Market Signal Briefing

Bitcoin may soon join gold as a reserve asset on central bank balance sheets, according to analysts at Deutsche Bank.

TL;DR

It has been a tough period for the entire cryptocurrency market, and Ripple’s native token was not spared, as its price tumbled from roughly $3 to a multi-week low of $2.70, where the bulls stepped up.
Will there be another volatile week on the horizon? Can XRP recover some of the losses, or will it continue its downfall? Here’s what three of the most popular AI chatbots had to say.

The Week Ahead for XRP
September is almost over, and although it started on a positive note, it has been mostly downhill for most of the cryptocurrency market in the past ten days or so. XRP, for example, stood close to $3.20 during its monthly peak after the US Fed reduced the key interest rates for the first time in 2025.

However, it failed there and quickly retested the $3 support, which actually didn’t put up much of a fight. The bears kept the pressure on, and once it cracked, XRP experienced another leg down that drove it to $2.70. This level holds significant importance in determining the asset’s future price trajectory, as many analysts believe XRP can quickly rebound as long as it remains above it.

When we asked the 3 AIs (ChatGPT, Grok, and Gemini) about their take on what the next week holds for XRP, OpenAI’s solution answered in a somewhat worrisome manner. It noted that the asset is a “strong sell” on multiple websites, such as investing.com, due to the current technical setup.

Grok agreed with the analysts cited above that as long as XRP holds above $2.70, the bulls might remain calm. However, it also noted that the asset needs to quickly reclaim the $2.83 resistance if it wants to challenge $3 next.

Gemini said the current trading volume doesn’t support a big move upward, and it warned that a break above the coveted $3 line seems unlikely at the moment.

Something for the Bulls?
All three AIs agreed that after such a volatile and violent trading week, a period of consolidation is to be expected. As such, they noted that Ripple’s token is likely to remain sideways at around $2.7-$2.9 for the next week (maybe even a bit longer).

However, they also admitted that one major announcement, such as a positive macro event or an approval of spot XRP ETFs in the US, could send the underlying asset flying. Recall that there are over a dozen Ripple ETF filings sitting on the SEC’s desk and most of their deadlines are set for October.

Palantir's valuation is the biggest reason to consider buying other tech stocks instead.

Palantir Technologies (PLTR -0.83%) has been one of the market's best-performing stocks over the past two years, largely thanks to growing demand for its Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP). Instead of trying to develop another large language model (LLM), Palantir's platform was developed to make AI models more useful. It pulls together data from multiple sources, organizes it, and ties it to real-world assets. This clean data helps reduce AI hallucinations and makes it more actionable. In essence, AIP has become akin to an AI operating system.

The company is growing fast, with revenue jumping 48% year over year last quarter to hit $1 billion. U.S. commercial sales nearly doubled, while U.S. government revenue climbed more than 50%. Customers are spending more, too, with net dollar retention at 128%, which indicates the platform is sticky and becoming more valuable over time.

Image source: Getty Images.

Palantir's execution and future opportunities are not the issue for investors; valuation is. The stock trades at a forward price-to-sales (P/S) multiple of over 100 times 2025 analyst estimates. Note that this is sales, not earnings, we are talking about. When a stock is priced like this, even the smallest miss on growth can hit shares hard.

I like the company, but that kind of multiple doesn't leave much room for error, and there are other tech names that give you strong potential upside without paying such a premium. Let's look at two to consider.

Alphabet
Alphabet (GOOGL 0.28%) (GOOG 0.21%) is one of the best-positioned companies for AI because it already controls the front door to the internet for billions of people. Most of us already use Google search every day, and sometimes we may not even realize it, because it is the default search engine on most Android and Apple devices.

So while AI is changing the landscape, Alphabet's advantage is that it doesn't need to change consumer behavior, it just needs to make those products better with AI. That's exactly what it is doing with its new AI-powered search features, including AI Overviews, Lens, and Circle to Search. It is also just starting to roll out its new AI mode globally, which is more akin to a traditional AI chatbot. However, users can easily toggle between AI and search modes without having to switch apps. At the same time, its Gemini app recently became the most downloaded app on the Apple App Store, surpassing ChatGPT, showing the strides the company has made in this area.

Alphabet is also building one of the best cloud computing businesses on the planet. It is one of the few companies that owns the complete stack, with its own AI model, custom AI chips, leading data analytics and software, and even its own private fiber network. Its Waymo robotaxi also has huge growth potential as it rapidly expands across the U.S., and it even has made strides in quantum computing with its Willow chip.

The stock hasn't run nearly as far as some of the other AI plays, so you aren't paying up in the same premium as you are with Palantir.

GitLab
GitLab (GTLB 1.67%) is an underrated way to play the growth in AI-driven software development, but don't be mistaken: This is a high-growth company. In fact, it's grown its revenue by between 25% and 35% for eight straight quarters.

What started as a DevSecOps platform is now a full software development lifecycle solution that is helping developers save time. The company has leaned into AI with its Duo AI agent, which helps automate repetitive tasks, freeing up more time for developers to code. This matters because developers only spend around 20% of their time coding, so any tool that frees them up to write more code is going to drive productivity, and thus demand for its solution.

AI hasn't hurt GitLab; if anything, it has sped up the pace of software development, which benefits the company. If you look at the growth of cloud computing, much of that is around AI software development, which lands right in GitLab's wheelhouse. The company is partnered with both Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services (AWS), so it is benefiting from this growth. Enterprise clients are spending more, and its customers are also moving up to higher-tier plans.

What is most exciting about the GitLab story, though, is its shift to a hybrid seat-plus-usage pricing model. The usage component helps protect the company if AI eventually does lead to fewer coders, while at the same time giving it more growth potential. For investors looking for an AI play that is still reasonably priced with a long runway of growth, GitLab is worth a close look.

Geoffrey Seiler has positions in Alphabet and GitLab. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, GitLab, and Palantir Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Costco delivered another rock-solid earnings report.

Costco Wholesale (COST -2.92%) is one of the most dominant retailers in the world, and it continues to outpace its brick-and-mortar peers, quarter in and quarter out.

Costco keeps opening stores around the world, differentiating itself from other retail giants like Walmart and Home Depot, and it's seeing strong growth in e-commerce, showing that there's plenty of untapped demand for the buy-in-bulk, big-box chain.

Those trends were on display in Costco's fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report, which came out on Thursday, Sept. 25.

Image source: Getty Images.

Revenue rose 8% in the quarter to $86.2 billion, which was slightly ahead of estimates at $86.1 billion. Comparable sales adjusted for foreign currency and fuel prices rose 6.4%, which was ahead of the consensus at 5.9%, though that's still a very strong clip compared to its peers, especially at a time when consumer sentiment is down and the job market is weakening.

On the bottom line, earnings per share jumped 11% to $5.87, which was ahead of the consensus at $5.81.

Among other key numbers, Costco reported a gross margin of 11.13%, up 13 basis points from the quarter a year ago. Membership trends remained strong with membership income up 14%, reflecting a fee increase a year ago, and a 6.3% increase in paid memberships to 81 million.

On the earnings call, Costco touted recent warehouse expansion that has allowed the company to sell more high-priced, discretionary items like furniture and saunas.

