Title: 10 Stocks for the next 20 years Show: Compounding Quality (Substack, paid post — compoundingquality.net) — written by TJ Terwilliger (Team Compounding Quality) Guest: TJ Terwilliger (author), introduced by Pieter Slegers Date: 2026-07-02 URL: https://www.compoundingquality.net/p/10-stocks-for-the-next-20-years Length: written post — no timestamps Note: Paid-subscriber post captured via Stephen's logged-in session. Body text verbatim; UI chrome removed. This issue is authored by TJ Terwilliger, a Compounding Quality team member (same arrangement as the Brookfield deep-dive written by guest analyst Jochen Vandenbergh) — Slegers introduces it and links his own earlier "10 stocks to own forever" list. Images noted inline as [Image — …]. Hi Partner 👋 I have a question for you… … What if you had to buy 10 stocks, but you couldn't sell any of them over the next 10 years? It's such a great thought exercise everyone should do once in a while. In the past, Pieter already made a list with 10 stocks to own forever. You can find it here. Today, TJ is doing the same. Let's dive in right away. [Image — Pieter (left) and TJ (right) at the Berkshire AGM] The Community The Compounding Quality community is an amazing place. Thousands of investors gather every single day to discuss stock and investment ideas. Recently, Alan asked this question: Just imagine you receive a large lump sum of money. It comes with one rule: you must invest it in 10 individual companies (no ETFs). The portfolio then goes into a trust that you can't touch or change for 20 years. Dividends are reinvested automatically. And if a company gets acquired, you automatically receive an equal value of shares in the company that buys it. It's a very interesting exercise. Because with this structure in place… You won't be focused on making the most money. You will be focused on avoiding big mistakes. It's all about following Warren Buffett's most famous rule: [Image — Buffett's Rule No. 1: Never lose money. Rule No. 2: Never forget rule No. 1.] Now let me show you the 10 companies I would buy and ignore for 20 years! 10. W.W. Grainger ($GWW) How does the company make money? Grainger sells maintenance, repair, and operating (MRO) supplies. They sell everything from safety goggles to industrial motors. Their products are offered to millions of businesses and institutions globally. [Image — Grainger business overview. Source: Grainger Investor Relations] Why will it still be relevant 20 years from now? Their huge size and wide distribution network keep costs low. They also carry the largest selection of products, making them a one-stop shop for complex operations. Grainger is built deeply into B2B supply chains and corporate facility maintenance. Physical businesses will always need tools, spare parts, and safety equipment to keep their facilities running. 9. Sherwin-Williams ($SHW) How does the company make money? Sherwin-Williams manufactures and distributes paint, coatings, and related supplies. They do this largely through their massive, localized network of company-owned stores tailored directly to professional contractors. [Image — Sherwin-Williams business overview. Source: Sherwin-Williams Investor Relations] Why will it still be relevant 20 years from now? Paint and protective coatings will always be needed to maintain the world's infrastructure and housing. Like Grainger, their distribution network is nearly impossible for new competitors to copy. Time is money for professional painters and contractors, and one of Sherwin-Williams' 5,400 stores is always nearby. This keeps pros very loyal to the company's products. 8. Cintas ($CTS) How does the company make money? Cintas makes money by renting and cleaning corporate uniforms and floor mats. Furthermore, they are restocking restroom and first-aid supplies for businesses. [Image — Cintas business overview. Source: Cintas Investor Relations] Why will it still be relevant 20 years from now? This is another business with huge local scale. Cintas runs more than 12,000 routes. Once a company becomes a customer, it rarely leaves. Cintas makes life easy for facility managers, and its size keeps costs low. As long as workplaces exist, they'll need clean uniforms, safety gear, and restroom and cleaning supplies. 7. Rollins ($ROL) How does the company make money? Rollins (the parent company of Orkin) provides pest control services to residential and commercial customers. They do this through a recurring subscription model. [Image — Rollins business overview. Source: Rollins Investor Relations] Why will it still be relevant 20 years from now? Pests like termites, rodents, and insects aren't going away. They need treatment again and again. This business holds up in a recession. Homeowners and companies cut almost everything else before they cancel pest control. The industry is still split among many small players. Rollins keeps buying them up, and has decades of growth ahead. 