Stock Market Dip: 3 Companies to Buy and Hold for the Long Term

The S&P 500 index is down 20.3% year-to-date, but that doesn't tell the whole story of how brutal this bear market has been for many investors. Several household brands are down 50% or more -- but as with previous market declines, this too shall pass.

Market crashes can be a great opportunity to upgrade your holdings with quality companies that can compound in value for decades. Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), and Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) have sold off hard this year and would make great additions to a well-diversified portfolio. Let's find out a bit more about these three buy-and-hold stocks.

Microsoft is known for Word and Excel, but the most important reason to buy the stock is the company's shift to a subscription-based sales model and the future growth opportunities that presents, especially in cloud services. With shares down 23.5% year-to-date, the market decline is handing investors a golden opportunity to start a position in this top computing brand.

Source Fool.com