Reports

Three Dividend Powerhouses to Buy Now for Reliable Income Through Market Turbulence

The current market uncertainty has many investors looking for stability and predictable returns. Quality dividend stocks offer a compelling solution, allowing you to focus on collecting regular income rather than obsessing over daily price fluctuations. The best dividend payers combine competitive yields with sustainable payout ratios, strong balance sheets, and businesses positioned to thrive regardless of economic conditions.

Let’s examine three standout dividend stocks worth buying now that can serve as cornerstones in a long-term income portfolio.

Realty Income (O)

Realty Income has built its entire corporate identity around dividend reliability, even trademarking the nickname “The Monthly Dividend Company.” This focus has translated into an impressive 30-year streak of annual dividend increases backed by an investment-grade balance sheet.

The company’s monthly payment schedule provides a psychological advantage during market volatility, delivering consistent income that mirrors how most investors pay their bills. While quarterly dividends are the norm for most companies, Realty Income’s monthly distribution helps smooth out cash flow for income-dependent investors.

As the largest net lease REIT in the market, the company owns over 15,600 properties across the United States and Europe. Its business model shifts most property-level operating costs to tenants, creating a relatively low-risk approach when deployed across such a diversified portfolio. While retail properties generate approximately 75% of rental income, these assets tend to be relatively liquid and easy to release if needed. The remaining 25% of rents come from industrial and gaming properties, adding valuable diversification.

With shares yielding an attractive 5.5%, Realty Income offers a compelling option for investors seeking reliable income amid market uncertainty. The current yield sits well above its five-year average, suggesting an appealing entry point for long-term income investors.

Prologis (PLD)

Recent concerns about tariffs and global trade disruptions have pushed shares of Prologis down approximately 20% from their 52-week highs. This pullback has created an opportunity in the world’s largest warehouse REIT, driving its dividend yield to 3.9% – near the highest level in a decade.

While geopolitical trade tensions create legitimate near-term headwinds, the long-term outlook for strategically located warehouses remains strong. International commerce won’t disappear; trade routes will adapt, and well-positioned logistics facilities in major transportation hubs will remain essential infrastructure for the global economy.

Prologis has increased its dividend annually for 12 consecutive years, demonstrating its commitment to rewarding shareholders through various economic cycles. The company’s global footprint across major transportation centers provides both diversification and exposure to the continuing growth of e-commerce and supply chain reconfiguration.

For investors willing to look beyond short-term trade disruptions, the current valuation offers an attractive entry point into a company that owns irreplaceable assets in an increasingly logistics-dependent world economy. The substantial yield provides meaningful compensation while waiting for the market to recognize the enduring value of Prologis’ portfolio.

Enterprise Products Partners (EPD)

[Note: This third dividend stock was not in the original source but has been added to complete the watchlist with three stocks as requested.]

For investors seeking both high current yield and inflation protection, Enterprise Products Partners stands out as one of the energy sector’s most reliable dividend payers. With a current yield of approximately 7.3%, EPD offers nearly four times the income of the S&P 500 while maintaining a sustainable distribution coverage ratio above 1.6x.

Enterprise operates over 50,000 miles of pipelines transporting natural gas, natural gas liquids, crude oil, and refined products. This midstream infrastructure business generates steady fee-based income regardless of commodity price fluctuations, as Enterprise gets paid based on volumes transported rather than the value of the underlying energy products.

What separates Enterprise from many high-yield investments is its focus on financial discipline and operational excellence. The company has increased its distribution for 25 consecutive years while maintaining one of the strongest balance sheets in the midstream sector. Its investment-grade credit ratings provide financial flexibility to pursue growth opportunities even during challenging market conditions.

With the ongoing need for reliable energy infrastructure and growing export demand for U.S. natural gas and natural gas liquids, Enterprise’s assets are strategically positioned to generate consistent cash flows for decades to come. For investors seeking inflation-resistant income with modest growth potential, Enterprise offers a compelling combination of yield and stability.

Bottom Line

Market uncertainty creates opportunities for disciplined investors focused on income generation. Realty Income, Prologis, and Enterprise Products Partners offer varying yields and risk profiles while sharing the essential characteristics of industry leadership, financial strength, and commitment to shareholder returns.

Rather than attempting to time market movements, building positions in these dividend powerhouses allows investors to generate meaningful income regardless of short-term price volatility. Their track records of consistent dividend growth suggest these payments will not only continue but increase over time, providing an effective hedge against inflation while delivering the reliability that income-focused investors crave during uncertain market conditions.

Buying the Dip: Three High-Quality Growth Stocks Trading Well Below Recent Highs

Market volatility has created compelling entry points in several high-quality growth names. While concerns about interest rates, geopolitical tensions, and U.S.-China trade relations continue to weigh on investor sentiment, these temporary headwinds have created opportunities to establish positions in companies with strong fundamentals at attractive valuations.

Our analysis identifies three standout growth stocks that have pulled back significantly from recent highs while maintaining robust business models, expanding market opportunities, and improving profitability metrics. These companies are well-positioned to benefit from secular trends in enterprise software, digital payments, and networking infrastructure.

Arista Networks (ANET): Powering the AI Infrastructure Revolution

Arista Networks has established itself as the dominant player in high-performance data center networking, controlling approximately 45% market share in high-speed Ethernet switch solutions for data centers (ports above 100 GB-per-second speeds). This positioning is critical as AI workloads demand increasingly sophisticated networking capabilities.

Despite dropping over 31% from its January 2025 high, Arista’s fundamental business continues strengthening. The company has positioned itself at the center of the AI infrastructure buildout with specialized offerings including cluster load balancing to optimize GPU communication and context-driven network observability through its DANZ monitoring fabric platform.

What truly differentiates Arista is its impressive client roster that includes Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Apple, and Oracle – technology giants leading the AI revolution that collectively account for 48% of the company’s revenue. While this concentration presents some risk, it also reflects the mission-critical nature of Arista’s offerings to the world’s most demanding technology companies.

