10 Best Blue-Chip Stocks to Buy Now: Morningstar

Investors often hold blue-chip stocks at the core of their portfolios. That makes sense because these are from large companies with strong brand names and reputations, and they generate dependable earnings. Blue-chip companies usually also have consistent dividends, and investors tend to consider them less risky because of their financial stability. But as Margaret Giles, a Morningstar content development editor, wrote in a recent blog post, investors tend to define blue chips differently. Some demand that a blue-chip stock be included in a particular index, such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Other investors may include only dividend-paying companies on their list. And still others have specific market-capitalization thresholds for blue-chip companies. Giles noted that Morningstar's list of the best blue-chip stocks for investors to buy for the long term have several qualities in common. For one, they are included in the firm's 2024 Best Companies to Own, all of which have wide economic moat ratings and predictable cash flows, and management teams that make smart capital-allocation decisions. In addition, these stocks appear undervalued, meaning that they are trading below Morningstar's fair value estimates. And their market caps exceed $100 million. See the gallery for the 10 largest firms by market cap on Morningstar's best-companies-to-own list whose stocks were undervalued by at least 10% as of Jan. 22. One-year performance is as of Jan. 26.