For long-term investors, the best opportunities often come from stocks you can buy, hold, and comfortably ignore for years at a time.
These are businesses with sustainable competitive advantages, strong balance sheets, and exposure to structural trends that should continue playing out well into the 2030s.
With that in mind, if you are building a portfolio today with the intention of not touching it again until 2035, the two buy-rated Australian stocks named below could be worth considering. Here's what analysts are recommending to clients:
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NextDC Ltd (ASX: NXT)
Data is becoming the world's most valuable resource, and NextDC sits right in the middle of that shift. As Australia's leading data centre operator, the company provides the mission-critical digital infrastructure that powers cloud computing, artificial intelligence, video streaming, government services, and enterprise applications.
Demand for high-density, high-security data centres is rising rapidly, and NextDC has been investing heavily to expand its footprint across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and internationally. This includes the recently announced S7 data centre, which will be tenanted by ChatGPT's owner OpenAI.
If you want exposure to digital infrastructure that is only becoming more essential, NextDC is a strong contender for a true long-term hold. Morgans is bullish and rates it as a buy with a $19.00 price target. This implies potential upside of 40% for investors over the next 12 months.
TechnologyOne Ltd (ASX: TNE)
Another Australian stock that could be a top buy and hold pick is TechnologyOne. Over the past decade, it has quietly become one of the ASX's most consistent performers, driven by its transition to a sticky, high-margin software-as-a-service (SaaS) business model.
The company builds enterprise software for government, education, local councils, and large organisations. These are sectors that value stability, reliability, and long-term partnerships. Once a customer adopts TechnologyOne's platform, they tend to stay for the long haul.
Recurring revenue continues to grow strongly, margins remain robust, and the company has barely scratched the surface of its international opportunity. With an exceptionally strong balance sheet and a talented management team, TechnologyOne is the kind of business you can put in a drawer and forget about for years.
By 2035, it is entirely possible the company will be far larger, more global, and still delivering the kind of steady, predictable growth investors love.
Morgan Stanley is positive on the company's outlook. It has an overweight rating and $36.50 price target on its shares. This suggests that upside of over 30% is possible from current levels.
