If you've been watching or reading the news recently, you've probably heard concerns about a recession slowly get louder and louder. Despite the U.S. economy's continuing to grow and add jobs, global growth outlooks have been cut, and escalating trade tensions between the world's two largest economies, the U.S. and China, only add to investor nervousness. If you're very concerned about a recession, it's a good idea to make a list of stocks that perform well during a downturn. And if you're here for some ideas, you're in luck: AutoZone (NYSE: AZO), Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR), and Ferrari (NYSE: RACE) are all intriguing options for their own reasons.
During the Great Recession, the S&P 500 shed roughly 38% of its value through the 18-month slowdown. Even finding stocks that traded flat over that time was considered a huge win for your portfolio, but AutoZone thrived, and its stock actually increased 35% over the same 18 months.
Why did AutoZone pop when the rest of the S&P 500 dropped? The answer may be simpler than you think, because as consumers felt the pinch in their wallets and as uncertainty about the economy intensified, many consumers saved a buck whenever they could. For some people that meant doing simple auto repairs and maintenance themselves instead of paying a repair shop. Even something as simple as consumers opting to change their own oil for a year brought a lot of foot traffic into automotive retailers.