Welcome! Thank you for subscribing to the Earnings360 newsletter, your daily source for quarterly earnings news and updates.
Each morning edition contains a wrap-up of today's pre-market earnings announcements and yesterday's earnings announcements after the closing bell.
Please take a moment to confirm your subscription below so we can ensure these updates reach your inbox.
Confirm Your Subscription Here
The Earnings360 Team
For Your Education and Enjoyment 3 Smart Defensive Stocks for an Uneasy MarketWritten by Chris Markoch. Published 11/18/2025. 
Key Points - Despite new market highs, recession risks remain elevated due to weakening consumer credit and signs of job market stress.
- Procter & Gamble and Johnson & Johnson offer stable dividends, strong balance sheets, and catalysts that could provide upside in a downturn.
- A rotation away from AI and into Dow components could make the DIA ETF a compelling defensive play for 2025.
At one point in early November, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) briefly topped 48,000 for the first time ever. At different times in 2025, the NASDAQ and S&P 500 have also made new all-time highs (ATHs). Despite sharp price swings, it's been a solid year to own stocks. Yet many economists, analysts, and investors remain uneasy. The market appears priced for perfection—but recession risks are not priced in. Even with broad gains, some skepticism persists. The Magnificent 7 trade may have cooled off, but the market is clearly being lifted by a narrow group of names, mostly tied to the AI boom. The K-Shaped Economy Concern Current economic commentary focuses on a K-shaped recovery. Higher-income consumers are navigating inflation of around 3%—still above the Federal Reserve’s informal 2% target but manageable for affluent households. Lower-income consumers, however, have been under pressure for several years. There's increasing evidence in credit defaults, delinquent auto loans, and more recently, an uptick in foreclosures, which suggests this problem is worsening. The labor market had long been the economy's strongest pillar, but even that is starting to show signs of strain. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) recently lowered its estimate of the probability of a recession from 60% to 40%, citing the recent de-escalation of trade tensions. That still represents a meaningful risk. Market Breadth Remains Narrow as Investors Chase Mega-Caps Recent data from Charles Schwab showed the percentage of S&P 500, NASDAQ, and Russell 2000 stocks trading above their 200-day moving average was slightly above 50%. That's historically low market breadth and adds to investors' concerns. This isn't a redux of 2021, when investors piled into unprofitable SPACs in hopes of becoming a millionaire. In many cases, the market froth today is concentrated in mega-cap stocks that have plenty of cash on their balance sheets. Still, many investors feel these names are overvalued. So what's an investor to do? Here are three stocks that provide the opportunity for an asymmetric return in the current uneasy market. Procter & Gamble Has More Than a Dividend to Like Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) is part of the exclusive Dividend Kings club, meaning the company has increased its dividend for at least 50 consecutive years—70 years in the case of PG, which is why it's a staple in the portfolios of many income-oriented investors. The 2.8% dividend yield could look even better if rates fall. Plus, 2025 brings potential growth—the $171.53 price target implies roughly 17% upside. It's unclear how the company's proposed acquisition of Kenvue (NYSE: KVUE) would impact its earnings. However, if the deal goes through and the Tylenol controversy abates, there would likely be a small earnings-per-share (EPS) dilution in the first year. After that, the dilution could turn into an EPS boost as the companies realize cost synergies. Johnson & Johnson Doubles Down on Medtech and Oncology Growth The next company on this list is Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), which spun off Kenvue in 2023 to focus more on its medtech and pharmaceutical businesses. Its recent $3.5 billion acquisition of Halda Therapeutics is one example of those plans. The all-cash deal gives JNJ access to the clinical-stage company's HLD-0915 drug candidate. HLD-0915 is a once-daily oral prostate cancer medication that received fast-track designation from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA). This will be a meaningful addition to the company's oncology pipeline and should make JNJ stock more appealing to growth-oriented investors. The DIA ETF Could Benefit From a Flight to Safety Over the past five years many investors embraced a passive "SPY and chill" strategy, meaning investing in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA: SPY). SPY may still be a reasonable core holding, but with potential AI overexuberance, it may be time to consider the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (NYSEARCA: DIA). If concerns over an AI bubble take hold, a rotation into the Dow 30 could follow — and that would make DIA a solid asymmetric way to capture the move. As of this writing, the DIA ETF has only about 37% institutional ownership. However, it has seen more buying than selling in seven of the last eight quarters, suggesting institutions may be starting to build a hedge against a potential slowdown in the tech trade.
| 
