Keith Speights, The Motley Fool
5 min read
In This Article:
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Berkshire Hathaway should continue its success even after Warren Buffett steps down as CEO.
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Enterprise Products Partners plays a critical role in the U.S. energy industry.
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Intuitive Surgical has strong long-term growth prospects in the robotic surgical systems market.
International stocks are having their day in the sun right now. Nine of the top 10 best-performing Vanguard exchange-traded funds (ETFs) focus on the stocks of companies based outside the U.S. However, anyone who wants to generate significant long-term returns can't afford to overlook U.S. stocks.
The best U.S. stocks to buy are those with businesses contributing to building America's tomorrow. Here are three such long-haul investments to consider.
I can't think of a better cheerleader for U.S. business than Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) (NYSE: BRK.B) chairman and CEO Warren Buffett. He wrote to Berkshire shareholders earlier this year that "America is Exhibit A" of how capitalism "can work wonders unmatched by other economic systems." Buffett also acknowledged that "Berkshire would not have achieved its results in any locale except America."
Berkshire Hathaway plays an important role in helping the U.S. prosper. Its insurance businesses protect millions of Americans from property and casualty risks. Berkshire Hathaway Energy serves around 5.3 million retail customers and operates roughly 21,000 miles of natural gas pipelines. The company's BNSF Railways transports products across the United States.
While insurance, energy, and rail are Berkshire's three biggest units, there's a lot more to the conglomerate. Berkshire owns over 60 subsidiaries representing nearly every major sector. Its investment portfolio owns stakes on 40-plus companies, most of which are based in the U.S., including highly successful American businesses such as Apple, Coca-Cola, and Chevron.
Will Berkshire Hathaway be able to continue its success once Buffett steps down as CEO? I think so. So does Buffett himself. The legendary investor told Berkshire shareholders at their annual meeting a few weeks ago that he thinks the company's prospects will be even better under his successor, Greg Abel, than they have been under his leadership.
The U.S. needs energy to thrive. This is becoming even more apparent with the data centers that host artificial intelligence (AI) applications requiring massive amounts of electricity. Natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs) play an especially critical role in meeting these growing power needs. And Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE: EPD) ranks as one of the top companies getting those fuels to where they need to go.
