Blue chip companies have solid business models and impressive track records of billion casino royal:returns for investors. These returns often include regular and growing billion casino royal:dividend payments.
The billion casino royal:blue chip stocks' attractive risk-reward pro🅰files make them among the most popular for conservative investors. But even more billion casino royal:risk-tolerant investors should consider buying blue chip stocks to billion casino royal:diversify their portfolios and provide sta👍bility during turbulent stock market conditions.
What are they?
What is a blue chip stock?
So, what are blue chip stocks? A blue chip stock is defined as a security that represents an equity position in a company posse🐽ssing most of the following characterist༒ics:
- An industry leader with a dependable business model.
- A proven track record and strong reputation with consumers and billion casino royal:shareholders.
- A history of delivering strong returns over the long term.
- Dividends paid to shareholders and regular increases to its payouts.
Top five to buy now
Best blue chip stocks to buy right now
Even if you've never invested in the stock market, you'll recognize the names of many top blue chip stocks. These large-cap companies provide products and services that billions of people worldwide use daily. Here are some of the best blue chip companies on the market:Blue Chip Companies | Market Cap |
---|---|
1. Apple (billion casino royal:NASDAQ:AAPL) | $2.82 trillion |
2. Berkshire Hathaway (billion casino royal:NYSE:BRK.A)(billion casino royal:NYSE:BRK.B) | $880.5 billion |
3. Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) | $262.1 billion |
4. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) | $376.9 billion |
5. American Express (NYSE:AXP) | $154.9 billion |
1. Apple
billion casino royal:Apple (AAPL 1.22%) is one of the world's most profitable companies. It has pioneered advancements in the billion casino royal:technology sector throughout its history.
The company innovated with its Macintosh computers in the 1980s and made media portable with its iPods in the early 2000s. Its iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches are ubiquitous today. In a world where consumers flock to the latest tech fads, Apple's products enjoy notable loyalty from its customer base.Apple also earns recurring revenue through its services, which include its iTunes, App Store, and streaming television businesses. Apple's billion casino royal:market capitalization climbed past the $1 trillion mark in 2018, up to an unprecede🐷nted $2 trillion in 2020, and🍎 has since had periods when its valuation topped the $3 trillion mark.
billion casino royal: Revenue
While the company's valuation has sometimes fluctuated in conjunction with volatility for the broader market, the tech giant's stock has been an excellent performer for long-term investors. Even though Microsoft (billion casino royal:NADSAQ:MSFT) has grown to become the world's most valuable business, Apple is still the second-largest billion casino royal:public company -- and the business has pleꦉnty of room for growth over the long term.
2. Berkshire Hathaway
billion casino royal:Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A 0.58%)(BRK.B 0.61%) is a major player in the billion casino royal:insurance industry, offering various lines of commercial and personal insurance through subsidiaries G𝓀EICO and Gen Re. But Berkshire owns a diverse set of businesses.
For instance, Berkshire owns restaurant chain Dairy Queen, railroad giant BNSF, and Berkshire Hathaway Energy, a utility company. It owns billion casino royal:water companies,♎ consumer apparel businesseܫs, battery brands, and more.
It's important to note that Berkshire Hathaway is the only blue chip stock on this list that doesn't pay a dividend. billion casino royal:CEO Warren Buffett has one of the most impressive track records of market-beating returns in🎀 history and prefers investing the company's cash in lieu of payin🐬g dividends. That strategy has worked out great for shareholders so far.
3. Coca-Cola
billion casino royal:Coca-Cola (KO 0.05%) has been a leader in the billion casino royal:beverage industry for more than a century, with its namesake soft drink spawning a global empire. Yet Coca-Cola has also changed with the times and now provides a much billion casino royal:broader array of products, including juices, sports drinks, and bottled water tailored for more🦂 health-conscious consumers.
Coca-Cola particularly stands out for increasing its dividend. Its streak of consecutive annual dividend payment increases dates back to the early 1960s, a track record placing it among the top 10 billion casino royal:dividend stocks on the market.
4. Johnson & Johnson
billion casino royal:Johnson & Johnson (JNJ 0.85%) is well known for its popular billion casino royal:consumer products, including baby shampoo, Band-Aids, and Tylenol pain reliever. However, J&J separated its consumer health products business into a new company called Kenvue (KVUE -0.44%) through a billion casino royal:stock spinoff that was completed in May 2023. The two companies are separate entities, but J&J still owned roughly 90% of billion casino royal:Kenvue stock at the time of the spinoff, so it remains heavily invested in its ཧmajor consumer produ𒊎cts brands.
