• Cracker Barrel responded on Monday to criticism of its new logo.
• "You've also shown us that we could've done a better job sharing who we are and who we'll always be."
• The new logo is part of the brand's turnaround campaign; it no longer features the "old timer."

Cracker Barrel knows fans miss Uncle Herschel — the "old timer" on its old logo.

The restaurant chain responded on Monday to widespread criticism of its new logo and remodel. The pushback centered on the streamlined logo, which very noticeably did not include the "old timer," or Uncle Herschel, seated on a chair leaning up against a barrel.

"We love seeing how much you care about our 'old timer.' We love him too. Uncle Herschel will still be on our menu (welcome back Uncle Herschel's Favorite Breakfast Platter), on road signs, and featured in our country store," the company said in a new statement, released Monday. "He's not going anywhere — he's family."

The company didn't say, however, that he was coming back to the logo.

Instead, the restaurant chain headquartered in Lebanon, Tennessee, said it was focused on "the kitchen and on your plate: serving generous portions of the food you crave at fair prices and doing it with the kind of country hospitality that brightens your days and creates lasting memories."

The "old timer" logo, which had been in place since 1977, was replaced with a barrel-shaped yellow background the the restaurant's name written across it in a similar font.

Cracker Barrel did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

It was trading up less than 1% after the bell.

The Southern food chain is in the midst of a turnaround campaign aimed at luring in customers with new menu items and bringing back old ones — along with a restaurant refresh and new logo.

"If the last few days have shown us anything, it's how deeply people care about Cracker Barrel," the company wrote in its statement Monday. "We're truly grateful for your heartfelt voices. You've also shown us that we could've done a better job sharing who we are and who we'll always be."

• Netflix is opening two "Netflix Houses" in the US this year.
• Are those theme parks? Kind of. But they're really marketing programs for Netflix superfans.
• A few years ago, it seemed hard to imagine Netflix having enough popular, home-grown shows to stock a theme park — even a tiny one. Now it's much more plausible.

Netflix, the DVD-by-mail company that became a streaming company, is about to open two … I'm not sure what to call them. Let's use Netflix's term for the moment: "immersive experiences."

Does that mean Netflix is going to become a theme park business?

Easy answer: Nope!

The new "Netflix Houses" coming online this year in the Dallas and Philadelphia areas — a third one is planned for Las Vegas in 2027 — are marketing programs for the service.

Albeit one where you, the consumer, can pay the company that's trying to market to you, which is a little bit of a twist. Entrance to the venues is free, but once you're inside, you'll have the chance to pay for food, merch, and participate in some activities, which will include novelties like Netflix-themed mini-golf and arcade games.

Posting photos of your visit on social media and becoming an unpaid Netflix influencer? Very much encouraged.

This isn't Netflix's first foray into physical attractions: The company has been doing pop-ups around shows like "Bridgerton" and "Squid Games" for a few years. Which prompts investors to periodically wonder whether Netflix will take on Disney (and Comcast), and eventually build out a real theme park business.

Here's where I dutifully point out that theme parks and cruises, etc., are a huge part of Disney's business: In its 2024 fiscal year, its experiences unit generated $9.3 billion in operating income — more than Netflix's entire profit of $8.7 billion in 2024.

And yes, just because Netflix isn't building out a real theme parks business in 2025 doesn't mean they won't do it eventually. And if you squint, you can imagine the company taking the path it has taken in the past when it moves into a new business, whether that's original content or gaming — tentative steps at first, then a lot more once things get going.

But if you assume Netflix would one day like to make a real commitment to the theme park business — Comcast's newest Florida park cost a reported $7 billion alone — in order to diversify its revenue streams, I don't think money will be the issue. I think the question will be: "Do we have intellectual property we can turn into rides and restaurants and cruise ships?"

Would a Netflix theme park ever happen?

That would have been a resounding "no" a few years ago, when Netflix had a smattering of original hits it made itself, and relied heavily on movies and shows owned by its Hollywood competitors.

Today, it's more nuanced: Netflix definitely makes and owns shows lots of kids like, but it also makes lots of stuff. And some of it won't lend itself to a theme park, no matter how hard you try.

There would be no takers for an "Adolescence" ride, no matter how much you love Netflix's harrowing series about a British teenager accused of murder. (And many people did — it was the service's most-watched show during the first half of this year.)

On the other hand: The most popular movie in US theaters last weekend was "KPop Demon Hunters" — a Netflix movie people had already seen at home, then left their houses so they could pay to see again.

A few more of those, and maybe a bona fide theme park seems more plausible than ever.

• Labubus are all the rage.
• One estimate has them hitting a billion dollars in sales this year.
• I smell a bubble that could burst one day. Remember Beanie Babies?

Labubus are having a moment. That much is clear. I don't have to tell you that.

You see them on Dua Lipa or Lisa from Blackpink. You hear a British woman on TikTok claiming to have the world's most expensive gold one. And you see people turning them into Dubai Chocolate matcha "Crumbl" cookies. (If you have actually eaten one of these, I suggest taking a day or two away from your phone.)

And Labubu's parent company, Pop Mart of China, is on its way to selling $1 billion worth of the toys this year, according to a new estimate from EMARKETER, Business Insider's sister company. So it's a trend that's not slowing down anytime soon.

But I do have some sobering news for you Labubuheads out there: It's a trend that will end. Maybe not tomorrow. But one day, this Labubu bubble will burst. Remember Beanie Babies?

Here's where the bubble starts: Labubus are a trendy item, and there's a limited supply and "blind box" packaging, which means certain colors or styles can be hard to come by. That means that there's a healthy secondary market where some rare ones will sell for way over retail price, which can be as low as $27.99.

Consider, for instance, that you can buy a desirable pink Labubu doll right now on the secondary market for $501.99, through Walmart's marketplace website in a partnership with StockX.

And a 4-foot-tall statue of a Labubu (confusingly described as "life-sized," as if Labubus could be alive) sold at auction in China for $170,000, although this is arguably a real art piece and not just a toy or bag charm.

There's also a robust counterfeit market — "Lafufus," as people call them. So, without ordering directly from Pop Mart, it can be hard for normal shoppers to tell if they're getting a genuine toy or a fake.

The trendy ugly dolls have become such a hit that Pop Mart is on track to sell $1 billion of them in 2025, EMARKETER estimated, noting it's already reported $671 million in sales of its so-called Monsters line, which includes Labubus. That's up nearly 670% from the same time last year, the report said.

I'm going to assume you don't live inside a Faraday cage and know what a Labubu is by now. (If you don't know: They're little plush monsters designed by artist Kasing Lung, and they've been made trendy by various celebrities wearing them as purse charms.) They're sold in the aforementioned blind boxes, which is a lucrative tactic: The buyer doesn't know the color or style of the Labubu he or she will get when they buy it, which means that the more rare and desirable ones can resell for way above retail price.

Is this like Beanie Babies all over again?

I'm also going to assume you, dear reader, are thinking the same thing everyone has been thinking about Labubus: It's Beanie Babies all over again.

I would argue Beanie Babies had a lot more sophisticated business. The bubble had a vast network of humans (everyone, it seemed, had at least one Beanie Baby at some point), and it was accelerated by a major technological shift: the early days of the internet as a form of communication, and also the start of eBay.

If we look at this from another angle, Beaniemania was less about a plush toy craze and more of a necessary condition to push forth the mass acceptance of online payments and usher in our current digital era. Without Beanie Babies, there's no eBay, and without eBay, there's no PayPal, and without PayPal there's no Elon Musk, and without Elon there's no sexy anime waifu on Grok. And where would we all be then?

Labubus, on the other hand, are just … well, they're just a trendy one-off, in my estimation.

It's hard to imagine that Labubus will have the staying power to remain a popular toy a few years from now, or that you won't regret spending $500 on that pink Labubu. Although it might be a little more straightforward than the Beanie Baby craze, it is, at the end of the day, a toy fad driven by hype.

Still, it's possible that Pop Mart will be able to leverage its Labubu hit into some lasting success. Already, there are retail locations opening up around the US. (I just noticed a sign for a new store coming this fall in my local mall.)

Labubus are the runaway hit for now, but if Pop Mart has a deeper bench of collectibles that connect with kids and adults, they may be able to become a staying brand.

SpaceX's massive Starship rocket was scheduled to lift off from the company's Texas launch site this evening for its 10th flight. After scrubbing the launch initially planned for Sunday, August 24, things were apparently back on track for Monday, August 25. The launch window opened at 7:30PM ET (6:30PM CT) and was even livestreamed on the SpaceX website and on X, with a webcast starting 30 minutes before the supposed launch. However, SpaceX ultimately stood down from the test flight due to weather conditions at 8:02PM. The company is still determining the next launch opportunity. 

