Guide to blue chip stocks

Do you want to invest in the world’s largest companies? We’re talking about industry leaders, household names, and often companies with decades of reliable performance behind them. These companies are known as blue chip stocks.

What is a blue chip stock?

A blue chip stock is a large, well-established company with a track record of growth and financial stability. These companies have been around for decades, are in great shape financially, and have a history of delivering consistent returns to investors.

Examples of blue chip stocks include Coca-Cola, Apple, Johnson & Johnson, and the Royal Bank of Canada.

Fun fact: The term “blue chip stock” comes from poker, where the blue chip was the highest-value chip in a classic 3-colour poker chipset.

Key features of a blue chip stock

The best blue chip stocks usually have a handful of key features in common:

• Industry leaders. Blue chips are major players in their industries, so many of these companies are household names.
• Large market capitalizations. The total value of shares in blue chip companies is huge, with many of them boasting market caps into the billions or even trillions of dollars.
• Well established. Blue chips tend to have been around for decades and have been at the top of their particular industry for years.
• Financial strength. Stable earnings, high cash flow, low debt, and sizeable cash reserves are all hallmarks of a blue chip company.
• Track record. These companies have a history of long-term growth and have demonstrated their ability to ride out volatility and economic downturns.
• Dividends. Many blue chip stocks also have a history of paying dividends to shareholders—but it’s worth noting that not all blue chips pay dividends.

You can typically find the best blue chip stocks listed in leading indexes from major stock exchanges. These include the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 in the US, the FTSE 100 in the UK, and the TSX 60 in Canada.

List of popular blue chip stocks globally

Check the table below for the details of some popular and well-known blue chip stocks from around the globe.

Company	Ticker	Country	Stock price	Market cap	Pays dividends?	Buy now on CIBC Investor's Edge
	AAPL	USA	$267.46 more info button	$4 trillion	✓	Buy now
	MSFT	USA	$510.18 more info button	$3.8 trillion	✓	Buy now
	GOOG	USA	$276.98 more info button	$3.4 trillion	✓	Buy now
	AMZN	USA	$234.69 more info button	$2.5 trillion	✗	Buy now
	META	USA	$609.46 more info button	$1.5 trillion	✓	Buy now
	TSM	Taiwan	$284.82 more info button	$1.5 trillion	✓	Buy now
	BRK-B	USA	$503.26 more info button	$1.1 trillion	✗	Buy now
	JPM	USA	$303.61 more info button	$842.5 billion	✓	Buy now
	WMT	USA	$102.48 more info button	$817.5 billion	✓	Buy now
	XOM	USA	$119.29 more info button	$498.5 billion	✓	Buy now
	JNJ	USA	$195.25 more info button	$472.1 billion	✓	Buy now
	005930.KS	South Korea	(data unavailable)	$438.8 billion	✓	Buy now
	COST	USA	$922.98 more info button	$410 billion	✓	Buy now
	ASML	Netherlands	$1,006.98 more info button	$396.6 billion	✓	Buy now
	BAC	USA	$52.61 more info button	$386.1 billion	✓	Buy now
	PG	USA	$147.67 more info button	$345.7 billion	✓	Buy now
	KO	USA	$71.16 more info button	$306.1 billion	✓	Buy now
	IBM	USA	$305.69 more info button	$285.7 billion	✓	Buy now
	AZN	UK	$89.10 more info button	$276.3 billion	✓	Buy now
	TM	Japan	$204.08 more info button	$269.4 billion	✓	Buy now
	NESN.SW	Switzerland	CHF79.87 more info button	CHF208.6 billion	✓	Buy now
	RY	Canada	$147.13 more info button	$210 billion	✓	Buy now
	CBA	Australia	(data unavailable)	(data unavailable)	✓	Buy now
	SONY	Japan	$29.09 more info button	$180 billion	✓	Buy now
	BHP	Australia	$54.59 more info button	$141.6 billion	✓	Buy now

Do blue chip stocks pay dividends?

Yes, many blue chip companies pay dividends to stockholders—but not all do.

Blue chip dividend stocks typically pay dividends quarterly or twice a year, but some companies pay monthly or annually. This provides investors with an ongoing source of income simply for holding on to their stocks.

For example, Coca-Cola has been paying dividends since 1893, and it has increased its dividend amount for 63 consecutive years.

Closer to home, Bank of Montreal has paid dividends since 1829. Its November 2025 dividend payment was $1.63 per share, so if you owned 100 BMO shares, you’d receive a payment of $163.

But some blue chips don’t pay dividends. These companies instead adopt the view that reinvesting profits back into the business to fund further growth is the best way to deliver value to shareholders. Amazon is one famous example of a blue chip stock that doesn’t pay dividends.