It's also increased store hours for executive members, a perk for those who pay double the membership fee, opening the store an hour early for those members. Management said it saw a trend of cardholders upgrading their membership toward the end of quarter, a sign the new perk is paying off.

Like other retailers, Costco is adjusting to new tariffs, and also said it was reducing some discretionary inventory in response to consumers cutting back on spending.

Why Costco stock edged lower
Despite the generally strong earnings report, Costco stock fell modestly on the report, down 0.8% in the after-hours session. Costco is one of the more stable stocks on the market, and it doesn't tend to move much on earnings.

Its results are generally easy to model, and the consistency of its membership income, means its earnings have less variation than they would for the typical retailer.

Costco also doesn't offer guidance, so the company gives investors little clue as to what to expect in the next quarter. That seems to be by design as the business is designed to be stable, and therefore, there's no reason to expect its results to change significantly from quarter to quarter.

The biggest problem for Costco stock at this point is the valuation. Though Costco has pulled back a little bit, it's still about as expensive as it has been at any time in its history.

It now trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.8 after the latest earnings report. That's more expensive than just about any other brick-and-mortar retail stock, and Costco's growth alone doesn't seem to justify such a valuation, which is on par with Nvidia.

However, Costco has earned that premium valuation because of its stability and the resilience of its business model. Its members are very loyal. It finished the year with a 92% renewal rate in North America and a 90% renewal rate worldwide.

While the valuation may be fair, Costco also seems to have reached a valuation ceiling. Further growth in the stock will need to come from earnings growth rather than multiple expansion. That means the breakneck growth seen in recent years is likely over for now.

Jeremy Bowman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Costco Wholesale. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Lululemon's sell-off looks like a gift.

Lululemon Athletica (LULU 2.48%) has historically been a big winner on the stock market.

The company pioneered a new category of apparel -- athleisure -- and it made yoga pants a mainstream, everyday item. It's also succeeded in maintaining its pricing power and its high-end or even luxury branding, even as it's faced a wide range of lower-priced competition.

However, this year, Lululemon has run into trouble, and the stock has swooned. It's facing challenges on multiple fronts.

Comparable sales in the U.S., its biggest market, are now declining due to weak consumer discretionary spending in categories like apparel, a trend away from yoga pants to baggier fits as workout clothes, and the company's own errors, as management admitted it had not done enough to keep its styles in lounge and social fresh. It also sold out of popular styles in other categories.

In its second-quarter earnings report earlier this month, Lululemon also cut its earnings guidance due in large part to the ending of the de minimis exemption, which had allowed importers like Lululemon to avoid paying tariffs on shipments that were $800 or less. The company had relied on that carve-out to ship e-commerce orders from Canada to the U.S. It now will rearrange its supply chain to avoid having to pay the tax.

As you can see from the chart below, the stock is down 53% year to date, making it one of the worst-performing stocks on the S&P 500.

LULU data by YCharts

Going back to its peak in late 2023, the stock is down 65%. However, the sell-off looks like a good buying opportunity for long-term investors. Keep reading to see why.

1. Most of its challenges seem temporary
The problems facing Lululemon don't seem insurmountable. For example, the macroeconomic challenges seem related to the sluggish job market, fears about tariffs, and generally stubborn inflation. Discretionary spending has been weak for categories like restaurants and apparel this year, but that will eventually change whenever consumer confidence improves.

The impact of the removal of the de minimis exemption is also a one-time hit. While it was a setback for the company, it is now clearly priced in. On the earnings call, management said that the increased tariffs and the end of the de minimis exemption "played a large part in our guidance reduction for the year." That problem won't repeat.

The adjustments Lululemon has to make with its inventory are trickier, but the company has a plan. It's introducing more new styles, raising the percentage of newness in its overall assortment from 23% to 35% by next spring, and it's making its go-to-market process faster so that it can more quickly respond to customer demand trends and be sure that a popular item is in stock.

Image source: Getty Images.

2. International markets are still strong
While the company may be losing business in the U.S., sales in China, its second-biggest market, are soaring. Comparable sales jumped 17% in China, driving overall revenue up 25%.

Lululemon is clearly following in the footsteps of other American brands like Nike and Starbucks that have had success in a market known for conspicuous consumption, and it still sees a long runway for new stores there. It opened five stores in China in the quarter, and plans to open at least 15 in that market next year.

While success in China won't make up for the weakness in the U.S. on its own, it does show that the Lululemon growth story is not dead.

3. The stock is cheap
The company lowered its EPS guidance to between $12.77 and $12.97. Based on that forecast, the stock currently trades at a forward P/E of 14, which is roughly half the P/E of the S&P 500.

That valuation seems to assume that Lululemon is basically a no-growth stock from this point on. If the company can get back to its earlier winning ways, there's a lot of upside potential for the stock, as it has historically traded at a much higher price.

As you can see from the chart below, the valuation has been twice what it is now in recent years.

LULU PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts

Overall, a recovery in the stock could take time, but Lululemon looks oversold at current levels. Over the next few years, the stock is a good bet to be a winner.

Jeremy Bowman has positions in Nike and Starbucks. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Lululemon Athletica Inc., Nike, and Starbucks. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Circular financing adds a big new risk.

Nvidia's (NVDA 0.27%) announcement that it will invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI is being hailed by the company as a massive bet on the future of artificial intelligence (AI). Still, investors should take a closer look at what is really going on here. The money OpenAI receives will ultimately be plowed right back into Nvidia hardware, mostly through Oracle's cloud buildout, where the two companies recently signed a massive $300 billion deal.

OpenAI plans to deploy Nvidia systems that need 10 gigawatts of power, which is equal to roughly 4 million to 5 million graphics processing units (GPUs). If that sounds like a lot, it is, as it's about the same total number of GPUs that Nvidia will ship this year. The first $10 billion of Nvidia's investment will be deployed as soon as the first gigawatt of capacity is up, and the rest will be rolled out in stages as new data centers come online.

Image source: Getty Images.

Circular financing
On paper, the OpenAI investment helps secure billions of dollars in future demand. But it's worth remembering that Nvidia is now helping finance one of its biggest customers to keep buying its chips. This is called circular financing.

Nvidia is essentially funding its own demand. This is exactly what Cisco Systems (CSCO -0.93%) did during the internet bubble, when it provided credit to telecoms so they could buy more Cisco routers. Those sales looked great -- until the capital dried up and the entire market collapsed.

This is also a defensive move by Nvidia. More and more of Nvidia's largest customers are designing their own custom AI chips. Alphabet has its TPUs, Amazon has Trainium and Inferentia, and Microsoft is working on its own chip. OpenAI itself has been developing custom chips to bring its costs down, and before this announcement, it placed a $10 billion order with Broadcom for custom chips to be delivered next year.

This is the same threat that Nvidia saw play out in crypto, where ASICs (application specific integrated circuits) displaced GPUs for Bitcoin mining. Nvidia doesn't want to see that happen again. By investing in OpenAI, it's trying to keep one of its biggest customers locked into the Nvidia ecosystem.

