Following President Trump’s worldwide reciprocal tariffs, the volatility S&P 500 (VIX) index nearly equalized with the one-year top in early August 2024. Reminder, that was just after the first assassination attempt on Trump, exacerbated by Japan’s interest rate hike and disappointing jobs data.
The big concern now is that businesses have to recalculate their imported inputs, which creates valuation uncertainty. At the same time, the dollar, as the world reserve currency, tends to be overvalued. This gives much leeway to enact tariffs with minimal de-dollarization threat.
It is also the case that many countries lack the alternatives to US Treasuries. In the long run, this should leave the US in a stronger position as trade asymmetries become more balanced.
And with the year-to-date VIX now up 107%, it is worth considering stocks that have shown resilience in this market turmoil.
1. Altria Group
Over the week, MO stock barely suffered a dip into the negative territory, unlike most stocks. That’s because Altria Group (NYSE:MO) is a tobacco company that largely sources US-grown tobacco. Namely, via its subsidiary Philip Morris (NYSE:PM) USA.
Altria is also at the forefront of smokeless products, through its subsidiaries Helix Innovations, NJOY, and U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co. Suffice to say, this type of business model that caters to daily habits generates a stable income, similar to utilities.
Likewise, this is why we covered Altria multiple times as a generous dividend-yielding stock, now at 7.05%. For long-term prospects, it bears noticing that the Trump admin canceled two proposed rules from the Biden admin. One that banned menthol in cigarettes and one that banned flavored cigars.
Since the last coverage in October, MO stock is still significantly up, from $50 to present $58.29 per share. As was the case then, MO stock is one of the top go-to equities, regardless of market volatility.
2. MicroStrategy
Rebranded into just Strategy, Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR) represents both a software stock and a hedge against weakened dollar. Investors should be eager to entertain MSTR as the main Bitcoin proxy exposure at this point in time, outside of Bitcoin ETFs.
Not only is Bitcoin immune to any tariffs, as a decentralized computing network, but Bitcoin scarcity and lack of earnings consideration practically ensures that BTC price will rebound. It is at times of fear that one should take the BTC exposure, not at a time when everyone is bullish and the BTC price is high.
And due to Strategy’s leverage of debt, MSTR stock typically outperforms Bitcoin itself. Case in point, over a one-year period, MSTR stock is up 65% vs Bitcoin at 20%. In short, while market volatility did drop MSTR stock by 3.6% over the week, this should be taken as an opportunity.
After all, there are fewer structural Bitcoin vulnerabilities than ever before in Bitcoin’s history.
3. Verizon
Similar to Altria, Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) stock barely felt the tariff sting, down under 1% over the week. Likewise, Verizon is a solid dividend yielding stock, presently at 6.07% annually, owing to multiple, stable revenue streams from wireless, mobile, broadband, fees and device sales.
In January, Verizon impressed investors with better than expected results for Q4 2024. The company’s wireless division was the top gainer, leading the industry with a $20 billion revenue, of the total operating revenue for the year at $134.8 billion.
For the next quarterly earnings scheduled for April 28th, the consensus earnings per share (EPS) forecast is $1.14. This is just marginally lower than the reported EPS in the year-ago quarter at $1.15. For investors looking for a stable stock to safeguard wealth, there are fewer options better than VZ.
Per WSJ forecasting data, against the present price of $44.77, the average VZ price target is $46.33. The bottom estimate is not far off at $40, while the top is at $52 per share.
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Neither the author, Tim Fries, nor this website, The Tokenist, provide financial advice. Please consult our website policy prior to making financial decisions.
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