EV giant Tesla Inc.TSLA is offering free supercharging on the purchase of Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in Japan, where it wants direly to expand its market share.
What Happened: Tesla now says on its website for customers in Japan that those who purchase a Model 3 sedan from the company after Jan 1 will get free supercharging for five years. The customers, however, must take delivery of their vehicle by March 31.
A similar offer also applies to new Model Ys in the company inventory.
While the Model 3 starts at 5,313,000 yen ($34,055) in Japan, the Model Y starts at 5,950,000 yen ($38,138).
Why It Matters: In January 2024, Tesla CEO Elon Musk mourned the company’s lack of market share in Japan, terming it “remarkably low.”
The CEO said that the company will not overspend on advertising but instead spend it in geographies such as Japan by deploying superchargers at the right locations and setting up service centers.
“Japan is the third-largest car market in the world of any country. So we should at least have a market share proportionate to, say, other non-Japanese carmakers like Mercedes or BMW, which we do not currently have,” Musk then said while adding that there is a lack of awareness of Tesla in the country.
In October, the company opened its 600th supercharger post in Japan, in a bid to build EV charging infrastructure in the country.
Check out more of Benzinga’s Future Of Mobility coverage by following this link.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) just logged its best week since the November election as a cooler-than-expected inflation reading eased concerns that the Federal Reserve may rule out interest rate cuts for all of 2025.
For the week, the S&P 500 jumped more than 3%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose more than 2.6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) led the gains, soaring nearly 4%.
A light economic calendar is set to greet investors with updates on activity in the services and manufacturing sector as well as an update on consumer sentiment slated for release.
In corporate news, 43 S&P 500 companies are expected to report quarterly results highlighted by Netflix (NFLX), United Airlines (UAL), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), and 3M Company (MMM).
Trump is set to be sworn in for a second term as president on Monday. US stocks have looked sluggish at times over the past several weeks as rising rates and the debate over whether the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in 2025 sent the S&P 500 to its lowest levels since the election.
But a better-than-expected inflation reading on Wednesday helped US markets perk up, and Bank of America investment strategist Michael Hartnett believes stocks in the S&P 500 will be “protected” from further downside by President-elect Donald Trump in the months ahead.
During his first term as president, Trump viewed the stock market as a barometer for his administration’s success. Many investors expect that Trump will remain sensitive to a pullback in US stocks during his upcoming turn.
Rallies across certain “Trump trades” like small caps, energy stocks, and financials have had fits and starts leading into the inauguration. This has been an early appetizer for what many believe will be a theme of the stock market in 2025.
“January volatility prior to Trump’s 1/20 Inauguration reinforces the core view of a more volatile year ahead,” Julian Emanuel, who leads the equity, derivatives, and quantitative strategy team at Evercore ISI, wrote in a note to clients on Thursday night.
Emanuel, who sees the S&P 500 finishing 2025 at 6,800, or about 13% higher than current levels, still argues Trump’s administration will bring a continued swing between “risk on” and “risk off” sentiment among investors.
A cutout of President-elect Donald Trump is seen as traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Jan. 2, 2025, in New York City. (TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images) ·TIMOTHY A. CLARY via Getty Images
Last week we noted a hotter-than-expected December jobs report had some debating whether or not Fed rate hikes would come back into the discussion.
A cooler-than-expected inflation reading for December eased those fears. Bank of America Securities senior US economist Aditya Bhave wrote in a note to clients on Jan. 10 that the Fed conversation was “moving toward hikes.”
After the December inflation data was released on Jan. 15, Bhave told Yahoo Finance the report “trims the tail risks of a hike.” His team still believes the Fed will remain on hold for the foreseeable future, though.
Markets will likely have a breather from the Fed discussion in the week ahead as no major economic data releases are expected and the central bank enters its “blackout period,” during which no officials speak publicly ahead of its next policy decision on Jan. 29.
As of Friday afternoon, markets were pricing in a range of one to two Fed rate cuts this year, per Bloomberg data.
Fourth quarter earnings season kicked off in earnest last week with reports from the nation’s largest banks. Largely, company results were better than expected. FactSet data shows the S&P 500 is now pacing for 12.5% year-over-year earnings growth this quarter compared to the 11.5% expected last week.
