No stock is totally impervious, regardless of how powerful a company it represents. Looking at the past few decades, you can find examples of stocks from almost every industry that have fallen short in the long run. However, you can still find stocks under $100 that you can purchase and hold for a lifetime. Most investors should opt for blue-chip stocks representing reputable companies with proven track records.

And even though a lot of blue chips come with a hefty price tag (three digits or more), there are plenty of options below that mark.

An infrastructure company

Despite being a separate publicly traded company, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (TSX:BIP.UN) is a promising investment and a subsidiary of Brookfield Asset Management. Its interests are quite well diversified because it holds a wide range of infrastructure assets globally, with more than half located outside of North America. It is among the stocks under $100 that you can purchase and hold for a very long time.

These assets include 50 data centres, gas storage facilities, train operations, electricity transmission and distribution equipment, and gas pipelines. Asset diversification is equivalent to geographic distribution.

The stock’s performance has also been very strong. The stock has given investors over 200% in returns over the past ten years just from price growth, and total returns (including dividends) have been 384% during that time. Due to the stock’s 24% decline, the current yield is 4.4%. Right now, it’s trading at $42.6 per share.

A consumer staples company

Canada’s Metro (TSX:MRU) is a food and pharmaceutical giant with major grocery and pharmacy operations. A sizable chunk of the population is served by Metro, particularly in Quebec and Ontario. There are five brands in the pharmacy business and seven in the food/grocery business. It is also among the stocks under $100 that you can purchase and hold for a very long time.

Due to the fact that pharmacies and grocery shops are almost always open for business regardless of the state of the economy, this business model just makes it a company worth holding forever. It is a pretty safe bet because of this and its strong local presence, especially if the business builds a strong online presence to capitalize on the e-commerce market.

Since February 2012, the stock’s performance has been fairly strong. Since then, it has increased by 329% nearly continuously. And if it maintains this rate of expansion, it might also provide 300% growth over the following ten years.

It’s currently trading at $76.5 per share and offers dividends at a 1.44% yield.

Foolish takeaway

The two large-cap stocks provide consistency, respectable growth potential, and reasonably secure dividends. They are involved in evergreen enterprises and have demonstrated their resistance during at least one severe financial crisis (COVID). These are all characteristics of companies that you can keep in your portfolio forever.