money

Are all dividend funds the same? They often are, even if each one is structurally and strategically unique. There’s only so much difference possible when a company and its stock’s primary purpose is just generating cash flow.

And yet, owners of the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD -1.70%) know all too well that dividend-oriented exchange-traded funds can at times be considerably different than one another. Their fund has measurably underperformed other dividend ETFs like the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF, the iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF, and Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF over the course of the past three years. Indeed, the disparity’s been wide enough to leave them wondering if they made a mistake that should be corrected as soon as possible.

Well, they didn’t make the wrong choice, so there’s no correction to be made. The very reason this dividend ETF has underperformed of late, in fact, is the very same reason income-seeking investors might want to buy the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF now.

The same, but different — and more different than the same

What’s Schwab’s U.S. Dividend Equity ETF? It’s meant to mirror the performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Dividend Index, which, just as the name suggests, is dividend-focused. So is the Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index that serves as the basis for iShares’ Core Dividend Growth ETF, though, along with the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF’s underlying S&P U.S. Dividend Growers Index, for that matter.

They’re not all the same, though. And it matters.

Take a comparison of the S&P U.S. Dividend Growers Index behind Vanguard’s Dividend Appreciation fund to the iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF’s Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index as an example. The former consists of U.S.-listed companies that have raised their dividend payments for at least the past 10 years, but it excludes the very highest-yielding tickers (on concerns that the high yields are unsustainable). The latter only requires five years of uninterrupted dividend growth, although it also generally excludes stocks with suspiciously high yields.

End result? The Vanguard fund’s top three holdings right now are Broadcom, Microsoft, and JPMorgan Chase, while the iShares ETF’s biggest three positions at this time are Apple, Microsoft, and Johnson & Johnson. They’re more different than alike, even if there is some overlap.

Image source: Getty Images.

The Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF’s underlying FTSE High Dividend Yield Index, by the way, currently holds Broadcom, JPMorgan, and Exxon-Mobil as its top three positions — three names that offer the high yield that the index prioritizes. Even so, the fund’s trailing yield is a modest 2.45% at this time, versus the iShares ETF’s yield of 2.2% and the trailing dividend yield of 1.6% currently offered by the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation fund.

Where does Schwab’s U.S. Dividend Equity ETF stand? The Dow Jones U.S. Dividend Index’s biggest three positions right now are AbbVie, Lockheed Martin, and Cisco Systems, followed closely by Merck and ConocoPhillips. In fact, you won’t start seeing any serious overlap between this fund and the other three dividend ETFs in focus here until those positions are so small that they don’t really matter.

That’s why this ETF has underperformed the other three funds in question since early 2023; it’s not holding many of the market’s most popular growth names right now. Indeed, it currently holds a bunch of the market’s least popular value stocks.

SCHD Total Return Level data by YCharts

But that’s exactly why income-minded investors might want to dive into the Schwab ETF at this time, particularly in light of its sizable trailing dividend yield of right around 3.7%.

What went wrong for dividend-paying value names?

In retrospect, the fund’s recent underperformance actually makes a lot of sense. The few technology stocks that pay any dividend at all have performed exceedingly well since the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in November 2022, setting off an artificial intelligence arms race that sent a bunch of these stocks sharply higher. The dynamic was also bullish for financial stocks like JPMorgan, which helps companies raise funds or make the acquisitions they need to take full advantage of the AI revolution.

At the other end of the spectrum, most of the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF’s holdings have been on the wrong side of one force or another. Regulatory headwinds and the impending expiration of key patents have proven problematic for pharmaceutical outfits AbbVie and Merck, for instance.

Inflation and the subsequent rise in interest rates are another one of these forces, and arguably the biggest. Although both have historically been more of a challenge for growth stocks than value names, in this instance, the opposite has been (mostly) true.

Just bear in mind how incredibly unusual the past three years have been. The bulk of growth stocks’ leadership has been fueled by the aforementioned advent of artificial intelligence, creating a secular growth opportunity that wouldn’t be stymied by any economic backdrop.

Also know that the so-called “Magnificent Seven” stocks have done the vast majority of the market’s recent heavy lifting, so to speak, fueled by AI. Data from Yardeni Research suggests that without the help of these seven tech-centric tickers, the S&P 500‘s would be about one-third less than what it’s actually been since early 2023.

It would also be naïve to pretend that value stocks like Merck, Cisco, and ConocoPhillips just haven’t offered the excitement that most investors have craved in the post-pandemic, AI-centered environment.

Here comes the pendulum

As is always the case, though, the cyclical pendulum will eventually swing back the other way. And that’s likely to happen sooner or later. As number-crunching done by Morningstar analyst David Sekera recently prompted him to note, “By style, value remains undervalued, trading at a 3% discount, whereas core stocks are at a 4% premium and growth stocks are at a 12% premium.” He adds, “Since 2010, the growth category has traded at a higher premium only 5% of the time.”

This dynamic, of course, works against dividend ETFs’ growth names, and works for dividend ETFs like the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF, which almost exclusively holds value stocks. The market just needs a catalyst to start such a shift.

That may be in the offing, though. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon recently lamented in an interview with the BBC, “I am far more worried about that [a market correction] than others… I would give it a higher probability than I think is probably priced in the market and by others.” And this worry follows Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s recent comment that U.S. stocks are “fairly highly valued.” That’s a screaming red flag from someone who makes a point of maintaining composure and not inciting panic.

Sure, such a setback could undermine the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF as much as it does any other stock or fund. That’s not the chief concern of any correction, though. It’s what happens afterward. That bearish jolt may well inspire investors to rethink everything about the risks they’ve been taking, souring them on tech names and turning them onto value names that also dish out above-average income.

You’ll just want to be positioned before it all starts to happen.

One of the great things about equity markets is that excellent stocks can be had at almost any price, making them accessible to most people. Even with $100, it’s possible to find outstanding, growth-oriented companies to invest in. Of course, what qualifies as “the smartest” stock to buy with any amount of money will differ from one investor to the next, depending on factors such as risk tolerance, goals, and investment horizon.

One growth stock trading for well below $100 that can meet many investors’ demands is Novo Nordisk (NVO -2.96%). Here is why the Denmark-based company is an excellent stock to buy right now.

Image source: Getty Images.

A wonderful contrarian opportunity

Quality growth stocks tend to be highly sought after. There is often a higher demand for shares of these companies than are available. That’s why their prices rise. Sometimes, though, these otherwise excellent companies encounter challenges that lead to a sell-off, providing investors with a wonderful opportunity to pick up their shares at a discount.

In my view, that’s what we have with Novo Nordisk. True, the company has faced some challenges, and it has paid for them as shares have remained southbound for over a year. Its financial results haven’t been as strong as expected. It hit a series of surprising clinical setbacks while losing market share to its rival, Eli Lilly.

However, Novo Nordisk’s prospects remain very strong. Novo Nordisk’s claim to fame is that it has been a major player in the diabetes drug market for decades. That remains the case. As of May, it had a 32.6% share of the diabetes market and a 51.9% share of the GLP-1 space. While its hold in these fields declined compared to last year, it remains a dominant force in both.

Novo Nordisk also continues to post competitive financial results for a pharmaceutical giant. The company’s sales for the first half of the year increased by a strong 16% year over year to 154.9 billion Danish kroner ($24.2 billion).

Further, the diabetes and obesity drug markets are rising fast due to several factors. Both conditions have skyrocketed in recent decades, and drugmakers are now developing highly innovative therapies to address them. Novo Nordisk is still at the forefront of this race. Even if the company has a smaller slice of the pie, that’s not a significant problem if the pie is substantially larger.

Can Novo Nordisk continue to launch innovative medicines and stay ahead of most of its peers, excluding Eli Lilly? The company’s pipeline suggests that it can, and could even catch up with its eternal rival. Consider Novo Nordisk’s potential triple agonist (a medicine that mimics the action of three gut hormones), UBT251.

In a 12-week phase 1 study, UBT251 resulted in an average weight loss of 15.1% at the highest dose. The usual caveats regarding early-stage studies apply. Still, UBT251 looks promising, especially since there is no single triple agonist approved for weight loss yet. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Novo Nordisk has several other exciting candidates through all phases of clinical development. And those that have already passed phase 3 studies, such as CagriSema, should generate massive sales for the drugmaker.

