17379

Wealthy Household Spending Remains High In This Space

Consumer tastes are shifting, and lower-income consumers may have to cut back on big spending this year amid a rise in credit card delinquencies. For higher-income homes, some areas won’t see much of a cutback in spending at all. The most likely place to hold up is with fine dining, even fine at home dining. Upper-income homes continue to spend well on high-end menu items. That bodes well for premium ingredient providers. One such player is Chef’s Warehouse (CHEF), which distributes higher-end ...
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17376

This Underperforming Sector Could Hold Up Well in 2025

Behind the overall stock market numbers, many individual sectors move in different ways at different times. Some sectors tend to be runaway winners some years, but are highly cyclical and trend lower in others. Other sectors tend to be steadier, and could hold up well if the overall market has a poor year. Looking to 2025 and the market’s early struggles so far, investors may want to look for safety in an underperforming space. That space is the restaurant industry. While rising ...
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17366

The AI Buildout Bodes Well for Networking Players

AI trades have helped push the market significantly higher since the release of ChatGPT in late 2022. Chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA) has dominated the conversation, but other necessary components for AI hardware and software have been, and will likely remain, winners in 2025. One key hardware component relates to networking. AI programs need multiple pieces of hardware and software to work, and networking is critical for unleashing an AI’s full computational power. That’s why a networking company like Marvell Technologies (MRVL) could continue ...
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17351

This Could Be the Top Mag 7 Performer of 2025

Markets have been broadening over the past few months, with other companies taking the lead over AI stocks and big-cap tech companies. While the Mag 7 may yet surprise markets with further gains in 2025, it’s time for investors to get selective. While all Mag 7 companies benefit from AI, many are still garnering significant cash flows from other sources. That’s good news for investors, especially given the high profit margins many big-cap tech stocks have today. For instance, Meta Platforms (META) ...
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17346

A Defensive Way to Play Today’s Biggest Tech Boom

With the AI boom still underway, investors have plenty of different ways to play the trend. After the big rallies in many chip stocks and big-tech names over the past few years, 2025 may be the year to think more defensively. Markets are showing some signs of exhaustion going into the start of the year. And bond yields are tracking higher at a time when they should be trending lower. One group of stocks can benefit from the rise of AI ...
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17316

Rising Bond Yields Make this Value Play Shine

Markets are closing the year on an odd note. The Federal Reserve has lowered interest rates by a full point. But bond investors are pushing yields higher, particularly on longer-dated bonds. The 10-year Treasury yield is now at 4.6%, its highest for 2024, up over a full point since September. It’s possible that investors are simply repricing the bond market for increased uncertainty from the Fed. And from the potential impact of Donald Trump’s plans for tariffs and taxes in 2025. Whatever ...
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17308

This Industry Leader Looks to Create Better Returns for Investors

Bigger isn’t always better. Once a company has had substantial growth, or become the leader in its industry, its rate of return will tend to slow. Companies can usually offset this by finding related products to offer or new markets to conquer. But in some mature industries, the best course of action may be to figure out ways to simply increase productivity. That could lead to far better outcomes for investors over time. For instance, automotive giant Toyota Motors (TM) is up ...
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17299

If Earnings Matter, This Company Could be the Tech Winner of 2025

Stocks famously climb a “wall of worry.” One thing that worries some investors now is the market’s valuation. By some metrics, the stock market is near values last seen near big peaks, like in 2000 and 2008. That’s not a healthy sign, by any means. However, if companies can grow their earnings, revenues, and income, the extreme valuation issue can be fixed in time. Some companies are also clearly still a strong value today. One such value today is Alibaba Group Holding ...
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