Key Points

• Blue chip companies have established sound business models that can deliver solid returns over time.

• These companies often operate in stable industries with steady demand for their services.

• They also tend to display a strong economic moat through pricing power and barriers to entry.

• 10 stocks we like better than Berkshire Hathaway ›

Investing in the stock market is one way to build enduring, long-term wealth. As an investor, you could choose to invest in high-flying growth stocks, dividend stocks that provide passive income, or more conservative investments that can preserve and grow your investments steadily over time.

One strategy you can consider is investing in blue chip companies. These companies have withstood the test of time thanks to sound business models that have led to solid returns for patient investors.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »

Blue chips typically offer reliable dividends and steady long-term growth, making them appealing to both seasoned investors and newcomers seeking to establish a solid financial foundation. Here are four blue chip stocks you can invest in today.

Image source: Getty Images.

Berkshire Hathaway

Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) (NYSE: BRK.B) has thrived under the leadership of its longtime CEO, Warren Buffett. Since 1965, Buffett has led the conglomerate to 20% annualized returns, or enough to turn a $100 investment into $5.5 million today.

So when Buffett announced earlier this year he was stepping down at the end of 2025, it took the wind out of the sails of Berkshire Hathaway stock, which is down 12% since the announcement in early May.

However, Berkshire Hathaway is a widely diversified conglomerate with holdings across numerous industries, including insurance, transportation, materials, consumer goods, and energy. Its insurance operations help generate a steady stream of cash flow, which it can invest in treasuries or equities, or use to acquire companies outright.

What makes Berkshire appealing right now is its massive cash pile and positive tailwinds from higher interest rates. The Federal Reserve is cautious about cutting interest rates due to concerns about inflation stemming from higher tariffs. This has resulted in rates staying "higher for longer," and Berkshire has benefited to the tune of $2.9 billion in interest income in the first quarter.

Berkshire will be under new leadership, led by CEO Greg Abel, with its investment portfolio managed by Todd Combs and Ted Weschler, the investing lieutenants tapped by Buffett and the late Charlie Munger over a decade ago. While the uncertainty around its future remains, I think it's well-capitalized and diversified enough that it's a buy at today's price.

Progressive

Progressive (NYSE: PGR) is the second-largest automotive insurer in the United States. What sets this blue chip company apart is its disciplined underwriting, strong brand, and direct-to-consumer model.

The company relies heavily on technology and data to accurately price risk and was one of the original companies to adopt usage-based insurance, known as telematics. This approach utilizes driver data to price policies, which is one reason the company has outperformed its competitors.

Progressive's track record of navigating underwriting cycles while maintaining profitability distinguishes it. Going back 23 years, the company's combined ratio has averaged 92%, which is significantly lower than the industry average of 100%. Put differently, Progressive has earned an average of $8 in underwriting profit for every $100 in premiums.

As a stock, Progressive offers defensive characteristics with upside. Insurance is a stable industry that enjoys steady demand, and Progressive has demonstrated its ability to outperform its peers in underwriting profitability.

The company is also well-positioned to perform if inflation and interest rates were to remain elevated. That's because it has pricing power, allowing it to adapt to rising costs, and it also earns interest on float (the cash it collects from premiums but hasn't yet paid out in claims).

Its stellar long-term performance and ongoing strong underwriting make Progressive an excellent blue chip stock to consider adding to your portfolio today.

Chubb

Chubb (NYSE: CB) is one of the world's largest publicly traded property and casualty insurers, recognized for its underwriting discipline, global diversification, and robust balance sheet. It operates across commercial and personal lines, with a reputation for serving high-net-worth individuals and complex corporate risks. Its conservative approach to risk, coupled with a broad international footprint, has enabled it to weather economic cycles well.

Chubb has been a solid dividend stock for investors, growing its payout for 32 consecutive years. With a yield of 1.4% and an average annual total return of 11.7% over the past two decades, the company offers investors a balanced combination of income and stock price appreciation. It also enjoys the benefits that Progressive does, such as pricing power and interest income, making it another solid blue chip stock to consider owning today.

S&P Global

S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI) plays a key role in markets. The company is perhaps best known for its S&P 500 index, but it also provides credit ratings, data, and analytics. Barriers to entry make it difficult to break into the credit ratings space, and S&P Global holds a 50% share of this market.

S&P Global's business model is resilient and scalable. Credit rating demand rises with bond issuance, while its index and data segments enjoy recurring fees from ETF licensing and subscriptions. The company also has low capital requirements, which enables it to enjoy high margins, recurring revenue, and a global reach.