“While early, it’s a great start to a reporting period where we expect a larger than average aggregate beat and remain positive on the earnings outlook,” Citi US equity strategist Scott Chronert wrote in a note to clients on Friday.
Earnings season will roll on this week with 43 S&P 500 companies reporting, headlined by large-cap tech giant Netflix. But whether or not earnings will truly be the focus in the coming weeks will be tested as political headlines are expected to pile in as Trump is sworn into office on Monday.
“We expect policy noise to pick up next week with the inauguration Monday and a number of executive orders reportedly planned,” Chronert added. “Short term, markets will have to contend with building fiscal, trade, and monetary policy uncertainty, even if [earnings] reports are solid.”
Whether or not the conversation around Trump’s policies sends bond yields higher once again will be a key narrative to watch in the coming week.
‘
Monday
Markets closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day while President Trump will be sworn into office.
Tuesday:
Economic data: No notable economic data releases.
Earnings: Netflix (NFLX), 3M Company (MMM), Capital One (COF), Charles Schwab (SCHW), D.R. Horton (DHI), KeyCorp (KEY), Interactive Brokers Group (IBKR), United Airlines (UAL), Zions Bancorporation (ZION)
Wednesday
Economic data: MBA Mortgage Applications, week ending Jan. 17 (+33.3% previously); Leading Index, December (-0.1% expected, +0.3% prior)
Economic data: Initial jobless claims, week ending Jan. 18 (217,000 previously); Kansas City Fed. Manufacturing Activity, January (-4 prior);
Earnings: American Airlines (AAL), Alaska Airlines (ALK), CSX Corporation (CSX), Freeport-McMoRan (FCX), GE Aerospace (GE), Intuitive Surgical (ISRG), Texas Instruments (TXN), Union Pacific Corporation (UNP)
Economic data: S&P Global US manufacturing PMI, January preliminary (49.4 prior); S&P Global Services PMI, January preliminary (56.8 prior); S&P Global US composite PMI, January (55.4 prior); Univesity of Michigan consumer sentiment, January final (73.2 prior); Existing home sales, December (1.2% expected, 4.8% prior)
Earnings: American Express (AXP), First Citizens BancShares (FCNCA), NextEra Energy (NEE), Verizon (VZ)
Josh Schafer is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on X @_joshschafer.
These days, it can seem like everyone has an opinion about major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, (CRYPTO: BTC)Solana, (CRYPTO: SOL) and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH). But, as with a lot of the commentary on markets and investments in general, there’s a lot of noise that’s worth ignoring, and precious few nuggets of actionable insight.
Especially if you’re not a direct participant in the cryptocurrency sector, it can be quite difficult to orient yourself correctly and keep your focus on the factors that actually matter. So let’s take a look at three types of chatter that are worth ignoring rather than engaging with as part of your investing process.
It’s reasonable for people to pay attention when a major global player, like a government, decides to exit its holdings of a cryptocurrency. Such players often command vast sums of assets, and it’s obvious that selling off those assets all at once will have a detrimental impact on the market value of the associated coins.
Take, for example, Germany’s decision to sell $3 billion worth of Bitcoin it came into possession of via asset seizures in June 2024. Aside from being the talk of the cryptocurrency town square for at least a few weeks, it also may have put a serious dent in the king cryptocurrency’s pricing, at least for a while. A prospective sale by the U.S. government of roughly $6.4 billion in Bitcoin that could occur this year could easily have a similar or even greater detrimental impact.
Sales by whales in other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum are rarely on the same scale as those by governments, but they still make headlines. Individual large holders selling a mere $33 million in mid-January of this year are gathering attention, even if the price impact isn’t as significant as with Bitcoin.
Still, these discussions are not worth following up on. In the long run it doesn’t really matter which players were selling or when. Thus, as an investor, keep your attention on the longer view rather than on what a few big investors are said to be doing.
The distributed nature of blockchain networks as they’re realized in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana is that if the validators of the network disagree about some fundamental attributes of their protocols, they can fork the chain and start a new project.
Such forks have happened numerous times in the past to both Ethereum and Bitcoin. You may have heard of these forked versions at the time, and it’s possible that you even hold a few of the forked coins.
