Klaus Vedfelt/DigitalVision via Getty Images I couldn't ask for a better start to the year; compounding off last month, I added another substantial increase to my forward income. Once again, there were healthy contributions from all three forms of dividend growth: new purchases, dividend increases, and dividend reinvestments. The Brookfield positions continue to provide strong growth to my portfol...
Klaus Vedfelt/DigitalVision via Getty Images I couldn't ask for a better start to the year; compounding off last month, I added another substantial increase to my forward income. Once again, there were healthy contributions from all three forms of dividend growth: new purchases, dividend increases, and dividend reinvestments. The Brookfield positions continue to provide strong growth to my portfolio after this month's big dividend increase announcement from one of their holdings. Since this series started in July of 2022, I have collected a total of $18,575.18 in dividends. Cumulative Dividends Received (Personal Spreadsheets) Background The initiation of tracking my DGI income on Seeking Alpha can be found here . My dividend income is tracked across all of my portfolios (taxable accounts and IRAs, not 401(k)s ). A large portion of the target $100,000 in forward-projected dividends will be produced within retirement accounts and thus not easily accessible during early retirement; however, I will aim to maintain a 33% proportion of dividend income in my taxable account. With this level of dividend income and adhering to the 4% rule on the overall taxable account size, I will be able to reasonably consider a change in career to a more part-time role or pursue other methods of income until I am able to access retirement funds. Meanwhile, my retirement accounts will continue to build and grow until I'm ready to begin taking distributions to fund my retirement. Forward Income Added During the month of February, I added $132.38 in forward income (an increase of 2.05% month/month), now making my total forward income $6,574.78. I received a somewhat low level of dividends this month, $358.52. My dividends received per month have a relatively steady floor month-to-month as investments have been made in monthly dividend payers such as Realty Income Corp. ( O ), Main Street Capital ( MAIN ), NEOS S&P 500 High Income ETF ( SPYI ), and Agree Realty ( ADC ). My breakdown of incom...
Sundry Photography Wells Fargo initiated coverage on the cybersecurity industry on Tuesday, including putting an Overweight rating and $450 price target on CrowdStrike ( CRWD ). The firm believes the company is likely to benefit by becoming a platform. “We see CRWD as [a] top share gainer in cybersecurity, leading to sustainable elevated growth at meaningful scale,” analyst Michael Turrin wrote in...
Sundry Photography Wells Fargo initiated coverage on the cybersecurity industry on Tuesday, including putting an Overweight rating and $450 price target on CrowdStrike ( CRWD ). The firm believes the company is likely to benefit by becoming a platform. “We see CRWD as [a] top share gainer in cybersecurity, leading to sustainable elevated growth at meaningful scale,” analyst Michael Turrin wrote in a note to clients. “Several [near-term and long-term] catalysts to drive upside vs. [expectations] give us comfort [we're] not late to the party despite current premium.” Not only is Turrin bullish on CrowdStrike's Flex, which replaces module-by- module procurement and eliminates friction, but he also sees the company's single-agent design and central security data lake as benefits over competitors. “In our view, CRWD's lightweight single-agent design & central security data lake have been the key enablers of its successful evolution from a leading next-gen AV solution into a cybersecurity platform, bearing resemblance to ServiceNow + CMDB,” Turrin added. “As such, we see CRWD well-positioned to capture incremental dollars in three categories (SIEM, Identity, Cloud) seeing secular growth, AI tailwinds & M&A-related disruption.” Turrin also noted that while investors are focused on emerging products, the company has invested in its core business via Falcon Go + Amazon Web Services PAYG + MSSP to go after areas where Microsoft's ( MSFT ) bundle is weak. “Also, we see a long list of adjacencies not captured by emerging products capable of driving growth: secure browser, exposure [management], etc.,” Turrin added. “Sub-10% growth in core assumes static distribution/TAM; seems highly unlikely to us.” More on CrowdStrike CrowdStrike: Better Bargains Elsewhere In Cybersecurity (Downgrade) Buy CrowdStrike As Trust Is Key In The Age Of AI Agents CrowdStrike: A Ridiculous Overreaction To AI Fears (Upgrade) Wedbush's cyber spending checks show no lost deals amid AI disruption CrowdSt...
