Income stocks worthy of the name pay relatively high dividends and raise them regularly. This category is favored by retirees and others in need of a relatively high level of income from their stocks. Cyclical stocks' fortunes tend to rise and fall with those of the economy at large, prospering when the business cycle is on the upswing, suffering in recessions. Cyclical industries include airlines, steel, chemicals and home building. Defensive stocks are theoretically insulated from the business cycle because people go right on buying their products and services in bad times as well as good.
Utility companies fit here, as do companies that sell food, beverages and drugs.
But to maximize your profits, you need to buy these stocks on the verge of an economic downturn. Predicting when the economy will turn south is a very difficult thing to do, though, even for the experts. Speculative stocks don't pass the usual tests of quality but for some reason or another attract investors anyway. Buyers of speculative stocks have hopes of making a killing but almost never do. Most speculative stocks don't do well, so it takes big gains in a few to offset your losses in many.