Yesterday, the weather looked iffy for launch, as well; SpaceX said on Saturday that conditions were looking only 45 percent favorable. Ultimately the Sunday (and then the Monday) launch was cancelled "to allow time to troubleshoot an issue with ground systems," according to a SpaceX post on X.

Flight 10 follows a series of failures this year during SpaceX's seventh, eighth and ninth test flights. And in June, a Starship vehicle exploded on the ground during preparations for a static fire test of its six Raptor engines. If all goes according to plan for Flight 10, Starship will deploy eight dummy Starlink satellites and perform "several experiments focused on enabling Starship’s upper stage to return to the launch site." It won't actually be returning to the launch site this time, though. The test is expected to last a little over an hour, and end with a splashdown in the Indian Ocean.

Update, August 25, 2025, 11:30AM ET: This story was updated to note that Sunday's launch was scrubbed and that SpaceX will try again tonight.

Update August 25, 2025 8:47AM ET: This story was updated to note that the August 25 launch was scrubbed due to weather conditions. 

Amazon's Blade Runner limited series finally has a release window. Deadline reports that the upcoming sequel show, Blade Runner 2099, is slated for a 2026 release on Prime Video. The story at this point remains a mystery, though the title suggests it'll take place 50 years after the events of Blade Runner 2049. Ridley Scott is said to be involved in the production.

It was revealed last year that Michelle Yeoh will star in the series, and according to Deadline, she'll be joined by Hunter Schafer, Dimitri Abold, Lewis Gribben, Katelyn Rose Downey and Daniel Rigby. We first heard about the possibility of Blade Runner 2099 back in 2022, when it was reported that Amazon Studios was developing a live-action series set in that universe, but there have been few updates since. The release window was noted in an internal memo obtained by Deadline, which reports that the series is now in post-production.

Overwatch 2 console players will officially be able to use a keyboard and mouse starting with the release of Season 18. In patch notes posted ahead of the new season, the Overwatch 2 team says matchmaking pools will be tweaked slightly so players are sorted into a Mouse and Keyboard Pool and a Controller Pool. Those playing on a console using keyboard and mouse (KBM) inputs will be paired with PC players and other KBM console players, while the Controller Pool will be reserved only for console players using a controller. Season 18 arrives on August 26.

For players who switch to the Mouse and Keyboard Pool, "your internal MMR, skill ratings and ranks for all game modes will be separate from your statistics in the Controller Pool," according to the patch notes. This group won't have access to aim assist, as has been the case and will continue to be for PC players using a controller. KBM players will have to accept the prompt to switch to that pool in order to play, or manually switch in the Gameplay Options menu.

Key Points

• The S&P 500's rising yield is similar to what happened before the dot-com bubble burst.

• This time, the S&P 500 is being driven by earnings growth.

• Taking out the 20 largest S&P 500 components would push the index's yield close to 2%.

• 10 stocks we like better than Vanguard S&P 500 ETF ›

The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) yields just 1.2% at the time of this writing. According to data by Multpl, that is the lowest monthly reading since November 2000 when the S&P 500 yielded 1.18% -- before the sell-off in the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) accelerated as the dot-com bubble burst. Many top growth stocks would go on to suffer brutal losses that took years or even over a decade to recover.

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Here's what the S&P 500's current low yield says about the state of the U.S. stock market and what you can do about it.

Image source: Getty Images.

There's a clear explanation for the S&P 500's falling yield

With 500 holdings, the S&P 500 seems like a great way to invest in hundreds of top U.S. companies at once. But the index has become less diversified in recent years.

Just 4% of S&P 500 components make up 48% of the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO), an exchange-traded fund that closely tracks the index. Since the S&P 500 is weighted by market cap, massive companies can really move the index in a way smaller companies cannot.

Single companies are now worth the equivalent of entire stock market sectors, or multiple sectors. Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) plus Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) make up more than the combined value of the materials, real estate, utilities, energy, and consumer staples sectors -- illustrating the top-heavy nature of the index.

The following table shows the 20 largest S&P 500 components by market cap and their dividend yields as I write on Aug. 18. The "weighted yield" column is the dividend yield multiplied by the percentage weighting in the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF -- which shows the impact each stock has on the index's yield.

Data sources: Vanguard, YCharts.

The key takeaway is that 48% of the S&P 500 contributes just 0.25% of the index's yield. Meaning that if you took out the 20 largest stocks, the S&P 500 would yield around 2% -- just like it did a decade ago.

So it's not that companies have stopped paying dividends, it's just that low- or no-yield megacap growth stocks like the "Ten Titans" now make up such a large share of the index that the overall S&P 500 yield is lower.

A justified rally

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite underwent massive surges heading into the turn of the millennium that made stock prices go up faster than dividends. Similar to today's market, many of the top holdings in these indexes shifted to growth companies that prioritize reinvesting in their underlying businesses rather than distributing a portion of profits to shareholders through dividends.

The S&P 500's low yield illustrates the extent to which growth stocks dominate the stock market. But unlike the lead-up to the dot-com bust, this rally is much healthier because it is being driven largely by earnings growth and positive sentiment rather than euphoria.

Nvidia is a good example of a company with both a surging stock price and earnings that have compounded several-fold in just a few years. Investors aren't betting on what Nvidia could do in the future if everything goes right. Rather, they are betting on sustained momentum for what Nvidia is delivering right now.

As of Aug. 1, the forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of the S&P 500 was 22.2 -- which is about a 20% premium to its 10-year average. However, the quality of the S&P 500's earnings and growth rate is arguably better today than over that 10-year average. So buying the S&P 500 still makes sense if you agree that the quality is worth paying up for. By this metric, the S&P 500 is pricey, but it's not remotely at nosebleed levels like we saw during the dot-com bubble.

Achieving a more balanced portfolio

The S&P 500 can still be a great tool for building long-term wealth. However, risk-averse investors may be looking for stocks at less expensive valuations and higher dividend yields.

The simplest way to counteract the S&P 500's premium valuation and low yield is to allocate other portions of your portfolio to help fulfill value and income objectives. That can be done by investing directly in top dividend-paying value stocks or value-focused ETFs.

It's important to understand what makes up the S&P 500 and let the index work for you rather than accidentally investing too much in the index and taking on more exposure to growth stocks than you're comfortable with.

Should you invest $1,000 in Vanguard S&P 500 ETF right now?

Before you buy stock in Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, 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 Vanguard S&P 500 ETF 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 $649,657!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,090,993!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,057% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 185% 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 August 18, 2025

JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Daniel Foelber has positions in Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Berkshire Hathaway, Costco Wholesale, Home Depot, JPMorgan Chase, Mastercard, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Netflix, Nvidia, Oracle, Tesla, Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, Visa, and Walmart. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom and Johnson & Johnson 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.

Key Points

• Based on the potential growth the business offers, Nvidia's stock may be too richly valued to buy now.

• Shares of Adobe have been beaten down over the past year and a half due to fears that AI will diminish the need for its popular software tools.

• The market isn't giving Adobe enough credit for its own AI efforts.

• 10 stocks we like better than Nvidia ›

OpenAI launched ChatGPT on Nov. 30, 2022, kicking off a frenzy of excitement about generative AI -- and a flood of spending on it. Few companies have benefited more from that than Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA). The chipmaker's graphics processing units (GPUs) have proven essential hardware for training and running generative AI applications.

Since ChatGPT's launch, Nvidia's stock price has increased more than tenfold. It's now the most valuable company in the world with a market cap exceeding $4 trillion.

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 »

But the next three years are bound to look different from the previous three. And one AI stock looks poised to outperform the leading GPU maker through 2028, based on their current valuations and competitive forces.

Image source: Getty Images.

Can Nvidia stock keep climbing?

Nvidia's financial results over the past three years have been nothing short of incredible. And as the generative AI boom continues, it continues to put up extremely high revenue and earnings growth.

The company reported a 73% year-over-year increase in data center revenue during its fiscal 2026 first quarter, which ended April 27, as big tech companies looked to outfit their data center servers with Nvidia's latest chips. That led to a 33% increase in the company's earnings per share. However, that EPS number included a $4.5 billion writedown on its inventory of H20 GPUs meant for the Chinese market. Without that, its earnings per share would've been up 57%. President Trump has since lifted the U.S. ban on selling to China. As part of that policy shift, Trump is requiring the company to pay 15% of its China sales to Washington -- but it does mean that the writedown can be reversed, as the H20s now have value again.