This also comes at a time when the market is shifting more toward inference, where Nvidia's moat is much smaller. Training large language models (LLMs) is where Nvidia's CUDA software platform shines. However, inference isn't as complex and doesn't require the same deep software integration. That's why hyperscalers (owners of massive data centers) are so motivated to build custom chips.

Inference is also a continuous cost, so the economics of cost per inference start to dominate the discussion. That's why Nvidia also took a $5 billion stake in Intel and announced a collaboration on AI processors, as it's also trying to stave off Advanced Micro Devices in the inference market and keep its grip on this next phase of AI computing.

Is this a house of cards?
There's no question that Nvidia is in a dominant position right now, and the OpenAI deal only strengthens its near-term outlook. But its OpenAI investment clearly looks like a defensive move that adds risk. When Cisco used circular financing during the internet boom, it looked brilliant, until the customers it was funding went bust.

Both Nvidia and OpenAI are better positioned, but the principle is the same: Nvidia is using its balance sheet to keep demand high. That works as long as the AI boom keeps running, but it makes the company more exposed if spending slows or if hyperscalers switch to cheaper solutions.

Nvidia remains the key player in AI infrastructure, but this deal is a reminder that its growth isn't risk-free. A lot of Nvidia's success is now riding on an unprofitable company that is bleeding massive amounts of cash that it is financing. OpenAI hasn't actually proven yet that it has a great business model, and if it fails, this becomes a house of cards that collapses onto Nvidia.

Geoffrey Seiler has positions in Alphabet. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Alphabet, Amazon, Bitcoin, Cisco Systems, Intel, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Oracle. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft, short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft, and short November 2025 $21 puts on Intel. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

High yields are often a red flag, but investors have the green light to grab shares of these juicy dividend stocks.

Everyone loves passive income. I mean, who wouldn't enjoy earning money while you sleep?

Not literally, of course, but with dividend stocks. These are stocks of companies that distribute some of their profits to shareholders. While higher dividend yields mean more income for your money, it can be a yield trap when stock yields get too high.

But not all high-yield stocks pose a danger to your portfolio. In fact, here are three stocks that currently yield between 4.2% and 5.5%. You can buy shares of all three for under $500, and they will likely continue delivering passive income for the foreseeable future.

They could be the smartest way to invest $500 right now. Plus, reinvesting the dividends will compound your income stream over time.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Chevron
Dividend Yield: 4.3%
Oil and gas giant Chevron (CVX -0.37%) is an integrated energy company involved in multiple aspects of the oil and gas industry, including upstream (exploration) and downstream (refining and retail) business operations. The industry is generally sensitive to commodity prices, so many oil and gas stocks are prone to boom-and-bust cycles. Chevron's diversified business model helps it endure that volatility.

Chevron has proven itself to be a top-notch player in the space, as evidenced by its stellar dividend track record. The company has paid and raised its dividend for 37 consecutive years. Chevron wouldn't have been able to pay its shareholders increasingly larger dividends through multiple recessions and a global pandemic without a sound balance sheet and astute management to steer it through such turbulent times.

Despite the rising prominence of wind and solar energy, oil and gas are unlikely to disappear anytime soon. In fact, Chevron recently closed a game-changing merger with Hess, which provided it with lucrative exposure to the resource-rich Stabroek Block off the coast of Guyana. It's a blockbuster oil discovery, which should position Chevron for years of strong production (and dividends) ahead.

2. Enbridge
Dividend Yield: 5.5%
North America is a significant market for oil and gas, for both production and consumption. Enbridge (ENB 0.04%) is a Canadian energy juggernaut and a prominent player in the continent's energy landscape. It owns and operates a vast network of pipelines and storage facilities that help transport oil and gas resources from production sites to their destination throughout North America.

Additionally, Enbridge operates a gas utility business, as well as wind and solar energy projects. The critical takeaway here is that Enbridge is a very diverse and steady business. Pipelines and utilities are highly regulated businesses that operate almost constantly -- the world uses energy around the clock. And due to the nature of Ebridge's contract structures, approximately 80% of its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) are protected from inflation.

As a result, Enbridge has been a dependable dividend stock. The company has hit its annual fiscal guidance for 19 consecutive years, and management has raised the stock's dividend for 28 straight years. Anyone looking for a high starting yield with minimal risk will struggle to find a better choice than Enbridge.

3. Kinder Morgan
Dividend Yield: 4.2%
Another prominent pipeline powerhouse is Kinder Morgan (KMI 1.00%). The company's pipelines stretch roughly 79,000 miles, transporting natural gas, refined products, and other energy commodities throughout the United States. Kinder Morgan is based in Texas and has a significant presence there, positioning it to capitalize on the growing domestic natural gas production expected to drive higher exports over the coming years.

Furthermore, energy demand in the United States is surging as artificial intelligence (AI) data centers continue to consume significant amounts of energy. The combination of growing export demand and higher domestic energy consumption likely means that Kinder Morgan will enjoy the business success it needs to extend its streak of seven consecutive annual dividend increases for the foreseeable future.

Kinder Morgan was once a master limited partnership (MLP), but restructured itself as a corporation years ago. Master limited partnerships have pros and cons, but one significant difference for investors is that they can complicate your taxes because they require a special tax form, called a K-1. Many other pipeline stocks still operate as MLPs, so if you'd rather not deal with filing K-1 forms, Kinder Morgan may appeal to you more than other pipeline stocks.

Justin Pope has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Chevron, Enbridge, and Kinder Morgan. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

SummaryBrandywine Realty Trust recently cut its dividend by 46.7%, addressing prior payout sustainability concerns.Following the cut, BDN's cash available for distribution payout ratio drops from 176% to a more manageable 93%.The dividend reduction is seen as a strategic move, positioning BDN for future growth, as new trophy assets come online.Despite market negativity, BDN's A-tier portfolio and stabilizing office market support a bullish long-term outlook.The dividend cut removes the risk of further market overreaction, leading me to re-rate BDN as a Strong Buy. CraigRJD/iStock via Getty Images

The Safest Dividend Is The One That Has Just Been Cut Before continuing to read, please note that I have been covering Brandywine Realty Trust (NYSE:BDN) quite heavily this year. In this specific article, I will

Analyst’s Disclosure:I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of BDN either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

I expect to expand my position by 33% over the course of this year

Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

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Dutch Bros still has many years of strong growth ahead of it.

If you are looking for a great growth stock outside of the area of artificial intelligence (AI), Dutch Bros (BROS -0.68%) should be at the top of your list. The biggest driver for most successful restaurant chains is aggressive but smart store expansion. That is how McDonald's, Chipotle, and Starbucks became national powerhouses, and Dutch Bros looks like it is setting itself up to follow that same playbook.

The company just recently passed the 1,000-store mark, yet it operates in only 20 states, mostly clustered in the western U.S. Its largest markets are Texas, California, and Oregon, but even in these markets, there is still a huge amount of white space left to go after. The company is targeting 2,029 shops by 2029, with a long-term goal of 7,000 locations nationwide, which gives it one of the longest runways for growth in the restaurant sector.

Image source: Getty Images

The economics of its shops are what make this expansion strategy so compelling. Dutch Bros has focused on small, efficient stores, most between 800 and 1,000 square feet, with a walk-up window and double drive-thru lanes. The stores are relatively inexpensive to build and have strong cash-on-cash returns that allow the company to reinvest back into growth without stressing its balance sheet.

