5 Recession-Proof Stocks Hiding in Cardboard Boxes

Key Points

• Sustained migration trends since 2020 have benefited moving and storage companies, including U-Haul, Avis Budget Group, and self-storage REITs.
• Public Storage, Extra Space Storage, and CubeSmart offer varying combinations of scale, dividend yield, and growth potential within the self-storage sector.
• U-Haul and Avis Budget Group provide alternative ways to invest in relocation trends, though each carries distinct earnings and valuation headwinds.

If the last five years have taught investors anything, it’s that money is mobile. Beginning in 2020, many Americans have moved from one state to another for a variety of reasons.

That shift is evident in the performance of companies in the moving trade. These stocks tend to do well in three specific environments: when credit gets tight, in mild recessions, and when interest rates are cut during periods of high migration.

At various times in the last five years, one or more of these conditions have been met. That’s still the case in 2026 and will likely remain so in 2027 and beyond.

This isn’t the first time this has happened. Investors saw a similar phenomenon during the 2008 public credit crisis.

That’s where companies that make boxes and self-storage real estate investment trusts (REITs) come into play. When people downsize, their stuff has to go somewhere. Since 2020, this new relocation trend has been big business for moving van companies.

These aren’t the most exciting investments. But they fit well with the shift in investor sentiment towards stocks that deliver growth with income and less volatility.

The Full-Service Moving Play

U-Haul NYSE: UHAL is one of the most diverse ways to play the moving and relocation trend. Since April 2020, UHAL is up approximately 160%, and going back to 2012, the gain is even larger. That’s significant because it speaks to the company’s reach in all areas of the sector.

Current headwinds include a mixed first-quarter earnings report for its 2027 fiscal year, in which it reported adjusted earnings per share that missed forecasts and were down from the prior year. Plus, the stock is expensive by conventional metrics.

For a company with a market cap of around $14 billion, there isn’t much analyst coverage. But with the stock up nearly 50% in 2026, investors may have an interesting momentum play.

The Hidden Truck Rental Bet

Avis Budget Group NYSE: CAR is best known as a rental car company. But it also operates the second-largest truck storage company in the market with nearly 50% market share. The company doesn’t break out the revenue from that business directly, so it’s even more important to look at the bigger picture.

Regarding Avis, the company’s Q2 2026 earnings report was disappointing. But institutions are buying the stock, and analysts continue to raise their price targets even as CAR trades about 5% above its consensus price target of $132.75 as of this writing.

Owning CAR means taking on the issues in the company’s rental car business, so it’s not a clean, moving-stock play. But the approximately 15% sell-off since the company’s earnings report may create a buying opportunity for a stock that is up over 50% in the last five years.

A Self-Storage Fortress With Scale

Public Storage NYSE: PSA is the largest self-storage real estate investment trust (REIT), and it just got bigger. The company completed its acquisition of National Storage Affiliates in 2026, expanding its footprint to over 4,500 properties. That scale gives PSA pricing power that few competitors can match. Its balance sheet remains one of the strongest in the sector.

The stock pays a 3.67% dividend yield, backed by a market cap of around $57.3 billion. The Public Storage analyst forecasts on MarketBeat give PSA a consensus price target of $326.05, but since July 2026, several analysts have issued targets offering modest upside from current levels.

PSA isn't a momentum stock. It's a slow, steady compounder for investors who want exposure to moving trends without the headwinds that can come from the rental vehicle space.

The Yield Play With Growth Upside

Extra Space Storage NYSE: EXR is the second-largest player in self-storage. The stock has a market cap of around $31 billion, smaller than Public Storage but still formidable.

In the first two quarters of 2026, revenue is up on a year-over-year basis. That's a sign that demand is stabilizing after two soft years. More encouraging was the company’s adjusted earnings per share (EPS), which beat estimates by nine cents.

The Extra Space Storage analyst forecasts on MarketBeat show a consensus Hold rating with a price target of $147.73 that is about equal to the EXR price as of this writing. However, like Public Storage, recent analyst targets offer modest upside.

But the reason most investors consider REITs is the opportunity for passive income. For income-focused investors, EXR pairs storage-sector upside with one of the better dividend yields in the group at 4.37%, which has grown at around 12.4% annually for the last five years.

The Small-Cap With Outsized Income

CubeSmart NYSE: CUBE is the smallest of the three self-storage REITs, with a market cap near $9 billion.

That size cuts both ways. CUBE has more room to grow, but less of a cushion if storage demand softens. Sun Belt markets, its biggest exposure, showed early signs of recovery in Q1 2026.

The stock's 5.08% dividend yield is the richest of the group. Analyst price targets have been in the low- to mid-$40s over the last 12 months.

That upward drift suggests improving sentiment. For investors chasing income, CUBE may offer the best entry point of the three storage names.

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