According to some projections, CagriSema could rack up $15.2 billion in revenue by 2030. Ozempic and Wegovy, Novo Nordisk’s current bestsellers, should also remain among the top-selling medicines in the world through the end of the decade. So, Novo Nordisk’s medium-term outlook seems promising.

There are more reasons to buy

Novo Nordisk appeals to growth-oriented investors, but it is also a great pick for dividend seekers and bargain hunters. For those seeking income stocks, the Denmark-based drugmaker is a great choice, given its strong track record. The company’s forward yield is not exceptional at 2.9% — although that’s much better than the S&P 500‘s average of 1.3% — but Novo Nordisk has consistently increased its dividends over the past decade.

NVO Dividend (Annual) data by YCharts

Finally, Novo Nordisk’s shares are trading at 14 times forward earnings, whereas the average for the healthcare industry is 17.3. Even with the challenges it has faced recently, Novo Nordisk’s strong pipeline and lineup, solid revenue growth, and excellent prospects in diabetes and weight management make the stock highly attractive. The company’s shares are changing hands for about $59, so $100 can afford you one of them.

Artificial intelligence (AI) stocks may have gotten most of the attention from investors over the last few years, but some of the period’s top-performing stocks don’t hail from the AI space — at least, not directly.

Instead, they represent emerging technologies like quantum computing, electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, small modular nuclear reactors, and rockets and satellites. The artificial intelligence boom has provided a halo effect to other emerging technologies, as growth investors have become particularly keen to find those that might power the next breakout trend. Investing early in the company that may launch the next ChatGPT would produce huge returns, the thinking seems to go.

Thanks to the speculative optimism about their potential, many of these tech stocks have delivered returns of more than 1,000%, outperforming even Nvidia. However, few hot growth stocks have beaten AST SpaceMobile (ASTS -5.49%), which is building a satellite-based broadband network.

While it has yet to generate meaningful revenue, excitement around the business and its potential have surged recently as it has forged new agreements with customers. 

ASTS data by YCharts.

Over just the last 18 months, a $1,000 investment in AST SpaceMobile would have grown into a stake worth more than $35,000. But with that climb behind it, is it too late to buy the stock? 

What is AST SpaceMobile?

AST SpaceMobile is sometimes lumped together with other space and rocket companies like Rocket Lab, Planet Labs, and SpaceX and its Starlink subsidiary, but the company says its technology can be used with existing unmodified smartphones and operates within the low- and mid-band spectrum used by mobile network operators. That contrasts with existing space-based telecom services that are intended for low-data-rate applications, such as emergency service.

The company is building the first global cellular broadband network to connect with everyday smartphones. It intends for the technology to be used for commercial and government purposes, and is designed to reach places that are not covered by terrestrial cell towers.

It is deploying a constellation of low-Earth-orbit satellites and partnering with other telecoms to provide service to users. Founded in 2017, AST SpaceMobile launched its first test satellite in 2019 and now has a total of six satellites in orbit. It aims to have 45 to 60 satellites in orbit by 2026, serving the U.S., Europe, Japan, and other markets.

AST SpaceMobile has signed partnership deals with several global telecom companies, including AT&T, Vodafone, and Rakuten, and the stock just jumped on news that it had its expanded partnership with Verizon, adding to an earlier $100 million commitment from the telecom giant. According to the new agreement, Verizon will integrate AST SpaceMobile’s satellite network with Verizon’s 850 MHz spectrum across the country, allowing Verizon’s service to reach remote areas it doesn’t currently cover.

Image source: AST SpaceMobile.

Is AST SpaceMobile a buy?

The company expects to start booking meaningful revenues in the second half of the year. Management forecasts $50 million to $75 million in sales in the second half of 2025 as it deploys intermittent service in the U.S. That will soon be followed by service coming online in other markets like the U.K., Japan, and Canada.

Management hasn’t given a forecast for 2026, but investors expect its financial momentum to continue to build as new satellites go into service. The Wall Street consensus now predicts $254.9 million in revenue in 2026.

The company’s momentum, partnerships, and satellite deployments all sound promising, but much of its expected future success is already baked into the stock price.

AST SpaceMobile’s market cap has already soared to $31 billion, a huge number for a company that has yet to generate significant revenues. Notably, it also competes in an industry — internet connectivity — with notoriously low valuations. Verizon has a market cap of $172 billion, even though it generated nearly $20 billion in profits over its last four quarters. Internet service providers carry similarly underwhelming valuations. For example, broadband and cable service provider Charter Communications has a market cap of $36 billion, and it brought in $5 billion in net income over the last year.

The size of AST SpaceMobile’s total addressable market isn’t fully clear, though management says the global wireless services market produces over $1.1 trillion in annual revenue.

AST SpaceMobile is competing globally, which differentiates it from domestic services like Verizon. However, as it’s currently structured, the satellite company essentially aims to be a subcontractor for larger telecoms, and the telecom industry is decidedly unexciting, according to investors. As long as it’s beholden to that low-valuation ecosystem, it’s difficult to picture how the company could deliver the kind of blockbuster returns that investors seem to expect, especially considering that telecom is a mature industry.

At $31 billion, AST SpaceMobile’s market cap seems to have gotten well ahead of the reality of the business, especially as commercialization could present unforeseen challenges. In the near term, the stock could move higher if it signs more partnerships or announces other promising news, but given the sky-high valuation, the stock now looks overheated.

With AST SpaceMobile, investors are playing with fire at this point. Eventually, they’ll get burned.

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There has been a huge wave of relief across European and US markets after Friday proved to be a dark day for investors.

Leading European stock indexes started the week in the green, as well as the US futures, while bitcoin, silver and gold rallied.

After leading stock indexes on the Wall Street dropped between 1.9 and 3.6% on Friday, Asian indexes followed the lead on Monday morning, and unanimously lost between 1% and 1.7%.

US stocks skidded on Friday after US President Donald Trump threatened to crank tariffs higher on China, signalling more trouble ahead between the two biggest economies. He was responding to restrictions Beijing is imposing on exports of rare earths, which are materials that are critical for the manufacturing of everything from consumer electronics to jet engines.

However, by the European opening on Monday, investors appeared to be cheered by the US president’s promising words, as he commented on the mounting US-China trade tensions on social media, saying, “Don’t worry about China, it will all be fine!”

Stock markets appear to reverse the losses from the end of last week, the FTSE 100 in London was up by 0.3% at around 10h CET on Monday, the Paris CAC 40 cheered the promise of a new government by gaining 0.7% and the Dax in Frankfurt joined the crowd by rising 0.5% by this time.

The Ibex 35 in Madrid also gained 0.8% and the European benchmark Stoxx 600 was up by nearly 0.5%.

Crypto rallies after Friday’s sharp decline

Bitcoin approached $115,000 on Monday, while Ethereum exceeded $4,200.

“The crypto market capitalisation stood at $3.9 trillion on Monday, up 4.4% from the previous day but down 6% from pre-Friday crash levels,” Alex Kuptsikevich, the FxPro chief market analyst, said.

Gold was up by more than 2.3%, trading at $4,092 an ounce, nearing 11h CET, while oil prices were also climbing, the US benchmark crude was up by nearly 0.9% at 59.85 a barrel, whereas the international benchmark Brent cost $63.69 a barrel, 1.5% increase in the price.

Meanwhile, US futures advanced, with the contract for the S&P 500 gaining 1.1% while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.5% and Nasdaq futures were climbing 2% by 10.30 CET.

In other dealings early Monday, the dollar rose 152.22 Japanese yen from 151.89 yen late Friday. The euro fell to $1.1605 from $1.1614.

Nvidia (NVDA -4.84%) last reported earnings on Aug. 27. That was another blowout report from the artificial intelligence (AI) chip leader. Revenue soared 56% year over year in its fiscal 2026 second quarter, and sales of its AI platform Blackwell to data center clients grew by 17% from the prior quarter.

Yet Nvidia stock has only moved about 2% higher since that report as I write this on Oct. 7. That’s not because investors weren’t impressed with the company’s results. It’s because it has made a habit of beating expectations. Investors anticipated that it would do so again, and sent Nvidia stock soaring by nearly 20% in the weeks leading up to that report.