Last year, Dutch Bros opened 151 shops, and it plans to open at least 160 more this year. At the same time, the company is generating strong operating cash flow, which it is using to fund its expansion while still being free cash flow-positive. This is the kind of discipline you want to see in a retail expansion story.

More than an expansion story
But expansion alone does not make a great growth stock. Dutch Bros has been delivering strong same-store sales growth as well, with systemwide comps up 6.1% last quarter and transactions climbing 3.7%. Company-owned stores are doing even better, with comps up 7.8% and transaction growth of 5.9%, which shows that the brand continues to resonate and gain traction even as it adds new units. A big driver here has been its push into mobile ordering, which is now available at most of its shops and already accounts for more than 11.5% of transactions. This is still very early, and mobile ordering tied into its rewards program should help build customer loyalty and frequency over time.

The company's biggest untapped opportunity, though, is food. Dutch Bros currently gets less than 2% of its sales from food, compared to nearly 20% for Starbucks, which means it is essentially leaving money on the table. The company has been testing hot food items in select locations, and the early results have been encouraging, with higher ticket and transaction growth, particularly during breakfast hours. Management has said that rolling out a food menu at scale will take time because it requires adding new equipment, but even modest success here could add meaningfully to revenue over the next several years.

Dutch Bros is also getting more sophisticated with its marketing, leaning into paid advertising to boost brand awareness. It continues to innovate with new drinks that drive traffic and repeat visits, and it is building a loyal following with its rewards program. The combination of rapid but measured store growth and new initiatives like food and digital ordering is a powerful one.

A solid stock to buy
For growth-focused investors, Dutch Bros looks like one of the most compelling opportunities in not just the restaurant space but the entire market. The company has a long runway to expand nationally and is already showing strong store-level economics with average unit volumes (AUVs), or sales per store, of over $2 million. At the same time, it has several levers to drive same-store sales higher over time.

If you have $1,000 to put to work right now that isn't needed to pay month bills or reduce short-term debt, and you want a stock with years of strong potential growth ahead, Dutch Bros deserves serious consideration.

Geoffrey Seiler has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Chipotle Mexican Grill and Starbucks. The Motley Fool recommends Dutch Bros and recommends the following options: short September 2025 $60 calls on Chipotle Mexican Grill. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Shopify is up by nearly 90% over the last year, but a rising valuation could put its growth in jeopardy.

At current levels, investors may wonder what to make of Shopify (SHOP -2.25%) stock. It has increased by around 85% over the last year, but more than half of those gains occurred in 2024. More recently, the stock's rise seems to have slowed.

Additionally, Shopify is within 15% of its all-time high from 2021, and that has led to an elevated valuation. Knowing that, is the party finally over for Shopify, or should investors stay the course?

Image source: Getty Images.

The state of Shopify today
At first glance, Shopify's stock price could appear difficult to justify. For one, its P/E ratio of 83 seems elevated, even for a growth stock.

Moreover, it operates in a highly competitive industry. That is particularly concerning since one of its peers is Amazon, which also sells a wide array of products and options for free shipping. Additionally, Amazon offers a sales platform for third-party sellers. Unlike Shopify, Amazon compels these merchants to share a portion of their revenue with them, but the power of its sales platform can put Shopify at a competitive disadvantage.

Despite that competitive situation, Oberlo estimates Shopify has a market share of 28% of online stores in the U.S., making it the country's largest e-commerce platform. It also claims an estimated 10% of all global online stores.

Furthermore, according to Grand View Research, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is 19% through 2030 for the e-commerce industry. That rate of increase should mitigate some of the competitive concerns.

Shopify has also shown it can course correct when necessary, as shown by its abandonment of an expensive plan to extend its ecosystem into logistics. The cost of building a logistics network resulted in losses that caused its stock to fall by as much as 87% earlier in the decade. Now, with its focus exclusively back on software, Shopify stock has moved higher.

Shopify's financials and valuation metrics
Indeed, its software has given it a competitive advantage. Despite intense competition, Shopify's site has stood out by allowing merchants to tailor their platforms without coding knowledge. Moreover, it emphasizes speedy transactions, reducing the likelihood that a seller will lose business from a poorly functioning site.

Also, notwithstanding its failures in logistics, Shopify has developed an ecosystem that can benefit its merchants. Aside from site operations and maintenance, Shopify can perform tasks such as email marketing, payments, inventory management, and raising capital. This makes site management easier for sellers while giving Shopify additional revenue sources.

Regarding revenue, one could argue that the company's financial performance justifies its valuation. In the first half of 2025, the $5 billion in revenue it generated grew 29% compared to the same period in 2024. During that time, it limited its expense growth to 18%. That helped it turn profitable in the first half of the year, and Shopify earned $224 million in net income during that period, up from a loss of $102 million in the previous year.

This turn to profitability for the first half of the year could help make the aforementioned 83 P/E ratio more palatable to investors. Nonetheless, the company's price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 19 confirms this is an expensive stock. That high valuation may make the near-term future of the stock's direction less clear, especially if investors begin questioning whether Shopify can justify its current share price.

Is the party over for Shopify stock?
Given current conditions, the party is unlikely to be over for Shopify, but investors could become less celebratory in the near term.

Despite heavy competition, Shopify has built a competitive advantage by offering a versatile platform and extensive ecosystem. That allowed it to become the United States' No. 1 platform, and with the industry growing rapidly, Shopify is well positioned to capture a significant portion of that growth.

Indeed, the 19 P/S ratio could indicate the stock price is slightly ahead of fundamentals. While that could mean that the party becomes less lively for a time, long-term investors should expect to celebrate future stock gains as more merchants choose to operate within Shopify's ecosystem.

Will Healy has positions in Shopify. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon and Shopify. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

A historically inexpensive trillion-dollar business has the necessary catalysts to leapfrog the likes of Nvidia, Apple, and Microsoft by the turn of the decade.

For much of the last 16 years, the stock market has been unstoppable. With the exception of the five-week COVID-19 crash in February-March 2020, and the roughly nine-month bear market in 2022, the bulls have been in firm control on Wall Street.

The catalyst for this ongoing outperformance primarily rests with Wall Street's trillion-dollar businesses. Think Nvidia (NVDA 0.27%) and Apple, as well as newer trillion-dollar club members Broadcom and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, which is also known as TSMC.

All told, just 11 publicly traded companies have ever reached a $1 trillion market cap, not accounting for the effects of inflation, and 10 trade on U.S. exchanges. This includes all members of the "Magnificent Seven," along with Broadcom, TSMC, and billionaire Warren Buffett's company, Berkshire Hathaway.

Image source: Getty Images.

While Nvidia appears to have the inside path to retaining its current title as Wall Street's most valuable public company by the turn of the decade, another Mag Seven member is ideally positioned to dethrone Nvidia and leapfrog the likes of Apple and Microsoft along the way.

Despite its AI dominance, Nvidia's spot atop the trillion-dollar pedestal is far from secure
As of the closing bell on Sept. 24, artificial intelligence (AI) titan Nvidia clocked in with a market cap north of $4.3 trillion. It's the first public company to have reached the $4 trillion mark, and is believed to have a chance to surpass a $6 trillion valuation, based on the price targets of Wall Street's most optimistic analysts.

