Buy Hold Sell: 5 durable ASX stocks for uncertain times

A Livewire reader recently reached out to us to suggest now is the time for investors to be looking for those durable businesses that could offer some resistance to things like AI, rate hikes and oil prices.

The ASX industrials sector seems an obvious place to look, given it's full of stable companies that have endured through the years. But many industrials stocks are also directly exposed to those same macro factors that have help make equities markets a bit of a minefield. 

So how do you find the stocks that can deliver resilience? 

In this episode of Livewire's Buy Hold Sell, Hailey Kim from Wilson Asset Management and Daniel Moore from IML join Livewire's Tom Stelzer to dive into three heavyweight industrial stocks that could offer that durability right now, as well as a pick each of their own.

Please note this episode was filmed on 29 July 2026.

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Episode Summary

We're trialling something new for Buy Hold Sell.

Here are all the guest calls along with a brief summary of their verdict and select quotes. Let us know what you think about the new format in the comments section.

If you want the full episode transcript, it's still available as a download at the bottom of the page. 

1 - Qantas (ASX: QAN)

Daniel Moore's rating: HOLD

His verdict: Great industry structure and strong outlook but has already recovered

What he said: "We love the industry structure at the moment. Qantas and Virgin - very rational duopoly. Both competitors are really looking at growing profits rather than winning market share, which is nice."

"The issue was the best time to buy it was a couple of months ago during the crisis. Today, we're just happy holders."

Hailey Kim's rating: BUY

Her verdict: An attractive market structure and strong margins and earnings drivers

What she said: "Qantas is going through its biggest fleet renewal, including Project Sunrise. And the new aircraft are a lot more efficient in terms of fuel burn and also maintenance costs. And with Project Sunrise, they really changed the revenue mix more towards higher-yielding premium travel. So that really improves the quality and predictability of the earnings for Qantas going forward."

"Qantas is a business with an improving quality of earnings, but it still trades below a lot of its international peers."

2 - James Hardie (ASX: JHX)

Hailey Kim's rating: BUY

Her verdict: Has growth opportunities resilient to macro concerns and could be beneficiary of market rotation

What she said: "When you think about the James Hardie story right now, it's really not linked to the housing cycle story."

"As the market starts broadening up beyond this very narrow pocket - the crowded AI growth part of the market - we think really quality businesses with their own earnings drivers like James Hardie could really benefit. We really like the fact that the management teams brought a renewed focus on execution as well."

Daniel Moore's rating: HOLD

His verdict: Recent rerating means it's no longer a buy, given US housing outlook 

What he said: "On the R&R side, which is the majority of their business, if you can fund it from cash flow, we can definitely see growth coming through and we're starting to see that in that first quarter. But if you can't fund it from cash flow, the debt costs for funding R&R through HELOC loans and they're about 8%. So they're pretty hefty."

"Until we see interest rates come down, it's hard for us to get too excited at the current multiple."

3 - SGH Ltd (ASX: SGH)

Daniel Moore's rating: BUY

His verdict: An attractive price for solid businesses with strong earnings

What he said: "I think that the share price now is at a point where the risk-reward is really favourable, predominantly because of their WesTrac business, which is over half our valuation for the company."

"It's a great recurring earnings business, great returns, and just a great history of growth. So at the current multiple in the teens, we think it's an attractive buy at the moment."

Hailey Kim's rating: HOLD

Her verdict: A well-run company but some cyclical concerns 

What she said: "We think the management team is amazing, very excellent capital allocators. And there's plenty to like about the business here. Really great market structures across each division. Really strong balance sheet and ongoing cost discipline as well."

"What's keeping us a little bit more on the sidelines from here is more about the domestic cyclicals. So we think construction activity could slow a little bit from the higher rates environment we have had so far. So we think we just want to wait a little bit to see where that goes."

BlueScope Steel (ASX: BSL) - Hailey's pick

Hailey Kim's rating: BUY

Her verdict: Improved earnings and a renewed focus sets up solid outlook going forward

What she said: "BlueScope's story has really changed a lot from simply being a steel price call to a company-specific multi-lever story."

"BlueScope’s also coming off a peak CapEx period now. So we expect to see a bit of an inflection in their free cash flow, which should support more consistent capital returns going forward."

Cleanaway Waste Management (ASX: CWY) - Daniel's pick

Daniel Moore's rating: BUY

His verdict: Strong market share and attractive valuation, with earnings likely to recover

What he said: "It’s got about 40% market share in Australia. So a dominant player in a pretty consolidated industry. It ticks a lot of boxes for us. It's de-rated about 30% this year. So the valuation's really attractive around 20 times, growing double digit."

"We think the margins will recover and the positive dynamics around waste are going to continue. And it was good to see management confirm double-digit earnings growth for FY26 and for FY27 as well."