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.
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Defense stocks trade higher after Israel airstrikes in Iran raise Middle East tensions
Defense stocks climbed early Friday after Israel launched a series of airstrikes on Iran, raising tensions in the Middle East and heightening fears of a broader regional conflict. Lockheed Martin (LMT) stock gained as much as 3% early Friday, while shares of Northrop Grumman (NOC) and RTX (RTX) rose closer to 2%. The three companies supply weapons to Israel through their contracts with the US government. US stocks were lower at the open, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq off about 0.7% while the Dow fell 1.1%. Overnight futures fell nearly 2% in immediate reaction to Israel's airstrikes, which were first reported near 8:00 p.m. ET on Thursday. Oil prices were the biggest mover on Friday, rising as much as 8%. Defense stocks have been on the rise over the past year, with Friday's gains bringing RTX stock's gain to north of 35% over the past year, while Northrop Grumman is up 19.5%. Lockheed Martin has risen a more modest 3.9% over that time frame. Palantir (PLTR), a defense contractor that has benefited both from the bid in defense names and its role in the AI boom, traded flat Friday morning. Its stock has soared more than 480% over the last year and is the best performer in the S&P 500 year-to-date. RTX has outperformed Wall Street's expectations since the fourth quarter of 2022. Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman have beat analysts' projections in seven and six of those nine quarters, respectively. The Trump administration has promised a $1 trillion budget for US defense but its fiscal 2026 budget looks set to fall short of that goal. On Thursday night, Israel launched what it called a "preemptive strike" against Iran targeting its nuclear facilities. The attacks continued into Friday, killing 78 people in Tehran including Iran's top military leadership. Iran's foreign minister described the attacks as a 'declaration of war' and its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel 'should expect severe punishment.' US President Trump urged Iran to 'make a deal' in a post on Truth Social Friday. 'There has already been great death and destruction, but there is still time to make this slaughter, with the next already planned attacks being even more brutal, come to an end,' he wrote. 'Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire. No more death, no more destruction, JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.' Laura Bratton is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Bluesky @ Email her at Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
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29 minutes ago
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What to watch next week: Inflation, Bank of England interest rates, Accenture, Berkeley and Whitbread
Inflation and interest rates will be in focus in the coming week, along with earnings from companies across a range of sectors. Markets will be closely monitoring the latest UK inflation data, which is due out a day before the Bank of England's (BoE) next interest rate decision, particularly given the sharp uptick in price growth in April. In terms of company earnings, investors will be keeping an eye on the latest results from US-listed consultancy firm Accenture (ACN), given the company narrowed its revenue growth guidance for the year and warned of the impact of federal spending cuts in its previous quarterly update. On the London market, Berkeley (BKG.L) is due to report, with focus expected to be on whether the housebuilder has any updates cash return plans. Premier Inn-owner Whitbread is another FTSE 100 (^FTSE) company due to update on its performance, following a slower start to year for its UK business. Here's more on what to look out for: In April, UK inflation rose to 3.5%, which was higher than the 3.3% forecast by economists and marked a jump from the 2.6% recorded in March. The Office for National Statistics (ONS), which publishes the data, said that the uptick in inflation was driven by large increases in household bills, with energy costs higher due to changes to the Ofgem price cap. The ONS later said the headline inflation figure had been overstated, due to an error in car tax data, revising it down to 3.4% – though this was still well above the March reading. Price growth is expected to remain sticky with Bank of America (BAC) economists saying in a note on Friday that they expected headline inflation to decline slightly in the May consumer prices index (CPI) report to 3.3%. Inflation data is closely watched by central banks, as they have been using higher interest rates to try to bring the rate of price growth back down to their 2% target. Read more: UK economy shrinks by 0.3% in April Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "Even though high wage growth is easing off and vacancies are falling as firms hold back from recruiting, pay growth is still outpacing inflation." Annual wage growth excluding bonuses in April eased to 5.2%, according to ONS data released last week, which marked the second consecutive monthly decline. "Add Trump's tariffs into the mix of uncertainty, and policymakers are set to stay in 'wait-and-see mode', taking longer to assess the path ahead for prices," said Streeter. "But, with the latest GDP (gross domestic product) figures indicating that the economy is stagnating, financial markets are pricing in two more rate cuts this year, one by September and another in December." ONS data released on Thursday, showed that the UK economy shrank by 0.3% in April, which was a bigger contraction than the 0.1% expected by economists. The BoE is expected to keep interest rates on hold at 4.25%, when it announces its decision on Thursday. Bank of America (BAC) economists said that the BoE "likely to retain its current guidance (careful, gradual and meeting by meeting), given the uncertainty and recent data on inflation and tariffs." "Barring big upside surprises