This optimism stems from Nvidia's dominant position as the leader in AI graphics processing units (GPUs) deployed in enterprise data centers. Three generations of advanced AI chips -- Hopper (H100), Blackwell, and now Blackwell Ultra -- have enjoyed insatiable demand and extensive order backlogs.

Aside from clear-cut compute advantages, Nvidia's AI hardware benefits from a persistent lack of AI GPU supply. As long as enterprise demand overwhelms available hardware, Nvidia is going to have no trouble charging a premium for its GPUs and netting a gross margin in excess of 70%.

While these competitive edges would imply that Nvidia's spot atop the trillion-dollar pedestal is secure, historical precedent would beg to differ.

One of the prime threats to Wall Street's largest public company is that every next-big-thing trend dating back more than three decades has eventually navigated its way through a bubble-bursting event early in its expansion. This is to say that investors consistently overestimate the early adoption and real-world utility of next-big-thing innovations. Though AI has undeniable long-term applications, most businesses are nowhere close to optimizing these solutions at present, or have yet to net a positive return on their AI investments.

Competition is something that can't be ignored, either. Even with external competitors lagging Nvidia in compute ability, there's a very real possibility of Wall Street's AI darling losing out on valuable data center real estate and/or being undermined by delayed AI GPU upgrade cycles.

Many of Nvidia's largest customers by net sales are developing AI GPUs to deploy in their data centers. Though these chips won't be competing with Nvidia's hardware externally, they're considerably cheaper to build and more readily accessible. It's a recipe for Nvidia's competitive edge to dwindle in the coming years, and for Wall Street's AI kingpin to cede its title as the most valuable public company.

Image source: Amazon.

This will be Wall Street's most valuable public company come 2030
Although Apple or Microsoft would seem to be logical choices to reclaim the top spot that both companies have previously held, dual-industry leader Amazon (AMZN 0.78%) is the trillion-dollar stock that looks to have the best chance to become Wall Street's most valuable company by 2030.

The operating segment that typically introduces consumers to Amazon is its online marketplace. According to estimates from Analyzify, Amazon's e-commerce segment accounts for a 37.6% share of U.S. online retail sales. Amazon's spot as the leading e-commerce giant isn't threatened -- although its operating margin associated with online retail sales tends to be razor thin.

While Amazon's retail operations provide a face for the company, it's a trio of considerably higher-margin ancillary segments that'll be responsible for bulking up the company's operating cash flow in the years to come.

Nothing has more bearing on Amazon's long-term success than cloud infrastructure platform Amazon Web Services (AWS). Tech analysis firm Canalys pegged its share of worldwide cloud infrastructure spend at 32% during the second quarter, which is nearly as much as Microsoft's Azure and Alphabet's Google Cloud on a combined basis.

AWS has been growing by a high-teens percentage on a year-over-year basis, excluding currency movements. The thinking here is that the inclusion of generative AI solutions and large language model capabilities for AWS clients will only enhance the growth rate for AWS.

As of the June-ended quarter, AWS was pacing more than $123 billion in annual run-rate revenue. Most importantly, AWS is responsible for almost 58% of Amazon's operating income through the first half of 2025 despite accounting for less than 19% of net sales. Even if an AI bubble forms and bursts, application providers like AWS can weather the storm.

The other pieces of the puzzle for Amazon are advertising services and subscription services. When you're drawing billions of people to your site monthly, it's not difficult to command exceptional ad-pricing power.

It also doesn't hurt that Amazon has landed exclusive streaming partnerships with the National Football League and National Basketball Association. When coupled with e-commerce shipping perks and exclusive shopping events, Amazon has plenty of pricing power with its Prime subscription.

Finally, Amazon is historically inexpensive. From 2010 to 2019, Amazon closed out each year between 23 and 37 times trailing-12-month cash flow. Based on Wall Street's consensus, Amazon's cash flow per share is forecast to grow from a reported $11.04 in 2024 to $27.52 in 2029.

In other words, Amazon is valued at only 8 times projected cash flow in 2029, which means it can reasonably add $2.5 trillion to $4 trillion in market value from here and still be trading at a significant discount to its average cash flow multiple during the 2010s.

Sean Williams has positions in Alphabet and Amazon. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Berkshire Hathaway, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

SummaryCharter Communications shares have experienced a significant price drop, offering a compelling investment opportunity amid industry disruption fears.The company’s competitive edge lies in its dominant regional market position, cost-effective DOCSIS 4.0 upgrades, and strategic service bundling to reduce churn.The announced Cox Communications merger would solidify Charter’s leadership, while fears over fiber and FWA competition are likely overstated due to cost and capacity limits.I initiate coverage on the firm with a Buy rating, citing solid fundamentals, an attractive valuation, as well as underestimated growth potential not priced into shares. style-photography/iStock via Getty Images

Introduction Shares of cable network giant Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR) have had a rough ride these last 5 years, decreasing 56% in value over the period. The narrative is clear: traditional cable networks are a thing of the past, with

Analyst’s Disclosure:I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

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At the same time, OPEC+ fell 500,000 barrels per day short of its pledged production increases between April and August. This shortfall—roughly 0.5% of global oil demand—has sustained upward pressure on prices. With most non-core producers operating at or near capacity, the group’s ability to respond with additional supply remains constrained.

Kurdistan Crude Return Could Limit Gains — But Not Reverse Trend
Some bearish relief may come from the partial return of Kurdish crude. Iraq’s semi-autonomous region is poised to resume exports through the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline, with initial volumes expected around 180,000–190,000 barrels per day. However, ongoing payment disputes are delaying full-scale shipments, and at least one major producer has held back exports.

Unless volumes ramp quickly, the restart is unlikely to offset the broader supply-side constraints. For now, the return of some Kurdish barrels serves more as a cap on excessive upside than a driver of reversal.

Fed Caution and Strong GDP Data Slow Rate-Cut Momentum
On the macro front, a hotter-than-expected U.S. GDP revision to 3.8% has tempered expectations for additional Federal Reserve rate cuts. While the Fed delivered a 25-basis-point cut last week, the strength in economic data may delay further easing.

A slower rate-cut path could support the U.S. dollar and weigh modestly on crude, but so far, these factors remain secondary to physical supply constraints.

Weekly Technical Outlook: Upside Momentum Targets $69.34 and Beyond

Analyst’s Disclosure:I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of SKM either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

The information contained herein is for informational purposes only. Nothing in this article should be taken as a solicitation to purchase or sell securities. Before buying or selling shares, you should do your own research and reach your own conclusion or consult a financial advisor. Investing includes risks, including loss of principal.

Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

SHENZHEN, CHINA, Sept. 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- China Medical System Holdings Limited (“CMS”) is pleased to announce that its subsidiaries, Dermavon Holdings Limited (“Dermavon”, an innovative pharmaceutical company specialized in skin health which is applying for a separate listing on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited, please refer to the announcement published by CMS on 22 April 2025 for details) together with its subsidiaries, obtained positive results from the phase 3 clinical trial (the “Trial”) of ruxolitinib cream (the “Product”) in patients with mild to moderate atopic dermatitis (AD) in China.

