Image source: Getty Images. The cyclical risks are real, but the company's debt-free balance sheet gives it much more flexibility to ride out the downswings in that cycle than it would have if it carried debt of its own. A consumer products juggernaut, with a dividend Barbara Eisner Bayer (Apple): When building a retirement portfolio, it's risky to be 100% in fixed income because, due to inflation, your dollar will buy less as you grow older.