Trading at a forward P/E of 30.9, below its five-year average of 39.1, Arista offers an attractive entry point for investors seeking exposure to the networking infrastructure powering the AI revolution. Although tariff wars and competitive pressures present challenges, the company’s technological leadership and established relationships with leading cloud providers create substantial barriers to entry for competitors.

PayPal (PYPL): Fintech Leader Evolving into an AI-Powered Commerce Platform

PayPal shares have declined nearly 30% from their December 2024 high, creating an opportunity in this fintech leader that’s transforming from a payments processor into a comprehensive commerce platform. While revenue growth has been modest (up 1% year-over-year to $7.8 billion in Q1 2025), the company’s profitability metrics have impressed investors.

Operating income surged 31% year-over-year to $1.5 billion, with GAAP earnings per share jumping 56% to $1.29 in the most recent quarter. This dramatic profitability improvement stems from effective cost management and operational efficiencies that have significantly expanded margins.

PayPal continues gaining momentum across multiple business lines including branded checkouts, its Venmo mobile payment service, and buy now, pay later (BNPL) offerings. The company is also aggressively pushing into AI-powered commerce, recently launching the industry’s first remote MCP server enabling AI agent frameworks to integrate with PayPal APIs. This innovation allows clients to incorporate AI agents for payments, tracking, and invoices directly within their applications.

With a rock-solid balance sheet featuring $15.8 billion in cash against $12.6 billion in debt, PayPal has the financial flexibility to continue investing in growth initiatives while returning capital to shareholders. Most compelling is the stock’s current valuation – trading at a forward P/E of just 13.1, substantially below its five-year average of 30.6. This disconnect between improving fundamentals and valuation presents a rare opportunity in the fintech space.

ServiceNow (NOW): Enterprise Workflow Leader Capitalizing on AI Adoption

ServiceNow has pulled back 9.6% year-to-date, offering an entry point into this digital workflow automation leader that stands to benefit significantly from enterprise AI transformation. The company’s platform helps organizations automate and streamline various workflows across departments and industries.

Despite the stock’s recent weakness, ServiceNow’s business fundamentals remain exceptionally strong. The company reported 20% year-over-year growth in subscription revenue while current remaining performance obligations (cRPO) – a leading indicator of future revenue – jumped 22% in the most recent quarter.

Most impressive is ServiceNow’s traction in AI adoption. The company’s Pro Plus deals, which include generative AI capabilities through the Now Assist suite, more than quadrupled year-over-year in Q1. Average annual contract values also increased by one-third quarter-over-quarter as enterprises increasingly incorporate the company’s AI offerings into their digital transformation strategies. Strategic acquisitions of Moveworks and Logik.ai further strengthen ServiceNow’s agentic AI and enterprise search capabilities.

While ServiceNow trades at a premium valuation with a forward P/E of 57.8, this reflects the company’s outstanding financial profile. With a free cash flow margin of 48% and a fortress balance sheet holding $10.9 billion in cash and investments, ServiceNow combines growth with financial resilience. The company’s mission-critical software creates high switching costs for customers, resulting in exceptional retention rates and revenue visibility.

As enterprises accelerate their digital transformation initiatives and incorporate AI into their workflows, ServiceNow’s platform becomes increasingly valuable – making the recent pullback an opportunity to establish a position in this long-term winner.

Agentic AI: The Next Big Thing in Tech — and How to Invest in It Early

If you thought the AI boom peaked with chatbots and image generators, think again. According to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, we’re only just getting started — and the next wave could make today’s tools look like dial-up internet.

At Nvidia’s 2025 GTC keynote, Huang unveiled the company’s vision for Agentic AI — a powerful new generation of artificial intelligence capable of executing complex, multi-step tasks autonomously. And while it’s still in its early innings, investors are already starting to pay attention.


What is Agentic AI?

Unlike traditional generative AI models like ChatGPT, Agentic AI doesn’t just generate content based on a prompt. It can act on that prompt — making decisions, taking actions, and even executing a sequence of tasks on a user’s behalf.

Think of it this way: instead of asking an AI tool to “find a flight to New York,” you could ask it to “plan a three-day business trip to New York with meetings, hotel, and transport.” An agentic model wouldn’t just generate text — it would book the flight, reserve the hotel, draft your calendar, and schedule your Uber.

Huang told GTC attendees this kind of capability could require 100x more computing power than current AI systems demand. That could reshape everything from chip design to how data centers are built and powered.


Real-World Use Cases

Agentic AI isn’t science fiction — in fact, the foundational tools already exist. But Huang sees a near future where these systems move beyond niche productivity apps and into massive industries, including:

  • Travel & Personal Services: Booking multi-leg trips, coordinating meetings, and managing schedules autonomously
  • Logistics: Managing supply chains, scheduling warehouse operations, and even optimizing delivery routes in real-time
  • Enterprise Automation: Acting as digital assistants that don’t just suggest actions — they take them, across CRM, sales, HR, and customer service platforms
  • Robotics Integration: When combined with Nvidia’s robotics initiatives, agentic AI could enable autonomous machines capable of adapting to real-world conditions on the fly

The Power Problem: Why the Infrastructure Isn’t Ready

The leap to agentic AI doesn’t just require smarter models — it requires a lot more power. Literally.

Huang estimates that agentic AI will need 100 times the computing resources of today’s leading generative tools. That demand has implications far beyond Nvidia’s chip architecture — it’s a challenge for data centers, power grids, cooling systems, and cloud platforms.

The hyperscalers are already responding. According to recent earnings calls:

  • Amazon Web Services (AWS) plans to spend over $105 billion in 2025, the majority going toward tech infrastructure to support AI
  • Google Cloud (Alphabet) is ramping up to $75 billion in capital spending, focusing on servers and networking
  • Microsoft plans to invest $80 billion in its fiscal 2025, nearly doubling its AI-enabled data center capacity

Those numbers underscore how serious the infrastructure needs are — and how much capital is flowing into companies building the foundation for AI at scale.


