8 Smart Investments to Make in a Volatile Market

In uncertain times, it makes sense to invest in stable companies. These are businesses that have weathered the pandemic well which are also set up for long-term success. These may not be the most speculative or exciting investments, but they are ones that will serve you well during this volatile period.

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Costco has been one of the big winners of the pandemic. Its sales have gone up -- but that's not actually what's important. The warehouse club's key metric is memberships and it has grown its customer base. It likely has also increased its hold on current members who it served at times when other retailers were out of items.

Starbucks sales have suffered during the pandemic, but the company has shown it's well-positioned to deal with changing circumstances. All of its stores were closed to customers globally at some point but the company was still able to maintain significant sales through its app, delivery, and drive-through. When the pandemic ends and the chain can open its dining rooms, it's going to have a lot more customers in its digital ecosystem that it can market to.

ALSO READ: 2 Reasons Starbucks Is a Good Buy

The rich get richer. Amazon flexed its muscle and showed just how powerful it is during the pandemic.

In addition to adding new customers and growing its sales, the online leader also pushed its systems to the limit and learned from that. That has allowed the company to adjust its infrastructure. Amazon also has huge growth opportunities in front of it in grocery, retail, and the cloud.

When people can't visit other people they rely on their devices more. That makes a company like Apple -- which sells high-end devices -- feel more like a necessity than a luxury. That will probably be very good news for iPhone 12 sales, but the reality is that the company has shown that it will be strong pretty much no matter what else is happening in the world.

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Netflix has seen an explosion in customers due to people being bored during the pandemic. That has been good for the short-term bottom line, but it will likely have a long-term benefit as well.

Once someone joins the streaming leader, he or she is very likely to stay a member due to the deep roster of content. The company has likely pulled ahead some growth -- so it may have a slow quarter or two when it comes to adding subscribers -- but its long-term prospects are solid.

Walmart was perfectly set up to handle the pandemic. It had invested heavily in omnichannel operations including grocery delivery and pickup. That led to an increase of $7.4 billion or 5.6% in the second quarter along with a rise in profits of 8.5%.

Home Depot also had really strong second-quarter results. Sales jumped by 23.4% on strong foot traffic amidst increased demand due to people planting gardens, taking on home improvement projects, and buying new appliances. The home improvement retailer delivered net earnings for Q2 of $4.3 billion, or $4.02 per diluted share. That's up from net earnings of $3.5 billion, or $3.17 per diluted share in the same period of fiscal 2019.

ALSO READ: Could Home Depot Be a Millionaire Maker Stock?

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Daniel B. Kline owns shares of Apple and Starbucks. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon, Apple, Home Depot, Netflix, and Starbucks. The Motley Fool recommends Costco Wholesale and Domino's Pizza and recommends the following options: long January 2022 $1920 calls on Amazon, short January 2022 $1940 calls on Amazon, long January 2021 $120 calls on Home Depot, and short January 2021 $210 calls on Home Depot. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.