Donald Trump’s tariffs are creating a lot of uncertainty for investors at the moment. With policies changing from day to day, forecasting future earnings has become very challenging. Some stocks are more vulnerable than others to tariffs, however. Here are three S&P 500 companies that might suit you if you are looking for stocks that could dodge Trump’s new tariffs.
1. Salesforce
Software companies are generally quite insulated from tariffs. This is because their primary products are digital services that can be delivered electronically across borders without physical shipment.
One stock in this sector that could be worth a look at present is Salesforce (CRM:NYSE). It’s a provider of customer relationship management (CRM) solutions that has around 150,000 customers worldwide.
What’s notable about this software company is that it has recently been shifting its focus to agentic AI technology with the aim of revolutionising customer service and sales through intelligent automation. Its offering on this front is called ‘Agentforce’ and it’s essentially a digital labour platform. It’s still early days here as Agentforce was only launched last year. But the technology appears to have a lot of potential. Salesforce is using Agentforce itself and it has seen great results. Since its launch, the technology has autonomously handled 380,000 service requests, achieving an 84% resolution rate.
It’s worth pointing out that lots of other companies are working on agentic AI solutions. So, competition from rivals is a risk. With the CRM share price having taken a big hit recently, however, the risk/reward skew looks attractive. Currently, the stock’s price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is in the low 20s – an attractive valuation for a world-class software company.
2. Visa
Next, we have Visa (V:NYSE). It operates one of the largest electronic payments networks in the world. Today, it facilitates digital payments in more than 200 countries worldwide, processing more than 200 billion transactions per year.
It also offers a wide range of value-added services beyond payment processing including fraud and risk management solutions, data analytics, and consulting services for financial institutions and merchants.
Now, this company could actually benefit from tariffs. If products end up costing significantly more because of the charges, Visa could see higher revenues due to the fact that it takes a small slice of every transaction. Of course, if tariffs lead to a consumer slowdown or global recession the company could be impacted negatively. However, one thing it has going for it here is that it’s not exposed to credit risk as it doesn’t issue credit cards itself.
Given Visa’s competitive advantages and long-term growth track record, the stock isn’t cheap. Currently, the P/E ratio here is about 30. This adds some risk to the investment case. However, in the long term, the stock should do well as the number of digital payments increases.
3. CrowdStrike
Finally, check out CrowdStrike (CRWD:NASDAQ). It’s one of the world’s leading cybersecurity companies. Offering a cloud-native platform, it serves thousands of customers worldwide.
And it has a distinguished customer list – today it serves eight of the top 10 technology firms as well as eight of the top 10 financial institutions.
As a software company, CrowdStrike is unlikely to experience minimal impact from tariffs. Meanwhile, if there is a recession, the company could be more resilient than other software companies due to the nature of its offering. While businesses can cut spending on some areas of software in an economic downturn, they can’t afford to cut back on cybersecurity. Ultimately, the risks associated with a cyberattack are too high.
At first glance, this growth stock looks very expensive. Currently, the P/E ratio here is about 120. I don’t see this earnings multiple as a deal breaker, however. The reason the P/E ratio is high is that CrowdStrike has only just become profitable and profits are still small. In the years ahead, this company is likely to experience strong growth as the world becomes more digital and cyberthreats become more sophisticated. Over time, I expect the company to grow into its valuation.
Interested in finding the next big stocks? See our latest stock market analysis here.
Edward Sheldon owns shares in Salesforce, Visa, and CrowdStrike
Based in London, Edward is a distinguished investment writer with an extensive client portfolio comprising a diverse array of prominent financial services firms across the globe. With over 15 years of hands-on experience in private wealth management and institutional asset management, both in the UK and Australia, he possesses a profound understanding of the finance industry.
Before establishing himself as a writer, Edward earned a Commerce degree from the prestigious University of Melbourne. Complementing his academic background, he holds the esteemed Investment Management Certificate (IMC) and is a proud holder of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) qualification.
Widely recognized as a sought-after investment expert, Edward’s insightful perspectives and analyses have been featured on sites such as BlackRock, Credit Suisse, WisdomTree, Motley Fool, eToro, and CMC Markets, among others.
You can contact Ed at edward@goodmoneyguide.com