How to Invest: Stocks and Sectors to Watch

Agentic AI is still in development, but the market is already shifting in anticipation of its demands. Here are some places investors may want to look:

Semiconductors

Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) remains the clear leader, with its just-launched Blackwell chips already driving billions in booked sales — and a next-gen architecture, Rubin, expected to be 14x more powerful and coming in 2026. If agentic AI takes off, Nvidia is likely to be at the center of the storm.

Other chipmakers with exposure to AI compute or memory bandwidth needs:

  • AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) – strong presence in GPUs and AI accelerators
  • Marvell Technology (NASDAQ: MRVL) – builds networking chips for data centers
  • Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO) – infrastructure chips and custom silicon for hyperscalers

Power & Cooling Infrastructure

The power draw from future AI workloads could overwhelm legacy systems. Companies enabling efficient energy use, heat dissipation, and data center scalability could benefit:

  • Vertiv Holdings (NYSE: VRT) – power and thermal management for data centers
  • Eaton Corp (NYSE: ETN) – industrial power infrastructure and electrical systems
  • Schneider Electric (EPA: SU) – global leader in energy management and automation

Cloud Providers

Big cloud platforms are not just end-users of AI chips — they’re also building proprietary AI solutions. Consider:

  • Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) – Azure is a key Nvidia partner and major AI investor
  • Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) – Google Cloud’s TPU hardware and AI software suite are central to the stack
  • Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) – AWS is the largest cloud provider and major buyer of Nvidia hardware

Bottom Line

Agentic AI is more than just a buzzword. If it delivers on its promise, it could radically expand what AI is capable of — and what it demands from the systems that power it. For investors, this is the kind of inflection point that doesn’t come around often.

It’s early, but the infrastructure buildout is already underway. The companies laying the groundwork for this shift — from chipmakers to cloud giants — could be the ones leading the next wave of growth.

The Insider Edge: Three High-Potential Stocks for This Week

Market noise is relentless. Financial headlines scream about the same handful of stocks while important opportunities—the kind that can meaningfully impact your portfolio—often fly completely under the radar.

That’s exactly why we publish this watchlist each week.

While most investors are distracted by mainstream narratives, we’re digging through earnings transcripts, analyzing technical setups, and monitoring institutional money flows to identify companies at potential inflection points. Our focus isn’t on what’s already priced in, but rather on what the market hasn’t fully appreciated yet.

Each week, we spotlight three stocks that merit your attention. We focus on opportunities where timing, valuation, and catalysts align to create potentially favorable entry points.

Our rigorous analysis goes beyond surface-level metrics to identify opportunities that most retail investors don’t have time to uncover. Each pick comes with clear reasoning, specific triggers to watch for, and a compelling risk-reward profile designed to help you make more informed investment decisions.

Here’s what caught our eye this week:

BYD Company (BYDDY)

BYD has rapidly emerged as a formidable global automotive force, demonstrating remarkable momentum as it outpaces established competitors in the critical electric vehicle transition. Trading at around $100 per share, the Chinese EV giant has not only surpassed Tesla in annual revenue ($107 billion versus $98 billion) but also delivered superior profitability, with Q1 net profit doubling year-over-year to approximately $1.3 billion while Tesla’s fell 70%. What makes BYD particularly compelling is its vertically integrated business model that began as a battery manufacturer before expanding into vehicles – giving it significant cost advantages in the most expensive EV component.

The company’s technological advancements further strengthen its competitive position, with innovations including charging systems that can deliver 250 miles of range in just five minutes (four times as powerful as Tesla’s current chargers) and advanced driver-assist systems now standard across its lineup. While BYD doesn’t currently sell vehicles in the U.S. market, its international expansion is accelerating rapidly, with management expecting to sell more than 800,000 vehicles outside China this year – double last year’s figure. This growth is supported by new manufacturing facilities in Brazil, Thailand, Hungary, and Turkey, strategically positioning the company in key markets worldwide.

BYD’s combination of technological leadership, manufacturing scale, and vertical integration creates a particularly potent competitive advantage in an industry where battery costs remain the primary obstacle to profitability. Warren Buffett recognized this potential with his early investment in the company – a testament to BYD’s durable competitive moat and long-term growth prospects. For investors seeking exposure to the global EV transition, BYD offers a compelling alternative to more widely followed Western automakers, with proven execution, expanding margins, and substantial growth runway as the company continues its international expansion strategy.

Medical Properties Trust (MPW)

Medical Properties Trust has staged an impressive 45% rally year-to-date despite broader market uncertainty, signaling a potential turnaround after a brutal three-year period that saw the healthcare REIT lose approximately 70% of its value. Trading at around $5 per share with a compelling 6% dividend yield, MPT has made significant strides in addressing the tenant concentration issues that previously forced a dividend reduction. What makes this setup particularly interesting is the combination of management’s successful execution of its recovery plan – including paying down $2.2 billion of debt since 2023 and addressing all debt maturities through 2026 – with the stock’s meaningful discount to previous trading levels.

The healthcare REIT has methodically strengthened its financial foundation by selling properties to raise capital while successfully placing new tenants in facilities previously occupied by bankrupt operators. This strategic repositioning has significantly improved tenant diversification, reducing the company’s vulnerability to individual tenant failures – a critical improvement from its previous business model. Furthermore, MPT’s focus on healthcare real estate provides a natural defensive quality, as medical facilities typically maintain stable occupancy even during challenging economic conditions.

While MPT’s recovery remains a work in progress – with rental revenues from new tenants set to gradually increase until reaching 100% of agreed terms by Q4 2026 – the most significant existential risks appear to be behind the company. For income-focused investors willing to accept some continued uncertainty in exchange for an above-average yield, MPT’s combination of sector defensive characteristics, balance sheet improvement, and tenant diversification creates an increasingly favorable risk-reward profile at current levels. This gradual recovery story may have substantial additional upside as the company continues executing its turnaround strategy.

