Shares of Sezzle (NASDAQ: SEZL) were sizzling in May. They skyrocketed an eye-popping 106.7% for the month, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. The primary driver was the digital payment platform's strong first-quarter results.

Sizzling growth

Sezzle reported strong financial results across the board in May. The buy now, pay later (BNPL) company's gross merchandise volume (GMV) jumped 64.1% to $808.7 million. That helped fuel a 123.3% increase in revenue, which reached a new quarterly high of $104.9 million. That represented 13% of its GMV, up from 11.5% in the fourth quarter. The company benefited from higher user engagement and its WebBank partnership.

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Meanwhile, the company's transaction costs declined from 4.3% to 3.8% of GMV. Driving the improvement were better-than-expected credit performance, effective payment processing strategies, and reduced interest costs from the improved terms of its new credit facility.

The combination of surging revenue and improving margins enabled the company to more than quadruple its net income to $36.2 million, or 34.5% of its revenue. The continued growth in profitability enabled Sezzle to produce $58.8 million in cash flow from operations, up from $38.6 million in the fourth quarter. That boosted the company's cash position to $120.9 million against $70.8 million of outstanding principal on its $150 million credit facility.

The company's strong showing gave it the confidence to raise its 2025 guidance. It now sees revenue growing 60% to 65% this year, up from its prior view of 25% to 30%. It also raised its net income outlook to $120 million for the year.

Sezzle also continues to launch innovative products to enhance its ability to serve consumers and merchants. It's beta testing its Pay-in-5 offering to provide borrowers greater flexibility at checkout. It also launched several enhanced shopping tools and expanded its merchant network.

Does Sezzle still have room to run after May's epic rally?

Shares of Sezzle have been scorching hot over the past year, rocketing over 800%. That has driven up its valuation. The fintech stock now trades at nearly 15 times sales and over 40 times its forward P/E ratio. That's definitely a premium valuation. The S&P 500 currently trades at 22.5 times forward earnings, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 index fetches more than 28 times its forward earnings.

However, Sezzle is growing much faster than the average company. That could continue for quite a while, given the company's massive total addressable market opportunity. Sezzle currently controls less than 1% of North America's total BNPL market ($257 billion), which is only 2% of North America's total commerce transaction value. Because of that, it's a compelling BNPL stock if you want to capitalize on this massive growth opportunity. While the stock might cool down after its scorching rally, it could have a lot more room to run in the long term as Sezzle continues expanding.

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

Before you buy stock in Sezzle, 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 Sezzle 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 $669,517!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $868,615!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 792% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 173% 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 June 9, 2025

Matt DiLallo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Sezzle. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

The stock market has been on a roller coaster ride since the start of the year.

After a rocky January, when AI stocks got dinged by DeepSeek's news of a cheaper reasoning model, the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) returned to an all-time high in February. Then, President Trump's tariff discussions put many investors on edge as he announced plans for taxes on imports from Mexico, Canada, and China. That went into overdrive at the start of April, when Trump enacted significantly higher-than-expected tariffs on practically every country in the world. The announcement produced one of the worst two-day market crashes in history.

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But after walking back the implementation of most of the tariffs (for now) and investors acclimating to this uncertain environment, the stock market has mostly recovered. In fact, the S&P 500 index just did something in May for the first time since 1990, and historically, it signals a big move in stocks over the next 12 months.

Here's what investors need to know.

A historic month for the stock market

The S&P 500 climbed 6.15% in the month of May. That's the first time the benchmark index climbed more than 6% in the month of May since 1990 and just the seventh time May's performance has topped 5% since 1985, according to Carson Investment Research's Ryan Detrick.

Data by YCharts.

While investors who missed the chance to buy the dip in April may be bemoaning the stock market's rapid comeback, history suggests they may still have an opportunity to buy. In each of the last six instances when the S&P 500 return topped 5% in May, it went on to produce an average return of nearly 20% over the next 12 months. So much for "Sell in May and go away."

In fact, Detrick's data shows that none of the six instances ended with a negative return over the next 12 months despite the market's penchant for reverting to the mean. That said, investors who bought after the 9.2% rally in May of 1990 did have to sit through a three-month period from July through October when stocks fell almost 20%. Ultimately, however, those investors saw the index climb about 8% for the year after the May rally.

The month of June is already off to a strong start as of this writing. But if investors can expect 20% gains in the index for the next year, there's still a lot more growth to come.

Here's what investors can really expect

While Detrick's data shows the market tends to keep climbing higher after abnormally strong Mays, investors shouldn't put too much weight into the historical data.

First of all, the sample size is minuscule. Six data points over 40 years don't give enough information for the basis of a financial decision.

Second of all, every market is different. The 1990 rally was fueled by falling interest rates. Indeed, the rate on the 30-year Treasury bond fell all the way from 9% to 8.6%. By contrast, the 2025 rally was fueled by easing trade tensions. In both cases, many investors expressed concerns about market valuations amid the rally. Indeed, the CAPE ratio returned to its high levels, and stocks look even more expensive after analysts adjusted their forward earnings expectations lower. Still, it's unlikely the next 12 months will look anything like the 12 months from June of 1990 through May of 1991.

As such, individual stock investors should remain vigilant in their efforts to find good investments. As investor Peter Lynch said, "Buy the right stocks at the wrong price at the wrong time and you'll suffer great losses." But if you find a good opportunity, history suggests you could end up with a strong return over the next year.

For passive investors, you're playing a different game. There's no need to pay attention to history. You should be fully invested in your index fund of choice at all times. Trying to time the market based on recent results is a surefire way to underperform the index over the long run.

May's rally was a welcome reprieve from the crash we saw in April. History suggests more strong months may be ahead, but I caution investors from reading too much into how similar May rallies have played out in the past.

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

Before you buy stock in S&P 500 Index, 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 S&P 500 Index 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 $669,517!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $868,615!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 792% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 173% 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 June 2, 2025

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

Many hypergrowth tech stocks skyrocketed during the buying frenzy in meme stocks throughout 2020 and 2021. But in 2022 and 2023, many of those stocks stumbled as interest rates rose. Some bounced back in 2024 as interest rates declined, but cooled again this year as the Trump administration's tariffs, trade wars, and other unpredictable headwinds rattled the markets.

