Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) is offering a dividend yield of roughly 6% today. That is well above the roughly 1% yield on offer from the S&P 500 index (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) and the 1.4% average yield of pharmaceutical stocks. There are good reasons for the negative view of Pfizer, but investors may be ignoring the company's over 100-year history of success. Here's why you may want to consider buying this out-of-favor dividend stock while others are fearful.
Pfizer's stock rocketed higher during the coronavirus pandemic, as investors myopically focused on the company's COVID vaccine. When COVID turned out to be a less serious long-term threat than originally believed, Wall Street dumped Pfizer. At this point, the stock is down more than 50% from its 2021 high. That is a big part of the story behind the high yield.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
However, there's another piece that is more fundamental to the pharmaceutical industry. Like all drug makers, Pfizer's drugs receive time-limited patent protections. When patents expire, generic versions of the medications can be produced. That generally leads to a dramatic decline in revenue from Pfizer's drugs. Right now, Pfizer is facing down some notable patent expirations. This is a completely normal dynamic in the pharmaceutical sector.
Patent expirations are why drug companies are always on the lookout for new drugs. The problem is that patent expirations follow a set schedule, but drug development does not. Pfizer's drug pipeline isn't producing major new drugs right now, and it looks like it may have to work through a period in which new drugs won't fully offset revenue lost to patent expirations. This isn't uncommon, either, but investors are likely focusing on the short term rather than the long term when it comes to Pfizer.

#patent #yield #drug #expirations

The "American Dream" costs about $5.3 million over a lifetime, up 4.1% from last year's updated total and faster than wages grew.
The costs of owning a house, paying for new cars and retirement expenses make up nearly 70% of the overall total.
Healthcare and car ownership prices were little changed from last year, but up substantially from five years ago.
The cost of the American Dream is rising faster than our paychecks can cover it.
That's according to an Investopedia ***** ysis of eight classic milestones: owning a home, buying new cars, raising two children and sending them to college, retiring, paying for healthcare, having a wedding, owning pets, and taking a yearly vacation. The lifetime tab, $5.3 million, is up 4.1% from a year ago. By comparison, private-sector wages and salaries in the 12 months through June rose 3.1%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Employment Cost Index.

#dream #last #total

XOM has raised its dividend for 43 straight years, while CVX yields 3.45% with Hess acquisition synergies running 50% above initial targets.
EPD's distributable cash flow covered its 6% distribution 1.9x last quarter, with a trailing payout ratio of just 56% on adjusted cash flow.
Read More: Learn 7 ways to generate income with a $1,000,000+ portfolio (sponsor)
Energy has a reputation for boom and bust, yet the sector's largest companies have turned volatile commodities into some of the market's most reliable income. Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) alone has grown its annual dividend per share for 43 consecutive years. The four large caps below split into two integrated oil majors and two midstream toll-road operators. Each pairs a well-covered payout with strong cash generation, making them natural candidates for a long-term income portfolio.
At a recent price of $163.83, Exxon's annualized forward dividend of $4.12 per share works out to a 2.51% yield. The quarterly payout is $1.03, up from $0.99 after a 4% raise late last year.

#income

Dividend-paying stocks are taking a beating as surging Treasury yields make bonds a more competitive income source, creating a difficult environment for baby boomers who lean on dividend funds and individual stocks to cover living expenses in retirement.
Utilities, real estate, and materials have all experienced share-price declines as climbing bond yields have drawn income-seeking investors away from dividend stocks. The 10-year Treasury yield has remained north of 5%, recently hovering between 5.2% and 5.3%, while the 20-year has hit 5.68% and the 30-year has reached 5.62% — marks last seen more than two decades ago, according to Benzinga.
The pain shows up clearly in fund performance. The Invesco S&P 500 High Dividend Low Volatility ETF (SPHD) lost 7.59% over the trailing month, and the iShares Select Dividend ETF (DVY) shed 6.02% in the same window, according to CNBC. The Vanguard High Dividend Yield Index ETF (VYM) gave back 3.85% over the past month. The WisdomTree U.S. Quality Dividend Growth Fund (DGRW) stands apart, with its heavy tilt toward technology helping limit its one-month loss to just 0.81%.
The Federal Reserve raised its overnight rate by a quarter percentage point on Sept. 16, and markets are pricing in additional increases, keeping pressure on rate-sensitive dividend sectors. The 10-year yield touched 5.342% and the 30-year reached 5.683%, their highest marks in 24 years, driven in part by rising public debt, geopolitical tensions, and the prospect of a prolonged high-rate environment.
Despite the pressure, financial advisors caution retirees against making reactive moves. "The worst thing that a retiree could do is sell a high-quality dividend payer at depressed prices to chase income somewhere else in the stock market just to get higher yield," Timothy Chubb, chief investment officer at Girard, a Univest Wealth Division, told CNBC. Chubb said he would rather own a company growing 4% to 5% annually with a 3% dividend yield than pursue an 8% yield from a deteriorating business.

