The Canadian stock market offers investors a plethora of outstanding companies. Many of which could make great additions to your portfolio. However, savvy investors know that portfolio diversification is an essential concept that should be considered when in the stock market. In this article, I discuss three U.S. stocks that I’d buy today. I believe these three companies are all leaders in their respective industries and could be excellent holdings over the coming years.
This is my favourite international stock
Sea Limited (NYSE: SE) is my largest international holding and one of my favourite stocks operating outside of Canada. This company operates three main business segments. They include Garena, Shopee, and SeaMoney. Those business segments represent Sea Limited’s gaming, ecommerce, and digital banking arms, respectively.
Of the three business segments, Shopee stands out to me. In its Q1 2023 earnings presentation, Sea Limited announced that Shopee had accumulated US$2.1 billion in quarterly revenue. That represents a year-over-year increase of 36.3%. Still a relatively small portion of Sea Limited’s overall business, SeaMoney also continues to show excellent growth. In its most recent earnings presentation, the company reported US$412.8 million in revenue associated with this business segment, a year-over-year increase of 75%.
One of the most popular companies in the world
Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is the second American company that I would buy today. This is a company that needs very little introduction. As of April 2023, it was reported that about 63% of desktop users worldwide rely on Microsoft’s Windows operating system. To put that into perspective, Microsoft’s next largest competitor in that space only holds a 17.8% share of the operating system market.
Microsoft’s dominance doesn’t end there. This company is also a large player within the cloud space with Azure, in gaming (Xbox), and the professional industry through its suite of Office products. With a market cap of US$2.4 trillion, Microsoft is one of the largest companies in the world. Over the past year, its stock has also performed fairly well, gaining more than 60%. If you’re looking for an international blue-chip stock that could add tons of value to your portfolio, look no further than Microsoft.
Have you considered this retail company?
Finally, Canadians should consider investing in Costco (NASDAQ: COST). This is a very interesting company, in my opinion. As you may know, Costco is a large competitor within the global retail space. It operates in 14 countries and nearly 700 locations in the United States and Canada alone. The company also claims about 123 million membership holders worldwide. In fiscal year 2022, Costco reported US$222.7 billion in revenue.
What makes Costco so interesting is its business model. The company doesn’t strive to make tons of money through sales. Instead, it has made its membership fees the centre of its business. This gives Costco a much more stable revenue stream than other retailers. Because of that recurring revenue stream, I’m confident holding Costco in my portfolio and would be very happy to continue buying shares in the future.
