companies that made both lists?
Only 6 (!):
Microsoft
Walmart
Intel
Exxon Mobil
Johnson & Johnson
Cisco Systems
Companies like Coca-Cola and Home Depot are still exceptional businesses today.
However, they no longer make the list.
Something sets these six companies apart.
They have shown the resilience to weather the challenges of the past two decades.
So what do these companies have in common?
It's not a single factor, it's a combination of:
A strong moat
Strong management
Healthy balance sheet
Excellent capital allocation
Continuous adoption to changing environments
It goes back to the basic foundation of our stock selection.
You should remember that finding a stock for the next 20 years is not about buying a good company.
It is about finding a business that can keep adapting and winning for decades.
Our job is to find those few great businesses, buy them and forget about it for the next 10 years.
Now let's jump into my top picks.
10. Ferrari ($RACE)
How does Ferrari make money?
Ferrari builds fancy sports cars and sells fewer than people want to buy. It also makes money from racing, clothing, and spare parts.
[Image — Ferrari. Source: Company Presentation]
Why will it still be relevant in 20 years?
Ferrari is not a car company. It's a luxury company.
Rich people keep getting richer. They want things nobody else can have.
Ferrari makes fewer cars than current demand (supply < demand)
9. Old Dominion Freight Line ($ODFL)
How does ODFL make money?
Old Dominion is a top American trucking company that specializes in less-than-truckload (LTL) shipping.
This means they combine freight from different customers onto a single truck.
They run over 260 service centers across North America.
[Image — Old Dominion. Source: Company Presentation]
Why will it still be relevant in 20 years?
Moving physical items will always be necessary
It is nearly impossible for new competitors to copy their billion dollar network
They are the best at what they do
8. Thermo Fisher Scientific ($TMO)
How does Thermo Fisher make money?
Thermo Fisher Scientific is the world leader in serving science and healthcare.
The American company provides analytical instruments, laboratory equipment, clinical diagnostics, and drug manufacturing services.
They sell necessary equipment to the entire global biotechnology and research industry.
[Image — Thermo Fisher. Source: Company Presentation]
Why will it still be relevant in 20 years?
Scientific research and the fight against diseases never stop
They sell the picks and shovels for all biotech breakthroughs
Massive regulatory switching costs protect their business
7. Applied Materials ($AMAT)
How does Applied Materials make money?
Applied Materials is the global leader in semiconductor equipment and engineering software.
They provide the highly specialized manufacturing systems, machines, and materials used to produce nearly every new computer chip and advanced display in the world.
This American company operates at the absolute ground floor of global technology.
[Image — Applied Materials. Source: Company Presentation]
Why will it still be relevant in 20 years?
Microchips are the foundation of the future
They supply the machinery to all chipmakers
Atomic-scale engineering cannot be easily copied
6. Schneider Electric ($SU)
How does Schneider Electric make money?
Schneider Electric is a French multinational company that is a global leader in energy management and industrial automation.
They provide the electrical infrastructure, hardware, software, and services required to run homes, factories, and cities efficiently.
They have a massive network operating in over 100 countries
[Image — Schneider Electric. Source: Company Presentation]
Why will it still be relevant in 20 years?
The massive shift toward electrification is permanent
AI and data centers have a bottomless thirst for electricity
Buildings and factories must become highly energy-efficient
5. Xylem ($XYL)
How does Xylem make money?
Xylem is a leading global water technology provider.
They design and manufacture specialized equipment for transporting, treating, testing, and efficiently managing water across municipal, industrial, and residential markets.
This American company has a network spread across the globe.
[Image — Xylem. Source: Company Presentation]
Why will it still be relevant in 20 years?
Clean water is a permanent global necessity
Aging infrastructure requires massive ongoing upgrades
The rise of smart water networks protects their position
4. ASML ($ASML)
How does ASML make money?
ASML is a Dutch company that makes some of the world's most important machines for the semiconductor industry.
They are the only company in the world that can build Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines.
This technology is critical to produce the most advanced chips found in smartphones, AI systems, and high-performance computers.
[Image — ASML. Source: Company Website]
Why will it still be relevant in 20 years?
They hold an absolute global monopoly on advanced chipmaking
The complexity of their machinery is nearly impossible to copy
They sit at the center of the permanent global tech expansion
Now let's dive in the top 3.
3. Microsoft ($MSFT)
How does Microsoft make money?
Microsoft is a global technology giant and a pioneer in personal computing and cloud infrastructure.
They develop and sell licenses to a massive ecosystem of software, services, and hardware including Windows, Office, Xbox, and Azure.
This American Multinational company is one of the most valuable public companies in human history.
Why will it still be relevant in 20 years?
AI will become even more important. Microsoft is a leader in AI through Windows, Azure, Microsoft 365, and its partnership with OpenAI
Businesses will keep relying on Microsoft. Millions of companies use Windows, Office, Teams, and Azure every day
Switching is expensive and difficult. Microsoft's ecosystem is so integrated that customers are unlikely to replace it
2. Alphabet ($GOOGL)
How does Alphabet make money?
Alphabet is a global technology powerhouse and the parent company of Google.
They dominate digital advertising, cloud computing, and consumer tech through products like Search, YouTube, Android, and Maps.
GOOGL is one of the most widely used and financially dominant platforms on Earth.
Why will it still be relevant in 20 years?
People will always need a reliable way to search, index, and access global knowledge
They possess an irreplaceable data advantage for AI
Google services are woven into daily human habit
1. Visa ($V)
How does Visa make money?
Visa is the world leader in digital payment processing.
This American multinational company operates the global network that connects consumers, merchants, and banks to facilitate electronic funds transfers.
Processing hundreds of billions of transactions a year across more than 200 countries, Visa has one of the strongest moats out there.
[Image — Visa. Source: Company Presentation]
Why will it still be relevant in 20 years?
The global shift away from cash is permanent
They run an irreplaceable global toll road
Massive network effects block out new competitors
Overview
That's it for today's thought exercise.
Here are the 10 companies Arka would own if he couldn't touch them for the next 20 years:
Visa: The digital tollbooth on global payments that nobody can replace
Alphabet: The internet default gateway, powered by billions of daily searches and unmatched AI-driven data
Microsoft: Critical software ecosystem that businesses can't afford to operate without
ASML: The only company that can build EUV lithography machines, making advanced chips possible
Xylem: Mission-critical water infrastructure solving the world's growing clean water and wastewater challenges
Schneider Electric: The backbone of energy management and industrial automation in an increasingly electrified world
Applied Materials: Essential chipmaking equipment and materials used in nearly every semiconductor produced
Thermo Fisher Scientific: The indispensable supplier of tools and consumables that power modern scientific research
Old Dominion Freight Line: Industry-leading freight network with unmatched service quality and the highest margins in trucking
Ferrari: Intentional scarcity for the world's richest people with permanent pricing power
Which stocks would you pick for the next 20 years?
Let me know in the community.
Everything in life compounds Team Compounding Quality
Book: Order your copy of The Art of Quality Investing here
Used sources Interactive Brokers: Portfolio data and executing all transactions Fiscal.ai: Financial data