Don't Overthink It -- the Market-Beater to Buy and Hold for 5 Years

It's no secret that buying and holding s of high-growth companies can help you earn outstanding returns in the stock market

This apach usually requires you to spread your portfolio across many stocks to tect yourself in the event a company fails to up to expectations

However, in recent years, the most dominant and fitable companies in the world have also been some of the best growth stocks to buy and hold for wealth-building returns

Their vast resources and leading nology have fostered innovation in emerging opportunities artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics

With that in mind, the stock I would consider buying for the next five years is Amazon (AMZN 0

Image source: Getty Images

If you look at Amazon's most recent quarterly sales growth, it's not impressive

First, the company is still dering double-digit growth in es that generate high margins and fuel strong earnings

Com every month are turning into a lucrative opportunity in advertising

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the leading enterprise cloud services vider

Custom AI chips and cutting-edge tools are helping client companies develop and build AI applications, driving incredible growth

Strong growth from advertising, cloud computing, and other non-retail services is imving Amazon's overall margin file, which will be a key catalyst for market-beating returns over the next five years

Is robotics Amazon's next monster growth opportunity

This is playing a key role in lowering costs and speeding up order cessing in the retail segment

The company is just getting started with robots too

As AI nology advances, so do the types of robots Amazon can use

Its Vulcan robot can sense the exact level of pressure to apply to an item to avoid damaging it

The arrival of humanoid robots that can walk and use synthetic hands for more intricate tasks could significantly increase ductivity and lower costs for Amazon in the next decade or so

Amazon has been testing its most advanced robotics nologies in its new fulfillment center in Shreveport, Louisiana

Management noted earlier this year that it was very encouraged by what they were seeing in terms of imving speed, lowering costs, and increasing efficiency

As these imvements roll out to more facilities, investors should see Amazon continue to expand its fit margins

That said, investors shouldn't expect Amazon's earnings to grow in a straight line since it is also heavily in data centers and other infrastructure to support growth across its, and such spending could result in lumpy fitability

A leading stock at a reasonable valuation Whether you look at price to sales, price to cash flow, or price to earnings, Amazon continues to trade within its historical valuation range and well below peak levels from the past few years

This suggest that investors may be overlooking Amazon's opportunity in areas robotics, given how rapidly AI is advancing

With this wide-moat combining strong growth in high-margin es advertising and cloud services with an imving cost structure thanks to AI and robotics, Amazon is a no-brainer stock to buy and hold for the next five years and more

John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors

John Ballard has no position in any of the stocks mentioned

The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon

The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.