These two high-quality stocks could potentially offer significant returns over the long haul.
Wall Street tends to favor patience and thoughtful investment decisions over trying to predict market movements. Hence, purchasing and holding shares in robust companies that benefit from favorable trends can be one of the best strategies for accumulating wealth over time.
If you find yourself with $5,000 available—money you won’t need for bills or other immediate expenses—investing in either of these two stocks might yield substantial long-term benefits.
ASML
ASML Holding remains a cornerstone of the global semiconductor industry. Its deep ultraviolet (DUV) and advanced extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography systems are crucial tools that leading chip manufacturers use to etch intricate circuit patterns onto silicon wafers with laser technology.
In the recent third quarter, ASML reported net sales of 7.5 billion euros and a net profit of 2.1 billion euros. While sales were relatively flat compared to the previous year, the long-term outlook is promising due to the surging demand for advanced chips, especially in artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC).
The company is gearing up for the commercial rollout of its latest generation of EUV lithography systems, termed High-NA, which features a numerical aperture of 0.55. This new system should allow for the etching of even finer circuit patterns, enabling chipmakers to create smaller transistors and enhancing the efficiency of advanced chips.
Both Intel and SK Hynix are already in the process of implementing these systems. ASML expects to receive more orders for high NA EUV systems beginning in the latter half of 2026 after current clients finish qualification testing to ensure their tools’ reliability. Shipments should commence around 2028. Each of these high-NA systems is priced between $380 million and $400 million, so even a few sales could significantly impact ASML’s revenue.
The company is likely to continue profiting from the increasing demand for complex computing and memory chips as AI infrastructure expands globally. Additionally, chipmakers are utilizing EUV lithography more frequently to develop fine circuit patterns in multiple steps while producing advanced semiconductor chips.
Management anticipates that EUV sales will pick up again in 2026, despite some moderate demand challenges from China. This resilience showcases ASML’s business model, even amid geopolitical complexities.
Apart from its strong position in AI hardware, ASML has also acquired an 11% stake in Mistral AI. This move aims to harness generative AI technologies to boost performance and reduce time and costs associated with marketing and development. ASML’s stock is currently trading at 26.7 times its forward earnings—quite reasonable for a company with its technological edge. This might be a good time to consider adding some shares to your portfolio as the company is poised for further growth.
Eli Lilly
The prominent pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly has established a solid lineup of medications focused on obesity, diabetes, and neuroscience. This strength is reflected in its recent second-quarter earnings, which reached $15.6 billion—a 38% increase year-over-year—and adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $6.31, marking a 61% rise. The management expects sales to reach between $60 billion and $62 billion by fiscal 2025.
Eli Lilly’s diabetes and chronic weight management medications are critical components of its growth strategy. Notably, the GLP-1 drug tirzepatide is marketed as Mounjaro for type 2 diabetes and Zepbound for chronic weight management, where Mounjaro had the largest share of prescriptions for type 2 diabetes in the U.S. back in July 2025.
Zepbound also dominates the U.S. market for branded anti-obesity medications, holding nearly 66% of total patient share. Eli Lilly is thus in a strong position to capture a larger portion of the forecasted growth in the global GLP-1 drug market, expected to rise from $53.4 billion in 2024 to $156.7 billion by 2030.
A forthcoming catalyst for Eli Lilly could be Orforglipron, an investigational oral GLP-1 therapy taken once daily. This candidate has shown promise in weight loss and controlling blood sugar in type 2 diabetes patients through various Phase 3 trials. Eli Lilly plans to submit an application for Orforglipron’s approval to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for obesity later in 2025 and for type 2 diabetes in 2026.
If approved, Orforglipron could alleviate the burden of injections, making GLP-1 medications more accessible to a broader audience. Besides GLP-1 drugs, the company is also exploring investigational drugs targeting Alzheimer’s disease, oncology, and cardiometabolic health.
Eli Lilly’s stock is currently trading at a forward P/E ratio of 31.2 times, which suggests a significant premium. Nevertheless, considering the company’s robust portfolio of blockbuster drugs for obesity and type 2 diabetes, a strong late-stage pipeline, and substantial financial momentum, this valuation seems warranted. Therefore, it appears to be a sound option for investors looking to hold shares long-term.
