Shares of Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) are surging higher on Friday. The AI chip giant's stock had gained 4% as of 1:50 p.m. ET and was up as much as 5.2% earlier in the day. This comes as the S&P 500 was up 0.4% and Nasdaq Composite was up 1%.

Shares of the chipmaker were lifted after Morgan Stanley raised its revenue projections for the company as well as the revelation of some positive news in the ongoing trade war with China.

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Morgan Stanley is bullish

This legendary investment bank updated its 2027 projections for Nvidia. Analyst Joseph Moore is now forecasting total revenue for 2027 of $255.5 billion. That's up from his previous projection of $230.9 billion. He also raised his earnings per share (EPS) projections to $6.01 from $5.37.

Even in the face of macroeconomic uncertainty, Moore cited growing demand for inference chips and AI demand. Inference, as opposed to training, refers to the computing that happens after an AI is trained. As AI tools grow in usage, demand for inference chips grows.

China reportedly lowers tariffs

As the trade war with China continues, some positive news emerged today. Although the country very publicly is refusing to negotiate with President Donald Trump unless he lowers U.S. tariffs, the country appears to have reduced its tariffs on semiconductors made in the U.S., according to a report from CNN business.

Although Nvidia was already largely exempted because it mainly manufactures its chips in Taiwan, the news is still positive for the company because in contrast to its public messaging, it indicates China is ready to play ball, so to speak. The lowering of trade tensions between the U.S. and China can only help Nvidia's business.

Even if a deal can't be reached between the two superpowers, I remain bullish on Nvidia.

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The most closely watched metric for Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) during earnings season isn't the company's revenue or profits. Instead, it tends to be its postpaid phone subscriber numbers. Postpaid subscribers have wireless plans that are billed monthly, as opposed to prepaid subscribers, who pay for their services upfront.

Prepaid subscribers generally are not as affluent, and the business has much more churn. Meanwhile, its consumer and business wireline businesses are in decline. Broadband is a growth business, but the focus still tends to be on its core postpaid wireless business, as this is the gateway to its other offerings.

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On the postpaid wireless front, the company disappointed. After adding 568,000 wireless postpaid phone net additions in Q4 2024, it lost 289,000 in Q1 2025. The first quarter tends to see churn; in Q1, it lost 114,000 postpaid phone subscribers last year. However, the decline was worse than the loss of 197,000 subscribers that analysts were expecting.

Much of this appears to stem from price hikes, as the company's total wireless service revenue rose 2.7% to $20.8 billion despite the churn in customers. However, the company said that it saw mid-single-digit consumer postpaid phone gross additions in March and that its performance thus far in April has been strong. It noted that its new three-year price lock and free phone guarantee were starting to resonate with customers.

It also highlighted its new myPlan and myHome plans, which allow customers to customize their plans and add perks, such as discounted streaming services or unlimited cloud storage. myPlan is for mobile customers, while myHome is for broadband customers.

Broadband continued to be an area of strength in Q1, with 339,000 net additions in the quarter. This included 45,000 Fios internet net additions and 308,000 fixed wireless additions. Overall, it said total broadband connections increased by 13.7% year over year to 12.8 million, with 4.8 million of those being fixed wireless access subscribers.

Image source: Getty Images.

It plans to deliver 650,000 incremental Fios passings this year while continuing to expand its C-band deployment. C-band is a wireless spectrum that Verizon is using to deliver its fixed mobile broadband solution and enhance its mobile wireless solution. C-band provides broadband internet service to areas that don't have traditional infrastructure.

Overall, Verizon continued to deliver steady results. Its overall revenue rose by 1.5% to $33.5 billion, while its adjusted EPS increased 3.5% to $1.19. That was just ahead of the analyst consensus for adjusted EPS of $1.15 on revenue of $33.3 billion. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), meanwhile, rose 4.1% to $12.6 billion.

Looking ahead, Verizon maintained its full-year 2025 guidance. It continues to expect wireless revenue growth to be between 2% and 2.8% and for adjusted EPS to increase by 0% to 3%. The company projects operating cash flow to be between $35 billion and $37 billion after spending about half of that on capital expenditures (capex) to result in free cash flow between $17.5 billion and $18.5 billion.

A dividend darling

One of the things that most attracts investors to Verizon is its dividend. It has a robust forward dividend yield of about 6.4%, which is a nice payout in this environment.

The dividend remains well covered, with the company paying $2.85 billion in dividends in Q1 while it generated $3.63 billion in free cash flow. That's good for a nearly 1.3x coverage ratio. Over the past 12 months, it's generated free cash flow of $18.73 billion and paid out $11.03 billion in dividends, good for a 1.8 times coverage ratio. That gives the company plenty of room to continue to both invest in its business and increase its dividend moving forward.

The company's balance sheet also remains in solid shape with a leverage ratio on unsecured debt (net unsecured debt/trailing-12-month adjusted EBITDA) of 2.3.

With Verizon forecasting $17.5 billion to $18.5 billion in free cash flow this year, the company has a wide cushion to continue to increase its dividend, even if a weaker economic environment negatively impacts its results.

Is it time to buy the stock?

While Verizon's recent price hike caused some elevated churn in the most recent quarter, postpaid wireless subscriber additions look like they have been back on track for the last couple of months. Meanwhile, its three-year price lock and phone upgrade plan looks like an attractive offering that can drive subscriber growth.

At the same time, the company continues to do well by adding broadband customers. Its fixed wireless C-band offering allows it to target households in areas without fiber or cable broadband services. It is also a nice alternative option for customers who have cut the cord with cable but who are still beholden to their cable company's broadband options.

Turning to valuation, Verizon trades at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 9 based on 2025 earnings estimates, which is well below the nearly 13 times multiple of AT&T. With very similar overall growth metrics as AT&T, I think Verizon is the better buy and remains a solid, defensive dividend stock.

I wouldn't get caught up in one quarter of weak postpaid subscriber growth, as the overall picture at Verizon remains solid.

Should you invest $1,000 in Verizon Communications right now?

Before you buy stock in Verizon Communications, consider this:

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Geoffrey Seiler has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Verizon Communications. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Shares of NovoCure (NASDAQ: NVCR) are edging higher on Thursday. The company's stock gained 0.11% as of 3:30 p.m. ET after fluctuating between gains and losses throughout the session. This muted reaction comes as the S&P 500 gained 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.6%.

Why? The medical technology company reported solid first-quarter results. The company also provided several key updates that investors reacted positively to.

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NovoCure shared important updates

A key highlight from NovoCure's earnings call was the announcement of European CE Mark approval for OptuneLua in the treatment of metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The CE Mark allows the company to market the device in Europe. OptuneLua, a medical device that emits an electric field disrupting cancer cells, uses NovoCure's core technology. The launch in Europe is an important milestone in the company's international expansion strategy and will help the company drive revenue growth.

Investors also received promising news regarding NovoCure's Phase 3 clinical trial for patients with a specific type of pancreatic cancer that is particularly hard to treat. The trial data showed a "meaningful survival benefit" and is the first to do so for this particular cancer. The results mean the company could open another major market for NovoCure's tumor treating technology.

