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Many tech stocks plummeted this month after the Trump administration imposed its "Liberation Day" tariffs on most of the country's top trading partners. Higher tariffs against China, Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, and India raised bright red flags for American tech companies, which were tightly tethered to those countries.
This storm might pass if cooler heads prevail, but it's too early to invest in tariff-wracked stocks like Apple before those headwinds wane. Instead, tech investors should seek out companies that are naturally insulated from tariffs.
I believe three tech stocks fit that description: AT&T (NYSE: T), ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW), and Fortinet (NASDAQ: FTNT). I think it's a good idea to nibble on these stocks in smaller $1,000 increments over the next few quarters and simply let dollar-cost averaging smooth out your average returns in this choppy market.
The dividend play: AT&T
AT&T, one of the largest telecom companies in America, slimmed down its business over the past four years by spinning off DirecTV, Time Warner, and many of its smaller media assets. Those divestments freed up a lot of cash to strengthen its core 5G and fiber businesses, reduce its debt, and support its dividend payments.
In 2023 and 2024, AT&T added a cumulative 3.4 million postpaid phone subscribers and 2.1 million fiber subscribers, as many of its competitors struggled. Its annual free cash flow (FCF) grew 19% to $16.8 billion and rose another 5% to $17.6 billion in 2024 -- which easily covered its annual dividend payments of just over $8 billion.
Analysts expect AT&T's revenue and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) to grow by 1% and 3%, respectively. It's a slow grower, but it's well insulated from tariffs, pays a high forward dividend yield of 3.9%, and trades at just 7 times this year's adjusted EBITDA. That high yield and low valuation make it a safe place to park your cash.
The growth play: ServiceNow
ServiceNow's cloud-based platform helps companies streamline their unstructured work patterns into digital workflows. That process makes it easier to automate tasks, support hybrid and remote workers, and improve a company's efficiency. Its Now Assist AI platform further accelerates that process with AI chatbots and automation tools.
ServiceNow is well insulated from the tariffs because it only provides cloud-based services instead of importing and exporting physical goods. It's also resistant to macroeconomic headwinds since companies often use its services to streamline their businesses and cut costs during economic downturns. It generated 63% of its revenue in North America in 2024 and doesn't directly sell its services in China.