6. S&P Global ($SPGI) How does the company make money? S&P Global provides credit ratings, financial benchmarks (such as the S&P 500 index), and data analytics to the global capital markets. [Image — S&P Global business overview. Source: S&P Global] Why will it still be relevant 20 years from now? The company is one of just a few big players that dominate the world market. Companies that borrow money need credit ratings. The global financial system can't work without them. As long as capital markets exist, S&P Global will take a cut of financial data and transactions. 5. Mastercard ($MA) How does the company make money? Mastercard operates the world's largest digital payment networks. They earn a tiny fraction of a cent (and a percentage of the transaction) every time a card is swiped, inserted, or tapped globally. [Image — Mastercard financials. Source: Fiscal.ai] Why will it still be relevant in 20 years from now? Mastercard's network feeds itself. Merchants accept it because shoppers use it, and shoppers use it because merchants accept it. Mastercard takes no credit risk. It just runs the toll road that global payments flow through. The world keeps moving away from cash, and that pushes more and more payments onto Mastercard's network. 4. Brookfield Corporation ($BN) How does the company make money? Brookfield is an alternative asset manager that owns and operates massive, cash-generating real assets across the globe. This includes toll roads, hydroelectric dams, and premier real estate. [Image — Brookfield business overview. Source: Brookfield Corporation] Why will it still be relevant 20 years from now? They own physical assets the global economy depends on, and these can't be replaced. Their revenue often comes from contracts that last 20 to 50 years and rise with inflation. The management team is excellent at putting money to work. They buy troubled assets, fix them up, and reinvest the proceeds. Now let's dive in the top 3. 3. Waste Management ($WM) How does the company make money? Waste Management is responsible for the collection, transport, and disposal of trash and recycling. They operate the absolute largest network of landfills in North America. [Image — Waste Management business overview. Source: Waste Management Investor Relations] Why will it still be relevant 20 years from now? New landfills are almost impossible to build. Zoning rules are strict, and people who live nearby fight them. Trash isn't going away, and we make more of it every year. The business is more than just trash. WM turns its landfills into energy, capturing renewable natural gas and selling it. 2. Automatic Data Processing ($ADP) How does the company make money? ADP provides comprehensive payroll, human resources, and human capital management software and services to businesses of all sizes worldwide. They also earn significant interest income by holding client funds before distributing them as payroll. [Image — ADP business overview. Source: ADP Investor Relations] Why will it still be relevant in 20 years from now? Switching is a huge hassle. Moving a company's entire payroll and HR system is a massive headache, so management teams avoid it. People have to get paid no matter what, so businesses need ADP's services in any economy. Taxes and regulations get more complex every year. Rather than risk huge fines doing it themselves, businesses gladly pay ADP to handle it 1. Berkshire Hathaway ($BRK) How does the company make money? Berkshire is the best investment holding company in the world. They use the float from its massive insurance operations to acquire fully owned, high-quality businesses and minority stakes in public equities. Why will it still be relevant 20 years from now? The whole business is built to survive in any economy. Warren Buffett built a strong culture: each business runs itself day to day, while big money decisions are made centrally and wisely. They own strong physical assets, like the BNSF railway and huge utility networks, that will generate cash for generations. Overview That's it for today. Here are the 10 companies I'd own if I couldn't touch them for the next 20 years: Berkshire Hathaway: Permanent capital and strong allocation Automatic Data Processing (ADP): High switching costs, and a regulatory moat Waste Management: Irreplaceable network of routes and landfills Brookfield Corporation: Inflation-linked real assets Mastercard: Global network effects S&P Global: Financial data and credit rating oligopoly Rollins: Essential recurring services for pest control Cintas: High switching costs and unmatched scale Sherwin-Williams: Irreplaceable distribution network W.W. Grainger: Recurring B2B sales at massive scale 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 Disclaimer As a reader of Compounding Quality, you agree with our disclaimer. You can read the full disclaimer here.