#Dividend #yield #month #treasury

The pizza dining sector has been in a downsizing mode in 2026 with several chains closing numerous locations for a variety of reasons.
Some of the biggest and most popular chains, such as Pizza Hut and Papa John's, plan to close 100s for restaurants in 2006 to rid themselves of properties that have become a financial burden.
Boston-based pizza dining chain Bertucci's, which has filed for bankruptcy three times in the last eight years, has also closed dozens of locations.
Bertucci's most recently shuttered its last Washington, D.C.-area location with the closing of its Springfield, Va., restaurant at the end of September, according to the Washington Business Journal.
The 45-year-old pizza chain, which at one time had over 100 locations, has 11 remaining restaurants in Massachusetts, Delaware, and Pennsylvania.

#pizza

Options traders price NVDA at 50% odds of hitting $6 trillion by Oct. 30, needing just a 4% gain to roughly $249 a share.
Morgan Stanley restored NVDA as its top chip pick with a $300 target, while TSM's Oct. 15 earnings give the first read on AI foundry demand.
NVDA's revenue surged 106% and net income rose 126% last quarter, yet the stock's 28% year-to-date gain trails the semiconductor sector's 96% return.
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)
No company has ever been worth $6 trillion, yet a CNBC options-pricing ****** ysis put the odds of NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) reaching that level by the end of October at about 50%. The same pricing gave it about 13% odds of crossing within the week of Oct. 5.

#odds #options #trillion #morgan

EPD yields 6.19% and ET yields 6.64%, turning a $100,000 equal split into $6,413 in annual passive income.
Energy Transfer cut its distribution 50% in 2020, while Enterprise has grown its payout for 27 consecutive years without a cut.
Energy Transfer is supplying roughly 900 MMcf/d to Oracle-run data centers, making AI power demand a key growth driver.
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)
Energy pays some of the highest yields in the market, and it carries a risk most income sectors avoid: commodity prices. When crude falls, an integrated major can lean on its refining business. A pure producer sees its cash flow rise and fall with oil and gas prices. A midstream operator collects fees on the volumes moving through its pipelines, plants and export docks, so its cash flow holds up better in a downturn.

#energy #income #yields

Burry is mitigating near-term tax selling in underperforming holdings.
The investor foresees an early end to the artificial intelligence boom, positioning for a 2000–2003 style value equity revival.
Significant capital is being directed into discounted Chinese equities like BYD, while maintaining a cautious stance on Alibaba amidst its infrastructure spending.
Renowned value investor Michael Burry outlined his fourth-quarter portfolio maneuvers in an update on his Cassandra Unchained Substack platform on Monday, revealing how he is positioning around tax-loss harvesting headwinds while building long-term exposure to deeply discounted sectors.
Burry noted that the final quarter routinely brings heightened selling pressure on underperforming equities as investors sell underperforming ***** ets at a loss to offset capital gains.

#burry #positioning #capital #equities

Warren Buffett stepped down from his role as the chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRKA)(NYSE: BRKB) at the end of 2025. During his 60-year tenure, he grew the company into a $1 trillion conglomerate with multiple wholly owned subsidiaries, a $350 billion stock portfolio, and over $350 billion in cash.
Had an investor purchased $500 worth of Berkshire shares when Buffett took the helm in 1965, thatr person would have been sitting on a whopping $24 million by the time Buffett stepped down. However, Buffett was a full-time professional investor, so he always knew the average person would struggle to replicate his results. That's why he regularly advocated for exchange-traded funds (ETF) that track a diversified index like the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC).
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
In his 2013 annual letter to shareholders (published in February 2014), Buffett specifically recommended the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO) because of its exceptionally low fees. While young investors in their 20s and 30s can afford to take more risks, those in their 40s who want to achieve financial security heading into retirement might want to heed Buffett's advice. Here's why I'd buy the Vanguard ETF if I were in that age group.
The S&P 500 is made up of 500 American companies from 11 different sectors of the economy. It has a very strict entry criteria, requiring its members to maintain a market capitalization of at least $22.7 billion, and they must also generate positive earnings. But even after meeting those conditions, a special committee still has the final say over which companies make the cut.

