The world is a dangerous place. Russia and Ukraine have been in conflict for over two years. Iran and Israel have been lobbing missiles back and forth at each other. Other potential hotspots exist that could flare up at any time. That’s why defense spending in the United States and elsewhere is on the rise. That includes investing in refueling and refilling existing weapons platforms. It also includes creating and designing new ones that can stand the test of time. Defense and aerospace industry leader Lockheed Martin (LMT) just reported earnings. They were solid, and investors worri...

Investors will often get ahead of events. If a company is struggling and could near bankruptcy, shares will often collapse in anticipation. However, if a company is able to secure last-minute funding, then it’s possible that trend could reverse. Even a partial reversal could mean triple-digit returns for shares. Investors are often willing to give a struggling company that just got a reprieve a quarter or two to turn things around. That could be the case withSpirit Airlines (SAVE). Shares have dropped 90% over the past year as a merger deal fell through and the company’s debt load be...

Investors can often find a bargain by looking for a company that’s trading at a discount to the other players in its industry. Over time, gaps in valuation should disappear. That could mean overvalued companies in a sector pull back. But if there’s a company trading at a discount to others, it can likely stage a strong rally to close the gap. Several sectors offer such values today. One sector with some undervalued pays is in travel and tourism. While largely recovered from the pandemic, several companies still trade at a discount. One such name is online travel agency Expedia Gro...

Last week saw some volatility in the chipmaker stocks. With earnings season underway, some swings are always likely. There’s been some jockeying in recent years as companies have worked to retool for the AI boom. Shifting market share can lead to big moves in a stock. But some chipmaker suppliers are also in a strong position to benefit no matter which chipmaker comes out with the latest model. These companies benefit from the overall increase in chip sales. That’s great for chipmaking manufacturing firms like ASML (ASML). However, last week the company’s earnings leaked early. Trend...

As financial markets trend higher, trading fees and an increase in other market activity is driving the profits of big banks higher. Even with shifting interest rates, which some have seen as a potential drag on productivity, Wall Street banks are on set to grow their profits. In fact, many of the big banks have seen a surge in fixed-income activity, likely from investors looking to lock in high rates ahead of the Federal Reserve’s first interest rate cut. That’s allowed firms like Morgan Stanley (MS) to see its profits surge by 32% over the past year. The investment bank is now up n...

The past few years have seen a several regulators look to go after the “big tech” companies. The issues range from monopoly power to how products and services are bundled in a way that prevents competition. While the European Union has been heavy on using its regulatory power, the United States has been far lighter. However, the Department of Justice is looking at a potential breakup of tech giantAlphabet (GOOG), parent company of Google and Youtube, among others. What this breakup would look like remains to be seen. For now, Google has joined other massive big tech companies in secu...

The market is shifting. Big-cap tech names that have dominated the markets for nearly two years are starting to slow down. Other parts of the market are starting to take over the leadership. However, not all tech plays are big-cap names. And many tech stocks are still well off their all-time highs. Those that are heading higher now still have more room to run, and a few could even become market leaders in their own right. That includes the payment companies, which have lagged in recent years. Payment giantPayPal (PYPL) is a case in point. The company’s branded checkout continues to h...

While the Federal Reserve just started to lower interest rates, new economic data suggests that rates will take their time to decline from here. A strong labor market and potential for inflation ticking higher could keep rates from moving too low, or too quickly. However, the start of earnings season indicates that isn’t a problem for big banks. While lending may not look attractive when rates are relatively high, the start of the interest rate cut cycle certainly hasn’t hurt. The big banks reported last week, with strong earnings and income. A few banks did take a hit as they looked...

Over time, a company’s earnings will drive its share price higher. In the short-run, headwinds like uncertainty over consumer spending could lead to some buying opportunities as share prices get unfairly knocked down. That’s because markets tend to move on short-term news, creating dips on the path to long-term growth. These buying opportunities occur often during earnings season, when solid earnings numbers get overshadowed by short-term or one-time fears. That looks like the case with Domino’s Pizza (DPZ). The pizza chain posted mixed results, with strong earnings. But they company...

The economy continues to grow. Inflation has fallen well off its highs. And the labor market continues to hold up well. These are all signs of a “soft landing” scenario for the economy. Some are even starting to see “no landing.” That simply means that the economy will continue to grow, without a recession, whether mild or severe. And that could mean that consumers will continue to spend, which should be good for one lagging sector. That sector is shipping. It’s seen poor returns over the past year as consumers have cut back on spending. But in a “no landing” scenario, spending will ...