However, a lot of those hypergrowth plays are still built for long-term growth. So if you can stomach a bit of near-term volatility, these three stocks -- Pinterest (NYSE: PINS), AppLovin (NASDAQ: APPS), and CrowdStrike (NASDAQ: CRWD) -- might just be worth accumulating throughout the rest of the year.

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1. Pinterest

Pinterest carved out its own niche in the crowded social media market with its virtual pinboards for sharing ideas, interests, and hobbies. That focus insulated it from the hate speech and misinformation that dogged other social media platforms, and its pinboards were a natural fit for digital ads and small digital storefronts.

Many retailers, like IKEA, have uploaded their entire catalogs to Pinterest's boards as "shoppable" pinboards.

From 2020 to 2024, Pinterest's year-end monthly active users (MAUs) increased from 459 million to 553 million, its annual revenue more than doubled from $1.69 billion to $3.65 billion, and the company finally turned profitable in 2024. Its MAUs grew 10% year over year to 570 million in the first quarter of 2025, which definitively deflated the bearish thesis that its popularity was just a pandemic-era fad.

Pinterest's recent growth was driven by its overseas expansion, new Gen Z users who curbed its dependence on older users, fresh video content, more e-commerce tools, and new artificial intelligence (AI)-driven recommendations, which crafted targeted ads based on its users' pinned interests. It should continue growing as it monetizes its overseas users more aggressively while deepening its lucrative advertising and e-commerce partnership with Amazon.

From 2024 to 2027, analysts expect Pinterest's revenue to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14% and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) to increase at a CAGR of 21%. It still looks cheap at 16 times this year's adjusted EBITDA -- and it could have plenty of room to grow as the social shopping market heats up.

2. AppLovin

AppLovin is a publisher of mobile games, but it also helps other developers monetize their apps with integrated ads. Most of its growth is now driven by the advertising business, which benefited from the growing popularity of its AI-powered AXON ad discovery services to help advertisers connect with potential customers.

To accelerate that expansion and evolution, the company acquired the mobile ad tech company MoPub in 2021 and the streaming media advertising company Wurl in 2022. It even placed a bid for TikTok's U.S. business, but that potentially transformative deal faces an uncertain future. AppLovin is also in the process of selling its slower-growth mobile gaming division to Tripledot Studios, and it could grow much faster and at higher margins once it closes that deal.

From 2020 to 2024, AppLovin's revenue more than tripled, from $1.45 billion to $4.71 billion. It slipped to a net loss in 2022, but turned profitable again in 2023. Its net profit more than quadrupled to $1.58 billion in 2024. Its robust profit growth and swelling market cap might even pave the way toward its eventual inclusion in the S&P 500.

From 2024 to 2027, analysts expect AppLovin's revenue and earnings per share to grow at a CAGR of 22% and 45%, respectively. The stock might seem a bit pricey at 51 times this year's earnings, but the rapid growth of its AI-driven advertising business should justify that higher valuation.

3. CrowdStrike

CrowdStrike is a cybersecurity company that eschews on-site appliances and offers its endpoint security tools only as cloud-native services on its Falcon platform. That approach is stickier and easier to scale, and it doesn't require any on-site maintenance or updates.

From fiscal 2021 to fiscal 2025 (which ended this January), CrowdStrike's annual revenue more than quadrupled from $874 million to $3.95 billion, while the percentage of customers using at least five of its modules (at the end of the year) rose from 47% to 67%. It's still not consistently profitable according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), but its non-GAAP net income increased at an impressive CAGR of 99% during those four years.

From fiscal 2025 to fiscal 2028, analysts expect its revenue to grow at a CAGR of 22%. They also expect it to turn profitable on a GAAP basis in fiscal 2027 -- and more than triple its net income in fiscal 2028. That impressive growth trajectory should be driven by its continued disruption of on-site appliances, the expansion of its new AI-driven threat detection services, and a resolution of the legal and regulatory problems related to its widespread outage last July.

CrowdStrike's business is gradually maturing, and its stock might not seem like a bargain at 24 times this year's sales, but I think it remains one of the best cybersecurity plays for long-term investors.

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

Before you buy stock in Pinterest, 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 Pinterest 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 $669,517!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $868,615!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 792% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 173% 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 June 2, 2025

John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Leo Sun has positions in Amazon. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, CrowdStrike, and Pinterest. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A)(NYSE: BRK.B) is one of the most successful companies in modern history. Its CEO, Warren Buffett, is a Wall Street legend who has been given the nickname "the Oracle of Omaha." If you are an investor, it's highly likely that you know all about Buffett and the company he runs. But do you know about Markel Group (NYSE: MKL)?

What does Berkshire Hathaway do?

Because of its large insurance operations, Berkshire Hathaway usually gets placed in the finance sector. That's not a bad classification for the company, but it doesn't do justice to the business at all. That's because Berkshire Hathaway is actually a widely diversified conglomerate. The collection of businesses under the Berkshire Hathaway umbrella ranges from auto sales to retail to specialty parts manufacturing. And it has a whole lot in between -- its list of subsidiaries includes over 180 companies.

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Even the insurance operations are used in a slightly different manner than they are at most other insurers. The float, which arises because insurance premiums get paid up front while claims get paid in the future, is used to buy stocks like Coca-Cola, American Express, and Chevron. The diversity in the list of stock investments is just as wide as the diversity in Berkshire Hathaway's owned businesses.

Investors buying Berkshire Hathaway are really investing alongside Warren Buffett. But at the end of 2025, Buffett is retiring from the $1 trillion market cap company he basically created via his unique investment approach. His hand-picked successor, Greg Abel, will likely continue to use a similar approach to that of his mentor Buffett, buying well-run companies while they are attractively priced and then holding on for the long term to benefit from the business' growth over time. But there's no question that Berkshire Hathaway won't be exactly the same in the future as it has been in the past.

What does Markel Group do?

Markel Group, with a market cap of around $25 billion, is a much smaller business than Berkshire Hathaway. But it doesn't pull any punches when it describes its business, making frequent references to Berkshire Hathaway. It also uses the same exact model, of an insurance company that directly owns companies and invests in publicly traded stocks (including Home Depot, Visa, and Deere).

Interestingly, the stock performance of Markel Group hasn't been as strong as that of Berkshire Hathaway or the S&P 500 index (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) since the 2020 bear market. But Markel's management has been working to shake things up so it can get back to its historical performance, which was actually better than that of Berkshire Hathaway for many years.

