Got $5,000? 3 Tech Stocks to Buy and Hold for the Long Term.

It might seem like a risky time to buy stocks. The S&P 500 is hovering near its all-time high and looks historically expensive at 30 times earnings, while the closely watched Treasury yields remain stubbornly high even after the Federal Reserve cut its benchmark rates five times in 2024 and 2025.

But if you can tune out all of that near-term noise and plan to hold your stocks for at least the next decade, there are still plenty of tech stocks to consider buying and holding in this frothy market. Let's take a look at three of those stocks -- Quantum Computing Inc. (NASDAQ: QUBT), Innodata (NASDAQ: INOD), and Figma (NYSE: FIG) -- and see why they might turn a modest $5,000 investment into a lot more money over the long term.

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1. Quantum Computing Inc.

Quantum Computing Inc., also known as QCi, develops photonic chips that use photons (particles of light) to store quantum data. That sets it apart from traditional electron-powered quantum computing systems, which accelerate electrons (subatomic particles with a negative charge) through "superconducting loops" to achieve a quantum state.

Electron-powered quantum systems must be refrigerated, but QCi's photonic systems can operate at room temperatures. They also don't use precision laser systems like ion-driven systems to trap ions (individually charged atoms) in a quantum state, and they can be manufactured at traditional chip fabs instead of dedicated plants.

QCi's photonic chips could make it cheaper and easier to produce quantum systems, which can process specific tasks much faster than classical computers. It only started to produce and deliver its first chips this year, and analysts expect it to generate just $407,000 in revenue for 2025. But by 2027, they expect that figure to rise to $10.2 million.

That might not seem like much revenue compared to its market cap of $2.88 billion. But over the long term, QCi could grow much larger as it ramps up its production of its newest photonic chips, launches its own Dirac-3 quantum systems, and draws more developers to its Qatalys cloud-based quantum computing platform. Therefore, QCi could be a great long-term play on the secular expansion of the quantum computing market.

2. Innodata

When Innodata went public in 1993, it didn't attract much attention because it was a small analytics software provider, growing at an unimpressive rate. But in 2018, it launched a suite of task-specific microservices that could efficiently prepare large amounts of data for AI applications.

When tech companies start a new AI project, they often spend 80% of their time preparing the raw data and just 20% of the time training the actual algorithm. That's why the market's demand for Innodata's new AI-oriented data preparation services skyrocketed over the past seven years.

At least five of the "Magnificent Seven" companies have already hired Innodata to clean up and prepare their AI-oriented data. That demand should keep rising as the generative AI market expands. From 2024 to 2027, analysts expect Innodata's revenue and earnings per share (EPS) to grow at a CAGR of 22% and 13%, respectively. Its stock might not seem cheap at 61 times next year's earnings, but its early-mover advantage in its AI niche justifies that higher valuation.

3. Figma

Last but not least, Figma develops cloud-based user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) design tools that can be natively run within a web browser without a local software installation. It also provides real-time, cloud-based collaboration tools that allow multiple users to access the same project. The company provides a free tier for individuals and small teams, while its subscription-based tier provides more security, analytics, and administration tools for larger organizations.

Figma is often considered a major threat to Adobe, which still locally installs its UI and UX tools before tethering them to its cloud-based backup services. Adobe tried to buy Figma for $20 billion in 2022, but that deal collapsed after being closely scrutinized by antitrust regulators.

Yet Figma is still growing like a weed. In 2024, its number of customers generating at least $10,000 in annual recurring revenues (ARR) rose 45% to 10,517, and that cohort's net dollar retention rate increased 12 basis points to 134%. Its gross margin dipped from 91% in 2023 to 88% in 2024, but it still seems to have plenty of pricing power.

From 2024 to 2027, analysts expect Figma's revenue to grow at a CAGR of 27% as it gradually narrows its net losses. It isn't cheap at 17 times next year's sales, but it could continue to grow as it pulls more customers away from Adobe and expands its ecosystem with more AI features.

If you're looking for a disruptive cloud-based design software company that could grow a lot faster than Adobe and its aging industry peers over the next decade, Figma checks all the right boxes.

Leo Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Adobe. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2028 $330 calls on Adobe and short January 2028 $340 calls on Adobe. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.