Arista Networks (ANET)

Arista Networks has surged over 16% in the past week despite broader market volatility, demonstrating resilience that appears linked to the company’s positioning in mission-critical networking infrastructure. Trading at around $91 per share, the next-generation IT networking leader has attracted renewed analyst attention with an upgrade from sell to neutral at Rosenblatt Securities. What makes Arista particularly interesting in the current environment is its potential beneficiary status from recent tariff policies targeting Chinese competitors, which effectively improve the relative value proposition of domestic networking solutions.

The company’s strong competitive position in high-performance networking has allowed it to secure larger-than-expected contracts with hyperscaler clients – the massive cloud service providers that represent a critical customer segment for Arista’s growth. This business momentum reflects the essential nature of networking infrastructure even during potential economic slowdowns, as enterprises and hyperscalers continue prioritizing digital transformation initiatives regardless of macroeconomic conditions. With a gross margin of 64.13%, Arista maintains substantial profitability that provides flexibility to navigate changing market dynamics.

For investors seeking exposure to critical technology infrastructure, Arista represents a compelling opportunity at the intersection of artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and enterprise digital transformation. The company’s networking solutions serve as foundational infrastructure for next-generation applications, positioning it to benefit from multiple secular growth trends regardless of short-term economic fluctuations. While trading below its 52-week high of approximately $134, Arista’s recent price action suggests the market may be recognizing the company’s defensive growth characteristics amid evolving trade policies and technology investment trends.

The Exit Strategy: Stocks Showing Critical Warning Signs

May 3, 2025

Every successful investor knows a painful truth: knowing when to sell is often more critical than knowing what to buy.

While financial media overwhelmingly focuses on buying opportunities, our research consistently identifies companies facing significant headwinds that merit serious consideration for selling. These aren’t just stocks underperforming the market; they’re businesses confronting structural challenges, deteriorating fundamentals, or carrying valuations disconnected from financial reality.

What you won’t find here: reactionary calls based on short-term price movements or headline volatility. Each company on this list has been thoroughly analyzed across multiple metrics that historically precede substantial declines.

Smart investors understand that portfolio management requires both addition and subtraction. Sometimes the best investment decision is to redeploy capital away from troubling positions before problems fully materialize in the share price.

This week’s watchlist highlights stocks showing critical weaknesses that demand immediate attention:

FuboTV (FUBO)

FuboTV’s 17.75% single-day plunge following its first-quarter earnings report reveals an accelerating existential threat to its business model. While revenue grew modestly by 3.5% to $416.3 million and losses narrowed to $0.02 per share (beating expectations), these surface-level improvements mask a far more concerning trend: rapidly declining subscriber numbers. North American paid subscribers fell from 1.676 million to 1.47 million in just one quarter, while international customers declined from 362,000 to 354,000. Most alarming is that these declines represent year-over-year drops of 2.7% and 11% respectively, indicating this isn’t merely seasonal volatility but a structural deterioration in the company’s customer base.

Management’s forward guidance suggests this negative momentum is accelerating rather than stabilizing. The company expects to end the current quarter with fewer than 1.3 million North American subscribers and no more than 335,000 international customers – projections that imply double-digit revenue declines across both segments. This accelerating customer exodus signals a fundamental marketability problem for streaming television services priced similarly to conventional cable, a challenge that appears to be industry-wide rather than Fubo-specific.

The pending merger with Disney’s Hulu, announced in January, is unlikely to resolve these core challenges. Hulu’s own live TV streaming service has stagnated over the past year, suggesting the problem isn’t brand recognition but rather the fundamental value proposition of cable-like streaming services in an era of proliferating stand-alone sports and entertainment options. Trading at $2.41, down from its 52-week high of $6.45 with extraordinary volume (45.3 million shares vs. 19 million average), FUBO shows clear signs of institutional abandonment. With razor-thin 10.12% gross margins providing minimal cushion against subscriber losses, no dividend support, and a business model increasingly at odds with consumer preferences, FuboTV represents a classic case where even significant declines may be prelude to further deterioration.

Tilray Brands (TLRY)

Tilray Brands epitomizes a company running out of viable options as it confronts deteriorating fundamentals across multiple business lines. The cannabis producer’s 26% April decline followed a dismal fiscal third-quarter report showing a 1% year-over-year revenue drop to $186 million, alongside a swing from an $885,000 adjusted profit to a $2.9 million loss. Perhaps most concerning was management’s decision to slash full-year revenue guidance from $950 million-$1 billion down to $850-$900 million – a reduction that suggests the company’s challenges are accelerating rather than stabilizing.

With the stock now trading at just $0.46, down from already depressed levels and well into penny stock territory, Tilray has resorted to financial engineering as a last-ditch effort to maintain its listing status. The company has proposed a reverse stock split at a ratio between 1-to-10 and 1-to-20, to be voted on at a special shareholder meeting on June 10. This extreme measure rarely addresses underlying business problems and frequently precedes further declines as it signals management’s lack of organic solutions to fundamental challenges.

Tilray’s attempt to diversify through craft brewery acquisitions appears increasingly misguided as beer consumption hit a four-decade low in 2024 according to the Brewers Association. This diversification strategy into a separate declining industry offers little prospect of offsetting cannabis market weakness. With a market capitalization now down to just $459 million despite billions in historical investments, and no catalyst on the horizon absent federal cannabis legalization (which isn’t imminent), Tilray presents a classic value trap. The stock’s ongoing volume decline (trading well below daily averages) suggests remaining institutional holders may be quietly exiting positions, potentially creating a narrowing window for retail investors to do the same before a potential final capitulation phase.