Most of Apple's laptop lineup is getting refreshed today—the high-end MacBook Pros are getting M5 Pro and M5 Max chip refreshes, and the MacBook Air is getting upgraded with an M5 . The more significant update might be the storage, though: Apple is bumping the Air's base storage from 256GB up to 512GB, and Apple says the storage will be up to twice as fast as the M4 MacBook Air. But that's also in...
Most of Apple's laptop lineup is getting refreshed today—the high-end MacBook Pros are getting M5 Pro and M5 Max chip refreshes, and the MacBook Air is getting upgraded with an M5 . The more significant update might be the storage, though: Apple is bumping the Air's base storage from 256GB up to 512GB, and Apple says the storage will be up to twice as fast as the M4 MacBook Air. But that's also increasing the Air's starting price from $999 to $1,099 for the 13-inch model, and from $1,199 to $1,299 for the 15-inch model. Whether you describe this as a price increase or a price cut depends on your point of view; the 512GB version of the M4 MacBook Air would have cost you $1,199. But for people who just want the cheapest Air and don't particularly care about the specs, the pricing is now $100 higher than it was before. Apple is offering two versions of the M5 in the new Airs: one with 8 GPU cores enabled, and one with all 10 GPU cores enabled. Upgrading to the fully-enabled chip will run you an extra $100, and you'll also need to have the fully-enabled chip to step up to the 24GB or 32GB RAM upgrades or the 1TB, 2TB, or 4TB storage upgrades. All versions of the M5 include a total of four high-performance cores—now dubbed "super cores"—and six efficiency cores. An Apple N1 Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip rounds out the internal upgrades. Like the other products Apple has announced so far this week, the new MacBook Airs will be available for pre-order on March 4, and you'll be able to get them on March 11. The new MacBook Airs are part of a string of announcements that Apple is making this week in the run-up to a “ special experience ” event on Wednesday morning. So far, the company has also announced a new iPhone 17e , an updated iPad Air with an M4 chip and additional RAM, new MacBook Pros , and updated Studio Displays. Increasing the starting price of the MacBook Air, incidentally, leaves even more room in Apple's lineup for the new, cheaper MacBook that the company is said ...
The Good Brigade/DigitalVision via Getty Images Since my first coverage of Hims & Hers ( HIMS ) in January, the stock has dropped by 58%. My original thesis was, that the market focuses too much on GLP-1s and almost ignores opportunities coming from other segments, potentially bringing back historic growth rates of >50%. Hims stock price since January (Seeking Alpha Advanced Chart) There has been ...
The Good Brigade/DigitalVision via Getty Images Since my first coverage of Hims & Hers ( HIMS ) in January, the stock has dropped by 58%. My original thesis was, that the market focuses too much on GLP-1s and almost ignores opportunities coming from other segments, potentially bringing back historic growth rates of >50%. Hims stock price since January (Seeking Alpha Advanced Chart) There has been a lot going on in the past two months. On the occasion of the Q4 2025 filings, I want to share fundamental changes that have occured ever since my first article and clarify, whether my thesis still applies. Q4 Results The fourth quarter results themselves were not surprising and aligned with guidance , with revenue for the full year 2025 at $2.35 billion, up 59% YoY. Margins have been a concern for investors, as net income was up only $2 million compared to last year, at $128 million. Management said margins have been suffering under international market expansion and cadences in the weight loss segment. Customer growth has been flat quarter on quarter, with only 40 thousand new users on the platform. However, this concern should not be a discussion since the customer base has heavily increased with recent acquisitions that have been made. Nevertheless, this puts up question marks, specifically regarding the US market. Expanding Internationally On February 19, Hims & Hers announced the $1.15 billion acquisition of Eucalyptus , bringing five subsidiaries to the Hims & Hers group. The portfolio includes Kin, which focuses on fertility and pregnancy for women, and Pilot, a brand helping men with sexual health, hair loss, and weight loss. Additionally, Eucalyptus features Juniper for female weight loss and Compound for male longevity. Last is Software, which provides customers with personalized skincare. Together, the Eucalyptus group generates $450 million in annual revenue from a customer base of approximately 775 thousand customers. This acquisition primarily addresses the l...
