It is a challenging environment to invest in stocks right now. Investors have artificial intelligence, tariffs, wars, and politics to contend with. Frankly, it is hard to find many investment ideas that are both safe and have upside. Consequently, investors do need to be a little shrewd and put a little extra due diligence into their investing process.
If you are looking for some ideas, here are two defensive (and offensive) stocks to buy if you have $10,000 ready to deploy today.
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A top Canadian waste stock
The first stock that I would look at is Secure Waste Infrastructure (TSX:SES). It operates a network of industrial waste and water disposal facilities across Western Canada.
It has a near monopoly in the regions it operates. This is true to the extent that Competition Bureau Canada mandated Secure to sell off some of its assets.
It should do well in the year ahead for a few reasons. With wars battling in the Middle East, the price of oil and gas is rising. That means Canadian energy producers might ramp up production capacity. Secure collects much of its waste from energy production, so it could enjoy an increase in volumes.
The company generates above-industry-average margins and produces a lot of excess cash. It has been deploying that into dividend increases and very aggressive share buy-backs. In 2024, it bought back 20% of its stock. In 2025, it bought back around 8% of its stock.
It still has capacity to buy back another 5–7% of its shares outstanding in 2026. Even after these buybacks, Secure still has a strong balance sheet to invest in high-returning capital projects, acquisitions, and a growing dividend. It yields 2% today. This is exactly the kind of stable business you want to hold in an uncertain environment like the present.
A boring infrastructure stock with valuation upside
Another solid stock for an uncertain world is Amrize (NYSE:AMRZ). You may not recognize this name because it only IPO’d (initial public offering) last summer. It has a lot of defensive qualities that make it appealing right now.
Amrize is the largest producer of cement in North America. It also has a growing construction materials business (mainly roofing and envelope materials).
Amrize is unique because it owns its own cement and aggregate quarries. It has over 50 years of deposits, so its supply base is very secure. These quarries are strategically located across North America. New quarries are very hard to permit and build. So, the owners of the present supply have a major competitive advantage.
Given the importance of infrastructure renewal and nation-building projects in North America, Amrize should enjoy solid growth ahead. In 2026, it is projecting 4–6% revenue growth and 8–11% adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA).
The company is acquisitive, so further additions could improve the bottom line. With a strong balance sheet (net debt-to-EBITDA ratio of 1.1), it should still be able to finance capital growth and acquisition opportunities. It just announced a special and regular dividend that equates to a 1% yield.
Given its new listing, Amrize is still gaining traction with investors. It trades at a material discount to other U.S.-listed aggregate companies. As it proves out its growth strategy, its valuation multiple should start to tick up closer to its peers’. Early investors could enjoy a nice double-digit return by adding this boring blue-chip stock today.