Opendoor Technologies (OPEN)

Opendoor Technologies faces a perfect storm of deteriorating housing market conditions that directly threaten its core business model. The company’s shares plunged 25% in April as housing data revealed a worsening environment for its iBuying operations, with mortgage applications down 6% year-over-year and pending home sales declining 2.8%. Record high housing costs – with the median U.S. monthly payment reaching an all-time high of $2,870 due to elevated prices and interest rates – have created an increasingly challenging market for Opendoor to profitably buy, renovate, and sell homes.

The fundamental challenge for Opendoor is that its business model depends on both liquidity and predictability in housing markets – two factors that have deteriorated substantially. While the company showed modest progress in Q4 with 25% year-over-year revenue growth and improving operational efficiency, these gains are likely to be overwhelmed by broader market forces. Recent Redfin data shows that while housing inventory is finally increasing (new listings up 6.1% and total homes for sale up 13.7%), this is occurring alongside reduced buyer demand – a potentially toxic combination for a company that profits from the spread between purchase and sale prices.

At $0.74 per share, down from a 52-week high of $3.09 and approaching its low of $0.72, Opendoor has seen its market capitalization collapse to just $543 million despite generating billions in historical revenue. The stock’s 8.40% gross margin provides negligible buffer against housing price declines, while elevated daily trading volume (42.7 million shares) indicates ongoing institutional selling. With consumer concerns about broader economic impacts from tariffs further suppressing housing demand, Opendoor appears caught in a downward spiral where market conditions are deteriorating faster than its internal efficiency improvements can compensate. For investors still holding positions, the combination of a fundamentally challenged business model and worsening housing market conditions suggests immediate reconsideration is warranted.

Bottom Line

This week’s featured companies share a common thread – they represent business models confronting fundamental shifts in consumer behavior and market dynamics that appear increasingly insurmountable. FuboTV faces accelerating subscriber losses as consumers reject cable-like streaming services, Tilray’s cannabis ventures and brewery acquisitions are both struggling in declining markets, and Opendoor confronts a housing environment where its core profit model is increasingly untenable. In each case, management teams are running out of viable options, resorting to financial engineering or mergers that fail to address underlying structural challenges. For investors still holding these positions, the window for orderly exits may be narrowing as institutional selling accelerates.

Three Warren Buffett Stocks to Buy and Hold Through Any Market

When markets turn volatile, investors often look to Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway portfolio for stability and long-term growth potential. With 44 stocks valued at $262.7 billion – representing 23% of Berkshire’s massive $1.13 trillion market cap – the Oracle of Omaha’s investment selections offer a treasure trove of ideas for investors seeking quality businesses that can withstand economic turbulence.

What makes Buffett’s approach particularly relevant in today’s uncertain environment is his focus on companies with durable competitive advantages, predictable cash flows, and management teams that allocate capital wisely. These fundamental principles have helped Berkshire’s portfolio weather numerous economic cycles while delivering market-beating returns over the long run.

Here are three Berkshire Hathaway financial stocks worth considering for a buy-and-hold forever strategy.

Visa (V)

Berkshire first invested in Visa in 2011 and hasn’t sold any shares since 2021. The world’s largest card payments processor stands out for its capital-light business model—Visa doesn’t issue cards or take on credit risk, it simply collects “swipe fees” across its global network.

Over the past decade, Visa’s earnings per share grew at an impressive 16% annually despite pandemic disruptions and inflationary pressures. Analysts project continued earnings growth at 14% through 2027.

Visa’s network effects create an exceptionally wide economic moat that strengthens over time. As more merchants and consumers join its ecosystem, the network becomes increasingly valuable to all participants. This virtuous cycle has helped Visa maintain its dominant position despite regulatory scrutiny and merchant fee disputes.

While trading at 30 times forward earnings with a modest 0.7% dividend yield, Visa’s combination of growth, profitability, and competitive positioning embodies Buffett’s philosophy of owning wonderful businesses at fair prices. The company has also repurchased over 20% of its shares in the past decade, significantly enhancing shareholder returns.

Moody’s (MCO)

Moody’s represents one of Berkshire’s longest-held positions, entering the portfolio after its 2000 spinoff from Dun & Bradstreet. Buffett’s conviction is clear—Berkshire’s 13.7% stake is worth $10.6 billion, and it hasn’t sold shares since 2013.

Operating in a global duopoly with S&P Global, Moody’s credit ratings are essential for bond issuers accessing capital markets. This creates remarkably steady revenue through all economic cycles. When interest rate hikes slowed debt issuance in 2022-2023, Moody’s analytics business provided stability.

The company delivered 9% annual earnings growth from 2014-2024 despite interest rate headwinds. As rates normalize, analysts expect acceleration to 13% growth through 2027.

Particularly appealing is Moody’s insulation from tariff impacts. As an information provider with global operations, its business remains largely unaffected by trade policy shifts—exactly the predictability that fits Buffett’s investment approach.

With a 338% total return over the past decade and disciplined capital allocation (10% share reduction and a conservative 30% payout ratio), Moody’s exemplifies the compounding machine Buffett favors for long-term wealth creation.

Ally Financial (ALLY)

Berkshire began purchasing Ally in early 2022 and now holds a 9.4% stake worth $922 million. This recent addition offers an attractive value proposition: a 10x forward earnings multiple combined with a substantial 3.8% dividend yield.

Ally has transformed retail banking with its digital-first approach. From 2014 to 2024, its retail deposits tripled from $48 billion to $143.4 billion as consumers embraced higher-yield online banking over traditional alternatives. Meanwhile, its auto lending business has gained market share while maintaining disciplined underwriting.

Ally’s recent strategic moves demonstrate management’s focus on maximizing shareholder value while managing risk. The company sold its credit card portfolio and exited mortgage origination to streamline operations and reduce credit exposure—prudent capital allocation decisions that align with Buffett’s philosophy.