This is where the really interesting comparison comes up. Berkshire Hathaway is at the start of a management shake-up. Markel Group is nearer the end of such a shake-up. Berkshire Hathaway's new leader is taking over a company so large that it requires very large changes to affect performance. Markel Group is still small enough that improving the business won't require massive changes. In some ways, and from a big-picture perspective, it sounds like Markel Group is in a better position as a business right now.

Trade down, but perhaps only in size

The world will never see another Warren Buffett because he is a unique individual. But his broad investment approach can be roughly mimicked. Mimicking Buffett is basically what Wall Street wants Greg Abel's job to be when he takes over as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway at the end of 2025. Only he's going to have to do it within the confines of a gigantic company, which means it will be a massive task.

Markel Group has been mimicking Buffett for years. While the company seemingly lost its way to some extent over the last five years, it is working to get back on track. Given the relatively small size of the business, that shouldn't be nearly as large a job as what Greg Abel is dealing with. If you like Berkshire Hathaway, now could be a good time to start looking at Markel Group, where imitation has long been a high form of flattery to Warren Buffett.

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

Before you buy stock in Markel 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 Markel 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 $669,517!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $868,615!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 792% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 173% 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 June 2, 2025

Reuben Gregg Brewer has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Berkshire Hathaway, Chevron, Deere & Company, Home Depot, Markel Group, and Visa. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

As stock prices decline, you may feel as if you're at the world's biggest sale. Suddenly, stocks that seemed expensive weeks ago are trading at bargain valuations. You may be tempted to jump in and catch that falling knife, hoping you're buying at the best price. Of course, it's nearly impossible to time the market, so you're unlikely to buy a stock at its lowest and sell at its highest.

If you're a short-term investor, this could be a problem. In this case, it's risky to buy a stock as it's dropping because it may take a while for it to recover and go on to gain. Meanwhile, if you aim to sell in a few days or weeks, you may have caught the knife by the blade and find yourself recording a loss.

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However, if you're a long-term investor, the picture looks much different. You can buy stocks during a downturn because, by holding on for five years or more, you're giving those companies time to recover and grow and the share price an opportunity to reflect that progress. Now, let's check out some smart strategies for buying stocks during a downturn.

1. Invest with confidence

Although on the one hand, those bargain stock prices may have caught your eye, you might still worry about investing when the general environment seems uncertain. What if current problems persist? What if stocks fall even further? Those questions could be running through your mind.

This is when it's a good time to consider what history has to say. My colleague Adam Levy recently wrote about what has generally happened after stocks fall into a correction, and this offers us reason to invest with confidence during these periods. The S&P 500 index (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) has slid into the correction zone 15 times since 2008, Adam wrote, citing Dow Jones Market Data, and in all but two of those times, the index was higher a year later.

This means that corrections offer us a fantastic buying opportunity, one that will generally start delivering in the not-too-distant future. It doesn't matter when you buy during the correction; even if stocks continue to decline, your gain may still be significant once shares recover and travel through stronger market environments. So, the message here is not to hesitate to buy stocks during a correction. History shows that it's been a great bet for long-term investors.

Finally, it's also a smart idea to look at buyback activity in the recent past. In the fourth quarter of last year, for example, S&P 500 buybacks increased by more than 7% to about $243 billion, suggesting companies are confident about the future. So, growth in share repurchases supports the idea of investing regardless of what the market is doing at the moment.

2. Focus on value players before a market downturn

It's impossible to know when the market will enter its next negative phase, but we know it will occur at some point. Markets go through bull and bear markets, as well as many other periods of gains and declines, from rallies to market downturns. Some are short, and some are long. But the good news is that difficult periods don't last forever, and certain types of stocks can help you weather the storm.

Generally, the sort of stock that will help your portfolio during a downturn is a value stock. These stocks are in well-established industries, such as energy, healthcare, or financials, and they generate a considerable amount of cash and pay dividends. They are strong, steady, and reliable, and that's why they tend to outperform during tough times. And, of course, investors are especially appreciative of their dividend payments when markets are down.

The MSCI World Value Index climbed 6.1% in 2022, a down year for the overall market, outperforming the MSCI World Growth Index by more than 26%, according to a report by Quilter Investors.

All this means that when markets are rallying and growth stocks are soaring, stock up on value stocks that may support your portfolio during the next tough period.

3. Consider lump-sum investing and cost averaging

If you have a certain amount of money to invest, you could deploy it all at once in a lump sum or use cost averaging, which involves investing the same amount of money in a particular asset on a regular schedule for a set period. So, for example, in lump-sum investing, you might invest $1,000 right now in Nvidia. In cost averaging, you might invest $100 in Nvidia every Monday for 10 weeks.

Which strategy will produce the best return? A study by Vanguard shows that lump-sum investing beats cost averaging 68% of the time. That said, the study also showed that in the worst market environments, lump-sum investing resulted in bigger losses.

So, which option should you choose? It depends on your relationship with risk. If you're a very cautious investor, you might try cost averaging, at least with certain investments, while aggressive investors may opt for deploying a lump sum right away.

In either case, though, investing is a better idea than just holding onto cash. The Vanguard study also found that both techniques outperformed cash at least 69% of the time. This means that, even in the most difficult of environments, if you're willing to hold on for the long term, you're better off investing than staying out of the market.

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

Before you buy stock in S&P 500 Index, 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 S&P 500 Index 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 $669,517!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $868,615!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 792% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 173% 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 June 2, 2025

Adria Cimino has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Federal Realty (NYSE: FRT) is not the largest real estate investment trust (REIT) you can buy. It isn't even the largest REIT in its strip mall niche. It actually has a fairly small collection of properties in its portfolio. And yet it stands head and shoulders above every other REIT when it comes to its dividend. Here's why now is a good time to consider adding Federal Realty and its industry-leading business to your portfolio.

What does Federal Realty do?

Federal Realty owns strip malls and mixed-use properties, which generally include apartments and offices in the mix with retail. Some of the REIT's individual properties are quite large developments with multiyear projects on them. Others are simple strip malls where locals go to meet their everyday needs, like buying groceries or getting a haircut.

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From this perspective, Federal Realty isn't particularly differentiated from its competitors. That changes when you see that it only owns around 100 properties, which is generally a much smaller portfolio than its closest peers. However, those properties are particularly well located, with Federal Realty's assets having a higher average income around them and higher average population density. In other words, its portfolio is focused in wealthy areas with lots of residents nearby, which is exactly where retailers want to be located.