The Telegraph has been reprimanded by a press standards watchdog after it published an entirely fabricated story about a wealthy banker complaining of the impact of school fee increases. Ian Fraser, a freelance journalist and author, complained to the Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso) that the Telegraph had breached the editors’ code of practice in an article headlined: “We earn £345...
The Telegraph has been reprimanded by a press standards watchdog after it published an entirely fabricated story about a wealthy banker complaining of the impact of school fee increases. Ian Fraser, a freelance journalist and author, complained to the Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso) that the Telegraph had breached the editors’ code of practice in an article headlined: “We earn £345k, but soaring private school fees mean we can’t go on five holidays.” The article, published online only on 25 May last year, reported on the impact increases in private school fees had had on a named couple and their three children. The story explained how the investment banker Al Moy, 38, and his wife, Alexandra, had a joint salary of £345,000 with two children at fee-paying schools. It said the couple also had a daughter, Ali, a son called Harry and a two-year-old, named Barry. The article claimed that after the addition of VAT to school fees, introduced by Labour on 1 January 2025, the couple were forced to switch supermarkets from Waitrose to Sainsbury’s, reduce their gardener to once a month and were taking fewer long-haul foreign holidays in order to make ends meet. But the family did not exist. Last year, after suggestions the whole article was generated by AI, the Press Gazette revealed it was written by a real journalist, based on a real telephone interview with a man who appears to have deceived the reporter and given them a fake name. The Press Gazette said the case study was set up by a PR working for the financial planning firm Saltus. The story also referenced Saltus research that estimated the average lifetime cost of school fees. Fraser first flagged concerns on Bluesky over the use of stock images to illustrate the family, which were taken over a decade ago. Fraser said he could also find no trace of any bankers called Al and Alexandra Moy anywhere online except in the Telegraph. View image in fullscreen A stock image believed to have been used on the ori...
JJ Gouin/iStock via Getty Images Author’s note: All funds mentioned are listed in Canadian currency Investment Overview Cogeco Communications Inc. ( CCA:CA ) has carved a niche out of underserved telecommunication markets in Canada and the U.S. The company has an attractive dividend profile and a healthy balance sheet; however, revenue growth has been elusive. While Canadian operations are stable,...
JJ Gouin/iStock via Getty Images Author’s note: All funds mentioned are listed in Canadian currency Investment Overview Cogeco Communications Inc. ( CCA:CA ) has carved a niche out of underserved telecommunication markets in Canada and the U.S. The company has an attractive dividend profile and a healthy balance sheet; however, revenue growth has been elusive. While Canadian operations are stable, the company's U.S. segment has been under pressure. In recent years, Cogeco has achieved some margin expansion; however, these gains have been offset by customer subscription losses in the U.S. segment. The company is also in the midst of a 3-year transformation project, which has yielded some positive results already. As part of its strategy to retain customers, Cogeco is investing in its network and offering limited wireless services. The margins on the company’s virtual mobile network operations are attractive; however, Cogeco has a limited audience for these services in its existing wireline clients. With a dividend yield of 5.8% supported by a modest payout ratio and a 21-year record of consecutive annual dividend increases, Cogeco looks attractive to income investors. Over the longer term, the company will need to execute on its turnaround strategy to secure growing free cash flow. Company Profile Headquartered in Montreal, Canada, Cogeco Communications has been providing boutique communications offerings since 1957. Cogeco Communications itself is partially owned and 80% controlled through another entity called Cogeco Inc. ( CGO:CA ). Cogeco Inc., the parent company, owns 12 million shares of Cogeco Communications Inc., representing an equity stake of approximately 28%. Cogeco Inc. operates in two segments: communications and media. The communication segment accounts for the majority of revenue. The small media division owns and operates 21 radio stations with 4.7 million weekly listeners in the province of Quebec. While less liquid than Cogeco Communications, inves...
