Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY), SanDisk Corporation (SNDK): Three Companies That Will Perform Well No Matter What

Founded by Larry Ellison and two others in the late 1970s, Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) has grown to become the leader in database management systems. The company’s wide-moat core business and growth in engineered systems make it a safe stock with decent growth prospects.

• Defense: Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)’s high switching costs give it significant protection from economic downturns and technological innovation. The company’s databases are often critical to the normal operation of its customers’ businesses, and customers are unlikely to switch providers unless there is a deeply compelling reason.
• Growth: Oracle’s primary growth opportunity is in engineered systems, which improve processing speed for customers running analytics and similar computing operations. An improving economy will likely boost the demand for these products in the near-term as Oracle’s customers invest for growth.

Bottom line

Nobody knows for certain which way the economy will go next; it could get much better just as easily as it could get much worse. Additional uncertainty created by partisan disagreement in Washington, D.C. only adds to the inability of managers to know whether to invest for growth or prepare for another downturn.

Unfortunately, investors have no greater insight into the future economic conditions than any other businessmen, so the best strategy is to look for companies that will do well in either scenario. Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ:BBBY), SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK), and Oracle offer such optionality, making them interesting potential investments for the uncertain investor.

The article Three Companies That Will Perform Well No Matter What originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Ted Cooper.

Ted Cooper has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Bed Bath & Beyond. The Motley Fool owns shares of Oracle. Ted is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network — entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited.

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