The strength of Federal Realty's portfolio today is highlighted by its occupancy rates. After dipping during the coronavirus pandemic, they are now back above that level and closing in on 20-year highs. Occupancy ended the first quarter of 2025 at 93.6% but is expected to close in on 95% as the year progresses. Even during the pandemic, when non-essential businesses were closed by the government in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19, Federal Realty's occupancy didn't fall below 89%.

FRT Dividend data by YCharts

The real story, however, is Federal Realty's dividend, which has been increased annually for 57 consecutive years. That makes the REIT a Dividend King, which alone is an impressive feat. But there's two more nuances here. First, Federal Realty has the longest dividend streak of any REIT. Second, it is the only REIT that is a Dividend King. Having a small, well-positioned portfolio has clearly paid off.

Federal Realty's strength is in development and redevelopment

Federal Realty didn't just buy 100 or so properties 57 years ago and sit on them for half a century. It is actually a quite active buyer and seller of assets. The key to its long-term success is what it does with the assets it buys.

Usually Federal Realty buys well-located properties that need a little love and attention. That could be as simple as a coat of paint and more focus on tenant quality. A refresh of a property's exterior to make it look up to date goes a long way in attracting customers and tenants. But often the capital investments being made are far more extensive.

Federal Realty will usually add to the properties it buys in some way. That can include adding apartments and offices above street-level retail space. It can involve tearing down an entire property and rebuilding it from scratch. Or it can be as simple as getting the permitting to make changes, which alone adds value to a property. When Federal Realty believes that it can sell a property for an attractive price, it will do so and then go on the hunt for another property that it can work on to improve its value over time.

In other words, Federal Realty's portfolio is in a near-constant state of flux. And the inherent push is for the improvement in the quality of its portfolio. Management knows from experience that well maintained and located properties attract tenants, customers, and buyers, and that is the REIT's guiding star.

A great REIT with an attractive yield

Given the quality of Federal Realty's business model, highlighted by its Dividend King status, the shares don't go on sale very often. Today the dividend yield is 4.6%, which is notably higher than the S&P 500 index's (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) 1.3% and the average REIT's 4.1%. Federal Realty's yield is also near the high side of the range over the past decade. If you are looking for a reliable dividend backed by a high-performing business, Federal Realty should probably be on your short list today.

Should you invest $1,000 in Federal Realty Investment Trust right now?

Before you buy stock in Federal Realty Investment Trust, consider this:

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

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $669,517!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $868,615!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 792% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 173% 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 June 2, 2025

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

Shares of freight service veteran UPS (NYSE: UPS) are diving these days. The stock is down 24% in the last six months, building on a longer downturn that started in the inflation panic of 2022.

The steep price drop brought two investor-friendly qualities to UPS. First, this world-class company is hanging out in Wall Street's bargain bin at the moment. Second, the same stock price pressure drove UPS' dividend yield to record-breaking 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 »

Read on to see why you should consider buying some UPS stock on the cheap in June 2025, locking in a great purchase price and a fantastic dividend payout.

UPS is stumbling in 2025 (but not falling flat)

It's fair to say that UPS has experienced some financial trouble recently. The pandemic e-commerce boom faded out. The inflation crisis accelerated the package-shipping slowdown. More recently, trade tensions between Washington and Beijing pose new threats to the shipping industry. UPS thrives on high consumer confidence and healthy global trade trends. The company suffers when those market qualities are headed in the wrong direction, as they are in 2025.

So yes, UPS is having some trouble. However, it is well equipped to handle these challenges.

Can UPS keep those juicy dividends coming?

Even in a painful downswing, UPS remains a very profitable business. The company generated $5.9 billion of net income over the last four quarters, converting 92% of the paper profits into free cash flows.

UPS spent all of the cash profits on dividend checks. That's hardly ideal, and the company doesn't have much room for dividend increases in this economy. At the same time, UPS has $5.1 billion in cash reserves and a rock-solid credit rating. The dividend looks safe from cash-preserving cuts in the foreseeable future.

Why UPS is shrinking its Amazon deliveries

And UPS isn't resting on its laurels. The company plans to boost its profitability over the next year by taking on a smaller number of low-margin shipments. The long-standing partnership with Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) is the main target for this cost-cutting effort, with shipments under the contract halving by the summer of 2026. The move will let UPS close 73 shipping centers and reduce its annual operating time by 25 million hours.

"Amazon is our largest customer but it's not our most profitable customer," CEO Carol Tom said in January's fourth-quarter earnings call. "Our contract with Amazon came up this year. And so we said it's time to step back for a moment and reassess our relationship. Because if we take no action, it will likely result in diminishing returns."

In other words, UPS is taking action to solidify its bottom-line profits. The helpful moves it makes in this challenging economy should translate into stronger earnings in the next macroeconomic upswing.

The long-term case for owning UPS

Investing is a marathon, not a sprint. UPS stock is cheap right now for short-sighted reasons. The company should thrive in the long run, equipped with a world-class shipment system and a proactive management team. By focusing on more profitable services, UPS could get back to generous dividend increases in 2026 and beyond.

And in the meantime, the dividend yield stands at an eye-popping 6.7%. It's nearly an all-time record for UPS, and one of the 10 most lucrative yields found in the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) index. Furthermore, UPS shares are valued at just 14.3 times trailing earnings and 0.9 times sales. These multiples are about half of their long-term averages and nearly equal to the all-time lows seen in the subprime mortgage meltdown of 2008.

Taken together, the rich dividend yield and affordable stock price add up to a great long-term investment. The UPS shares you buy in this temporary dip can help you build wealth in the long run.

Should you invest $1,000 in United Parcel Service right now?

Before you buy stock in United Parcel Service, 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 United Parcel Service 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 $669,517!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $868,615!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 792% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 171% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

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John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Anders Bylund has positions in Amazon. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon and United Parcel Service. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Newsmax (NYSE: NMAX) stock got hit with another round of big sell-offs in Thursday's trading. The company's share price closed out the day's trading down 10.5% amid the backdrop of a 0.6% decline for the S&P 500 and a 0.9% decline for the Nasdaq Composite.

Sell-offs picked up as the day progressed as investors reacted to tariff and trade issues and other potential macroeconomic risk factors. While there weren't any immediate business factors pushing Newsmax stock lower, the stock may have faced some significant pressure due to news surrounding Tesla and CEO Elon Musk.

