In theory, President Donald Trump’s tariffs should protect American industries and workers from foreign competition. However, the harsh reality is that over the last several decades, the supply chain has become increasingly globalized. Therefore, the idea of a perfectly insulated business enterprise has essentially gone extinct. As such, the narrative for safe stocks to buy — or public companies with boring but reliable businesses — has shot to the forefront.
Of course, no investment is perfectly safe. However, investors have taken the concept of tech innovations such as artificial intelligence rising indefinitely for granted. One of the biggest losers in the market recently has been the so-called Magnificent Seven. Amid brewing concerns about economic stability, investors no longer seek the flashy, capital-intensive growth plays.
Instead, they’re looking for reliable ideas — ideas that won’t leave them tossing and turning at night. On that note, below are three safe stocks to buy.
Representing one of the top names in the consumer products category, Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) makes a solid case for safe stocks to buy amid rising market uncertainty. Known for its namesake brand of personal care items, Colgate benefits from a fundamentally powerful narrative. No matter how bad the economy gets, everyone brushes their teeth (or at least they should).
Granted, it’s not the most exciting idea out there. Given the red ink in the major indices, though, investors arguably have had enough of their share of excitement for a while. What may be in demand moving forward is some reliability. Few things are as reliable as a product category that people need on a daily basis. Not only that, Colgate benefits from economies of scale, an attribute that’s likely to only become more relevant.
To be fair, you’re probably not going to get much growth out of CL stock. For fiscal 2025, analysts project sales to land at $20.07 billion, a hair short of what it achieved in the prior year. For fiscal 2026, Wall Street is targeting $20.9 billion, up about 4.1% from projected 2025 sales. Still, with a current sales multiple of just under 4X, Colgate is largely in line with prior trends.
Also, the company offers a forward dividend yield of 2.12% and commands 62 years of consecutive dividend increases. Again, it’s not an exciting idea. However, as one of the safe stocks to buy, Colgate lets you sleep easier at night.
When it comes to safe stocks to buy, it’s hard to ignore Waste Management (NYSE:WM). No matter what, humans produce waste products — and those waste products have to go somewhere. Additionally, the land required to process and store waste is limited. Finally, government agencies don’t just hand out landfill permits to just any old enterprise. Therefore, Waste Management enjoys a competitive moat.
Analysts are also projecting surprising growth for the company this fiscal year, calling for a top line of $25.64 billion. If so, that would represent a 16.21% lift over the prior year’s sales result of $22.06 billion. In the following year, experts anticipate revenue of $27.09 billion, up almost 6% from projected fiscal 2025 sales.
Even with the projected pop in demand, WM stock is trading at a reasonable valuation. Right now, WM trades for 4.16X trailing-12-month (TTM) sales. One year ago, this metric landed at 4.25X.
Now, some might wonder how Waste Management can cope if the economy slows down, let alone enters a recession. Because the company operates on multi-year contracts, even if industrial waste production slows, many if not most of WM’s agreements remain in place, securing consistent cash flow.
The one knock may be that the company’s dividend yield of 1.47% isn’t exactly generous. Still, you get a combination of resilience and modest growth.
Admittedly, utility giant Sempra (NYSE:SRE) represents a relative oddity for safe stocks to buy. Since the beginning of the year, SRE fell almost 22%, a staggering loss for large public utility. Still, what may attract investors is the long-term proposition. Sure, Sempra looks ugly now but it’s not as if providing critical resources to key Southern California markets will go out of style.
Of course, we can’t gloss over the ugly print. Late last month, Sempra reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.50, which fell short of analysts’ expectations of $1.60. Also, revenue of $3.8 billion came in well under analysts’ consensus view of $4.9 billion. Adding to the misery, management responded to higher operating costs and regulatory challenges by lowering the 2025 EPS guidance to between $4.30 to $4.70. Previously, the range was from $4.90 to $5.25.
Nevertheless, in terms of the big picture, SRE could rank among the safe stocks to buy amid market uncertainty. Fundamentally, the confidence in the bullish argument centers on the real picture of California. There’s an image that the state is bleeding out from people leaving the Golden State due to high prices and liberal policies. However, higher-income adults are less likely to leave.
If you’re willing to plug your nose and think long term, SRE stock could be a compelling discount. The company also pays a nice dividend with a 3.75% yield.