All that said, Nvidia still faces some headwinds to its continued growth. Competitors are starting to make progress in catching up to Nvidia with their own AI accelerator chips. AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) recently unveiled its MI400X, which is competitive with Nvidia's Blackwell Ultra platform. While the MI400X is slower than the Rubin architecture chips that Nvidia expects to launch in the second half of 2026, it sports a significant advantage in memory capacity, which has become a significant bottleneck in AI training. Still, some data center customers will likely bring some of their business to AMD due to its price performance, and also to keep their biggest GPU supplier in check.

On top of that, the biggest Nvidia customers are all developing custom AI accelerators. Over the long run, custom silicon could reduce demand for Nvidia's general-purpose GPUs for AI training and inference, at least among the tech giants. That said, smaller businesses will likely rely on cloud providers offering access to Nvidia GPUs for their AI processing needs.

These headwinds make it hard to justify Nvidia's forward P/E ratio of 40. While the stock deserves to trade at a premium, investors who expect that it can continue to put up results like it has for the past few years may be overestimating its position in the market. As a result, I expect that its valuation multiple will be compressed over the next few years, which will drag on the stock's gains.

The AI stock that's poised to grow faster than Nvidia

While Nvidia has been and will remain a clear winner from the boom in AI spending, not every business that's exposed to the trend has as much clear-cut potential. For some companies, AI is as much a threat as it is an opportunity. One such business is Adobe (NASDAQ: ADBE).

Adobe's Creative Cloud suite is the leading software for creative professionals. Because generative AI makes it easier for anyone to create and edit photos, images, and graphics, many expect the developing tech to undermine the need for Adobe's tools. On the other hand, Adobe has invested in building its own AI model, Firefly, which it trained on its library of stock images and videos. Firefly is capable of generating images and videos, and helps creatives get the most out of Adobe's powerful tool set.

Right now, the market overwhelmingly views the threats of AI as outweighing the benefits for Adobe. The stock is down by more than 40% from the all-time high it touched at the start of 2024. But that sell-off may be a huge opportunity for investors.

Creative professionals who don't use Adobe's software put themselves at a disadvantage. It's an industry standard. Any designer, photographer, or videographer who is looking for work had better have familiarity with how to get the most out of Adobe's Creative Cloud because the entire industry uses it. That means there are extremely high switching costs to moving away from it, which should help Adobe retain its core customer base.

Moreover, Adobe is building on top of a strong customer base across its Creative, Document, and Digital Experience platforms. The generative AI tools it is embedding in its software are helping it boost revenue per user and are improving retention rates. The Firefly app that it released in June is credited with drawing in many new users to the Adobe franchise, which saw a more than 30% year-over-year increase in first-time subscribers in its last fiscal quarter, which ended May 30.

Overall, management expects revenue from AI products to more than double this year, although it remains a small portion of the company's total revenue. But when you consider the indirect effect, there's a clear impact. The company reported 12% growth in annual recurring revenue last quarter, and it expects 11% for the fiscal year. Despite its already high margins, growing into its AI investments should result in some margin expansion over time.

Management uses the steady free cash flow generated by Adobe's subscription revenues to buy back shares. It bought back 8.6 million shares last quarter. Assisted by its steadily shrinking share count, the company should be able to produce consistent double-digit percentage earnings per share growth over the next three years. But right now, the stock trades at just 17 times earnings. I expect that multiple to expand over time as Adobe continues to produce consistent earnings growth. That should lead the stock to outperform Nvidia through 2028.

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

Before you buy stock in Nvidia, 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 Nvidia 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 $649,657!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,090,993!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,057% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 185% 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 August 18, 2025

Adam Levy has positions in Adobe. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Adobe, Advanced Micro Devices, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Key Points

• Lucid Group is ready to tackle a $10 trillion opportunity.

• There's another growth catalyst that could generate even more near-term growth.

• 10 stocks we like better than Lucid Group ›

Lucid Group (NASDAQ: LCID) investors are ecstatic about the company's recent deal with Uber Technologies. Another electric vehicle (EV) stock, Tesla, has been aggressively ramping up its robotaxi efforts this year. Some experts believe this could eventually be a $10 trillion opportunity. So when Uber and Lucid partnered to launch their own robotaxi businesses, Lucid stock soared by more than 40% on the news.

While autonomous driving is an exciting pillar of growth, there's actually another growth catalyst that will matter even more in the near future. In fact, this catalyst could help Lucid grow sales by more than 400% over the next five years alone.

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 »

Tesla has already shown Lucid Group how to grow rapidly

When it comes to scaling a $1 trillion electric vehicle business, Tesla has already shown the way. In fact, CEO Elon Musk detailed his master plan for growth all the way back in 2006 when he wrote up his strategy for the coming years. First, he wanted to build a sports car. That goal was achieved with the Roadster, a powerful but very expensive initial use case. From that, Musk wrote that he would use the money from that car's sales "to build an affordable car." This was achieved with the launch of the Model X and Model S. Those two, however, were still often priced above $100,000.

This brings us to Musk's final step in his master plan for growth: Use the money earned from Model X and Model S sales "to build an even more affordable car." This was first achieved in 2016 with the unveiling of the Model 3, and then again in 2019 when the Model Y was revealed. Both models had options that cost under $50,000. Crossing this threshold finally made Teslas affordable to tens of millions of new buyers.

What happened after Tesla launched its two most affordable models? In the years that followed, sales doubled and then tripled. Today, the Model 3 and Model Y alone account for more than 90% of Tesla's car sales. If an EV maker wants to grow rapidly, it must deliver affordable mass-market vehicles. This is exactly what Lucid Group plans to do starting in 2026, when management expects to begin launching three new mass-market vehicles. If Tesla's history is any indication, sales could double and then triple over the next five years. That could create more than 500% in potential sales upside.

Image source: Getty Images.

Is it time to load up on LCID stock?

There are some very important caveats to this story, even if the growth potential is clearly laid out.

First, there haven't been any significant updates on Lucid's mass market vehicle program since last year when CEO Peter Rawlinson announced a "new high-volume mid-size electric SUV with a starting price around $48,000," during a conference call. But Rawlinson isn't even the CEO anymore. He departed the company earlier this year. And while the Uber deal brought fresh cash and enthusiasm, Lucid is still losing money every quarter, bringing into question the massive capital investment it would take to get new models on the road.

Second, these types of projects almost always face delays. Tesla has been notorious for overpromising on delivery timelines. But it's not just because its CEO is too optimistic. Bringing new vehicles to market takes a ton of money and new infrastructure. If Lucid grows sales by 500% over the next five years, it will be because it manages to stay surprisingly on schedule for production and delivery.

Finally, there is no guarantee that the market will love new Lucid models as much as it loved Tesla's Model 3 and Model Y. At the time, Tesla faced far less competition in the EV space, and it also enjoyed greater name recognition. But with a market cap of just $6.4 billion, the bull case for Lucid remains clear. Sales could grow immensely over the next five years if it can manage to launch and scale its affordable models similar to what Tesla achieved.

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 $649,657!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,090,993!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,057% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 185% 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 August 18, 2025

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

Key Points

• Consumer staples makers sell products that are bought in both good economic times and bad ones.

• PepsiCo is one of the world's largest consumer staples companies, with a portfolio that spans snacks, beverages, and packaged foods.

• The company's stock price has been weak, and the dividend yield is historically high.

• 10 stocks we like better than PepsiCo ›

The Motley Fool just produced a report covering the largest consumer staples stocks in the world. Every company name on that list is worth examining, but one stands out for investors who are worried about a recession. The reason for that is because of both good news and, interestingly, bad news. Here's why PepsiCo (NASDAQ: PEP), No. 7 on the Motley Fool list, could be a "recession-proof" gold mine today.

What does PepsiCo do?

The first reason to like PepsiCo is positive, as it is, overall, a very well-run consumer staples business. At the highest level, consumer staples are recession-resistant products. They're usually low in cost and bought regularly because they're necessity items. Think deodorant, toilet paper, and food. You wouldn't stop buying any of those even if you were facing economic hardship.

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Image source: Getty Images.

PepsiCo is focused on food. It's one of the largest beverage makers in the world (Pepsi) and the most important snack maker (Frito-Lay), and it has a portfolio of well-known packaged food brands (Quaker Oats). That's actually more diversification than you'll get from many of the company's peers. It stands toe to toe with any of those peers with regard to distribution strength, marketing acumen, and research and development. Given its massive size (the company has a roughly $200 billion market cap), it can also act as an industry consolidator, swallowing up promising brands to keep its own portfolio in line with consumer tastes.