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As a network that primarily features right-leaning political content, Newsmax has sometimes been included in the basket of "Trump trade" stocks -- a group of stocks that some investors are betting will see positive catalysts in conjunction with the President's second term. After previously being a high-profile supporter of President Trump, Musk has recently ramped up criticism of Trump and the budget bill he supports. The Trump-Musk schism helped spur a 14.3% sell-off for Tesla stock today, and the pullback effect extended to other "Trump trade" stocks.

Is the latest pullback an opportunity to buy Newsmax stock?

In the absence of actual business-specific news pushing Newsmax's share price lower, today's big sell-off could look like an overreaction. The stock is now down roughly 81% from market close on the day of its initial public offering (IPO).

Sell-offs have now pushed the company's market capitalization down to roughly $2.1 billion -- or roughly 12.3 times the $171 million in revenue it reported last year. The company is still growing revenue at a solid clip, with sales rising 12% year over year in the first quarter, but its current valuation still looks somewhat lofty given its rate of sales expansion. Factoring in the potential for the business to face significant negative judgments in outstanding civil suits, I think Newsmax stock still looks too risky right now.

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

Before you buy stock in Newsmax, 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 Newsmax 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 $668,538!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $869,841!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 789% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 172% 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 June 2, 2025

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

Shares of Newsmax (NYSE: NMAX) are plunging on Thursday. The media company's stock lost 9% as of 3:50 p.m. ET. The steep decline comes as the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) and Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) lost 0.3% and 0.8%, respectively.

There isn't a direct catalyst today, so here's a quick analysis of the company's stock.

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Newsmax saw its stock skyrocket nearly 1,800% in the first two days following its recent initial public offering (IPO), before falling roughly 90% over the next week. The conservative media company's viewership has been spiking, leading to the intense excitement around its stock. Newsmax's Q1 viewership jumped 50% year over year, and it is now one of the five most-watched channels in all of cable and the fourth-most-watched cable news channel. Along with its viewership, its revenue has grown considerably as well. The company's revenue jumped 26.4% from 2023 to 2024.

There are plenty of reasons to be wary

That's about where the good news ends. The company is operating deep in the red, losing more than $17 million in the first quarter of 2025. Its viewership numbers are also less impressive when you consider that most cable news channels saw comparable major growth over the same period and that its biggest competitor, Fox News, is still miles ahead. All 15 of the most-watched shows on cable appear on Fox. And that 15th-ranked show has 3 times as many viewers as Newsmax's top-ranked program.

Despite this disparity, Newsmax stock carries a price-to-sales ratio more than 8 times that of Fox News' parent company. This seems divorced from reality to me. And if that weren't reason enough to stay away from this stock, Newsmax is facing massive litigation over its false statements regarding the 2020 election. The penalty it could face would potentially bankrupt the company.

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

Before you buy stock in Newsmax, 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 Newsmax 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 $668,538!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $869,841!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 789% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 172% 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 June 2, 2025

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

One of the better sources of growth in the stock market on Thursday could be found with Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE: SMG) shares. The veteran gardening supplies company enjoyed an 11% surge across the trading session, after it reiterated its bullish guidance for the entirety of its fiscal 2025. And that was on a generally bearish day for the market as a whole, as the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) landed in negative territory with a 0.5% dip.

Guidance reiterated

Before the market open, Scotts felt compelled to update investors on its projections for the fiscal year. The company is sticking to its existing forecasts, which are counting on U.S. consumer net sales growing at a low-single-digit percentage rate compared to fiscal 2024,with non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) coming in at $570 million to $590 million. The company has not provided net income guidance.

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That contrasts favorably with the average consensus analyst estimate. Collectively, prognosticators tracking Scotts stock are anticipating a single-digit percentage decline in revenue for fiscal 2025. They are modeling $3.44 billion, a figure that's more than 3% below the previous year's result.

Scotts is generally more on investor radars at this time of the year because we're in growing season, the period where individual and institutional growers alike do much of their planting. The company quoted CEO Jim Hagedorn as saying, "With the peak lawn and garden season upon us, we continue to drive positive outcomes on multiple fronts, a reflection of the health of our consumer, coupled with the power of our incremental marketing investments and retailer promotional programs."

Appealing for some investors

While it's encouraging that Scotts management continues to stand by its revenue growth projections, to me that's not enough to get excited about the stock. This is essentially a slow-growing, mature business at its core that pays an attractive dividend yielding 4.1% at present. To my mind, that makes it something of an income stock play, but I wouldn't count on great leaps in the fundamentals.

Should you invest $1,000 in Scotts Miracle-Gro right now?

Before you buy stock in Scotts Miracle-Gro, 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 Scotts Miracle-Gro 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 $668,538!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $869,841!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 789% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 172% 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 June 2, 2025

Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Scotts Miracle-Gro. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Construction and engineering services provider Argan (NYSE: AGX) was a big hit on the stock exchange Thursday, a direct result of the far better-than-expected quarterly results it posted the day before. Investors plowed into the company to give it an 8% lift on the day, providing a notable contrast to the S&P 500's (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) 0.5% decrease.

Double- and triple-digit pops

For its inaugural quarter of fiscal 2026, Argan's revenue came in at just under $193.7 million, a meaty 23% year-over-year increase. That was accompanied by a significant (36%) increase in project backlog, to a record level of almost $1.9 billion. Even better, net income under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) standards nearly tripled, landing at almost $22.6 million ($1.60) versus the less than $7.9 million of fiscal first quarter 2025.

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Both headline numbers absolutely obliterated the consensus analyst estimates. On average, pundits tracking Argan stock were modeling slightly below $176 million on the top line, and a per-share GAAP net income figure of $0.90.

In the earnings release, Argan attributed its powerful gains largely to one key customer base. It quoted CEO David Watson as saying that the improvements came largely from "the energy industry's urgent response to the growing strain on our power grids related to the building of data centers, the onshoring of complex manufacturing, and an increasing amount of electric vehicle (EV) charging activity."

No longer a sleeper stock?

Outperformance like this rarely escapes the notice of investors, so it was hardly surprising that they bid up Argan's shares after the earnings release was published. The trends driving the fundamentals well higher should remain in force for quite some time -- particularly the dynamic behind the data center demand, which is directly related to the rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI) -- so this once under-the-radar stock should continue to be a solid play.