The company's revenue growth remains solid

NovoCure reported $155 million in net revenue for Q1 2025, representing a 12% increase year over year. This growth was driven by expansion of the company's active patient base, especially in France, Japan, Germany, and the United States. As the company grows, its margins were slightly reduced, from 76% to 75% year over year. The reduction was explained, however, by a lag in reimbursement for some of its treatments.

The company is still operating at a loss, however, losing $34 million this quarter. That's not unusual for a company in NovoCure's position, however. As the company launches in Europe and continues to prove its technology is useful in more indications, its revenue could grow considerably. I think the stock is headed in the right direction and is a solid pick for those with an elevated risk tolerance.

Should you invest $1,000 in NovoCure right now?

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Johnny Rice has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends NovoCure. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Shares of Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ: ODFL) were falling today in sympathy with a disappointing report from rival Saia, another top less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier.

Combined with the report from ODFL the day before, Saia's update is clear evidence that the trade war and weakening economy is already having an effect on the trucking sector.

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As of 11:58 a.m. ET, Old Dominion stock was down 6.7%, while Saia stock had plunged 29.1%.

Image source: Getty Images.

Trucking demand is weakening

Old Dominion managed to pass muster with its own first-quarter earnings report as results, though weak, lived up to analyst expectations.

ODFL said revenue fell 5.8% to $1.37 billion, which matched estimates, while earnings per share dropped 11% to $1.19, which was ahead of expectations at $1.14. Management said the results reflected the "ongoing softness in the domestic economy." Tonnage per day was down 6.3%, reflecting weakening demand in the industry.

Despite the weak results, management was able to reassure investors that it can weather the uncertainty in the economy.

Saia's earnings report seemed to shift investor perception of industry dynamics as it reported an increase in revenue in the first quarter, but a sharp drop in profit, showing it prioritized market share gains over profitability. Its revenue growth was also slower than in previous quarter, indicating that demand was weakening.

Saia's revenue rose 4.3% in the first quarter to $787.6 million, badly missing estimates at $811.5 million, while earnings per share tumbled from $3.38 to $1.86, well below expectations at $2.76.

The results from both companies clearly show softening pricing dynamics in an industry where capacity is key, and Saia noted that shipments failed to grow sequentially through the quarter as they typically do, which it blamed on an "uncertain macroeconomic environment."

What's next for ODFL and Saia

It's unclear what's happening next with tariffs or the trade war, but things seem likely to get worse before they get better for the LTL sector as Trump's "Liberation Day" announcement didn't even go into effect until April, when the first quarter was over.

These companies don't typically give guidance due to the volatility inherent in the business so investors should steel themselves for more challenges ahead. However, the LTL sector has historically been a winner, meaning over the long term these two stocks should be able to recover.

Should you invest $1,000 in Old Dominion Freight Line right now?

Before you buy stock in Old Dominion Freight Line, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Old Dominion Freight Line wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

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Jeremy Bowman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Old Dominion Freight Line. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $195 calls on Old Dominion Freight Line and short January 2026 $200 calls on Old Dominion Freight Line. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

VeriSign (NASDAQ: VRSN) shares took off Friday morning after the company released first-quarter earnings and declared a dividend for the first time. Its solid results also allowed the company to raise revenue guidance for the full year.

Investors jumped into what has been one of the big stock market winners so far this year. Shares jumped 9.3% higher as of 11:35 a.m. ET, giving the stock a gain of 33% year to date.

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VeriSign is a big Warren Buffett holding

The initiation of a quarterly cash dividend surely made shareholders happy, too. That group of investors includes Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) (NYSE: BRK.B).

VeriSign isn't what most investors would picture as a Buffett holding. The company manages internet domain names and provides critical internet infrastructure for managing and maintaining security. Buffett typically steers clear of technology stocks, but Berkshire has owned VeriSign for more than a decade, and it added to its VeriSign holding in the fourth quarter. That holding was valued at about $2.75 billion at the end of Q4, putting VeriSign just out of Berkshire's 10 largest holdings.

Shareholder-friendly moves

Buffett likely continues to be happy with VeriSign's business. The company saw both revenue and operating income grow almost 5% year over year. It raised 2025's full-year guidance for both of those metrics as well.

VeriSign also declared a cash dividend of $0.77 per share, giving the stock a forward dividend yield of about 1.1%. It also repurchased 1 million shares at an average price of $230 per share. Those are signs of a company with strong free cash flow. The share repurchases should continue, as VeriSign still had almost $800 million authorized for that purpose as of the end of the quarter.

This is a company that has been delivering consistent financial results with strong cash flow. And note that it should feel minimal impacts from the current tariff uncertainty. It's not immune to currency fluctuations and economic slowdowns, but it looks to be a good stock to own right now.

Should you invest $1,000 in VeriSign right now?

Before you buy stock in VeriSign, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and VeriSign wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $591,533!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $652,319!*

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*Stock Advisor returns as of April 21, 2025

Howard Smith has positions in Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Berkshire Hathaway and VeriSign. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

The broad market sell-off this year has weighed heavily on technology stocks. While the S&P 500 is down by about 11% from its peak, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index is off by about 15%, and this more pronounced pullback isn't surprising considering that investors have become more risk-averse of late.

This is one reason why artificial intelligence (AI) stocks, which had been in fine form on the market for the past couple of years, have been heading lower even as many have been reporting solid quarterly results. However, AI adoption is set to increase at a robust pace in the long run: Grand View Research projects 36% annualized growth in this space through 2030.

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As a result, companies selling AI-focused hardware and software should ideally experience healthy growth over the long run. That's why now would be a good time to take a closer look at some solid AI stocks that have dropped in 2025 to attractive valuations, but that have the potential to fly higher in the long run thanks to the massive opportunities they are sitting on.

1. Advanced Micro Devices

Shares of chip designer Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) are down by close to 29% in 2025 as of this writing. As a result, AMD now trades at an attractive 19 times forward earnings. That's well below the tech-laden Nasdaq-100 index's forward earnings multiple of 24. Even better, AMD is undervalued with respect to the growth that it is expected to deliver over the next five years.

This is evident from the stock's price/earnings-to-growth ratio (PEG ratio) of just 0.35 based on its projected five-year earnings growth, according to Yahoo! Finance. The PEG ratio is a forward-looking valuation metric that's calculated by dividing a stock's price-to-earnings ratio by the estimated annual earnings growth it could deliver over various periods. Stocks with positive PEG ratios of less than 1 are generally viewed as being undervalued with respect to their projected growth.

Consensus estimates are projecting a 36% increase in AMD's earnings to $4.51 per share this year. That's expected to be followed by healthy growth over the next couple of years as well, despite recent downward revisions in those estimates due to the economic headwinds created by President Donald Trump's tariffs and trade wars.

AMD EPS Estimates for Current Fiscal Year data by YCharts.

Of course, tariffs on semiconductors, computers, and raw materials could dent AMD's sales and earnings growth, as the company will be forced to increase the prices of its offerings, absorb higher costs, or both. However, Trump has -- at least for now -- exempted semiconductors from his tariffs, and put a 90-day pause on the comprehensive tariffs he imposed on most countries in the world to allow time for negotiations.

