The three big-name stocks that make up the timeless Dow Jones Industrial Average have the catalysts they need to deliver triple-digit gains by the early 2020s.
For the past 128 years, the iconic Dow Jones Industrial Average has (^DJI -0.54%) It has served as a guide for investors to gauge the health of the U.S. stock market.
Launched in May 1896, the Dow Jones was unsurprisingly made up of 12 companies, mostly linked to the industrial sector. However, this timeless index has changed more than 50 times over the years and is now made up of 30 multinational, well-established and diverse companies.
Image source: Getty Images.
While most of the Dow Jones Industrial Average stocks are leaders in their respective industries and have proven their value to investors over time, not all 30 stocks are created equal. For patient investors with a long-term perspective, the combination of competitive advantages and price divergence make the three Dow Jones Industrial Average stocks ideally positioned to double your investment by 2030.
visa
The first proven Dow stock with all the tools you need to double your money over the next six years is Visa, the world’s leading payment processor. (V -0.67%).
The biggest headwind Visa could face between now and 2030 is a possible U.S. or global economic downturn. When economic growth slows or shrinks, it makes sense that consumers and businesses will cut back on spending — bad news for companies that make their money from transaction fees.
The flip side of this concern is that U.S. recessions have historically been short-lived. Since the end of World War II in September 1945, the 12 U.S. recessions have ended within two to 18 months. By comparison, most economic expansions have lasted for several years. Over time, consumer and business spending has grown, which undoubtedly benefits Visa’s core payment processing business.
Visa also has impressive international reach. Excluding currency fluctuations, cross-border payment transaction volumes have consistently grown at low to mid-teens rates. This reflects the chronic under-banking of fast-growing emerging markets. Visa has deep capital and ample operating cash flow to enter these markets organically or through acquisitions.
Another saving grace for Visa is that management has purposefully stayed out of the lending business. If Visa were to enter the lending business, it would likely be a big success. But lenders are directly exposed to credit losses and delinquencies during times of economic uncertainty. Because Visa is not a lender, it doesn’t have to set aside valuable capital to cover potential credit losses and delinquencies. This is a subtle but fundamental advantage for the company.
If Visa can maintain its low- to mid-double-digit earnings growth rate, it could well deliver triple-digit gains to patient shareholders by 2030.

Image credit: Walt Disney.
Walt Disney
The second Dow sensation that has the catalyst needed to deliver 100%+ returns to long-term investors by 2030 is media giant Walt Disney. (DIS -0.67%).
Disney has had a tough start to the decade. The COVID-19 pandemic has hit both its theme parks and studio divisions hard, and its focus on building out streaming content with Disney+ has led to heavy losses. Traditional media companies have found that emulating Netflix in the streaming space is easier said than done.
But these headwinds are starting to subside, giving Walt Disney a number of competitive advantages.
Perhaps the biggest story of 2024 is how Disney unexpectedly achieved operating profits for its streaming division one quarter earlier than expected. A combination of prudent cost cutting and the ability to raise prices across all streaming tiers has allowed Walt Disney to turn a significant initial loss for its direct-to-consumer (DTC) division into operating profits. Expect the company’s broad content library and pricing power to drive significant revenue growth from this DTC division going forward.
Another key selling point for Walt Disney is the power of its brand. Consumers have plenty of choices when it comes to visiting a theme park or seeing a movie. But no other media company can match the depth of characters and storytelling that Disney offers. Whether you’re 5 or 85, Disney’s breadth of products and services has a way of connecting and engaging with you. Being irreplaceable is a trait for which Walt Street investors pay a premium.
Investors should also be able to take advantage of the price turmoil caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the short-term large losses associated with the DTC segment. Earnings per share (EPS) were $3.76 in fiscal 2023 (Disney’s fiscal year typically ends in late September), and EPS is expected to rise to well above $6 in fiscal 2027. Double-digit annual EPS growth could propel the media giant to $180 per share (or more) by 2030.
Intel
A third tried-and-true Dow stock that has the puzzle pieces in place to double its investment by 2030 but will certainly require investor patience is semiconductor giant Intel (NASDAQ: INTC ).
Intel has been hit by a number of problems, including Advanced Micro Devices taking some of its market share in central processing units (CPUs) for personal computers (PCs) and traditional data centers, and Nvidia beating Intel with its H100 graphics processing unit (GPU), the preferred choice for companies that run high-computing data centers.
Moreover, Intel is building a foundry services division from scratch. The company’s ambitions to become the world’s second-largest foundry by the end of the decade are ambitious but extremely costly. The more money it spends on building this badly needed infrastructure, the worse it becomes for Intel’s bottom line.
These headwinds facing Intel aren’t going to change anytime soon, but for long-term investors, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
For example, Intel’s legacy businesses still generate ample operating cash flow. Even after losing some CPU share to AMD, Intel remains the undisputed leader in PC CPU share. While this segment is not going to be the fastest growing going forward, it should generate healthy cash flow that Intel can use to fund higher growth initiatives.
Intel is also launching Gaudi 3, a chip that accelerates artificial intelligence (AI), giving the company a chance to take back market share from Nvidia. Nvidia’s GPUs will likely continue to dominate when it comes to computing power, but Intel’s significantly cheaper chips should help the company stand out in an environment where enterprise demand for AI GPUs overwhelms supply.
Intel’s stock is trading at its lowest price-to-book multiple in at least 40 years (currently 28% below its book value), and this price discrepancy is no longer something opportunistic investors can ignore.
Sean Williams invests in Intel and Visa. The Motley Fool invests in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Netflix, NVIDIA, Visa, and Walt Disney. The Motley Fool recommends Intel and recommends short Intel’s November 2024 $24 call options. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.