Walmart, Realty Income, PepsiCo, and Verizon are positioned to weather the next market downturn due to their durable earnings, long dividend streaks, and pricing power. The S&P 500 fell almost 19% from its February peak in 2025 following President Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs, but reclaimed most of those losses within a month after a 90-day tariff pause was announced.
Investors cannot predict market volatility, but they can prepare by owning businesses built to withstand economic storms. The four companies highlighted here share characteristics that help them remain stable during choppy periods.
Walmart operates more than 10,900 stores across 19 countries with annual sales of $713 billion. This scale gives the retailer leverage to press vendors for lower prices and focus on essential products like groceries and household goods. Walmart has increased its dividend for 53 straight years, earning its status as a "Dividend King," a company with at least 50 years of annual dividend growth. During the 2025 market correction, Walmart's stock rose over 7% by the end of April, while the S&P 500 dropped more than 5%.
Realty Income is a major real estate investment trust, or REIT, that owns a diversified portfolio of retail, industrial, gaming, and data center properties. Its income comes from long-term net leases with major tenants, including Walmart, which accounts for 0.9% of its annual base rent. Most leases include annual rental escalation clauses tied to fixed rates or inflation. Since its 1994 listing, Realty Income has increased its dividend 136 times over more than 31 years. The REIT has outperformed the S&P 500 in 11 of the 13 drawdowns of 10% or more since its listing. During these corrections, Realty Income's stock fell by an average of 2.6%, compared to the S&P 500's average decline of 22.6%.
PepsiCo is a global beverage and snacking company with about $95 billion in annual sales, owning brands such as Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Quaker, and Doritos. Despite current demand and cost headwinds, the company expects low-single-digit organic revenue and earnings-per-share growth this year. PepsiCo extended its dividend streak to 54 straight years in 2026 and hiked its dividend by another 4% this year. The stock has a three-year beta of less than 0.5, meaning it is typically less volatile than the S&P 500, which has a beta of 1.0.
Verizon is a leading mobile and broadband company that generates recurring revenue from essential wireless and internet services. The company has raised its dividend for 20 straight years and generates significant free cash flow after network investments, which covers its dividend and allows for share repurchases. Verizon offers a high dividend yield of nearly 7%, which reflects its slower growth and higher risk profile due to competition but provides investors with a meaningful real return during turbulent times.