15 Long-Lived Stocks That Are Still Doing Great During Inflation

Inflation has hit the U.S. economy at a level unseen in four decades. Rising prices eat away at the value of your cash and your investments, and the stock market itself has had the worst first half of a year in a half-century as recession fears mount.

The Fed's response, of course, is to raise interest rates, and the cost of borrowing has soared as well, while the interest paid by CDs and insured bank and credit union accounts has not substantially followed suit.

So, what to do? Consider going old school. There are multiple stocks to buy from companies that have been there, done that, through multiple economic cycles.

Here are 15 to consider, each of them at least 100 years old. They're also all in the green so far this year at a time when the major indexes have been bleeding deep red.

5 Stocks Under $49
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A group of investors founded the New York Gas Light Company in 1823, and now Consolidated Edison (NYSE: ED) supplies electric, gas, and steam -- yes, steam -- service to about 10 million people in the Big Apple and Westchester County.

Business has been good. Con Edison stock is up 14% this year, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down about 14%. Plus, it's yielding about 3.3%, making it an income stock to boot.

ALSO READ: Best Income Stocks for Passive Income

McKesson (NYSE: MCK) was created in 1833, and year to date its stock is up 33%. Founded in New York City and now based in the Dallas suburb of Irving, Texas, McKesson employs more than 78,000 people and delivers about one-third of all pharmaceuticals used on the continent, along with a robust healthcare IT and care management business.

The Travelers Companies (NYSE: TRV) dates to 1853 and now is one of the nation's largest writers of personal and property-casualty insurance policies. This New York City-based titan has seen it provide an inflation-crushing total return of about 11% so far this year -- including a yield of about 2.2% -- while the S&P 500's total return has tanked by about 19%.

ALSO READ: Investing in Insurance Stocks

Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB) was founded in New Jersey and is still based there, having grown from an iconic maker of soups to one of our largest producers of processed foods. Campbell stock is yielding about 3.1%, and its price is up about 12% year to date -- which in this inflationary market is mmm, mmm, good.

Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) was founded in Indianapolis by, well, Eli Lilly. His company is still based there and has recorded some pretty blockbuster achievements, such as the first mass production of insulin and the Sabin polio vaccine, and later Prozac and Cialis. The company is still going strong, and Lilly stock is up 18% so far this year.

5 Stocks Under $49
Presented by Motley Fool Stock Advisor
We hear it over and over from investors, "I wish I had bought Amazon or Netflix when they were first recommended by The Motley Fool. I'd be sitting on a gold mine!" It's true, but we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $49 a share! Click here to learn how you can grab a copy of "5 Growth Stocks Under $49" for FREE for a limited time only.

ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) is the largest direct descendant of J.D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil empire. Oil prices have soared, and so has stock in this Irving, Texas-based multinational.

The company's shares are up about 43%, and a yield of about 4% boosts the total return even higher, to about 45%. In fact, 38 straight years of dividend increases make ExxonMobil a Dividend Aristocrat.

ALSO READ: S&P 500's Best Dividend Aristocrats

The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) is another venerable firm that's still based where it was first opened, in this case by Bernard Kroger in Cincinnati, Ohio. Now the operator of more than 2,700 grocery stores and a similar number of fuel centers, pharmacies, and more boasts a total return of about 7% so far this year. Groceries are, after all, recession and inflation resistant.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) is a New York born and bred multinational producer of major treatments for cancer, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, psychiatric issues, and more. The company has raised its dividend for 16 straight years and is now yielding about 2.8%, with a share price that's up 26% and total return of 26%, both well ahead of the inflationary curve.

ALSO READ: How to Profit From Inflation Surges

Marathon Oil (NYSE: MRO) opened for business as the Ohio Oil Company in 1887 and later became a Rockefeller holding. Now based in Houston, Texas, this major producer of crude oil has seen its share price surge by about 37% so far this year, a veritable stock market gusher.

Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) was incorporated in Atlanta by Asa Griggs Candler, who bought the formula and the brand for $2,300 in 1892 dollars. That's still a heck of a deal at about $71,000 in today's inflated dollars.

The formula originally contained cocaine from coca leaves and caffeine from kola nuts to make a stimulating beverage. The caffeine's still there, and the company's returns still stimulate, with a share price up 9% for the year and 61 straight years of dividend increases that now provide a yield of about 2.7%.

5 Stocks Under $49
Presented by Motley Fool Stock Advisor
We hear it over and over from investors, "I wish I had bought Amazon or Netflix when they were first recommended by The Motley Fool. I'd be sitting on a gold mine!" It's true, but we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $49 a share! Click here to learn how you can grab a copy of "5 Growth Stocks Under $49" for FREE for a limited time only.

Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE: ADM) is another Dividend Aristocrat, meaning it's an S&P 500 member with at least 25 straight years of dividend increases. In this case, it's 49 straight years, and shares of this Chicago-based food processing and commodities trading giant are now yielding about 2.9% with a total return of about 14%, well ahead of inflation.

ALSO READ: How to Calculate Holding Period Return

Kellogg (NYSE: K) is one of America's most recognized consumer brands. W.K. Kellogg, the company's founder, was the bookkeeper at a sanitarium in Battle Creek, Michigan, when his brother, the place's superintendent, created what we know now as corn flakes.

Kellogg stock is boasting a total return of about 13% so far in 2022, with a yield of about 3.2% following 18 consecutive years of dividend increases. Considering today's stock market, that's grrreat!

International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM) began as a maker of such things as electronic timekeepers, commercial scales, tabulators, and even meat and cheese slicers. Still based in New York, Big Blue is now one of the world's best-known computer companies.

With 28 straight years of dividend increases, IBM stock is about 8.2% in total return year to date (remember, the S&P 500 is down about 19% by that measure) and is yielding about 4.7%.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) got its start as the Glenn L. Martin Company in Los Angeles after none other than Orville Wright encouraged Martin to begin building airplanes.

What is now Lockheed Martin is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, and is a global aerospace, defense, and information security operation with a share price that's up 22% so far this year and 20 straight years of dividend bumps that have its stock now yielding about 2.6%.

Raytheon Technologies (NYSE: RTX) was founded in 1922 as the Raytheon Company, a specialist in refrigeration technology and then electronics, and it's still based in the Boston area.

Now a multinational aerospace and defense conglomerate -- and producer of the Patriot antimissile system -- this major government contractor is returning about 14% so far to shareholders year to date, with a record of 30 straight annual dividend hikes that put the current yield at about 2.3%.

5 Stocks Under $49
Presented by Motley Fool Stock Advisor
We hear it over and over from investors, "I wish I had bought Amazon or Netflix when they were first recommended by The Motley Fool. I'd be sitting on a gold mine!" It's true, but we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $49 a share! Click here to learn how you can grab a copy of "5 Growth Stocks Under $49" for FREE for a limited time only.

All of these venerable corporations have long, varied histories that share some characteristics with the others on this list. They've been solid performers for more than a century with the long-proven ability to outperform even in the toughest of markets.

Marc Rapport has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bristol Myers Squibb and Eli Lilly and Company. The Motley Fool recommends Lockheed Martin and McKesson and recommends the following options: long January 2024 $47.50 calls on Coca-Cola. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.