{"id":4852,"date":"2026-07-09T08:48:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T08:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.finznest.com\/blog\/10-stocks-to-navigate-a-new-wave-of-geopolitical-uncertainty\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T08:48:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T08:48:00","slug":"10-stocks-to-navigate-a-new-wave-of-geopolitical-uncertainty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.finznest.com\/blog\/10-stocks-to-navigate-a-new-wave-of-geopolitical-uncertainty\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Stocks to Navigate a New Wave of Geopolitical Uncertainty"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<ul>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">The mood in the markets is becoming increasingly uncertain as hostilities between the US and Iran resume<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">How can you find defensive stocks suited to this environment?<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">10 stocks are combining several key qualities to weather crises.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Investor sentiment on Wall Street has deteriorated this week as tensions between the United States and Iran escalated once again. After declaring the ceasefire effectively over following the NATO summit in Turkey, President Donald Trump announced new military strikes. Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guard responded by targeting US facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait, sending  up nearly 5%.<\/p>\n<p>Periods like these typically drive investors toward defensive stocks. The challenge, however, lies in identifying the companies best positioned to weather heightened uncertainty rather than simply buying traditional defensive sectors indiscriminately.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;\">4 Criteria for Identifying True Safe-Haven Stocks<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Not all defensive stocks offer the same level of protection. In a market shaped by geopolitical uncertainty, higher bond yields, and pressure on growth stocks, a handful of key indicators can help separate genuinely resilient companies from those that only appear defensive.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p>The <strong>InvestingPro Health Score<\/strong> is a useful starting point. Rated on a scale of 1 to 4, it combines measures of liquidity, profitability, solvency, and growth to identify companies with strong financial foundations. Businesses with higher scores are generally better equipped to navigate economic uncertainty.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p>The <strong>InvestingPro Fair Value<\/strong>, which combines several widely used valuation models, highlights stocks trading below their estimated intrinsic value. Buying quality companies at a discount provides a greater margin of safety if market volatility persists.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p>The <strong>Piotroski Score<\/strong>, which ranges from 0 to 9, evaluates a company\u2019s financial strength using nine criteria covering profitability, leverage, liquidity, and operating efficiency. A score above 6 is typically viewed as a sign of solid underlying fundamentals.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p>Finally, <strong>dividends<\/strong> remain an important consideration during volatile markets. Companies with reliable dividend payments provide a recurring source of income and have historically offered greater resilience during market downturns.<\/p>\n<p>The combination of these four criteria\u2014operational strength, undervaluation, accounting robustness, and yield\u2014is precisely what enables the construction of a coherent defensive portfolio suited to the current environment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 dir=\"ltr\"><strong>These US stocks tick all the defensive boxes<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">We therefore turned to the Investing.com screener to identify U.S. stocks that meet the following criteria:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">Market capitalization greater than $1 billion<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">InvestingPro Health Score greater than 2.5<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">Piotroski score of at least 6<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">Upside potential of more than 20% according to InvestingPro Fair Value<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">Dividend yield greater than 5%<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">Has paid dividends for more than 10 years<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">This research has allowed us to identify <strong>10 opportunities:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Specifically, these U.S. defensive stocks offer dividend yields ranging from 4.2% to 10.3%, while being undervalued by 21.4% to 59.1% based on Fair Value.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Among these stocks are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p><strong>:<\/strong> Del Monte Corporation, formerly <span itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Corporation\"><span itemprop=\"name\">Fresh Del Monte Produce<\/span><\/span>, is a global producer of fresh produce and packaged food, making it a naturally defensive business during periods of geopolitical uncertainty. The company currently offers a dividend yield of about 4.2%, supported by a decade of consistent dividend growth. In Q1 2026, revenue slightly exceeded expectations, while management maintained a positive outlook for the year following the integration of the Del Monte Foods brand. The main risk remains higher transportation, fuel, and packaging costs linked to tensions in the Middle East.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p><strong>:<\/strong> <span itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Corporation\"><span itemprop=\"name\">H&amp;R Block<\/span><\/span> operates one of the largest tax preparation businesses in the United States, giving it a stable and largely non-cyclical revenue base. The company delivered solid fiscal Q3 results, beating earnings expectations and raising full-year guidance. It also offers a dividend yield of roughly 4.2%, backed by 11 consecutive years of dividend increases and a conservative payout ratio of about 28%, providing investors with a combination of income and financial resilience.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>However, many other stocks on this list have more attractive profiles, whether in terms of yield, valuation, or both.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<div style=\"border: 2px solid #ff7f00; background-color: #fff4e6; padding: 15px; border-radius: 8px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: #1a1a1a;\">\n<h3 style=\"color: #ff7f00; margin-top: 0px; font-size: 22px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.5px;\"><strong>Below are the key ways an InvestingPro subscription can enhance your stock market investing performance:<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<li><strong>ProPicks AI<\/strong>: AI-managed stock picks every month, with several picks that have already taken off this month and in the long term.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Warren AI:<\/strong> Investing.com\u2019s AI tool provides real-time market insights, advanced chart analysis, and personalized trading data to help traders make quick, data-driven decisions.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Fair Value<\/strong>: This feature aggregates 17 institutional-grade valuation models to cut through the noise and show you which stocks are overhyped, undervalued, or fairly priced.<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><strong>1,200+ Financial Metrics at Your Fingertips: <\/strong>From debt ratios and profitability to analyst earnings revisions, you\u2019ll have everything professional investors use to analyze stocks in one clean dashboard.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><strong>Institutional-Grade News &amp; Market Insights: <\/strong>Stay ahead of market moves with exclusive headlines and data-driven analysis.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><strong>A Distraction-Free Research Experience: <\/strong>No pop-ups. No clutter. No ads. Just streamlined tools built for smart decision-making.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div id=\"message-list_1773663112.015449\" aria-setsize=\"-1\">\n<div>\n<div aria-roledescription=\"message\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p><strong>Vision AI:<\/strong> InvestingPro\u2019s newest addition. It analyzes any asset\u2019s chart with professional-grade market intelligence, identifying key timeframes, technical patterns, and indicators \u2014 then delivers a clear trading playbook with the levels, scenarios, and risks that matter most in under a minute.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Not a Pro member yet? <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Disclaimer:<\/strong>\u00a0This article is written for informational purposes only. It is not intended to encourage the purchase of any assets and does not constitute an offer, solicitation, recommendation, or advice to invest. I would like to remind you that all assets are evaluated from multiple perspectives and are highly risky; therefore, any investment decision and the associated risk are the sole responsibility of the investor. Additionally, we do not provide any investment advisory services.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script id=\"fb_pixel\" data-nscript=\"beforeInteractive\">!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod? n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script','https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');<\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The mood in the markets is becoming increasingly uncertain as hostilities between the US and Iran resume How can you find defensive stocks suited to this environment? 10 stocks are combining several key qualities to weather crises. Investor sentiment on Wall Street has deteriorated this week as tensions between the United States and Iran escalated [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4853,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[866,2867,238,720,1298],"class_list":["post-4852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-geopolitical","tag-navigate","tag-stocks","tag-uncertainty","tag-wave"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.finznest.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4852","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.finznest.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.finznest.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.finznest.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.finznest.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4852"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.finznest.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4852\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.finznest.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4853"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.finznest.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.finznest.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.finznest.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}