It remains to be seen how those various international negotiations will play out, but the administration's apparent willingness to negotiate with trade partners suggests that favorable outcomes may be possible. Additionally, tech companies' heavy investments in AI infrastructure are likely to continue despite the tariff-related turmoil. This explains why AMD is expecting to report next month that its first-quarter revenue increased by 30% year over year at the midpoint of its guidance range.

The company is on track to benefit from the growing demand for AI server CPUs (central processing units) and graphics processing units (GPUs), along with the growth in AI-enabled personal computers. Meanwhile, there are other catalysts, such as an increase in the number of design wins in the embedded chip market. Also, the upcoming gaming console upgrade cycle should be a key growth driver.

In sum, there is more to AMD than just AI, which is why investors looking for growth stocks trading at attractive valuations should consider buying it hand over fist right now.

2. DigitalOcean

DigitalOcean (NYSE: DOCN) provides on-demand cloud computing infrastructure to small businesses, developers, and start-ups, and it has recently started offering AI solutions as well. In October, the company released Droplets, an AI infrastructure platform through which customers can rent its cloud platform to train and deploy large language models (LLMs).

Demand for the platform was so strong that DigitalOcean was finding it difficult to provide enough capacity. That wasn't surprising as Droplets allowed its customers to deploy AI applications without buying expensive hardware. Not surprisingly, DigitalOcean is now investing more money to bolster its AI infrastructure.

DigitalOcean customers can also rent a more powerful version of its cloud infrastructure platform through the Bare Metal GPUs solution. The company notes that Bare Metal gives customers "maximum performance and control, ideal for sustained, high-throughput workloads that demand direct access to hardware resources and customization." So customers looking to run heavier AI workloads can also turn to DigitalOcean to fulfill their requirements.

DigitalOcean is doing the right thing by investing in AI hardware so that it can rent capacity on it to customers, as the market for that is on track to grow substantially in the long run. Goldman Sachs estimates that the cloud infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) market could be worth a whopping $580 billion by the end of the decade.

The addition of AI tools to its offerings is helping DigitalOcean drive stronger customer spending. In its fourth-quarter earnings release, it pointed out that the "continued traction in AI drove quarterly revenue for our top 500+ customers, representing 22% of total revenue, to grow at 37% year-over-year."

The company's average revenue per customer jumped 14% year over year. DigitalOcean is set to move deeper into AI with the addition of agentic AI solutions, which will allow its clients to build AI agents with the help of powerful LLMs on its GenAI Platform. As a result, it won't be surprising to see its customers spending even more with DigitalOcean, and even more customers signing up with it.

All this helps explain why analysts expect DigitalOcean's bottom-line growth to improve.

DOCN EPS Estimates for Current Fiscal Year data by YCharts.

Finally, with DigitalOcean trading at just 13.5 times forward earnings following its recent pullback, now is a good time for investors to buy this cloud computing stock. It could jump impressively in the long run thanks to the growing demand for AI services in the cloud.

Should you invest $1,000 in Advanced Micro Devices right now?

Before you buy stock in Advanced Micro Devices, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Advanced Micro Devices wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $591,533!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $652,319!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 859% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 158% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of April 21, 2025

Harsh Chauhan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, DigitalOcean, and Goldman Sachs Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Shares of AppFolio (NASDAQ: APPF) are tumbling on Friday. The company's stock fell 15.7% as of noon today, but was down as much as 16.9% earlier in the day. The decline comes as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were mostly flat.

The software-as-a-service (SaaS) company reported first-quarter results that narrowly missed expectations despite 16% year-over-year sales growth.

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Revenue is growing, but not quite as much as expected

AppFolio, which serves the real estate industry, reported first-quarter earnings per share (EPS) of $1.21, falling short of Wall Street's expectations of $1.23. Revenue came in at $218 million, slightly lower than the expected $220.94 million.

The company is also seeing its margins pressured, with its operating margin decreasing year over year from 18.2% to 15.5%. Despite the 16% growth in revenue, the decreasing margins and the slight misses on both the top and bottom lines were enough to lead many investors to sell.

It's a somewhat pricey stock

Still, there are bright spots in the report. It continues to see demand for its products as sales are growing in its core and peripheral businesses. The company expects 17% growth in revenue for 2025 as well as modest growth in its adjusted operating margin.

Its CEO was optimistic, saying "AppFolio's first-quarter results underscore that our ongoing commitment to delivering industry-leading innovation and exceptional service is driving new customer adoption of our products and services."

The company's stock trades at a premium, with a price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of 36. While that's not unreasonable for a SaaS provider, it doesn't leave a lot of room for error. I'm not convinced it can continue to consistently deliver the growth it needs to.

Should you invest $1,000 in AppFolio right now?

Before you buy stock in AppFolio, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and AppFolio wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $591,533!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $652,319!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 859% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 158% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of April 21, 2025

Johnny Rice has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends AppFolio. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Let's face it: Investors put money to work in the stock market with a single core goal -- to achieve strong returns and grow those funds. And over the long term, a diversified portfolio can certainly do just that. Over the past two decades, the S&P 500 index has registered a 557% total return. But that is, of course, the average result from a large group of companies. Some have produced drastically better gains.

For example, a $10,000 investment made exactly 20 years ago in one business that has since become an industry leader would be worth more than $6 million (as of April 22). That monster gain would be life-changing wealth for any patient investor who was bold (and lucky) enough to bet on that then-unproven company and hold on through good times and bad along the way.

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That amazing business was none other than Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX). But should you buy it today?

Press play

When it comes to disruption and innovation, few companies fall into the same elite category as this one. Netflix's success over the years has been truly exceptional.

When Netflix was young, traditional cable TV was the primary medium by which households watched their favorite shows and movies. However, the growth of high-speed internet access provided the DVD-rental-by-mail company with the technological infrastructure to bring streaming video entertainment to the masses. Netflix launched its streaming service in the U.S. in 2007, and today, it operates in 190 countries.

Netflix easily won over customers by providing a superior experience. People could choose to watch whatever they wanted from a large and growing content catalog whenever they wanted to watch it, all for a monthly fee that was much cheaper than a basic cable subscription. This helped drive rapid adoption. Between the end of 2014 and the end of 2024, the company increased its paid subscriber base by 459% and its revenue by 609%.

A dominant force

It would be hard to overstate just how much of a media powerhouse Netflix has become. More than 300 million households pay for its subscriptions, and management says it reaches a whopping 700 million people. It's on pace to rake in $44 billion in revenue in 2025.

From a financial perspective, Netflix has reached a level of profitability that its early critics probably never thought was possible. Credit goes to the company's massive scale. Keeping the new content pipeline full is expensive, but those costs are (relatively speaking) fixed -- it won't cost the company incrementally more to show the new season of Stranger Things to a larger audience, for example. Netflix plans to lay out $18 billion this year on new shows and films, but it has huge user and revenue bases to amortize that spending against.

