Forget Timing the Market: Just Buy These 3 Growth Stocks and Hold Forever

If the stock market has (re)taught anything just since the end of February, it's that it's still very unpredictable... at least in the short run. The S&P 500's sizable 9% pullback in March has since been unwound with an amazing rebound of more than 10% in just four weeks. Nobody really saw either swing coming, however, and certainly not to the degree they materialized. Most people would have been at least as well off not trying to act on any of this volatility, and just sticking with quality stocks through all of it.

To this end, here's a closer look at three growth stocks to simply buy and hold forever, knowing they'll survive any temporary headwinds and continue making long-term forward progress.

1. Alphabet

You primarily know Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) as parent to search engine Google, which alone accounts for more than half of the company's total revenue.

That's far from all that Alphabet is, however. The company also owns YouTube, runs a major cloud computing service, owns the Android mobile operating system, and manages several subscription-based profit centers.

Even this diversification isn't quite the reason investors might want to buy and hold a piece of this company forever, however. Rather, it's Alphabet's willingness and proven ability to develop anything new. It's working on its own quantum computing platform, for instance, with the ultimate intent of using this tech to support artificial intelligence (AI) work. This certainly won't be the last of the company's innovations or inventions.

2. Shopify

The e-commerce industry that Amazon largely helped create and then shape is only going to continue getting bigger. But the business is evolving as it expands. Consumers are increasingly looking for more than selection and convenience. They're craving authentic stories from brands and sellers, which a platform like Amazon.com just isn't built to offer.

Enter Shopify (NASDAQ: SHOP).

Unlike Amazon, Shopify allows organizations to custom-build their own e-commerce presence and sell directly to consumers their own way. And it's working. Its tech facilitated the direct sale of $378.4 billion worth of goods and services last year, up 29% year over year.

Image source: Getty Images.

This is only the beginning, of course, as this shift in consumers' e-commerce preference is relatively new.

3. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

Last but not least, add Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM) to your list of "forever" growth stocks to buy without worrying about timing your entry.

Just as the name suggests, this company makes semiconductors. This description doesn't do it justice, though. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing makes the vast majority of the world's high-performance processing silicon. Its customers include Apple, Nvidia, and Broadcom, among others.

This doesn't mean other players can't attempt to penetrate the chip foundry/manufacturing market. Intel is doing exactly that, in fact.

Intel's struggle on this front, however, ultimately underscores Taiwan Semiconductor's experience-driven dominance of the chipmaking industry that's clearly meeting a need that will never go away. Indeed, even with the AI business's growth seemingly slowing down, Global Market Insights expects the worldwide microchip market to grow at an average pace of nearly 11% per year through 2034.

James Brumley has positions in Alphabet. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Broadcom, Intel, Nvidia, Shopify, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and is short shares of Apple. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.