Which stocks can be held for a lifetime?

Refer to some benchmarks in the U.S. stock market for guidance. In 1790, the Philadelphia Stock Exchange (PHLX) was established—the first institutionalized securities exchange in the United States—marking the formal birth of the U.S. capital market. On May 17, 1792, 24 brokers signed the Buttonwood Agreement under a buttonwood tree on Wall Street, agreeing to fixed commissions and priority trading among insiders—a precursor to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and widely regarded as the origin of the modern U.S. equity market. In 1817, the formal institution “New York Stock Exchange and Board of Brokers” was founded, establishing a dedicated trading floor; in 1863, it was officially renamed the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), a name still used today. On March 4, 1957, the modern version of the S&P 500 Index was launched. Of its original 500 constituent stocks, only about 50 remain in the index today—70 years later. A person living to age 90 or 100 could have roughly 70 years of investing experience starting from age 20—so those ~50 companies may serve as candidates for lifelong holdings. Research reveals: Consolidated Edison (ED), listed on the NYSE, holds the record for the longest continuous listing without delisting or suspension—tracing its roots back to the New York Gas Light Company, founded in 1823 and listed on the NYSE in 1824. It remains the only U.S. stock continuously traded for over 200 years. Tracing further back to the 1792 Buttonwood era, institutions that underwent reorganization and renaming include BNY Mellon (BK) and State Street (STT). Other blue-chip companies founded in the 19th century and continuously listed for over 100 years include Procter & Gamble (PG), Colgate-Palmolive (CL), Coca-Cola (KO), Deere (DE), General Mills (GIS), ExxonMobil (XOM), 3M (MMM), PPG Industries (PPG), Union Pacific (UNP), DuPont (DD), Merck (MRK), Pfizer (PFE), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), American Express (AXP), and Wells Fargo (WFC), among others. Among them, ED, KO, PG, XOM, and DE have never been removed from the S&P 500 since its 1957 inception—making them the longest-standing constituents within the S&P 500 system. The oldest operating corporations include ED (founded 1823), BNY (1784), CL (1806), and DD (1802)—all predating the S&P 500 by more than a century. Additionally, CL, PG, KO, JNJ, ED, and MRK simultaneously satisfy three criteria: (1) over 100 years old, (2) permanent S&P 500 constituents, and (3) uninterrupted dividend growth for 25+ years—epitomizing classic long-term value blue chips. In summary, only two types of enterprises tend to achieve exceptional longevity: (1) utilities (electricity, water)—backed by regulated, essential, franchise-based demand; and (2) essential consumer staples (personal care, beverages, food, pharmaceuticals)—featuring stable cash flows and industries virtually immune to disruptive obsolescence.

Who is choking TSMC and NVIDIA’s capacity? A leading semiconductor advanced materials company is becoming a new favorite among institutional investors.

According to RockFlow’s research team, within the 2026 semiconductor investment landscape, certain core industry leaders—though not chip sellers themselves—control critical consumables, formulations, and processes essential to advanced nodes and advanced packaging. Their value lies in irreplaceable positions at the foundational layer of the supply chain. Entegris (ENTG): The ‘Purification Gatekeeper’ for Advanced Processes At the 2nm node and beyond, cleanroom requirements have evolved from ‘dust-free environments’ to ‘atomic-level control.’ Even a single nanoscale metallic impurity can destroy transistor structures on wafers. ENTG’s core value stems precisely from this extreme purity requirement. Filtration and purification constitute its most solid business foundation. Photoresists, electronic specialty gases, and ultra-pure chemical liquids all require high-precision filtration during transport and use. As process nodes advance further, allowable impurity levels continue shrinking—raising wafer fabs’ demands for filter performance, reliability, and replacement frequency. This means ENTG’s revenue growth is not solely tied to wafer capacity expansion, but also benefits from rising material value per wafer. Moreover, ENTG’s precursor business is tightly coupled with advanced device architectures. In atomic layer deposition (ALD), specialized chemical precursors determine whether thin films can grow uniformly and stably. With the transition to gate-all-around (GAA) transistors—featuring more complex geometries—the molecular stability and reaction control of deposition materials face heightened demands. ENTG’s leadership in this domain elevates it beyond a mere consumables supplier to a key enabler of advanced process technologies. Embedded supply relationships further enhance ENTG’s customer stickiness. Wafer manufacturers exercise extreme caution when switching materials. Once TSMC, Intel, or Samsung finalize specifications for a given filtration system, chemical formulation, or fluid delivery system during R&D, they rarely change suppliers post-volume production—since any substitution risks introducing new defect modes. This path dependency grants ENTG strong cyclical resilience. Coherent (COHR): The ‘Thermal Management & Data Transmission Master’ at the Physical Limits COHR is an easily underestimated electronics component company powering AI infrastructure. It participates both in SiC substrate manufacturing and in deepening expertise across compound semiconductors such as InP and GaAs. If AI chip competition centers on raw compute power, COHR addresses two more fundamental challenges: how to convert energy efficiently—and how to transmit data at high speed. SiC substrates represent a major growth vector. COHR is among the earliest vendors advancing toward mass production of 8-inch SiC wafers. As the industry migrates from 6-inch to 8-inch substrates, whoever achieves stable yield improvements will occupy a more favorable position along the cost curve. In recent years, market attention on SiC has focused primarily on electric vehicles. Yet from a 2026 perspective, AI data centers, industrial power supplies, grid equipment, and charging infrastructure may prove to be more resilient demand drivers. Optical communication materials support AI data center expansion. As AI cluster scale grows, inter-server data transmission pressure surges dramatically. Rising demand for 800G and 1.6T optical modules further elevates the strategic importance of photonic materials like indium phosphide (InP).

Barclays Remains a Buy on DuPont de Nemours (DD)

3 days ago

Barclays analyst Aleksey Yefremov maintains a Buy rating on DuPont de Nemours with a $176 price target following strong quarterly results. The stock currently holds a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target of $163.80.

The Globe and Mail

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