The Trial is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-centre clinical trial, with 192 patients enrolled in total, aiming to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the Product in patients with mild to moderate AD. The leading institution is Shanghai Dermatology Hospital, and the principal investigator is Professor Shi Yuling.

The phase 3 clinical trial of ruxolitinib cream in patients with mild to moderate AD in China met its primary endpoint, demonstrating that a significantly higher proportion of patients treated with ruxolitinib cream achieved IGA (Investigator's Global Assessment) of 0 or 1 with at least two grades of reduction from baseline at week 8, compared with placebo (63.0% vs 9.2%, P<0.001). For the key secondary endpoint, the proportion of patients achieving at least a 75% improvement from baseline in the Eczema Area and Severity Index score (EASI 75) of treatment with ruxolitinib cream was also significantly higher than placebo, at week 8 (78.0% vs 15.4%, P<0.001). In terms of safety, the severity of treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAE) during the treatment period was mostly mild or moderate, with no TEAEs leading to discontinuation of the study drug. Overall, the ruxolitinib cream was safe and well-tolerated.

CMS is actively moving forward the Product’s new drug application (NDA) in China.

About AD

AD is a chronic, recurrent and inflammatory dermatologic disease, with the main clinical manifestations of dry skin, chronic eczema-like lesions and obvious itching or pruritus, which may seriously affect the quality of life of patients. It is estimated that there are over 54 million AD patients in China by 2024. Based on SCORAD scores, the proportions of mild, moderate, and severe AD in China in 2024 was 73%, 25%, and 2%, respectively[1]. Topical drugs are the most basic treatment for AD. Traditional topical medications such as topical corticosteroids (TCS) and topical calcineurin inhibitors (TCIs) have clinical pain points with long-term adverse reactions or limited efficacy, therefore novel treatments are urgently needed.

About Ruxolitinib Cream

Ruxolitinib cream (Opzelura®) is a novel cream formulation made of selective JAK1/JAK2 inhibitor ruxolitinib developed by Incyte (NASDAQ: INCY), which is the first topical JAK inhibitor approved for use in the United States by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)[2]. Ruxolitinib cream is indicated for the topical treatment of nonsegmental vitiligo in adult and pediatric patients 12 years of age and older and for the topical short-term and non-continuous chronic treatment of mild to moderate AD in non-immunocompromised adult and pediatric patients 2 years of age and older whose disease is not adequately controlled with topical prescription therapies or when those therapies are not advisable. The Product is also approved in Europe for the treatment of adolescents and adults from 12 years of age with non-segmental vitiligo with facial involvement.

The NDA for vitiligo indication of the Product has been accepted by the National Medical Products Administration of China (NMPA). Furthermore, the marketing authorization application have been approved in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Macau Special Administrative Region, and the Product was approved by the Guangdong Provincial Medical Products Administration through the “Hong Kong and Macau Medicine and Equipment Connect” policy, which officially introduced ruxolitinib cream for the treatment of non-segmental vitiligo with facial involvement in adults and adolescents from 12 years of age, providing a novel treatment option for patients with relevant indication into designated medical institutions in the Mainland of Greater Bay Area.

CMS, through a subsidiary of Dermavon entered into a Collaboration and License Agreement with Incyte for ruxolitinib cream on 2 December 2022, obtaining an exclusive license to develop, register and commercialize the Product in Mainland China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Macau Special Administrative Region, Taiwan Region and eleven Southeast Asian countries (the “Territory”) and a non-exclusive license to manufacture the Product in the Territory. The subsidiary of Dermavon has sublicensed the relevant rights for the Product outside Mainland China to CMS (excluding Dermavon and its subsidiary).

Incyte has worldwide rights for the development and commercialization of ruxolitinib cream, marketed in the United States and Europe as Opzelura®. Opzelura® and the Opzelura® logo are registered trademarks of Incyte.

About CMS
CMS is a platform company linking pharmaceutical innovation and commercialization with strong product lifecycle management capability, dedicated to providing competitive products and services to meet unmet medical needs.

CMS focuses on the global first-in-class (FIC) and best-in-class (BIC) innovative products, and efficiently promotes the clinical research, development and commercialization of innovative products, enabling the continuous transformation of scientific research into clinical practices to benefit patients.

CMS deeply engages in several specialty therapeutic fields, and has developed proven commercialization capabilities, extensive networks and expert resources, resulting in leading academic and market positions for its major marketed products. CMS continues to promote the in-depth development of its advantageous specialty fields and expand business boundaries, strengthening the competitiveness of the cardio-cerebrovascular/ gastroenterology/ ophthalmology/ skin health businesses. Among them, the skin health business has become a leading enterprise in its field, bringing economies of scale in specialty therapeutic fields. Meanwhile, CMS continuously deepens its business development in Southeast Asia and the Middle East regions, further escorting the sustainable and healthy development.

References:

China Insights Consultancy’s industrial reportDrug approval information can be found on the Incyte official website, as follows: https://investor.incyte.com/news-releases/news-release-details/incyte-announces-us-fda-approval-opzeluratm-ruxolitinib-cream CMS Disclaimer and Forward-Looking Statements
This press release is not intended to promote any products to you and is not for advertising purposes. This press release does not recommend any drugs, medical devices and/or indications. If you want to know more about the diagnosis and treatment of specific diseases, please follow the opinions or guidance of your doctor or other medical and health professionals. Any treatment-related decisions made by healthcare professionals should be based on the patient’s specific circumstances and in accordance with the drug package insert.

This press release which has been prepared by CMS does not constitute any offer or invitation to purchase or subscribe for any securities, and shall not form the basis for or be relied on in connection with any contract or binding commitment whatsoever. This press release has been prepared by CMS based on information and data which it considers reliable, but CMS makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, whatsoever, and no reliance shall be placed on, the truth, accuracy, completeness, fairness and reasonableness of the contents of this press release. Certain matters discussed in this press release may contain statements regarding the Group’s market opportunity and business prospects that are individually and collectively forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Any forward-looking statements and projections made by third parties included in this press release are not adopted by the Group and the Company is not responsible for such third-party statements and projections.

Media Contact

Brand: China Medical System Holdings Ltd.

Contact: CMS Investor Relations

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://web.cms.net.cn/en/home/

Analyst’s Disclosure:I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of O, NNN, ADC either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

Analyst’s Disclosure:I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

Swedish automaker aims to launch more hybrid models for U.S. drivers.

American Express has competitive advantages that are built to last, making it an ideal dividend stock to buy and hold.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC 0.59%) has doubled over the last five years largely thanks to mega-cap tech stocks like the "Ten Titans." Many value-focused companies that distribute a significant portion of their profits to shareholders through dividends have underperformed the index during this period of dominance for tech stocks. But not Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 0.65%) component American Express (AXP 0.55%).

The financial services giant produced a 269% total return in the last five years and is on track to beat the S&P 500 for the fifth consecutive year in 2025.

Here's why American Express continues to thrive in a growth stock-dominated market, and why it could still be a buy now, even at an all-time high.

Image source: Getty Images.

