A $300,000 investment in SCHD grew to $468,150 over five years versus $573,900 in VOO, leaving a $105,750 gap driven by missing big tech.
SCHD's dividend quality screen kept out the tech giants that led the market, yet that same tilt powered its 23.86% one-year return.
SCHD suits retirees drawing income today, but younger investors should know the yield cost a $300,000 account over $100,000 in five years.
Building a portfolio and living off one are two completely different skills, and almost ****** ody teaches the second. This problem is what The Definitive Guide to Retirement Income helps, and it is free today. Read more here. (Sponsor)
Putting $300,000 into the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (NYSEARCA:SCHD) on October 1, 2021 left a holder with $468,150 by October 5, 2026. The same money in the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA:VOO) grew to $573,900. That leaves a shortfall of $105,750.

#nysearca #Dividend #income #same

McDonald's is facing a federal lawsuit that alleges its AI-enhanced pricing tool violates antitrust laws because it shares nonpublic data with franchisees who might be competing in the same market.
The lawsuit, which was filed Friday in Illinois, said McDonald's pricing tool uses artificial intelligence to collect data that competing franchises wouldn't normally share, like store-level sales. The Chicago-based burger giant has said it makes the tool available to U.S. franchisees to help them set prices at their individual restaurants.
The lawsuit also blames the pricing system for raising McDonald's U.S. prices.
"McDonald's has built and for years deployed its own information-sharing pricing platform, which draws on data from its millions of daily transactions to set menu prices across thousands of U.S. restaurants," the lawsuit states. "The result is algorithmic price-fixing aimed at customers who are already stretched thin."
McDonald's said Tuesday that the lawsuit is "filled with inaccuracies" and it would vigorously defend itself.

#restaurants

Jim Cramer has built a career on conviction calls, and few have been more consistent than his faith in Amazon (AMZN). For years, the Mad Money host has treated the retail giant as close to untouchable. A permanent fixture in nearly every portfolio he recommends.
That changed, briefly and publicly, after watching a rival's AI demo live on air. Here is what Cramer actually said, the stock moves that gave his comment real weight, and what it all means for anyone holding either name heading into the rest of the year.
Also read: Jim Cramer noticed something odd about the stock market
Cramer made the comment live on CNBC's Squawk on the Street on September 28, after watching a demonstration of Meta's (META) new AI shopping capability. "I'm an Amazon guy, but maybe I shouldn't be. This seemed impressive," he said, speaking as a shopper describing his own buying habits rather than making a stock call.
The timing gave the remark unusual weight. Meta shares had climbed roughly 24% over the prior month. Amazon fell roughly 8% over the same stretch. Investors were already debating which company was winning the fight for online shoppers before Cramer weighed in.

#cramer #amazon #roughly

The stock market is pretty much being kept afloat by three tech stocks.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) has never been more concentrated in just three stocks than it is today, with Nvidia (NVDA), Apple (AAPL), and Microsoft (MSFT) representing over 21% of the index, per data from Creative Planning.
The importance of these three stocks to the S&P 500 has never been greater. Only IBM (IBM), AT&T (T), and ExxonMobil (XOM) could hold a candle to the three tech stalwarts of today: In the mid-1980s, those three industrial giants at their peak made up 13.4% of the S&P 500.
Follow live coverage of the Nasdaq and S&P 500 trading at record highs.
Nvidia, Apple, and Microsoft have been enjoying higher stock prices over the past month on the back of favorable news, pushing their concentration in the S&P 500 to a record.