#NVIDIA #signal #flashing

IonQ (IONQ) is a quantum computing company whose stock has been a favorite among speculative buyers and high-volatility traders, thanks to its high beta (3.30 over the last 60 months) and news-driven price action. It's not uncommon to see the stock swinging by double-digit percentages around news, earnings, partnership announcements, or sector sentiment shifts.
But today, we have a rare event.
Domino's Pizza Stock Is Dirt Cheap, With 30% Potential Upside - What's the Best Play?
Markets move fast. Keep up by reading our FREE midday Barchart Brief newsletter for exclusive charts, ***** ysis, and headlines.
IonQ, the volatile quantum stock, is now sitting at 0% IV rank. That means options on IONQ are priced much cheaper than they have been historically, creating an opportunity to go long.

#quantum #high #pizza #best

One of the top companies I'm keeping my eye on right now happens to be among the leading quantum computing companies in North America, and globally.
Shares of Infleqtion (INFQ) have been on a roller coaster ride lately, partly due to the volatility we've seen across this sector.
Here's Another Little-Known Firm Jensen Huang's Nvidia Is Quietly Backing
MediaTek Is Stepping Up Competition Against Qualcomm With a New 2-Nanometer Chip. What This Means for QCOM Stock.
'Even Though It's Bad for Berkshire' Billionaire Charlie Munger Said to Skip Insurance Because 'You're Paying for the Other Fellow's Frauds'

#shares #infleqtion #known #firm

Millions of Americans recently received unwelcome news about their cell phone bills.
In late June, T-Mobile (TMUS) said it was retiring over 1,000 older plans, shifting customers to newer offerings at an added cost of as much as $6 per line per month. And starting in August, AT&T (T) hiked rates on some of its older plans by $10 to $20 and increased a monthly per-line fee by $1.
The changes contributed to a steep 5.9% jump in Americans' wireless bills from July to August alone, according to Consumer Price Index data. It was the largest single-month jump since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began tracking the category nearly three decades ago.
In a twist, last month's rising phone bills may have helped convince the Federal Reserve to implement its first interest rate hike in three years. The steep price jump likely contributed about 10 basis points of August's 0.3% month-over-month rise in core consumer prices, according to Wall Street ******* ysts. The hotter-than-expected jump in this category, which strips out price changes in the particularly volatile food and energy sectors, helped cement expectations for the Fed's 25 basis point hike to benchmark rates last Wednesday.
Read more: How the Fed rate decision affects your bank accounts, loans, credit cards, and investments

#august #plans

Millions of Americans recently received unwelcome news about their cell phone bills.
In late June, T-Mobile (TMUS) said it was retiring over 1,000 older plans, shifting customers to newer offerings at an added cost of as much as $6 per line per month. And starting in August, AT&T (T) hiked rates on some of its older plans by $10 to $20 and increased a monthly per-line fee by $1.
The changes contributed to a steep 5.9% jump in Americans' wireless bills from July to August alone, according to Consumer Price Index data. It was the largest single-month jump since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began tracking the category nearly three decades ago.
In a twist, last month's rising phone bills may have helped convince the Federal Reserve to implement its first interest rate hike in three years. The steep price jump likely contributed about 10 basis points of August's 0.3% month-over-month rise in core consumer prices, according to Wall Street ******* ysts. The hotter-than-expected jump in this category, which strips out price changes in the particularly volatile food and energy sectors, helped cement expectations for the Fed's 25 basis point hike to benchmark rates last Wednesday.
Read more: How the Fed rate decision affects your bank accounts, loans, credit cards, and investments

