The Federal Reserve announced another rate increase last week. And while rising interest rates are a problem for businesses, some are in much better positions than others to weather the storm. If a business has tons of cash on its books and is generating lots of money, an increase in interest rates won't make the company a risky buy. And a couple of stocks that are among the "safest" growth-oriented investments to load up on right now include Amazon (AMZN -3.06%) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ -1.19%).
1. Amazon
Amazon is a growth beast, and it may stand to benefit from interest rate increases and declining valuations in the markets. That's because it will mean it can become cheaper for the tech giant to acquire other businesses. As of the end of September, the company's cash equivalents and marketing securities totaled $58.7 billion. And over the trailing 12 months, the company's operating cash flow has come in at just under $40 billion.
The online retail giant has come under some tough times as sales have been slowing down, and the company's expenses are on the rise (it has incurred a net loss in two of the past three quarters) as it ended up hiring more people than it needed during the pandemic.
However, Amazon is trimming costs (which includes laying off workers), a process that is likely to continue into next year. But interest expenses aren't likely to have much of an impact on its bottom line.
Interest costs for the period ending Sept. 30 totaled $617 million, which increased 25% from the prior-year period but were still just a small fraction of revenue ($127.1 billion). The company's interest and other income totaled just over $1 billion and more than offset the interest charges.
Amazon has pursued multiple acquisitions this year, including plans to buy Roomba-maker iRobot for $1.7 billion and primary care company 1Life Healthcare, also known as One Medical, for $3.9 billion. Given its strong financial position, it wouldn't be surprising to see Amazon continue acquiring companies or investing in its own business to help fuel more growth, regardless of what happens with interest rates.
2. Johnson & Johnson
Healthcare company Johnson & Johnson also has plenty of cash in its coffers. Its cash and marketable securities as of the end of September were valued at $34.1 billion. Its operating cash flow over the past year has also been impressive, totaling $21.6 billion. An advantage that Johnson & Johnson has over Amazon is that its business has been more resilient, as it is less dependent on the strength of the economy. Pharmaceuticals and medical devices are necessities and areas that a downturn will have less of an effect on.
When it last reported earnings in October, Johnson & Johnson reported sales of $23.8 billion for the period ending Oct. 2, which were up 1.9% year over year. And when excluding the impact of foreign currency, the company's operational sales growth was much stronger at 8.1%. Its interest expenses during the period totaled just $51 million, which were more than offset by interest income of $150 million.
Although Johnson & Johnson might not strike you as a growth stock, the company is turning into one as it is spinning off its consumer health business next year and looking to expand its medtech and pharmaceutical businesses. Earlier this year, it announced it would be acquiring heart pump maker Abiomed for $16.6 billion, and it was recently rumored to be in talks to buy Horizons Therapeutics. However, drugmaker Amgen looks to be the successful bidder there, announcing this month that it would be buying the biopharmaceutical business for $27.8 billion.
Johnson & Johnson still has plenty of cash at its disposal that it can use to pursue more acquisitions to help generate more growth, and it could make for an underrated stock to watch out for.
