America’s Recession-Proof Companies

15. Kimberly-Clark
> 52 wk high/low: $71.78/$61.00
> % of 52 wk high: 98.4%
> Industry: consumer goods
> Dividend yield: $2.80 (3.90%)
> Revenue first half: $10.288 billion
> Net income first half: $758 million

Kimberly-Clark Corp. (NYSE: KMB) owns some of the best-known brands in the U.S. consumer products sector. Personal care products such as Kleenex, Kotex, Huggies, and Depends are household staples. The company is counted among the Standard & Poor’s Dividend Aristocrats, an index of 42 companies that have increased dividends every year for at least 25 years. Strong personal care brands with which customers have developed a relationship over a long period of time are almost guaranteed to carry Kimberly-Clark through any recessionary downturn. Perhaps the most important indication that Kimberly is not affected by the economic climate is that both its sales and net income grew through the last recession.

14. Colgate-Palmolive
> 52 wk high/low: $94.89/$73.62
> % of 52 wk high: 93.1%
> Industry: consumer goods
> Dividend yield: $2.32 (2.60%)
> Revenue first half: $8.179 billion
> Net income first half: $1.198 billion

Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) also includes a vast stable of well-known personal and home care products, as well as pet nutrition products. Detergent Fresh Start, Colgate toothpaste, Mennen deodorants, and Hills pet foods are among the company’s brands. The company posted a new 52-week high in mid-September following an announcement that it would repurchase 50 million shares of common stock. As with other consumer products stocks, the value of Colgate-Palmolive products resides in its customers’ loyalty, and the fact that most of these are inexpensive items most people cannot do without. As the economy turned down, Colgate’s revenue rose from $13.8 million in 2007 to $15.6 million last year.

13. Procter & Gamble
> 52 wk high/low: $67.72/$57.56
> % of 52 wk high: 92.8%
> Industry: consumer goods
> Dividend yield: $2.10 (3.30%)
> Revenue first half: $41.09 billion
> Net income first half: $5.383 billion

Proctor & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG), like the other consumer products companies on this list, offers brands that are household names. Tide laundry detergent, Gillette razors, Iams pet foods, and Bounty paper products are just a few of them. Like Kimberly Clark, P&G is included in S&P’s Dividend Aristocrats index. P&G could well be the leading consumer products marketing company in the U.S., if not the world. P&G’s  product management skill, coupled with its strong brands help maintain sales. The company has also lowered some of its prices to keep its customers during tough times and to keep volume high. Although P&G’s sales dipped in its fiscal 2008, they rose from 2007 to 2011. The company’s financial strength allowed it to pay down $1 billion in long-term debt over that same period.

12. Abbott Laboratories
> 52 wk high/low: $54.24/$45.07
> % of 52 wk high: 92.5%
> Industry: pharmaceuticals
> Dividend yield: $0.48 (3.8%)
> Revenue first half: $18.657 billion
> Net income first half: $2.806 billion

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) makes a variety of pharmaceutical and nutritional products, medical devices, and diagnostic instruments and tests. Some of its best known brands are pain reliever Vicodin and nutritional products Pedialyte and Ensure. Abbot Labs is also included among the S&P Dividend Aristocrats. The company operates in more than 130 countries. The need for medical equipment and essential drugs are not greatly impacted by a slow economy. Abbott’s net income rose 28% between 2007 and 2010.

11. Bristol-Myers Squibb
> 52 wk high/low: $31.93/$24.97
> % of 52 wk high: 98.6%
> Industry: pharmaceuticals
> Dividend yield: $1.32 (4.20%)
> Revenue first half: $10.445 billion
> Net income first half: $1.888 billion

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY) may not exactly be a household name, but a couple of its prescription drugs are. The company’s Plavix is one of the best selling blood pressure medicines in the world and its Abilify anti-depressant is among the leaders in its field. The company continues to develop new drugs to treat illnesses that affect large numbers of people. Like Abbott, Bristol’s global reach and its strong product portfolio give it substantial protection from recession. Sales of the company’s cardiovascular drugs Plavix and Avapro rose sharply during the recent downturn, and Bristol-Myers sharply increased margins by cutting $2.5 billion in expenses over the last two years.

10. Johnson & Johnson
> 52 wk high/low: $68.05/$57.50
> % of 52 wk high: 91.2%
> Industry: pharmaceuticals
> Dividend yield: $2.28 (3.60%)
> Revenue first half: $32.77 billion
> Net income first half: $6.252 billion

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) lays claim to a seat in the both the consumer products and drug sectors. The company’s brands include Tylenol, Band-Aid, Rogaine, and Listerine. Prescription drug products include Topamax for migraine and Procrit for anemia in dialysis patients. J&J also makes medical devices, including prostheses and stents. The company is among the S&P Dividend Aristocrats. J&J’s OTC sales have been hurt in the last several quarters because of product recalls. Losses of the sales of those products have been more than offset by revenue improvement from its medical devices and pharmaceutical divisions. Revenue rose from $61.1 billion in 2007 to $61.6 billion last year.