But if you’re a typical investor who’s holding these cryptocurrencies indirectly, through your financial institution or via an exchange traded fund (ETF), there’s simply not much need to entertain much of the casual discussion around the possibility of new forks occurring. It isn’t something in your control, and there’s a lot more talk about potential forks than there are actual forks — not to mention the extreme rarity of forks that go on to outperform the original.
Much like with stocks, it’s always very tempting to indulge the desire to want to learn more about the recent changing in price of your favorite cryptocurrency investments. The experience of gathering information about what’s happening with prices right now tends to be addictive because of the financial implications of the data you find. After all, the prices change every day, and you want to be an informed investor so as to avoid losses.
The correct way to do that is by looking at a price chart for a minute or two; I suggest that the chart should depict a period of at least one year at a minimum so as to help with focusing on the long-term performance of the investment.
If you are taking more than a few minutes to pore over charts, you are at risk of overtrading, as nearly all short-term price data, and discussion of it, is noise. The more you zoom in your time horizon, the more likely you are to fixate on the importance of random fluctuations that have little to do with the investment thesis for holding a specific coin.
So don’t do it. Commit to holding your cryptocurrency investments for at least a couple of years, and check the price of your coins once per week to start. Remember, looking at the price or reading articles about price action doesn’t actually change it.
Ever feel like you missed the boat in buying the most successful stocks? Then you’ll want to hear this.
On rare occasions, our expert team of analysts issues a “Double Down” stock recommendation for companies that they think are about to pop. If you’re worried you’ve already missed your chance to invest, now is the best time to buy before it’s too late. And the numbers speak for themselves:
Nvidia:if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2009,you’d have $357,084!*
Apple: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2008, you’d have $43,554!*
Netflix: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2004, you’d have $462,766!*
Right now, we’re issuing “Double Down” alerts for three incredible companies, and there may not be another chance like this anytime soon.
Alex Carchidi has positions in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
On Sunday, Meta Platforms, Inc.’s METAInstagram announced a new video creation app called ‘Edits’ to attract TikTok users.
What Happened:Adam Mosseri posted a video on Instagram and unveiled the ‘Edits’ app, which resembles CapCut, a popular tool among TikTok creators.
The new app will feature a dedicated tab for inspiration, another for tracking early ideas, and a significantly upgraded camera — which he used to record the announcement video.
It will offer a suite of editing tools, the ability to share drafts with friends and fellow creators, and detailed performance insights. The ‘Edits’ app is available in app stores but will not be functional until February.
On Saturday, Mosseri also announced updates to Instagram, including changes to profile photo grids and an increase in the maximum length for Reels from 90 seconds to three minutes.
Why It Matters: The app’s launch follows a temporary shutdown of TikTok in the U.S. over the weekend. It also comes as other alternatives, like RedNote, gain popularity. Instagram has continued to adapt its features to compete with TikTok’s influence since its rise in 2020.
TikTok was restored in the U.S. after Donald Trump announced plans to delay the enforcement of a new law requiring the sale of the platform.
According to an analysis by eMarketer, TikTok’s ban could redirect billions in ad revenue, with Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta potentially capturing a substantial share.
TikTok generated $12.34 billion in U.S. advertising revenue in 2024. Should the platform face a ban, it is projected that between $6.17 billion and $8.64 billion in ad spending could shift to other platforms.
Meta could potentially secure an additional $2.46 billion to $3.38 billion in advertising revenue.
Price Action: Meta’s stock rose by 0.24% on Friday before slipping 0.0098% in after-hours trading, closing at $612.71, as per Benzinga Pro data.
Nvidia(NASDAQ: NVDA) was founded in 1993, and it went on to create the world’s first graphics processing units (GPUs) for computing, media, and gaming applications. Now, decades later, the company has adapted those powerful chips for data centers, where they are used to develop advanced artificial intelligence (AI) models.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang believes data center operators will spend $1 trillion over the next four years on upgrading their infrastructure to meet demand from AI developers. Since the data center segment currently accounts for 88% of Nvidia’s total revenue, that spending will be instrumental to the company’s future success.
