Just been thinking about this—when geopolitical risks spike like we've been seeing lately, there's actually a playbook that makes sense. The market's been all over the place with Middle East tensions, but here's what caught my attention: the real money moves aren't always about chasing the hottest growth plays. Sometimes it's about finding companies that can actually weather the storm.

Low-leverage stocks have been on my radar for exactly this reason. We're talking about companies that don't carry a ton of debt relative to their equity. Sounds boring, but when things get shaky, this matters way more than people realize.

Let me break down why this matters. When you're evaluating a stock's price per share formula and overall financial health, debt-to-equity ratio is one of the first things I look at. It's straightforward: total liabilities divided by shareholders' equity. Lower number = less financial risk. Simple as that.

I've been digging through recent earnings reports, and a few names keep standing out. Everus Construction Group just posted Q4 results—revenues jumped 33.1% to $1.01 billion, earnings up 61.2% year-over-year. That's solid execution. Telefonica Brasil showed steady growth with 7.1% revenue increase in Q4, backed by strong mobile and fiber performance. Laureate Education was even more impressive with 28% revenue growth and 88.7% EPS improvement, plus they announced a $150 million share buyback.

Then there's HNI Corp with 38.3% net sales growth, and Costco posted $21.33 billion in January sales alone—9.3% up from last year. These aren't flashy names, but the earnings growth is real.

What matters here is the combination: strong recent earnings, low debt burden, and reasonable valuations. When you're trying to figure out the actual price per share formula that makes sense, you want companies that are growing without overleveraging themselves. The consensus estimates across these names suggest continued momentum—10-25% earnings growth expected for 2026 depending on the stock.

Obviously, this isn't about picking winners in a bull market. It's about picking companies that won't implode if things get worse. In uncertain times like these, that's actually the smarter play. If you're looking at your portfolio and wondering which direction to tilt, this might be worth considering.