Historically, defense stocks haven’t necessarily related to the defense and aerospace industry. However, in today’s economic and geopolitical climate, it’s not a bad place to look. The space has tended to consistently outperform the overall stock market, and even with a spike in recent weeks, shares of many big names haven’t reached an overvalued level right now. That points to further moves higher, even if geopolitical tensions calm down. One such name in the space isGeneral Dynamics (GD). The defense company trades at 20 times earnings. While shares are up on the latest war fear...

Every sector has a key metric that may be more important than things like earnings or profit margins in the short-term. For instance, the restaurant industry may look at how many times its tables turn over customers during the course of an evening. For retailers, the key metric is same-store sales. It cuts through the false growth that could be reported if a company is expanding by opening new locations, even if it may be cannibalizing existing locations. One company capable of delivering strong returns with this metric isCostco (COST). The retailer just reported that same-store s...

The one-two punch of rising fuel prices and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is having a major effect on agricultural commodities. It’s simply becoming too expensive to grow certain crops given the costs involved, or simply because rich farmland is now in a warzone. Food prices have already been trending up thanks to higher levels of inflation, but that could go much higher in the year ahead. That’s why investors looking to stay long on stocks could fare well with companies all along agriculture’s supply chain. One leading play?Bunge (BG). The company is a buyer of crops, such as corn an...

The tech selloff of the past year has made a number of companies a relative value play. That’s especially true to firms that are investing in long-term trends. While they won’t play out overnight, buying key suppliers to the tech space on market drops should result in market-beating returns when the next rebound occurs. One area that’s been hit hard thanks to supply chain issues and shutdowns is in the automotive space, particularly EV production. But for patient investors, now may be a solid time to consider shares of a firm likeAnalog Devices (ADI). The chipmaker specifically fo...

There are plenty investment sayings about how company management can make or break a firm’s stock returns. And in today’s world, where retail investors own a minuscule number of shares and institutions tend to trade in and out of shares, company management tends to drive control. In many cases, letting the full-time employees devoted to the company run the show is a good thing. In other cases, such as where control is closely held by a family, the results can sometimes be a bit more mixed.Constellation Brands (STZ) is currently closely held by the Sands family. But the company is offeri...

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to a sharp pullback among international investments. Yet some companies are able to buck the trend and still grow right now. The top contender for such growth could be in social media plays. With many looking to bypass official news (often controlled on some level by governments), such companies could provide one of the few pockets of international growth in the next few months. One such play isTwitter (TWTR). The social media company has just reported its best day ever following the disclosure that Elon Musk has bought 9.2 percent of the company....

A number of high-growth opportunities exist today. Many look attractive for the long-term, but short-term tailwinds are preventing the market from moving the value meaningfully higher right now. That’s especially true for any growth story that’s dependent on a resolution to supply chain issues, which appear to still be a source of frustration for short-term investors in hot growth areas. That’s especially true for anything related to the automotive sector, as numerous factories have seen shutdowns. One company hurting in the short run isBlackBerry (BB). The cybersecurity play has see...

The uncertainty in markets right now has hit growth stocks, particularly in the tech space, hard. Many names are down as much as 50 percent off their highs, and at the market low a few weeks back, that included nearly half the stocks in the Nasdaq. Markets are starting to come up, although they’re still willing to sell off on uncertainty. However, one top growth name has managed to navigate supply chain and other global issues to remain strong. That company isTesla Motors (TSLA). Shares rose last week as the company announced plans to split its shares again. The stock remains up abou...

Companies continue to have growing data storage needs, and cloud services provide a great way to ensure data can be accessed securely while also from anywhere. A number of companies play to this trend, with everything from data centers themselves to companies that offer web hosting services. But the entire technology still remains locked in a world of physical hardware to make it all happen. That fact plays well to a number of hardware players. Memory chip companyMicron (MU) has been building up chips for its data hosting division, and the results are that the company has continued t...

One key theme of the past two years has been logistics, with an emphasis on supply chains. The world has gone from just-in-time inventory systems to creating a buffer to avoid having to contend with shutdowns stemming from any uncertainty. Companies in the shipping realm have largely benefitted, as the creation of inventories and stockpiling has led to an increased demand to ship goods for storage before use more locally. Adding to that is the overall improving economy, which is also benefitting the shipping trend. One winner for that category to buy on any market fear isFedEx (FDX)....