Even after many U.S. stocks have risen significantly so far this year, I’m still looking for the best stocks to buy and hold for the long term. And with another earnings season revealing stronger performance thanks to improving economic conditions, further growth could be ahead.

I have already started to add to some of my existing portfolio positions and open new ones. So here are two of my latest stock purchases.

The power behind pharmaceuticals

Veeva Systems (NYSE:VEEV) is not a household name. But in the pharmaceutical world, it’s the platform that powers almost all modern drug development. Veeva’s platform provides a comprehensive suite of applications designed to streamline drug research and commercialization processes while simultaneously ensuring regulatory compliance.

It is indeed the Sales force of the life sciences industry. And it is used by 47 of the world’s top 50 pharmaceutical companies, including AstraZeneca And GSK. With revenue and profits growing an average of 22% annually since 2019, the company’s growth has been impressive. But more importantly, it’s been pretty consistent – ​​a trend that’s likely to continue, given its status as an industry standard.

However, one of the major risks I’m closely monitoring is the recent announcement of Salesforce’s new Life Sciences CRM solution. Many Veeva customers still use the group’s old CRM system, built on the Salesforce platform.

The company is currently migrating its customers to its new proprietary Vault CRM to remove this dependency by 2030. However, if Salesforce’s new solution is a viable alternative, customers forced to migrate may decide to switch sides instead.

Yet replicating Veeva’s capabilities is no easy task, nor is penetrating its 85% global market share. This is why, despite the growing competitive risk, I remain optimistic in the long term. And subsequently, I added other stocks to my portfolio this month.

A fintech comeback story

During the stock market correction of 2022, Paypal (NASDAQ:PYPL) stocks have been hit hard, and more than 75% of the company’s shares market capitalization was wiped out. While I think the sale was a bit overdone, there were legitimate reasons to be concerned about both its valuation and management’s poor communication.

Yet shares are actually up 50% since July 2024. Recent third-quarter results have been somewhat mixed, with revenue coming in slightly below expectations. However, they also revealed significant improvements in margins.

Total payment volume increased 9% during the three-month period to $423 billion, largely driven by increased activity among existing customers. This also translated into increased profitability, allowing earnings per share to jump 22%, beating expectations.

It appears that management’s tactics of maximizing the value of its existing user base are creating value. And it also benefited from its depressed valuation with $1.8 billion in share buybacks.

There are still a few important factors to watch out for. Even though overall profitability has increased, transaction margins still face pressure from intense competition. And with Revolut’s expected IPO in 2025, among other new fintechs, this is a threat that’s not likely to go away anytime soon.

Nevertheless, PayPal shares trading in futures price/earnings ratio At just 18.2, the growth stock is attractively priced, in my opinion. That’s why it’s on my buy list and why I just bought more.