2 Unstoppable Growth Stocks to Hold for the Next 20 Years

The stock market has an incredibly impressive long-term track record of wealth creation, and we can reasonably expect it to continue dering excellent returns over the next 20 years

Investors can capitalize on this by buying ETFs that track major indexes, or by in individual stocks that can perform as well, if not better, than broader equities

Microsoft Everyone is familiar with the Microsoft brand, but many still associate it with the company's legacy computer operating system (OS)

There is a good reason for that

Microsoft remains the runaway leader in the operating software space in both personal and computing, and this segment continues to make meaningful contributions to the company's total revenue and earnings

However, Microsoft's most significant growth driver these days is its cloud computing, Microsoft Azure

The leader is second only to Amazon in cloud computing -- and in fact, it has been gaining ground on its longtime competitor

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Amazon's CEO, Andy Jassy, has said that more than 85% of IT spending still happens on premises (i. , off the cloud), despite the benefits of the latter

That grants cloud leaders, including Microsoft, ample addressable market to exploit in the next two decades

Microsoft should remain a top player in the niche for at least two reasons

First, it benefits from a moat thanks to switching costs

Second, Microsoft generates a substantial amount of cash to invest in the

Further, Microsoft's work in artificial intelligence (AI) is viding it with another boost

Riding this tailwind for the next two decades should lead to consistent earnings and market-beating performances for the stock, a continuation of what Microsoft has been doing for a very long time

Lastly, Microsoft is an excellent dividend stock

True, yield seekers won't find what they're looking for here

Intuitive Surgical Intuitive Surgical has dominated the robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) market over the past two decades

It has had little competition to speak of, which, coupled with its constant innovations and imvements to its famous da Vinci surgical system, has led to strong financial results

However, other companies, particularly Medtronic, seem close to posing a much bigger direct threat to Intuitive Surgical's leadership

Here's why investors shouldn't worry that

First, it will take years for even a medical device giant Medtronic to earn ance for its device, the Hugo system, across most of the areas in which the da Vinci system has received apval

Second, Intuitive Surgical also benefits from switching costs

Its devices aren't cheap, and it takes time to train medical personnel on them

After time, energy, effort, and money on a da Vinci system, healthcare facilities won't want to switch to a competing one

Third, and perhaps most importantly, there is massive opportunity in the RAS market

That's a key reason why more companies are entering the market

It's unly to have changed much since

That's before we take into account the fact that over time, there will be a higher demand for these robotic cedures as the world's population ages

Intuitive Surgical is better positioned than any other company to ride that wave in the next two decades, especially as it keeps innovating

It launched the fifth generation of its da Vinci system last year and has started integrating AI into some of its features

Intuitive Surgical's future looks mising despite mounting competition, which is why the company's s remain a worthwhile investment for the long term.