Healthcare is one part of the ASX where I am happy to think several years ahead.
I like businesses with established positions in important areas of medicine and clear opportunities to reach more patients or healthcare providers over time.
Here are three shares I would be happy to buy.
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CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL)
CSL is going through a major reset, but following the release of its results this week, I still believe the foundations of the business are strong.
The most important part of the long-term story remains CSL Behring. Demand for immunoglobulin (Ig) continues to grow, and management expects Ig sales to increase at a mid-to-high-single-digit rate in FY27. CSL is also investing around US$1.5 billion to expand its US plasma manufacturing presence and improve yields.
I think that investment makes sense because plasma products remain difficult to manufacture at scale. CSL has spent decades building its collection network, manufacturing expertise, and relationships with healthcare providers.
There are newer products to watch as well. Andembry generated US$240 million of sales in its first full year on the market, while Hemgenix continued to grow.
FY26 was messy, with large impairments and weaker performance in parts of the group. But management is simplifying CSL and expects underlying profit to return to growth in FY27.
I think a successful recovery could remind investors why CSL became one of Australia's great healthcare businesses in the first place.
Cochlear Ltd (ASX: COH)
Cochlear is another company where the long-term opportunity interests me more than any one year of earnings.
A huge number of people with severe hearing loss could benefit from an implant but never receive one. Cochlear is trying to change that by making diagnosis, referral, and treatment more systematic, particularly for adults. I think that could be a powerful growth driver.
In the US, medical and professional channels currently account for only around 40% of adult cochlear implant referrals. Cochlear is working with clinicians to improve those pathways and make it easier for suitable patients to progress from diagnosis to treatment.
Product development gives me another reason to be positive. The Nucleus Nexa System became more than 95% of implant sales across developed markets by June. More importantly, the platform has been designed to support future developments including more personalised stimulation, a drug-eluting electrode, and eventually a totally implantable cochlear implant.
If Cochlear can make implants accessible to more people while continuing to improve the technology, I think the business has plenty of growth ahead.
Pro Medicus Ltd (ASX: PME)
Pro Medicus may have the clearest growth runway of the three.
Its Visage imaging software has become trusted by some of the largest healthcare systems in North America, yet management estimates it still has only around 11% of the US market. That leaves considerable room to keep winning customers.
What I like is how the opportunity is expanding once Pro Medicus gets through the door. Most of its new FY26 contracts included the full Visage stack, while customers are also beginning to add its cardiology offering.
The company signed $407 million of new contracts during FY26 and renewed every contract that came up for renewal, generally with higher minimums and transaction fees.
For me, that says a lot about how valuable the software has become to customers.
Foolish takeaway
I think healthcare can be a great place to look for businesses capable of compounding for many years because better treatments and technology can create value well beyond the next economic cycle.
That is what attracts me to these three shares. I would be comfortable buying them with the intention of giving their long-term opportunities plenty of time to develop.
