What is the best stock to buy for the next 10 years?

On the one hand, Amazon ( AMZN ) is pouring nearly $200 billion into capital expenditures, doubling down on AI chips, cloud infrastructure, satellites, and ultra-fast delivery. On the other hand, Walmart ( WMT ) alone surpasses $700 billion in annual sales, gains share from high-income households, and turns advertising and memberships into powerful profit engines. Both are investing heavily in artificial intelligence (AI) and rapidly expanding their businesses.

But if you’re buying a stock to hold for the next decade, one has a strong long-term case.

Let’s break it down.

Over the past ten years, Amazon stock has returned 622%. And while Amazon began its journey as an e-commerce giant, it has now grown into a technology-driven growth engine fueled by cloud computing, AI, advertising, and logistics innovation.

In the latest fourth quarter, Amazon reported revenue of $213.4 billion, up 12% year-over-year (YOY), with operating income of $25 billion. Net income rose 4.8% to $1.95 per share. On the retail side, the daily essentials segment grew nearly twice as fast as other categories in the U.S., and Amazon delivered nearly 70% more same-day items YOY. Prime members enjoy special benefits and receive more than eight billion same-day or next-day items in the United States by 2025.

However, Amazon’s real story is no longer retail; This is Amazon Web Services. Notably, AWS revenue grew 24% YOY, reaching an annualized run rate of $142 billion. Management emphasized that this growth is occurring at a higher rate, adding more revenue than competitors. For the quarter, AWS added $2.6 billion in revenue and nearly $7 billion for the year. Management boasts that AWS will have added more data center capacity by 2025 than any other company in the world. In the global cloud computing market, AWS maintains its leading position with a market share of 28%. In addition, its chip business (Graviton and Trainium) is now at $10 billion and annual revenue is running at a rate of threefold.

Capital spending of $200 billion by 2026 is set primarily because of the massive demand for AWS.

“Customers really want AWS for core and AI workloads. And we’re monetizing capacity as fast as we can install it,” management said in its latest earnings call.

Beyond the cloud, Amazon’s advertising division brought in $21.3 billion in fourth-quarter revenue, marking a 22% increase over last year. Meanwhile, Prime Video’s ad-supported audience expanded to 315 million viewers worldwide. In addition, Amazon introduced Alexa Plus and continues to develop Amazon LEO satellite communications, with 180 satellites launched and a commercial rollout planned for 2026.

Analysts expect Amazon’s earnings to rise 8.5% to $7.78 per share in 2026, then rise 19.6% in 2027. Despite its growth profile, cloud dominance, and AI-driven goals, Amazon stock is reasonably valued, trading at 27.45 forward earnings at the time.

AMZN stock is down 7.87% year-to-date (YTD), compared to a 1% decline in the S&P 500 Index ($SPX). However, Wall Street predicts that the stock will rise 34% from current levels if it reaches its original target price of $284.75. Furthermore, a high target price of $360 implies a 69% upside potential over the next year.

Overall, Wall Street is bullish on Amazon stock. Of the 57 analysts covering the stock, 49 rate it a “strong buy”, five say it is a “neutral buy”, and three give it a “hold” rating.

Over the past decade, Walmart stock has returned 448.05%, and it remains the largest US retailer, with unparalleled physical scale. With more than 10,900 stores worldwide and a presence in 19 countries, Walmart serves approximately 280 million customers each week.

While margins are lower than Amazon’s cloud business, Walmart offers something Amazon doesn’t. It thrives even during economic downturns, with its defensive rental business and pricing power during inflation. Growing steadily but at a slow pace, WMT is mostly driven by same-store sales, e-commerce development, and membership programs.

In the fourth quarter, total revenue grew 4.5% on a 10.5% increase in adjusted operating income. For the full year, Walmart reached $700 billion in total revenue. Adjusted earnings rose 12.1% in Q4 and 5.2% for the full year to $2.64 per share. Digital sales exceeded $150 billion, accounting for 23% of total revenue. One of the biggest changes to Walmart’s model is the growth of higher-margin revenue streams such as advertising and memberships. Advertising sales were $6.4 billion for the year, while membership revenue increased more than 15%. This diversification reduces reliance on low-margin retail sales.

Also, Walmart is actively using AI in many areas of its business. It has partnered with OpenAI to allow customers to shop directly through AI chat interfaces such as ChatGPT, enabling conversational shopping and instant checkout. And, it uses AI to more efficiently manage inventory and improve logistics at its stores and distribution centers around the world.

One of the key features of Walmart is that it is a reliable dividend stock. Having paid and increased dividends for 52 years, Walmart is now part of an elite group of “Dividend Kings.” Recently, the company raised its annual dividend by 5% to $0.99 per share for fiscal year 2027. For conservative investors, its dividend stability provides defensive exposure during volatile times.

Analysts forecast a 9.5% increase in earnings per share to $2.89 in fiscal 2027, with a 12.8% increase in fiscal 2028.

WMT stock is up 10.84% ​​YTD, outperforming the overall market. Wall Street predicts that the stock will rise 11.58% from current levels if it reaches its average target price of $137.79. Furthermore, a high target price of $150 implies a potential upside of 21.47% over the next year.

Overall, Wall Street is bullish on Walmart stock. Out of 39 analysts covering the stock, 29 rate it a “strong buy”, six say it is a “neutral buy”, three give it a “hold” rating, and one says it is a “strong sell”.

In a diversified portfolio, both stocks fit well, as Amazon is a growth composite while Walmart is a defensive major. But if forced to choose one for the next decade, I’d lean toward Amazon. If AI spending and powerful cloud infrastructure remain secular trends, Amazon’s scale, custom silicon, and high-margin advertising in AWS give it a structural edge.

For investors willing to tolerate volatility in exchange for multiple long-term growth engines, Amazon offers the potential for strong returns over the next ten years.

As of the date of publication, Sushree Mohanty had no positions (either directly or indirectly) in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is for informational purposes only. This article was originally published on Barchart.com