Nvidia is scheduled to report its fiscal third-quarter results on Nov. 19, and it’s possible that a similar scenario will play out this time around. That would make now the time to buy the stock — if you’re looking at the short term — ahead of its next run higher as investors jump in closer to the report date.

Image source: Nvidia.

Don’t get complacent on Nvidia

Expectations will once again be high. For its fiscal 2026 third quarter, management has guided investors to expect about 15% sequential growth, or 54% year-over-year sales growth. That forecast is even more remarkable considering that it doesn’t include any potential H20 chip shipments to China.

Investors shouldn’t yawn at those numbers. After this many quarters of similarly incredible growth rates from the GPU leader, it’s possible that the market is starting to take them for granted. But investors shouldn’t forget just how much cash flow that growth will result in. That cash should eventually make its way back to shareholders through buybacks, dividends, or share price growth.

The lesson for investors is not to sleep on Nvidia. Expectations may be high, but this is not a story stock. Its revenues and cash flow are real. The next healthy slice of short-term gains for the stock might be arriving in the next few weeks, leading up to Nvidia’s Q3 earnings report. But this is a stock that it makes sense to own for the long term. That makes buying Nvidia stock now a smart move either way.

Ford (F -0.65%) impressed investors when it reported that U.S. unit sales jumped 8.2% year over year in the third quarter (ended Sept. 30). Key models are doing very well, like the F-Series pickup trucks, Mustang Mach-E, Expedition, and Bronco. The momentum is partly why shares have done well this year, rising 15% (as of Oct.10).

But can this auto stock beat the market for buy-and-hold investors? History provides a clear answer.

Image source: Getty Images.

Investors shouldn’t expect outsized long-term returns from Ford

In the past 10- and 20-year periods, Ford shares have generated total returns of 33% and 150%, respectively. These gains failed to exceed that of the S&P 500 index. And it’s not even close.

The disappointing performance likely won’t reverse course as we look to the next 10 or 20 years. Low growth, weak margins, huge capital expenditures, and cyclicality describe Ford’s business. It’s not controversial to say that this isn’t a high-quality company.

Ford shares might always trade at a cheap valuation

Ford’s valuation is dirt cheap. The market is offering the stock at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 9, which makes the dividend yield hefty at 5.26%. This might look like a compelling opportunity.

However, there’s no reason to assume that the market will expand Ford’s valuation in the years ahead. Fast growth, wide margins, capital-light business models, and durable demand trends are traits that investors reward. Ford just doesn’t fit the bill.

Vanguard has built a business with the long-term investor in mind. Investors in its funds aren’t just clients, but part owners of the company. That’s why it has some of the lowest fees in the industry, as it passes profits on to its investors through lower fees on its funds.

You can buy and hold most Vanguard funds forever. A great pairing is the Vanguard Total Market Index (VTI -2.69%) and the Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND 0.40%), as together they cover both major asset classes: stocks and bonds. With these two ETFs, you can build a simple 60/40 portfolio — $60 into VTI and $40 into BND for every $100 invested. Here’s why this is an ideal combination for long-term investors.

Image source: Getty Images.

The 60/40 portfolio

Investing in stocks is a great way to grow your wealth over the long term. However, stocks can be volatile. That’s why most financial advisors recommend that investors further diversify their portfolio by adding some bonds into the mix.

We can see how increasing a portfolio’s allocation to bonds can steadily lower the risk of having a terrible year:

Data source: Vanguard. NOTE: Return calculations from 1926 through 2024.

The sweet spot has historically been the 60/40 mix. It offers an attractive return (8.8% annually) while significantly reducing volatility and risk.

Broad exposure to the U.S. stock market

The Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF is one of the simplest ways to invest in the stock market. It tracks the CRSP US Total Market Index, which measures the performance of all stocks on the major U.S. exchanges. The fund currently holds over 3,500 stocks, providing investors with broad exposure to the entire U.S. market.

It doesn’t buy the same amount of every single stock. It holds more of the largest companies by market cap. Its top five holdings currently are:

1. Nvidia (6.5% allocation)
2. Microsoft (6.1%)
3. Apple (5.6%)
4. Amazon (3.5%)
5. Meta Platforms (2.6%)

That allocation provides greater exposure to the largest and most dominant companies in the country.

This ETF has produced solid returns throughout its history:

Data source: Vanguard.

As the chart shows, the fund’s returns have closely tracked those of the benchmark index it follows. That’s due to its ultra-low ETF expense ratio of 0.03%. At that rate, it would only cost you about $0.02 in management fees each year for every $60 you invest in the fund.

Broad exposure to the U.S. bond market

The Vanguard Total Bond Market Fund provides investors with broad exposure to the taxable investment-grade, U.S. dollar-denominated bond market. The fund holds high-quality bonds issued by the U.S. government, corporations, and foreign entities. It excludes tax-exempt bonds (e.g., municipal bonds), inflation-protected bonds (e.g., I-Bonds and TIPS), and non-investment-grade bonds (e.g., junk bonds).

This fund currently holds nearly 11,400 bonds with varying maturities (averaging over eight years) from numerous issuers, including U.S. Treasury securities, government-backed mortgages, corporations, and foreign entities.

Bonds provide investors with several benefits. They generate fixed income from bond interest payments (BND currently has a yield of more than 4%). They also help diversify a portfolio, thereby lowering its risk profile.

However, bonds do have much lower returns compared to stocks, especially in more recent decades due to lower interest rates:

Data source: Vanguard.

This ETF also does an excellent job of mirroring the returns of its benchmark, thanks to its ultra-low fees (0.03% ETF expense ratio). At that rate, you’d only pay $0.01 per year in fees for every $40 invested in the fund. The low fees enable investors to keep more of the interest income generated by the bonds held by the fund.

A great pairing

These two Vanguard ETFs complement each other well, offering a balanced approach between risk and reward. The Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF provides broad exposure to the U.S. stock market, while the Vanguard Total Bond ETF offers access to high-quality U.S. dollar bonds. This combination enables investors to participate in the growth of stocks while receiving income and stability from bonds. Investing $100 in these two Vanguard ETFs is a truly set-and-forget investment strategy.

Everyone wants to own quantum computing stocks. Companies like IonQ (NYSE: IONQ) are up hundreds of percent in the last year, with the aforementioned stock now at a market cap of $25 billion while generating less than $100 million in revenue. Quantum computing could drive huge gains in productivity if the technology is ever commercialized, but today, IonQ is a highly speculative company with little to no business model. This makes it an incredibly risky stock to own.

Here are two stocks not betting on a speculative science fiction future, but creating value in the present. Both Remitly Global (RELY -3.13%) and Portillo’s (PTLO -2.76%) will be larger than IonQ in five years’ time. Here’s why you should add them to your portfolio over any quantum computing stock.

Remitly’s disruptive opportunity

Remitly Global has moved in the opposite direction from IonQ in 2025. Shares of the remittance provider are off 42% from highs set earlier in 2025, while IonQ is up 78% year to date (YTD) and just reached a new all-time high.

Investors are nervous about Remitly because of the immigration crackdown in the United States, which may reduce cross-border payments from the United States to Mexico and other Latin American countries. This is Remitly’s core business as a mobile disruptor to the legacy players, such as Western Union. Fears are also rising due to a new tax on remittance payments, although it is just a 1% tax and likely not to greatly impact payment flows.

Despite these worries, Remitly has posted strong growth throughout 2025. Revenue was up 34% year over year last quarter, with 40% growth in send volume. Not only is Remitly completely disregarding immigration fears for remittance demand, but it is also taking a ton of market share from legacy players due to its low fees and easy-to-use mobile application.

What’s more, Remitly is starting to get profitable. On $1.46 billion in trailing revenue, the business generated an earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of $27 million, with plenty of room to increase its operating leverage over time. Compare that to IonQ with minimal revenue and huge operating losses, and Remitly looks like a company that should have a larger market cap than any quantum computing stock.

Image source: Getty Images.

Portillo’s expansion plans

Portillo’s is a restaurant chain that sells Chicago-style street food, such as hot dogs and Italian beef sandwiches. It has begun to expand to other markets such as Texas and Florida with average success, as some of its restaurant volumes have been hit by a broad slowdown in consumer spending at restaurants in 2024 and 2025.