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

Before you buy stock in Argan, 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 Argan 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 $668,538!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $869,841!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 789% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 172% 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 June 2, 2025

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

Shares of CoreWeave (NASDAQ: CRWV) are falling on Thursday, down 16.2% as of 2:13 p.m. ET. The large drop comes as the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) and the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) fell by 0.3% and 0.1%, respectively.

CoreWeave stock's sharp drop isn't really being driven by specific news from today; rather, it's a retreat from the stock's recent massive run-up. The stock was up nearly 50% this week before today's fall after the company announced several catalysts.

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CoreWeave inks a key deal

CoreWeave, which provides cloud computing services to artificial intelligence (AI) companies like Nvidia and Microsoft, announced earlier this week that it has entered into a deal with Applied Digital to lease 250 megawatts of computing power for the next 15 years. The deal greatly expands CoreWeave's total capacity and ability to serve its customers.

CoreWeave appoints a new executive

On Wednesday, the company announced it has appointed Ernie Rogers as chief architect of strategic financing. Rogers will help CoreWeave continue to finance its rapid expansion. Michael Intrator, co-founder and CEO, explained in a statement that his "deep understanding of our business makes him uniquely qualified to help drive our next phase of growth."

There are reasons to be cautious

CoreWeave's growth has been impressive, but I'm not sold on the stock. The company is highly leveraged and, with the recent appointment of Rogers, appears to be looking to add to this debt. This makes the company highly vulnerable to any disruptions in its growth.

This would already be cause for concern, but considering that CoreWeave's revenue is entirely dependent on just a handful of companies, the risk is greater. After all, its largest client, Microsoft, is a cloud provider itself. It's more than possible that CoreWeave sees a major disruption in sales that could handicap the company as it grows. Therefore, I would avoid CoreWeave stock.

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

Before you buy stock in CoreWeave, 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 CoreWeave 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 $668,538!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $869,841!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 789% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 172% 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 June 2, 2025

Johnny Rice has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Microsoft and Nvidia. The Motley Fool 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.

Five Below (NASDAQ: FIVE) stock is gaining ground in Thursday's trading. The company's share price was up 6.5% as of 12:45 p.m. ET. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) was up 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) was up 0.4%.

After the market closed yesterday, Five Below published results for the first quarter of its current fiscal year. It delivered sales and earnings that beat Wall Street's expectations for the quarterly period, which ended May 3.

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Five Below stock jumps on Q1 sales and earnings beats

For fiscal Q1, Five Below posted non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) adjusted earnings per share of $0.86 on revenue of $970.53 million. Meanwhile, the average analyst estimate had called for the business to record adjusted earnings per share of $0.83 on sales of $966.49 million. Overall revenue was up 19.5% year over year in the period, with a 7.1% increase for same-store sales and new location openings helping to power strong revenue expansion in the period. Adjusted earnings per share were roughly 43% compared to last year's quarter.

What's next for Five Below?

For the current quarter, Five Below is guiding for sales to come in between $975 million and $995 million. The guidance range came in significantly better than the average Wall Street forecast, which had called for sales of $958.33 million. Five Below management expects same-store sales growth between 7% and 9% this quarter.

Meanwhile, adjusted earnings per share in fiscal Q2 are projected to be between $0.50 and $0.62. For comparison, the average Wall Street analyst estimate had called for adjusted earnings per share of $0.58 prior to Five Below's recent quarterly report. While the midpoint of management's earnings guidance came in below the average analyst estimate, guidance for strong same-store sales growth appears to have offset concerns related to the shortfall on the profit target.

Should you invest $1,000 in Five Below right now?

Before you buy stock in Five Below, 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 Five Below 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 $668,538!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $869,841!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 789% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 172% 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 June 2, 2025

Keith Noonan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Five Below. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Since last Friday, shares of the popular online brokerage Robinhood (NASDAQ: HOOD) had surged 13%, as of 12:36 p.m. ET Thursday. Investors believe the company will soon join the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC).

A big potential upcoming step

Bank of America analysts led by Craig Siegenthaler said in a report this week that Robinhood is a "prime candidate" to join the broader benchmark S&P 500 index, which includes 500 of the largest companies in the U.S. with an unadjusted market cap of at least $20.5 billion, as of January 2025. The rebalancing is expected to be announced after the market closes tomorrow. Inclusion into the S&P 500 tends to be bullish because funds that track the index will have to purchase Robinhood, likely leading to significant inflows.

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"The S&P 500 and Russell 1000 are the two major benchmarks for our large-cap long-only clients," the Bank of America analysts said in their note, according to Bloomberg. "When companies are added, we experience significantly higher interest from long-only portfolio managers, which are essentially now forced to cover them and make a call."

Robinhood pioneered commission-free trading, which is now common practice among almost all major brokerages, and expanded access to investing for smaller, retail investors. The platform has become the go-to trading post for retail traders. At the end of April, Robinhood had close to 26 million funded customers and $232 billion in platform assets.

Is the stock a buy?

In the first quarter of 2025, Robinhood grew earnings by 114%. I am also impressed by the company's ability to execute its product road map. Robinhood's Gold membership offers an impressive 3% cash back on its Gold card, the ability to earn competitive interest on deposit balances, and annual matches on individual retirement account contributions.

Robinhood has really become a compelling one-stop shop for many banking needs, all bundled together in a sleek and easy-to-use digital platform. Currently trading at 51 times forward earnings, the stock is undoubtedly expensive, so I'd start by dollar-cost averaging or buy on future dips.

Should you invest $1,000 in Robinhood Markets right now?

Before you buy stock in Robinhood Markets, 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 Robinhood Markets 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 $668,538!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $869,841!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 789% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 172% 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 June 2, 2025

Bank of America is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Bram Berkowitz has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bank of America. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Investing in real estate can be a terrific way to make passive income. Tenants pay rent, which should cover all property expenses with room to spare, providing the landlord with income.

One of the easiest ways to make passive income from real estate is to invest in a real estate investment trust (REIT). These companies own portfolios of income-generating real estate. They distribute a portion of that income to shareholders via dividend payments.

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VICI Properties (NYSE: VICI) is a top REIT to buy for passive income this June. It currently pays a 5.5%-yielding dividend -- more than four times the S&P 500's (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) sub-1.5% yield -- that it has been growing at an above-average rate. That combination of yield and growth enables investors to collect lots of income now and even more in the future.

