10 years is a long time in the share market.
If I were buying S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares with that timeframe in mind, I would want businesses with opportunities that can keep expanding.
With that in mind, these three ASX 200 shares stand out to me.
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Sigma Healthcare Ltd (ASX: SIG)
I think Sigma Healthcare looks very different today following last year's merger with Chemist Warehouse.
The combined business now brings together a major pharmacy retail network and Sigma's pharmaceutical wholesale operations, creating scale across several parts of the healthcare supply chain.
FY26 gave investors an early look at that potential. Revenue reached $10.8 billion, while normalised EBIT increased by more than 20%. Sigma is also working towards $100 million of annual integration synergies by FY29.
But I think the 10-year opportunity goes far beyond extracting merger savings.
Chemist Warehouse still has room to expand its store network and international presence, while Sigma can use its scale across distribution, retail pharmacy, and own-brand products to keep growing alongside it.
If management executes well, I think this ASX 200 share could be significantly larger a decade from now.
Breville Group Ltd (ASX: BRG)
Breville is an ASX 200 share that I think has done an excellent job of turning a local brand into a global one.
Its premium coffee machines remain an important growth engine, but what interests me over 10 years is the model behind them.
Breville continually invests in new products, marketing, and new geographic markets, giving it several ways to keep growing without relying on consumers simply buying more of the same appliances.
FY26 revenue reached a record $1.81 billion, and remarkably, the company has now increased revenue, gross profit, and EBIT in every financial year since FY15.
Newer markets also provide another avenue for expansion. Breville has been building its presence in markets including China and the Middle East while continuing to develop its established businesses in the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.
I think that global runway could keep the business growing well beyond the next few years.
Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1)
Megaport is the higher-growth pick of the three ASX 200 shares.
It has traditionally helped businesses connect data centres and cloud providers through its global software-defined network. More recently, its acquisition of Latitude.sh has expanded that opportunity into AI infrastructure.
Latitude.sh provides GPU and CPU computing power, storage, and networking for AI workloads, and the early demand has been strong.
Megaport has already announced a series of very large strategic contracts through the business, giving it a much bigger growth avenue than connectivity alone.
For me, that is what makes the 10-year story so compelling.
If Megaport can keep building both sides of the business, it could become a much larger digital infrastructure company by 2036.
Foolish takeaway
I cannot know what the market will look like in 2036.
I would rather spend a 10-year holding period backing ASX 200 shares that still have ways to expand. Sigma, Breville, and Megaport all give me that potential, but through three completely different parts of the economy.
That is enough for me to be comfortable buying them and giving the businesses plenty of time to grow.