The strength of PepsiCo's business model is most evident in its dividend history. With over five decades' worth of annual dividend increases, the company is a Dividend King. You don't build a dividend record like that by accident. It requires both a good business model and reliable execution in both good markets and bad ones.

Why buy PepsiCo if you are worried about a recession?

The bad news with PepsiCo is that it isn't hitting on all cylinders today. That's unfortunate, but even the best-run companies have to deal with hard times every so often. Given the company's Dividend King status, history suggests that PepsiCo will muddle through and get back on a better path. But Wall Street is usually focused on the next quarter, not the next decade, so the stock price has been weak. That has pushed PepsiCo's dividend yield up toward the high end of its historical yield range.

With a 3.8% dividend yield, buying PepsiCo will provide you with a well-above-market income stream. If there is a recession, you can happily collect that dividend, distracting you from the market's likely stomach-turning gyrations. But that's not the only positive in the negative news. Even after a recent rally, the stock is still down over 20% from its 2023 highs. So it is in its own personal bear market. If a recession is accompanied by a bear market, which is common, it's likely that PepsiCo won't fall quite as far as the market's current list of high flyers could.

Then there's the basic business model. Consumer staples companies are seen as safe haven stocks. If there is a recession and even a bear market, it might actually lead investors to buy PepsiCo stock. So an economic and market downturn could actually be a catalyst for better stock price performance.

Buy PepsiCo, but think in decades

If you're worried about a recession, PepsiCo could be a good addition to your portfolio. But don't buy it just because you're worried about a recession. Buy it because you believe it's a well-run company that will be able to withstand the hit from an economic downturn, even as it works to get its business back on track with current customer demand.

On that last point, PepsiCo recently bought a Mexican-American food maker and a pre-biotic beverage company. Both moves suggest that it's going back to the successful playbook that has led to solid long-term growth over the decades. That is, in the end, the best reason to buy this currently out-of-favor consumer staples giant.

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

Before you buy stock in PepsiCo, 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 PepsiCo 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 $649,657!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,090,993!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,057% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 185% 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 August 18, 2025

Reuben Gregg Brewer has positions in PepsiCo. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Key Points

• Both companies are posting strong financial results this year, despite headwinds.

• They have raised their dividends annually for a combined 110 years.

• 10 stocks we like better than Medtronic ›

Dividend stocks aren't all created equal. Some decrease their payouts, or suspend them altogether, when they face headwinds. Others have much stronger businesses and continue to raise their dividends even as they face obstacles. Income seekers want to stay away from the former and invest in the latter. One imperfect way to determine which is which is to look at their track records.

Of course, the past doesn't guarantee anything, but companies with a long history of raising their dividends often have what it takes to continue down that path. Let's consider two dividend stocks that have impeccable credentials in that department and are still worth investing in today: Medtronic (NYSE: MDT) and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ).

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Image source: Getty Images.

1. Medtronic

Medtronic, a leading medical device company, may face headwinds due to the impact of tariffs on its financial results. However, the stock has performed well this year. Its most recent financial results came in ahead of analyst estimates, and the company even increased its earnings guidance for its ongoing fiscal year 2026, which started on April 26.

Although Medtronic has encountered some issues in recent years, the healthcare giant has taken steps to rectify the situation. One of its focuses is improving profitability. Medtronic has explored spinning out some of its divisions before. It finally settled on diabetes care, its only consumer-facing business, and one that generates lower margins than the rest of its operations. The initiative should help the company boost the bottom line somewhat.

Meanwhile, Medtronic's underlying business remains strong. The company is one of the world's largest medical device manufacturers, with operations spanning multiple therapeutic areas. It continually develops and markets new products, resulting in consistent revenue and earnings growth.

One important approval it should soon earn is for its robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) device, the Hugo system; that should have a meaningful impact on its financial results, given the significant white space available in surgical robotics. Furthermore, the sustained higher demand for medical procedures should be a powerful tailwind for the company, as many of its product sales are tied to procedure volume.

Medtronic has increased its dividends for 48 consecutive years, a streak that points to a company capable of weathering any storm. The stock's current forward yield of 3.1% looks attractive compared to the S&P 500's average of 1.3%. This is a top dividend stock investors can double down on today.

2. Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson is also facing issues, including tariff-related ones, and generic competition for its immunology medicine Stelara. Still, the pharmaceutical giant is performing well. Its second-quarter results were strong, and it also increased its guidance for the fiscal year 2025.

J&J's pharmaceutical segment is well-diversified, with products in immunology, oncology, neuroscience, infectious diseases, and more. Thanks to robust research and development (R&D) spending and significant experience in the field, the company consistently launches new products that help mitigate losses from those that fall out of patent protection. It's done the same in recent years, which is why, despite Stelara's recent challenges, the top line continues to move in the right direction. That's a great sign for investors.

Johnson & Johnson's medical device segment also adds to its diversification. The company is looking to dip its toes in the RAS market with its Ottava system, which is still undergoing clinical trials in the U.S. The Ottava could be a critical addition to the company's arsenal.

It's true that J&J has recently faced legal and regulatory challenges, including lawsuits and government-imposed price negotiations. While these are worth monitoring, it's important to remember that Johnson & Johnson is a Dividend King, with 62 consecutive years of dividend increases. The company has been through a great many things over that time frame, including the establishment of Medicare and Medicaid, which completely transformed the U.S. healthcare sector.

Johnson & Johnson has survived -- and thrived -- over the long run despite similar challenges in the past, and the company remains more than capable of fulfilling its financial obligations. That's why it has a higher credit rating than the U.S. government. Despite recent headwinds, Johnson & Johnson remains a top income stock worth investing in for the long term.

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

Before you buy stock in Medtronic, 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 Medtronic 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 $649,657!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,090,993!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,057% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 185% 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 August 18, 2025

Prosper Junior Bakiny has positions in Johnson & Johnson. The Motley Fool recommends Johnson & Johnson and Medtronic and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $75 calls on Medtronic and short January 2026 $85 calls on Medtronic. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Key Points

• Citigroup projects that the global stablecoin market could reach $3.7 trillion by 2030.

• Understanding the mechanics of Ripple's technology and XRP means understanding its value.

• Ripple's acquisition indicates that the company doesn't want to miss out on the stablecoin boom, but this could threaten XRP's value.

• 10 stocks we like better than XRP ›

The recent passage of the Genius Act, a regulatory framework that legitimizes the use of stablecoins in the broader financial market, could send the already rapidly growing stablecoin market parabolic -- reaching up to $3.7 trillion by 2030, according to an analysis by Citigroup.

Ripple, the company behind XRP (CRYPTO: XRP), is making a bold move to position itself ahead of this trend. The company just spent $200 million to acquire Rail, a stablecoin payment company. So, what will Ripple's new strategy do for XRP itself? Will it finally be what sends the token price above $4, or will it undermine the central use case that drives much of XRP's value in the first place?

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The main case for XRP

Traditional banking can be slow and costly, especially when sending and receiving money across borders. Payments can take days or even weeks to clear, and multiple intermediaries are involved, leading to high fees.

Ripple created XRP to solve these inefficiencies and make bank-to-bank transactions -- especially those across borders and into different currencies -- faster, cheaper, and easier. From the beginning, the investment case for XRP has always been that more banks will adopt Ripple's technology. Demand for XRP will rise, and its price will follow.

The reality, however, is a bit more complicated, and it's critical for XRP investors to understand.

Adoption of the technology doesn't necessarily mean adoption of XRP

Ripple offers two main products: RippleNet and On-Demand Liquidity (ODL). RippleNet allows banks to make use of the blockchain without ever needing to deal with XRP itself. For the most part, the adoption of RippleNet doesn't meaningfully affect the price of XRP.

ODL, on the other hand, does require XRP to be used as a "bridge asset." It works something like this: A bank in the U.S. buys XRP, sends it to France, and the XRP is converted into euros on the other end. ODL is great for banks and financial institutions that have liquidity constraints because it replaces the traditional need for a pre-funded account in the destination currency with transparent XRP conversions.

In theory, the increased adoption of ODL should be a major tailwind for XRP demand, and to some degree it has been. But here's the thing: Most large banks and payment processors don't have liquidity issues. The complication and risk of holding XRP, even temporarily, outweighs any gains in efficiency or lower capital requirements. Financial institutions don't really love holding an asset that can drop in price by 20% in a day.

Image source: Getty Images.

Ripple's $200M stablecoin pivot

The widespread adoption of stablecoins threatens the core of Ripple's main use case. Although transaction fees aren't quite as cheap and settlement times aren't as instantaneous for most stablecoins as they are when using RippleNet or ODL, they still represent a huge improvement over legacy systems and provide many of the same benefits.