However, the semiconductor industry has always been cyclical, so the data center boom won’t last forever. That’s why it’s critical for Nvidia to diversify its revenue streams, and at the CES 2025 technology conference on Jan. 7, Huang delivered some incredible news for investors on that front.
Image source: Nvidia.
Nvidia saw the autonomous driving revolution coming. In fact, the company’s automotive business is more than two decades old, but its revenues were so tiny that it lived in the shadow of the gaming and data center segments. That’s all about to change, because global car brands like Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, BYD, Volvo, Toyota, and more are adopting Nvidia’s Drive platform to power their autonomous ambitions.
Drive provides all of the internal hardware and software a car needs for self-driving capabilities. That includes Nvidia’s latest chip called Thor, which processes all of the incoming data from the car’s sensors to determine the best course of action on the road. But Nvidia’s opportunity doesn’t end there, because it also sells the infrastructure a car company needs to maintain and improve its autonomous models, so it can differentiate itself from the competition.
In addition to Drive, Huang says car companies are buying DGX data center systems featuring its latest Blackwell-based GB200 GPUs, which deliver the necessary computing power to continuously train self-driving software. Then there is Nvidia’s new Cosmos multimodal foundation model, which allows companies to run millions of real-world simulations using synthetic data, serving as training material for the software.
Overall, Huang says autonomous vehicles could be the first multitrillion-dollar opportunity in the emerging robotics space. He’s not alone, because Cathie Wood’s Ark Investment Management thinks technologies like autonomous ride-hailing could create $14 trillion in enterprise value by 2027, with the majority of that value attributed to autonomous platform providers — in this case, that would be Nvidia.
Nvidia’s fiscal year 2025 will finish at the end of January, but the company generated $1.1 billion in automotive revenue through the first three quarters (if we extrapolate that result, full-year revenue will probably be around $1.5 billion). Huang says in fiscal 2026, Nvidia’s automotive revenue could soar to $5 billion, so it’s going to ramp up insanely fast.
Wall Street’s consensus forecast (provided by Yahoo) suggests Nvidia could generate a whopping $196 billion in total revenue during fiscal 2026, so the automotive segment’s potential $5 billion contribution would still be relatively tiny. It’s a longer-term story that could secure Nvidia’s future growth, but in the here and now, it’s all about the data center.
Nvidia just started shipping its new Blackwell GB200 GPUs to customers, but sales are expected to grow quickly. By April this year, revenue from Blackwell chips could overtake revenue from the previous generation of chips built on the Hopper architecture, which highlights how quickly Nvidia’s business is evolving.
The GB200 NVL72 system is capable of performing AI inference up to 30 times faster than the equivalent H100 GPU system, so Blackwell will pave the way for the most advanced AI models to date. Therefore, over the next year or so, consumers and businesses might have access to the “smartest” AI software applications (like chatbots and virtual assistants) so far.
Demand for Blackwell chips is outstripping supply, which should support further strength in Nvidia’s revenue and earnings during fiscal 2026. Plus, some reports suggest a Blackwell successor called “Rubin” might be unveiled later in the year, which would further cement the company’s chokehold on the market for data center GPUs.
Nvidia stock has soared by 830% since the start of calendar year 2023, lifting the company’s value from $360 billion to an eye-popping $3.3 trillion in just two years. Despite the amazing run, the stock might still be cheap.
It currently trades at a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 53.6, which is a discount to its 10-year average P/E ratio of 59. But Wall Street’s consensus estimate suggests Nvidia could generate $4.44 in earnings per share in fiscal 2026, placing its forward P/E ratio at just 30.6.
In other words, Nvidia stock would have to soar by 92% over the next 12 months just to trade in line with its 10-year average P/E ratio of 59.
Nvidia has a habit of beating Wall Street’s forecasts, so it’s possible the stock has even more upside potential. On the flip side, there is some competition emerging from other chipmakers like Advanced Micro Devices, which plans to release a Blackwell rival in a few months. That’s a risk investors should keep an eye on as this year progresses.
Ever feel like you missed the boat in buying the most successful stocks? Then you’ll want to hear this.
