Noticed something interesting about the market pullback we just saw. A lot of investors panic-sold when the geopolitical situation escalated, but if you look at the data, this kind of overreaction is pretty predictable. Morgan Stanley's research shows that after similar shocks, the S&P 500 typically recovers to new highs within months. So maybe now's actually a good time to look at some best US stocks to buy while they're dipped.

I've been watching two names that got hit harder than they probably deserve: Apple and Williams Companies. Both are solid blue chip plays, but their recent moves look like classic panic selling to me.

Let's start with Apple. Yeah, the stock dropped almost 6% since late February while the S&P only fell 2.4% — that's a pretty wide gap. But here's the thing: Apple just posted record quarterly revenue of $143.8 billion, up 16% year-over-year, with earnings per share jumping 19% to $2.84. The iPhone 17 rollout has been crushing it, driving 59% of total revenue with 23% growth. They're also pushing into more accessible price points with the MacBook Neo and iPhone 17e at $599 each, which could expand their addressable market.

On the balance sheet, they've got $35.9 billion sitting in cash and short-term investments. That's serious dry powder. They've raised dividends for 11 straight years and just bought back $24.7 billion of stock in the first quarter alone. This isn't a company that gets taken down by geopolitical noise. Sure, a broader economic downturn would hurt consumer spending, but we're not seeing that yet. The pullback looks like an overreaction to me — one of those best US stocks to buy when fear gets ahead of fundamentals.

Then there's Williams Companies. Smaller market cap at $93 billion, but way older (founded 1908) and deeply entrenched in US energy infrastructure. The stock bounced to $76.75 on Monday then settled back to $74.22 by Friday — barely a 3% move. But that seems silly given what this company actually does.

Williams handles about a third of all natural gas consumed in the US through a 33,000-mile pipeline network that's entirely domestic. That's a natural hedge against tariffs and geopolitical risk. They've got long-term, fee-based contracts locked in, so cash flows are predictable and not super sensitive to oil price swings. Last year they grew adjusted EBITDA 9% to $7.8 billion and revenue 13.7% to $11.9 billion. Earnings per share jumped 17.5% to $2.14.

What's driving demand right now is pretty interesting: data centers are increasingly using natural gas for power, and we had a colder winter across the eastern US, which spiked heating demand. Both tailwinds. They've paid dividends for 52 consecutive years with a 2.7% yield, and their payout is only covered 2.4 times by adjusted funds from operations — meaning they've got room to keep raising it.

If you're looking at best US stocks to buy right now, both of these have the financial horsepower to handle whatever comes next. Apple's got growth, cash, and shareholder returns locked in. Williams has stability, predictable cash flows, and a business that benefits from structural trends like data center buildout. The market's probably overweighting the geopolitical risks here, which is exactly when you want to be looking at quality names trading at a discount.

Both companies have the balance sheets and track records to weather economic turbulence. When panic selling hits blue chips like these, that's usually when the best stock picks emerge. Worth taking a closer look at the valuations right now.