Russia is poised to reap the benefits of soaring oil prices and a possible return of Indian buyers for its crude after hostilities in the Middle East effectively halted shipment of supplies through the Strait of Hormuz. Cargoes of Russia’s Urals crude floating in the Arabian Sea offer a tempting alternative to short-haul Middle Eastern barrels shut in by the effective closure of Hormuz, the strate...
Russia is poised to reap the benefits of soaring oil prices and a possible return of Indian buyers for its crude after hostilities in the Middle East effectively halted shipment of supplies through the Strait of Hormuz. Cargoes of Russia’s Urals crude floating in the Arabian Sea offer a tempting alternative to short-haul Middle Eastern barrels shut in by the effective closure of Hormuz, the strategically vital waterway that handles about a fifth of the world’s oil. Renewed Indian interest may narrow deep discounts that Moscow has been forced to offer to Asian buyers, while Russian crude prices are also set to get a boost from soaring global benchmarks. Still, icy conditions in the Baltic and an attack on its main Black Sea port may hamper Moscow’s ability to fully capitalize on the situation by boosting its shipments. In the latest data, Russia’s seaborne export volumes averaged 3.41 million barrels a day in the four weeks to March 1, according to vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. They edged lower from the period to Feb. 22, falling for the first time in six weeks, and remain about 465,000 barrels a day below their pre-Christmas peak. Crude deliveries to India fell to 1.11 million barrels a day in February, tracking data show, the lowest since November 2022. Chinese purchasers took up much of the slack, boosting seaborne imports of Russian barrels to a record 2.02 million barrels a day last month. Statements from Indian officials indicate higher interest from the country in buying Russian oil, Tass reported Tuesday, citing Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak. The longer voyages and delays involved in delivering Russian cargoes to China rather than India have kept the amount of its crude on the water close to 140 million barrels since mid-December. That’s up by about 60 million barrels, or around 65%, since the end of August. While Iran’s moves to effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz to tankers appears to offer Russia an opportunity to boost exp...
A cloud-based enterprise platform that is heavily focused on AI and automation, ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) shares are up 8.7% over the past week, snapping a stretch that took the stock down 41% over the past year. Reddit sentiment jumped from a neutral 54.5 monthly average to a bullish 70.7 over the past week. Two things drove ... ServiceNow Jumps 8.78% as Reddit Reconsiders Whether the AI Selloff Went...
A cloud-based enterprise platform that is heavily focused on AI and automation, ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) shares are up 8.7% over the past week, snapping a stretch that took the stock down 41% over the past year. Reddit sentiment jumped from a neutral 54.5 monthly average to a bullish 70.7 over the past week. Two things drove ... ServiceNow Jumps 8.78% as Reddit Reconsiders Whether the AI Selloff Went Too Far
“This government has restored economic stability,” Rachel Reeves told the House of Commons on Tuesday. Yet the chancellor was speaking just moments after MPs had been hearing from the foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, about plans to evacuate British nationals from the escalating conflagration in the Middle East. Should the violence that has sent energy prices soaring abate, the impact on inflation...