The company has raised its dividend payout for 53 years, making it an exclusive member of the Dividend Kings club. While it offers a modest dividend yield of 0.7%, when combined with its stock price appreciation, S&P Global has returned 15.3% annually over the past two decades. For investors, S&P Global offers growth and a wide moat along with steady cash flows, making it a quality blue chip stock to own today.

Should you invest $1,000 in Berkshire Hathaway right now?

Before you buy stock in Berkshire Hathaway, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Berkshire Hathaway wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $671,477!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,010,880!*

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See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of July 7, 2025

Courtney Carlsen has positions in Berkshire Hathaway and Progressive. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Berkshire Hathaway, Progressive, and S&P Global. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Artificial intelligence (AI) isn't a bubble. It's the technological innovation of our age -- one that will alter the course of humanity for the foreseeable future.

Want definitive proof? Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg is reportedly willing to pay $100 million in bonus packages to poach top AI talent from rivals, personally sending WhatsApp messages to hundreds of researchers and hosting them at his homes to close deals. When one of the world's richest CEOs abandons his executive suite to become his company's chief recruiter, you know you're witnessing something far more substantial than dot-com era vaporware.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »

While everyone obsesses over which company will build the first superintelligence, the smartest money is quietly accumulating positions in the companies that will profit regardless of which company wins. Think of it this way: During the California Gold Rush, the prospectors went bust -- but the folks selling picks and shovels got rich.

Today's AI revolution follows the same playbook. The following five stocks are perfectly positioned to profit from every dollar spent in this technological arms race.

Image source: Getty Images.

Nvidia's hidden robotics revolution

Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) gets all the AI chip headlines, but the real story is its transformation into a full-stack AI computing company. While investors fixate on quarterly graphics processing unit (GPU) sales, Nvidia is quietly building the computing platform for the next generation of humanoid robots, agentic AI systems, and autonomous vehicles.

The company's chips and software are becoming the preferred choice for developers building everything from factory robots to self-driving cars. The robotics market alone could reach $375 billion by 2035, yet Wall Street still values Nvidia like a semiconductor company selling commodity chips.

Amazon's margin-expansion story

Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) is deploying 750,000 robots across its fulfillment centers, but that's just the beginning of its automation journey. Its next-generation AI-powered robots are designed to work alongside human employees, handling the most physically demanding tasks while freeing workers to focus on higher-value activities.

This human-robot collaboration could drive fulfillment costs down by 50% within five years through increased efficiency and reduced workplace injuries. If Amazon's automation investments pay off as expected, its operating margins could expand from today's 11.8% toward Apple-like levels above 31% -- a margin-expansion story the market hasn't begun to price in.

A multitrillion-dollar digital opportunity

Meta Platforms might be spending billions on AI talent, but the real payoff comes when it merges artificial intelligence with its metaverse ambitions. Imagine AI agents that can build entire virtual worlds on command, create photorealistic avatars indistinguishable from humans, and enable real-time translation across 100 languages in virtual meetings.

While predicting exact market sizes is challenging, some analysts believe the AI-powered metaverse could become a multitrillion-dollar opportunity by 2035 -- a massive market hiding in plain sight.

A virtual monopoly

ASML (NASDAQ: ASML) owns the most important monopoly nobody talks about. This Dutch company manufactures the only extreme ultraviolet lithography machines capable of etching the nanoscale transistors required for next-generation AI chips.

Every single advanced AI chip -- whether made by Nvidia, AMD, or Intel -- depends on ASML's machines. With a 10-year technological lead and a multibillion euro backlog, ASML essentially holds the keys to the entire AI hardware kingdom.

A hidden AI innovator

S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI) isn't building AI -- it's feeding the beast. The company's vast troves of financial data are becoming the training ground for Wall Street's AI revolution, with its new Microsoft Copilot integration putting 160 years of market intelligence at traders' fingertips.

As every hedge fund and investment bank races to build AI-powered trading systems, S&P Global gets paid regardless of who wins, collecting tolls on the data superhighway that makes it all possible.

The big picture

The AI gold rush is real, but the smartest investors know that owning the infrastructure beats betting on individual prospectors every time. These five stocks offer diversified exposure to every corner of the AI revolution -- from the chips that power it to the data that fuels it to the platforms that will commercialize it.

While some chase the latest AI start-up unicorn, investors who own these infrastructure plays -- either directly or through technology-focused exchange-traded funds (ETFs) like the Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT) -- are positioned to profit from the companies that make the entire ecosystem possible.

The beauty of this approach? You don't need to pick which AI model wins or which start-up gets acquired. You just need exposure to the companies selling the picks and shovels to everyone digging for gold.

Should you invest $1,000 in Nvidia right now?

