It was another great year for the stock market. At the time of writing, the benchmark index, the S&P500has increased by almost 18%.

But if you know where to look, there are even better long-term buy-and-hold opportunities. Let’s look at two technology stocks that are each up more than 50% year-to-date.

Image source: Getty Images.

Spotify technologies

Spotify Technologies (POSITION 0.09%) tops the List of Tech stocks you can buy and hold for the next decade The company that owns the world’s largestargest Audio streaming platform, continues to impress.

Since Beginning of 2023Spotify shares are up 339%making it one of the best performing stocks during this period. The secret of its stock market success? Spotify has combined revenue growth with cost reductions. If you do it right, it’s a powerful combination.

Spotify’s revenue in the last 12 months has increased to $15.7 billion, compared to $13.6 billion in the previous year. Likewise, net profit in the last 12 months increased to $500 million, compared to a loss of nearly $800 million in the previous year.

In terms of revenue, the company relies on its premium users, who generate around 90% of its revenue. These users pay a subscription fee for access to ad-free music, podcasts and audiobooks. The company now generates around 10% of its in total Revenue from advertising-based listening.

As for expenses, Spotify has implemented a number of cost-cutting measures in recent years, including reducing staff, cutting marketing budgets and canceling some content projects.

In return, the company is running at full speed. Admittedly, Spotify operates in a highly competitive environment. Apple, AmazonAnd alphabet all offer their own Form of audio streaming.

However, Spotify has more than held its own. With over 600 million listeners and nearly 250 million subscribers, Spotify has established itself in the audio streaming market. Investors looking for a growth stock with a future should consider Spotify.

Meta-platforms

Next comes Meta Platforms (META -0.74%)the operator of Facebook and Instagram.

Admittedly, I had my concerns about Meta, especially given the tens of billions of dollars the company has spent on the metaverse. But there is no denying one fact: Meta generates money at an almost unbelievable rate. This company can afford to take some expensive risks. And I’m sure that’s one of the reasons why Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg had no problem investing $46 billion in the company’s Reality Labs segment. — Money The until now has not generated every return.

In any case, let us take a closer look Meta’s cash flow. In the last 12 months, the company achieved 50 billion US dollars in free cash flow.

META Free Cash Flow data from YCharts

That’s a staggering amount and it gives Meta a whole new dimension. Its free cash flow of $50 billionFor example, is comparable to the total free cash flows of the energy giants ExxonMobile And Chevron — combined.

No wonder that the company introduced a regular dividend payment for the first time this year. After all, it is not a problem to find the money for these dividends. The new payout policy shows that Facebook has enough excess Cash profits available, looking for a shareholder-friendly cash management policy.

And as long as Meta Platforms remains disciplined in its spending, there will be much more cash flow on the way. Analysts expect the company to grow its revenue by 20% this year and another 13% in 2025. These increasing sales figures should enable an even stronger free cash flow and perhaps even higher dividend payments sometime. For all these reasons, investors should be keen to own meta platforms in the next decade.