10 Workhorse Health Care Stocks That Never Break a Sweat

Health care and medical concept
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Health care stocks – and pharmaceutical makers in particular – recently dodged a bullet when President Donald Trump unveiled a relatively benign overhaul to the nation’s health care system with the ultimate aim of lowering costs to costs.

Granted, the industry isn’t entirely sure what bullet it dodged, in that these companies weren’t sure what was in the works. The specifics of Trump’s plans have yet to be fully fleshed out, too. But the fact that the conversation took place at all underscores the notion that many, many eyes are scrutinizing the sector’s healthy bottom lines.

What if, however, there was a sliver of the health care sector that really was relatively immune to the politicization of the business, and was resistant to economic cycles?

As it turns out, there is.

No company is outright bulletproof. However, a wide swath of these organizations are amazingly reliable revenue and profit producers. Here’s a closer look at 10 top health care stocks you can count on in good times and bad.

Disclaimer

Data is as of May 23, 2018. Dividend yields are calculated by annualizing the most recent quarterly payout and dividing by the share price.

James Brumley
Contributing Writer, Kiplinger.com
James Brumley is a former stock broker, registered investment adviser and Director of Research for an options-focused newsletter. He's now primarily a freelance writer, tapping more than a decade's worth of broad experience to help investors get more out of the market. With a background in technical analysis as well as fundamental analysis, James touts stock-picking strategies that combine the importance of company performance with the power of stock-trade timing. He believes this dual approach is the only way an investor has a shot at consistently beating the market. James' work has appeared at several websites including Street Authority, Motley Fool, Kapitall and Investopedia. When not writing as a journalist, James works on his book explaining his multi-pronged approach to investing.