Blue chip exchange-traded funds (ETFs)

Selecting individual blue chip stocks to invest in takes time and research. And unless your broker offers commission-free stock trading, the brokerage fees from buying multiple stocks will add up. This is where an ETF can help.

An ETF is a fund that holds a basket of stocks. So when you invest in an ETF, you instantly gain exposure to all the stocks it holds.

ETFs can be traded on exchanges like stocks, and you can buy them through any online trading platform. This provides a quick and easy way to diversify your portfolio.

Here are some popular blue chip ETFs:

• Vanguard S&P 500 Index ETF (VFV). An ETF that tracks the S&P 500 index, which includes stocks from the 500 largest publicly-traded companies in the USA.
• BMO Dow Jones Industrial Average Hedged to CAD Index ETF (ZDJ). An ETF that tracks the 30 blue chip companies in the Dow Jones
• iShares NASDAQ 100 Index ETF (CAD-Hedged) (XQQ). An ETF that tracks the Nasdaq 100, a tech-leaning index holding stocks from 100 of the biggest Nasdaq-listed companies.
• iShares S&P/TSX 60 Index ETF (XIU). An ETF that tracks the performance of 60 of the largest companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
• ProShares S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF (NOBL). An ETF of 50 US companies that have increased their dividends every year for more than 25 years

Are blue chip stocks a good investment?

There are lots of good reasons why blue chip stocks are an important part of any balanced portfolio:

• They’re safe and stable. Blue chip stocks are well-established companies with a proven track record of strong performance and increasing profits. They offer the potential for long-term growth to investors.
• They’re low-risk investments. Blue chip companies don’t experience as much share price volatility as small companies can, so they offer a low-risk way to invest in stocks.
• They provide dividend income. Many blue chip stocks pay regular dividends to shareholders, providing a passive source of income for investors. Alternatively, you could reinvest those dividends and compound the earnings over time.
• They’re familiar names. Blue chips are well-known companies—mention the name of many blue chip companies and you’ll instantly know who they are and what they do. This helps make these stocks an easy entry point to the market for new investors.
• They offer global exposure. Blue chip stocks operate across a variety of industries and often have global operations. Investing in these stocks helps to diversify your portfolio and gain exposure to markets all over the world.

Risks of investing in blue chip stocks

Despite their many advantages, there are also a few drawbacks you should be aware of before investing in blue chip stocks:

• Limited growth potential. Blue chip companies don’t offer the same potential for significant growth as startups and smaller companies.
• Affected by market downturns. While blue chips have demonstrated their ability to weather turbulent market conditions, their stock prices can still fall during a market drawback. And even with major, well established companies, there is still a risk of them going broke—as famously happened to Lehman Brothers in the 2008 GFC.
• Expensive. Blue chips usually have high stock prices, so they’re more expensive to invest in than small-caps. However, choosing a broker that supports fractional shares makes it easy to invest in blue chips even if you can’t afford to buy a full stock.

How to buy blue chip stocks

Ready to start investing in blue chip stocks? Here’s what you need to do.

Step 1: Choose a trading platform

Compare online trading platforms to find the right broker for you. Look for a broker that offers low or no commissions, a user-friendly trading platform, and access to the markets where you want to trade blue chip stocks. For example, as well as TSX 60 stocks in Canada, you’ll need a broker that lets you trade blue chip US stocks and invest in large companies in other international markets.

You might also want to check out the best brokerage signup bonuses on the market before deciding which platform to use.

