ASX stocks that will last forever: Here are our Top 5!

Everyone is looking for ASX stocks that will last forever – in other words, stocks that won’t go bust and will be around for at least long as they are alive.

Phillip Fisher once said,’ If the job has been correctly done when a common stock is purchased, the time to sell it is-almost never’. Of course, you may need to sell ASX stocks sometimes, even if they’ve made you money. Perhaps you want to cash out your profits or you see looming threats other investors cannot. But ideally, you should ‘set and forget’ and the only prospect of its delisting would be a hypothetical buyout as opposed to the company going ut of business.

Let’s look at 5 such ASX stocks that may fit that criteria.

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5 ASX stocks that will last forever

CBA

The biggest of ASX stocks…the biggest bank in Australia…the largest dividend payer. CBA is all of these things and more. There is a lot of debate about whether or not it is overvalued, but no one is debating about whether or not CBA will go out of business. CBA makes bumper profits well and ahead of its peers, of over $10bn. No other bank comes close.

The company pays amongst the highest dividends per share among all stocks. In FY24, the company paid out $8bn in dividends and stock buybacks. Those who owned shares in their own right received an average of $3,618 a pop. And all up, 13m Australians benefited – even those who don’t own shares directly likely have a super fund with CBA shares.

People debate about its valuation. But as Warren Buffet said,’ Price is what you pay value is what you get’. It is easy to look at the bank’s market capitalisation and share price, but it is important to look at all the other factors, those mentioned above and others.

Qantas

Amongst ASX stocks, Qantas is one of three airlines with the other two being Air New Zealand and the recently relisted Virgin Australia. It is said that airlines are low-margin, high-capex businesses, and this is not wrong. But Qantas is one of the few airlines that has lasted more than a century. It has not been without crises in its history, but it bears a strong reputation amongst Australians because of its reputation as Australia’s flag carrier and long history. Moreover, it possesses a Frequent Flyer program with a membership nearly equal to Australia’s entire adult population, which is a major profit generator for the compan.

Auckland Airport (ASX:AIA)

Since Sydney Airport left the ASX in 2021 following its buyout, Auckland Airport has been the only airport listed on the ASX. Every city needs an airport and AIA is the only one in Auckland. There is not going to be a new airport built in any of our lifetimes. In its most recent annual results, it recorded NZ$895.5m revenue (up 43%) and an underlying profit of NZ$276.6m – although its statutory profit was just NZ$5.5m due to non-cash valuations and impairments.

There is a major redevelpment plan in progress including a new domestic terminal, runways and transport hub, with investments totalling over NZ$6bn. 

JB Hi-Fi (ASX:JBH)

Everyone knows this ASX-listed company, the leading electronics retailer in Australia. It has easily the largest market share in this category and it also owns white goods retailer The Good Guys. It was founded in 1974, listed on the ASX in 2003 and today has over 300 stores in Australia and New Zealand. The company endured a boom during the pandemic due to working from home, but unlike furniture stocks like Nick Scali (ASX:NCK), the boom endured because electronics need to be replaced regularly (at least more often than furniture). The company’s most recent results (1H25) showed 10% sales growth and 8% profit growth, with a 5% profit margin.

Telstra (ASX:TLS)

Telstra traces its origins back to 1901 when the new government of federated Australia set up the Postmaster-General’s Department (PGD) to run all telephone, telegraph and postal services in Australia. Over time, these all demerged into separate entities. The Telstra as we know it was founded in 1991 when the sector was deregulated, and the company was gradually privatised between 1997 and 2006.

Telstra is far from a monopolist but still has a substantial market share, a big balance sheet and significant infrastructure. The big question investors have is how it will adapt to AI.  There is also pressure on Telstra’s network traffic due to AI applications. And implementing AI could help it not only make its operations more cheaper and efficient, but could help it distil the data in its systems and provide more value for its customers.