in May inflation, we expect the minutes to imply that a summer skip to quarterly cuts ... is less likely," they said. "This could be by emphasizing that progress in underlying inflation is continuing amid a looser labour market, lower pay awards and weaker growth." Read more: What you need to know about UK's private stock market Pisces BofA's (BAC) economists expected rate cuts in August, September and November, lowering the central bank's base rate to 3.5%. "Though we acknowledge that elevated domestic inflation puts our call for a September cut at risk, we think the bar to cut less than quarterly is high," they said. The US Federal Reserve is also due to announce its next interest rate decision next week, on Wednesday 18 June. The Fed is expected to keep rates on hold once again at this meeting, keeping them in the 4.25%-4.50% range. "However, there are expectations that the US central bank could resume cutting rates in September, given cooling inflation and job market data. Shares in Accenture (ACN) fell on the back of its second quarter results in March, after the consultancy firm warned of the impact of US federal spending cuts on its business. In a post-earnings call, Accenture (ACN) CEO Julie Sweet said that the "new administration has a clear goal to run the federal government more efficiently. During this process, many new procurement actions have slowed, which is negatively impacting our sales and revenue." US president Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which was headed by Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk until his exit at the end of May, has sought to slash federal spending. Sweet said that the independent government agency, the General Service Administration (GSA), had instructed all federal agencies to review their contracts with the top 10 highest paid consulting firms, including Accenture Federal Services (ACN). This part of the business represented approximately 8% of the company's global revenue and 16% of its Americas revenue in 2024. Read more: Stocks that are trending today "The GSA's guidance was to terminate contracts that are not deemed mission critical by the relevant federal agencies," she said. "While we continue to believe our work for federal clients is mission critical, we anticipate ongoing uncertainty as the government's priorities evolve and these assessments unfold." Even so, Accenture (ACN) still beat expectations in the second quarter, posting revenue of $16.66bn (£12.3bn), which topped estimates of $16.62bn, according to a Reuters report. Diluted earnings per share of $2.82 were up 7% on the same period last year. The company continued to see growth in generative artificial intelligence (AI), with new bookings in this part of the business hitting $1.4bn. However, the company narrowed its full-year revenue growth guidance to between 5% and 7%. In the second quarter earnings call, Angie Park, chief financial officer at Accenture (ACN), noted "an elevated level of uncertainty, including in our federal business". She flagged a 0.5% negative impact of foreign exchange rates on Accenture's results in US dollars, compared to the 2024 fiscal year. For the third quarter, Accenture (ACN) expected revenue to be in the range of $16.9bn to $17.5bn, which would represent growth of 3% to 7%. Shares in Accenture (ACN) are trading 9.6% in the red year-to-date. Back in the UK, Berkeley Group (BKG.L) is due to report its full-year results, with shares in the high-end housebuilder up 10% year-to-date. In a trading update in March, the company said it remained "concerned by the impact of the extent and pace of regulatory changes of recent years, as we now await details of the new building safety levy. Taken together, these incremental changes place significant pressure on the delivery of new homes." The levy, which is set to come into effect in autumn 2026, is aimed at raising revenue to make residential buildings safer. It comes out of the 2022 Building Safety Act, which was introduced in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy in 2017. Berkeley (BKG.L) aid it was "working hard in preparing the building safety cases" required under the pre-start approval process implemented by the new building safety regulator. At the same time, the housebuilder said it remained "hugely encouraged by the change in mind-set over planning, brought about by the government's planning reforms and housing delivery ambitions which we fully support." Stocks: Create your watchlist and portfolio In terms of financial performance, Berkeley (BKG.L) reaffirmed its earnings guidance of delivering at least £975m ($1.32bn) of pre-tax profit across its 2025 and 2026 fiscal years, with this figure expected to come in at £525m this year and £450m for the coming year. AJ Bell's (AJB.L) investment experts Russ Mould, Danni Hewson and Dan Coatsworth said that current analyst consensus is looking for pre-tax profit of £524m this year and £461m next year. As for completions, they said that analysts currently expect around 4,000 in each of the years to April 2025 and 2026, versus 3,521 last year. However, the average selling price is expected to have fallen to £611,000 this year and then £568,000 next year. Analysts will also be keeping an eye out for updates on Berkeley (BKG.L) cash return plans, with the current aim of returning £283.5m to shareholders via a mix of buybacks and dividends. "That programme runs to the end of September 2025, after which point the Berkeley (BKG.L) 2035 growth strategy kicks in," AJ Bell's investment experts said. "Under the auspices of this scheme, Berkeley (BKG.L) believes it will generate £7bn in free cash flow. Of that sum, £2.5bn will be spent on land, to replenish the land bank after completions, with £1.2bn going on build-to-rent (BTR) schemes. Shareholder returns will, at a minimum, consume another £2bn and the final £1.3bn slice will be allocated on a flexible basis between the other options." Profits fell at Premier Inn-owner Whitbread (WTB.L) in its 2025 fiscal year, according to results released in May, with the hotel operator flagging higher costs and the