1. Home Depot
A big part of Home Depot’s earnings (which trades under the stock symbol HD) are coming from DIY projects following a natural disaster. According to several studies, investors actually rely on the public’s psychological response leading up to potential hurricane or flood seasons.
When a disaster is forecasted, it’s a natural reaction to stock up on whatever materials and supplies you need in order to protect, and if necessary, repair your house, particularly before all of these resources run out.
Being one of the world’s largest home improvement retailers, Home Depot has built and maintained a strong and large following in the event of natural disasters, having helped through several collaborations with organizations like the American Red Cross.
2. Walmart
Walmart, the company behind the wealthiest family in America, is another big retailer that benefits in the run-up to and after natural disasters. Even when a minor natural disaster occurs, the shopping giant often sees a spike in sales. This happens because people hurry to stock up on essentials like flashlights, batteries, generators, water, canned goods, and other non-perishable foods.
No wonder why Walmart sees revenue growth before and after a natural disaster occurs: people want to make sure they won’t run out of supplies.
In addition, it seems that the company has also been collecting predictive data since 2004 to better target customers with ‘disaster-season’ items.