#Consumer

Definium Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:DFTX) has now delivered a third consecutive positive Phase 3 readout for its LSD-based medication, the second in generalized anxiety disorder. The result puts the company on a viable route toward a potential FDA approval of an LSD-based treatment for generalized anxiety disorder, and considering how closely psychedelic stocks have historically traded on each other's data, the reading carries far more weight than Definium's own ticker.
On September 14, Definium Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:DFTX) announced that its drug DT120, an orally disintegrating tablet formulation of LSD, was successful in Panorama, the company's second late-stage anxiety trial. Over 12 weeks, patients who received a 100-microgram dose experienced a 9.8-point decline on the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, a typical clinical measure, compared to a 4.7-point drop with placebo.
The resulting 5.1-point placebo-adjusted improvement is similar to what the company's first pivotal anxiety trial, Voyage, showed back in August: an 11.6-point improvement versus 6.2 for placebo, a 5.4-point separation that Jefferies called one of the strongest placebo-adjusted efficacy results ever seen in generalized anxiety disorder, and that Stifel simply described as "a clean win."
Psychedelic equities have a history of trading as a group rather than as individual names, and this tendency applies both ways. In February 2026, when Compass Pathways, the sector's other clinical leader developing a psilocybin-based drug for treatment-resistant depression, reported positive late-stage data, shares of Definium Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:DFTX), Atai Beckley, GH Research, and Helus Pharma all rose, some by double digits.
That correlation is significant here because Definium's win is an independent validation of the broader therapeutic argument on which Compass and others are betting: a single dose of a classic psychedelic, administered in a controlled clinical setting, can produce lasting improvements in serious mental health conditions via pathways different from existing SSRIs and other standard-of-care drugs.

#definium #placebo

As a Californian, I can say this: If there are two industries that residents of the Golden State really don't like, it's insurance providers and utilities.
Interestingly, with the state considering wildfire reform legislation, those industries are at odds with one another. That's material for investors considering stocks such as PG&E (NYSE: PCG). The company known to California customers as Pacific Gas & Electric is one of the four major investor-owned utilities in the state, and due to the state having some of the highest utility rates in the U.S., PG&E and friends don't have a lot of fans in the state.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
Of course, investing isn't a popularity contest. There are plenty of stocks that are often vilified in the court of public opinion that also deliver compelling returns. This year, oil equities certainly check that box. But the biggest risk to prospective PG&E investors isn't how Californians feel about the utility. It's the goings-on in Sacramento.
For those who are new to utility stocks, the primary reasons investors have embraced this sector over the years are above-average dividend yields, below-average risk profiles, and, more recently, inroads to the artificial intelligence (AI) trade.

#state #signal

Helfstein estimates META needs 115 million paying Muse subscribers at $20/month to unlock $28 billion in AI revenue, but doubts it happens.
META's Q2 operating margin collapsed from 43% to 31%, while full-year capex guidance soared to a range of $130 billion to $145 billion.
Just released. Our ******* ysts combed the entire stock market and named the ten best stocks to buy right now, and Meta didn't make the cut. Enter your email to see the names that beat METAPLATFORMS. The report is free. Enter your email and see if any of your stocks made the cut.
Jason Helfstein, Oppenheimer's Managing Director and Senior ******* yst covering the Internet sector, laid out a striking scenario in a September 2026 note: Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) would need roughly 115 million paying Muse subscribers at a $20/month price point to generate about $27.5 to $28 billion in annual AI agent revenue. His conclusion, however, was skeptical. For long-term investors, the math frames just how high the bar is for Meta stock to earn a consumer-AI premium on top of its advertising engine.
Ticker

#million

Dow Jones futures will open Sunday evening, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures.
The stock market was mixed, with the 10-year Treasury yield at 5%. The Nasdaq rose modestly, amid continued sector rotations among growth stocks. The S&P 500 largely held its ground but the Dow Jones and small-cap Russell 2000 fell solidly to three-month lows.
Robinhood Markets (HOOD) surged back into a buy zone Friday as part of bullish upside reversal for bitcoin and other crypto plays. Coinbase Global (COIN) flashed an aggressive entry. The iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) also is actionable.
Sandisk (SNDK) and Moderna (MRNA), the top S&P 500 performers so far this year, are in buy areas as well. So is Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), another top-10 S&P 500 stock.
Robinhood stock is on SwingTrader. AMD stock is on the IBD 50.

