2 Blue Chips I’d Love to Buy in a Bear Market

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With volatility increasing in the stock market over the last few weeks, many investors are concerned that Wall Street might be heading for a correction or crash. And if a major bear market is about to ensue, this could be a good moment to add some resilient and recession-proof stocks to your portfolio for security and peace of mind…

Two that really fit that mold are Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) and Pfizer (NYSE:PFE). Both businesses have been bringing in record profits and increasing their dividends, and investors can expect their stocks to be wealth-generators over the long run.

The case for Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson is the world’s largest pharmaceutical company by market cap, weighing in at just under $450 billion. It’s also a stock that investors run to for safety during times of instability. One reason for that is its status as a Dividend King — a title it’s earned by increasing its payout annually for over 50 years. Indeed, the company’s dividend-hiking streak has reached 58 straight years, and there are no signs that it’s going to end.

When Johnson & Johnson reported first-quarter earnings on April 20, it outperformed analysts’ expectations, posting $2.59 in adjusted EPS and revenues of $22.32 billion, versus consensus estimates of only $2.34 in adjusted EPS and $21.98 billion in revenue. Even with the U.S. economy still in a less-than-optimal condition, the company grew sales in Q1 by 7.9% year over year.

Additionally, all of the company’s core business lines expanded their earnings. Its Janssen pharmaceutical business, which developed the company’s COVID-19 vaccine, grew sales by 9.6% year over year to $12.19 billion. Its medical devices business generated sales of $6.57 billion, up 7.9%.

That earnings growth was robust enough that management raised its financial guidance for 2021. It now forecasts profits of $9.42 a share, up from $9.40, and revenues of $90.6 billion, up from $90.5 billion.

Johnson & Johnson has once again shown that even during troubled times in the global economy, it was still able to increase its revenues. With its worldwide presence, massive scope, and steady operations, this is a company I think any investor would appreciate having in their portfolio.

The case for Pfizer

Pfizer stock has jumped by over 15% in the last three months. Those gains were partly driven by the immense success of the COVID-19 vaccine it developed in partnership with BioNTech SE. In just the first quarter, Pfizer has brought in $3.46 billion in revenue from the vaccine. Pfizer is expecting…

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