The result is a lucrative business model. Netflix executives forecast an operating margin of 29% for 2025. That would be up drastically from 18% in 2020, showcasing the company's ability to scale up profitably. The business reported $6.9 billion in free cash flow last year -- most of which it used to repurchase $6.2 billion worth of outstanding shares.

Press pause

The stock market is in correction territory right now, but this hasn't fazed Netflix investors. The stock is up 17% this year as of April 22, bucking the S&P 500's 10% decline.

But though Netflix stock has been a tremendous winner in the past, I don't believe it's automatically a buy today. The valuation is what worries me. As of this writing, shares trade at a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.2. That's not a small premium to pay.

I'm totally confident that Netflix will not generate another 60,000% return over the next 20 years. Given its current market cap of around $467 billion, it's just not financially feasible for it to grow to a size 100 times bigger than Apple. My perhaps more controversial view is that it might not even outperform the broader market during that time. The business is poised to continue its solid growth, but its current valuation already has some of the market's high expectations baked in.

Investors who believe Netflix is a quality company worth owning should be patient and wait until there's a better opportunity to add shares at a less lofty valuation. But if you prefer not to wait, consider using a dollar-cost averaging strategy to build your position over time.

Should you invest $1,000 in Netflix right now?

Before you buy stock in Netflix, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Netflix wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $591,533!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $652,319!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 859% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 158% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of April 21, 2025

Neil Patel has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple and Netflix. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Shares of Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) are climbing on Friday. The electric vehicle (EV) maker's stock had gained 8.7% as of noon ET. The rise comes as the S&P 500 was mostly flat and the Nasdaq Composite rose modestly.

What's fueling the optimism? Late yesterday, the Trump administration announced regulatory changes that could help Tesla achieve its self-driving ambitions sooner.

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Relaxing the rules

The Transportation Department announced it will loosen some of its rules to help U.S. automakers deploy self-driving cars more quickly. The administration appears eager to beat China in a race to develop the next-gen technology. The new rules allow for exemptions from certain federal standards for safety testing, and crash reporting requirements for self-driving software will be streamlined.

"We're in a race with China to out-innovate, and the stakes couldn't be higher," Trump's transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, wrote in a statement, claiming the rule changes will "slash red tape and move us closer to a single national standard." Investors appeared to believe the new framework will speed up Tesla's full self-driving timeline.

Make or break?

The announcement comes at a critical time for Tesla. The company has seen its sales plummet across key markets even as EV sales at large are on the rise. In the company's recent earnings call, Elon Musk said he would devote more time to his duties as CEO after investor discontent grew; many view his role in the Trump administration as taking away from his ability to effectively lead Tesla. And there's been consumer backlash to Musk's government-cutting moves.

Tesla is facing increased competition from Chinese EV makers like BYD as well as legacy carmakers. It appears that the early dominance Tesla once enjoyed has eroded, but delivering on Musk's long-standing promise of full self-driving abilities in Teslas would undoubtedly help the company regain an edge. The question is when will this happen. I'm not convinced it will be anytime soon, and I continue to think the stock is overvalued.

Don’t miss this second chance at a potentially lucrative opportunity

Ever feel like you missed the boat in buying the most successful stocks? Then you’ll want to hear this.

On rare occasions, our expert team of analysts issues a “Double Down” stock recommendation for companies that they think are about to pop. If you’re worried you’ve already missed your chance to invest, now is the best time to buy before it’s too late. And the numbers speak for themselves:

• Nvidia: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2009, you’d have $276,000!*
• Apple: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2008, you’d have $39,505!*
• Netflix: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2004, you’d have $591,533!*

Right now, we’re issuing “Double Down” alerts for three incredible companies, available when you join Stock Advisor, and there may not be another chance like this anytime soon.

See the 3 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of April 21, 2025

Johnny Rice has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Tesla. The Motley Fool recommends BYD Company. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Shares of the online housing brokerage Opendoor Technologies (NASDAQ: OPEN) plunged 23% this week, according to data compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence, after the latest data showed that housing sales slowed to their lowest pace since 2009.

Housing inventory climbed quickly, but sales slowed as potential homebuyers shunned high prices, elevated interest rates, and economic uncertainty. With an unpredictable macroeconomic climate, investors are concerned that more pain could be ahead for the housing market and Opendoor.

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Image source: Getty Images.

A cooling climate

The housing market showed its first dramatic signs of slowing down in March, with existing-home sales dropping 5.9% during the month compared to February. The monthly drop also represented a 2.4% decline year over year, according to data from Realtor.com.

Mortgage rates have fluctuated over the past month since President Trump announced aggressive tariffs on U.S. trading partners. But despite some temporary dips, they're still elevated, sitting at around 6.8% for a 30-year mortgage.

While not historically high, mortgage rates are much higher than they were a few years ago, and they've remained stubborn during a historic rise in housing prices. For example, the median home sales price has spiked nearly 27% over the past five years to $416,900.

These rapidly accelerating home prices were fine when buyers felt more confident in the economy and their jobs, but that's changed recently. A recent survey found that consumer confidence in where the economy is headed is at a 12-year low.

All of this is bad news for Opendoor, whose platform connects buyers and sellers. Opendoor also buys, flips, and sells homes, so the slowdown in homebuying is likely to hurt the business. Opendoor's revenue fell 26% in 2024 to $5.2 billion, and its net loss widened to $392 million. Those figures were reported before the latest housing data, meaning Opendoor could face further downward pressure.

Not a great trajectory

With sales falling in 2024 and losses widening, Opendoor was already struggling. However, the latest housing market data indicates that tougher times could come.

Even if Trump's tariffs don't spur a recession, it's evident that with consumers worried about their jobs and about price increases on goods due to tariffs, they're holding off on house purchases. And with no end in sight to the tariff uncertainty, Opendoor may continue to be affected by this negative homebuyer sentiment.

Should you invest $1,000 in Opendoor Technologies right now?

Before you buy stock in Opendoor Technologies, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Opendoor Technologies wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $591,533!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $652,319!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 859% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 158% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of April 21, 2025

Chris Neiger has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO), the Danish drugmaker of GLP-1 weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, slipped 2% through 10:30 a.m. ET Friday after suffering a one-two punch from Reuters and a bank analyst.

On Thursday, Reuters reported weak U.S. prescription data is contributing to investor concerns that Novo Nordisk is no longer a growth stock. Taking a quick cue from the report, Singapore's DBS Bank has flipped 180 degrees, cutting its rating on Novo Nordisk stock from "buy" all the way to "sell."

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »

Everybody hates Novo Nordisk

Let's start with the Reuters report. Ever "since launching its wildly popular weight-loss drug Wegovy in 2021," says Reuters, Novo has trained investors to expect the company's earnings reports to feature regular updates of new and improved sales guidance. In February, however, the company said sales will grow only 16% to 24% this year, which is "a much slower pace than in the past few years."