Despite this, Portillo’s is poised to grow substantially in the years ahead. It is planning to slowly grow its presence in new states around the country, bringing this beloved Chicago brand to a national stage. Last quarter, Portillo’s posted just 3.6% annual revenue growth, but that is due to the fact that its new store openings are going to be weighted to the back half of 2025. With the company planning to have just around 100 restaurant locations at the end of this year, there is still a huge runway for the concept to expand to new metropolitan areas in the United States.

Portillo’s has a market cap of just $464 million today. Investors may look at this market capitalization compared to IonQ and think it is impossible for the restaurant operator to surpass the $25 billion stock within five years. But let’s truly compare the underlying financials to show why IonQ is grossly overvalued at its current price.

Over the last 12 months, Portillo’s generated $65 million in EBIT on $728 million in revenue. IonQ generated just $53 million in revenue and lost $351 million (it has never been profitable). Portillo’s may not surpass a $25 billion market cap in five years, but it will be larger than IonQ because IonQ does not deserve anything close to a $25 billion valuation.

Buy Remitly and Portillo’s. Avoid IonQ and other quantum computing stocks. Your portfolio will thank you five years from now.

The Magnificent Seven is more than just a Western from the 1960s. Today, the term refers to the group of innovative companies that have driven stock market gains in recent years. They are technology names you probably know well, from Nvidia to Meta Platforms, and they’re all involved in the high-growth area of artificial intelligence (AI). These players have helped the S&P 500 climb in the double-digits this year, too, and even reach record levels.

But the Magnificent Seven aren’t the only game in town, and two other stocks in particular may give them a run for their money over the next five years, as AI infrastructure spending soars and customers seek capacity for their AI workloads. Right now, these two AI stocks are charging forward and already have outperformed the Magnificent Seven so far this year — but this movement may not be over. Let’s check out the two players that may crush the Magnificent Seven in the years to come.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. CoreWeave

CoreWeave (CRWV -3.32%) has climbed more than 250% since its market launch earlier this year, but that doesn’t mean it’s used up all of its fuel. The company may just be getting started, and that’s because it offers up a service in high demand today — and into the future. I’m talking about AI infrastructure capacity.

CoreWeave, thanks to its 250,000 graphics processing units (GPUs), has a lot of computing power to offer — and customers can easily rent it as needed, even on an hourly basis. This means they don’t have to invest in purchasing costly GPUs but still can access the power they need for the training and inferencing of their models, for example.

To make the picture even sweeter, Nvidia plays a key role in the CoreWeave story. The chip giant holds a 7% stake in the company and recently pledged to buy any unused capacity through 2032 — this removes a great deal of risk from CoreWeave stock.

Finally, CoreWeave’s revenue has been exploding higher, growing more than 400% in the first quarter from the year-earlier period — and more than tripling in the latest quarter year over year. Considering the great need for AI capacity to power the training of AI and its application in the real world, the company should continue to see strong demand — and this may send the stock to greater gains than those of the Magnificent Seven.

2. Broadcom

Broadcom (AVGO -5.90%) stock has advanced nearly 50% so far this year, but this company, too, could keep marching higher in the coming years as cloud service providers focus on scaling up AI infrastructure. The company is a networking giant, known for thousands of products found in a variety of places — from smartphones to data centers.

But this data center business has driven growth as the AI boom picked up momentum. Customers are turning to Broadcom for networking solutions, needed to connect the many compute nodes that power AI workloads across data centers. Broadcom is an expert here and has seen its Tomahawk switches and Jericho routers fly off the shelves.

The company also represents a future winner in the area of computing power as it designs AI accelerators, known as XPUs — but doesn’t necessarily compete with chip giant Nvidia. The XPU is a custom accelerator, made for specific purposes while Nvidia’s chips are high-powered for general use. This makes it easier for Broadcom to carve out market share, serving a customer’s specific needs and offering a product that may be complementary to Nvidia’s. In the recent quarter, Broadcom announced a $10 billion order for XPUs — and analysts say the customer is top AI lab OpenAI.

The AI business has resulted in significant revenue gains in recent quarters — for example, in the latest one, Broadcom reported AI revenue growth of 63% to $5.2 billion. And this trend could continue if Nvidia chief Jensen Huang is right: He expects AI infrastructure spending to climb to $3 trillion or $4 trillion by the end of the decade, and Broadcom clearly could benefit from this stage of the AI boom. And that suggests this stock may crush the Magnificent Seven players as this AI infrastructure story unfolds.

After languishing in a deep freeze over the past few years, the market for initial public offerings (IPOs) is finally gaining steam. In recent months, several companies have gone public, seizing the opportunity to meet the growing investor demand for newly listed shares.

I’ve closely watched the pre-IPO market, waiting for the opportunity to buy shares of some compelling companies. I recently invested in two standout companies: ServiceTitan (TTAN -2.87%) and Klarna Group (KLAR -5.71%). Here’s why I bought these hot IPO stocks.

Image source: Getty Images.

A huge market opportunity

ServiceTitan completed its IPO late last year. The company provides cloud-based software to contractors working in the trades industry, including heating and air-conditioning, plumbing, and electrical service providers.

One of the things that drew me to ServiceTitan is the huge opportunity for its software. The trades industry is enormous, with businesses in the U.S. generate an estimated $1.5 trillion in annual revenue. ServiceTitan currently offers software that could serve companies generating about $650 billion in annual revenue.

However, its current collection of customers only produces about $75 billion in revenue. This means the company currently addresses just a small slice of the market, providing ample room for expansion as it brings more businesses onto its platform and extends its services into added trades.

The company currently generates less than $900 million in annual revenue. With a fully deployed platform, it estimates that revenue from existing customers could hit $1.5 billion. Looking ahead, it sees a $13 billion opportunity with its current platform, and more than $30 billion in annual revenue potential as it expands into new trades and markets.

The company is actively capitalizing on this opportunity. Revenue grew 25% in its fiscal second quarter of 2026 to $242 million. Retaining existing customers and expanding those relationships helped drive growth, as evidenced by its net dollar revenue retention of over 110%. It hasn’t yet achieved profitability under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), but its free cash flow rose over 83% in the period to $34.3 million.

I believe ServiceTitan can continue to grow rapidly for years to come, given its substantial untapped market and expanding customer base. This significant opportunity presents a long path to increasing revenue, which is why I believe it could deliver robust returns in the coming years.

An AI-powered fintech leader

Klarna Group just completed its long-awaited IPO last month. The Swedish financial technology company enables consumers to make buy now, pay later (BNPL) purchases. It also actively leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to boost productivity and enhance its services.

The company is capitalizing on several trends to build a unique commerce network. Consumers are increasingly using digital payments to process transactions.

At the same time, they’re shifting away from credit cards and have low trust in banks. That’s enabling Klarna to bridge the gap between consumers and merchants with a digital solution for payments and banking built on its proprietary AI-powered technology.

Klarna makes money from payments and advertising, which are huge and growing market opportunities. The current addressable market for its payments offering is $520 billion. It has a tiny sliver of that market (0.6%).

Management estimates that there’s over $100 billion of growth ahead in its existing markets and a more than $400 billion expansion opportunity in potential new markets. Meanwhile, the digital advertising market is $570 billion. The company has an even smaller slice of this (0.03%), which it sees growing to $735 billion in the coming years.

The business is growing rapidly and now serves 790,000 merchants (a 34% year-over-year increase in the second quarter) and supports 111 million active customers (a 31% increase). This expanding user base helped drive a 20% boost in revenue to $823 million.

With two huge addressable markets, Klarna appears to have significant long-term potential. The small share of both the payment and digital advertising markets that it currently holds suggests there’s plenty of room to deliver rapid revenue growth as it continues to expand into new sectors. This growth potential could enable the company to generate strong returns in the coming years.

Two potential game changers

I believe ServiceTitan and Klarna have tremendous opportunities, and both companies are using their proprietary technology to capitalize on it. I expect that they could deliver game-changing returns, which makes me excited to finally add these recent IPOs to my portfolio.

As you think about and plan for retirement, you may be wondering how to get to a nest egg of $1 million. (Note, though, that the precise amount you will need for retirement might be more or less than that.) Let’s see how you can grow your wealth — whether you start with $100,000 or $0 or some other sum.

There are multiple ways you can achieve your financial goals. I’ll review a few here. Even if you’re very late to retirement planning, you may be able to significantly improve your financial condition.

