10 Blue-Chip Stocks to Buy for the Long Term: Morningstar

Investors often hold blue-chip stocks in their portfolios because their names are familiar and the companies are leaders in their industry.

Investors differ, however, on how they define a blue-chip stock, Margaret Giles, a Morningstar content development editor, writes in a new blog post. Some demand that a blue-chip stock be included in a particular index, while others include only dividend-paying companies on their list and still others insist on a specific market-capitalization threshold.

The companies from which Morningstar selects the best blue-chip stocks to buy for the long term come from its list of best companies to own for 2024. All the stocks have market caps above $100 billion.

The best companies have wide Morningstar economic moat ratings and predictable cash flows, and, in analysts’ view, their management teams make smart capital-allocation decisions. The stocks also look undervalued, meaning they are trading below the firm’s fair value estimates.

See the accompanying gallery for the biggest firms on Morningstar’s best companies to own list whose stocks were at least 10% undervalued as of April 24. Year-to-date performance is as of April 26.