A payment giant
It is the second-largest payments company in the world behind Visa (NYSE:V). Mastercard and Visa are third-party payment processors and earn fees every time a purchase is made via their debit or credit cards.
The transition to cashless payments will continue to drive the top-line for Mastercard and it managed to hold its own even in the first quarter when consumer spending was tepid.
In Q1, Mastercard sales were up 5% while operating income rose 2% on the back of an 8% increase in gross dollar volume. The company will announce second-quarter results on July 30.
Related: Mastercard Q2 earnings key stats
A tech major
The second company on the list is Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), a trillion dollar heavyweight. While Apple still generates majority of sales via iPhones, its Services and Wearable business segments have been growing revenue at a rapid pace.
Apple has several subscription-based services that include Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple Care and Apple Music. Its revenue from App Store continues to gain momentum while devices such as the Apple Watch and AirPod have dominated the global wearable vertical in recent times.
The shift to 5G will be a solid revenue driver for Apple over the next two years, which will also result in a massive upgrade cycle.
While Warren Buffett invested in Apple back in 2015 it is now the Oracle of Omaha’s top holding. Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A) has a 5.8% stake in Apple indicating an exposure of $95 billion.
Apple is set to report Q3 financial results on July 30.
Also read: MasterCard Q2 2020 Earnings Call Transcript
A healthcare mammoth
If you want exposure to a recession-proof industry, look no further than healthcare. People rarely tend to delay critical medical procedures making companies such as DaVita Inc (NYSE: DVA) top bets.
DaVita provides kidney dialysis services to patients suffering from chronic kidney failure or end stage renal disease. It operates kidney dialysis centers and provides related lab services to outpatient centers as well.
As of December 2019, DaVita provided dialysis services in the U.S. through a network of 2,753 outpatient dialysis centers and serves over 200,000 patients annually. DaVita stock is trading at $88.49 and has returned 209% in the last 10 years.
Berkshire Hathaway owns a 31.3% stake in DaVita valued at $3.37 billion.
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