#futures #jones #Bitcoin #year

The tech industry is struggling to make sense of President Donald Trump's surprise announcement that he is creating an artificial intelligence task force and appointing a czar to oversee the administration's approach to the technology.
Trump, in alengthy Truth Social poston Saturday morning, said he was forming the government body and would also soon name an AI czar to lead it. He offered few details, leaving members of the tech world unsure what the task force would do, who would be involved or how it would operate.
Four representatives for the sector, who were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, told POLITICO that the industry was not widely informed of Trump's decision prior to the Truth Social post.
"Nobody knows what the idea even is," one of the people said. Another said that feedback on the idea was not widely solicited within the industry.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

#task #widely #idea #president

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday signed legislation to increase security for the state's voting systems and protect Californians' ability to cast ballots in an effort to guard against potential interference in the Nov. 3 election, including by the Trump administration.
Newsom pointed to the Trump administration's recent effort to restrict mail-in voting through the U.S. Postal Service, which was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court, and the presence of federal monitors at California polls last year as evidence that Trump "will continue his efforts to interfere with the November election."
"Donald Trump won't stop until he can exert dictatorial control over your free vote and disenfranchise millions of people this November. California will stop him at every opportunity," Newsom said in a statement. "We have no bigger task than fighting to protect the right to vote from interference and meddling — the future of democracy is on the line. These bills today build upon the wall California has built to safeguard our electoral process."
The governor signed the package of bills at the ****** anese American National Museum in Little Tokyo, where a year earlier federal agents gathered outside a political rally he was hosting. Then-Border Patrol Sector Chief Gregory Bovino, who had been leading the immigration operations in California, was among those outside the event, joined by agents in helmets, camouflage, masks and holding guns. Newsom described their presence as political intimidation.
One bill Newsom signed Saturday cites efforts to "weaponize law enforcement authority for political purposes," including Republican "Sheriff Chad Bianco's seizure of ballots in Riverside County," and the election monitors sent by the U.S. Justice Department to polling sites in five counties during a 2025 special election on redistricting.

#political

The dollar index (DXY00) fell from a 7-week high on Friday and finished down by -0.03%. The dollar gave its advance on Friday on weaker-than-expected US economic news that showed Aug manufacturing production and Aug leading indicators unexpectedly declined. Also, Friday's -1% fall in WTI crude oil eased inflation expectations and could persuade the Fed to loosen monetary policy, a bearish factor for the dollar.
The dollar initially moved higher on Friday on weakness in the yen, which fell to a 2-week low today. Higher T-note yields on Friday also supported the dollar. The dollar also has carryover support from Wednesday when the FOMC raised interest rates by 25 bp and signaled another rate hike by the end of the year. The dollar fell from its best level after US
Dollar Gains on Yen Weakness and Higher T-note Yields
Wall Street's Favorite Safe Haven Could Be In Trouble. How Investors Should Play Gold Here.
Stop Missing Market Moves: Get the FREE Barchart Brief – your midday dose of stock movers, trending sectors, and actionable trade ideas, delivered right to your inbox. Sign Up Now!

#Friday #yields

The Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) cryptocurrency is up 5.8% at 2:17 p.m. ET, floating atop a broad surge across the crypto sector. It's the kind of day where you almost expect stablecoins to rise, as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) moved one step closer to permitting token-based trading of stock-type securities.
And Ethereum would benefit directly if tokenized stocks ever get the SEC's final stamp of approval. The news is a day old, but traders needed time to process the situation after a tumultuous week in which the Clarity Act failed to move forward.
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 »
The SEC is allowing a new kind of venue to trade blockchain versions of regularly listed stocks without first registering as a stock exchange. It's temporary, it's capped, and it comes with strings attached.
This isn't retail investors buying tokenized stocks on a public blockchain tomorrow. It's explicitly a placeholder for further announcements. The tokenized securities venue (TSV) designation is essentially a bold but limited experiment.

