As fears of escalating tariffs and trade uncertainties unsettle investors worldwide, the search for safe havens becomes more urgent.
In this volatile environment, companies with strong fundamentals and solid balance sheets tend to stand firm. Two such standout names, Reddit (RDDT) and Fortinet (FTNT), demonstrate how quality businesses can maintain their strength despite external headwinds. These fundamentally sound stocks offer stability even when broader market conditions are anything but steady.
To identify these stocks, I used the Barchart Screener, a powerful tool that filters through a broad universe of stocks based on critical financial metrics. The “Fundamentally Fine” view prioritizes companies with strong sales growth, higher cash flow, and increased shareholder equity. As the screener states, “these are the types of stocks set to outperform their peers.”
Without further ado, let’s find out how these chosen stocks are compelling examples of fundamentally strong companies that are well-positioned to thrive in uncertain markets.
Stock #1: Reddit
Founded in 2005, Reddit (RDDT) is a social media platform organized into topic-specific communities called subreddits. With over 100 million daily active users, it has become a leading destination for discovering and sharing information online. Reddit functions as a large, community-driven forum where users engage in discussions across a wide variety of interests, keeping the platform dynamic and active. Currently, the company has a market cap of around $17 billion.
After hitting an all-time peak of $230 in February, the stock has plunged nearly 60% on growing fears of tariffs and general macroeconomic uncertainty.
Despite the trimming, the stock still trades at premium levels at 32x adjusted forward earnings and nearly 10x forward sales, higher than the sector medians of 11.5x and 1.05x, respectively.
Reddit ended 2024 with impressive financial results that reflect both strong user engagement and robust revenue growth. The company reported daily active unique users of 101.7 million, representing a 39% increase year-over-year.
Revenue growth remains a major highlight. Reddit crossed the $1 billion mark in sales by finishing 2024 at $1.3 billion, marking outstanding 62% year-over-year growth. The momentum continued into the latest quarterly results, where the company delivered a double-beat quarter, with Q4 sales reaching $427.7 million, a 71% year-over-year increase.
Profitability also saw strong gains. Reddit reported diluted EPS of $0.36 and generated adjusted EBITDA of $154.3 million in Q4. Additionally, Reddit’s average revenue per user improved to $4.21, up 23% year-over-year, bolstered by initiatives like Reddit Answers, enhanced machine translation, and new ad units that have driven deeper user engagement.
With a solid balance sheet featuring $1.8 billion in cash and no debt, the company is well-positioned for future growth. Reddit projects Q1 sales between $360 million and $370 million, representing a potential 50% year-over-year increase.
Analysts also have confidence in Reddit’s future growth prospects, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating. Their average price target of $162.91 represents 72% upside potential over the current price.
Stock #2: Fortinet
Founded in 2000, Fortinet (FTNT) is a leading cybersecurity company specializing in broad, integrated, and automated security solutions. The company offers a wide range of products and services, including firewalls, antivirus, intrusion prevention, and endpoint security, all powered by its proprietary FortiOS operating system. The company boasts a market cap of $73.9 billion.
Fortinet’s stock performance has remained impressive. The stock rallied 46% over the past 52 weeks and is down less than 2% in the year to date, thanks to its ability to effectively navigate the rapidly evolving cybersecurity landscape in 2025.
Fortinet is also considered overvalued with a forward adjusted P/E ratio of 39x, well above the sector median of 19x and its own historical average of 49x. Similarly, its forward P/S ratio of 11x is trading above the sector median of 2.4x and its 5-year average of 10x.
The company delivered another stellar quarter, beating top and bottom line estimates by healthy margins. Fortinet closed Q4 with $1.66 billion in revenue, a solid 17% year-over-year increase.
On the profitability front, the company’s net income surged 45% year-over-year to $526 million, while adjusted EPS jumped 45% to $0.74, marking 70% growth from last year.
Fortinet’s balance sheet remains equally strong, with $4.066 billion in cash and short-term investments and long-term debt of just $994.03 million. A debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67x reflects a strategy of financing operations with more equity than debt.
Looking ahead, management expects Q1 revenue between $1.5 billion and $1.56 billion, signaling roughly a 13% year-over-year increase.
Analysts gave Fortinet stock a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating. The group of 39 analysts also gave the stock an average price target of $112.70, which implies 22% upside potential.
