2 Healthcare Stocks for Individual Investors With a 40-Year Time Horizon

If you have a 40-year time horizon for investing, putting some of your investment capital into healthcare stocks can enable you to take advantage of long-term trends in this rapidly evolving space. When you put cash to work there, it's important to seek out companies with strong, innovative pipelines and durable market demand for their products or services.

With so many healthcare stocks to pick from today, it can be overwhelming to know where to start. With that said, here are two healthcare names to consider adding to your portfolio right now that you can hold for decades.

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1. NovoCure

NovoCure (NASDAQ: NVCR) is the pioneer of and virtually the only company using Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields), a device-based therapy that uses low-intensity electric fields to disrupt cancer cell division. This offers a distinct advantage over traditional treatments like chemotherapy and radiation, often with fewer systemic side effects, which could position NovoCure in a unique market niche.

While currently approved for conditions including glioblastoma (GBM), a type of aggressive brain cancer, and malignant pleural mesothelioma (a type of lung cancer), the potential for TTFields to treat a wide range of solid tumors represents a massive growth opportunity. The company has a strong late-stage pipeline with data readouts and potential approvals for other major cancers including pancreatic cancer and brain metastases expected in the near term and by the end of 2026. Each new approval could act as a significant commercial catalyst and open up additional multibillion-dollar addressable markets.

The core GBM business has demonstrated consistent patient and revenue growth. Annual revenue for 2024 was $605.2 million, a roughly 19% increase over 2023. NovoCure is actively expanding its international reach, securing new national coverage decisions and launching products in markets like Japan, Germany, and France. Management is focused on evolving NovoCure into a platform therapy company with four cancer indications on the market by the end of 2026.

This broad application of its core technology can drive sustained, long-term revenue growth and market penetration. Now, it's worth noting that the company continues to operate at a net loss, which has deepened in recent quarters. This is primarily due to its high operating costs for research and development for new indications, and sales and marketing expenses related to new product launches. However, NovoCure has a robust cash and short-term investments balance of over $1 billion. Revenue grew 8% in the third quarter of 2025.

NovoCure's core GBM business is more mature but remains strong and delivers consistent patient growth. Its newer application for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is still facing challenges due to a slow market launch. This stock is definitely more suited for investors with a healthy tolerance for risk, a well-diversified portfolio, and a considerable time horizon.

However, if you are building a balanced portfolio and are interested in adding a riskier but potentially high-reward healthcare name to the mix, Novocure might be worth considering.

2. Danaher

Danaher (NYSE: DHR) sells products and services that aid in life sciences research, diagnostics, and biotechnology. This includes products for drug discovery, development, and biomanufacturing, as well as diagnostic tools for healthcare providers and researchers.

Danaher operates in a variety of markets, with products including reagents and kits for research and diagnostics, and nucleic acids and proteins used in gene and cell therapies, editing technologies, and vaccines. A core part of Danaher's strategy through the years has involved acquiring businesses in science and technology sectors with strong growth potential.

The company has faced some challenges recently. For example, policy changes in China (a key market for Danaher) around volume-based procurement have impacted its diagnostic business. These policies require the government to purchase medical products in very high volumes to secure lower prices, which has led to significant price pressure and reduced revenue for companies like Danaher's subsidiary, Beckman Coulter.

The company has also experienced softness in academic and government funding, and trade tensions have impacted certain equipment sales and capital projects.

On the flip side, Danaher's bioprocessing segment has proven to be a major growth driver, with strong demand for biologics remaining a durable tailwind for this business. Demand for biologics, which constitute a significant portion of the bioprocessing revenue, remains robust with a healthy pipeline of new molecules in development for its pharmaceutical customers. Danaher's products support over 90% of global monoclonal antibody production volume.

Danaher also benefits from stable cash flows due to over 80% of sales coming from recurring revenue streams like consumables and services. The company is well-positioned to capitalize on the precision medicine market through its partnerships with companies like AstraZeneca, as it hopes to drive advancements in genomics and AI.

In Q3 2025, Danaher's revenue increased 4.5% year over year to $6.1 billion, and it delivered $1.7 billion in operating cash flow. Net earnings grew 11% year over year to $908 million. These are solid growth figures for a mature business like Danaher.

The company's biotechnology segment was a strong performer, with revenue in this line growing 6.5% from one year ago. Danaher has paid a dividend since 1993. Its yield is below 1%, but Danaher has roughly doubled its dividend over the last five years. For investors with a decades-long, buy-and-hold horizon, this healthcare stock could be worth adding to a basket of quality businesses

Rachel Warren has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Danaher and NovoCure. The Motley Fool recommends AstraZeneca Plc. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.