#stocks #missed #investors

Choosing between a niche equipment provider and a diversified industry **** an requires balancing high growth potential against established stability. Here is how Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) and KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) compare for investors.
Aehr Test Systems focuses on specific stress-testing solutions for power semiconductors and memory, while KLA provides broad process control tools used across the entire chip-making industry. While they both operate in the same sector, their scale and risk profiles differ significantly, making them attractive to different types of portfolios.
Aehr Test Systems designs and sells specialized equipment for the testing and stabilization of semiconductor products in various forms, including wafers and singulated dies. The company focuses on the high-growth silicon carbide market for electric vehicles and high-bandwidth memory for artificial intelligence infrastructure. In its 2026 fiscal year (FY), which ended May 29, its five largest customers accounted for nearly 70% of net sales, and customer concentration like this adds a layer of risk to the business.
In FY 2026, revenue reached $50.0 million, representing a decline of 15.2% compared to the previous year. This contraction followed a period of higher operating costs, resulting in a net loss of $7.1 million for the period. The net margin, which represents the percentage of revenue remaining as profit after all expenses, was -14.3% in the latest fiscal year.
As of its May 2026 balance sheet, the debt-to-equity ratio is zero, indicating that the company has no debt relative to its shareholder equity. The current ratio, which measures a company's ability to cover short-term liabilities with short-term **** ets, is 10.3x. Free cash flow, defined as cash from operations minus capital expenditures, was a negative $5.4 million for the fiscal year ended in May.

#year #equipment

If you are looking for reliable high yields in the energy sector, Energy Transfer (NYSE: ET) is likely to be high up on the list of options. And Wall Street really likes the stock, with 19 of the 21 ***** ysts covering it rating it a buy or strong buy. And yet, I just can't get myself to buy it, instead owning lower-yielding Enbridge (NYSE: ENB). Here's why Energy Transfer's 6.3% yield, despite distribution coverage of 2.2x, isn't enough to get me to buy it.
Before getting to Energy Transfer, I want to highlight some facts about Enbridge, the North American pipeline giant I actually bought. For starters, Enbridge's yield is 5.8%, roughly half a percentage point lower. That's a big difference, as buying Energy Transfer would increase my income stream by nearly 9%.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
I can totally understand where a dividend investor would buy Energy Transfer for the added yield. But there's a big difference when you consider dividend history. Enbridge has increased its dividend annually for 31 consecutive years. Energy Transfer cut its distribution in 2020 during the COVID pandemic, right when most investors would probably have preferred dividend consistency. To Energy Transfer's credit, it lived up to its promise at the time to reduce leverage and return to distribution growth. In fact, the distribution is now above its level prior to the cut. And the cut was probably the right decision to make for the business.
But that distribution cut was a hit for unitholders. And it comes after another questionable situation back during the 1996 energy market downturn. At that point, Energy Transfer agreed to buy peer Williams (NYSE: WMB), but got cold feet. In an effort to scuttle the deal, Energy Transfer issued convertibles that appeared to protect insiders from a dividend cut, if one were made. The Williams deal was canceled, and the convertibles never became an issue, but it raised material trust issues for me.

#distribution #Dividend #yield

Millions of Americans recently received unwelcome news about their cell phone bills.
In late June, T-Mobile (TMUS) said it was retiring over 1,000 older plans, shifting customers to newer offerings at an added cost of as much as $6 per line per month. And starting in August, AT&T (T) hiked rates on some of its older plans by $10 to $20 and increased a monthly per-line fee by $1.
The changes contributed to a steep 5.9% jump in Americans' wireless bills from July to August alone, according to Consumer Price Index data. It was the largest single-month jump since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began tracking the category nearly three decades ago.
In a twist, last month's rising phone bills may have helped convince the Federal Reserve to implement its first interest rate hike in three years. The steep price jump likely contributed about 10 basis points of August's 0.3% month-over-month rise in core consumer prices, according to Wall Street ***** ysts. The hotter-than-expected jump in this category, which strips out price changes in the particularly volatile food and energy sectors, helped cement expectations for the Fed's 25 basis point hike to benchmark rates last Wednesday.
Read more: How the Fed rate decision affects your bank accounts, loans, credit cards, and investments

#month #americans #august #older

Von Der Leyen's State of the Union address noted Europe needs to rebalance unfair trade, cut red tape, and strengthen its industrial and strategic autonomy.
But Euratex said it regretted that industrial competitiveness failed to muster as much attention as other issues in the address.
The trade body is calling on the Commission to match the political commitments with an equal sense of urgency on industrial competitiveness, and to place manufacturing sectors, such as textiles, more firmly at the centre of its agenda in the months ahead.
"Europe cannot build a strong defence, lead the green and digital transitions, or protect its social model on a weakening industrial base. Competitiveness is not just one chapter of the European project – it is the foundation all the others are built on; when we get that right, everything else becomes possible.", states Dirk Vantyghem, director general, Euratex.
Specifically, Euratex is urging action on trade-defence measures including stronger customs enforcement and imports monitoring for textile products, with particular regard to the trade deficit with China, which has "reached a tipping point."

