An all-weather stock for this volatile market and economy that even thrived during the financial crisis
We’re adding an auto-parts stock with a history of resiliency and a current business that could benefit from tariffs to our All-Weather stock list . The goal of the All-Weather list is to use our CNBC Pro resources — top Wall Street analyst research, stock screening tools of the Pros — to identify stocks that can thrive in any type of market or economy. We launched the list in February as we grew more concerned about the bull market. President Donald Trump reignited market turmoil on Friday and gave investors reason again to seek out these types of durable investments. Let’s review how the list is doing so far this year: (Values are accurate as of May 23 1:00 pm ET) A stock market rebound from the turmoil in April, bringing the S & P 500 back almost into the green for the year, has overall hurt the performance of the list. These are stocks for a tumultuous market and economy and will probably do best if the S & P 500 starts to struggle again. Nonetheless, there are plenty of winners in the group with Netflix the best among them, a stock we chose because it has become America’s affordable entertainment option of choice. Waste Management, with its resilient revenue line, is also a winner and got an upgrade on Friday from JPMorgan. The worst performer, albeit not by that much, is the durable dividend stock exchange-traded fund. I think in normal rough markets that fund would be doing much better, but rising yields are making dividend stocks less attractive. Why buy a dividend stock when a 10-year Treasury will give you 4.5%? Typically, rates fall during rough stock market periods and dividend stocks become a safe haven, but that hasn’t been the case this year. New addition: AutoZone AutoZone (AZO) was upgraded by Bank of America to buy from hold on Wednesday and the firm raised its price target to $4,800 from $3,900. That would represent a gain of about 25% from current levels. AutoZone is a consistent stock winner gaining every year since the pandemic and Bank of America believes that consistency will continue this year even with a cash-strapped consumer, a slowing economy and higher tariff rates raising the cost of imported auto parts. On the tariffs specifically, Bank of America sees that as a potential tailwind even as it raises costs for AutoZone. “The auto aftermarket could benefit from lower new car sales and higher used car pricing, as consumers may hold onto and repair existing vehicles,” wrote analyst Robert Ohmes in the Monday note. “We think consumers will be more willing to pay the extra cost to fix their existing vehicles than purchasing new vehicles, especially when the auto tariffs could mean a $3,285 increase on average for US-assembled vehicles and higher for imported vehicles.” AZO YTD mountain Autozone, YTD But what Ohmes found about AutoZone’s trading history is what really caught our eye. He pointed out that the stock, along with competitor O’Reilly Automotive, were up more than 100% versus the S & P 500 during 2008 to 2009. “If unemployment rises and new car sales fall, these trends will drive people into new behavior,” wrote Ohmes. Do-it-yourself “could feel a stronger tailwind as consumers realize they can save labor cost if they perform a job on their own.” AutoZone is well liked by most of Wall Street with 23 buy ratings and zero sell calls, according to CNBC Pro’s analyst tool.