Before the Genius Act, Ripple was perhaps somewhat protected because banks were limited in their exposure to stablecoins. But now that a regulatory framework exists, Ripple has to adapt, hence the acquisition.

Ripple says it is creating "the most comprehensive stablecoin payments solution available in the market." By integrating Rail's technology with its network, Ripple can make it easier and more attractive for banks to use the network while also adopting stablecoins. Most importantly, this could mean that stablecoins -- like Ripple's own stablecoin, RLUSD -- can serve as the bridge asset in ODL transactions, further reducing demand pressure.

What needs to happen for XRP to hit $4

Ripple could launch a new product with stronger XRP integration, or the integration of stablecoins could more directly incorporate XRP than I'm seeing, but it doesn't look great for the value of XRP in my view.

For Ripple to remain relevant, it must lean heavily into a more hybrid model that prioritizes stablecoins. If XRP reaches $4, I don't think it will stay there. I would opt for other crypto projects to build long-term value.

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

Before you buy stock in XRP, 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 XRP 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 $649,657!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,090,993!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,057% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 185% 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 August 18, 2025

Citigroup is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Johnny Rice has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends XRP. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Key Points

• Plug Power trades about 99% below its IPO price.

• It reinvented itself over the past 26 years, but it still isn’t impressing the bulls.

• Its stock is cheap, and it could soar higher as its business warms up again.

• 10 stocks we like better than Plug Power ›

Plug Power (NASDAQ: PLUG), a leading developer of hydrogen charging and storage technologies, has been a disappointing long-term investment. It went public at a reverse-split-adjusted price of $150 in 1999, soared to a record high of $1,498 at the peak of the dot-com bubble in early 2000, but now trades at less than $2.

However, with a market cap of $1.8 billion, Plug looks cheap at less than two times next year's sales. Should you consider it an undervalued play on the nascent hydrogen market?

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 »

Image source: Getty Images.

Why did Plug Power plummet from its dot-com highs?

Plug Power originally planned to build hydrogen charging systems for homes. However, high infrastructure costs, regulatory challenges, and weak consumer demand crushed those dreams.

After that plan collapsed, it started to develop hydrogen fuel cells and charging systems for warehouse forklifts instead. Amazon and Walmart became its top customers as well as its biggest investors through stock warrants.

The company initially subsidized its fuel cell sales to Amazon and Walmart with those stock warrants. That unusual strategy caused its reported revenue to turn negative in 2020 as its big subsidies eclipsed its other customer payments.

After restating its financials, revenue turned positive again in 2021. But over the following three years, its top-line growth slowed, its operating margins collapsed, and its net losses widened at an alarming rate.

Most of its growth in 2022 and 2023 was inorganically driven by two acquisitions that expanded its smaller cryogenic-storage equipment business instead of the organic growth of its hydrogen fuel cell, charger, and electrolyzer segments.

Data source: Plug Power. YOY = year over year. *Due to restatements.

Plug Power has already deployed 72,000 fuel cell systems and 275 fueling stations across the world, but rising interest rates, tariffs, and other macro headwinds are curbing the market's appetite for expensive hydrogen charging projects.

Many companies also continue to invest in battery-electric solutions, which are generally cheaper and easier to deploy than hydrogen-powered systems. Although Plug Power is gaining traction in warehouses and fulfillment centers, it could struggle to break out of its niche, scale up its business, and generate consistent profits. That's why its stock trades so far below its all-time high -- and why it's trading at such low valuations.

Could Plug Power's stock command a higher valuation?

Plug Power faces a lot of near-term challenges, but its insiders bought nearly 20 times as many shares as they sold over the past 12 months. That warmer insider sentiment suggests it's finally reaching an inflection point as a few catalysts kick in.

Earlier this year, it secured a $1.66 billion loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy to fund construction of six green hydrogen manufacturing plants. The Trump Administration's new tax bill also extends tax credits for the hydrogen industry through 2027. That fresh government support should help the company -- which ended its latest quarter with just $141 million in cash and equivalents -- stay solvent as it scales up its business.

To accelerate that expansion and dilute its costs, it's ramping up its production of green hydrogen at its plants in Texas and Georgia. It also launched a new joint venture with Olin to build a hydrogen liquefaction plant in Louisiana.

To further stabilize its margins, early this year, it launched Project Quantum Leap, a cost-cutting initiative aimed at trimming its annual expenses by up to $200 million. Its backlog is still swelling with new deals, including one to supply electrolyzers to Allied Green Ammonia in Australia.

For 2025, Plug Power expects its revenue to rise at least 11% to $700 million as its gross margin turns positive during the fourth quarter. It expects that recovery to be led by its hydrogen fuel cell, infrastructure, and electrolyzer businesses as the macro environment stabilizes.

Analysts expect its revenue to rise 13% in 2025, 39% in 2026, and 35% to $1.3 billion in 2027. We should take those optimistic estimates with a grain of salt, but they imply that its business bottomed out in 2024 and will profit from the hydrogen market's gradual expansion.

Is it finally the right time to buy Plug Power's stock?

Plug Power disappointed a lot of investors over the past quarter-century, but it could finally be the right time to accumulate this unloved green energy stock. Its recovery is still wobbly, and it's burning a lot of cash, but it could generate big multibagger gains once its longer-term catalysts kick in.

Should you invest $1,000 in Plug Power right now?

Before you buy stock in Plug Power, 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 Plug Power 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 $649,657!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,090,993!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,057% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 185% 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 August 18, 2025

Leo Sun has positions in Amazon. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon and Walmart. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Key Points

• Lucid has announced a deal to provide at least 20,000 EVs equipped with self-driving hardware to Uber over six years.

• The deal includes a $300 million equity investment from Uber.

• The stock jumped on the news but soon fell back.

• 10 stocks we like better than Lucid Group ›

On July 18, electric vehicle maker Lucid Motors (NASDAQ: LCID) announced that it had signed a deal with Uber Technologies (NYSE: UBER) and self-driving developer Nuro. Lucid will supply no fewer than 20,000 Gravity SUVs equipped with Nuro's Level 4 self-driving systems to Uber for use in a new upscale robotaxi service.

Production of the self-driving Gravity is expected to start by the end of 2026, Lucid said. Those 20,000 vehicles (or more) are to be delivered over the following six years.

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As part of the deal, Uber agreed to invest $300 million in Lucid. (Uber is also making a significant investment in Nuro, though the specifics haven't been released.)

Lucid's shares soared after the deal was announced. But the rally didn't last long. Where does that leave Lucid investors now?

The Uber deal looks great for Lucid

The deal looks like a good one for Lucid, for three reasons that I can see.

First, selling 20,000 vehicles isn't nothing. Even though it's over six years -- and even though the clock doesn't start running until the first one ships, likely late next year -- 20,000 vehicles is a nice piece of business for a company that delivered just 10,241 vehicles in 2024.

Second, placing the Gravity in Uber's planned luxury robotaxi service could have other benefits.

Lucid's Gravity SUV and Air sedan are excellent electric vehicles, in some ways the best EVs yet built by anyone, with superb batteries and advanced software. The company's challenge has always been getting affluent potential customers to try them. An upscale robotaxi service will give a lot of potential customers their first tastes of Lucid's quality and technology. If it's good, sales are likely to result.

Lucid expects to begin production of the Nuro-equipped self-driving Gravity SUVs for Uber by the end of 2026. Image source: Lucid.

Finally, that $300 million investment will be a welcome addition to Lucid's cash hoard, which totaled $3.6 billion (plus another roughly $1.3 billion in available credit lines) as of the end of the second quarter.

It seems like a good deal for Lucid, no? I certainly can't see anything in this deal to worry about. But Lucid's stock rally didn't last very long.

Why not? I think cash is a key part of that discussion.

The big concern that is holding back the stock

The key investor concern around Lucid always comes down to cash. Like any automaker of any size, Lucid uses a lot of cash -- but it doesn't yet generate enough cash to cover what it spends.

That isn't news, but here's why it has become more of a concern.

Lucid is working on a new range of models one size down from the Air and Gravity. Those "midsize" models, Lucid says, will be less expensive than current Lucids, making the company's technology available to a wider range of potential customers. Lucid expects to have the first of those new models in production by the end of 2026.

The hope is that those new models will sell well enough to carry Lucid to profitability. But developing new models requires cash -- lots of cash. Does Lucid have enough cash to get there?

The answer is "Maybe." Lucid's largest investor by far is Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, called the Public Investment Fund, or PIF. PIF owns about 60% of Lucid, and it has very deep pockets -- but no investor, no matter how deep their pockets, will throw good money after bad indefinitely.

