In this pandemic, these 5 actions are my most convincing titles

The coronavirus pandemic may have been brought under control this summer, but this winter it is back and bigger than ever. The number of new daily cases diagnosed in the United States has just hit another record high, sparking the talk of another round of closures. In fact, new mandatory restrictions are already in place across much of the country. It remains to be seen to what extent – or even if – these measures will hurt the economy.

With the uncertainty ahead, investors may want to consider sourcing stocks that are unlikely to be affected by this headwind. In fact, a handful of companies could benefit from the fallout from the pandemic. Here are my top five picks that fit that description.

1. Walmart

Although its roots are not in the grocery industry, more than half of Walmartof (NYSE: WMT) income comes from the sale of food products. This technically makes the retailer the largest grocer in the country. It’s also a grocery store outside of the United States

This combination of income is important. Consumers can skip vacations or postpone buying a new car. But they still have to buy food.

And Walmart has certainly taken steps to make it the easy choice when shopping online. TABS Analytics reported in August that Walmart had overtaken Amazon in online grocery market share, largely reflecting figures from research firm Escalant released in May, indicating that the retailer had served more online shoppers in the previous two months than any other name .

In other words, offering curbside pickup at the majority of its 5,300 U.S. stores has turned out to be a really big deal. The idea is underscored by the fact that last quarter’s e-commerce sales for Walmart grew 79% year over year.

Being tall has its obvious advantages.

2. PayPal

This is not the only way to make payment for an online purchase, but Pay Pal (NASDAQ: PYPL) is certainly one of the most popular ways in the world to achieve this. In the United States, PayPal still hasn’t been too far behind cash, checks, and credit / debit cards as a means to purchase goods and services, and well ahead of comparable options such as Apple Pay. It’s also the most trusted name in the digital wallet arena, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence, scoring nearly three times as high as its next competitor, Chase. It has even overtaken well-established brands Visa and MasterCard in the survey.

This confirms the numbers. Visa revenues fell 17% in the quarter ending September, while MasterCard’s revenues fell 14%. Conversely, PayPal’s revenue grew 25% year-over-year, on a 38% increase in total payment volume processed in the three-month period ending in September. .

3. Comcast

Yes, cable giant Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) lost significantly more cable subscribers in the last quarter. A total of 273,000 Comcast customers cut the cord in the past three-month period, bringing the two-year attrition count to nearly 2 million homes. Meanwhile, its universal film branch has been hampered by theater closings and filming stoppages, while the cancellation of most professional sports earlier this year took a toll on its various NBC networks.

But all too often missing from the conversation on Comcast, the impact of this year’s cord cuts and pandemic is the fact that these media operations aren’t the only thing this company is doing. Broadband service alone accounts for nearly one-fifth of Comcast’s revenues, and the company captured 633,000 of those high-speed Internet customers during the third quarter. Meanwhile, European cable TV and streaming brand Sky provides another fifth of Comcast’s revenue, and its revenue improved 5% in the last quarter. NBCUniversal’s new streaming service, Peacock, also has nearly 22 million subscribers, opening up another revenue alternative to Comcast’s declining cable business and temporarily crimped film business.

The point is, there are many ways this business can do well, even in this difficult environment.

4. Microsoft

All of the companies highlighted so far have been consumer-oriented, offering solutions that bypass or thrive on pandemic problems. Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is a clear exception to this larger theme. It caters to business customers, whether they are office productivity software or cloud computing solutions.

The underlying idea, however, is exactly the same. Your average company may forgo an acquisition or postpone purchasing an asset until the economy is on a more solid footing. But it has to create spreadsheets and maintain its data centers, regardless of the cost.

To that end, Office 365 Commercial revenue grew 21% year-over-year for the quarter ending September, while sales of server products and cloud services increased by 22%. %. Microsoft’s Xbox video game content and services business saw sales increase 30% in the last quarter. Businesses and consumers alike clearly refuse to do without what the software giant is bringing to the table.

5. Big lots

Finally, discount retailer Large lots (NYSE: BIG) has earned a spot on my list of high beliefs as long as the pandemic persists – and maybe even after it’s over.

In terms of size, it’s at the other end of the spectrum that Walmart. Indeed, with a market capitalization of just $ 2 billion and just over 1,400 operating stores, Big Lots is significantly smaller than competitors like General dollar or Ollie’s bargain outlet.

This smaller size, however, may work to its advantage.

Case in point: Big Lots was one of the first names to respond to the coronavirus when it landed in the United States in February, rolling out curbside pickup at most of its stores before the end of March. In the meantime, Big Lots has added nationwide same-day delivery of products ordered online at a local Big Lots store. Dollar General still doesn’t offer curbside pickup, and Ollie doesn’t even offer online shopping.

Although not a big company, Big Lots thinks and acts as one. This may partly explain why sales soared 31% year-over-year for the quarter ending in early August, more than quintupling net income.