Image source: Getty Images.

I mentioned $100,000 because lots of people feel that they’re behind in saving for retirement, but many might have saved that much by now. If you have less than that, take heart — you’re not alone. Check out these numbers from the 2024 EBRI/Greenwald Research Retirement Confidence Survey.

Source: 2024 EBRI/Greenwald Research Retirement Confidence Survey. *Excluding the value of a primary home.

See? Fully 47% of workers had less than $100,000 socked away, and 29% had less than $25,000.

1. Index funds for the win!

For most of us, simple low-fee index funds that own shares in a variety of stocks can be all we need to amass significant wealth. An index fund tracks a particular index of securities, aiming to deliver roughly the same return (less fees) by owning roughly the same securities. So an S&P 500 index fund would aim to deliver roughly the same results as the index — which has averaged annual gains of close to 10% over many decades, though that includes up years and down years and isn’t guaranteed to be up when you need the money.

To do some math, here’s how your money would grow over time at 8%. The table below assumes you start with $0:

Calculations by author.

As long as you’re not retiring soon, you may be able to get to that $1 million goal. Remember, too, that you can speed up the process if you can sock away more money regularly, especially in your early years, giving those dollars more time to grow. And if you’re starting with $100,000, you’ve got a great head start!

Here are three index funds to consider:

• Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO): This fund has a very low annual fee and includes the shares of 500 of the biggest companies in America, which together make up around 80% of the entire U.S. market.
• Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (NYSEMKT: VTI): This ETF has a wider scope, aiming to own shares of all U.S. stocks, including the small and medium-sized ones that don’t make it into the S&P 500.
• Vanguard Total World Stock ETF (NYSEMKT: VT): This ETF aims to encompass just about all the stocks in the world.

2. Dividend stocks

While index funds can be all you need, you may want to consider dividend-paying stocks for your portfolio, too, as they have beaten other types of stocks.

Data source: Ned Davis Research and Hartford Funds.

If you have, say, $300,000 invested in dividend payers with an overall dividend yield of 4%, that would generate $12,000 annually — about $1,000 per month. That’s very handy income in retirement, and it doesn’t require you to sell any shares, either. Better still, healthy and growing dividend payers tend to increase their payouts over time, which can help you keep up with inflation.

3. Growth stocks

If you want to aim for much higher average annual growth rates for your portfolio, you might add some growth stocks to it. Just know that this introduces more risk — because while many growth stocks will deliver phenomenal returns, others will flame out. Growth stocks tend to grow faster than other stocks, but when circumstances change, they can fall harder.

You might try to manage the risk by spreading your dollars across a bunch of them. The Motley Fool investing philosophy suggests buying into around 25 or more companies and aiming to hang on to your shares for at least five years. Investing is best used as a long-term money-making effort. 

Those are three approaches to building your wealth as you aim for a million dollars or more. You don’t have to choose just one of them, either. You might engage in them all, to some degree.

If you’re looking for some monster returns, the stocks that can provide them come in many shapes and sizes. For this exercise, we’re going to identify three stocks that show significant revenue growth as well as improving free cash flow and gross margins.

These indicators emphasize better financial health, flexibility for growth, or returning extra value to shareholders. Here’s a look at three companies with rising top lines, while simultaneously bringing more dollars to their bottom lines.

One seller’s trash, another buyer’s treasure

First up is a company called Copart (CPRT -0.33%), which operates an online salvage-vehicle auctions that 11 countries across North America, Europe, and the Middle East. Copart makes over 3.5 million transactions annually through its virtual bidding platform that connects vehicle sellers with over 750,000 registered buyers.

CPRT data by YCharts; TTM = trailing 12 months.

Copart has quickly grown into the largest online salvage-vehicle auction operator in the U.S. market and has grown its top line nearly fivefold since 2009 thanks to a strategy of land expansion and higher salvage volume. The company has contracts with large auto insurers, which have a plethora of vehicles deemed a total loss and sell them on consignment for high margins to dismantlers.

Image source: Getty Images.

Copart has been expanding. It’s crucial for the company to have ample land capacity to handle an influx of salvage vehicles on short notice and has nearly tripled its acreage since 2015, with an emphasis on areas at high risk of natural disasters. It’s also expanding into the salvage-vehicle resale process with offerings such as vehicle title transfer and salvage estimation services.

The company is expanding its business and its top line and has durable competitive advantages with the land it owns, creating a high-liquidity marketplace for buyers and sellers that isn’t easily replicable.

A recurring revenue dream

Autodesk (ADSK -2.19%) is an application software company servicing industries that span architecture, engineering, construction, product design and manufacturing, media, and entertainment. The company essentially enables the design, rendering, and modeling needs of those industries and has over 4 million paid subscribers across 180 countries.

ADSK data by YCharts.

Autodesk, while providing leading industry computer-aided design software, drives its success and durable competitive advantages through switching costs and network effects, which actually tend to reinforce each other. Widespread training on its software, often early in careers, not only gives people familiarity with the software, it also makes the cost of learning a competing software undesirable, unproductive, and time-consuming.

Furthermore, according to Morningstar, over 95% of its revenue is now recurring after the company transitioned away from licenses to a subscription model over the better part of the last decade. The change should enable the company to drive its top line even higher as it extracts more revenue per user with upsells and a more mature and loyal user base.

Autodesk even has upside if it can capture a chunk of the estimated 12 million to 15 million people using pirated versions of its software.

A hotel for every need

As of the end of 2024, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG -1.01%) operated nearly 990,000 rooms across 19 brands that span from midscale through luxury segments. Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express are its largest and most recognizable brands, but it also has an assortment of lesser-known lifestyle brands that are recording strong demand.

IHG data by YCharts.

While there’s a bit of U.S. economic uncertainty in the near term, InterContinental should be able to leverage its strong brand of assets to drive room share (i.e., market share) over the next decade. It has renovated and newer brands focusing on attractive midscale and extended-stay segments, as well as a loyalty program with roughly 145 million members to help drive growth.

The company also holds significant assets in international markets with those outside of the Americas generating 47% of total rooms for 2024, and it’s well positioned for the more than 1 billion middle-income consumers expected to be joining the global population over the next 10 years.

The company has over 99% of rooms managed or franchised, which provides an attractive recurring-fee business model highlighted by high return on invested capital (ROIC) as well as high switching costs for property owners.

Contracts often last from 20 to 30 years, also providing noteworthy cancellation costs for owners — all helping drive durable competitive advantages for IHG.

Are they buys?

For long-term investors, these three potentially monster stocks have proved they can rapidly grow their top line while also improving gross margins and pushing more dollars into free cash flow.

The kicker is that all three possess some form of competitive advantage that should sustain and enable growth over the next decade. If you’re looking for market beating returns, these three stocks are a great place to start your research — and perhaps a small position.

For those who still have significant debts from school, figuring out financial decisions can be tough. In terms of investing — should you? — the answer isn’t exactly one-sided. There are many things to consider when choosing whether to invest while you still have student debt.

The student debt landscape: A reality check

Before diving into strategy, let’s start with the facts. As of 2025, American student loan debt sits at roughly $1.8 trillion, held by about 42 million to 43 million borrowers. The average federal student loan balance is north of $37,000. Meanwhile, delinquency rates are rising. Around 5.8 million borrowers were 90+ days behind on payments as of April 2025 — nearly one in three of those with payments due. With collections restarted after pandemic-era pauses, many borrowers are now facing renewed pressure and risk of credit score damage.

Given all of that, it’s a compelling question: If you’re carrying student debt, should you pause investing to focus on paying it off? Or is there a smarter path that balances paying off debt with trying to make money in the market?

Image source: Getty Images.

Investing vs. paying down debt

There’s no one-size-fits-all best path. Here are key trade-offs to consider.

1. Interest rates matter

If your student debt has a high interest rate (say, 6% or more), that’s a strong argument for paying it down aggressively. Money you put toward debt repayment gives you a guaranteed “return” if you look at it in terms of interest saved. Meanwhile, the stock market is volatile. While its long-term average might exceed 7% to 8%, that’s not guaranteed in any given period.

However, if your interest rate is low or if you’re eligible for subsidies, income-driven repayment plans, or forgiveness options, you’ve got more room to instead use your money in the market. 