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Finder Score	Available Asset Types	Account Types	Stock Trading Fee	Monthly Account Fee
Promoted Finder Score 8.8 Great Interactive Brokers	Finder Score 8.8 Great	Stocks, Bonds, Options, Index Funds, ETFs, Forex, Currencies, Futures	RRSP, TFSA, Personal, Joint	min $1.00, max 0.5%	$0	Go to site More info Compare product selection Compare	loading
Promoted Finder Score 9.1 Excellent Questrade	Finder Score 9.1 Excellent	Stocks, Bonds, Options, Mutual Funds, Index Funds, ETFs, Forex, GICs, Precious Metals, IPOs	RRSP, RESP, RRIF, TFSA, Personal, Joint, FHSA	$0	$0	Get free contracts, no commissions and a 30 day free trial of Questrade Plus. Use the offer code FREEOPTIONS. T&Cs apply.	Go to site More info Compare product selection Compare	loading
Finder Score 7.6 Great CIBC Investor's Edge	Finder Score 7.6 Great	Stocks, Bonds, Options, Mutual Funds, ETFs, GICs, Precious Metals, IPOs	RRSP, RESP, RRIF, TFSA, Personal, Joint, Business, FHSA	$6.95	$0 if conditions met, or $100	Get 100 free online stock and ETF trades when you open a new eligible account and get up to $15,000 in cashback when you transfer funds from outside CIBC to your new or existing CIBC Investor's Edge account. Valid until March 31, 2026. T&Cs apply.	Go to site More info Compare product selection Compare	loading
Finder Score 7.4 Great Moomoo Financial Canada	Finder Score 7.4 Great	Stocks, Options, ETFs	RRSP, TFSA, Personal, FHSA	$1.49/stock	$0	Enjoy a 6% cash rebate plus up to $4,600 in trading perks. Offer ends November 30, 2025. T&Cs apply.	Go to site More info Compare product selection Compare	loading
Finder Score 8.1 Great Qtrade Direct Investing	Finder Score 8.1 Great	Stocks, Bonds, Options, Mutual Funds, ETFs, GICs, IPOs	RRSP, RESP, RRIF, TFSA, Personal, Joint, FHSA	$0	$0	Get 5% cash back on every dollar you invest up to $15,000 and 1% cash back on any amount above that. Plus, new clients receive unlimited free trades. Use code QTRADE2025. Valid until January 5, 2026. T&Cs apply.	Go to site More info Compare product selection Compare	loading

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Finder Score for stock trading platforms

To make comparing even easier we came up with the Finder Score. Trading costs, account fees and features across 10+ stock trading platforms and apps are all weighted and scaled to produce a score out of 10. The higher the score, the better the platform—it's that simple.

Read the full methodology

Step 2: Open and fund a trading account

Fill out an online application form with your personal information and contact details. You’ll also need to provide details of your investing experience and the source of your funds, plus provide proof of ID.

Once your application has been approved and your account opened, you’ll need to transfer the money you want to trade with from your bank account into your trading account.

Step 3: Choose a blue chip stock to buy

Research blue chip stocks and ETFs to decide where you want to invest your money. Consider the company’s market position, financial statements, growth prospects, leadership team and dividend yield when comparing your options. Your broker will also provide access to stock screeners, expert analysis and research tools to help you choose investments.

Step 4: Place a buy order

The final step is to search for the stock or ETF you want to purchase and place a buy order. Use a market order to buy it straight away at the best available price, or place a limit order if you want the order to be executed when a specific price becomes available.

Bottom line

Blue chip stocks can form an important part of any balanced portfolio. While they don’t offer the potential for substantial growth that smaller stocks do, blue chip companies are proven performers that can deliver reliable returns and dividend income. If you want to gain exposure to blue chip stocks, start comparing trading platforms and researching stocks and ETFs now.

Frequently asked questions about blue chip stocks

• Are blue chip stocks safe investments?

  Yes, blue chip stocks are generally seen as relatively safe investments. They have a proven track record of delivering long-term growth, low volatility and (usually) paying dividends. However, investing in any stock comes with risk attached, and there is the potential for your investment to lose money. Make sure you research any blue chip stock or ETF thoroughly before deciding to invest.

• Are there any Canadian blue chip stocks?

  Yes, there are many Canadian companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange that are considered blue chip stocks. Examples include the Big Five banks, Enbridge, Brookfield Corporation and Agnico Eagle Mines. Learn more in our guide to Canadian blue chip stocks.

• What are America's blue chip stocks?

  There's no official blue chip stocks list, but the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which lists 30 prominent companies, is a good place to start. These companies are often regarded as some of the country's most valuable and reliable heavyweights, including well-known names like Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, American Express, Boeing and Coca-Cola.
  However, many others listed on the New York Stock Exchange or the Nasdaq would also qualify as blue chips.

• Are blue chip stocks better for short-term or long-term investing?

  Blue chip stocks are typically seen as being better suited to long-term investing. This is because they offer stable long-term growth and the added benefit of dividend income, offering a low risk option for investors who want to buy and hold stocks for a sustained period.

• Are blue chip dividend stocks the right investment for me?

  Blue chip dividend stocks combine the security and reliability of a trusted company that has a history of delivering long-term growth, with the added benefit of dividend income. You can use dividend payments as an extra source of income, or reinvest them to buy more stocks in the company. But whether or not a blue chip dividend stock is right for you depends on your investment goals and time frame, not to mention the company's financial position and potential for future growth.

Written by

Tim Falk

Writer

Tim Falk is a freelance writer for Finder. Over the course of his 15-year writing career, he has reported on a wide range of personal finance topics. Whether you're investing in stocks and ETFs, comparing savings accounts or choosing a credit card, Tim wants to make it easier for you to understand. When he’s not staring at his computer, you can usually find him exploring the great outdoors. See full bio

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