Reuters cites IQVIA data to show that "U.S. Wegovy prescriptions have plateaued since mid-February," versus Eli Lilly's (NYSE: LLY) competing Zepbound GLP-1 drug, which is taking market share from Novo. Adding to Novo's misery, clinical trial data on the company's new CagriSema drug, which was supposed to be even better than Wegovy and Ozempic, isn't measuring up.

Result: Investors are now bracing for bad news when Novo Nordisk reports its Q1 earnings on May 7.

Is Novo Nordisk stock a sell?

Digesting all this news, DBS Bank concludes Novo Nordisk's run is done and that it's time to sell the stock. This morning, The Fly reports that DBS has downgraded Novo stock all the way from buy to sell and set a price target of 330 Danish krone -- about $50.28 -- on the stock. That's about 18% below where Novo stock trades today.

I disagree.

Priced at 18.2 times earnings today, Novo looks to me more than fairly priced for a 16%-to-24% growth rate. In fact, it might even be cheap. The best time to buy Novo Nordisk might actually be right now, when everybody else seems to hate it.

Should you invest $1,000 in Novo Nordisk right now?

Before you buy stock in Novo Nordisk, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Novo Nordisk wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $591,533!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $652,319!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 859% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 158% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of April 21, 2025

Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Novo Nordisk. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Tesla's (NASDAQ: TSLA) stock has come down considerably since the year began. Shares are down roughly 30% in value so far this year, with the stock's price-to-sales ratio falling from over 15 to just 9.2.

On paper, Tesla's valuation looks compelling. But there's one factor that investors must understand before jumping in.

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Tesla's stock isn't as cheap as it looks

There's no doubt that Tesla's stock is much cheaper than it was just four months ago. But when you zoom out further, it becomes obvious that most of this crash simply reverted Tesla's valuation to its historical trading average.

In recent years, Tesla's valuation has typically ranged between 5 and 10 times sales. In the closing months of 2024, however, Tesla's valuation soared to more than 16 times sales. The recent correction simply brought the valuation multiple down toward historical norms. In fact, even after the correction, Tesla's price-to-sales multiple remains above its multiyear average, even when including the abnormal levels seen in late 2024 and early 2025.

TSLA PS Ratio data by YCharts. PS Ratio = price-to-sales ratio.

Tesla's growth forecast has picked up since the close of 2024. But even when looking at the company's forward price-to-sales multiple -- a metric that factors in this higher expected sales growth -- Tesla shares still trade a bit higher than their long-term average. And again, those long-term averages include the abnormal levels experienced at the end of 2024 and the start of 2025.

Does any of this mean that Tesla is a poor investment for long-term shareholders? Absolutely not. But the stock isn't as cheap as it seems following the correction, given that the correction began at abnormally high valuation levels.

Don’t miss this second chance at a potentially lucrative opportunity

Ever feel like you missed the boat in buying the most successful stocks? Then you’ll want to hear this.

On rare occasions, our expert team of analysts issues a “Double Down” stock recommendation for companies that they think are about to pop. If you’re worried you’ve already missed your chance to invest, now is the best time to buy before it’s too late. And the numbers speak for themselves:

• Nvidia: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2009, you’d have $276,000!*
• Apple: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2008, you’d have $39,505!*
• Netflix: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2004, you’d have $591,533!*

Right now, we’re issuing “Double Down” alerts for three incredible companies, available when you join Stock Advisor, and there may not be another chance like this anytime soon.

See the 3 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of April 21, 2025

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Pony AI (NASDAQ: PONY) stock just keeps on galloping. For the third day in a row, the small-cap Chinese robotaxi and robotruck company rode higher on Friday, building on huge gains Wednesday and Thursday. The stock tacked on another 22.7% through 9:40 a.m. this morning and now is up more than 120% over the past three days.

Yes, you read that right: Pony doubled, and then went up even more.

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Image source: Getty Images.

Pony express delivers good news

So far this week, the biggest little Chinese small cap you've never heard of (before this week) has announced it's producing three new robotaxi models in cooperation with Beijing Automotive Group, Guangzhou Automobile Group, and Toyota Motor (NYSE: TM), respectively, and that it has lined up local partner Hesai Group (NASDAQ: HSAI) to supply it with AT128 lidar sensors for its robotaxis.

Today, Pony added that it's partnering with another local company, Tencent Holdings (OTC: TCEHY), to further "advance autonomous driving technology and robotaxi commercial deployment."

This tie-up will pair Pony's "cutting-edge" autonomous driving system with tech products from Tencent, specifically the latter's Weixin (or "WeChat") social media, messaging, and payment app, Tencent Maps, and its "robust cloud computing, big data and AI infrastructure," all of which sound to me like logical add-ons to an electric-car-slash-robotaxi service.

Is Pony AI stock a buy?

Tencent might do well to ante up a bit of cash. Tencent's tech contributions are all great, but there's no mention of financial support in the press release, and Pony is still burning cash, and losing $274 million a year.

While the company has considerable cash reserves, a little more could go a long way to ensuring Pony stock doesn't go bankrupt before 2029, the first year it's expected to be profitable, according to analysts polled by S&P Global Market Intelligence. Meanwhile, until the financial picture firms up, I must still consider Pony a speculative, momentum-driven stock.

Should you invest $1,000 in Pony Ai right now?

Before you buy stock in Pony Ai, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Pony Ai wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $591,533!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $652,319!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 859% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 158% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of April 21, 2025

Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Tencent. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL), a leading manufacturer of consumer products in Oral Care, Personal Care, Home Care, and Pet Nutrition, posted its Q1 2025 earnings on April 25, 2025. However, its GAAP revenue of $4.9 billion decreased 3.1% from Q1 2024, despite exceeding estimates by $45 million. The quarter reflected strong operational execution amid ongoing foreign exchange headwinds.

Source: Analyst estimates for the quarter provided by FactSet.

Business Overview

Colgate-Palmolive, a global leader in the production of household and personal care products, has a significant market presence, particularly in Oral Care. It boasts a 40.9% global market share in toothpaste and 31.9% in manual toothbrushes, as of year to date. With its products marketed in over 200 countries, the company has a significant market presence, particularly in Oral Care. Its recent focus has been on sustainability initiatives while solidifying its market leadership across various product segments.

The company stresses sustainability as a significant driver of its strategy, with a commitment to recyclable toothpaste tubes and environmental targets.

Quarterly Performance

During Q1 2025, Colgate-Palmolive excelled in certain operational areas despite sales declines, with its Non-GAAP EPS increasing by 6% to $0.91 and the gross profit margin improving by 80 basis points to 60.8%, suggesting enhanced cost efficiency.

Meanwhile, net sales decreased 3.1% year-over-year, heavily influenced by foreign exchange challenges that impacted Latin America revenue significantly. Overall, foreign exchange negatively impacted net sales by 4.4%, exerting varied pressures across different regions.

Exploring geographic performance, Colgate reported a robust 5.4% organic sales increase in Europe due to balanced pricing and volume strategies. Hill’s Pet Nutrition achieved a 1.5% rise in net sales and a 2.9% boost in organic sales, largely due to its strong market standing. Latin America faced severe foreign exchange headwinds that dragged net sales by 12.7%, yet the division still managed a positive organic growth of 4% (non-GAAP).