#three #Microsoft #Stock #today

Fast food giant Wendy's faced a fresh wave of permanent store closures on Friday for the second weekend in a row as one of its biggest franchisees scrambled to restructure operations in the aftermath of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.
Most Read from Fast Company
Emotionally intelligent people use 3 short phrases to stop getting defensive and strengthen their relationships
Wendy's is facing more store closures: See an updated list of shuttered locations from franchise bankruptcy
Panda Express's founders built a $7 billion empire. Now they're helping 55,000 employees become homeowners

#fast #closures #Friday

Paramount closed its $81 billion (€72bn) purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery, the companies announced on Tuesday, forming a new Hollywood giant called Skydance.
The merger brings HBO Max, films ranging from "Harry Potter" to "Sinners", and networks including CNN under the same roof as Paramount+, CBS and ******* les such as "Top Gun" and "The Godfather".
"Today is a historic day, not just for Skydance but for our entire industry," CEO David Ellison said in a statement.
The deal further concentrates power in an industry already run by just a handful of major players. Ellison's Skydance bought Paramount in an $8bn (€7.1bn) deal last year, and set its sights on Warner soon afterwards.
What followed was a tumultuous, yearlong fight over Warner's fate. Including billions of dollars in debt, Paramount's buyout of Warner amounts to nearly $111bn (€98.6bn).

#paramount #including #deal

LOCHIEL, Ariz. — For more than two months, activists sat high up in the branches of a giant cottonwood tree here on the border with Mexico in an effort to block federal contractors from knocking it down to make way for President Donald Trump’s $46.5 billion border wall expansion.
But that standoff came to an end Monday when demonstrators say more than 50 Customs and Border Protection agents raided the activist camp and an excavator knocked down what they called a “grandmother” tree, estimated to be 150 to 250 years old.
Footage taken by protesters shows the massive tree crashing down as border agents look on, and the activists who worked to protect it wail.
“We have been raided, **** aulted, battered, bruised, bleeding by the Border Patrol agents,” said Kate Scott, an activist who kicked off the group’s tree sit, in a call following Monday’s raid. As CBP cleared the area, about 10 people were arrested, the group of activists estimates, and another 10 received citations, including for “violation of a closure order” for being in the border-wall zone.
At least one activist showed images of scrapes and bandages on a Monday video call.

#border #tree

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Belgian-born scientist Francis Halzen won the ***** el Prize in physics Tuesday for his efforts to demystify a rare group of neutrinos, tiny cosmic particles that researchers believe offer clues to how the universe evolved.
"It was a great surprise, and I obviously didn't expect it," Halzen said, speaking to the ***** el Physics Committee by phone from Italy, in a call broadcast at the news conference to announce the winner.
Halzen said it was predicted that he would win the prize, but the announcement still made him feel "strange."
"I am working on a proposal, and I hope that this prize will help getting it approved," he said to chuckles from the audience.
Neutrinos are tiny cosmic particles with no electrical charge and extraordinarily small mass, making them difficult to detect. Yet they are everywhere: They spew from stars like the sun, and trillions zip through our bodies every second.

#neutrinos

When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.
Credit: Amazon Prime
I think anyone with an Amazon Prime Video subscription probably understands that Alan Ritchson is jacked, whether or not they watched Reacher Season 4. The man is splashed all over the home screen on the streamer between his various movies and his very popular TV show. He's a big, fit guy, and as a gym girlie myself, I know this takes dedication and diligence. I just didn't realize the "high high volume" of reps he was putting in.
Ritchson recently sat down with Thomas DeLauer Podcast, and explain his strategy for staying swole. Some of this involves eating right and throwing in a lot of HIIT cardio with sprints and the Stairmaster, the latter of which does not always go over so well. Some of this is because he literally likes to do four sets at 25 reps of a given exercise.
Gym newbies are often taught to do three sets of eight for each exercise, and maybe push to nine or 10 before going up a plate or free weight. People who are more intermediate or advanced often throw in extra sets or increase reps at a lower weight to keep things interesting, so it's not like a giant surprise Alan Ritchson might do longer rep sets. BUT 100 reps for one exercise is a lot.

#ritchson #reps #exercise

The sportswear giant’s shares were down ahead of the open Tuesday and on track to close at a fresh 13-year low.

