It has been a rough past few weeks for the market. Despite a handful of firmly bullish days, the S&P 500 is currently sitting 14% below its August peak, and is still down more than 21% year to date. Most stocks are similarly in the red for both time frames.
Not every stock has fallen, though. A handful of surprising names have resisted the bigger bearish tide to make measurable -- if choppy -- forward progress. These companies merit a closer look simply because they've already proven their resilience in a lousy market environment. Here's a closer look at three of your best bets.
1. Cal-Maine Foods
Soaring inflation is a challenge for most food companies, and Cal-Maine Foods (CALM -0.03%) -- the biggest egg distributor in the U.S. -- isn't an exception to this dynamic. However, the company is shrugging off this headwind better than most.
The evidence? The company reported record-breaking revenue of $658.3 million last quarter, more than doubling the COVID-crimped comparable quarter's top line from a year ago thanks to (much) stronger egg prices. Perhaps more notably, the company swung from an operating per-share loss of $0.37 in the fiscal quarter in question a year earlier to a profit of $2.57 per share for the three-month stretch ending this August. Gross profit margins rolled in at 33% of revenue, compared to rates of around 20% prior to the pandemic.
Egg prices will eventually fall back to earth. But so will the company's other costs that threaten its profitability. The past few months have proven one thing that makes this stock a compelling prospect, though. Eggs are pretty darn marketable at almost any price, including their current all-time high price in excess of $3 per dozen.
The kicker: Cal-Maine Foods is a great dividend holding as well. It's currently yielding 3.1%, and last quarter's bottom line of $2.57 per share is easily more than enough to cover last quarter's relatively typical dividend payment of $0.85. Reliable income could become a very big deal if the economy continues to sour and growth stocks continue to weaken with it.
2. O'Reilly Automotive
Demand for auto parts and car-care supplies is just as resilient as demand for eggs.
That's the takeaway from the surprisingly persistent strength being dished out lately by shares of auto parts retailer O'Reilly Automotive (ORLY 0.08%). While the broad market is down for the year, O'Reilly's stock is up, and within sight of record highs reached in August.
The bullishness actually makes sense. Consumers can dial back their spending on things like clothes or postpone a vacation, but for most people, a functioning vehicle is a necessity. Throw in the fact that automobiles are also many people's second-biggest purchases (real estate is of course their biggest), and keeping a vehicle looking good and running well is an investment in and of itself. To this end, O'Reilly Automotive's top line has grown every single year for the past decade, including 2020, when the coronavirus stymied (basically) everything.
Don't look for this streak to turn tail now. Kelley Blue Book reports the average price for a new car sold in the U.S. reached a record of $48,301 in August, with no end in sight to these rising prices. At the same time, Standard & Poor's estimates the average car being driven on U.S. roads is now 12.2 years old. Given their age, a bunch of these vehicles are near or at a point where increasingly serious repairs will be needed.
3. Trip.com Group
Finally, add Trip.com Group (TCOM 2.29%) to your list of hot stocks to buy this month.
It's not household name, at least not here in North America. That's not the case in China, though. While the online travel agent helps customers all over the world make travel accommodations, the biggest piece of its business comes from Chinese consumers and businesspeople.
That seems like a problem on the surface. After all, Beijing has imposed ultra-strict rules in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19 within its borders, so much so that it has crimped the country's economic growth. Even long supporters of Beijing's zero-COVID policies are now rethinking their stances. The end result is renewed stimulus efforts that are already showing signs of positive impact. September's manufacturing activity was better than expected, for example, reversing three months of contraction.
Look for more improvement too, given the shifting rhetoric and -- finally -- more serious stimulus measures. For instance, the nation's central bank just cut interest rates for first-time home buyers, while China's National Development and Reform Commission recently unveiled plans to accelerate construction projects and inject fresh capital into the economy. Perhaps most relevant to current and would-be owners of Trip.com, however, is the fact that Hong Kong is lifting its heavy-handed hotel quarantine.
It all may be a forced, inelegant effort, but Beijing isn't about to let the country flounder any further.
Given Trip.com Group's resistance to marketwide weakness, at least some investors seemed to have recognized this tailwind has been brewing for some time. Now that it's clear China's government and central bank are looking for any and all ways to keep its economy propped up, Trip.com could easily be one of the names that leads the rebound rally.