From a policy perspective, the company's challenges include navigating heightened global market competition, especially against private labels. Managing this competitive pressure as well as the ongoing raw material cost volatility, such as in resins and essential oils, remains crucial for sustained profitability.

For Q1 2025, the operating profit margin increased by 1.2 percentage points to 21.9%.

Looking Ahead

Looking forward, Colgate-Palmolive projects net sales to be up low single digits for FY2025 despite foreign exchange challenges. Its outlook anticipates organic sales growth between 2% and 4% for FY2025, driven by continued investments in branding, product innovation, and sustainability.

Revenue and net income presented using U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) unless otherwise noted.

Where to invest $1,000 right now

When our analyst team has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, Stock Advisor’s total average return is 859%* — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 158% for the S&P 500.

They just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now, available when you join Stock Advisor.

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JesterAI is a Foolish AI, based on a variety of Large Language Models (LLMs) and proprietary Motley Fool systems. All articles published by JesterAI are reviewed by our editorial team, and The Motley Fool takes ultimate responsibility for the content of this article. JesterAI cannot own stocks and so it has no positions in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Colgate-Palmolive. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Lucid Group (NASDAQ: LCID) is expected to report earnings on May 6. There's a lot at stake. The company recently experienced some leadership changes, with its longtime CEO departing rather suddenly. The new CEO will need to provide important updates to the company's Gravity SUV sales trajectory, as well as updates on several new mass market vehicles under development.

All in all, it will be a critical quarter for Lucid Group. There are two reasons to consider buying shares before the announcement date arrives.

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Two reasons to buy Lucid Group stock before May 6

Following the launch of its Gravity SUV platform earlier this year, Lucid's revenue growth has picked up considerably. Analysts believe the company could nearly double its sales base in 2025. Compared to competitors like Tesla and Rivian Automotive, Lucid's sales growth this year should be spectacular. And yet the company's valuation is the lowest it has been all year, largely due to the steep market correction experienced thus far in 2025.

Right now, Lucid shares look like a bargain compared to other EV manufacturers. Growth estimates are so high that shares trade at just 4.7 times forward sales. This comes at a time when analysts expect 85.8% sales growth in 2025, with another 86.4% growth expected in 2026. Plus, the company is expected to start production on three new mass market vehicles next year, all of which are expected to be priced under $50,000. These more affordable models should provide yet another growth inflection point for Lucid in 2027 and beyond.

Put simply, Lucid stock is a bargain right now for long-term investors. The valuation is attractive on a historical basis, and yet growth rates are looking very promising over the next few years. But before you jump in, there are several critical risks to be aware of as well.

RIVN PS Ratio data by YCharts

This EV stock has some huge red flags

As the old saying goes: There's no such thing as a free lunch. The same rule applies for Lucid stock right now. Yes, shares are cheap just as the company's sales start to take off. But there are some serious risks to this story.

The departure of Lucid's CEO just as the company's growth hits an inflection point is a worrisome sign, though he had been with the business for over a decade. With only $1.6 billion in cash and cash equivalents, Lucid's liquidity should also be under question. It will take billions of dollars to get these new models to market, and it's not clear that Lucid has the financial firepower to scale according to its timeline.

At minimum, there could be sizable dilution to current shareholders. Plus, there's simply the issue of execution risk. As Tesla and Rivian have proven over the years, it can be difficult to get vehicles to market on time and on budget. Lucid will face the same hurdles as every other EV start-up.

Are shares worth a speculative investment at these levels? If you're looking for maximum growth potential, Lucid Group could be a great addition to a growth-oriented portfolio. But there could also be plenty of volatility as the company attempts to scale in 2025 and beyond. If you're unwilling to stomach strong swings in the stock price, it's likely best to leave Lucid to more risk-tolerant investors.

Should you invest $1,000 in Lucid Group right now?

Before you buy stock in Lucid Group, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Lucid Group wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $591,533!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $652,319!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 859% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 158% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of April 21, 2025

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Stocks have always been viewed as the more aggressive investment that carry more risk but generate higher returns compared to safer assets like bonds. A traditional portfolio calls for 60% of capital allocated toward equities and 40% toward bonds. Younger investors are now encouraged to be more aggressive toward stocks earlier in their lives due to longer life expectancies and the higher cost of living.

But as most investors know, things don't always go as planned, and sometimes even the most unlikely of assets can outperform. After a sizable run over the past few years, driven by a myriad of different factors, a historically boring asset in the form of an exchange-traded fund is now up 610% since 2000 and is crushing the broader S&P 500 index. Let's take a look.

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The ultimate flight to safety

Several years ago, if you had told many investors that SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEMKT: GLD) would surpass $315 and an ounce of gold would surpass $3,400, they might have laughed. But that's exactly what has happened, thanks in particular to an incredibly strong couple of years for the commodity. Gold is up some 26% this year, 43% over the past 12 months, and about 88% over the last five years. It's also crushed the broader stock market since 2000.

^SPX data by YCharts

How has this happened? Well, there are several reasons, but a big one has actually been building for a few decades -- and that is the U.S. budget. The U.S. has taken on a cascading amount of debt since the turn of the century, fueled by big events like the Sept. 11 attacks, the Great Recession, and the COVID-19 pandemic. In fiscal 2024, the government ran a roughly $1.8 trillion fiscal deficit, meaning it spent that much more than the revenue it collected. Total debt has now surpassed an astounding $36 trillion and interest payments consume an increasing amount of the budget each year, taking away funds that could otherwise be spent on government programs and initiatives.

Bond holders have taken notice and grown increasingly concerned about U.S. finances. S&P Global Ratings downgraded the long-term credit rating of the U.S. in 2011, and Fitch followed that up with a downgrade in 2023, both of which cited fiscal concerns. U.S. bonds are still considered extremely safe and regularly purchased in Treasury auctions, and the U.S. dollar is still considered the reserve currency of the world. However, there is more caution than there once was.

In fact, central banks are buying far fewer U.S. Treasury bonds than they used and instead piling into gold. According to The World Gold Council, central banks collectively purchased over $1 trillion worth of gold in 2024. It's the third year that demand has surpassed $1 trillion and the 15th straight year in which central banks have been net buyers of gold.

A report from State Street in 2024 noted that U.S. Treasury holdings among foreign official institutions fell from $4.2 trillion in early 2020 to $3.8 trillion in early 2024, partly due to foreign central banks diversifying their reserves. The U.S. Federal Reserve also started conducting quantitative tightening, which essentially involves selling bonds to take cash out of the economy. The private sector now holds the bulk of Treasuries in foreign markets, but these investors can be more temperamental and demand higher yield if they deem the U.S. government to be on shaky financial footing.

This seems to be the case amid President Donald Trump's tariff saga, which many believe could hurt growth if tariffs are left in place. Longer-term Treasury yields have shot higher and diverged from shorter-term notes and bills.

Some exposure to Gold is a good idea

Although gold is on a crazy run, I'm certainly not telling investors to sell all of their stocks and pile into gold. Between 1990 and 2020, the Dow Jones Industrial Average still widely outperformed gold and most still believe that equities will win out long term.