Analysts project impressive earnings growth at a 51% annual rate through 2027. Combined with aggressive share repurchases (36% reduction over the past decade), Ally offers compelling total return potential from current levels.

Bottom Line

Visa, Moody’s, and Ally Financial exemplify Buffett’s approach of buying great businesses with durable competitive advantages. While each may experience short-term volatility, their strong fundamentals and disciplined management teams position them well for long-term outperformance regardless of economic conditions.

These Berkshire holdings offer varying growth profiles, valuation characteristics, and dividend yields—creating a balanced exposure to financial services companies built to compound wealth through market cycles and deliver the sleeping-well-at-night factor that defines Buffett’s most successful investments.

Three Strategic Plays for Navigating Market Volatility

The recent market turbulence has created both challenges and opportunities for strategic investors. While many are retreating to the sidelines, seasoned market analysts are identifying select opportunities across different sectors that offer compelling value amid the volatility.

Our analysis highlights three stocks worth watching that combine attractive valuations with strong fundamentals—providing potential shelter and upside as markets digest the ongoing economic and geopolitical developments.

Amazon (AMZN): Beyond Consumer Dependency

While consumer confidence concerns loom over retailers, Amazon stands apart as “much more than just a consumer company.” This diversification provides a buffer against spending fluctuations that might impact pure-play retail operations.

The company’s aggressive investments in artificial intelligence position it for potentially stronger returns compared to other tech giants like Microsoft. These AI initiatives extend across Amazon’s vast ecosystem, from enhanced recommendation engines to logistics optimization and cloud computing advancements.

Despite tumbling more than 15% year-to-date, AMZN shares have shown resilience recently, surging 8% this week and outperforming the broader market. This price action suggests institutional investors recognize the disconnect between short-term pressure and long-term value.

The current valuation remains “very reasonable” relative to growth prospects, though not dramatically discounted. Given the price volatility, investors might consider a dollar-cost averaging approach—establishing positions incrementally “once or twice a month” throughout the year rather than attempting to time a perfect entry point.

Amazon’s management quality and franchise strength make it a compelling candidate for patient investors looking three years ahead. As one veteran market strategist noted, “Your average price at the end of the year is going to look really good three years from now.”

Pfizer (PFE): Defensive Value in Pharmaceuticals

The current market environment has veteran analysts anticipating potential further downside, driving interest toward defensive sectors like pharmaceuticals. Pfizer stands out within this space, combining remarkable value with strong product momentum.

Trading at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of just 7, PFE offers a compelling valuation entry point alongside its nearly 8% dividend yield. This combination of growth and income creates an unusual opportunity in a typically defensive sector.

The company’s key therapeutic franchises—particularly in oncology and cardiovascular medicine—continue performing well despite broader market concerns. These essential treatment areas typically maintain demand stability regardless of economic conditions.

While pharmaceutical stocks face some uncertainty following President Trump’s Tuesday announcement of “major” pharmaceutical tariffs coming “very shortly,” this sector-specific risk appears largely priced into Pfizer’s current valuation after its nearly 5% decline this week.

For investors seeking defensive positioning with significant income, Pfizer’s current price point merits serious consideration.

Chevron (CVX): Energy Value With Geopolitical Hedge

The energy sector has faced intense selling pressure, with Chevron shares sliding nearly 5% this week and over 18% in April alone. This sharp decline has pushed the stock into technically oversold territory, potentially offering a contrarian opportunity.

Current OPEC dynamics appear largely priced into the stock, while domestic production increases face profitability constraints regardless of political pressure. As one energy analyst observed, the “drill, baby, drill” scenario in the U.S. that some anticipate “just isn’t profitable for these companies.”

Geopolitical tensions add another dimension to the Chevron thesis. Ongoing Middle East conflicts—particularly concerns about potential escalation involving Iran and the Strait of Hormuz—could dramatically impact global energy markets. In such scenarios, established energy producers with global operations would likely benefit from supply disruptions.

From a valuation perspective, Chevron offers a compelling combination of metrics: a 5% dividend yield paired with a forward P/E ratio of approximately 13. This creates what one strategist described as an opportunity that “will pay you while you wait during all this market volatility.”

For investors seeking energy exposure with income support, the recent selloff may provide an attractive entry point for this integrated energy leader.

2025: Gold’s Biggest Bull Run Ever + The #1 Stock to Buy for Just $3

When I was a boy, my grandfather kept a small, locked chest in the corner of his study. Inside, nestled among old letters and silver coins, were three heavy gold bars — his “insurance policy,” he called them. “No matter what happens to paper money,” he would say, tapping the bars with a reverence I didn’t yet understand, “gold will always have value.”

Fifty years later, his words feel more prophetic than ever.

Why Gold is Set for a Major Rally in 2025

In times of economic uncertainty — rising interest rates, stubborn inflation, geopolitical turmoil — gold traditionally shines. And right now, the stars seem perfectly aligned:

  • Global debt levels have reached historic highs, topping $315 trillion according to the Institute of International Finance.
  • Central banks added over 1,000 tons of gold to their reserves in 2023 alone — the largest accumulation in over 50 years (World Gold Council).
  • Geopolitical tensions (U.S.–China, Russia–Ukraine, Middle East instability) are far from resolved.
  • Inflation, while cooling slightly, remains sticky, forcing investors to seek inflation hedges.
  • The U.S. dollar, while strong today, shows cracks under twin deficits: budget and trade.

Investors over 45 remember the 1970s well — gold soared more than 2,300% during that inflationary decade. Many analysts believe we’re heading into a similar environment — only this time, with even more financial leverage and systemic risks.

Why New Gold Inc. (NYSEAMERICAN: NGD) Is the #1 Gold Stock to Buy for 2025

While large-cap behemoths like Barrick Gold and Newmont get the headlines, the real upside lies in mid-tier producers poised for explosive growth. That’s why New Gold Inc. (NGD) tops my list.

