Discuss of a recession appears to dominate the market debate, with buyers holding contrasting ideas over when one will hit, how lengthy it would final, and what the lingering aftershocks will convey. This may make it troublesome for buyers to organize their portfolios for a possible downturn. Due to this, Morgan Stanley compiled a listing of fortress shares that might situate and defend buyers’ portfolios for a pending recession. “With ample liquidity and solvency to run operations and repair debt, these shares ought to have higher draw back safety than common,” wrote strategist Todd Castagno in a be aware Tuesday. The display screen featured Russell 1000 corporations — excluding financials, actual property and utilities — with stable steadiness sheets and liquidity, that met the next standards: Money as a proportion of enterprise worth higher than 2.5% Anticipated constructive free money circulation development over the subsequent two years Return on invested capital anticipated in every of the subsequent two years of greater than 7.5%. A present property over liabilities ratio higher than 1 Low leverage, with a debt-to-equity ratio of lower than 2.5 This display screen additionally contains corporations with investment-grade credit score rankings and excludes these with adverse fairness. Fashionable off-price retailer Ross Shops made Morgan Stanley’s checklist. Shares are up 2% this yr following a close to 20% rally this month on better-than-expected outcomes. The inventory ranked as the very best performer within the S & P 500 for the buying and selling week that ended Nov.18, when it surged 17% . It presents a cash-to-enterprise worth of 11.3%, with free money flows anticipated to develop simply 1.6% subsequent yr, earlier than leaping to just about 31% the yr after. Networking tools and software program firm Cisco additionally met the factors. Earlier this month, the corporate reported quarterly outcomes that exceeded analysts and lifted its steerage for the fiscal 2023 yr. The corporate’s free money flows are forecasted to develop 20.9% subsequent yr and 11.1% the next yr. On the tech entrance, Airbnb made the reduce together with software program firm Zscaler . The shares are off by 42% and 58%, respectively, this yr, and supply money as a proportion of enterprise worth of 10% and eight.2%. A latest CNBC Professional display screen discovered Zscaler amongst among the Nasdaq 100 shares that might lead tech increased going ahead. A number of semiconductor names had been included within the display screen, together with Qualcomm , which presents money as a proportion of enterprise worth of 4.3%. The corporate is anticipated to develop free money flows by 64% subsequent yr, however that is forecasted to sluggish to only 17.4% the next yr. Microsoft , Hoka-owner Deckers Out of doors , Merck and Johnson & Johnson additionally made the checklist. — CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed reporting