However, not only does gold perform well during stressed economic periods, it's also considered a hedge against inflation. Some investors like billionaire Paul Tudor Jones have previously said that the U.S. is essentially going to have to inflate its way out of this current debt situation, which is why "all roads lead to inflation." So, in this regard, it makes sense for a diversified portfolio to have some exposure to gold, perhaps in the form of SPDR Gold Shares.

Should you invest $1,000 in SPDR Gold Trust right now?

Before you buy stock in SPDR Gold Trust, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and SPDR Gold Trust wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $591,533!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $652,319!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 859% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 158% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of April 21, 2025

Bram Berkowitz has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends S&P Global. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

There are plenty of stocks on sale right now with the market well off its all-time highs. One of the stocks I added to my portfolio a while back due to lower prices was Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO), although its price today is lower than when I purchased it. I'd still consider adding to my position today, as it's an incredible AI company with a bright future.

With any stock, I'm not concerned about what the stock price does a week or a month after I purchase it. Instead, I'm focusing on a three- to five-year time frame, and Broadcom's outlook during that period is quite strong.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »

XPUs are an emerging opportunity for Broadcom

Broadcom has its fingers in many industries. Its products range from mainframe software to internet connectivity to storage systems. However, I'm most focused on its emerging product line for artificial intelligence (AI) model training. Broadcom is using its chip design expertise to assist companies in producing their own custom AI accelerators, which Broadcom calls XPUs.

XPUs are similar to graphics processing units (GPUs), which are still the most popular choice when it comes to training AI models. However, XPUs can outperform GPUs when the workload is properly set up. In the early days of AI training, the AI hyperscalers were all attempting to figure out the most efficient way to train these models. So, having a flexible computing device like a GPU was critical.

Now, these hyperscalers have an idea of how to train their respective AI models, so building a device tailored to that computing method allows them to train AI models more efficiently. Furthermore, because the design work is done between Broadcom and its client, clients don't have to pay such sky-high premium as they do with Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), the current GPU leader that has made a massive profit from its devices.

Broadcom's management team sees a massive market for these GPUs and other connectivity switches used in data centers. In its fiscal 2024, Broadcom generated $12.2 billion in revenue from this sector, up from $3.8 billion in 2023. However, management believes this segment could have an addressable market of $60 billion to $90 billion by fiscal 2027, which would indicate massive growth.

There's a key point in that $60 billion to $90 billion projection: It only comes from three clients. With two more hyperscalers slated to launch their XPUs this year and two more selecting Broadcom as a partner for their XPUs, this market range will dramatically expand from the current projection.

Given that Broadcom generated $54.5 billion in revenue over the past 12 months, its revenue could easily double in the next three to five years from one product line alone. This is huge news for investors, as Broadcom's XPU growth is a way to invest in an AI hardware stock like Nvidia was at the start of 2023.

The stock looks like a solid deal right now

Broadcom's stock trades for about 26 times forward earnings following the sell-off. Although that's a cheaper price than investors previously had to pay for Broadcom, it's still not cheaper than some of the other big tech stocks in the market.

AVGO PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts

However, I think there's massive growth in store for Broadcom over the next few years as its business shifts to focusing on XPUs. As GPUs start to wear out, another demand cycle will appear for AI computing hardware. While not every GPU will be converted to an XPU, there will be some changeover, allowing Broadcom to expand its revenue base dramatically.

If you can focus on the three- to five-year picture for Broadcom, it looks quite bright. At its current price, Broadcom stock is still a no-brainer buy.

Should you invest $1,000 in Broadcom right now?

Before you buy stock in Broadcom, consider this:

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Keithen Drury has positions in Broadcom and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

A stock trading at a 52-week low is simply when the stock price is at its lowest point of the past 12 months. While this indicator does not guarantee that a stock is set to rebound and do well for shareholders, it can pay to look at a basket of 52-week low stocks and see if there are any high-quality businesses getting thrown out with the bath water. You might find some cheap stocks to buy for your portfolio.

As of this writing on April 23, few stocks are trading at their 52-week lows due to the massive broad market bounce we've seen in the last two weeks as investors try to navigate the tariff-based economic uncertainty. But there are a few strong growth stocks near their 52-week lows that look promising for investors who plan to buy and hold for many years. Here's why Coupang (NYSE: CPNG) and Airbnb (NASDAQ: ABNB) are two magnificent stocks to buy that fit this criterion.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »

CPNG data by YCharts

Coupang's growing market share

E-commerce has been a massive tailwind for innovative businesses, such as Amazon, that are able to take advantage of this shift in consumer spending. Coupang is an Amazon clone taking over the South Korean market. In fact, one might argue that Coupang has a better e-commerce value proposition than Amazon.

Subscribers to Coupang's Rocket Wow service get free same-day and next-day delivery when ordering by midnight the night before, discounts on food delivery, fresh groceries delivered in hours, and streaming video options. The service is so good, Coupang representatives will even change your tires and install household appliances for free, as long as the products are ordered on the Coupang marketplace, of course.

Most households in South Korea now use Coupang. It generates $30 billion in annual revenue and $1 billion in free cash flow, even as it expands into new countries such as Taiwan and reinvests heavily to improve its offering with add-on services such as the luxury marketplace Farfetch it acquired on the cheap.

Gross profit increased 29% year over year last quarter, excluding changes in foreign currency conversions and inorganic revenue from acquisitions, an impressive growth rate for such a large company. At still a small percentage of overall retail spending in South Korea, I believe there is plenty of room for Coupang to keep growing quickly, especially when you include the expansion into Taiwan.

At today's price of around $22.50, Coupang is only slightly above its 52-week low of $19.76 hit earlier this year. At a market cap of just $41 billion and a long runway to grow its $30 billion in annual revenues, Coupang stock looks like a magnificent steal at today's prices.

Airbnb's expansion plans

Airbnb is a well-known brand around the world, with hundreds of millions of people trying its home-sharing marketplace as an affordable or unique way to travel. Over the years, it has become an increasingly important piece of the global travel pie. Last year, $81.8 billion was spent on the Airbnb marketplace, up 12% year over year.

Growth should continue from this original concept for years, even in Airbnb's more mature markets like North America and Western Europe. The concept is still only a small sliver of the gigantic global travel market. However, to supercharge growth in the years to come, Airbnb is deliberately expanding its marketplace, both geographically and with the products offered to customers.

Management is now custom-tailoring the Airbnb marketplace to unique travel markets such as Japan and Brazil, which is leading to fast growth in these regions. Latin America and Asia Pacific both saw 20%+ growth in nights and experiences booked in Q4 of last year, which is faster than overall Airbnb growth. On top of this global expansion, Airbnb has been prepping for years to add on new services to its marketplace. These will be new products for both guests and hosts on the Airbnb platform, and could possibly include travel packages, cleaning services, and other add-ons to improve the value proposition for both sides of the marketplace.

These growth prospects make Airbnb a great stock to buy at its current price of $118, not far off its 52-week low of $105.69. You can buy Airbnb stock at a reasonable price and hold it in your portfolio for the long term.

