The Best "Forever" Stock to Buy With Your Next $1,000
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By James Brumley – Apr 30, 2026 at 2:00AM ESTKey PointsGone are the days when a company could expect to thrive indefinitely just by being a big name in the business.Most companies -- and technology companies in particular -- are forced to proactively innovate simply because their competitors will.This organization looks very different from 15 years ago, and will likely look very different in 15 more years.Let's face it: many of the stock picks investors describe as "forever" holdings end up not being permanent positions when things take a turn for the worse. Fear leads to defensiveness, which leads to early exits. And truth be told, often that's the right move. True permanent holdings are few and far between. There's one actual "forever" prospect, however, that would likely be at home in almost anyone's portfolio. That's Alphabet (GOOG 0.17%)(GOOGL 0.11%). Here's why. Today's Alphabet is a lot different from yesteryear's The company doesn't need much of an introduction. Alphabet is, of course, parent to search engine giant Google, which handles 90% of the world's web searches (according to numbers from Statcounter) and accounts for more than half of the company's revenue and most of its earnings. ExpandNASDAQ: GOOGLAlphabetToday's Change(-0.11%) $-0.38Current Price$349.40Key Data PointsMarket Cap$4.2TDay's Range$344.24 - $355.7752wk Range$147.84 - $355.79Volume1.2MAvg Vol32MGross Margin59.68%Dividend Yield0.24% That's not all Alphabet is, of course. Streaming platform YouTube is a part of the organization, while Google Cloud has quickly grown. Alphabet also owns the popular mobile operating system Android. This is an impressive degree of diversification, made even more impressive by the fact that these businesses position Alphabet as a leader in several of the global economy's highest-growth markets. And it's proving it. Last year's revenue was up 15% year over year, extending a long-established streak of top-line growth. That's not quite what makes this name one you can feel good about buying and holding forever, however. It helps, but what makes Alphabet a great "forever" prospect is the fact that it's proven itself willing and able to establish new lines of business or pick those it can dramatically improve. Image source: Getty Images. Consider that YouTube and Android weren't part of this company in its infancy. Now, not only are they both solid profit centers in their own right, but they also funnel people into Google's broader ecosystem. Alphabet wasn't in the cloud computing business until 2008, but now it's the company's fastest-growing venture, chipping away at industry leader Amazon. And while it's still far too early to see how the effort might pay off, Alphabet's robotaxi initiative, Waymo, is promising, putting the company in a market that Precedence Research expects to grow by an average annual rate of more than 52% through 2034, when it could be worth nearly $190 billion per year. Its foray into artificial intelligence, of course, is a biggie as well. Built to be constantly rebuilt Alphabet isn't a great long-term investment just because it's great at what it does. The crux of the bullish argument here is that Alphabet can evolve and adapt as opportunities surface. It arguably does so better than most, in fact, as this innovation-and-experimentation mindset is woven into its corporate ethos. Perhaps the most exciting aspect of owning Alphabet for the long haul is seeing what new product it comes up with next to expand its reach and grow its top and bottom lines.Read NextApr 29, 2026 •By Motley Fool TranscribingAlphabet GOOGL Q1 2026 Earnings Call TranscriptApr 29, 2026 •By Leo Sun1 Reason I'd Buy Buffett's Final Favorite Stock And Never SellApr 29, 2026 •By Sean WilliamsBillionaires Have Chosen Their Favorite Quantum Computing Stock, and It's Not IonQ, Rigetti Computing, or D-Wave QuantumApr 29, 2026 •By Lyle DalyWhat is Chainlink (LINK)?Apr 29, 2026 •By Matt Frankel, CFPS&P 500 Explained: How the Index Works and How to Invest in ItApr 29, 2026 •By Anders BylundBest Quantum Computing Stocks to Buy in 2026 and How to Invest in ThemAbout the AuthorJames Brumley is a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst covering consumer staples and consumer discretionary stocks. James is a former licensed stockbroker with Charles Schwab, and a registered investment adviser. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business management with a specialization in finance from Transylvania University.TMFjbrumleyX@jbrumleyStocks MentionedAlphabetNASDAQ: GOOGL$349.40(-0.11%)-$0.38AmazonNASDAQ: AMZN$263.04(+1.29%)+$3.34AlphabetNASDAQ: GOOG$347.31(-0.06%)-$0.19*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.