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Equity markets can move every which way from one day to the next. The more we extend our horizon, the more likely it is that stocks will provide juicy returns. Investors can cash in by putting their money in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that track the performance of indexes like the S&P 500.
However, it's possible to earn even better returns by investing in companies that can beat the market. Though it can be challenging to find such corporations, let's consider two excellent candidates: Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) and Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG).
1. Amgen
Leading drugmaker Amgen could have several growth drivers through the end of the decade. The company's lineup features key products such as Tezspire, an asthma treatment, and Tepezza, a medicine for thyroid eye disease (TED). Tezspire is still undergoing several clinical trials and should earn label expansions. Tepezza remains the only treatment for TED approved in the U.S., and Amgen has also been launching it in other countries.
These two products only scratch the surface of Amgen's deep lineup of approved drugs, which should allow the biotech to grow its revenue and earnings at a good clip through the next few years. Last year, Amgen's revenue grew by 19% year over year to $33.4 billion. Though that was because of an acquisition, the company's top line also increased by a solid 7% year over year organically.
Beyond its lineup, Amgen's pipeline also looks promising. The company is looking to make waves in the fast-growing weight loss market with MariTide, its leading candidate in this field. Though Amgen's prospects in the anti-obesity space have garnered much of the attention lately, it does have exciting candidates in other areas. It recently reported strong phase 3 results for an investigational eczema treatment, rocatinlimab. A strong lineup and pipeline are essential assets for the long-term performance of drugmakers.
In addition, Amgen is an excellent dividend stock. The forward yield is currently about 3%, higher than the S&P 500's average of 1.3%. Amgen has increased its payouts by 201% in the past 10 years, and its strong returns will look even better for those who reinvest the dividend. That's one more reason the biotech can produce market-beating returns through the end of the decade.
2. Intuitive Surgical
Intuitive Surgical has been an industry leader in robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) for over two decades, thanks to its da Vinci surgical system. Last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared the fifth generation of this innovative device, and it's already generating strong demand. In the fourth quarter, 174 of the 493 da Vinci systems that Intuitive sold were of this latest generation.