#sportswear #shares #track #fresh

Even famed "bond king" Bill Gross is warning investors about the risks of owning longer-term bonds, arguing that excessive debt and current macroeconomic conditions have made them increasingly risky. But his recommendation comes with one important exception.
In a Sept. 30 op-ed for the Financial Times, Gross, who co-founded ***** et management giant Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO), put it bluntly: "Don't own bonds."
Dave Ramsey warns nearly 50% of Americans are making 1 big Social Security mistake. Here's what it is and 3 simple steps to fix it ASAP
The tax breaks in Trump's 'big beautiful bill' expire after 2028. Here are 4 reasons why retirees can't afford to waste time
Jeff Bezos backs a platform that lets anyone invest in rental homes for as little as $100 — 6 ways to build wealth like a landlord without actually being one

#gross #bill #bonds

Sebastian Stan made Fjord before becoming a father. In his latest conversation with Josh Horowitz on Happy Sad Confused, the actor described returning to the film with a different perspective.
"What are these things that I grew up with that I should pass on to my kid?" he asked, according to Entertainment Weekly. He was also considering which experiences had not served him well and should not be repeated.
Stan, 44, and his partner, actress Annabelle Wallis, welcomed their first child in July. PEOPLE confirmed the birth on Aug. 3; the couple had not shared further details about the baby at that point.
In Cristian Mungiu's drama, Stan and Renate Reinsve play Mihai and Lisbet Gheorghiu. The film won the Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival.
Mihai is a devout Romanian father who moves with his Norwegian wife and their five children to a remote coastal village. The children become friends with a neighboring family despite differences in their upbringing, while the adults' strict beliefs attract increasing scrutiny, according to NEON's synopsis.

#father #horowitz

Lori Loughlin's post-divorce life is shaping up in a way she didn't see coming!
The "Full House" star is embracing a more adventurous chapter after ending her nearly three-decade marriage to Mossimo Giannulli. Now, she is stepping outside her comfort zone and approaching life differently.
Lori Loughlin, best known for playing Aunt Becky on "Full House," spent nearly 28 years married to fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli before their separation and eventual divorce. The former couple, who share daughters Bella and Olivia Jade, had lived separately for months before Loughlin filed for divorce in September 2026, closing a major chapter of her life.
Adriana M. Barraza/WENN.com/ MEGA
Loughlin never expected a roller coaster ride to become a lesson in how she wanted to live her life. But during a recent trip to Disney World with her "Full House" co-stars, John Stamos refused to let her stay in her comfort zone.

#loughlin #giannulli #nearly

Travis Kelce turned his walk into the stadium into a luxury fashion moment, arriving for the Kansas City Chiefs' latest game in an outfit reportedly worth close to $100,000.
Kelce, 37, wore the look ahead of the Chiefs' game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday, October 4, according to E! News. The NFL star wore a striped black Tom Ford set valued at nearly $7,000, along with Chelsea boots priced at close to $3,000.
His accessories pushed the total much higher: People reported that Kelce carried a $6,500 Bottega Veneta duffle bag and wore Jacques Marie Mage Leonard Aviator sunglasses worth about $1,000. The biggest expense was on his wrist: a Cartier watch valued at about $77,000.
Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency / MEGA
Kelce's wife, Taylor Swift, is a Cartier fan, too. The Grammy-winning pop star, 36, has repeatedly worn pieces from the jeweler, including a Cartier Santos Demoiselle watch and a Panthère de Cartier necklace, according to GQ. She also accessorized her surprise appearance for Dakota Johnson's Saturday Night Live hosting stint on Saturday, October 3, with a Cartier Love Unlimited bracelet, Page Six reported.

#cartier #kelce #chiefs

"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links."
Jennifer Lawrence is back with another dose of style inspo, and this time, she's bringing her summer favorites into fall.
Stepping out in New York City on Friday, October 2, the Hunger Games lead headed to dinner with a friend, wearing an autumnal take on one of the sunny season's go-to footwear choices: the classic flip flop.
BACKGRID
Throughout the heat-wave months, stars such as Kylie Jenner, Hailey Bieber, and Katie Holmes turned to Khaite and Gianvito Rossi for '90s-inspired flip flop heels with delicate kitten stilettos. And elsewhere, Kendall Jenner, Zoë Kravitz, Rosé, and fellow minimalist It girls lived in barely-there thong flip flops from the Row. But for the fall, Lawrence selected a chunkier, sturdier alternative: a black pair with wide straps and a comfy platform base that offered a bit of elevation from the NYC streets.

