If you're a regular here at the Motley Fool Australia, you've probably picked up that we write a lot about investing in ASX shares to build wealth. Although investing in quality ASX shares is a great way to accumulate wealth, I believe most Australian investors would do even better if they also added some US stocks to their portfolios.
The United States is simply home to a vast majority of the most dominant companies in the world. The likes of Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) and Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS) are wonderful, successful companies. But they just can't match the ubiquity of names like, for example, Apple, Amazon, or Coca-Cola.
So today, let's talk about three US stocks that I think have more potential than most of the stocks listed on the ASX. An investment in any of these three, in my view, could make long-term investors very wealthy.
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3 US stocks that could make shareholders rich
Costco Wholesale Corp (NASDAQ: COST)
Supermarket chain Costco is first up here. If you haven't shopped at a Costco yet, you've probably heard about its buy-in-bulk store format or perhaps its rather unusual membership model. Unusual it may be, but it is also a raging success.
Costco continues to grow and expand into new markets, quarter after quarter, and year after year. It even counted the late, great Charlie Munger as one of its loudest backers. I would happily buy more Costco today as a solid bet on a future consumer staples titan.
Visa Inc (NYSE: V)
Speaking of titans, next up is a US stock that arguably already commands that status. Visa is one of the most well-known brands in the world in 2025. Chances are, you have at least one of their cards in your wallet right now. Together with its rival, Mastercard, these two companies form a significant part of the glue that holds the global payments system together.
In facilitating funds transfers between banks, customers and retailers, Visa gets to clip the ticket every time something is bought on its network. This has allowed the company's growth to explode in recent years as more and more payments shift from cash to cashless. As this trend is only in its infancy in many parts of the world, Visa's growth runway doesn't look like it's running out of room anytime soon.
Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX)
Our final US stock worth checking out today is another brand we'd probably all be familiar with. Netflix only launched in Australia ten years ago. Since then, it has literally become a household name, with its logo present on almost every television remote these days. Despite the company running out of new markets to launch in, it continues to grow.
The push to limit password sharing a few years ago has proven a massive success. With the company expanding into gaming and other market segments, I don't see us giving up our Netflix subscriptions anytime soon. Recently, this US stock announced a 10-for-1 stock split, which demonstrates the ongoing appetite for its shares.