On rare occasions, our expert team of analysts issues a “Double Down” stock recommendation for companies that they think are about to pop. If you’re worried you’ve already missed your chance to invest, now is the best time to buy before it’s too late. And the numbers speak for themselves:
Nvidia:if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2009,you’d have $357,084!*
Apple: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2008, you’d have $43,554!*
Netflix: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2004, you’d have $462,766!*
Right now, we’re issuing “Double Down” alerts for three incredible companies, and there may not be another chance like this anytime soon.
Anthony Di Pizio has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends BYD Company. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of securities, including call options, of Five9, Inc. FIVN between June 4, 2024 and August 8, 2024, both dates inclusive (the “Class Period”), of the important February 3, 2025 lead plaintiff deadline.
SO WHAT: If you purchased Five9 securities during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement.
WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the Five9 class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=32046 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email case@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than February 3, 2025. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.
WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually litigate securities class actions, but are merely middlemen that refer clients or partner with law firms that actually litigate the cases. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company at the time. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs’ Bar. Many of the firm’s attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.
DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, during the Class Period, defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Five9’s net new business was not “strong irrespective of the macro” and was, in fact, hampered by macroeconomic issues such as constrained and scrutinized customer budgets; (2) Five9 was in the midst of a challenging bookings quarter due, in part, to sales execution and efficiency issues, and Five9 was not “seeing very strong bookings momentum”; and (3) defendants did not have “enough information in terms of [their] existing customers that are going live” such that the statements that Five9 would see a positive inflection in its dollar-based retention rate lacked a reasonable basis. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.
No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor’s ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.
Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Contact Information:
Laurence Rosen, Esq. Phillip Kim, Esq. The Rosen Law Firm, P.A. 275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor New York, NY 10016 Tel: (212) 686-1060 Toll Free: (866) 767-3653 Fax: (212) 202-3827 case@rosenlegal.com www.rosenlegal.com
CHICAGO, Jan. 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — 55places.com, the premier resource for active adult community information, has awarded On Top of the World in Ocala, Florida, the prestigious title of Most Popular Active Adult Community of 2024. This recognition highlights the community’s exceptional amenities, vibrant lifestyle, and unparalleled appeal to active adults across the country.
“We’re thrilled to honor On Top of the World as the Most Popular Active Adult Community of 2024,” said Chad Walker, Chief Revenue Officer at 55places.com. “This community consistently impresses with its top-tier amenities, welcoming atmosphere, and wide range of activities that cater to all interests. It’s no wonder so many active adults choose to call it home.”
Why On Top of the World Stands Out
With a planned 10,000 homes, On Top of the World is one of the largest active adult communities in Florida. It boasts amenities that rival luxury resorts, including:
Three Golf Courses: Perfect for avid golfers or those looking to take up a new hobby.
Resort-Style Pools: Offering a place to relax and connect with neighbors.
R/C Airplane Field & R/C Car Track: Unique amenities that appeal to a variety of interests.
175+ Clubs and Interest Groups: From fitness classes to arts and crafts, there’s something for everyone.
Explore the Top 25 Most Popular Active Adult Communities of 2024
The latest award from 55places.com showcases the top 25 most sought-after 55+ communities of 2024. Other notable communities that ranked in the top 5 include The Villages in Florida, Sun City Hilton Head in South Carolina, Sun City in Arizona, and Oak Run in Florida.
All of these top-rated communities reflect the growing trend of vibrant, resort-style living for adults 55 and older. Whether seeking adventure, relaxation, or connection, these communities cater to diverse preferences and lifestyles, making them the ideal choice for active adults ready to embrace their next chapter.
About 55places.com
55places.com is a premier resource for active adult communities, offering comprehensive information, reviews, and tools to help individuals find their ideal 55+ living options.
For additional information, interviews, or media inquiries, please contact:
Khadeejah Johnson Associate Vice President of Brokerage & Partnerships 267-432-2712 khadeejah.johnson@55places.com https://www.55places.com/
President-elect Donald Trump and his incoming VP JD Vance debuted their new presidential and vice presidential portraits last week and, well, they could not have been more different.
Daniel Torok, the President-elect’s chief photographer, revealed the portraits on X. “We are entering the GOLDEN AGE OF AMERICA,” Torok wrote. His feed quickly filled up with hilarious commentary comparing and contrasting Trump and Vance as mafia don to blue-eyed Boy Scout.