2. The power of time

Time in the market is a hard-to-beat advantage. Something as simple as an investment in JPMorgan Chase  (NYSE: JPM) has returned 206% over the last five years. Even modest investments made early can grow significantly over decades. That’s especially true for investments in tax-advantaged accounts like 401(k)s or IRAs. If you can contribute 5% to 10% of your paycheck now (while still meeting debt obligations), that can create future momentum.

3. Hybrid approach

For many, the optimal route is splitting resources. If you have a job and are making a decent income, pay more than the minimum on your student loans while also investing a portion of your income. This way, you get debt reduction and exposure to market upside. The trick is to calibrate how much weight you give each goal depending on interest rates, cash flow, and risk tolerance. Before investing in the stock market, you’ll want to make sure you have an emergency fund set up and have paid off any high-interest debt. And don’t invest any money you’ll need in the short term, say, for your wedding next year or the round-the-trip adventure you’re planning a few years out. 

When investing while in debt makes sense

Here are cases where it may be prudent to keep investing despite having student loans:

• Employer match: If your employer offers a 401(k) match, that’s free money. You generally shouldn’t leave that on the table.
• Low-interest or forgiveness paths: If your loan is on an income-driven plan, or you qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) or other debt relief, more room opens for investing.
• Strong cash-flow buffer: If you still have discretionary money after expenses and loan payments, investing some of it helps you build a nest egg, rather than waiting until all debt is paid.
• Time horizon is long: If you’re young and decades away from retirement, the upside of investing early can outweigh the drag of debt, especially if your debt rate is modest.

When it makes more sense to focus on debt

On the flip side, it may be wise to pause or dial back investments in certain scenarios:

• High interest rates or variable rates: These can erode your financial flexibility if interest rates spike.
• Limited cash cushion: Don’t end up with no cash on hand for rainy days. If making both payments leaves little buffer, you’re vulnerable to emergencies.
• Credit consequences: Missed student loan payments can damage your credit, making future borrowing (for a house, car, etc.) more expensive.
• Just wanting it done: Maybe you just don’t want debt anymore. That’s not a bad thing. Paying off your loans before investing might not be the most balanced approach, but if it’s what you want, it’s not a bad plan.

A sample game plan

1. Understand your debt terms: Know your interest rates, whether your loans are subsidized, whether you’re eligible for forgiveness, and how flexible your repayment plan is (e.g., income-driven plans).
2. Target the “extra money” bucket: After covering essentials and making minimum payments, decide how much extra you can allocate.
3. Allocate smartly: You might do something like this: 60% of your extra goes toward accelerating paying off student debt, while 40% goes to investing. Adjust this plan based on your personal risk appetite.
4. Max out employer match first: If your employer match exists, treat it as a no-brainer priority before accelerating debt.
5. Reassess regularly: As your income, interest rates, or life stage change, revisit your mix.

Class dismissed

Carrying student debt doesn’t mean you have to shelve investing entirely — but it does require balance. The ideal strategy often lies in a hybrid approach that respects both the guaranteed benefit of paying debt and the growth potential of investing. If your debt’s cost is manageable and you can access employer-matching or tax-advantaged accounts, continuing to invest while silencing your loans can set you up for a stronger financial future.

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are one of the best investments for those looking for lower-effort ways to get involved in the stock market, and the right investment can help you build long-term wealth while barely lifting a finger.

But with some investors worried about potential volatility, it can be tough to choose the right ETF. While there’s no single best investment for every portfolio, there are a few good reasons why the Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (VYM -2.00%) could be a great buy in 2025.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Its diversification can help limit risk

The Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF contains 579 stocks, which are fairly evenly allocated across 10 different industries. It’s most heavily allocated to the financials sector, representing close to 22% of the fund.

This level of diversification can help mitigate risk. In general, the more stocks you own across a wider variety of industries, the safer your portfolio will be. There are limits to diversification, but if you’re investing in hundreds of stocks across 10 industries, your portfolio won’t be crushed if a handful of stocks or even an entire sector is hit hard in a market downturn.

One thing that makes this fund somewhat different from many other ETFs is its lighter allocation toward tech stocks at only 12% of the fund — compared to, for example, the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, which devotes over 33% of the fund toward tech.

Tech stocks often deliver higher returns than those from other sectors, but they can also be highly volatile. Relying less on this industry can help reduce risk and short-term turbulence, which can be a major advantage in periods of uncertainty.

2. It offers consistent performance

This ETF won’t experience the same returns as, say, a high-powered growth ETF, and that’s OK. Each fund has its own unique strengths and weaknesses, and the High Dividend Yield ETF’s biggest strength is consistency.

All the stocks in this fund have a history of delivering high dividend yields year after year. Companies with strong dividend payouts are often more mature and established than their younger and more volatile counterparts, as the latter are generally more focused on growing and stabilizing the business than paying out dividends.

This doesn’t mean that these companies won’t face shakiness in the near term, especially during a market downturn. But many of the stocks in this ETF have a decades-long track record of recovering from even the most severe economic rough patches while still paying out consistent dividends to shareholders.

3. Its high dividend can generate passive income

Perhaps the biggest advantage of investing in a dividend ETF is the dividend income itself. This fund most recently paid out a quarterly dividend of around $0.84 per share, and while that may not sound significant, it adds up when you accumulate dozens or hundreds of shares over time.

Dividend ETFs can be particularly strong investments during periods of market uncertainty. Besides the general consistency and diversification that this fund offers, you can also rely on it as a steady source of passive income via dividend payments. While you can reinvest those dividends back into the fund, you can also choose to cash them out each quarter for some extra income.

High-yield dividend funds specifically are designed to pay higher dividends compared to other stocks and ETFs. If you’re looking to grow a stable stream of passive income, the Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF can help you get there.

It’s unclear where the stock market may be headed throughout the rest of 2025. But during periods of uncertainty, investing in a dividend ETF can help keep your portfolio more protected, regardless of what’s coming.

Brookfield Corporation (BN -4.28%) completed a three-for-two stock split earlier this week. The global investment firm split its shares to make them more accessible to individual investors and to enhance the trading liquidity of its stock.

Over the past 30 years, the company has completed several stock splits as a result of delivering a total return exceeding 27,000%. Brookfield has consistently outperformed the broader market, with a 19% annualized total return over the last three decades compared to 11% for the S&P 500. Looking forward, Brookfield expects to continue delivering strong growth, which could triple the value of its shares by 2030

Image source: Getty Images.

Brookfield: The wealth-creating machine

Despite its impressive returns, many investors aren’t too familiar with Brookfield. The Canadian company is a leading global investment manager with three businesses:

• Asset management: The company owns a 73% interest in Brookfield Asset Management, a leading global alternative investment manager with over $1 trillion in assets under management (AUM).
• Wealth solutions: Brookfield Wealth Solutions is an investment-led insurance company that offers annuities, as well as property, casualty, and life insurance.
• Operating businesses: It owns interests in four global operating platforms focused on infrastructure (Brookfield Infrastructure), renewable energy (Brookfield Renewable), private equity (Brookfield Business), and real estate (Brookfield Property).

These businesses generate significant and rapidly growing operating cash flows, enabling Brookfield to return capital to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases, while also allocating funds to enhance shareholder value.

Over the last five years, Brookfield has grown its distributable earnings at a 22% compound annual rate, raising them from $2 billion in 2020 to an expected $5.3 billion this year. This growth puts the company’s intrinsic value at $102 per share (pre-split), well above the recent pre-split stock price of less than $70 a share. Over the past year, Brookfield has returned $1.5 billion to investors ($1 billion for share repurchases and $500 million in dividends), while retaining the remaining capital for reinvestment.

The plan leading to 2030

Brookfield expects to continue growing rapidly over the next five years. The company aims to deliver annualized total distributable earnings-per-share growth of 25% during this period. Within this, its core businesses should generate 20% annualized growth, with an additional 5% growth anticipated from capital allocation activities. As a result, Brookfield estimates its share value could increase at an annual rate of 16%, potentially rising to $210 (pre-split) by 2030 — a projected increase of over 200% from current levels.

The investment firm anticipates that its wealth solutions business will be a significant growth driver through 2030, accounting for over one-third of its anticipated total growth. Management’s goal is to grow its insurance assets from $135 billion currently to $350 billion by 2030, which it expects would more than double the platform’s earnings in the next five years. Brookfield has been expanding this platform through acquisitions, most recently announcing an agreement to acquire Just Group for $3.2 billion, expanding its reach to the UK pension risk market.

