I like Warren Buffett's statement that his "favorite holding period is forever." However, like Buffett, I don't usually end up holding stocks for as long as I expected to when I bought them. Things change.

But I fully intend to hang on to quite a few of the stocks currently in my portfolio for a long time to come. Here are three stocks I plan to hold for the next 20 years.

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1. Amazon

It's hard for me to imagine ever wanting to sell my shares of Amazon (AMZN 2.66%). I'm too fascinated by what might happen next with the e-commerce and cloud services giant.

I suspect that artificial intelligence (AI) will remain the most important growth driver for Amazon over the next 20 years. AI isn't important just for Amazon Web Services, although the cloud unit should benefit tremendously as more organizations harness the power of the technology. Amazon's e-commerce business should become increasingly profitable as a result of AI, too.

I wouldn't be surprised, though, for Amazon to become a much larger player in healthcare than it is today. I could see the company achieving success with its Zoox self-driving-car unit.

One thing I'm confident about is that Amazon will continue to find ways to grow. Founder Jeff Bezos' "Day One" mindset and CEO Andy Jassy's "culture of why" should keep the company continually looking out for new growth opportunities.

2. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners

I plan to hold on to my investment in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIP -0.75%) for a different reason. The limited partnership's diversification makes it a stock to own over the long term, in my view.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners' portfolio of assets includes cell towers, data centers, electricity transmission lines, natural gas storage facilities, pipelines, railways, semiconductor manufacturing foundries, toll roads, terminals, and more. Its operations span four continents.

I like the stable cash flow that Brookfield Infrastructure Partners generates thanks to these diversified assets. I also like that inflation isn't a major threat to the company. Around 85% of its funds from operations (FFO) are inflation-indexed or protected from inflation by contractual provisions.

That leads me to the last reason I intend to own this stock for the next 20 years: its distribution. Brookfield Infrastructure's cash flow enables it to pay juicy distributions. Its distribution yield tops 5%. The LP expects to grow its distribution by 5% to 9% annually. Those distributions will make me want to hold on to Brookfield Infrastructure during my retirement years.

3. Enbridge

Enbridge (ENB -0.73%) offers some similar advantages to Brookfield Infrastructure, in my opinion. Its business is highly resilient and largely resistant to the corrosive impact of inflation.

The company is a leader in the midstream energy industry, transporting roughly 30% of the crude oil produced in North America and 20% of all natural gas consumed in the United States. Enbridge's pipeline system, including 18,085 miles of crude oil pipeline and 18,952 miles of natural gas pipeline, is the world's longest and most complex.

In addition, Enbridge now ranks as the largest natural gas utility by volume in North America, as a result of key acquisitions completed in 2023. It's also becoming a bigger player in renewable energy, with long-term agreements to provide power to marquee customers including AT&T and Toyota.

I'd be lying if I said Enbridge's dividend wasn't a major reason I plan to hold on to the stock. Enbridge's forward dividend yield currently stands at a little over 6%. Even better, the company has increased its dividend for an impressive 30 consecutive years.

Enbridge highlights its "low-risk, utility-like business profile" as a top reason for investors to consider its stock. That's the kind of business I want to partially own, especially when I'm retired.