Best Stocks to Buy in September 2023

There are literally thousands of publicly traded companies you can invest in, not to mention the many exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and mutual funds you can buy. So it's not surprising that many investors don't know where to begin. And although the market is well above its recent bear market lows, plenty of stocks are trading for significantly less than they were a year or two ago.

But what are the best stocks to buy in 2023? Although I don't have a crystal ball that tells me what stocks will deliver the best returns, I've tried to do the next best thing. In this article, I'll discuss 10 stocks that I think could be great buys in 2023 for long-term investors looking to put their money to work.

Why these 10?

Before we get to the stocks, let's acknowledge three caveats:

• Choosing the best stocks to buy today depends on your personal financial situation. To get a feel for where you stand, read our guide on how to invest in stocks. It walks you through topics such as establishing an emergency fund, allocating assets, and choosing the right stocks for you.
• I like these stocks as long-term investments, even in a bear market. I have absolutely no idea what they'll do over the next few weeks or months. In fact, if inflation stays elevated longer than expected, interest rates climb higher than investors believe they will, or the U.S. falls into a deep recession, it's entirely possible that most or all of these could decline in the near term.
• Although I ensured some variety, the list below isn't meant to be a fully diversified portfolio. Instead, they're my highest-conviction long-term stocks to invest in for 2023 and beyond. The best one-step way to diversify your holdings is to build the core of your portfolio around something like the Vanguard Total World Stock Index Fund ETF (VT 0.04%).

Now let's get to my list of the 10 best stocks to buy and hold for the long term -- from smallest market cap to largest -- followed by the summarized buy thesis for each.

The 10 best stocks to buy in September 2023

1. Etsy (ETSY -2.84%), $10 billion
2. Pinterest (PINS -1.61%), $17 billion
3. Block (sq -5.28%), $38 billion
4. Realty Income (O 0.44%), $42 billion
5. MercadoLibre (MELI -0.57%), $69 billion
6. Shopify (SHOP -2.73%), $71 billion
7. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG 0.34%), $107 billion
8. Walt Disney (DIS 1.25%), $167 billion
9. Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A 0.45%)(BRK.B 0.37%), $790 billion
10. Amazon (AMZN 0.28%), $1.426 trillion

(Market caps as of Aug. 10, 2023, rounded to the nearest billion.)

How to use this stock list

If you're just starting out on your investing journey (or want a sanity check), please read through our guide on how to invest in stocks (mentioned above). It goes through all the basics, from how to get started to how to determine your personal investing strategy to how much of your money to invest in stocks.

Although I'm bullish on each of these stocks and think they are good stocks to buy right now, they might not all be the best choices for investors without established and diversified portfolios. Even the most stable companies on this list aren't immune to volatility in their stock prices, especially over short periods.

For this reason, if you're just getting started, you'll also want to see our list of the five top tips for investing in stocks for beginners. To be sure, I think the 10 stocks discussed here are some of the best long-term stock investments you can buy now. But it's wise to start with the stocks that speak to you and feel free to ignore the ones that don't.

Good luck!