Brookfield also sees robust future growth for its asset management business. The company anticipates capitalizing on growing investor demand for alternative investments, which typically offer higher returns and lower volatility compared to traditional asset classes. Many individual investors have relatively low exposure to alternatives, representing a major market opportunity given that they hold $40 trillion in wealth.

Finally, Brookfield generates significant free cash flow, providing capital to grow shareholder value. The company estimates that by 2030, it will produce $25 billion in cumulative surplus free cash flow after dividend payments and current capital commitments, which it can allocate to acquisitions, fund investments, and other opportunities.

A top stock-split stock to buy now and hold for the next five years

Brookfield Corporation has consistently demonstrated a remarkable ability to grow shareholder value over the years. As a result, it has had to split its stock several times, including earlier this week. More stock splits seem likely, given the company’s robust growth profile. That makes it a great stock to buy post-split, as shares could triple in value from here by 2030.

I never shy away from a chance to tell someone how lucrative dividend stocks can be. Reliable distributions may not be as fun to brag about as share price appreciation, but they can quietly help you build wealth, particularly if you reinvest them to benefit from compound growth. And succeeding with an income investment strategy doesn’t require the acumen of a Wall Street veteran, either. It can be as simple as investing in a dividend-focused exchange-traded fund (ETF).

There are numerous worthwhile dividend ETFs on the market, but if you’re looking for one to invest $1,000 in now, I say look no further than the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD -1.67%). It checks off many of the boxes that dividend investors should have on their lists.

Image source: Getty Images.

A good vetting process

One of the boxes the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF checks off (and arguably the most important one) is that it contains only high-quality companies. It tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100, and entry into that index requires that companies have consistent cash flow, a strong balance sheet, a track record of at least 10 years of dividend payouts, and strong profitability.

These criteria mean that its components aren’t picked solely based on their dividends, and that they’re unlikely to be yield traps — stocks where the yields are high (and thus, attractive on the surface) because their share price has declined meaningfully due to poor business performance.

This doesn’t mean companies in this ETF won’t ever face challenges, but they have businesses built to withstand them. Below are the fund’s top 10 holdings:

Source: Charles Schwab. Percentages as of Oct. 7.

These companies aren’t the high-flying tech stocks that get a lot of attention in the media and on Wall Street, but they’re reliable, generate consistent cash flows, and have proven that their businesses can hold up during tough economic times. That’s always important, but it’s especially so with dividend stocks, which provide much of their long-term value to shareholders by steadily distributing profits.

A dividend that will grow over time

Not only do the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF’s criteria rule out companies with shaky or unstable dividends, they also favor companies that prioritize regularly increasing their payouts. Over the past decade, the ETF’s dividend per share has increased by 187% to $0.26 per quarter.

At the ETF’s price at the time of this writing, that works out to around a 3.8% yield, meaningfully above its average over the past decade.

SCHD Dividend Yield data by YCharts.

Although the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF’s dividend yield will inevitably fluctuate as the prices of the stocks in its portfolio do, if we assume it remains around 3.8%, that would pay out around $38 annually per $1,000 invested. That’s not life-changing money. However, it can add up over time, especially if you reinvest your dividends and focus on acquiring more shares.

How much could a $1,000 become worth?

There’s no way to predict how a stock or ETF will perform, but for the sake of illustration, let’s assume the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF continues to deliver at the same pace it has averaged over the past decade: an average annualized total return of 11.7%. At that rate, here is roughly how much a $1,000 investment would be worth after various periods (accounting for SCHD’s 0.06% expense ratio):

• 10 years: $3,007.
• 15 years: $5,215.
• 20 years: $9,044.
• 25 years: $15,685.

Those are impressive gains, but your results would be even better if you steadily invested more money in it over time. Adding $100 a month would give you a holding worth around $23,700 in 10 years, $48,670 in 15 years, $91,980 in 20 years, and $167,080 in 25 years. Those are huge differences from just the one-time $1,000 investment.

Nothing is guaranteed in the stock market, but the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF has a track record of being a great choice for investors seeking reliable and consistent income.

What does it take to become a millionaire investor? You could bet everything on one stock and pray that it works out well. Or you could build a diversified portfolio that includes both reliable stocks and riskier, more growth-oriented choices. The second option is likely to be the best one for most investors.

And, if you go that route, you’ll want to consider beverage king Coca-Cola (KO 1.02%) as you look to build a seven-figure nest egg.

What does Coca-Cola do?

Coca-Cola is one of the largest consumer staples companies on the planet, with a market capitalization of around $280 billion. The company’s namesake brand is iconic and well known in countries around the world, though it is really just one of the many beverage products Coca-Cola sells.

From a big-picture perspective, the products Coca-Cola produces are really luxury items. You could just drink free tap water instead of paying far more for a soda. However, the cost of a soda, or any of the other branded beverages the company sells, is modest. So, in effect, Coca-Cola is selling an affordable luxury that most people are loath to give up even during hard times, like recessions.

Thus, Coca-Cola’s business tends to be very resilient. That’s highlighted by its status as a Dividend King, with more than 60 years’ worth of annual dividend increases backing its roughly 3.1% dividend yield. Without getting into details, Coca-Cola stands toe to toe with any consumer staples company when it comes to the strength of its business.

It can be a reliable foundation for a diversified millionaire-making portfolio. It allows you to stack higher-growth, riskier investments on top of it without having to fear that you will lose it all by taking on too many risky bets.

Why buy Coca-Cola now?

Coca-Cola is a well-run company and it doesn’t go on sale very often. When it does get put on the discount rack, the sale is usually pretty modest. Don’t go into a valuation analysis here expecting to find a deep discount. But that doesn’t mean there is no discount.

For starters, Coca-Cola’s 3.1% dividend yield is quite attractive on a comparative basis. One vital reference point is the skinny 1.2% yield of the S&P 500 index. But the yield is also well above the 2.7% average yield for the consumer staples sector as a whole. On a relative basis, Coca-Cola’s dividend yield suggests it is trading at an attractive price for long-term investors.

That fact is backed up by more traditional valuation metrics. For example, Coca-Cola’s price-to-sales ratio is currently around 6.1 versus a five-year average of roughly 6.3. That’s not a huge discount, per se, but it is cheaper than normal. The price-to-earnings ratio shows the same trend, with the current figure at about 23.5 compared to a five-year average of nearly 27. A fair to slightly discounted price for a company like Coca-Cola is a pretty good long-term investment opportunity.

Build your million-dollar portfolio from the ground up

Coca-Cola isn’t likely to get you to millionaire status all by itself. And even if it did, the process would likely require decades to play out. However, you probably shouldn’t be buying a single stock and hoping to hit it rich. You should spread your bets out, with some more risky ones and some more conservative ones, like Coca-Cola.

Coca-Cola isn’t an exciting growth stock. Coca-Cola isn’t a dirt cheap turnaround story. It is a boring company that can be expected to grow slowly and steadily over time while spitting out a reliable and growing dividend. And that is the foundation on which you can build out a much more interesting millionaire-making portfolio.

Eaton Corporation (ETN -2.15%) has garnered significant investor interest due to its exposure to the rapidly growing data center infrastructure market, and rightly so. Still, is it enough to justify the current valuation, and what do investors need to assume about the company’s growth prospects to buy the stock? Here’s the lowdown.

A valuation change

The change in investor sentiment toward Eaton is expressed in the chart below. Traditionally, electrical and power products companies were viewed as mature and relatively low-growth entities that struggled to expand beyond the confines of low-single-digit gross domestic product growth. As a rough rule of thumb, such companies in the industrial world are accorded a ratio of enterprise value (market cap plus net debt) to earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of about 11 and/or a price-to-free-cash-flow ratio of about 20.

As you can see in the following chart, these valuations are mainly consistent with what Eaton previously traded at. However, in recent years, there has been a significant increase in the valuation investors are willing to pay.

ETN EV to EBITDA data by YCharts.

