One tenet that politicians and economists always like to stress, while keeping their fingers crossed behind their back, is the desire for the U.S. dollar to remain strong. The reality is that a cheaper dollar makes U.S. goods and services much cheaper around the world, and it is especially good for large U.S. multinationals that do a significant amount of business overseas.

The U.S. Dollar Index (USDX, DXY) is an index (or measure) of the value of the United States dollar relative to a basket of foreign currencies of U.S. trade partners. The index is down a stunning 6.23% year to date, which is among the biggest drops in years. In addition, many on Wall Street feel that the days of dollar strength appear to be over now that the French election seems to have sounded an all clear on the euro, creating a potential big boost for profits of global-oriented U.S. companies in the coming months.

We screened the Merrill Lynch research universe for stocks that are rated Buy, pay dividends, and do at least 50% of total sales overseas. We found five that look like outstanding choices now.

Exxon

The world’s largest international integrated oil and gas company remains a top Wall Street energy pick. Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) explores for and produces crude oil and natural gas in the United States, Canada, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and Oceania. It also manufactures and markets commodity petrochemicals, including olefins, aromatics, polyethylene and polypropylene plastics, and specialty products, and it transports and sells crude oil, natural gas, and petroleum products.

The company posted solid first-quarter results, and Merrill Lynch recently raised the stock back to a Buy rating, as the analyst feels it is an outstanding place for investors to put money, and Exxon is the firm’s top major idea now. The analysts also cite the ability of the company to maintain and cover the cash dividend with lower oil prices as a key positive.

With gasoline prices the lowest they have been in some time, motorists are expected to hit the nation’s highways in record numbers this year for the long holiday weekend. The stock is an excellent buy for investors looking to add energy to their portfolio but leery of the recent weakness in the sector.

Shareholders receive a 3.84% dividend. The Merrill Lynch price target for the stock is $100, and the Wall Street consensus target is $87.04. The shares closed Friday at $80.22 apiece.

Apple

This technology giant has pulled back recently and is offering a solid entry point. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984, and it is among the leaders in the world in innovation with the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV.

Apple’s four software platforms — iOS, OS X, watchOS and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services, including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud.

Merrill Lynch thinks the iPhone 8 opportunities are solid, as the firm, like others, feels the product will have significant upgrades. Toss in the easier comparisons and the strong average selling prices, and the new phone is a distinct positive. While the firm does note higher commodity prices are a potential headwind from NAND and DRAM pricing, it sees service growth and acceleration as another distinct positive.

Apple investors receive a 1.75% dividend. Merrill Lynch has a $180 price target, and the consensus is set target is $158.95. The stock closed trading on Friday at $144.18, and Apple is scheduled to report earnings on August 1.

Microsoft

This top old school technology stock was a year-ahead top pick at Merrill Lynch, and it has a massive $121.8 billion sitting on the balance sheet. Microsoft Inc. (NASDAQ: MSFT) continues to find an increasing amount of support from portfolio managers, who have added the software giant to their holdings at an increasingly faster pace all of this year and last.

Numerous Wall Street analysts feel that Microsoft has become a clear number two in the public or hyper-scale cloud infrastructure market with Azure, which is the company’s cloud computing platform offering. Some have flagged Azure as a solid rival to Amazon’s AWS service. Analysts also maintain that Microsoft is discounting Azure for large enterprises, such that Azure may be cheaper than AWS for larger users.

Shareholders receive a 2.25% dividend. The $75 Merrill Lynch price target compares with the consensus price objective of $74.73. The shares closed Friday at $69.46.

Mondelez

This consumer sector giant makes good sense for conservative accounts. Mondelez International Inc. (NASDAQ: MDLZ) manufactures and markets snack food and beverage products worldwide. It offers biscuits, including cookies, crackers and salted snacks; chocolates, and gums and candies; powdered beverages and coffee; and cheese and grocery products.

Its primary brand portfolio includes LU, Nabisco and Oreo biscuits; Cadbury, Cadbury Dairy Milk and Milka chocolates; Trident gum; Jacobs Kaffee; and Tang powdered beverages.

Mondelez sells its products to supermarket chains, wholesalers, supercenters, club stores, mass merchandisers, distributors, convenience stores, gasoline stations, drug stores, value stores and other retail food outlets through direct store delivery, company-owned and satellite warehouses, distribution centers and other facilities, as well as through independent sales offices and agents.

Shareholders receive a 1.76% dividend. The Merrill Lynch price target is $50. The posted consensus target is $49.92, and shares closed Friday at $43.22.

Procter & Gamble

This one offers a very solid dividend and safety. Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) is another solid consumer staples stock for conservative investors to consider. It sells lots of very well-known household items that are essential for everyday life. Brands include Pampers, Tide, Bounty, Charmin, Gillette, Oral B, Crest, Olay, Pantene, Head & Shoulders, Ariel, Gain, Always, Tampax, Downy and Dawn.

The company posted solid earnings last quarter, and many on Wall Street feel that the new focus on a slimmed down product portfolio will help spur earnings growth and return the company to its long-time premium consumer staples multiple. Some analysts’ estimates for the next two years are 2% above current Wall Street expectations.

P&G actually is innovative in its product development process and uses that to help ensure future growth and cash flow. This should provide investors years of steady growth and dividends. While currency headwinds have weighed on earnings and projections, a weaker dollar scenario would bode well for the future.

Shareholders receive a 3.15% dividend. Merrill Lynch has set its price objective at $98, above the consensus estimate of $91.71. The stock closed Friday at $87.65.

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These five top dividend-paying companies do at least 50% of their corporate sales overseas. All should continue to fare very well in a weakened dollar environment. With second-quarter earnings firing up this week, it may be smart to buy partial positions and see how the numbers come out.

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