A rock-solid income stock

VICI Properties is one of the largest REITs focused on experiential real estate. It owns market-leading gaming, hospitality, wellness, entertainment, and leisure destinations, like the Venetian Resort Las Vegas and the Chelsea Piers sports and entertainment complex in New York City.

The REIT leases these properties to operating companies under very long-term triple net (NNN) leases (40-year average remaining lease term) that increasingly escalate rents at rates tied to inflation (42% this year, rising to 90% by 2035). Those leases, which require that tenants cover all property operating costs (including routine maintenance, real estate taxes, and building insurance), provide it with stable, steadily rising rental income.

The REIT pays out about 75% of its adjusted funds from operations (FFO) in dividends each year. That gives it a big cushion while enabling it to retain a meaningful amount of its cash flow to fund new investments. VICI Properties also has a solid investment-grade-rated balance sheet, providing it with additional financial flexibility.

Its net leverage ratio was 5.3 times at the end of the first quarter, right in the middle of its 5.0x-5.5x target range. The company's stable cash flow and solid financial profile put its high-yielding dividend on a very stable foundation.

VICI Properties' rising rental income and growing real estate portfolio have supported its ability to increase its dividend. The REIT has raised its payment in all seven years since its formation. It has grown its dividend at a 7.4% compound annual rate, which is much faster than the 2.3% average pace of other REITs focused on investing in NNN real estate.

Plenty of room to continue growing

VICI Properties already has a leading experiential real estate portfolio. The REIT owns 54 gaming properties, including 10 trophy assets on the Las Vegas Strip. The company also owns Chelsea Piers and 38 bowling entertainment centers leased to Lucky Strike.

Despite its already extensive portfolio, VICI Properties has plenty of room to continue growing. There is an estimated $400 billion in U.S. gaming properties not currently owned by REITs or operated by tribal gaming companies. These properties alone represent a massive growth opportunity for the roughly $50 billion REIT (by enterprise value).

Meanwhile, tribal casinos represent an additional investment opportunity. VICI Properties owns several casinos leased to tribal operators. It has also made two loan investments related to properties on tribal land, including its recent partnership with Red Rock Resorts to fund the development of the North Fork Mono Casino and Resort in California.

On top of that, there's a large and growing opportunity to invest in nongaming experiential properties. VICI Properties has been getting in on the ground floor of this opportunity by forming financial partnerships with experiential property operators. It has made loans to Great Wolf Lodge (indoor water parks), Canyon Ranch (wellness retreats), Cabot (destination golf), and others. Many of these loans give the REIT the option to acquire properties from the developer in sale-leaseback transactions.

VICI Properties is always on the lookout for new partners and experiential real estate investment opportunities. It formed a strategic relationship with Cain International and Eldridge Industries earlier this year to identify and pursue unique experiential real estate. The first investment is a $300 million mezzanine loan to support the development of One Beverly Hills, a landmark luxury mixed-use development featuring an all-suite Aman Hotel, high-end boutiques, world-class culinary destinations, and a botanical garden.

The REIT's ability to continue expanding its portfolio supports its capacity to grow its dividend.

A high-quality, high-yield income stock

VICI Properties pays an attractive, steadily rising dividend backed by a world-class experiential real estate portfolio. The REIT also has a rock-solid financial profile, enabling it to continue growing its portfolio and dividend. Its combination of a high-yield dividend and above-average growth profile makes it a top REIT to buy for income this June.

Should you invest $1,000 in Vici Properties right now?

Before you buy stock in Vici Properties, 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 Vici Properties 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 $668,538!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $869,841!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 789% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 172% 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 June 2, 2025

Matt DiLallo has positions in Vici Properties. The Motley Fool recommends Red Rock Resorts and Vici Properties. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Memory chip giant Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) is back to its cyclical habits. One might think that the artificial intelligence (AI) boom would send Micron's business results and stock returns skyward these days, but the real AI effect isn't quite that simple.

As of June 3, Micron's total return stands 33% below last summer's all-time highs. Is this a wide-open buying window or the start of a multiyear downswing?

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Here's what I think about Micron in June 2025.

Why Micron isn't flying high in 2025

Micron isn't the only AI-oriented tech stock to take a drastic haircut over the last year. It's almost scary how tightly Micron's stock performance has matched the total returns of Dell Technologies, ASML Holding, and Applied Materials recently:

MU Total Return Level data by YCharts

For the record, AI-centric market darling Nvidia gained 25% over the same period, while the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) market index rose by 14%. So the sinking tide didn't capsize every boat, but it did weigh on most AI-focused computing hardware experts not named Nvidia.

Micron did play a part in its own downfall, of course. Sales soared in the first half of 2024, but slowed down more recently. Mind you, many businesses would celebrate a 38% year-over-year revenue jump, like the one Micron reported in March, but that's a significant slowdown from 93% two quarters earlier.

Micron's profits followed similar trend lines, which explains why investors lost patience with the stock. And of course, the proposed tariffs may undermine Micron's sales and profits. Nobody knows how the bubbling trade tensions will play out yet.

Why Micron isn't sweating the slowdown

But here's the thing: Micron is well equipped to handle a bit of a slowdown. If anything, the company's in-house chip factories should be able to stockpile memory chips until its largest customers are ready to place large orders again.

On top of that, Micron offers market-leading technology. Its next generation of power-efficient data center memory will hit the market in 2026, offering a 60% memory bandwidth increase and even lower power consumption than the current top-of-the-line products. These high-bandwidth chips are a part of Nvidia's latest and greatest AI accelerator cards, so Micron benefits in a very direct way from Nvidia's success.

Is Micron's stock just taking a breather?

So Micron remains a top-notch provider of crucial hardware in the generative AI revolution. A short-term slowdown in the order book is not the end of the line.

Meanwhile, Micron's stock is trading at just 9.4 times forward earnings estimates. Analysts expect the company's profits to surge in 2025, and for good reason. Yet the market makers out there have not yet accounted for this upcoming bottom-line explosion in their share price calculations.

The AI boom makes a real difference to Micron's business prospects, and sales of those low-power but high-performance data center chips should rise from $1 billion last year to "multibillion dollars" in 2025. This surge should also be good for Micron's profit margins, since I'm talking about high-end chips with lucrative unit prices.

