Although inflation remains high, consumers are continuing to buy. That might be to get ahead of continued expected price increases, or simply a reflection that the economy is running hot. There are a number of ways to play the retail trend. Many have been reporting solid earnings right now. One recent reporter hasn’t had good numbers, but the market likes what it has to hear anyway. Electronics giantBest Buy (BBY) is the company that reported mixed earnings. The holiday season wasn’t as strong as expected, likely due in part to supply chain issues hitting the chip space particularly ...

Economic uncertainty is high. That’s causing consumers of all income levels to cut back and take a wait-and-see attitude on spending, which is now growing more slowly than the rate of inflation. During periods of uncertainty, companies that offer the best bargain prices tend to gain market share—and their stocks perform well. That appears to be the case today with a number of companies across a few different industries. For clothing retailers, luxury firms may be facing sinking sales. But those offering bargains, such asRoss Stores (ROST) could continue to fare well. The company j...

The world is taking sides. Most nations are siding with Ukraine, following the country’s invasion by Russia. While other governments are looking for a way to support Ukraine and punish Russia without expanding into a full-blown war, many companies are pulling back on investments and businesses in Russia. That trend is likely just getting started, but companies that get out sooner rather than later will probably fare best. Those with a big stake in Russia may have some short-term losses, but will likely improve over time. That’s because Russian companies have often traded at a steep d...

Stock buybacks can help move share prices higher in two ways. First, they simply act as buying pressure on a stock. Second, they help reduce the total share count, so a company can increase its earnings per share without increasing earnings. A number of companies have been increasing share buybacks as their operations have improved over the past year. One such player just made a huge increase to its buyback. That company isAdvanced Micro Devices (AMD). One of the best-run chipmaking companies, it’s benefiting from the tailwinds of strong demand for semiconductor chips right now. T...

While cryptocurrencies can offer traders fast moves in either direction, the downward movement in prices in the past few months has scared off traders. But it hasn’t scared off investors looking to develop cryptocurrency-related products with a long-term view in mind. In fact, a growing interest in crypto payments is fueling growth for a number of companies that might otherwise have faced declining growth rates. One such company isBlock (SQ). Formerly Square, the company just reported a big beat on its earnings and revenue, with double-digit growth in its crypto payments space, mostl...

Retail can be a tough business. Profit margins tend to be small, and competition is fierce. But companies can compete in other ways, and find lines of business to complement their existing business. Some retailers have turned to technology investments to stay ahead of the industry, and in some cases, that’s even become a major source of revenue amid the uneven world of predicting ideal retail trends. Among retailers,Overstock.com (OSTK) has been a surprising winner in recent days. That’s because the company has invested in tZERO, a broker-dealer that enables the trading of digital se...

Long-term investors can use market corrections to their advantage. It’s the perfect time to target great companies at reasonable prices. One key strategy comes from buying shares of companies that have a history of raising a dividend over time. Dividend growth investing may not pay off over a short period of time, but buying during a correction can tend to create capital gains as stocks rebound. One dividend growth play that went on sale this week isHome Depot (HD). The company saw shares drop 9 percent after reporting great earnings, with sales up nearly 11 percent and same-store sa...

Commodities look like an early winner for 2022 as traditional and risk-on assets have continued to sink since the start of the year. Companies looking to make astute mergers and improvements in the space are likely to benefit from this trend. That’s true for companies in the base and precious metals areas. Base metals play well to themes of inflation, as do precious metals. Investors looking for a blend of both can likely see outstanding performance in the months ahead.Barrick Gold (GOLD) looks like it could expand into its winning business here. While the yellow metal has held up well ...

The stock market selloff has been hitting tech stocks the hardest. That’s turned some high-flying valuations into more reasonable ones. While maybe not an extreme value, companies that are able to report growing earnings in spite of the economic headwinds right now could be at a solid entry point. That’s especially true for industry-leading tech companies that are also contending with the issues of larger companies, such as regulatory ones. The perfect example of this isNvidia (NVDA). The graphics processing giant just beat on earnings and raised guidance, but booked a $1.3 billion l...

Earnings season has led to some wild swings, even in companies that tend to trade with low volatility. However, reading behind the headlines that led to a big swing – in either direction—can point to a different direction going forward once the market starts to calm down. With many tech stocks reporting earnings, many have been hit harder than necessary on small misses thanks to the recent fears in the markets. One such “loser” right now isPalantir Technologies (PLTR). The big-data platform reported a 34 percent surge in revenue over the past year.  And the company earned 2 cents per...