Before you buy stock in Nvidia, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Nvidia wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $664,089!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $881,731!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 994% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 172% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of June 23, 2025

John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. George Budwell has positions in Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Vanguard Information Technology ETF. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends ASML, Advanced Micro Devices, Amazon, Apple, Intel, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, and S&P Global. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft, short August 2025 $24 calls on Intel, and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

For the last couple of years, it's been easy to group the "Magnificent Seven" together. These massive companies have become the dominant tech players and have taken advantage of artificial intelligence (AI) like no other group of companies in the market.

But once President Donald Trump took office and enacted sweeping tariffs, the group began to diverge based on how tariffs impacted their supply chains and the types of products and services they sold.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More »

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) has been one of the strongest, most resilient performers in the group. Is it time to double down on Microsoft stock today?

Riding Azure's momentum

While all the companies in the Magnificent Seven operate in the tech sector, most of them have been able to develop diversified revenue streams. Microsoft has many unique tech businesses, including cloud services, Microsoft Office 365 products, gaming, LinkedIn, search and advertising, and more.

Luckily for Microsoft, many of these businesses are services the company provides and therefore are less impacted by tariffs, which likely explains its strong performance in 2025 (as of June 3).

MSFT data by YCharts.

But a big reason for the company's strong performance is Azure, which falls under the company's cloud services and products category. Azure and other cloud services revenue in the company's third fiscal quarter of 2025 (quarter ended March 31, 2025) grew 35% year over year.

Azure is the foundation of Microsoft's artificial intelligence offerings and business. Launched in 2010, Azure started as a cloud computing network of data centers that companies could run their business on instead of maintaining their own infrastructure.

Since then, Azure has branched out to offer numerous other products, including in artificial intelligence. Through a partnership with OpenAI, Azure provides AI models that developers and businesses can leverage to build their own AI applications. Microsoft has also integrated AI tools from Azure into its own applications, such as Microsoft 365 Copilot, to automate repetitive tasks and improve efficiency.

Image source: Getty Images.

Many investors questioned Microsoft's significant capital expenditures (capex) on AI over the last two to three years, wondering when they would see a payoff, which has now started to play out. Interestingly, on the company's most recent earnings call, Microsoft CFO Amy Hood pointed out that it's getting harder to separate AI-related revenue from non-AI-related revenue, as the two are starting to feed off of one another.

Evercore analyst Kirk Materne raised his price target on Microsoft from $500 to $515 in late May and maintained a buy rating on the company. Materne said that not only is Microsoft all in on AI, but the more traditional cloud business also still has plenty of runway, considering only around 20% of information technology workloads run in the cloud today -- a number Materne thinks could eventually increase to 80%. And AI tools could be a way to bring more businesses onto the cloud. Materne estimates that Microsoft's AI revenue could reach upwards of $110 billion by fiscal year 2028.

Time to double down?

There are several reasons to double down on Microsoft. For one, it is arguably the company least impacted by tariffs in the Magnificent Seven. As Morningstar points out, the company "has minimal risk exposure to retail, advertising spending, cyclical hardware, or physical supply chains." This should make it more resilient as the trade war continues to play out.

Microsoft's cloud and AI business is also starting to thrive. The company is reaping benefits from all the capex spending and is well-positioned to further grow revenue as the digital transformation of the business world continues to progress. Finally, Microsoft is one of just a few companies in the world to hold the highest possible credit rating from both Moody's and S&P Global. This makes it a source of stability throughout the economic cycle.

Should you invest $1,000 in Microsoft right now?

Before you buy stock in Microsoft, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Microsoft wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $668,538!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $869,841!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 789% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 172% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of June 2, 2025

John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Bram Berkowitz has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Moody's, Nvidia, S&P Global, and Tesla. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

When it comes to dividend investing, I am less concerned with the dividend yield and more concerned with the dividend growth. Dividend investing is a total return strategy, and dividend growth stocks generally have higher share price appreciation potential.

In today's video, I will go through four stocks I deem forever dividend stocks that provide reliable and growing dividends backed by strong free cash flows. One of those stocks is Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO).

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »

Watch this short video to learn more, consider subscribing to the channel, and check out the special offer in the link below.

*Stock prices used were end-of-day prices of May 5, 2025. The video was published on May 6, 2025.

Should you invest $1,000 in Broadcom right now?

Before you buy stock in Broadcom, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Broadcom wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $657,385!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $842,015!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 987% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 171% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of June 2, 2025

Mark Roussin, CPA has positions in AbbVie, Broadcom, and Prologis. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends AbbVie, Prologis, and S&P Global. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $90 calls on Prologis. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Mark Roussin is an affiliate of The Motley Fool and may be compensated for promoting its services. If you choose to subscribe through their link, they will earn some extra money that supports their channel. Their opinions remain their own and are unaffected by The Motley Fool.