impact of its accelerated growth plan. Adjusted pre-tax profits were down 14% for the year at 14% to £483m, while revenue was down 1% for the year at £2.92bn. Whitbread also reported a softer start to its current financial year, with UK accommodation sales down 1% in the first seven weeks of trading. However, the company said its forward booked position was ahead of last year, helped by "strong peak leisure demand". For its UK food and beverage business, which includes steakhouse chain Beefeater, Whitbread (WTB.L) said sales in the first seven weeks were 16% behind the previous year, but explained that this reflected the removal of a number of lower-returning brand restaurants and was in line with its expectations. Read more: Why Rachel Reeves' spending review may lead to tax rises Meanwhile, total accommodation sales were up 23% versus 2025 for the company's Premier Inn Germany business. Derren Nathan, head of equity analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "If rival Travelodge's first quarter update is anything to go by, there's little reason to believe that Whitbread's trading statement next week will show an improving trend later in the first quarter, with hotel prices showing some softness. "However, there are some early signs of bookings picking up for the second half of 2025," he said. "Growth in the less mature, but much smaller, German division was much stronger last year, and investors will be keen to hear if it's still on track to deliver its maiden pre-tax profit contribution this financial year." For the current fiscal year, Whitbread (WTB.L) said it expected the one-off impact of its accelerated growth plan, of £20m to £25m to UK adjusted profits before tax, to be fully reversed. As for its business in Germany, Whitbread (WTB.L) said it expected to deliver adjusted profit before tax of between £5m and £10m. Monday 16 June Lennar (LEN) Tuesday 17 June RWS (RWS.L) Capita (CPI.L) Colruyt (CUYTY) Jabil (JBL) Wednesday 18 June AO World (AO.L) S & U (SUS.L) Thursday 19 June Urban Logistics REIT (SHED.L) NCC (NCC.L) Friday 20 June Record (REC.L) Cathay Pacific ( Darden Restaurants (DRI) Carmax (KMX) You can read Yahoo Finance's full calendar here. Read more: BT CEO hails telecom networks as 'UK's real digital backbone' Why UK can leapfrog EU and US on crypto, according to Coinbase exec How far will your pension go as retirement costs soar?Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
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31 minutes ago
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Dow, Nasdaq, S&P 500 falling after Israel airstrikes on Iran
All three of the US market indexes (^DJI, ^IXIC, ^GSPC) start Friday's trading session in negative territory, falling after Israel coordinated airstrikes to target Iran's nuclear facilities and top military leadership. Brad Smith examines the stock and energy sector moves this morning after the opening bell. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Morning Brief here. begin today's trading session riddled with conflict right now in the Middle East, as investors waking up this morning, firing up their trading engines. And as we're taking a look at some of the major averages, we're seeing where some of that slippage that was already being shown in the futures, now transpiring into the opening cross here. The S&P 500 right now down by about 8/10ths of a percent, Dow Jones Industrial Average. That's lower by about 1.1% to begin today's trading activity. Also, I want to pull this up on a chart view just so you can see how the S&P 500, we had actually gotten back to one of our highest levels since February here, highest closing close since February. And so taking a look at the year to date move here, we are still holding onto gains year to date for the S&P 500 of about 2%. But this is exactly where we wanted to show traders where we had been kind of leveling off here. And this was a key level for us to continue to track. Try to draw you a straight line here. I needed to get my yardstick out in order to make sure that we could fully get that carried out. But ultimately here, with the absence of a yardstick, there, you can see visually with your eyes just those levels and where we're coming in at. The Dow Jones Industrial Average still flat just barely to the downside, as of right now, year to date. And then the NASDAQ composite, which is calibrated here on our YFi interactive data, we've got that lower by about 9/10 of a percent to start off today's trading activity, year to date up 9/10ths of a percent. Want to take a look at some of the heat maps that we've got fired up for you here. The only, and this should come as no surprise, the only sector in the 11 S&P 500 sectors right now in positive territory, that is energy, as oil prices move higher. XLE, you're going to see that go with it as well. That's up 2%. 10 of 11 S&P 500 sectors in negative territory right now, dragged on the most by consumer discretionary names. That's down by about 1.2%. Additionally, I want to take a look at the NASDAQ 100 here, give you a quick look at some of those Mag 7s, as well as the mega cap tech stocks. And as of right now, you can see only a few areas of green peppered into this mix here. As of right now, the one outside leader that we're tracking is actually Diamondback Energy. And of course, this, synonymous with what we were just talking about with the sector activity and the bid that energy names are catching here, this morning in reaction to the oil price spikes here. Taking a look at Diamondback Energy, that's leading the pack. It's up by about 5.4%. However, pulling up the caboose right now, you've got Adobe, that's down 4 and a quarter percent, fresh off of earnings here. However, you still heard some of the bullish sentiment from our previous guest, Gill Area of DA Davidson here, and how he's evaluating that name. A few other names that we're tracking here out of the gate this morning, you've already got Marriott down right about 2.7% right now. And then a host of other names in the red, majority in the red here on the NASDAQ 100 as of right now.