#magazines #stepping #york

Astronomers say they have directly detected the first-ever radio emission from a planet outside the solar system. The signal, however, is evidence of a colossal magnetic field — not intelligent life.
“I know radio signals are **** ociated with searches for extraterrestrial intelligence,” said Edo Berger, a professor of astronomy at Harvard University. “But this is something very different.”
The discovery, described in a new paper awaiting publication in a peer-reviewed journal, traces repeating radio bursts that appear to come from the exoplanet Beta Pictoris b, located 63 light-years from Earth — a short distance, astronomically speaking. The gas giant, about 12 times the mass of Jupiter, is one of three planets orbiting a young star that is 1.75 times as massive as the sun.
Processes **** ociated with the planet’s magnetic field produce the radio emission, according to Berger, a researcher at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Specifically, the detection involves auroras similar to Earth’s northern lights — the spectacular displays sparked by magnetic storms involving charged particles from the sun. “In order to see radio waves that extend all the way to the frequencies that we observed, you need an incredibly strong magnetic field,” added Berger, a coauthor of the paper posted September 15 to the preprint platform ArXiv.
New evidence deepens mystery of moon’s ancient magnetic field

#radio #evidence

Hollywood icon Judi Dench is speaking out against retail giant Petco over alleged mistreatment of birds.
The 91-year-old Oscar winner sprang into action after watching a PETA investigation depicting disturbing conditions at a "mass breeding factory in Petco's supply chain."
Page Six Hollywood reported Friday, October 2, that Dench did not mince words in a letter to Petco CEO Joel Anderson.
"The footage revealed that thousands of parakeets were confined to cramped, filthy cages with no opportunity to fly, explore, or engage in the natural behaviors that make them who they are," Dench wrote in part, per the outlet. "Some birds suffered severe injuries, including a bird who had lost an eye and a chick whose wing had shriveled, blackened, and fallen off."
ZUMAPRESS.com / MEGA

#petco #peta #page

Elon Musk and his on-and-off girlfriend have broken up.
In a post shared on X on Friday, October 2, Shivon Zilis, who shares four children with the Tesla cofounder, 55, revealed that Musk had let her "go" with "no warning" just a week after seemingly being "in love."
"I feel happy that I got to show Elon how it feels to be deeply understood, nurtured, and peacefully loved with stability and gentleness. Given the tumultuous nature of his early life, his often tortured soul, and how hard he fights for humanity, I wanted him to feel the deepest and most stable form of love this world can provide. My heart is full knowing I got to do that, and I hope it leaves a lasting good effect," Zilis, 40, wrote.
Calling her and their four children together, twins Strider and Azure, 4, Arcadia, 2, and Seldon, 1, his "safe ******* e," Zilis said their home life served as a place for the tech giant to unwind after tough days in the field.
"We were always his safe ******* e. A place where all of us were overjoyed to see him and one that was always full of happiness and love, not war, in contrast to his otherwise militant existence (a needed break from the battlefield where he could recharge his heart and soul before heading back out)," the director of operations and special projects at Neuralink continued. "I loved being that counterbalancing place of safety, sense of calm, and love — and delighted in bringing a smile back to his face when he was down."

