GOLDMAN SACHS: Earnings are drying up as a recession looms — but you should still buy these 17 stocks to profit from their exploding margins

• Cries for an imminent recession are getting louder by the day, but there are still ways to make money in the stock market by choosing companies set to thrive in a late-cycle environment.
• Goldman Sachs has identified the 17 companies it says will grow margins the most in 2019, which should make them good buys.

No matter how optimistic an economist may be these days, chances are they'll still tell you a recession is coming in the next year or two.

That's a view also shared by equity strategists all across Wall Street. To them, it's not a matter of whether we're going to get a recession — it's a question of when. The spectre of that eventual economic meltdown hangs over their commentary like a dark cloud, and also informs the majority of their investing recommendations.

That's certainly true for Goldman Sachs. And the good news there is that the firm has a veritable war chest of suggestions to help the average investor navigate choppy waters.

Read more: RECESSION WATCH: Goldman Sachs has created a 5-part checklist for investors looking to avoid the next economic meltdown

One way Goldman says to play an aging economic cycle is by buying stock in companies poised to see robust margin growth. After all, margins — and, by extension, earnings — normally get constrained in a late-cycle environment. So identifying the exceptions can be a profitable endeavor.

With that established, here are the 17 stocks Goldman says will expand their margins the most in 2019.

Note that these are the only companies in the universe screened by Goldman poised to see margin growth exceeding 100 basis points. They're listed in increasing order of 2019 expected margin expansion.

17. Cintas

Ticker: CTAS

Sector: Industrials

Market cap: $19 billion

Year-to-date return: 4%

2019E margin growth: 103 basis points

16. Citrix Systems

Ticker: CTXS

Sector: Information technology

Market cap: $14 billion

Year-to-date return: 1%

2019E margin growth: 111 basis points

15. TripAdvisor

Ticker: TRIP

Sector: Communications services

Market cap: $7 billion

Year-to-date return: 6%

2019E margin growth: 112 basis points