#defence #state

Property and casualty insurer Progressive (NYSE: PGR) is probably best known for selling auto insurance. That's a highly competitive segment of the industry, but the company has proven its chops, reporting a strong combined ratio of 87.3% in the second quarter of 2026. Is the roughly 10% pullback from the 52-week high, and about 25% drawdown from 2025's peak, as of this writing, enough to make the stock a buy? Probably not if you are a value investor.
The combined ratio is a measure of profitability in the insurance sector, with numbers below 100% indicating that a company is earning more from premiums than it costs to support those premiums and cover claims. Progressive has a strong history of running its business well on this front. Basically, it is a good business. But paying too much for a good business can turn it into a bad investment, as Benjamin Graham was fond of saying (Graham notably helped train Warren Buffett).
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
So the real question here is whether the drawdowns noted above were sufficient to make Progressive's valuation attractive. The answer there isn't clean cut. For example, the price-to-sales ratio of 1.4x is in the middle of the historical range of roughly 0.5x to 2.2x. If anything, the P/S ratio is kind of toward the high side. The same general story holds with the price-to-book ratio. So these two metrics hint at a stock that isn't expensive, but it also isn't trading at bargain-basement prices.
The price-to-earnings ratio is a bit more positive, with the 11.1x P/E toward the lower end of its historical range. And the average insurance company has a P/E ratio of around 11.8x, so this makes Progressive look reasonably priced. Only Progressive's P/B ratio is 3.7x compared to the industry average of 1.7x, so the broader industry comparison still isn't a clear-cut win.

#ratio #progressive

On September 15, Guggenheim ****** yst Michael Ciarmoli initiated coverage of almost two dozen defense stocks, with a bullish, sector-wide buy-the-pullback call.
He issued 13 Buy ratings with an average upside of roughly 50%, with the standout being Applied Aerospace & Defense, Inc. (NYSE:AADX). The ****** yst sees the stock around $30, up by about 150% from the share's closing price that day.
Ciarmoli described AADX as a "merchant supplier of established and proven military subsystems and components". The ****** yst believes the company is well positioned to benefit from favorable growth trends across the aerospace, defense, and ****** e industries.
Several defense stocks have struggled since the advent of the Iran war. Investors are also concerned about the possibility of a split Congress after the midterm elections, which could result in a spending gridlock.
However, Ciarmoli says the fears are overblown. The Guggenheim ****** yst is urging investors to be buyers on the pullback. He expects the current trend of increased spending on autonomous systems, ****** e, and replenishing depleted stockpiles to sustain.

#pullback

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), the leading chip manufacturer, closed at $108.80, up 7.67%. Shares rose after news reports yesterday of a possible tie-up with SK Hynix (NASDAQ:SKHY). They continued to rise today, even though the South Korean firm issued a statement saying that nothing has been finalized.
Trading volume reached 147.2 million shares, coming in about 35% above its three-month average of 109.0 million shares.
The S&P 500 closed at 7,638, up 1.14%, while the Nasdaq Composite finished at 26,418, up 1.69%. Among semiconductors, Advanced Micro Devices closed at $545.09, up 6.36%, and Qualcomm closed at $188.71, up 2.09%, as chip-sector strength and memory-share momentum lifted the group.
Chip stocks rallied today after a rough week in which interest rate hikes and tech leaders' calls for a slowdown in artificial intelligence (AI) development weighed on the sector. Intel got an extra boost from a deal that may not even materialize: Even a whisper that SK Hynix might, possibly, maybe lease part of its Ohio complex or enter into a joint venture proved tantalizing to investors.
The difficulty with these types of speculative price jumps is that they often aren't sustainable. SK Hynix saying it is "exploring various options" is a long way from signing a deal. More concrete news? Barclays upgraded the stock from "Underperform" to "Overweight." Ultimately, Intel is well-placed to benefit from growing AI demand, but finding a client for its foundry business -- whether or not that's SK Hynix -- would represent a significant win.