#love #musk #children #life

Stars, patrons and fashionistas descended upon Lincoln Center Thursday night for the annual New York City Ballet Fall Fashion Gala. Now in its 14th year, the gala has become one of the fall social calendar's most anticipated events, not only for a night of dance but for the couture costumes as well.
Guests in attendance included Sarah Jessica Parker, the gala's founding chair, as well as Stevie Nicks, Julia Fox, Fran Drescher, Andy Cohen, Nicole Ari Parker, Bridget Everett and more who promenaded down the red carpet and onto the plaza for ***** tails by the fountain before the supper ball.
More from WWD
New York Magazine Celebrates First Men's Style Issue With Mike Faist, Brandon Flynn and More
Inside Gianvito Rossi's Joyful 20th Anniversary Party in Milan + What's Ahead for Spring 2027

#parker #fall #gala

Queen Mette-Marit of Norway pulled out of a major event due to another health setback
Mette-Marit is battling a respiratory infection following her lung transplant in June
Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra stood in for her mother, joining the King at the official opening of the Norwegian government on Oct. 2
Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway stepped in for her mother, Queen Mette-Marit, at a major royal event.
On Friday, Oct. 2, King Haakon attended the state opening of the 171st Storting —Norway's supreme unicameral legislature and national parliament — in Oslo. His wife was unable to join him due to a respiratory infection.

#queen #crown #alexandra #king

Victor Cruz married Orange Calderon in a civil ceremony in New York City in September
The marriage comes just three months after they announced their engagement in June
The couple first sparked dating rumors in 2024
New York Giants legend Victor Cruz is married!
The former professional football player, 39, tied the knot with DJ and producer Orange Calderon in a civil ceremony in New York City. N.Y.C. jeweler Greg Yuna announced the news on Wednesday, Sept. 30.

#cruz #ceremony

An ancient ground carving that was severely damaged by the administration’s border wall construction was created before Stonehenge and Egypt’s oldest pyramid, according to recently publicized research.
The Las Playas Intaglio, a giant fish carved into the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, is now considered the oldest example in the Americas of a geoglyphic, the ancient art form that is carved into or drawn on the ground.
In April, contractors hired by the Trump administration to make way for a second wall along the Arizona-Mexico border “scraped” a 50-foot swath through the ancient carving, according to the Center for Biological Diversity, which documented the damage.
The intaglio on the ground of the ancestral homeland of the Tohono O’odham and other Indigenous tribes is estimated to be about 2,000 years older than Egypt’s first pyramid and to have been created about 1,500 years before the first construction of Stonehenge and 4,000 years before Peru’s Nazca Lines, researchers have found.
The formerly 272-foot carving had originally been thought to be about 1,000 years old. But the latest research dates the art’s creation to at least 6,500 years ago, and possibly as much as 7,500 years ago.

#years #ground #stonehenge #border

SK Hynix is exploring something it has never done before: manufacturing memory chips in the United States.
Reuters reported on September 16 that the Korean memory giant is discussing several possibilities with Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), including leasing part of Intel's long-delayed Ohio complex or forming a venture involving Intel and large cloud customers. SK Hynix said no specific plan has been finalized.
For Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU), the talks matter because one of its strongest strategic advantages is being the major U.S.-based memory producer while AI has made DRAM and HBM increasingly scarce.
Intel has committed enormous capital to Ohio, with the broader project potentially reaching around $100 billion over time. Delays have pushed planned production into the next decade. A tenant or joint-venture partner could therefore help Intel share the financial burden of developing the Ohio site rather than relying entirely on its own foundry demand to justify the buildout.
That is the bull case. The bear case is that exploratory talks are a long way from revenue. Bringing advanced Korean memory production to the U.S. could face cost problems, technology-transfer restrictions and objections from Seoul. Intel still needs its core manufacturing roadmap to work.

#long

Giants pass rusher Brian Burns' season appears to be over.
Burns is believed to have suffered a torn ACL on Sunday, according to Adam Schefter.
The injury is a devastating one for the Giants' defense. Burns has started every game for the Giants since they traded for him in 2024, and last year he had a career-high 16.5 sacks.
Burns is in the third year of the five-year, $141 million contract he signed in 2024.
Until late last week, Burns was expected to miss Sunday's game because of the low ankle sprain he suffered the week before. Instead he played, and played what turned out to be his last game of the season.

