Worried About a Stock Market Crash? The Best Energy Stocks to Buy Right Now

There's no doubt about it: markets are volatile, and investors are nervous.

Equity valuations are near the highest levels seen in decades, interest rates are still elevated, and geopolitical tension is feeding into energy volatility and risk sentiment.

Put all of that together, and you have a scenario that does not breed confidence.

In this kind of environment, capital tends to rotate into sectors with two specific characteristics: hard cash flow and real asset exposure. Energy stocks check both of those boxes, so here are two energy stocks that should settle your nerves.

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ExxonMobil: scale and stability

ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) is a play where the balance sheet is the focal point.

In 2025, Exxon generated roughly $55 billion in operating cash flow and about $26 billion in free cash flow. Capital spending remained at roughly $27 billion, leaving plenty of cash for shareholders. Last year, Exxon returned approximately $37.2 billion through dividends and buybacks.

Exxon has increased its annual dividend for more than 40 consecutive years, making it one of the more durable income companies in the S&P 500. The company also maintains one of the strongest balance sheets in the sector, ending 2025 with a net debt-to-capital ratio of just 11%.

Then there's cost structure. Exxon has spent the last several years driving structural cost reductions, which have lowered its break-even into the mid-$30 per barrel range. This means the company can remain profitable and cash-flow positive even if oil prices pull back significantly from current levels.

In a downturn, smaller producers start cutting spending, issuing equity, or taking on debt just to maintain operations. Exxon doesn't have to do that, and actually has the flexibility to lean into weakness by buying assets or increasing buybacks when others retrench.

That's what makes Exxon stock a defensive position in energy. You're not buying it for maximum upside. You're buying it because it can absorb volatility and still produce tens of billions in cash flow.

TotalEnergies: cash flow plus transition optionality

TotalEnergies (NYSE: TTE) trades at a discount to U.S. majors, even though its underlying numbers are competitive, and in some cases stronger. This is why I like it in this list.

In 2025, TotalEnergies generated roughly $27.8 billion in operating cash flow despite softer oil prices, which tells you how resilient the model is across cycles.

The company paid a dividend of about 3.40 euros per share for 2025 and executed roughly $7.5 billion in buybacks. The yield itself typically sits in the 4%-5% range, and total shareholder yield (dividends plus buybacks) pushes closer to the high single digits.

The more important point, however, is that, unlike pure-play oil stocks, Total is running a hybrid model.

Hydrocarbon production remains the core earnings driver, but the company is also scaling its liquified natural gas (LNG) and power businesses.

In 2025, LNG sales reached 43.9 million tons, power generation rose to 48.1 terawatt hours (TWh), and renewable capacity expanded to 34+ gigawatts. These projects are all becoming meaningful contributors to future cash flow.

To be sure, TotalEnergies likely deserves some premium relative to its historical valuation because the company owns one of the strongest integrated LNG portfolios in the energy sector, maintains a relatively low-cost upstream asset base, and has built a sizable renewable power business that diversifies future cash flow. That said, the stock's elevated price-to-book ratio also reflects strong energy-sector sentiment and unusually high cash generation, which means the premium could shrink quickly if oil and natural gas prices weaken materially.

Jeff Siegel has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.