Even with the spinoff, J&J is a true healthcare giant and makes a wide array of billion casino royal:medical devices to help doctors and other medical professionals perform lifesaving procedures. Johnson & Johnson also has a vast billion casino royal:pharmaceutical business and produces drugs, such as the arthr🥀itis t🍃reatment Remicade, prostate cancer drug Zytiga, and psoriasis drug Stelara.
5. American Express
Financial giant American Express (AXP 0.07%) is another blue chip stalwart to consider. It's both a credit card company and a payments network. Its main revenue generators include credit card fees an🍰d transaction processing f🅺ees.
The company is poised to increase both revenue streams with new users and higher transaction volume. It's more than 170 years old, but it's apparently staying relevant: More than 60% of new card accounts in 2022 were millennials and Gen Z consumers -- an encouraging sign.
Gen Z
A bigger list
A bigger list of blue chips
Investors have a sizable billion casino royal:number of blue chip stocks to choose fꦅrom. Here's a list of 20 additional top blue chip stocks:
- AbbVie (ABBV 1.36%)
- Nike (NKE -1.21%)
- billion casino royal:Lockheed Martin (LMT -0.66%)
- Honeywell International (HON 0.91%)
- billion casino royal:Procter & Gamble (PG 0.45%)
- Mastercard (MA 0.84%)
- JPMorgan Chase (JPM 0.3%)
- billion casino royal:Walmart (WMT -0.05%)
- billion casino royal:Microsoft (MSFT 1.75%)
- Caterpillar (CAT 0.52%)
- UnitedHealth Group (UNH 0.71%)
- Starbucks (SBUX 0.09%)
- Oracle (ORCL 0.63%)
- billion casino royal:Northrop Grumman (NOC -0.93%)
- McDonald's (MCD 1.19%)
- Home Depot (HD 2.4%)
- Kroger (KR -1.63%)
- Merck (MRK 2.39%)
- Intel (INTC 0.71%)
- Goldman Sachs (GS 1.66%)
Why invest
Investing in blue chip companies
Blue chip stocks are smart choices for investors of all kinds. Beginning investors are likely familiar with the products and services of blue chip companies. Familiarity with a company makes stock-buying more comfortable, and it's exciting to become a partial owner of a business you know.Meanwhile, long-time investors will have seen blue chip stocks rise to the top over the long haul, outlasting their weaker rivals and finding ways to stay relevant and continue growing, even as their industries change.Investors of all experience levels can appreciate the stability and reliability blue chip businesses give to shareholders. Many of these companies billion casino royal:pay great dividends and have payout growth streaks that have earned them a spot among the illustrious ranks of the billion casino royal:Dividend Kings.
ETFs
Hands-off investing with blue chip funds
Investors may also want to consider billion casino royal:exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and billion casino royal:mutual funds. Blue chip-focused ETFs and mutual funds bundle numerous blue chip stocks into a single security, offering a simple way to diversify across many high-quality stocks and build exposure to industries ranging from technology and hardware to pharmaceuticals and billion casino royal:electric utilities.
These investment vehicles also tend to be less volatile than individual stocks, particularly appealing to people who are retired or nearing retirement. billion casino royal:Blue chip ETFs a🦄nd mutual funds can also be a good fit for younger investors seeking the defensive advantages of diversification or who don't have the time to research individual stocks adequately.
Alternatively, blue chip ETFs can offer a narrower concentration of high-quality stocks than an S&P 500-tracking ETF or a billion casino royal:Nasdaq-tracking ETF.
Related investing topics
Balancing your portfolio
Blue chips in a well-balanced portfolio
If you're looking for maximum growth in your stock investments, you'll also want to go beyond blue chip stocks to look at some up-and-coming billion casino royal:small-cap stocks of innovative young companies seeking to disrupt their large🐻r rivals. These high-growth upstarts aim to be the blue chip stocks of tomorrow.
However, just about every investor can benefit from having a portion of their portfolio invested in blue chip stocks. It doesn't have to be a set percentage; investors will have varying viewpoints about how much risk they want to assume.FAQ
Blue chip stocks FAQ
What are blue chip stocks?
What are the blue chip stocks in the U.S.?
Abbvie, Nike, billion casino royal:Lockheed Martin, Honeywell, billion casino royal:Northrop Grumman, and Procter & Gamble are additional examples of blue chip companies headquartered in the country. Many blue chips generate a substantial amount of their sales and earnings from other geographic markets, b𝄹ut most lists of blue chip stocks are primarily made up of U.S.-based companies.