#season #played

Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) fiscal 2026, which ended June 30, was arguably the strongest year in the software giant's history. Revenue grew 18% to $331.8 billion. Net income jumped 31% year over year, to $133.7 billion.
Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) is approaching that number from a different direction. The memory specialist earned $8.5 billion in its fiscal 2025.
Missed AI's "Act 1"? Act 2 Could Be 15x Bigger. Most investors think they missed the AI boat because they didn't buy Nvidia in 2005. But according to our ***** ysts, we're only at the end of "Act 1"—the R&D phase. "Act 2" is the global rollout. Continue »
But for the fiscal fourth quarter of 2026, which ended in early September, management guided to earnings of $30.73 per diluted share, plus or minus $1.00, on a generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) basis. On about 1.15 billion diluted shares, the guidance works out to about $35 billion of profit in one quarter (about four times what the whole prior fiscal year produced).
Here's my prediction: In fiscal 2027, Micron will earn more than Microsoft. That means beating the year Microsoft is now in, not the one it just reported. It's a bold call, and it relies almost entirely on the price of memory.

#Microsoft #quarter

The transition toward renewable energy is creating massive opportunities for infrastructure providers. Eos Energy Enterprises (NASDAQ:EOSE) and GE Vernova (NYSE:GEV) represent two distinct ways to play this trend in 2026.
Eos focuses on specialized zinc-based batteries for long-duration energy storage. GE Vernova is a diversified giant that services a massive portion of the world's electricity grid. Comparing these two helps clarify whether you prefer a high-growth disruptor or an established power leader.
Eos Energy Enterprises produces aqueous zinc batteries designed as a safer, scalable alternative to lithium-ion. It operates primarily within the industrial stocks **** e, targeting utilities and commercial developers. Customer concentration like this adds a layer of risk to the business, as two clients accounted for approximately 70% of total revenue in 2025.
In FY 2025, revenue reached approximately $114.2 million. This represents growth of nearly 631.8% compared to the prior fiscal year. The company reported a pre-tax net loss of roughly $969.6 million, resulting in a negative net margin of approximately 849.1%.
As of its December 2025 balance sheet, the company had a debt-to-equity ratio of -1.0x. This value indicates that total liabilities exceed shareholder equity. The current ratio, which measures the ability to cover short term obligations with short term **** ets, was approximately 4.9x, while free cash flow was nearly negative $265.0 million.

#enterprises #massive #Growth

Anthropic's initial public offering (IPO) appears to be on pace to take place in late October or early November. Right now, it is difficult for retail investors to get a stake in the artificial intelligence (AI) giant, which is one of the fastest-growing businesses in the world.
But there is an investment you could make that would get you sizable indirect exposure to Anthropic ahead of its listing. Zoom Communications (NASDAQ: ZM), the leading cloud video conferencing company, bought a stake in Anthropic back in May 2023, and that investment could now be worth billions.
Missed AI's "Act 1"? Act 2 Could Be 15x Bigger. Most investors think they missed the AI boat because they didn't buy Nvidia in 2005. But according to our ***** ysts, we're only at the end of "Act 1"—the R&D phase. "Act 2" is the global rollout. Continue »
Let's see whether that makes Zoom stock a buy right now.
Zoom made a $51 million investment in Anthropic in May 2023, and that has turned out to be one of the smartest decisions the company has ever made (maybe even smarter than its choice to go public right before the pandemic).

