When a man who won his first pot of gold playing blackjack promotes safe stocks, we can measure the level of uncertainty in the market. Bill Gross, the billionaire founder of PIMCO and the man who made active bond trading mainstream, is “moving away” from the artificial intelligence name that has defined market returns in recent years.
Gross is wary of the AI industry, saying: “Maybe it’s not a one-game elimination game, but it feels like one. I would stay away from it.” Instead, the “bond kings” are looking for value in companies with long track records over multiple market cycles, stable businesses and a history of paying dividends.
What income stocks are they? Let’s take a closer look.
Founded in 2000, Verizon (VZ) is one of the world’s largest telecommunications companies. It provides a broad range of communications and technology services to consumers, businesses and government entities in the United States and internationally. Its core businesses include wireless and fixed wireline voice and data services, broadband and fiber optic broadband, wireless equipment and related equipment, and business solutions such as IoT connectivity, managed networks and security services.
VZ has a market capitalization of $211 billion and is up 22% year to date (YTD). The stock’s dividend yield is 5.5%, well above the industry median of 1.55%. Notably, the company is on track to become a “Dividend Aristocrat,” having raised its dividend continuously for the past 21 years.
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Results for the most recent quarter showed Verizon’s revenue and earnings growing. Revenue for the quarter was $36.4 billion, up 2% from the prior year. However, earnings per share fell slightly to $1.09 per share from $1.10 per share in the year-ago quarter.
However, the company continues to generate healthy cash flow from operations, as net cash generated from operating activities reached $37.1 billion in 2025, up from $36.9 billion the previous year. Overall, Verizon will have a cash balance of about $19 billion as of 2025.
Meanwhile, VZ stock trades at forward price-to-earnings (P/E) and price-to-earnings (P/CF) ratios of 10.1x and 5.5x, respectively, below the industry median of 13.8x and 8.1x.
Overall, the analyst consensus on VZ stock is a Moderate Buy. The $49.72 average price target is in line with current levels, while the high $71 price target suggests potential upside of approximately 43%. Of the 29 analysts covering the stock, 8 have a “strong buy” rating, 3 have a “moderate buy” rating and 18 have a “hold” rating.
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The second name on this list is Verizon rival AT&T (T). Founded in 1885, AT&T is a large integrated telecommunications and technology company that provides wireless and wireline communications services, broadband Internet, video services, managed network services, and advertising and media interfaces.
The company’s current market capitalization is US$196 billion, and its T-share dividend rate is 3.96%, which is higher than the industry median. Overall, T shares are up 13% year to date.
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Notably, the company’s latest results for the fourth quarter showed better-than-expected revenue and profits. While revenue increased nearly 4% from the previous year to $33.5 billion, earnings during the same period increased 21% to $0.52 per share. Notably, this marked another quarter of better-than-expected earnings for the company.
Although cash flow from operating activities declined slightly year over year, it remained strong at $11.3 billion. Overall, the company ended the quarter with a cash balance of $18.2 billion, exceeding short-term debt levels of about $9 billion.
From a valuation perspective, T shares appear to be undervalued. Its forward P/E and P/E ratios are 12.1 and 5.4 respectively, which are lower than the industry median.
Analysts have an overall rating of “Moderate Buy” on the stock, with an average price target of $29.63, indicating potential upside of about 6% from current levels. Of the 28 analysts covering the stock, 15 have a “strong buy” rating, 3 have a “moderate buy” rating, 9 have a “hold” rating and 1 has a “strong sell” rating.
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Western Midstream Partners (WES) is an energy infrastructure company founded in 2007. Its core business is the midstream segment of the oil and gas value chain, including gathering, compressing, processing and transporting natural gas, crude oil and natural gas liquids (NGL), as well as processing natural gas and treating produced water for upstream producers. It owns and operates an extensive network of pipelines, processing facilities and storage systems in Texas, New Mexico and the Rocky Mountain region.
WES shares are up 6% so far this year, giving it a market value of $16.4 billion. The stock offers a healthy dividend yield of 8.75%, which is high even for an energy company whose dividend payouts are generally quite generous.
Nonetheless, West Midstream’s latest quarterly results were disappointing, with both revenue and earnings missing expectations. Total revenue for the quarter was just over $1 billion, up 11% year over year. However, earnings per share plummeted to $0.47 from $0.85 per share in the previous year, as operating expenses surged 41% to $744.2 million in the same period.
Net cash generated by operating activities increased from $2.14 billion in 2024 to $2.22 billion in 2025, and the company ended the quarter with a cash balance of $819.5 million, below its current liabilities of $1.24 billion.
Valuations also send mixed signals. Although the forward P/E ratio of 12.2 times is lower than the industry median of 16, the P/E ratio of 8.9 times is higher than the industry median of 6.5.
The analyst consensus is a “Hold” on WES stock, with an average price target of $42, in line with current levels. Of the 13 analysts covering the stock, two have a “strong buy” rating, one has a “moderate buy” rating, eight have a “hold” rating and two have a “moderate sell” rating.
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On the date of publication, Pathikrit Bose did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article are for reference only. This article was originally published on Barchart.com