Is Lucid stock a buy now?

My theory is that PIF will ensure that Lucid is funded at least until production of the new midsize models has scaled up -- say, by the end of 2027. If that theory holds, then Lucid's stock might be a cautious buy at current levels.

If you buy now, the stock is essentially a bet that Lucid's new models will be competitive and that they'll sell well enough to get the company to breakeven. That isn't a terrible bet, but it's far from a sure thing. Scale your investment accordingly.

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 $649,657!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,090,993!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,057% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 185% 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 August 18, 2025

John Rosevear has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Key Points

• The Trade Desk is forecasting a significant slowdown in its growth in the current quarter.

• Its competitors continue to make inroads into The Trade Desk's territory.

• The Trade Desk sports an expensive valuation, which it may prove difficult to justify.

• 10 stocks we like better than The Trade Desk ›

Programmatic advertising specialist The Trade Desk (NASDAQ: TTD) is having a terrible 2025 so far. The year went from bad to worse for investors after the company released its second quarter results on Aug. 7.

The Trade Desk stock was hammered as the company's guidance indicated a slowdown in its growth. Though The Trade Desk has been integrating artificial intelligence (AI) tools into its programmatic advertising platform, it seems like the stiff competition from bigger players in the advertising industry is hampering its ability to sustain healthy growth levels.

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 »

Let's look at the reasons why The Trade Desk has dropped an alarming 55% year to date, and determine whether that drop represents an opportunity to buy the stock in anticipation of a potential turnaround.

Image source: Getty Images

Execution issues and competitive pressures are weighing on The Trade Desk

The Trade Desk started 2025 on a negative note. The stock was clobbered after releasing its full-year 2024 results in February when sales execution issues led the company to miss its revenue target. The company's May quarterly report helped it win back investor confidence as Q1 revenue was up by 25% year over year and well ahead of consensus expectations.

However, inconsistency reared its ugly head once again in Q2. Revenue growth slowed to 19%, and earnings increased just a few cents to $0.39 per share. In the same quarter last year, The Trade Desk had reported much stronger revenue growth of 26%.

The guidance, however, is what really spooked the market. Management expects revenue growth in the current quarter to further decelerate to 14% for a total of $717 million. The adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) forecast of $277 million would be an improvement of just 8% year over year.

It is easy to see why this slowdown has investors worried. The Trade Desk's competitors in the digital advertising market have been reporting solid growth. Amazon, primarily known for its e-commerce and cloud computing offerings, reported a healthy 23% year-over-year increase in its advertising business last quarter to $15.7 billion.

The tech giant struck a deal with streaming provider Roku to expand its footprint in the connected TV advertising space in the U.S., gaining access to 80 million households. Connected TV is one of the key areas that's driving growth for The Trade Desk, so Amazon's big move in this market is definitely a cause for concern.

On the other hand, social media giant Meta Platforms' focus on deploying AI tools is helping it win a bigger share of advertisers' wallets. Meta's tools are driving strong returns for advertisers, and the company has also been able to boost user engagement through AI-recommended content.

As a result, Meta's revenue increased 22% last quarter. It is worth noting that both Meta and Amazon are significantly larger companies than The Trade Desk, and they are achieving healthy growth levels while The Trade Desk is witnessing a slowdown. This doesn't bode well for the company, especially given its valuation.

Why investors could be in for more pain

Analysts are forecasting an improvement of just 8% in The Trade Desk's earnings this year to $1.79 per share. The company is expected to return to double-digit growth in 2026.

Data by YCharts.

However, The Trade Desk is trading at 66 times trailing earnings, which is double the average price-to-earnings ratio of the Nasdaq-100 index. Buying The Trade Desk stock at this expensive multiple doesn't look like a smart thing to do right now. The slowing revenue growth is going to negatively impact the bottom line as well, so it remains to be seen if the company is capable of matching Wall Street's earnings expectations going forward.

That's why investors would do well to focus on other tech stocks that are clocking faster growth rates while trading at more reasonable valuations, as The Trade Desk is likely to remain under pressure going forward.

Should you invest $1,000 in The Trade Desk right now?

Before you buy stock in The Trade Desk, 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 The Trade Desk 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 $649,657!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,090,993!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,057% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 185% 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 August 18, 2025

Harsh Chauhan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Meta Platforms, Roku, and The Trade Desk. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

On the Mercator projection, one of the world’s most popular maps, Greenland and Africa appear to be about the same size. But on the Equal Earth projection showing continents in their true proportions, 14 Greenlands would easily fit inside the African continent.

Criticism that the Mercator projection does not accurately reflect Africa’s real size is not new.

However, a recent campaign by African advocacy groups is gaining momentum online as it urges organizations and schools to adopt the Equal Earth projection, which they say more accurately displays the size of the continent of more than 1.4 billion people.

The African Union, the continent’s diplomatic organization with 55 member countries, endorsed the campaign last week in what advocates call a major milestone.

Here is what to know about the effort to show Africa’s real size to the world.

Africa appears too small on most modern maps

The Mercator map was created in the 16th century by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator. Designed to help European navigators at sea, the map distorted landmasses by enlarging regions near the poles such as North America and Greenland while shrinking Africa and South America.

The 2018 Equal Earth projection is a modern map that follows the Earth’s curvature and shows continents in their true proportions, unlike the distorted Mercator map.

The Mercator projection is still common in classrooms and tech platforms. Google Maps dropped the widely used projection for a 3D globe on desktop in 2018, but users can switch back to the old map. The mobile app still defaults to the Mercator projection.

Groups campaign to replace the global map

Two African advocacy groups, Africa No Filter and Speak Up Africa, launched a campaign in April to push schools, followed by international organizations and media outlets, to use the Equal Earth projection, which it says more accurately reflects the true size of Africa.

“Correcting the map is not only an African issue. It is a matter of truth and accuracy that concerns the entire world. When whole generations, in Africa and elsewhere, learn from a distorted map, they develop a biased view of Africa’s role in the world,” said Fara Ndiaye, co-founder and deputy executive director of Speak Up Africa.

For non-Africans, a shrunken representation of Africa minimizes its demographic, economic and strategic significance, Ndiaye added.

The African Union endorsed the campaign on Aug. 14, the largest body to sign on to the campaign so far, marking a significant milestone for the Change The Map campaign.

Geographers say the Mercator projection is outdated

Mark Monmonier, a Syracuse University professor of geography, said the Mercator projection is obsolete and geographers have long advised people to not use it as a world map.

“It was a useful navigation tool in the 16th century, because it has straight lines, giving navigators a line of constant direction to sail along,” Monmonier said. “But outside of that very narrow navigation application, there is no point in using it.”

While maps following the curvature of the earth, like the Equal Earth projection, offer a more accurate scale of continents true sizes, he nonetheless warned that bar graphs remain the best way to compare the sizes of different continents.

“When you put irregularly shaped areas on a flat paper, people are going to have a hard time accurately comparing the size of landmasses,” Monmonier said.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy went fishing with U.S. Vice President JD Vance earlier this month and the closest thing he came to catching was a whopping fine.

Lammy was given a written warning for fishing without a license, an Environment Agency spokesperson said Friday.

As far as breaking the law goes, it was pretty small fry but could have netted him a fine of up to 2,500 pounds ($3,380) for the offense.

Lammy, whose spokesperson described it all as an “administrative oversight,” purchased a license after-the-fact and reported himself to the agency.

Lammy hosted Vance and his family, who were vacationing in England, at his country estate south of London on Aug. 8. The two men smiled and laughed as Vance provided what Lammy called Kentucky-style fishing tips.

Apparently, the pointers didn’t help Lammy land a fish.

“The one strain on the special relationship is that all of my kids caught fish, but the foreign secretary did not,” Vance later said.

The Environment Agency would not comment on whether Vance had a license, citing data protection rules. The vice president’s spokesperson did not immediately reply to an email from The Associated Press seeking comment.

The agency said it confirmed that Lammy was given a warning because he had publicized it. In England and Wales, anyone over 13 needs a license for freshwater fishing, the agency said.

In most cases, inexperienced anglers caught without a permit are given warnings — so in that sense, Lammy apparently had some beginner’s luck.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

I have been using AI tools since ChatGPT first launched. And like many content marketers, I wanted to improve my skills for the AI era. This means I frequently test a wide range of AI tools as part of my actual content marketing workflow.

This regular testing has helped me move past the noise and identify which tools genuinely save time and improve content quality for other bloggers and marketers.

My goal was to find what helps drive traffic and engagement, not just add another subscription to the list.