American Express is in a league of its own
American Express acts as a payment processor and a bank by issuing cards and managing the risk associated with customers paying off their balances. Whereas Visa (V 0.67%) and Mastercard (MA -0.30%) serve only as the payment processor, passing the risk along to affiliated banks such as JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup. Visa and Mastercard's simplicity and capital-light business models yield far higher operating margins than American Express. But American Express has demonstrated that its approach offers significantly more upside potential and faster growth.

Top-tier American Express cards come with relatively expensive annual fees, but also some generous perks. American Express attracts affluent customers who are highly likely to manage their spending well. Perks incentivize customers to use their cards for as many purchases as possible. The perks come at a cost, as American Express's member rewards expenses are roughly double the fees it collects from memberships. But it's worth it because American Express makes so much in discount revenue (merchant fees). It tends to charge higher fees to merchants than Visa and Mastercard to help offset the losses incurred on membership rewards.

American Express has expanded its network, making it more attractive for merchants to accept its cards, even if they have to pay higher fees. The result is a snowball effect, where existing customers use their American Express cards more frequently, and prospective customers may make the decision to sign up for a card due to the perks and its widespread acceptance.

Thriving throughout the business cycle
American Express has outperformed Visa and Mastercard over the last year, three-year, and five-year periods -- but has lagged both its peers over the last decade. A big reason for American Express's recent breakout relative to Visa and Mastercard is likely its focus on affluent customers, which makes it more resilient to a potential economic downturn or prolonged period of consumer spending declines.

Financial security is closely tied to spending. Someone living paycheck to paycheck without an emergency fund is more likely to be sensitive to inflation and the cost of living outpacing wage growth than someone with a more substantial financial cushion. What's more, a lot of different asset categories are at or near all-time highs --- from the U.S stock market to real estate prices and even gold. Individuals who have benefited from the value expansion in these categories may be better off now than they were when inflation was lower.

As mentioned, the S&P 500 has doubled in the last five years -- and inflation hasn't gone up nearly as much. So folks who own a lot of stocks and have seen their wealth compound may have no issues paying up for discretionary goods and services even if prices have gone up. This is the group of consumers that American Express is targeting, which is what makes it a great bet for investors concerned about a weakening job market or rising inflation.

Even if consumer spending pressures persist, Visa and Mastercard will still generate strong returns because they make money every time a card is swiped, tapped, or processed digitally, regardless of the transaction size. But they are arguably more sensitive to pullbacks in discretionary spending by non-affluent consumers than American Express.

The Federal Reserve's decision to lower interest rates could be a boon for American Express, Visa, and Mastercard. But American Express is a safer bet for investors who value companies with loyal customer bases.

American Express is still a great value
Visa and Mastercard are phenomenal, high-margin companies. But American Express is the better buy for investors looking for a more recession-resistant company at a less expensive valuation and with a higher dividend yield. American Express has a forward price-to-earnings ratio of just 22.2. Its yield is only 1%, but that's mainly because the stock has done so well and outpaced its dividend growth rate. American Express has been boosting its payout at an impressive rate in recent years. Its most recent raise was by 17%, and the payout has nearly tripled over the last decade.

All told, American Express is still a great stock to buy now and has what it takes to continue delivering strong returns for years to come.

American Express is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Citigroup is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Daniel Foelber has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends JPMorgan Chase, Mastercard, and Visa. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Fluor stock is up 365% over the past five years.

Fluor (FLR -0.54%) investors have been very happy over the last five years. Over that time period, shares have risen in value by roughly 365%. That's a compound annual growth rate of 36%, more than 3 times the stock market's long-term average.

Is Fluor your secret to retiring a millionaire? The answer might surprise you.

Two things to know about Fluor's operating history
At its core, Fluor is an engineering and construction company. It serves a variety of sectors, everything from oil and gas to mining and power generation. When big infrastructure projects need planning and building, many companies call on Fluor to handle nearly the entire process.

The last five years have been incredible for Fluor's stock price. But the financials tell a slightly different story. Since 2020, company revenue has increased by just 6.6%. Gross profits, meanwhile, have increased by just 36% over that time period. The stock's price-to-sales ratio is the clear outlier, moving from 0.07 to 0.47 since 2020 -- a rise of nearly 480%.

From this perspective, most of Fluor's stock price appreciation over the last five years has stemmed from a massive increase in its valuation multiple, not improvements to revenue or gross profits. A big reason for this was the company's flip to profitability last year. From 2020 to 2024, Fluor averaged a profit margin of roughly 0%. Over the last 12 months, however, its profit margin has reached 25%. The company is managing its costs, contracts, and execution better today than it has in years. But the biggest mover has been the company's realized and unrealized profits on its position in a small modular rector business that has seen its share price soar. We'll talk more about that position in the next segment, but these two factors contribute to the first thing investors should understand about Fluor's recent operating history: The company has gone from a money-loser to a fairly profitable business in under five years, causing a sharp rerating of the stock.

When you zoom out, you'll see that this type of rerating has happened many times over Fluor's operating history. Engineering and construction can be a cyclical business with huge ups and downs. Cost overruns, meanwhile, can crash the company's financials even when demand is strong. This means that the market has occasionally rerated the stock sharply in both directions -- both up and down.

FLR data by YCharts

Over the decades, Fluor stock has seen several extreme ups and downs. A big reason for the latest spike has been the company's interest in NuScale Power (SMR 0.66%). Beginning in 2011, Fluor began investing hundreds of millions of dollars in designing small reactor technology. It consolidated this interest into NuScale Power, which went public as a separate entity in 2022. Because Fluor still owns a majority of shares, the results are consolidated into Fluor's financials, having an outsize effect on the company's bottom line. Shares held or sold at a profit, for example, will cause Fluor's profits to spike.

This is the second thing to understand about Fluor's operating history: The performance in recent years has been fueled by new business ventures that didn't exist in years past.

Image source: Getty Images.

Does this make Fluor stock a sell?
Fluor's stock has performed very well in recent years. But over the decades, the company has largely been a disappointment for investors. The ups and downs of engineering and construction are wild, and have largely left patient investors lagging the overall market. Recent outperformance, meanwhile, has had more to do with NuScale's success and a rerating of the stock versus a dramatic shift in conditions for the core company.

Does this make shares a sell? Not necessarily. Many investors specialize in cyclical stocks. But you need to understand when conditions are suitable, getting out before these favorable conditions change. NuScale's opportunity in small modular reactors, however, could be an opportunity with decades of growth ahead. If Fluor is on your radar for its strong recent performance, you might actually be better off digging into NuScale.

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends NuScale Power. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

NEW YORK, Sept. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of securities of Nutex Health Inc. (NASDAQ: NUTX) between August 8, 2024 and August 14, 2025, both dates inclusive (the “Class Period”), of the important October 21, 2025 lead plaintiff deadline.

SO WHAT: If you purchased Nutex securities during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement.

WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the Nutex class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=43936 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than October 21, 2025. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.

WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually litigate securities class actions, but are merely middlemen that refer clients or partner with law firms that actually litigate the cases. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company at the time. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs’ Bar. Many of the firm’s attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.

DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) HaloMD, a third-party independent dispute resolution vendor (“IDR”), was achieving lucrative arbitration results for Nutex by engaging in a coordinated scheme to defraud insurance companies; (2) as a result, to the extent that they were the product of fraudulent conduct, revenues attributable to Nutex’s engagement with HaloMD in the IDR process were unsustainable; (3) in addition, Nutex overstated the extent to which it had remediated, and/or its ability to remediate, the material weaknesses in its internal controls over financial reporting; (4) as a result, Nutex was unable to effectively account for the treatment of certain of its stock based compensation obligations; (5) as a result, Nutex improperly calculated these stock based compensation obligations as equity rather than liabilities; (6) the foregoing increased the risk that Nutex would be unable to timely file certain financial reports with the SEC; (7) accordingly, Nutex’s business and/or financial prospects were overstated; and (8) as a result, defendants’ public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

To join the Nutex class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=43936 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] for information on the class action.

No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor’s ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/.

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

-------------------------------

Contact Information:

        Laurence Rosen, Esq.
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        The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.
        275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor
        New York, NY 10016
        Tel: (212) 686-1060
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These four names provide solid returns in a diversified portfolio.

I've always loved dividend stocks. I love receiving a notification every quarter or (in the cases of some stocks) every month that my dividend has been applied and reinvested into my account. I love getting news that a company I've invested in is increasing its yield. I love getting paid a little "thank you" to invest in a quality dividend stock.

Dividend stocks have two basic functions, depending on your investing style. Some investors want to reinvest their dividends, which allows them to increase their shares over time and become even wealthier. Other investors use dividend stocks for income, using the money to cover monthly expenses or fund long-term purchases.

With an outlay of $10,000, you can create a diversified portfolio of dividend stocks that can help you reach both goals. For this exercise, we'll assume investments of $2,500 into four great dividend stocks: McDonald's (MCD 0.95%), Realty Income (O 0.83%), Toyota Motor (TM 0.51%), and International Business Machines (IBM 1.22%).

Image source: Getty Images.

McDonald's
One stock to diversify an income portfolio should be a restaurant stock, so I'm turning to McDonald's. The company is dominant in the space, with more than 38,000 restaurants around the world. McDonald's boasts a 20% global market share in the fast-food industry, which is expected to expand from a $322.72 billion market in 2025 to a $510.15 billion market by 2034.

Revenue in the second quarter was $6.48 billion, up 5% from a year ago, and net income was $2.25 billion, up 11%. McDonald's brought in $3.14 in earnings per share, up from $2.80 in the same period a year ago.

McDonald's stock is the most expensive per share on this list, priced just over $300, so a $2,500 investment can buy eight shares. The stock's 2.3% dividend yield means that investors get $7.08 per share annually in dividends, or $56.64.

Realty Income
I confess that Realty Income is my favorite dividend stock. It pays monthly instead of quarterly, which means that you get your money even faster and can put it to work for you, rather than letting it sit in the company's account.

Realty Income is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns 15,600 properties across the U.S. and Europe. Realty Income's properties run the gamut -- grocery stores, convenience stores, home improvement, dollar stores, restaurants, drug stores, and more. At the end of Q2, the company's portfolio had an occupancy rate of 98.6%. Revenue in Q2 was $1.41 billion, with income of $196.9 million and $0.22 per share.

Because it's a REIT, Realty Income is required by law to pay out at least 90% of its profits to shareholders. That's why it has an oversized dividend yield of 5.4%. And that dividend grows rapidly -- this month, Realty Income increased the monthly dividend for the 132nd time since the company began trading publicly in 1994.

Realty Income is trading at $60 per share, so with a $2,500 investment, you can buy 41 shares. Calculated at its new dividend of $3.228 per share annually, you'll get $134 per year in your account, on top of any gains the stock provides.

Toyota Motor
Toyota is one of the most popular and consistent automotive brands in the world. It's known for the Camry and Corolla sedans, Tacoma pickup trucks, and RAV4 and Highlander models of SUVs. Toyota also markets hybrid versions of the Corolla and Highlander, as well as its popular Toyota Prius coupe.

Tariffs are currently a major issue for Toyota, which saw an effect of 450 billion yen ($3 billion) in its operating income for the first quarter of fiscal 2026. Toyota issued guidance that the full-year effect from tariffs will be 1.4 trillion yen ($9.41 billion), up from its previous guidance of 1.2 trillion yen.

However, I see these as short-term headwinds. Toyota is tremendously popular, selling 2.41 million vehicles in the quarter, up 7% from a year ago.

Toyota stock trades for $198, so with $2,500 you can grab 12 shares. The stock has a forward dividend yield of 3.4% and pays out $6.91 per share, so your annual income from dividends would be $82.92.

International Business Machines
IBM is a rare tech stock that pays a substantial dividend. That's because while many other tech companies are still in their rapid growth stages and are pouring money into research and scale, IBM is already mature, tracing its roots back a century.

While IBM did amazing work with personal computers and was one of the first companies to make waves with artificial intelligence (do you remember when IBM's Deep Blue computer beat chess champion Garry Kasparov in 1997?), today the company is best known for working with cybersecurity, cloud computing, and consulting.

IBM's unique position in the growing world of AI and cybersecurity allows it to combine the dynamic performance of a growth stock with consistent dividend growth. IBM increased its dividend for 30 consecutive years, and currently offers a generous dividend yield of 2.5%.

IBM stock currently sells at $270, so a $2,500 investment will only buy nine shares. But as IBM pays $6.72 annually per share in dividends, you'll still walk away with $60.48, plus IBM's market-beating 22% rise so far this year.

Adding it up
By holding on to each of these dividend stocks for a year after your $10,000 investment, you can expect to get back $334 in payments, in addition to whatever gains the stocks give you during the course of the year. Whether you are putting those returns back into your portfolio or taking them out for another purpose, it's free money that's hard to turn down.

Patrick Sanders has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends International Business Machines and Realty Income. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

NEW YORK, Sept. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of securities of RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: RICK) between December 15, 2021 and September 16, 2025, both dates inclusive (the “Class Period”, of the important November 20, 2025 lead plaintiff deadline in the securities class action first filed by the Firm.

SO WHAT: If you purchased RCI Hospitality securities during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement.

WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the RCI Hospitality class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=44953 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than November 20, 2025. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.

WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually litigate securities class actions, but are merely middlemen that refer clients or partner with law firms that actually litigate the cases. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company at the time. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs’ Bar. Many of the firm’s attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.

DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, defendants throughout the Class Period made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) defendants engaged in tax fraud; (2) defendants committed bribery to cover up the fact that they committed tax fraud; (3) as a result, defendants understated the legal risk facing RCI Hospitality; and (4) as a result, defendants’ statements about its business, operations, and prospects, were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

To join the RCI Hospitality class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=44953 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] for information on the class action.

No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor’s ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm or on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm.

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

-------------------------------

Contact Information:

        Laurence Rosen, Esq.
        Phillip Kim, Esq.
        The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.
        275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor
        New York, NY 10016
        Tel: (212) 686-1060
        Toll Free: (866) 767-3653
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        www.rosenlegal.com

Like many CEOs, the Disney boss tried to avoid President Trump's ire even as he took heat from talent agents and stars for pulling Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show.

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