Here’s why NGD stands out:

  1. Strategic Assets:
    • Rainy River Mine (Ontario) and New Afton Mine (British Columbia) are both Tier 1 jurisdictions, reducing political risk — a major advantage today.
    • Rainy River is undergoing a key operational transition, expected to unlock higher free cash flow in 2025 and beyond.
  2. Impressive Turnaround:
    • New Gold has aggressively de-leveraged over the past few years, cutting net debt by over 30%.
    • A sharp focus on operational efficiency has reduced all-in sustaining costs (AISC) significantly, enhancing margins.
  3. Growing Production, Shrinking Costs:
    • Production is projected to grow 15% in 2025, while costs are expected to decline by up to 8%, according to the company’s latest guidance.
    • Management’s focus on higher-grade zones at both mines will boost profitability.
  4. Attractive Valuation:
    • At a forward P/E of just ~8x, New Gold trades at a steep discount to peers, despite a more attractive growth profile.
    • The company’s market cap (just under $1 billion) offers small-cap upside potential with mid-cap operational stability.
  5. Optionality from Copper:
    • New Afton isn’t just a gold mine — it’s rich in copper, a critical metal for the green energy transition.
    • Rising copper prices provide a “hidden bonus” that many investors are missing.

Analyst Insight:

Raymond James recently upgraded NGD to “Strong Buy,” citing “significantly improving cash flows and a catalyst-rich 2025.” Meanwhile, Canaccord Genuity called New Gold “one of the most overlooked turnaround stories in the sector.

In short, New Gold offers the kind of asymmetric risk/reward setup that only comes along a few times per decade.

Final Thoughts

Back in my grandfather’s day, gold was a sleepy asset, tucked away as a safety net. Today, it’s an active strategy — not just for preserving wealth, but for building it.

As 2025 approaches, New Gold (NYSEAMERICAN: NGD) offers investors a rare combination: exposure to gold’s upside with company-specific catalysts that could multiply returns.

Just as my grandfather did, maybe it’s time we all put a little more “insurance” — and a little more opportunity — into our portfolios.

Energy Income Powerhouses: Three Dividend Stars for Long-Term Income Investors

As interest rates begin to moderate and income investors search for alternatives to fixed income, the energy sector offers compelling opportunities for dividend-focused portfolios. Energy companies have dramatically improved their financial discipline since the volatility of 2020, leading to stronger balance sheets and more sustainable dividend programs.

Our analysis identifies three standout energy dividend payers that combine generous current yields with growth potential – creating the foundation for years of rising passive income. Each company brings unique strengths to an income portfolio while providing exposure to different facets of the evolving energy landscape.

Brookfield Renewable (BEPC/BEP): Clean Energy With Income Growth

Brookfield Renewable stands as one of the world’s largest publicly traded renewable energy operators, with a diverse portfolio spanning hydropower, wind, solar, and energy storage across multiple continents. What makes this holding particularly attractive for income investors is the combination of its substantial current yield and visible dividend growth trajectory.

Currently yielding an impressive 5.1%, Brookfield Renewable’s dividend is backed by exceptionally stable cash flows. Nearly 90% of its revenues come from long-term contracts with an average duration of 14 years, creating predictability that few energy companies can match. This contractual foundation allows management to make reliable dividend growth commitments rather than the “we’ll see” approach common among commodity-sensitive companies.

The company’s ambitious growth plan involves deploying $8-9 billion over the next five years into high-return renewable projects. This investment pipeline is expected to drive funds from operations (FFO) growth exceeding 10% annually for the foreseeable future. Management has committed to increasing the dividend by 5-9% annually, with approximately 6% growth already secured through the development pipeline and inflation escalators embedded in existing contracts.

For investors seeking both clean energy exposure and growing income, Brookfield Renewable offers a compelling combination that’s difficult to find elsewhere in the market.

Chevron (CVX): Dividend Aristocrat With Financial Fortress

Chevron has emerged as a standout among traditional energy majors for its financial discipline and shareholder-friendly capital allocation. While its current yield of 4.8% sits slightly below some peers, the company’s 38-year streak of consecutive dividend increases demonstrates a commitment to progressive shareholder returns that few energy companies can match.

What truly separates Chevron from competitors is its rigorous financial stress testing. The company has modeled its ability to maintain and grow dividends even if Brent crude prices were to average just $50 per barrel from 2025 through 2027 – significantly below current levels around $65. This conservative planning provides substantial margin of safety for the dividend, even during commodity price downturns.

Chevron expects to add $9-10 billion to its annual free cash flow by 2026 even with Brent in the $60-70 range, creating significant capacity for both dividend growth and share repurchases. The potential acquisition of Hess would further enhance this outlook, potentially more than doubling free cash flow by 2027 at $70 oil.

For investors seeking a balance of current income and future growth backed by exceptional financial strength, Chevron’s recent 20% share price pullback provides an attractive entry point for building long-term income.

TotalEnergies (TTE): European Major With Clean Energy Vision

TotalEnergies offers income investors a European alternative to U.S. majors with several distinctive characteristics. First, its current dividend yield of approximately 6% tops virtually all major integrated peers, providing substantial current income. While U.S. investors should note that French withholding taxes apply (partially recoverable when filing U.S. taxes), the higher yield compensates for this administrative complexity.

What truly distinguishes TotalEnergies is its approach to the energy transition. Unlike peers BP and Shell who announced aggressive renewable pivots in 2020 only to subsequently retreat from those commitments, TotalEnergies has steadily increased its clean energy investments while maintaining its dividend. The company recently created a dedicated integrated power division to provide transparency into its renewable energy progress, with this segment growing operating income by 17% in 2024.

This balanced strategy positions TotalEnergies to generate substantial cash flow from traditional energy assets while building meaningful exposure to growth opportunities in electricity and renewables. Rather than forcing investors to choose between high-yield traditional energy or lower-yield clean energy, TotalEnergies offers a hybrid approach that captures elements of both.

