Large-cap stocks have the power to shape entire industries thanks to their size and widespread influence. With such vast footprints, however, finding new areas for growth is much harder than for smaller, more agile players.

These trade-offs can cause headaches for even the most seasoned professionals, which is why we started StockStory - to help you find high-quality companies that can grow their earnings no matter what. That said, here are three large-cap stocks whose competitive advantages create flywheel effects.

Autodesk (ADSK)

Market Cap: $62.73 billion

Founded in 1982 by John Walker and growing into one of the industry's behemoths, Autodesk (NASDAQ: ADSK) makes computer-aided design (CAD) software for engineering, construction, and architecture companies.

Why Are We Positive On ADSK?

1. Winning new contracts that can potentially increase in value as its billings growth has averaged 14.7% over the last year
2. Prominent and differentiated software results in a best-in-class gross margin of 92%
3. User-friendly software enables clients to ramp up spending quickly, leading to the speedy recovery of customer acquisition costs

Autodesk is trading at $294.10 per share, or 9.2x forward price-to-sales. Is now a good time to buy? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.

Coinbase (COIN)

Market Cap: $52.78 billion

Widely regarded as the face of crypto, Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) is a blockchain infrastructure company updating the financial system with its trading, staking, stablecoin, and other payment solutions.

Why Are We Backing COIN?

1. Customer spending is rising as the company has focused on monetization over the last two years, leading to 61.5% annual growth in its average revenue per user
2. Additional sales over the last two years increased its profitability as the 98.1% annual growth in its earnings per share outpaced its revenue
3. Impressive free cash flow profitability enables the company to fund new investments or reward investors with share buybacks/dividends, and its rising cash conversion increases its margin of safety

At $229.90 per share, Coinbase trades at 16.1x forward EV/EBITDA. Is now the right time to buy? See for yourself in our full research report, it’s free.

Boston Scientific (BSX)

Market Cap: $152.2 billion

Founded in 1979 with a mission to advance less-invasive medicine, Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX) develops and manufactures medical devices used in minimally invasive procedures across cardiovascular, urological, neurological, and gastrointestinal specialties.

Why Should BSX Be on Your Watchlist?

1. Core business is healthy and doesn’t need acquisitions to boost sales as its organic revenue growth averaged 14.9% over the past two years
2. Projected revenue growth of 14.5% for the next 12 months suggests its momentum from the last two years will persist
3. Additional sales over the last five years increased its profitability as the 12.3% annual growth in its earnings per share outpaced its revenue

Boston Scientific’s stock price of $102.80 implies a valuation ratio of 34.9x forward P/E. Is now a good time to buy? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.

Stocks We Like Even More

Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election sent major indices to all-time highs, but stocks have retraced as investors debate the health of the economy and the potential impact of tariffs.

While this leaves much uncertainty around 2025, a few companies are poised for long-term gains regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate, like our Top 6 Stocks for this week. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 176% over the last five years.

Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,545% between March 2020 and March 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-small-cap company Comfort Systems (+782% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today for free.