These 2 Stocks Are Surging Now and Could Be Even Bigger 20 Years From Now

Twenty years is a long time. In 2006, nobody had an iPhone. Streaming wasn't a verb. AI meant Allen Iverson. And a lot of the companies that dominate retail investors' portfolios today were either tiny, private, or barely public.

The investors who have won in the past two decades haven't always done so by picking the flashiest stocks. Many were picking businesses with durable models and growing markets, and using patience to let years of compound growth do its work.

Here are two tickers I'd recommend considering for 20-year holding periods.

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1. Spectrum Brands Holdings

Most people won't recognize the name Spectrum Brands Holdings (NYSE: SPB), but they likely use its products regularly. The consumer products conglomerate owns a host of familiar names, including Cutter insect repellent, Spectracide weed killer, Black Flag bug extermination products, Rejuvenate cleaning supplies, and Remington grooming tools.

After selling its HHI hardware business (its Kwikset and Baldwin locks division) to Sweden-based Assa Abloy Group for $4.3 billion in 2023, Spectrum Brands emerged as a leaner company focused on its home & garden and home & personal care segments. Management has been using the proceeds of the sale for share repurchases and debt reduction, fundamentally reshaping Spectrum Brands' capital structure.

The stock has been under pressure. Net sales declined by about 5.2% in its fiscal 2025 fourth quarter, which ended Sept 30, due to previously bulked-up retailer inventories, as well as supply constraints tied to its tariff-related decision to pause importing products from China. Those headwinds continued in its fiscal 2026 first quarter, when net sales were down by 3.3% year over year. But the company has also launched cost-reduction initiatives targeting more than $50 million in annual savings, and supply chain diversification away from China is already underway. As execution improves, those savings should drop to the bottom line.

My 20-year angle here is about the home and garden category itself. As U.S. housing stock ages, homeowners will need to spend more on maintenance, pest control, and basic home improvements. Spectrum Brands' products sit at the intersection of those spending patterns. The brands aren't glamorous, but they generate cash. Over two decades, the combination of brand strength, a cleaner balance sheet, and a management team focused on a narrower group of businesses could make this a very different company.

2. Seneca Foods

Seneca Foods (NASDAQ: SENEA) stock hit an all-time high of $151.99 in late March, and it's still up more than 80% over the past 12 months. Yet most investors have never heard of it.

Seneca is one of North America's largest vegetable and fruit canning operations. It packs store brands for retailers and recently picked up a licensing deal for the Green Giant label, which immediately expanded its retail distribution footprint.

The business isn't glamorous. It grows, packs, and ships canned corn, green beans, peas, and tomatoes, among other produce. But it's exactly the kind of domestic, shelf-stable food operation that becomes more valuable when tariffs disrupt fresh produce imports and consumers retreat to pantry basics.

Earnings growth over the trailing 12 months came in at 134.8%, with fiscal 2026 Q3 earnings hitting $6.55 per share against $2.12 per share a year earlier. The stock trades at just 11.4 times earnings, cheaper than the broader consumer food sector, despite a beta of 0.03, meaning the stock's moves are almost entirely uncorrelated with the moves of the broader market. That kind of low-correlation, earnings-growing, all-time-high stock is rare.

The case for a 20-year investment here is simple: American consumers will always need canned vegetables, domestic processors will always have pricing power over foreign players, and Seneca is the largest independent operator in the space.

Over a 20-year horizon, many of your portfolio's winners won't be the loudest stories, but the businesses embedded in everyday life. Spectrum Brands and Seneca Foods both operate in categories where demand is steady, repeatable, and tied to basic consumer needs rather than trends. If they execute, their combinations of durability, cash flow, and long-term tailwinds can turn these overlooked names into compound growth machines.

Micah Zimmerman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Spectrum Brands. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.