“Defensive” doesn’t always mean “no growth”, and Halma (HLMA.L) (OTCPK:HLMLY) is certainly one of those companies that has built wide moats around its business and managed to maintain a healthy pace of growth through both organic expansion and M&A. Moreover, served markets like gas detection, explosion prevention, fire and elevator safety, ophthalmology, and water safety aren’t the sort of markets where demand just suddenly goes away because the economy turns.
Valuation is, of course, a challenge. Chances to buy Halma shares on the cheap are about as frequent as chances to buy Danaher