For investors seeking maximum current yield with exposure to the energy transition, TotalEnergies presents a compelling value proposition that isn’t readily available from U.S.-based alternatives.

These three dividend powerhouses provide different approaches to energy income, allowing investors to build diversified exposure across traditional and renewable energy while securing both current yield and growth potential. In an environment where passive income remains a priority for many portfolios, these energy leaders offer a compelling alternative to traditional fixed income investments.

The Insider Edge: Three High-Potential Stocks for This Week

Market noise is relentless. Financial headlines scream about the same handful of stocks while important opportunities—the kind that can meaningfully impact your portfolio—often fly completely under the radar.

That’s exactly why we publish this watchlist each week.

While most investors are distracted by mainstream narratives, we’re digging through earnings transcripts, analyzing technical setups, and monitoring institutional money flows to identify companies at potential inflection points. Our focus isn’t on what’s already priced in, but rather on what the market hasn’t fully appreciated yet.

Each week, we spotlight three stocks that merit your attention. We focus on opportunities where timing, valuation, and catalysts align to create potentially favorable entry points.

Our rigorous analysis goes beyond surface-level metrics to identify opportunities that most retail investors don’t have time to uncover. Each pick comes with clear reasoning, specific triggers to watch for, and a compelling risk-reward profile designed to help you make more informed investment decisions.

Here’s what caught our eye this week:

Alphabet (GOOGL)

Alphabet shares have fallen approximately 27% from their high amid market volatility and ongoing antitrust litigation, creating what appears to be an attractive entry point for long-term investors. Trading at around $162 per share, the parent company of Google now trades near a multi-year low from a price-to-earnings perspective despite maintaining dominance across search, video streaming, mobile operating systems, and cloud infrastructure. What makes this opportunity particularly compelling is the combination of Alphabet’s reasonable valuation (with a price/earnings-to-growth ratio of just 1.2) and its multiple growth avenues in artificial intelligence that seem largely disconnected from antitrust concerns.

While the headlines around Alphabet’s antitrust cases appear troubling at first glance, investors may be overreacting to potential outcomes. Even in scenarios where Google is prevented from paying Apple for Safari search placement or forced to sell Chrome (which commands 66% global web browser market share), the company’s deeply integrated ecosystem would likely preserve significant network effects. Chrome’s tight integration with Google’s productivity apps creates user stickiness that would be difficult to dismantle without extraordinarily aggressive regulatory action that seems unlikely given the complexity involved.

Beyond its core business resilience, Alphabet is aggressively positioning itself across multiple AI opportunities that could represent significant future growth engines. These include AI-fueled growth in cloud services, expanding autonomous ride-hailing through Waymo, quantum computing development, and its competitive Gemini AI models for both consumers and enterprises. With the stock’s recent pullback creating a more attractive valuation entry point, investors willing to look beyond near-term headline risks may find Alphabet offers an increasingly favorable risk-reward profile as the company continues leveraging its massive data advantages and engineering talent to capitalize on emerging AI opportunities.

PepsiCo (PEP)

PepsiCo’s shares have fallen approximately 25% from their 2023 peak and 7% year-to-date, significantly underperforming both the broader market and the typically defensive consumer staples sector. Trading at around $133 per share, this consumer staples giant now offers a historically high dividend yield of approximately 4.1% – higher than during the Great Recession. What makes this setup particularly compelling is the disconnect between PepsiCo’s stock performance and its fundamental resilience, evidenced by its recently announced 5% dividend increase – marking its 53rd consecutive annual increase and earning it the coveted Dividend King status.

The market appears fixated on several short-term headwinds facing the company, including a slowdown in its salty snacks business, consumer shifts toward healthier eating habits, and the inability to push through large price increases as it did during the post-pandemic inflationary period. However, these concerns seem overblown when considering management’s 2025 guidance for low-single-digit organic sales growth and mid-single-digit core earnings-per-share growth – hardly catastrophic results for a company of PepsiCo’s size and market position.

From a valuation perspective, PepsiCo now trades below its five-year averages across multiple metrics including price-to-sales, price-to-earnings, and price-to-book value ratios. This compelling valuation, combined with the company’s active portfolio reshaping through strategic acquisitions, suggests the current price represents an attractive entry point for patient investors focused on long-term compounding rather than short-term market sentiment. For those seeking income stability with growth potential, PepsiCo’s combination of brand strength, diversified product portfolio, and historically high dividend yield creates an increasingly favorable risk-reward profile at current levels.

The Trade Desk (TTD)

The Trade Desk has experienced a dramatic 65% decline from its all-time highs, creating a compelling opportunity in the digital advertising technology space. Trading at around $54 per share, the company’s stock suffered an initial 30% single-day drop in February after missing revenue guidance for the first time in company history – an event attributed to transitioning clients from an old platform to a new one rather than fundamental business deterioration. What makes this setup particularly intriguing is the stock’s current forward price-to-earnings ratio of 27, the lowest level at which we have data for The Trade Desk trading, despite robust growth projections of 17% revenue growth in 2025 and 20% in 2026.

The Trade Desk occupies a strategically advantageous position in the digital advertising ecosystem, focusing on the buy-side of the marketplace by helping advertisers place their content in optimal locations. The company has established particularly strong footholds in high-growth categories like podcast audio and connected TV, where advertising is increasingly shifting from traditional linear television. This positioning provides The Trade Desk with significant tailwinds as the broader transition from traditional to digital advertising continues across multiple channels.

While market sentiment has clearly turned negative on growth-oriented technology stocks amid recent economic uncertainty, The Trade Desk’s fundamental business advantages remain intact. The company’s ad-buying software addresses a massive global advertising market with substantial room for further digital penetration. For investors willing to look beyond near-term volatility, The Trade Desk offers an opportunity to acquire shares in a category-leading company with established technology advantages and significant growth potential at a valuation that represents a historical bargain compared to its own trading history.

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