#investment #missed

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) is about to significantly expand its operations in Venezuela. The company's CFO, Eimear Bonner, revealed at a Barclays conference on September 8 that the American oil giant plans to more than double the number of oil rigs it operates in the country as part of its five-year plan ‌to increase output.
The statement follows the company's recent announcement that its joint venture partnerships in Venezuela would invest more than $7 billion to more than double oil ⁠output to 600,000 barrels per day by 2031. The current production from Chevron's three Venezuelan JVs totals around 290,000, which is all exported to the United States.
The move builds on Chevron's longstanding presence in Venezuela, as it was the only American oil major that continued operating in the country under a special US license, allowing it to produce and export oil despite the sanctions.
The expansion comes alongside a much larger agreement between Washington and Caracas announced this month, which gave the US majority control over around 20% of Venezuela's proven crude reserves. The White House has now invited American oil companies to revive and modernize the South American country's oil infrastructure and more than double its crude production in the next few years.
Chevron has maintained operations in Venezuela since 1923 and even stayed through the nationalizations that forced ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips to exit in 2007. This gives it a significant competitive advantage, since it already has a longstanding relationship with the state-owned PDVSA and extensive experience operating in the country's complex regulatory environment.

#around

Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) is a global group of energy and petrochemical companies with a presence in over 70 countries. The stock has delivered gains of over 23% since the beginning of 2026 and even hit its all-time high earlier in March, driven primarily by soaring oil prices and solid earnings amid supply disruptions in the Middle East.
Following a slight pullback over the last few months, Shell has started to regain momentum, and Morgan Stanley expects the rally to continue. On September 3, the investment bank upgraded SHEL from 'Equal Weight' to 'Overweight', while also raising its price target from $81.60 to $101.30. The target boost implies an upside of 9% from the current levels and even exceeds Shell's previous record high of almost $95 per share achieved earlier this year.
Morgan Stanley noted that the concerns surrounding Shell's long-term resource longevity have now eased, with the company now positioned to sustain production growth through 2030 and stabilize output thereafter. The ******* yst firm believes that while the stock has been weighed down due to its dividend policy, there is now "potential for a significant acceleration. As a result, Morgan Stanley promoted SHEL to top-pick status.
Shell completed the acquisition of ARC Resources earlier this month, addressing the resource-depletion concerns that have weighed down its valuation. The $16.4 billion deal has significantly expanded the energy giant's gas reserves and will boost its production by 370,000 boed. Additionally, the strategic move expands Shell's exposure to the North American gas market and bolsters its position in a region that is emerging as a key player in the global LNG supply.
Shell's recent upstream investments provide further support to Morgan Stanley's bullish thesis. The company announced earlier this month that it had agreed to acquire a 30% interest in BP's Conifer exploration prospect in the US Gulf, and a 50% stake in the Tupinamba exploration block in Brazil's Santos Basin. Additionally, it also recently signed a preliminary agreement for the acquisition of production rights over Ghana's South Deepwater Tano Cape Three Points ‌oil and gas block.

#shel #production #energy #Stock

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) has substantially outperformed the wider market this year, supported by an unusually sharp surge in global refining margins as the prolonged Iran crisis has significantly tightened global refining capacity and reduced supplies of gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel.
With Marathon up by over 150% since the beginning of 2026, there are now concerns that the stock may have topped out. However, the ****** ysts over at Morgan Stanley are convinced that the rally still has further room to run. On September 14, Morgan Stanley ****** yst Joe Laetsch significantly raised the firm's price target on MPC from $265 to $453, while reaffirming an 'Overweight' rating on the shares.
The target boost reflects an upside of over 9% from the current price level and even exceeds the stock's record high of just under $411 per share achieved earlier this month. The Morgan Stanley update comes amid broader Wall Street optimism surrounding the American refining giant, with ****** ysts from Raymon James, UBS, and several others also improving their respective outlooks on MPC.
Morgan Stanley's vote of confidence suggests that Wall Street expects the ongoing refining upcycle to last longer than previously expected, especially given the fresh wave of attacks between Washington and Tehran. Even if the conflict in the Middle East subsides, the region's refined fuel output is expected to remain relatively tight, since the damaged or idled refineries in the Middle East are likely to take some time to return to full operations.
As the largest refiner by volume in the United States, Marathon has significant operating leverage to capitalize on the current high-margin environment. The company already demonstrated its ability to translate the high crack spreads into material earnings when it delivered an almost fourfold increase in profits in the second quarter.

#morgan #marathon #stanley #middle