Stocks are closing in on a bear market, as rising inflation seems to be out of control, even with the Federal Reserve hiking interest rates. However, some areas of the market are holding up well. A few consumer goods companies are able to see solid growth and revenue, while also passing off higher costs to consumers. These companies tend to hold up well in down markets, even though they don’t get much respect during a stock market rally. The perfect example of this phenomenon isKellogg (K). The processed food company, best known for its cereals, beat earnings and revenue expectations...

Commodities have been in a bull market for some time. But with oil prices well off their highs, and with precious metals failing to break higher even with high inflation rates, prices have moderated somewhat. But some commodities have stronger fundamentals, especially in the years ahead. The metals space is one area, as a recovering global economy has greater demand for these commodities than the current supply. One such commodity is lithium. Critical for rechargeable batteries in everything from cell phones to cars, it’s the one commodity where likely demand will most outstrip suppl...

The tech space has been a roller coaster over the past six months, and largely to the downside. Many big names retested their February lows in last week’s selloff. However, as earnings come in, traders can better separate the winners in today’s economy from those not faring as well. That’s especially true in a competitive space like hardware. Hardware is more like a commodity than software, but a company that makes quality hardware can still stand out. In the semiconductor hardware space, one standout isAdvanced Micro Devices (AMD). The company reported that its server processor busi...

Many companies offer just one product or service. Some of today’s large companies, however, offer many services and products (or even both). That’s especially true in the tech space, where rapid changes result in continued ongoing sales and support. Some of these companies have a number of businesses that could be broken out into separate parts. And right now, this “sum of the parts” analysis is starting to show that it may be time to start dipping a toe into some tech giants. One clear example isAmazon (AMZN). The company is down 26 percent over the past year, and more than one-thir...

Life is complex. A company that is executing a long-term plan may have to contend with short-term unexpected events. At one point or another, every company hits an unexpected snag and has to report a one-time problem. Sure, for some companies, those one-time events seem to occur more often than others. For others, they truly are unusual events likely to become a distant memory as long-term plans play out. For instance, many companies are taking a one-time hit right now due to their decision to exit operations in Russia.Exxon Mobil (XOM) reported a $3.4 billion charge, which lowered i...

When the stock market is rallying, it can be tough to find a stock to buck the trend. But when markets are skeptical of any economic growth, buying tried-and-true companies being sold off with the speculative names can be a winning strategy. That tends to mean investing in companies of quality. That can mean being in an industry with few competitors, or having a business model that can profit in any economic environment. Defense contractors are one such area for investors to consider now. That’s especially true with the increase in geopolitical fears over the past few months. One ...

Even with the short-term fears hitting the economy right now, technology continues to develop at a rapid rate. And the implementation of new technologies takes years to play out, across multiple economic cycles. That means that thosewho invest in these big trends during a market downturn can earn excess returns as those trends continue to grow and play out over a period of months and years. There are many big trends today. But one that may have become overlooked is the rollout of the 5G network.Qualcomm (QCOM), a producer of wireless communications chips, is a huge player for this ma...

Every industry has a key metric that analysts are looking for. That could relate to gross profit margins, sales volume, or the spread between the cost of borrowing and the cost of lending. For the restaurant industry, sales are a key component. Higher-end chains may look at how many times a table turns over in the course of an evening, but for most players, that still translates to plain sales.Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) just reported that their sales have been unaffected this year by market conditions. The company saw revenue climb 16 percent year-over-year, and restaurant sales rose ...

Most stocks follow the overall market. When stocks are rising, even poorly-managed companies can go along for a rally. And when stocks are falling, even great companies can get sold off as well. Right now, only a handful of companies are performing well in today’s markets. Some of those are commodity plays, others are companies capable of growing no matter what the overall economy does. One such company is theCoca-Cola Company (KO). The beverage giant has some issues with supply chain issues, but overall, the business of selling beverages is a consistent one. The company just post...

A company can either pass on inflation to its customers, or it can’t. If a company offers a product or services with inelastic demand, chances are that company won’t feel the worst of the multi-decade-high inflation rates right now. Companies can pass on inflation through a variety of ways. One is shrinkflation, where it simply lowers its content size and keeps the price the same. Or a company may benefit from higher prices because they simply collect a percentage of assets moving through their network. That’s the case with credit card companies. These networks have been posting soli...