“This government has restored economic stability,” Rachel Reeves told the House of Commons on Tuesday. Yet the chancellor was speaking just moments after MPs had been hearing from the foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, about plans to evacuate British nationals from the escalating conflagration in the Middle East. Should the violence that has sent energy prices soaring abate, the impact on inflation and economic growth will be short-lived, in which case Reeves’s bold claim about economic stability may just about stand. But if the conflict is prolonged, then the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) forecasts will look hopelessly out of date within weeks. The oil price was continuing to climb as she spoke and financial markets have pushed up government borrowing costs, as they bet that central banks will be unable to cut interest rates much more in the face of rising inflation. Lower gilt yields – or interest rates on government debt – were a key reason the forecasts for the public finances have improved since the budget. But these gains will be eroded if the dramatic market moves of recent days are sustained. Reeves had hoped that after a series of missteps and U-turns, this would be the moment she could claim the credit for putting the UK on a more even keel – something she claimed was all the more important given the chaos overseas. “With unfolding conflict in Iran and the Middle East, it is incumbent on me and on this government to chart a course through that uncertainty to secure our economy against shocks and protect families from the turbulence that we see beyond our borders,” she said. She was able to point to the welcome fact that the OBR expects inflation, and public borrowing, to be lower than at the time of the November budget – and her much-vaunted “headroom” to be modestly higher. Utility bills are set to fall in April as a result of the government’s intervention in November – shifting net zero subsidies into general taxation. And the public finances l...
vadishzainer Analysts Juxtaposed Ideas and Gary Alexander have upgraded Willdan Group ( WLDN ) and Autodesk ( ADSK ), respectively, highlighting strengths in data center demand and AI resilience. In contrast, Exxon Mobil ( XOM ) and NVIDIA ( NVDA ) have been downgraded by Long Player and Deep Value Investing. These shifts reflect concerns over geopolitical price premiums in the energy sector and w...
vadishzainer Analysts Juxtaposed Ideas and Gary Alexander have upgraded Willdan Group ( WLDN ) and Autodesk ( ADSK ), respectively, highlighting strengths in data center demand and AI resilience. In contrast, Exxon Mobil ( XOM ) and NVIDIA ( NVDA ) have been downgraded by Long Player and Deep Value Investing. These shifts reflect concerns over geopolitical price premiums in the energy sector and weakening market sentiment across the semiconductor trade despite strong fundamental earnings. Upgrades Willdan Group ( WLDN ): Upgrade to Buy by Juxtaposed Ideas . The analyst highlights the company’s robust exposure to the data center and electrification boom, noting that its superior margins make the recent post-earnings selloff an attractive entry point. “Given their robust fundamentals, I am of the opinion that the correction has been a boon for those looking to add, since WLDN has finally moderated to my estimated FY2026 P/E non-GAAP valuations of 19.37x, based on the current stock prices of $89.14 and the management's FY2026 adj EPS guidance of $4.60 (-5.9% YoY).” Autodesk ( ADSK ): Upgrade to Neutral by Gary Alexander . While the analyst remains cautious about valuation compared to other SaaS peers, the upgrade is driven by Autodesk’s strong Q4 performance and the inherent resistance of its CAD software to AI disruption. “In my view, Autodesk is looking like a much better play after its recent correction and a blowout Q4 earnings print, featuring a huge acceleration in billings growth.” Downgrades Exxon Mobil ( XOM ): Downgrade to Hold by Long Player . The analyst points to a premium valuation and a dividend yield below 3%, arguing that the recent price surge is tied to nonrecurring geopolitical disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. “The valuation is now premium to much of the market as the price-earnings ratio nears 30. The dividend yield reflects the situation with a less than 3% yield. With numbers like that, I would not blame anyone that wanted to sell now and buy...
vadishzainer Analysts Juxtaposed Ideas and Gary Alexander have upgraded Willdan Group ( WLDN ) and Autodesk ( ADSK ), respectively, highlighting strengths in data center demand and AI resilience. In contrast, Exxon Mobil ( XOM ) and NVIDIA ( NVDA ) have been downgraded by Long Player and Deep Value Investing. These shifts reflect concerns over geopolitical price premiums in the energy sector and w...
