What are blue chip stocks?
Blue chip stocks are huge, well-established companies with popular brands and products like Apple, Amazon and Coca-Cola. These companies are financially sound, often have a market capitalization of billions of dollars or even trillions and have been around for decades. Some blue chip companies distribute dividends, another reason investors flock to their stocks.
How to invest in blue chip stocks in 5 easy steps
- Choose an online stock trading platform. Choose from our top picks or jump straight to the best stock trading apps of 2025.
- Sign up for an account. Provide your personal information and sign up.
- Set up a funding method to pay for the transaction. Deposit funds into your account by linking your banking information.
- Choose the stocks you want to buy. Search for the stock by name or ticker symbol.
- Place your order. Buy the stock. It’s that simple.
Our top picks for blue chip stock trading platforms

- Trade stocks, options, ETFs, mutual funds, alternative asset funds
- $0 commission on stocks, ETFs and options with no options contract fees
- Get up to $1,000 in stock when you open and fund a new account within 30 days
- Access to a financial planner

- Trade $0 commission stocks & ETFs with as little as $1
- Get 4% annual equivalent rate on your cash
- Earn up to $300 with qualifying deposits
- Discover new opportunities with Opto's AI-driven thematic investing system
- Theme and ETF screener

- Trade stocks, options, futures, currencies, crypto, precious metals and more
- Mobile, browser and desktop trading platforms
- Earn 3.83% APY on your uninvested cash
Blue chip stocks list
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. However, many others listed on the New York Stock Exchange or the NASDAQ also qualify as blue chips. Below is a list of over 40 blue chip stock companies broken down by industry.
Technology companies
The FAANG stocks — which are made up of Meta (formerly Facebook), Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Alphabet (Google) — is one of the most popular groups of blue chip stocks that dominated the tech sector in the past 15 years. Other tech blue chip companies include:
Banking and financial services
Companies in the financial sector make up a portion of the blue chip classification. These companies tend to have a history of providing large dividends and include the major banks and credit card companies, including:
Manufacturing
The products and brands that many Americans across generations have grown up knowing sustained growth and success, including:
Oil, gas and mining
As drilling and mining is a cyclical industry, natural resource companies have the potential to provide high capital growth. But these can have a reputation for underperforming when the mining industry experiences a downturn. That said, companies that have diversified businesses firmly established across the nation include:
Retail and restaurants
Retailers tend to offer medium-sized dividends to shareholders and are popular choices among investors. Also, popular restaurant chains have loyal followings that provide consistent profits. Blue chip stocks in this sector include:
Blue chip exchange-traded funds (ETFs)
An ETF is a fund that holds a basket of stocks. In this case, a basket of blue chip companies. The cool thing about ETFs is that they trade like stocks and you can buy them from any brokerage or a trading platform. This provides instant diversification to your portfolio without much effort.
Here are some popular blue chip ETFs:
- SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA). An ETF that tracks the 30 blue chip companies in the Dow Jones
- SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY). An ETF that tracks the S&P 500 index, which includes stocks from the 500 largest publicly-traded companies in the country.
- Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1 (QQQ). An ETF that tracks the NASDAQ 100, a tech-leaning index holding stocks from 100 of the biggest NASDAQ-listed companies.
- ProShares S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF (NOBL). An ETF of 50 companies that have increased their dividends every year for more than 25 years
Why are blue chip stocks popular among investors?
Many successful long-term investors like Warren Buffett have advocated for investing in companies you believe will be around for a generation or two. The kind of stocks that tend to fit that description are the blue chips that continue to show steady returns. This may translate to consistently higher stock prices and consistent dividend payouts.
It’s a versatile combination that allows you to either reinvest those dividends and compound the earnings over time or take the dividends as a stream of passive income. On top of that, holding investments for the long term also has some significant tax advantages.
As for intangible benefits, investing in a company you can rely on for the long haul takes away much of the anxiety or worry an investor feels about a volatile stock market.
Check out Finder's picks for the best brokerage accounts
Compare top brokerage accounts and apps to help you maximize your investment.
Frequently asked questions about blue chip stocks
Bottom line
- Blue chip stocks represent the largest and most well-established companies with recognizable brands.
- Companies with a market cap of over $200 billion are typically considered blue chip stocks companies.
- Blue chip companies often distribute dividends to investors.
More on investing

Best Stocks for Beginners With Little Money to Invest 2025: Invest With Just $1
These are the stocks to buy when you don’t have much to spend.
Read more…
What happens if a brokerage firm fails?
Here’s what happens to your securities if your brokerage fails, and how your assets are protected by SIPC and FDIC.
Read more…
Treasury Bills: What They Are and How to Buy Them
Treasury Bills are fixed-income assets with maturities of less than one year. Here’s what to know before investing.
Read more…Paid non-client promotion. Finder does not invest money with providers on this page. If a brand is a referral partner, we're paid when you click or tap through to, open an account with or provide your contact information to the provider. Partnerships are not a recommendation for you to invest with any one company. Learn more about how we make money.
Finder is not an advisor or brokerage service. Information on this page is for educational purposes only and not a recommendation to invest with any one company, trade specific stocks or fund specific investments. All editorial opinions are our own.
Ask a question
More guides on Finder
-
Best Paper Trading Apps to Practice Trading With Fake Money in 2025
Some of the best paper trading apps to practice stock trading with fake money include Interactive Brokers, eToro, Charles Schwab and more.
-
Best Stocks for Beginners With Little Money to Invest 2025: Invest With Just $1
These are the stocks to buy when you don’t have much to spend.
-
7 Best Day Trading Apps of 2025
These are the best day trading apps, according to Finder’s comprehensive analysis.
-
Best Brokerage Account Bonuses for April 2025
Explore the best bonuses for opening a new brokerage account.
-
What Is Stock Lending?
Stock lending allows investors to loan out their existing stocks, although it has both advantages and disadvantages.
-
5 Best International Stock Brokers to Invest in Foreign Assets
Want to buy and sell international stocks? Here are the top brokers to help you trade global markets.
-
Top 9 Low-Cost Stock Brokers for 2025 — Save On Every Trade
These are the best discount brokers of 2025 according to Finder’s comprehensive review.
-
Best Stock Picking Services for 2025
Compare the 7 best stock picking services, according to Finder’s analysis, and learn how to choose the best option for your needs.
-
5 Top Graphene Stocks to Invest in Today
We’ve rounded up stats on some of the most popular graphene stocks, along with information on how they compare and how to invest.
-
Webull Review: $0 Commission Trading With Advanced Tools
Webull is a broker with zero-commission trading and a suite of tools to help you invest.