Want $1 Million in Retirement? 3 Stocks to Buy Now and Hold for Decades.

Building a retirement portfolio of $1 million or more is within reach for many Americans. The primary things you'll need are time and money to invest.

Do you want $1 million in retirement? There's no guarantee that you'll be able to achieve the goal, but your chances will be much higher if you select the right stocks. Here are three stocks to buy and hold for decades that I think could help you get to the magical $1 million mark.

1. AbbVie

The only certainty about the future is its unpredictability, filled with twists and turns no one can foresee today. Because of this unpredictability, it's important to invest in companies that can successfully adapt. AbbVie (ABBV 2.20%) is a great example of a company that has proved such a capability.

A few years ago, some wondered what would happen to AbbVie after key patents expired for Humira, the company's top-selling drug. Now we know: AbbVie is more successful than ever. Its share price is near an all-time high. So is the big drugmaker's revenue.

How did AbbVie succeed so spectacularly despite losing exclusivity for a drug that once generated 65% of its total sales? The company invested in developing new products. It completed acquisitions to add more growth drivers to its lineup. As a result, AbbVie has two autoimmune disease drugs, Rinvoq and Skyrizi, that together rake in more money than Humira did at its peak.

I think AbbVie's adaptability will enable the company to keep up its winning ways for a long time to come. Don't overlook the importance of the drugmaker's dividend in helping you achieve your investment objectives, either. AbbVie is a Dividend King with 53 consecutive years of dividend increases and a forward dividend yield of 3.23%. Dividends have accounted for over half of the stock's total return since AbbVie split off from Abbott in 2013.

2. Intuitive Surgical

The future isn't entirely unpredictable. Aging demographic trends will almost certainly continue in the coming decades. And as populations grow older, the demand for healthcare services, including surgical operations, will grow. It's also safe to assume that technology will be much more heavily used in the future. This bodes well for Intuitive Surgical (ISRG 0.91%).

Intuitive Surgical pioneered the use of robotic surgical systems. Its da Vinci system has been used in over 16.9 million surgical procedures to date. Intuitive's procedure volume and install base continue to grow by double-digit percentages 25 years after the company launched da Vinci.

In 2024, roughly 2.7 million procedures were performed using da Vinci. Intuitive Surgical estimates that 8 million procedures are done each year for which it already has products and clearances. The company's growth opportunity is much bigger than that, though. Intuitive thinks around 22 million soft tissue procedures are performed annually which could be targeted with products and clearances under development.

Intuitive Surgical's share price has skyrocketed more than 246 times since its initial public offering in 2000. Don't expect that kind of jaw-dropping return down the road. However, I think Intuitive should still continue to deliver exceptional gains over the long term.

3. Summit Therapeutics

Sometimes the best way to make a lot of money is to invest in an up-and-coming company that has tremendous growth prospects. Summit Therapeutics (SMMT -4.92%) looks like a great candidate, in my view.

Chinese drugmaker Akeso developed cancer immunotherapy ivonescimab. But Summit's management was astute enough to recognize the drug's potential and license it in 2022 for the U.S., Canadian, Japanese, and European markets.

That move appeared to be brilliant after Akeso announced overwhelmingly positive late-stage clinical results last year for ivonescimab. The drug beat Merck's Keytruda in a head-to-head matchup as a first-line treatment for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Summit quickly secured additional licensing for ivonescimab in Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East.

Results from Summit's own late-stage study evaluating ivonescimab as a second-line treatment for NSCLC are expected in mid-2025. If they're positive, and I expect they will be based on Akeso's data, it could set the stage for future regulatory approvals. Summit is also evaluating ivonescimab in late-stage studies as a first-line treatment for NSCLC and plans to expand into other types of cancer. This stock just might be the kind of opportunity for investors to get in early that makes a huge difference in their long-term investment returns.