In this guide, I’ll share that clarity with you. Here are my recommendations for the best AI tools for content marketers, based on my daily use and the results I got from them.

Quick Comparison – My AI Toolkit for Content Marketing

If you are in a hurry, here is a quick list of all the AI tools I use in my daily workflow as a content marketer:

Next, I’ll show how I tested each tool and why you can trust my picks.

How I Tested & Reviewed These AI Content Tools

The AI industry is exploding with innovation, making it harder to separate hype from reality, and choosing the wrong tool can waste time and money.

I aim to cut through the noise with real-world usage to save time and money.

Here’s a breakdown of my testing process:

• I used them for real-world tasks. I used these tools for actual content marketing at WPBeginner: brainstorming articles with ChatGPT, creating social media posts with AIOSEO, and designing graphics with Canva’s AI. This process shows how they perform in a real business, not just a demo.
• I analyzed what truly matters. Each tool was judged on the quality of its output, ease of use for non-experts, practical time-saving features, and overall value for money.
• I tested with a variety of prompts. I didn’t just accept the first result. Instead, I experimented with different tones, styles, and complex commands to check the flexibility and control of the AI’s output.
• I categorized them for specific needs. A blogger’s needs are different from a landing page designer’s. That’s why I’ve categorized each tool by its best use case, helping you find the right solution for your specific task.

1. ChatGPT

ChatGPT is one of the most versatile AI tools I’ve used. It works well for quick idea generation, long-form articles, and even creative media like images.

As one of the most advanced AI companies, OpenAI (the company behind ChatGPT) is spending huge resources on research and innovation. This means more capable and faster models are released quite frequently.

ChatGPT allows you to switch between search, chat, deep research, and agent modes so you can perform different types of tasks from the same window.

How I use ChatGPT:

ChatGPT is my primary AI for a variety of tasks. I use it daily for updating existing articles, brainstorming blog post ideas, writing new articles, and more.

I learned that using Projects and ChatGPT’s memory feature allows the AI to learn my preferred tone, structure, and formatting rules. This saves me a lot of time in the long run.

I also use it to create illustrations for articles and general blog images. It sometimes misspells words in images, but I can easily correct those using Photoshop or Canva.

Key Features & Where It Excels:

• Handles multiple content formats: blog posts, scripts, captions, and social copy.
• Excellent image generation model included.
• Powerful memory system to personalize results to your brand voice.
• Integrates with ChatGPT plugins for WordPress and automation tools like Uncanny Automator and Zapier to create powerful workflows. However, you’ll need an API key for integrations, which has a separate pay-as-you-go pricing not included in the monthly ChatGPT subscription.

Practical Tips for Marketers:

• Use the project feature to group related tasks and save time switching between contexts.
• For recurring formats (like newsletters), train the memory feature with examples so that ChatGPT automatically matches your style.
• Learn to improve your prompts for better outputs. You can see my collection of AI prompts for marketers for practical examples.

Pricing

A free plan is available with limited model access. Paid plan starts at $20/month, GPT-5, memory features, faster responses, and priority access during peak times.

2. Gemini

While ChatGPT is my go-to for creative tasks, Gemini is my trusted research assistant.

Its biggest advantage is its direct, real-time integration with the Google search index, which means the information it provides is current and often comes with source links.

This makes it incredibly reliable for tasks where accuracy is critical. I’ve found its ability to understand and explain complex, technical subjects is second to none.

It’s also excellent at generating structured data like tables and comparing information from multiple sources.

Plus, Google is continually updating Gemini with its latest AI models and connecting it with its ecosystem of Google Workspace apps like Google Docs, Sheets, and Gmail. These integrations make it a powerful productivity hub.

How I use Gemini:

I turn to Gemini whenever I need to write content that requires up-to-date information or fact-checking.

For instance, when writing a review of a new software release, I’ll ask Gemini to summarize the latest features, find recent user reviews, and compare its pricing to competitors.

I also use it to simplify technical topics.

When working on an article about website security, I can ask Gemini to explain “what is a DDoS attack” in a simple analogy that a non-technical reader can understand. Its ability to provide sourced information saves me a significant amount of research time.

Key Features & Where It Excels:

• Connects directly to Google Search for real-time, sourced answers.
• Excellent at summarizing articles, research papers, and web pages via a link.
• Generates multiple “drafts” of a response so you can choose the best one.
• Integrates directly with Google Workspace apps (Docs, Sheets, Gmail) for a seamless workflow (with Gemini for Workspace).

Practical Tips for Marketers:

• Use the “Double-check response” feature (the Google icon) to have Gemini highlight statements it’s confident about and find sources for ones it’s less sure of.
• When researching, ask it to “act as a research assistant” and request information in a specific format, like a table comparing three products on features and price.
• For complex topics, ask it to “explain this to me like I’m a beginner” to get clear, easy-to-understand copy.

Pricing

The standard Gemini model is free to use. To access the most powerful models (like Gemini 2.5 Pro) and larger context windows, you can subscribe to Google AI Pro, which starts at $19.99/month as part of the Google One AI Pro plan.

3. All in One SEO – AI Content Generator

All in One SEO’s AI Content Generator is built right into your WordPress dashboard, making it incredibly easy to create ranking-ready content without switching between tools.

You can instantly generate:

• SEO titles & meta descriptions
• FAQs with schema
• TL;DR summaries to improve GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)
• Social media posts for LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook
• Marketing copy for your email newsletter

Because it’s part of the AIOSEO plugin, all the AI-generated content can be inserted into your post or page with a single click. This helps you save time and ensure everything is properly optimized for search engines and engagement.

How I use AIOSEO AI Content Generator:

I use AIOSEO’s AI content generator when I need to speed up the optimization process for new and updated articles.

For example, after writing a post, I’ll use the AI Content Generator to create a compelling meta description, add FAQ blocks for featured snippets, and generate a TL;DR section to improve readability.

It’s also my go-to for creating platform-specific social media captions. I can generate tailored copy for Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and X (Twitter) in seconds, which saves me from rewriting the same message multiple times.

Plus, I love its Marketing Email feature, which allows you to instantly generate an email based on the content of your article.

Key Features & Where It Excels:

• Works inside WordPress and uses your article content for context, which significantly improves the quality of output.
• Generate SEO titles and meta descriptions that improve click-through rate (CTR).
• Create FAQ blocks with built-in schema markup for better rankings and AI Overviews.
• Produce “Key Points” summaries to boost readability and capture featured snippets.
• Instantly write platform-specific social media posts for multiple networks.
• Generate and publish an llms.txt file to get discovered and cited by AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Gemini.

Practical Tips for Marketers:

• Use FAQ and Key Points in every post to target featured snippets and AI Overviews.
• Leverage the social media post generator to maintain consistent branding across platforms.
• Enable the llms.txt file feature to help AI chatbots find and cite your best content.

Pricing

Available for both Lite and Pro users. Lite users get 100 free credits, with additional credits available for purchase. Pro users get generous credits included with their license. All users can buy extra credits at any time.

4. SeedProd AI Writing & Image Generator

SeedProd is one of the most popular WordPress website and landing page builders. Alongside its drag-and-drop builder, it comes with built-in AI tools for text and image creation.

It integrates with ChatGPT for copywriting and DALL·E for generating images, so you can create a complete, custom landing page without ever leaving the editor.

The AI assistant is available inside many SeedProd blocks, letting you generate text or rework existing copy with just a click.

You can also instantly translate your page content into 50+ languages and fine-tune tone and style with over 30 options, from professional to playful.

Plus, you can even use SeedProd to create an entire website from scratch. For details, see our guide on how to create a WordPress website with AI.

How I use SeedProd’s AI features:

I use SeedProd’s AI writing assistant when I’m building landing pages or product pages and need polished copy fast.

Instead of starting from scratch, I can select a block, click “Generate AI Text,” and have a strong starting draft instantly.

For visual content, I use the AI image generator to create custom illustrations or hero images that match the page’s theme. If I don’t like the first result, then I can create multiple variations until I find the perfect fit.

Key Features & Where It Excels:

• AI-powered text generation and editing directly inside the SeedProd builder.
• 30+ tone of voice options to match your brand style.
• One-click text transformations: simplify, shorten, lengthen, or translate into 50+ languages.
• DALL·E-powered AI image creation with variation support for consistent design themes.
• 300+ templates, full WordPress theme builder, and easy WooCommerce integration.

Practical Tips for Marketers:

• Use tone options to match the style of each landing page — formal for B2B, casual for lifestyle brands.
• Leverage AI translations to localize pages for international audiences without hiring translators.
• Create multiple image variations to maintain a consistent visual style across your campaign.