Should you invest $1,000 in Airbnb right now?

Before you buy stock in Airbnb, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Airbnb wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $591,533!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $652,319!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 859% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 158% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of April 21, 2025

John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Brett Schafer has positions in Amazon and Coupang. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Airbnb and Amazon. The Motley Fool recommends Coupang. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Millions of seniors benefit from the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), an annual raise that aims to help benefits maintain their buying power over time.

The official announcement for next year's adjustment won't come until October, but there are already predictions around what the 2026 COLA might look like. Right now, beneficiaries are on track to receive the lowest adjustment in years -- but there's an important reason that could change.

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Image source: Getty Images.

The good and bad news about next year's COLA

The COLA is based on changes to the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), a monthly index that tracks consumption patterns among U.S. workers.

To calculate the COLA, the Social Security Administration takes an average of the CPI-W values in the months of July, August, and September. It then compares that average to the previous year's figure from the same period. If the current number is higher, the percentage difference will become next year's COLA.

Based on CPI-W data so far this year, nonpartisan group The Senior Citizens League predicts that the 2026 COLA could land at around 2.3%. That would amount to a raise of around $46 per month for the average retired worker, and it would also be the smallest adjustment since 2021.

That said, there's a silver lining to a smaller COLA: It means inflation is slowing. The CPI-W essentially tracks inflation trends, so higher values year over year mean that consumer prices have been surging. When inflation ran rampant in 2022 and 2023, for example, we saw record-breaking COLAs of 5.9% and 8.7%, respectively.

While a smaller COLA may be disappointing on the surface, it's actually a good sign that prices are not increasing as quickly as they have in the past. Ultimately, that will generally have a greater impact on retirees' budgets than slightly larger Social Security checks.

One big factor that could change the COLA

A lot could change between now and October, primarily when it comes to inflation. President Trump's tariff policies could have a major impact on the economy and consumer prices, with experts pointing out that tariffs have a direct correlation with inflation.

"In the short run, tariffs are seen as inflationary," Ryan Monarch, economics professor at Syracuse University, told The Motley Fool in an interview. "[A]ll else equal, the more widespread the tariffs, the tighter Federal Reserve policy will likely be in order to tamp down upward price pressure."

In February, analysts at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston reported that 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico and an additional 10% tariff on China could increase the core inflation rate, which excludes the more volatile food and energy sectors, by 0.8 percentage points. A 60% tariff on goods from China and 10% tariffs on other countries could increase inflation by 2.2 percentage points.

If inflation surges throughout the rest of 2025, fueled by tariffs, it will likely result in a larger COLA for 2026. That isn't necessarily a good thing for retirees, though, as higher costs will already take a significant bite out of most Americans' budgets before the COLA takes effect.

What does history say about times like these?

In many ways, we're in uncharted territory right now. So history may or may not be helpful in predicting where we're headed.

That said, historically, tariffs can often pave the way for a recession. In fact, analysts at J.P. Morgan announced in mid-April that they predict a 60% probability of entering a recession by the end of this year, triggered primarily by the Trump administration's tariff policies.

While tariffs themselves often lead to price surges, recessions also tend to drag prices back down since consumers generally have less disposable income. That could complicate COLA predictions throughout the rest of this year.

A lot can happen between now and October. Tariffs and a potential recession could have a major impact on consumer prices, which will influence the next Social Security COLA. For now, perhaps the best thing you can do is simply stay informed and keep your expectations in check.

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Few investors enjoy market uncertainty, so the current state of affairs on Wall Street is probably a little unsettling for you. Buying dividend stocks can help calm your nerves because you can focus on collecting dividend checks instead of price volatility. Here are three brilliant dividend stocks that will serve you well now and are well worth holding for the long term.

1. The Monthly Dividend Company to the rescue

If you are watching the markets and feeling a little seasick, you might want to look at buying Realty Income (NYSE: O). The company pays monthly dividends, so it provides investors with a steady stream of income. The dividend, notably, has been increased annually for 30 consecutive years and is backed by an investment-grade-rated balance sheet. The real estate investment trust (REIT) is so focused on dividends that it actually trademarked the nickname, "The Monthly Dividend Company."

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More »

Realty Income is the largest net lease REIT. This means that tenants pay for most property-level operating costs. It is a fairly low-risk approach in the sector when spread across a large portfolio.

Realty Income owns over 15,600 assets across the United States and Europe. And while retail properties make up around 75% of rents, these assets tend to be easy to buy, sell, and release if needed. The other 25% of rents, from things like industrial and gaming properties, provide diversification to the mix.

Historically well run and reliable, this REIT's lofty 5.5% yield should be on your radar screen given the uncertainty on Wall Street today.

2. Prologis is exposed, but you should take the long view

Next up is Prologis (NYSE: PLD), which is the largest REIT in the warehouse niche. It has a global footprint, owning assets in most of the world's major transportation hubs. That sounds like it would be a major problem in the middle of tariff issues, which is one of the reasons why the stock is down around 20% from its 52-week highs. This drop, however, has pushed the dividend yield up to an attractive 3.9%. That is near the highest level in a decade.

Prologis has increased its dividend annually for 12 years. And while it could be hurt by the tariff side of the geopolitical turmoil, international trade isn't going to stop. It is far more likely that trade lines shift and that well-located warehouses remain in high demand. In other words, the uncertainty today is an opportunity for long-term investors to buy the industry leader in a still important REIT segment.

3. AvalonBay provides a life necessity

AvalonBay (NYSE: AVB) is the largest apartment REIT by market capitalization. Its dividend yield today is around 3.4%. That's the lowest on this list, but apartment REITs tend to have modest yields. That yield is kind of middle of the road for AvalonBay, which is often afforded a premium over its peers. The dividend hasn't been increased every year but has trended steadily higher for decades.

There are two big reasons to like AvalonBay. First, even in difficult periods people need a place to live. Thus, the REIT provides a necessity. Second, AvalonBay has a long history of deftly managing its portfolio through good and bad markets. That includes shifting between buying, selling, and building assets depending on which will provide the highest returns.

And management has also shifted its geographic positioning along with demand trends, with the current effort being building new apartments in the Sun Belt region. If you favor industry leaders, AvalonBay is the apartment giant you'll want in your portfolio now and, likely, for years to come.

Go with the biggest and best if you are looking for dividend stocks

When times get tough, it is usually a good choice to focus on industry leaders. That said, the REIT sector offers a large number of large, industry-leading companies because of the various unique property niches in the sector. Given the high yields REITs offer, that makes this sector a brilliant area to look at for opportunities. And industry leaders Realty Income, Prologis, and AvalonBay are all great starting points.

Should you invest $1,000 in Realty Income right now?

Before you buy stock in Realty Income, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Realty Income wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $591,533!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $652,319!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 859% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 158% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of April 21, 2025

Reuben Gregg Brewer has positions in Realty Income. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Prologis and Realty Income. The Motley Fool recommends AvalonBay Communities and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $90 calls on Prologis. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.