Just been digging into why so many investors are suddenly paranoid about stock valuations right now. With all the geopolitical noise and oil volatility we've seen lately, I get why people are nervous. But here's the thing I noticed—the stocks that actually held up best weren't the flashy growth plays. They were the boring, debt-light companies that nobody's really talking about.

So what makes a stock actually defensive? It comes down to one thing: how much debt the company is carrying relative to what it actually owns. This is where the debt-to-equity ratio matters. Basically, if a company's borrowing heavily and things go sideways, they're screwed. But if they're running lean? They can weather almost anything.

I started looking at stocks that fit this profile—low debt, solid recent earnings, and trading with decent volume. The screening criteria I used was pretty straightforward: debt-to-equity below the industry median, price above $10, and companies showing actual earnings growth, not just hype. When you apply that leverage formula across the market, you'd be surprised how many quality names get filtered out. But the ones that make it through? Those are worth paying attention to.

Let me walk through five that caught my eye. Everus Construction Group just reported Q4 revenues jumping 33% to $1.01 billion with earnings up 61% year-over-year. That's the kind of growth that actually matters. Telefonica Brasil in the telecom space showed 7% revenue growth backed by solid mobile and fiber performance, with 25% long-term earnings growth. Laureate Education reported 28% revenue growth to $541 million and 88% EPS improvement—plus they're buying back $150 million in shares, which usually means management thinks the stock is undervalued.

HNI Corp, the workplace furnishings play, pushed net sales up 38% to $888 million. And Costco, because honestly who doesn't respect Costco's business model, did $21.33 billion in January sales alone, up 9.3% year-over-year.

What ties all these together isn't just that they're profitable. It's that they're not drowning in debt. When you look at the leverage formula—total liabilities divided by shareholders' equity—these companies all come in below their industry medians. In a market where uncertainty is the only certainty, that matters more than people realize.

The consensus estimates for 2026 show these companies expecting continued growth. Some are ranked #1 Strong Buy, others #2 Buy by the major research shops. But beyond the ratings, what I like is they're not betting the farm on one narrative. They're actual operating businesses with real cash flow.

Not saying these are slam dunks—nothing ever is. But if you're looking to reduce portfolio risk without completely abandoning upside, this is the kind of screening that actually works. Low debt, recent earnings growth, reasonable valuations. That's the playbook when the market's this uncertain.