Cathie Wood, CEO of Ark Invest, has changed the perception about exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Wood's investment philosophy of investing in disruptive innovation stocks has made her a lot of money, and her strategy of revealing her trades on a daily basis has found much respect among investors. Specifically, Cathie Wood primarily invests in growth stocks, so her trades offer a great starting point for investors to research and buy stocks with multibagger potential for the long haul.
As of Oct. 15, Ark Invest operated six actively managed ETFs that held as many as 152 stocks between them. Among these, here are three stocks I believe you could buy and hold for the next 10 years, at least.
Get ready to be surprised: While two of these Cathie Wood stocks are typical growth stocks with exponential potential, the third is an established industrial heavyweight that's been a multibagger.
A top bet on an industry ready to explode
Teladoc Health (TDOC -3.28%) is among Cathie Wood's top stocks. As of Oct. 15:
- Teladoc Health is Ark Invest's second-largest holding after Tesla among all its ETFs combined.
- It is the largest holding in the Ark Genomic Revolution ETF.
- It is the second-largest holding in Ark Invest's flagship fund, Ark Innovation ETF.
Ark Invest first bought shares in the virtual care company in September 2020, and there's been no stopping since. I vehemently share Cathie Wood's conviction on this stock: Teladoc Health is a top bet in an industry with exponential growth potential.
Image source: Getty Images.
All you need to do is look at Teladoc Health's recent operational performance to gauge how far the stock can go. Granted, past performance doesn't guarantee future results, but the truth is that it's only now -- after the COVID-19 pandemic -- that people have started opting for online consultations. In other words, the virtual healthcare market has barely started growing and there could be no limit to how big it can become in the next decade or so.
Frost & Sullivan, for example, pegs virtual care in the U.S. alone to grow nearly 40% annually through 2025. Teladoc Health is already the world's leading provider in virtual care, providing a wide array of services from doctor consultations for primary care to chronic disease management.
In the first half of 2021, Teladoc Health grew its revenue by an astounding 127% year over year as total visits on its platform surged 40%. The company expects to generate $2 billion or more in revenue this year, or nearly 85% higher than 2020. With the company also recently expanding its primary care service to commercial organizations and with health insurance giants like Aetna trying to keep up with Teladoc Health, this is one stock that could roll on its way to the trillion-dollar club by the next decade.
The best stock in a critical industry
Cathie Wood owns Lockheed Martin (LMT 0.18%) in two Ark Invest ETFs, and has been buying the stock consistently since the beginning of the year.
National defense is a critical part of federal spending in the U.S., with the nation spending more on defense than other advanced economies when measured in terms of the economy's size: Defense accounted for 11% of federal spending last year. At $768 billion, the defense spending bill for fiscal 2022 is 5% higher over 2021. That makes defense stocks great investments for the long term; and if you were to pick one stock, Lockheed Martin, the largest defense contractor in the U.S. with a huge backlog, is a top pick.
In 2020, the U.S. government brought in sales worth $65.4 billion for Lockheed Martin, making up 74% of its total sales. Its F-35 Lightning II combat fighter program, also its largest, accounted for 28% of the company's total sales last year. As of June, Lockheed Martin had a backlog value of $141.7 billion, of which 39% could be realized within the next 12 months, and roughly 61% in the next 24 months.
The best part is, you get paid while Lockheed Martin converts its growing backlog into revenue. The stock has increased its dividend for 19 consecutive years and currently yields a healthy 3.1%. Dividend growth has contributed substantially to Lockheed Martin's stock returns in the past decade, and that's likely to continue in the coming decade. With the company also running a share repurchase program worth $6 billion, it's a top-notch stock to own for the long term.
A stunning growth stock that's making huge moves
As of Oct. 15, Square (SQ -2.86%) was the sixth-largest stock in ARK Invest's entire portfolio of all ETFs combined.
Square stock may have slowed down after its torrid run last year, but that doesn't temper the growth stock's potential over the next decade or so. That's because Square's growing seller ecosystem from individuals to industries and an app that's grabbing eyeballs hint at significant growth potential ahead for the fintech stock.
From starting off in 2009 with a tiny card reader, Square has evolved into a fintech company that combines software and hardware to offer sellers a multitude of products and services from payments and point-of-sale solutions to analytics and business loans. Square also launched Square Banking for its U.S. sellers last quarter, is expanding its business rapidly from small to mid-market merchants, and is growing its international footprint.
Above all, Square's Cash App, which allows individuals to manage money, transfer money, and trade Bitcoin, is gaining solid traction. Revenue from Cash App grew at a compound annual rate of 258% in the past two years. Cash App alone raked in revenue worth $3.3 billion and gross profit of $546 million in the second quarter, or almost 48% of Square's total gross profit.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a huge catalyst, with Square's inflows per monthly transacting active Cash App customer nearly doubling in just two years. With Square recently teaming up with TikTok to tap social media for growth and on track to acquire Australia's buy-now-pay-later company Afterpay, that serves 16 million consumers, there's a lot for investors to look forward to in this growth-hungry company.
