The First 3 Stocks I'm Buying if the Market Crashes

By Keithen Drury – Feb 23, 2026 at 9:30AM ESTKey PointsMicrosoft's products aren't ones users cut during a downturn.Alphabet's advertising business will get hit, but emerge just fine.Amazon's cloud business should keep it churning during a downturn. We’re bullish on these 10 stocks ›NASDAQ: MSFTMicrosoftMarket Cap$2.9TToday's Changeangle-down(-2.16%) $8.58Current Price$388.65Price as of February 23, 2026 at 10:47 AM ETA stock market crash can occur at any time. Are you ready?First off, the market isn't crashing. But there's no telling when the next one could occur. It could be tomorrow, next year, or maybe even the next decade. There's no way of knowing for sure, and oftentimes, crashes come out of the blue. If they were foreseeable events, then it would be more of a gradual sell-off. Investors must be prepared for crashes because the market tends to recover fairly quickly. Take last year's tariff-induced crash, for example. From its mid-February all-time high to early April, the S&P 500 declined nearly 20%. Then, it recovered -- reaching fresh all-time highs in July! That's a quick recovery from a fairly sizable crash, and if investors weren't prepared, they missed some prime buying opportunities for some strong stocks. If the market crashes again, three stocks at the top of my list are Microsoft (MSFT 2.16%), Alphabet (GOOG +0.02%) (GOOGL 0.03%), and Amazon (AMZN 2.48%). These three may not always be the best buys during a crash, but they are bound to emerge on the other side even stronger. Image source: Getty Images. Microsoft If the market crashes, the odds of every business and consumer cancelling their Office software subscription aren't high. Additionally, clients won't pull their workloads off the cloud. This makes Microsoft an incredibly resilient business and poised to have long-term success. While its growth rates may suffer during a prolonged economic downturn, it isn't a doomed company. Microsoft is a great long-term bet and is poised to benefit from some of the largest technological revolutions we've ever seen. ExpandNASDAQ: MSFTMicrosoftToday's Change(-2.16%) $-8.58Current Price$388.65Key Data PointsMarket Cap$2.9TDay's Range$387.09 - $395.3652wk Range$344.79 - $555.45Volume918KAvg Vol31MGross Margin68.59%Dividend Yield1.09% Recently, Microsoft's stock has been weak, and it actually trades at nearly the same price it did during the lows of the market in April 2025. So, not only is Microsoft stock an excellent buy if the market crashes again, but it's also a fantastic stock pick right now. Alphabet If it's a long-term economic downtrend that causes a crash, Alphabet could struggle. Most of its revenue comes from advertising, which is a notoriously cyclical business to be in. Alphabet's growth will slip, but it won't go away completely. The Google marketplace is too important a place to cease all advertising, making Alphabet a resilient business. ExpandNASDAQ: GOOGLAlphabetToday's Change(-0.03%) $-0.09Current Price$314.89Key Data PointsMarket Cap$3.8TDay's Range$313.93 - $319.5052wk Range$140.53 - $349.00Volume584KAvg Vol37MGross Margin59.68%Dividend Yield0.26% Once advertising spending returns, it tends to roar back and can cause massive growth in a short time frame. Alphabet is a great stock to be patient with during a decline and scoop up when it's at its lows. Doing this correctly over the past few years has yielded some monster gains, and if you're prepared, you can take advantage of the next crash too. Amazon Last is Amazon. It's also in the same boat as Alphabet, as its core commerce business will struggle during a crash. However, Amazon has a more important segment: Amazon Web Services (AWS), its cloud computing platform. AWS operates on a rental business model, so any company with a workload on the cloud will have to continue paying its bills or lose access. With a lot of infrastructure on the cloud, this becomes an unavoidable expense, making Amazon incredibly resilient during a downturn. ExpandNASDAQ: AMZNAmazonToday's Change(-2.48%) $-5.22Current Price$204.89Key Data PointsMarket Cap$2.3TDay's Range$203.94 - $208.3952wk Range$161.38 - $258.60Volume1.1MAvg Vol47MGross Margin50.29% Like the others, it won't see much growth. But, it should still keep Amazon's profits in a healthy spot, as it accounted for 50% of operating profits during Q4 2025 while only making up 17% of sales. After a recovery, Amazon will be primed to capture some of that pent-up spending on the commerce side, while also rapidly expanding in the cloud computing side, as many clients will likely have several new workloads they want to launch once resources are more available. All three of these stocks aren't sell-off resistant, as they will likely decline significantly alongside the broader market. However, I'm positive each will emerge stronger on the other side of a crash because they have become too vital in the everyday workings of the business world.Read NextFeb 22, 2026 •By Keithen DruryCould Buying Microsoft Stock Today Set You Up for Life?Feb 21, 2026 •By Justin PopeWhere Will Microsoft Be in 1 Year?Feb 19, 2026 •By Stefon WaltersDown 15%, Should You Buy the Dip on Microsoft?Feb 19, 2026 •By James BrumleyMicrosoft or Alphabet: Which Stock Is More Likely to Be a Millionaire Maker?Feb 18, 2026 •By Keithen DruryPrediction: 3 Stocks That Will Be Worth More Than Apple 3 Years From NowFeb 18, 2026 •By Will HealyStock-Split Watch: Is Microsoft Next?About the AuthorKeithen Drury is a contributing Motley Fool technology analyst covering AI, semiconductors, cybersecurity, and SaaS stocks. In addition to The Motley Fool, Keithen is a mechanical engineer and has held roles at Honeywell and smaller industrial companies like Brand Hydraulics and Lincoln Industries. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Dordt University.TMFTripleOptionStocks MentionedMicrosoftNASDAQ: MSFT$388.38 (2.23%) $8.85AlphabetNASDAQ: GOOGL$314.89 (0.03%) $0.09AmazonNASDAQ: AMZN$204.89 (2.48%) $5.22AlphabetNASDAQ: GOOG$314.96 (+0.02%) $+0.06*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.