With tech stocks under pressure and expectations running high this earnings season, some investors are looking more closely at areas of the market that can sometimes feel steadier when sentiment turns cautious. This defensive sectors screener focuses on consumer staples, health care, and real estate companies that meet certain size and quality criteria, and are directly exposed to the latest news around earnings surprises, guidance resets, and interest rate expectations. In this article, you will see 3 stocks from the screener that appear positively exposed to the current backdrop, and what that could mean for your watchlist or portfolio.

Real Brokerage (REAX)

Overview: Real Brokerage is a tech-focused real estate platform that supports agents across the United States and Canada, wrapping traditional brokerage services with integrated title, mortgage, and wallet products. Founded in 2014 and based in Miami, it aims to give agents and their clients a more streamlined, app-driven buying and selling experience.

Operations: Real Brokerage generates most of its US$2.08b in revenue from its North American Brokerage segment at US$2.07b, with smaller contributions from One Real Mortgage at US$6.2m, One Real Title at US$5.3m, and other segments at US$1.2m, primarily across the United States at US$1.86b and Canada at US$223.4m.

Market Cap: US$475.1m

Real Brokerage sits at the crossroads of property and technology, which can appeal when investors are cautious on high growth tech stocks but still want exposure to structural change. The company is growing its agent network, expanding into new regions like New Brunswick and the U.S. Midwest, and layering in higher margin services such as mortgage, title, and the Real Wallet product, although attachment rates are still low. Analysts expect strong earnings growth and see the shares trading well below some fair value estimates. However, there are clear risks in its ongoing losses, reliance on stock-based compensation, and sensitivity to housing activity and interest rates. With that mix of potential and pressure points, Real Brokerage is the type of real estate stock that may warrant closer examination.

Real Brokerage’s app driven model, expanding agent base, and growing mix of mortgage and title fees could be reshaping the economics of this real estate platform, but the real story sits inside the 3 key rewards and 1 important warning sign

Axogen (AXGN)

Overview: Axogen is a medical device company focused on repairing peripheral nerve injuries, supplying grafts, protectors, and connectors that help surgeons restore feeling and function after trauma or surgery.

Operations: Axogen generates all of its US$238.1m in revenue from Peripheral Nerve Repair products, entirely in the United States.

Market Cap: US$2.1b

Axogen provides exposure to a niche part of health care that can behave differently from broader markets, as demand for nerve repair is driven by patient need rather than general economic conditions. The company is still loss making, reporting a Q1 2026 net loss of US$19.6m, and the stock trades on a premium P/S multiple, so expectations are already high. At the same time, forecasts for earnings improvement, management’s focus on higher margin biologics, and potential FDA approval for Avance Nerve Graft could lead to a different profit profile if execution stays on track. Alongside recent index removals and insider selling, Axogen is a stock where the balance between long term opportunity and current risk is an important consideration.

Axogen’s premium P/S, ongoing losses, and potential Avance approval suggest a situation where expectations could either be confirmed or challenged, and the real tension shows up inside the 2 key rewards and 2 important warning signs

NovoCure (NVCR)

Overview: NovoCure develops, manufactures, and sells Tumor Treating Fields devices that use low intensity electrical fields to disrupt cancer cell division, offering a non drug treatment option for solid tumors such as glioblastoma and mesothelioma across the United States, Europe, Japan, Greater China, and other markets.

Operations: NovoCure generates all of its US$674.4m in revenue from Tumor Treating Fields devices, with the United States contributing US$388.4m and the rest coming from Japan, Germany, France, Greater China, and other international markets.

Market Cap: US$1.9b

NovoCure provides exposure to a cancer treatment platform built on one core technology that already brings in recurring device revenue. This technology is now being tested across pancreatic, lung, liver, and ovarian cancers. The stock trades at a discount to some fair value estimates, while analysts expect faster revenue growth than the broader US market and see a path to profitability within 3 years. At the same time, the company still reports sizeable losses and depends heavily on a single product family. Recent data, such as the TRIDENT miss and the CE Mark for Optune Pax in pancreatic cancer, illustrate both the clinical upsides and the trial risks that contribute to a more nuanced NovoCure investment profile rather than a simple growth or value label.

NovoCure’s stalled sentiment and trial headlines may be masking a very different risk reward profile, and the real twist sits inside the 3 key rewards and 2 important warning signs

The three stocks covered here are just a preview of this defensive sectors idea. The full Defensive Sectors (Consumer Staples, Health Care, and Real Estate) screener reveals 23 more companies with equally compelling narratives across consumer staples, health care, and real estate. Use Simply Wall St to identify, analyze, and filter for the specific catalysts, financial quality, and narrative drivers discussed here so you can focus on the highest conviction opportunities in this theme.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.