The First Stock to Buy in a Market Sell-Off

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE: ITW) is one of the best-run companies in America, and despite facing significant headwinds from the COVID-19 pandemic, the company is in excellent shape in 2021. The positive state of affairs comes about as CEO Scott Santi utilizes a playbook almost of his very own. Let's take a look at what's going on and whether Illinois Tool Works is a good value for investors right now.

When the pandemic spread out of China, most companies immediately turned to a recession playbook involving job cuts and furloughs for unneeded workers. ITW chose another way. In the words of Santi during the most recent earnings call, the multi-industry industrial company's management decided not to "initiate any enterprisewide employment reduction mandated programs at any point in 2020."

Illinois Tool Works deserves praise for not firing workers during the pandemic. Image source: Getty Images.

Source Fool.com