“They go hard,” wrote Trump’s transition team in a one-sentence press release about the official portraits. There was no explanation about who or what went hard though we presume the two men in the portrait.
Clearly Trump’s demeanor, eyes squinting, defiant mob-boss look on his face, is not a far cry from the mugshot seen around the world when he was booked into the Fulton county jail on charges of attempting to steal the 2020 presidential election. He was clearly fuming then. But now? Five years later and the leader of the free world, what’s he so annoyed about?
In addition to evoking a tough-guy, almost scary, masculine energy in his 2025 presidential portrait, we now know that the 2020 mugshot went on to serve a higher purpose: it helped raise funds for Trump’s 2024 election campaign as part of a collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
The threatening face ultimately made its way to the recent launch of Trump’s latest NFT collection, “Trump Bitcoin Digital Trading Cards,” on the Bitcoin BTC/USD network.
CollectTrumpCards, the U.S. president as of Jan 20’s official NFT account on X, announced that buyers of 100 “Mugshot Edition” NFTs can claim them on Magic Eden by submitting their Bitcoin wallet.
So there’s money to be made on coins, as witnessed by the Saturday launch of the meme coin TRUMPTRUMP/USD that immediately soared to to $5.6 billion within just 24 hours.
And then there’s JD Vance whose bright blue eyes and congenial smile remind one of a boy scout leader in a small Ohio town who made it big and couldn’t be happier.
Things sure have changed since Gilbert Stuart painted George Washington’s portrait in 1797.
Now Read:
Photo courtesy of Trump-Vance Transition Team/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
A little money can go a long way. That’s especially the case when you invest in stocks that pay you to own them.
I’m referring to dividend stocks, of course. There are plenty of great stocks that offer attractive dividends and don’t cost too much. Here are my picks for the smartest dividend stocks to buy with $100 right now.
You can scoop up a share of Ares Capital(NASDAQ: ARCC) for roughly $23 at its current price. I think doing so might be one of the best investments you can make, especially if you’re looking for income.
Ares Capital’s forward dividend yield stands at 8.4%. Why is the yield so high? Ares Capital is a business development company (BDC). To be exempt from federal income taxes, BDCs must return at least 90% of their earnings to shareholders as dividends. And this one generates a lot of earnings for its shareholders.
A key reason is the nature of the company’s business. The demand for direct lending offered by BDCs is rising due to several factors, including the speed of closing deals, and reliable access to capital during volatile periods. The total addressable market for direct lending is around $3 trillion for the traditional middle market of U.S. companies with annual revenue between $100 million and $1 billion. It jumps to $5.4 trillion if companies with annual revenue of over $1 billion are included.
Also, Ares Capital stands head and shoulders above its peers. It’s the largest publicly traded BDC, and has deep relationships in the market. It also has delivered greater dividend-per-share growth and total returns over the last 10 years than its top rivals.
Another $34 or so will buy you a share of Enterprise Products Partners(NYSE: EPD). Technically, you’ll get a unit of the midstream energy leader rather than a share, because it’s a limited partnership (LP). Investing in LPs comes with some tax hassles, but I think Enterprise Products Partners is worth the extra work.
Enterprise’s forward distribution yield was recently over 6.35%. Want even better news? The LP has increased its distribution for 26 consecutive years.
I like that Enterprise Products Partners’ business holds up well during recessions and turbulent times. Inflation doesn’t impact it very much because roughly 90% of its long-term contracts feature price escalation provisions. Enterprise’s cash flow doesn’t ebb and flow with oil and gas price fluctuations, either; it charges the same amount for using its pipelines regardless of commodity prices.
Those aren’t the only reasons why Enterprise is a smart investment right now. Its valuation is attractive, with a forward earnings multiple of 11.6. I also think the second Trump administration will implement favorable policies for midstream companies like Enterprise.
After investing in Ares Capital and Enterprise Products Partners, you should have in the ballpark of $43 left over from your initial $100. That’s more than enough to buy one share of Pfizer(NYSE: PFE), which currently trades below $27 per share.