#hynix #chip #saying

During the September 14 episode of Mad Money, Jim Cramer addressed the broader tech sector pullback and mentioned Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) as an attractive option for investors looking past short-term volatility. He stated:
Well, it's a tough time to come out to San Francisco, a day when the whole AI complex is getting hammered because Anthropic and OpenAI seem to be, I don't know… pulling in their horns. Actually, I think there's some real bargains in this group. Take Broadcom, the maker of chips, networking equipment, and tech infrastructure and software with a stock that's down more than 10% over the past month. At the beginning of this month, Broadcom reported a strong set of results, issued a spectacular multi-year forecast, but their guidance for the current quarter was, I don't know, viewed by some as in line.
The stock got slammed. I think Broadcom's still on track to put up some incredible growth because they're at the heart of the AI ecosystem because the company's never let us down in all the years my Charitable Trust has owned it. And down here, roughly 150 points below its June high, the stock may be too cheap to ignore.
Recent financial reports from Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) highlights the scale of expansion driving its core semiconductor and infrastructure divisions. Total revenue for the fiscal third quarter reached $29.6 billion, representing an 85.5% increase compared to the same period in the previous year. Artificial intelligence semiconductor revenue surged 221% to $16.7 billion, accounting for roughly 56% of total revenue. Remaining performance obligations climbed significantly to $179.2 billion, providing substantial visibility into future contracted revenue. Broadcom also serves major hyperscale AI customers including Alphabet and Meta Platforms.
Management raised its full year guidance to $58 billion from $56 billion in artificial intelligence revenue, while projecting $115 billion for fiscal 2027 and $230 billion for fiscal 2028. The figures highlight a deep integration into the enterprise artificial intelligence ecosystem through custom accelerators and high-speed networking solutions.

#down #year #fiscal #NASDAQ

Fenimore ***** et Management, an investment management company, released its Q2 2026 investor letter. The letter can be downloaded here. U.S. equity markets saw broad gains in Q2, driven by strong corporate earnings, economic resilience, and enthusiasm for artificial intelligence (AI). Major indices reached all-time highs, though the energy sector declined. Continued earnings growth, especially among AI-related investments, supported the rally. Technology, particularly semiconductors, led performance as demand for AI infrastructure surged. Despite macroeconomic uncertainties and interest rate influences, Fenimore remains committed to investing in high-quality businesses. The Fenimore Small Cap Strategy returned 9.51% in the quarter, lagging the Russell 2000 Index's 21.49% gain. The underperformance was largely driven by avoiding lower-quality tech stocks linked to data center expansions. Additionally, reviewing the Fund's top five holdings could help identify its best picks for 2026.
In its second-quarter 2026 investor letter, Fenimore ***** et Management highlighted Ryan Specialty Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:RYAN). Ryan Specialty Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:RYAN) is a specialty insurance services company that provides distribution, underwriting, product development, administration, and risk management services. On September 17, 2026, Ryan Specialty Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:RYAN) closed at $40.03 per share. The one-month return of Ryan Specialty Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:RYAN) was -8.32%, and its shares lost 25.53% over the past 52 weeks. Ryan Specialty Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:RYAN) has a market capitalization of $10.15 billion.
Fenimore ***** et Management stated the following regarding Ryan Specialty Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:RYAN) in its Q2 2026 investor letter:
"We initiated a position in Ryan Specialty Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:RYAN), which we had previously owned after its initial public offering. The insurance industry has seen softness in rates. While RYAN's model differs from traditional retail brokerage, the company released results citing a volatile environment which led to a decrease in their earnings outlook for the year. We're encouraged by the business's long-term prospects and, in our opinion, its legendary leader Pat Ryan. He is also purchasing shares of RYAN's stock during this weakness."
Ryan Specialty Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:RYAN) is not on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. According to our database, 32 hedge fund portfolios held Ryan Specialty Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:RYAN) at the end of the second quarter, compared to 35 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Ryan Specialty Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:RYAN) as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.