vadishzainer Analysts Juxtaposed Ideas and Gary Alexander have upgraded Willdan Group ( WLDN ) and Autodesk ( ADSK ), respectively, highlighting strengths in data center demand and AI resilience. In contrast, Exxon Mobil ( XOM ) and NVIDIA ( NVDA ) have been downgraded by Long Player and Deep Value Investing. These shifts reflect concerns over geopolitical price premiums in the energy sector and weakening market sentiment across the semiconductor trade despite strong fundamental earnings. Upgrades Willdan Group ( WLDN ): Upgrade to Buy by Juxtaposed Ideas . The analyst highlights the company’s robust exposure to the data center and electrification boom, noting that its superior margins make the recent post-earnings selloff an attractive entry point. “Given their robust fundamentals, I am of the opinion that the correction has been a boon for those looking to add, since WLDN has finally moderated to my estimated FY2026 P/E non-GAAP valuations of 19.37x, based on the current stock prices of $89.14 and the management's FY2026 adj EPS guidance of $4.60 (-5.9% YoY).” Autodesk ( ADSK ): Upgrade to Neutral by Gary Alexander . While the analyst remains cautious about valuation compared to other SaaS peers, the upgrade is driven by Autodesk’s strong Q4 performance and the inherent resistance of its CAD software to AI disruption. “In my view, Autodesk is looking like a much better play after its recent correction and a blowout Q4 earnings print, featuring a huge acceleration in billings growth.” Downgrades Exxon Mobil ( XOM ): Downgrade to Hold by Long Player . The analyst points to a premium valuation and a dividend yield below 3%, arguing that the recent price surge is tied to nonrecurring geopolitical disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. “The valuation is now premium to much of the market as the price-earnings ratio nears 30. The dividend yield reflects the situation with a less than 3% yield. With numbers like that, I would not blame anyone that wanted to sell now and buy...
One of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. ’s private credit chiefs said limits on fund withdrawals are “features and not bugs,” as the $1.8 trillion market comes under increasing pressure from investors looking to exit. So-called semi-liquid private credit funds typically allow for quarterly redemptions of 5%, with the ability to throw up gates for a set period if requests breach that threshold. Thus far, m...
One of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. ’s private credit chiefs said limits on fund withdrawals are “features and not bugs,” as the $1.8 trillion market comes under increasing pressure from investors looking to exit. So-called semi-liquid private credit funds typically allow for quarterly redemptions of 5%, with the ability to throw up gates for a set period if requests breach that threshold. Thus far, major firms in the industry including Blackstone Inc. and Blue Owl Capital Inc. have largely met elevated withdrawals or offered other payouts rather than solely restricting investors. Read more: Blackstone Private Credit Fund Hit by Record Redemptions But gating allows “the fund to actually protect the investor and the fund from the kind of value degradation that can happen in the context of fire sales,” Vivek Bantwal , Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s global co-head of private credit, said at the Bloomberg Invest conference Tuesday in New York. While redemption requests from private credit funds surged in the final three months of 2025, early data suggest 2026 could also be challenging. Investment bank Robert A Stanger & Co., in report last week, forecast a 40% year-over-year drop in capital formation among business development companies amid a “hairpin turn” away from the asset class. Blue Owl sparked a sharp decline in the shares of alternative-asset managers last month when it halted quarterly withdrawals in one of its funds. Instead, the firm sold assets to return investors’ cash, which it said it would be doing more quickly than if it had maintained the previous redemption allowance. Read more: Blue Owl Anxiety Rattles $1.8 Trillion Private Credit Market Bantwal described the turmoil in the industry — fueled in part by fears over how artificial intelligence could hurt software businesses — as a “price discovery” moment where investors are figuring out their appetite for illiquidity. “If the net result of this is people are seeing headlines and they realize they aren’t...
“This will be a shakeout. I don’t think it is going to be short term,” Marc Rowan, CEO and co-founder of Apollo Global Management, says during a discussion with Bloomberg News Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait at Bloomberg Invest. (Source: Bloomberg)
“This will be a shakeout. I don’t think it is going to be short term,” Marc Rowan, CEO and co-founder of Apollo Global Management, says during a discussion with Bloomberg News Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait at Bloomberg Invest. (Source: Bloomberg)