Why investors view Eaton more favorably

The increase in valuation is due to the increase in its growth rate — in 2019, its three-year average revenue growth rate was 2.7% compared to 8.2% in 2024 — and the potential for growth stemming from its exposure to data centers, particularly in North America. The need for data centers is being largely driven by the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI). The table below breaks out Eaton’s revenue by segment, illustrating the significant contribution of the Electrical Americas segment over the past few years.

Data source: Eaton SEC filings.

The growth in the Electrical Americas segment is expected to be driven by data centers in the near term, as they have now become Eaton’s second-largest end market by sales, with management estimating that data centers will be responsible for 17% of total revenue in 2025. Moreover, it’s reasonable to argue that its second-fastest growing end market, utilities (11% of revenue), is at least in part driven by demand for power from data centers.

In addition, Eaton is a beneficiary of the “electrification of everything” megatrend, with solid end demand from defense and aerospace (estimated to account for 6% of 2025 sales). It also has growth prospects in commercial aerospace (9%), given Boeing and Airbus‘ backlogs and plans to ramp up production.

Image source: Getty Images.

Is Eaton Stock a buy?

The growth case is compelling, and Wall Street analysts expect Eaton’s revenue to grow at a 9% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to 2027, with earnings growing at a near 14% annual rate.

That being said, there are a few key considerations to keep in mind. First, data centers and utilities are expected to account for a combined 28% of revenue in 2025, and there’s no guarantee that the torrid rates of growth in AI-led data center spending will continue.

Second, as the table above indicates, its eMobility business (components for electric vehicles) is not currently profitable. Since management expects to grow at a double-digit rate to 2030, the vehicle business (internal combustion engine components) is only expected to grow by low single digits to 2030; it’s hard to see how this relative shift in automotive-related revenue won’t result in some margin pressure.

Third, the company’s valuation relative to non-pure play data center peers appears high. A stock like Vertiv might be a better fit for investors seeking a pure-play data center stock.

ETN EV to EBITDA data by YCharts.

Trading at an EV/EBITDA of 19 using estimates for 2027 and at a price-to-free-cash-flow of 28.6 using 2027 estimates, Eaton looks like a fully valued stock because it will need more than a ramp-up in data center spending expectations before the stock seems like a good value.

Healthcare stocks have struggled since interest rates began climbing in 2022. Rising yields pulled capital away from speculative biotech and drug development, pushing valuations lower even as research pipelines advanced. Many promising companies now trade at a fraction of their previous highs, while investors pour money into artificial intelligence (AI) names trading at record multiples.

That gap creates opportunity. Several healthcare innovators are approaching pivotal stages of development, yet their share prices still reflect caution rather than potential. These four healthcare stocks stand out as timely buys in a market that has overlooked their progress.

Image source: Getty Images.

Commercial momentum building

Crispr Therapeutics (CRSP -2.44%) and Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX -1.68%) developed Casgevy, the first gene-editing treatment approved for sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia, two inherited blood disorders.

Vertex reported $30 million in Casgevy sales in the second quarter of 2025, a sharp uptick from prior quarters, showing the drug is starting to gain traction in the marketplace. Crispr receives 40% of the program’s profits through its partnership with Vertex.

By mid-2025, 75 hospitals and clinics worldwide had been cleared to administer Casgevy, and approximately 115 patients had begun the treatment process. As more centers gain experience, patient numbers and sales are expected to grow through 2025 and 2026.

Outside of Casgevy, Crispr is working on several new treatments it fully owns, such as CTX112, a cell-based therapy in early testing for cancer and immune diseases. Results from CTX112 or other key pipeline candidates in late 2025 could provide a boost to the stock if the data show clear progress.

Late-stage catalysts approaching

Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA -3.81%) is advancing two CRISPR gene-editing programs toward key readouts. It recently completed enrollment in its Phase 3 study for hereditary angioedema, a rare disease that causes sudden swelling attacks, using a treatment called lonvoguran ziclomeran (NTLA-2002). Topline results are expected in the first half of 2026, with a regulatory filing planned later that year.

Intellia is also pushing forward with its program for ATTR amyloidosis, a disease in which abnormal proteins build up and damage the heart and nerves, using a treatment called nex-z (NTLA-2001). A pivotal trial is underway, and earlier testing showed that a single dose can reduce the TTR protein by approximately 91% in many patients, with data showing sustained reductions over time.

If both programs succeed, Intellia could become one of the first companies to win approval for a single-dose, in vivo CRISPR therapy (where gene editing happens directly inside the body) — a potential breakthrough that could lift investor expectations and reset how gene-editing companies are valued.

Platform plays with pharma validation

Recursion Pharmaceuticals (RXRX -10.24%) runs a drug discovery platform powered by AI and backed by big pharma partnerships such as Sanofi, Roche, and Bayer. In its latest results, the company pulled in $19.2 million in revenue — primarily from collaborations.

Several clinical trial updates are expected later in 2025. If those trials show its AI-discovered drugs perform well in patients, the market may begin valuing its individual programs more favorably — and that could unlock significant upside for the stock.

Viking Therapeutics (VKTX -4.00%) is advancing VK2735, a dual GLP-1/GIP agonist, through late-stage development for obesity. In its mid-stage study, the injectable version produced up to 14.7% average weight loss after 13 weeks and is now being tested in a large late-stage trial across obesity and type 2 diabetes populations.

The stock declined in August 2025 after results from the oral formulation showed higher dropout rates caused by gastrointestinal side effects from rapid dose escalation. The findings reflected how the drug was given, not an underlying problem with the compound.

With a slower titration schedule, tolerability could improve meaningfully. Both the injectable and oral versions remain key to Viking’s obesity strategy, positioning the company to compete in a market expected to exceed $100 billion in annual sales.

Net worth is one of the most important financial numbers to know.

You should monitor your net worth because it changes over time, and it gives you a good idea of how close you are to being financially independent and shows whether you are making progress on your financial goals.

It can also be fun to see how your net worth stacks up to your peers. In particular, you may be curious about what net worth you would need to be among the top 10% of American households. The number is, unsurprisingly, pretty big.

Here’s the amount you would need, along with some details on calculating your net worth — and increasing it.

Image source: Getty Images.

How do you calculate your net worth?

Before diving into the net worth you need to be among the top 10%, it’s helpful to consider how to calculate net worth in the first place.

Net worth is essentially how much wealth you have to your name. To calculate your net worth:

• Start by adding up the value of all your assets. Money in your bank account and savings account counts. So does money in your money market account. If you have CDs, these count as well. Same with investment dollars in a brokerage account. If you own real estate, a car, jewelry, personal items, or anything else of value, it counts toward your net worth.
• Add up all your debt. You’ll also need to add up what you owe. Credit card debts, student loans, payday loans, a mortgage, and any other financial obligations you have will all become part of your debt calculation. You can check your credit report to confirm balances on all your debts if you aren’t sure of the amounts.
• Subtract the amount of your debt from the value of your assets. If your assets are worth $500,000, for example, but you have $350,000 in debt, then you subtract $350,000 from $500,000 to discover that your net worth is $150,000.

If your net worth is negative, that’s pretty common if you’re young. Many people don’t own much, and they borrow for school, so they graduate with a lot of debt.

As you get older, though, your net worth should be growing as you build up money in brokerage accounts and retirement plans.

Are you in the top 10% of American households?

Now that you know how net worth is calculated, you may want to see where you stand.

The best information on this comes from the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances, which comes out once every three years. Unfortunately, the most recent data is from 2022. Still, we can take a look at that information to get an idea of what the top 10% of earners have in terms of wealth.

Based on this data from the Federal Reserve, the top 10% of American households had a net worth of at least $1,936,900, although the threshold varies by age. For example:

• Among 18 to 29-year-olds, you’d need $281,550 or higher to be in the top 10%
• Between 30 to 39, you’d need $711,400
• Between 40 to 49, you’d need $1,313,700
• Between 50 to 59, you’d need $2,629,060
• Between 60 to 69, you’d need $3,007,400
• At age 70 and over, you’d need $2,862,000

While these are high numbers, the amount is most likely even higher today due to the stellar performance of the stock market and the increase in real estate values in recent years.

While the Federal Reserve should have new data soon, these numbers show that it takes millions to be among the wealthiest Americans in terms of net worth.

Still, regardless of how you compare to your peers, what’s important is that you work on growing your own net worth by paying down debt, investing in your 401(k), IRA, and other accounts, and making smart financial choices that make you more financially secure over time.