Pricing

SeedProd offers a free plan for its page builder. AI writing and image generation are available on premium plans as a paid add-on. Pricing starts at $39.50/year for the base builder, with AI features included in higher tiers.

5. Canva Magic Studio

Canva is already one of the easiest tools for creating designs, but its Magic Studio AI features take it to another level with AI-powered image editing and media generation.

It’s perfect for marketers who need professional visuals without advanced design skills.

From background removal to text-to-image, text-to-video generation, Canva’s AI tools save time while expanding creative possibilities.

Canva’s Magic Studio is powered by a mix of its own AI technology and models from leading partners like Google. This allows it to offer powerful image and video generation tools right inside the Canva editor as an all-in-one design solution.

How I use Canva Magic Studio:

I use Canva for creating and editing blog images, social media graphics, and quick promotional materials.

The Magic Eraser is a huge time-saver when I need to remove unwanted elements from a photo, and the Expand tool is perfect for adjusting aspect ratios.

I often tweak AI-generated visuals with Canva’s design tools for a polished final product. In particular, I use it to edit images generated with ChatGPT or Gemini because those platforms don’t have the same image editing capabilities as Canva.

Key Features & Where It Excels:

• Magic Eraser for removing unwanted objects in seconds.
• Easily expand to resize and reframe images without cropping important content.
• Text-to-image AI generation for new AI artwork.
• AI resize tool for instantly adapting designs to multiple social media formats.
• Background remover and object eraser for clean, professional images.
• Hundreds of templates and drag-and-drop editing for non-designers.

Practical Tips for Marketers:

• Use Magic Resize to instantly create platform-specific versions of your designs for Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and more.
• Pair text-to-image generation with your brand colors and fonts for on-brand custom visuals.
• Combine Magic Eraser and background remover to repurpose stock images for unique content.

Pricing

Free plan available with limited AI features. The Pro plan starts at $4.58 /month and includes Magic Studio AI tools, brand kits, premium templates, and unlimited background removal.

6. Runway

Runway is one of the most innovative AI tools for marketers who need professional-quality video without a production crew.

It offers text-to-video generation, background replacement, and advanced editing features, all inside a simple browser interface.

I am not a video editor, but as part of a marketing team, I sometimes need quick videos.

Runway is a great option for creating product promos, social media clips, and creative visuals that stand out in your campaigns. You can even start from an image or video clip and transform it entirely with AI.

How I use Runway:

I’ve used Runway to try out quick video clips and fun personal projects.

I thoroughly tested Runway Aleph against Google’s Veo-3 (limited preview available in Gemini). Runway performed quite well and, in some areas, exceeded Veo.

I also liked Runway’s ease-of-use, storyboard, and remix features. As someone with limited video editing experience, I found Runway to be much easier to use than Veo.

Key Features & Where It Excels:

• Text-to-video generation from prompts or images.
• Green screen and background removal without a studio setup.
• Wide range of visual styles and camera movement controls.
• Fast rendering compared to traditional video software.

Practical Tips for Marketers:

• Use reference images to guide the AI’s style and accuracy.
• Pair Runway videos with Canva or AIOSEO for complete campaign materials.
• Batch create multiple clips in one session to save time.

Pricing

Free plan available with limited exports and watermarks. Paid plans start at $12/month, offering higher-quality output, faster rendering, and commercial usage rights.

7. ElevenLabs

I discovered ElevenLabs when our WPBeginner YouTube team was trying it out for their videos and shorts. It is one of the most advanced AI voice generation platforms I’ve tested.

Its voices sound remarkably realistic, with natural pacing, emotional nuance, and subtle inflections that make them almost indistinguishable from real human narrators.

With support for over 70 languages (in the upcoming Eleven V3 model) and a library of 120+ pre-built voices, it’s a flexible tool for any marketer looking to add professional-quality audio to their content.

You can also fine-tune voices with precision controls to match your brand tone or creative style.

How I use ElevenLabs:

I first used ElevenLabs for a quick AI video experiment. It was a fun non-work project, but I was hooked.

I am not a podcaster or video editor, and don’t have any professional audio equipment. ElevenLabs came as a blessing to easily add quick narrations to short videos.

For example, I can paste a pre-written script for a video, choose a voice that fits the tone, then adjust stability and style sliders for a polished delivery. I then use Audacity to edit audio for my videos to add pauses and music.

I’ve also used its multi-language support to quickly generate audio for a personal project. The new Eleven V3 model surprised me. It was able to distinguish Urdu from Hindi (two almost identical South Asian languages), and the pronunciation was surprisingly good.

Key Features & Where It Excels:

• Ultra-realistic voice generation with natural pacing and emotion.
• Large voice library (120+ voices) plus the ability to fine-tune delivery.
• The Eleven V3 model supports 70+ languages, making it great for multi-lingual audiences.
• Fast rendering, even for longer scripts.
• Ability to clone voices (paid feature) for brand consistency.

Practical Tips for Marketers:

• Match your voice choice to your target audience — formal tones for B2B, friendly tones for casual content.
• Use precision controls to tweak pacing and emotion for maximum authenticity.
• For social media videos, keep scripts short to stay within free-tier character limits.
• Combine with editing tools like Descript or Audacity to add music, sound effects, or clean up audio.

Pricing

Free plan includes 10,000 characters/month. Paid plans start at $5/month with higher character limits, faster generation, and access to voice cloning. For daily content creation, the $22/month plan is the most practical choice.

How to Choose the Best AI Tool for Your Marketing Needs

AI moves fast. New features arrive every month, and “best” depends on your workflow, budget, and goals.

Use these quick checks to pick tools that fit how you work today while staying flexible for tomorrow.

Smart Selection Tips

• Start with a free plan or trial. Test on one real task before you commit.
• Audit what you already have. Many tools you use (SEO, design, CMS) now include AI features. For instance, I use WPCode in WordPress, which has a built-in AI code snippet generator.
• Match the tool to the task. That means you should pick writing tools for long-form, image models for visuals, and voice tools for narration.
• Check ease of use. A clear UI saves more time than a complex feature set. For instance, I prefer to use Runway, which is easier than the more powerful Veo available in Gemini.
• Look for solid integrations. Useful integrations include WordPress, email marketing platforms, and automated workflows with tools like Uncanny Automator or Zapier.
• Evaluate pricing at scale. Credits can add up if you publish often. If you are using APIs for integrations, make sure to calculate the costs and set a cut-off budget.
• Review data and privacy settings. Know how prompts and outputs are stored and used. You don’t want your trade secrets to be used by AI models for training.
• Confirm export options. Make sure you can move drafts, images, and audio into your stack.

Honorable Mentions: Other AI Tools I Use

I have shared the tools that I use daily and are part of my workflows as a content marketer. Here are some more tools that I use quite frequently.

Frequently Asked Questions About AI Tools for Content Marketing

The following are some of the most common questions that I hear from WPBeginner users on Reddit and LinkedIn.

Which AI tool is best for beginners?

If you’re starting out, I recommend ChatGPT. It’s versatile, easy to learn, and has a free plan so you can practice without spending money.

Do I need to pay for AI tools to get good results?

Not always. Many AI tools, like ChatGPT and Canva, have free tiers that work well for smaller projects. Paid plans usually offer faster responses, higher quality outputs, and more advanced features.

Can AI tools replace human writers and designers?

AI tools are great for speeding up tasks and sparking ideas, but they can’t fully replace human creativity and judgment. I still review and edit everything to make sure it fits my style and is factually correct.

How do I know if an AI tool is right for me?

Check if the tool solves a problem you face often, offers a free trial, and integrates with your existing workflow. If it saves you time or improves quality without adding complexity, then it’s worth keeping.

Will AI tools keep getting better?

Yes. The AI industry is evolving fast. Expect new features, better accuracy, and more integrations over the next few years. That’s why I suggest testing tools regularly to see if better options appear.

Conclusion

These AI tools help me plan, write, design, and publish faster while keeping quality high. You can start with the free plans, test on one real task, and keep the tools that save you time without adding extra steps.

Just make sure to keep human editing and fact-checking in the loop so your content stays accurate and on brand.

You may also like to see these articles related to AI:

• How AI is Reshaping SEO: 30+ Trends to Watch
• How to Use AI for Customer Service (Tips for Small Businesses)
• Is AI Content Bad for WordPress SEO? (Expert Insights & Tips)
• A Small Business Owners’ Guide to Artificial Intelligence
• WordPress Plugins Using Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning

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The post I Tested 7 AI Tools for Content Marketing: Here’s What I Found first appeared on WPBeginner.