If I Were in My 20s, I'd Buy These 2 Trillion-Dollar Stocks and Hold Them Until Retirement

Investing in an S&P 500 index fund is a proven way to build wealth in the stock market over the long term. But for young investors in their 20s, enduring a little more volatility for an opportunity to earn higher returns could be a worthwhile trade-off, so they might prefer to build a portfolio of around 50 individual stocks instead.

While the S&P 500 has delivered a compound annual return of 10.7% since its inception in 1957, shares of Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) have delivered significantly higher returns since they went public:

• Amazon stock has surged by 349,326% since its initial public offering (IPO) in 1997, translating to a compound annual return of 32%.
• Meta stock has soared by 1,371% since its IPO in 2012, translating to a compound annual return of 21%.

Past performance isn't always a good indicator of future results, but here's why I think those two stocks could be great additions to a diversified portfolio for young investors in their 20s who want a financially secure retirement.

Image source: Getty Images.

The first stock to buy: Amazon

Amazon was just three years old when it went public in 1997. It initially focused on selling books and other products over the internet, but it has since expanded into cloud computing, digital advertising, streaming, and more. It has amassed a market capitalization of $2.8 trillion, making it the world's fifth-largest company.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the company's cloud computing division. It offers hundreds of tools to help businesses thrive in the digital age, but it's also at the center of Amazon's artificial intelligence (AI) ambitions because it develops advanced data center chips, large language models (LLMs), and various software applications. Businesses pay AWS a substantial amount of money to use these products and services, because developing them internally is often prohibitively expensive.

AWS accounted for just $79.8 billion of Amazon's $382.1 billion in total revenue during the first half of 2026, but it was responsible for more than half of the company's operating income. In other words, while e-commerce still brings in more revenue than any of Amazon's other businesses, AWS is the most profitable by far.

Amazon is also gradually integrating AI into its other businesses, which could improve their growth and profitability over time. Plus, it has acquired an equity stake in AI powerhouse Anthropic, which yielded almost $70 billion in paper profits in the first half of this year alone.

Amazon's extremely diverse business is a key reason why I think its stock will perform better than the broader market in the years to come, and investors have an opportunity to buy it at an attractive price right now. Based on Wall Street's 2027 earnings forecast of $10.48 per share (provided by Yahoo! Finance), Amazon stock trades at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of just 25.

The Nasdaq-100 technology index has a trailing P/E ratio of 34.1, so if we assume it remains constant, Amazon stock will have to climb by 36% by the end of next year alone just to match it.

The second stock to buy: Meta Platforms

Meta is the company behind popular social networks like Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp, with 3.6 billion people using at least one of them every single day. But since there are only 8.3 billion people on Earth and the company's apps are banned in countries like China, it's becoming harder to find new users. As a result, Meta is leaning on technologies like AI to boost engagement instead, and it's having a lot of success so far.

AI currently powers the recommendation algorithms on Facebook and Instagram, enabling them to learn what type of content each user enjoys viewing, so the platforms can show them more of it. Users are staying online for longer periods of time as a result, meaning they are seeing more ads and generating more revenue for Meta.

Chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg thinks AI will become an even bigger part of the social media experience in the future. Facebook and Instagram used to be places where people connected with their friends, but they evolved into entertainment apps curated by AI, and Zuckerberg says they will soon be powered by personalized AI agents that can help users improve every aspect of their lives, from their finances to their health.

This is important because Meta will then compete with bigger platforms like Alphabet's Google Search for traffic, significantly expanding its addressable market beyond social media alone.

Meta is on track to generate a record $254 billion in revenue during 2026, according to Wall Street, but that number could grow substantially in the coming years as the company leans further into AI. With a trailing P/E ratio of just 21 as of the market close on Monday, Aug. 24, its stock looks like a bargain, so now could be a great time for young investors to establish a long-term position.

Anthony Di Pizio has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.