Ultimately, companies exist to provide a product or service that satisfy the needs of their customers. Sometimes, that need is simply to find a way to do more with the same… or less. That’s why companies that drive innovations can be big winners over time. Customers flock towards services that can provide cost savings. And that can translate into big profits for the companies that are providing that innovation. Following where the investments in money-saving ideas go can lead to those profits. While some companies may start a new initiative, chances are a big company will look to inc...

The market drop that started over a year ago has morphed into fears into specific sectors, such as banking. But other industries have likewise dropped to the point where investors can buy $1.00 in assets for less than $1.00. One measure of a company’s assets is its book value, or the value of its assets per share. Investors may be able to buy up bank shares for far less than book value right now – but that book may include non-performing loans. In other sectors, the story is different. Media companies have been hit by a slowing economy, which tends to mean fewer advertisers and lower...

During a market pullback, investors tend to gravitate towards well-known companies with strong brands. Many of those companies, in turn, do what they do thanks to a strong network of suppliers. That can include anything from providing raw commodities to nearly-finished goods. Since these companies aren’t as well known, they tend to sell off during a market downturn, and then can benefit proportionately from the market rebound. So it’s no surprise that some analysts may be targeting them for big returns now. One supplier seeing an analyst upgrade is glassmakerCorning (GLW). The compan...

Investors are shying away from tech investments as interest rates rise. However, there are many ways to profit in tech in the years ahead, and finding reasonably-priced companies that can grow market share at today’s prices should fare well. While the market has flirted with artificial intelligence (AI) stocks so far this year, that space is far from proven. A more proven space is cloud storage, which continues to grow, even as tech firms slow down and announce layoffs. The cloud division atOracle (ORCL) makes the database software company look compelling now. One analyst even upgrad...

The market’s bearishness is reflected in the tendency to sell shares of a company first, and ask questions later… if at all. However, many companies selling off right now are still fine operationally. A few may even benefit from the current slowing economy, as competitors change their business or even go bankrupt. That makes this a stockpicker’s market. And the way to profit from that is to find companies that have been hit hard from specific fears that can abate in time. A case could be made for payment companyBlock (SQ). Shares took a 15 percent dive last week on news of a hedge fu...

With all the ups and downs of the stock market, it’s sometimes easy to forget that a stock is an ownership stake in a company. And that shareholders, not company management, are the owners. Some company management teams may use that to their advantage, by awarding themselves substantial amounts of stock options, which then dilute existing shareholders. However, other companies may encourage executives to buy shares outright, and take an ownership stake in the company that’s also paying them a salary. That’s the case withBerkshire Hathaway (BRK-B). Greg Abel, the head of non-insurance...

Typically, growth stocks are a tough investment when economic growth has become slow and uncertain. The lofty valuations and predictions that look attractive in a bull market don’t look as good when the economy is likely to contract. However, some growth companies are able to position themselves for winning trends, even in a slowing economy. And those that can deliver could be the first stocks to make new all-time highs when things look rosy again. Right now, one bright spot in the growth space is in artificial intelligence (AI). From big tech giants to software companies, investment...

While the next market-moving news may not be positive, over time, investing in the stock market is more rewarding than betting against it. And with so many companies knocked down last year and into the current banking fears, investors who start buying shares of companies with strong brands could see big profits ahead. Best of all, brands can include a variety of industries. And chances are that brand is a household name, which brings familiarity in uncertain times. One of the world’s best-known brands isStarbucks (SBUX). The coffee chain has created a “third place” between the home a...

While the stock market has been down over the past year, some sectors look set for a move higher. One such space is in commodities. Inflation remains sticky, which tends to keep prices of hard assets from declining too much. Plus, for many commodities, the fundamentals look strong today. There’s high demand and potentially lower supply for a number of resources. A second year of the Russia/Ukraine conflict looks likely to keep the wheat market tight in particular. One estimate is that wheat prices could rise as much as 20 percent as we get into the end of the spring. And that’s to sa...

Many industries consolidate over time into just a handful of players. These oligopolies can jockey for market share. Chances are one of the players will move towards higher-end consumers to differentiate, and others may shift to the lower end. Either way, the company that can sport the highest profit margin will typically be the best performer for shareholders over time. Higher profit margins provide more capital for reinvestment in the business, or for dividends or share buybacks for investors. In the credit card industry,American Express (AXP) has carved out a higher-end niche than...