Pfizer’s current forward dividend yield of 6.5% is near its highest level in 15 years. The drugmaker’s dividend appears to be safe, too: Management consistently places maintaining and growing the dividend as the company’s top capital allocation priority.
Granted, some might wonder whether buying Pfizer now is such a smart idea. Several of the company’s drugs will lose patent protection over the next few years. Pfizer also estimates a negative impact of around $1 billion on its revenue this year from the Inflation Reduction Act.
I like Pfizer’s prospects over the second half of the decade, though. It has multiple newer products driving growth and a promising late-stage pipeline. With shares trading below 9 times forward earnings, the stock is also dirt cheap.
Before you buy stock in Ares Capital, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Ares Capital wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $843,960!*
Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. TheStock Advisorservice has more than quadrupled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*.
Keith Speights has positions in Ares Capital, Enterprise Products Partners, and Pfizer. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Pfizer. The Motley Fool recommends Enterprise Products Partners. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
In recent months, investors have taken a renewed interest in quantum computing. Traditional computer bits can only hold zeros or ones. However, quantum bits, commonly called qubits, can represent any value between zero and one. This advancement enables exponentially faster computing speeds in comparison to traditional computers.
The problem lies with stability, as the more qubits a computer can process, the more error-prone it becomes. For this reason, most industry analysts believe quantum computing is years away from commercial viability.
Fortunately, Google parent Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL)(NASDAQ: GOOG) has developed a quantum chip that is a possible game changer for the industry. With that development, Alphabet could be the most successful quantum computing stock in 2025. Here’s why.
Indeed, consumers and investors know Alphabet best for products like Google Search, YouTube, the Android operating system, and Google Cloud. Nonetheless, the company founded Google Quantum AI in 2012 and has researched the technology and built computers since that time.
Most of the focus on Alphabet in the quantum computing space revolves around Willow, its quantum chip. Willow stands out because it reduces errors as it adds qubits. This stands in contrast to past quantum chips, whose error rates increased as the number of qubits rose.
Additionally, Willow carried out a standard benchmark calculation in around five minutes. This is notable as it estimates that the fastest supercomputers in use today would take 10 septillion (10^25) years to perform the same calculation, a period longer than the entire history of the universe.
Admittedly, quantum computing is a technology in search of real-world applications. Still, the ability to address the error issues bodes well for Alphabet’s efforts to make quantum computing both beneficial and profitable.
Moreover, with commercial viability likely years away, the company’s other attributes may take a front seat in 2025 as quantum computing-related efforts remain focused on research and development.
Indeed, a massive and highly profitable digital ad business will probably help fund the company’s research. Also, a fast-growing Google Cloud enterprise contributes increasing shares of revenue and has made Alphabet increasingly critical in the IT world with its presence in the cloud and longtime innovation in artificial intelligence (AI).
Thanks to the success of those businesses, Alphabet held $93 billion in liquidity as of the end of the third quarter of 2024. Furthermore, it generated almost $62 billion in free cash flow in the first nine months of 2024 alone. Those assets put Alphabet in a strong position to fund quantum computing and any supporting technologies.
This places it in stark contrast to a quantum computing start-up such as IonQ. Although IonQ’s ties to academia have helped it develop faster quantum computers, its considerable losses could mean it runs out of money before it can apply the technology commercially.
Additionally, Alphabet stock rose nearly 40% over the last year, beating the S&P 500. Despite those gains, its P/E ratio at this writing is 26, making it the cheapest stock by that measurement among the “Magnificent Seven.”
Thanks to Willow and the resources and talent that made it possible, Alphabet could easily become the quantum winner of 2025.
The release of Willow and its success in addressing the error-prone nature of quantum computing chips likely makes the Google parent the leading company in this industry in 2025.
Moreover, even if commercial viability is years away, its lucrative digital advertising and cloud business will probably bolster its massive free cash flow, which will help fund more research in quantum computing and the technologies that should help make it useful for commercial purposes.
Finally, the fact that Alphabet offers the lowest P/E ratio among Magnificent Seven stocks provides investors with an added incentive to buy the stock.
When considering this low valuation and its apparent technical lead, quantum computing investors appear to have the best chance of succeeding with Alphabet in 2025.
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Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Will Healy has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