The speed bump simply gives long-term investors another chance to buy Micron shares on the cheap. The long-term returns won't be smooth, but Micron tends to build wealth over its sweeping business cycles. I highly recommend holding a few Micron shares for the long haul.

Should you invest $1,000 in Micron Technology right now?

Before you buy stock in Micron Technology, 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 Micron Technology 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 $668,538!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $869,841!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 789% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 172% 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 June 2, 2025

Anders Bylund has positions in Micron Technology and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends ASML, Applied Materials, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Realty Income (NYSE: O) is a foundational stock that can be the backbone of a diversified dividend portfolio. Most income-focused investors should at least consider adding it to their holdings. Here's a look at five key reasons right now is the time to buy this real estate investment trust (REIT).

1. Realty Income has a lofty yield

The S&P 500 index (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) is yielding about 1.3% today. The average REIT has a yield of 4.1%. Realty Income's dividend yield is roughly 5.7%. Very clearly, it is providing investors with more income than many other options.

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 »

O Dividend Yield data by YCharts.

That said, its yield is also toward the high end of its range during the past decade. It not only looks attractive relative to other options, but the REIT's yield also looks attractive relative to its own history.

2. Realty Income keeps paying more and more

Just having a high yield isn't enough to make a dividend stock a buy. Sometimes a high yield is a sign that the dividend isn't sustainable. But when it comes to providing investors with a sustainable and growing dividend, Realty Income looks like a winner. It has increased its payout annually for three decades and counting. Within that streak is a run of 110 quarterly increases.

This is a business that is designed to reward investors with reliable dividend growth. To be fair, the average annualized increase of the past 30 years was a modest 4% or so. That, however, is just slightly faster than the historical rate of inflation, which means the buying power of its payout is increasing over time.

3. It's an industry giant

The company's property focus is on single-tenant net lease assets. A net lease requires the tenant to pay for most property-level operating costs. While any single property is high risk, since there's only one tenant, Realty Income owns 15,600 properties. The risk here is low because most tenants keep paying rent.

Realty Income isn't the just the biggest in this niche, it is also highly diversified. Roughly 75% of its rents come from retail properties, with the remainder in industrial assets and a broad "other" category. (More on that below.)

Unlike many of its peers, however, Realty Income isn't confined to the U.S. It has expanded into Europe, where the net lease model is still underutilized.

Its giant portfolio and broad reach work together to support slow and steady dividend growth, because the REIT can take on deals that its peers couldn't manage. That includes large portfolio transactions and acting as an industry consolidator.

4. It has advantaged access to capital

Being able to absorb large deals is more than just a size issue. It also requires access to capital. Luckily, being a large company makes it easier to sell stock and debt. So Realty Income has an advantage on that front, too.

But it doesn't take that for granted; it has worked to ensure it has an investment-grade balance sheet. That way, when it does go to the markets looking for cash, buyers provide it with attractive terms. An attractive cost of capital lets Realty Income bid aggressively for new properties while still being able to make a healthy profit.

5. It's expanding its options

The "other" category noted above is important. It includes assets like casinos and data centers, where the REIT is starting to explore new investments. Management is also starting to include loans in its mix and is beginning to provide net-lease asset management services to institutional investors. These are all additional irons in the fire to support long-term growth.

But the really exciting aspect here is that Realty Income is being innovative and experimenting with new investments. It is using what it does well -- net leases -- and expanding in new ways.

To some extent, its size requires this approach, given that it takes more to move the needle on the top and bottom line as a company grow larger. But still, the fact that Realty Income is steadily working to maintain its dominance is a sign of management strength. And it helps set up the company and its investors for future dividend increases.

It all comes back to Realty Income's dividend yield

This list started with dividend yield, and it will end with dividend yield because that's what income investors are looking for. But as noted, having a high yield, like Realty Income does, isn't enough to make a stock a buy. Reasons Nos. 2 through 5 help cement the deal, with this entrenched industry giant offering a value proposition that few can match. Right now is a good time to buy if you are looking to add an attractive dividend stock to your portfolio.

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

Before you buy stock in Realty Income, consider this:

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

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $651,049!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $828,224!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 979% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 171% 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 June 2, 2025

Reuben Gregg Brewer has positions in Realty Income. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Realty Income. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Investors often gravitate to value stocks for their reliability and reasonable valuations.

Amid volatility in 2025, value stocks like Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) (NYSE: BRK.B), Allegion (NYSE: ALLE), and American Electric Power (NASDAQ: AEP) are all outperforming the benchmark S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC). But buying a stock just because it is doing well in the short term is a great way to lose your shirt.

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 »

Here's why all three value stocks have what it takes to be excellent long-term investments and could be worth buying now.

Berkshire's competitive advantages are built to last

Daniel Foelber (Berkshire Hathaway): Berkshire Hathaway is up 10.4% year to date (YTD) at the time of this writing -- handily outperforming the S&P 500's slight YTD decline.

Warren Buffett grew Berkshire into a company with a market cap of over $1 trillion. And I think Greg Abel, who is set to become the new CEO of Berkshire at the end of 2025, can take Berkshire far beyond a $2 trillion market cap and outperform the S&P 500 in the process.

Berkshire has numerous advantages that position it to thrive over the long term. The company has a portfolio of top dividend-paying stocks like Apple, American Express, Coca-Cola, Bank of America, and Chevron. It also has a massive cash position that it can use to pounce on investment opportunities. But the most valuable jewels in Berkshire's crown are its controlled assets.

Berkshire has been shifting its focus away from public equities toward its controlled businesses by growing its insurance businesses, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, BNSF railroad, and its various manufacturing, services, and retail segments. Combined, the value of Berkshire's controlled companies is worth much more than its public equity portfolio.

The controlled companies generate operating earnings, which Berkshire can park in cash or Treasury Bills, use to buy public stock, or reinvest back into its controlled businesses. And because Berkshire doesn't pay a dividend and only buys its stock when it deems it a bargain, the company is left with plenty of extra cash to put to work in its top ideas.

Berkshire earns insurance investment income on its float, which is the sum of premiums collected that haven't been paid in claims. Buffett often refers to this investment income as "free money," since Berkshire earns a return on the float. The float has gradually grown, ballooning to $173 billion as of March 31. Even if Berkshire simply invested the float in a risk-free asset yielding something like 4%, that would still be around $7 billion a year in "free" money. The float is just one of many ways Berkshire is well-positioned to compound its operating earnings for years to come.

Add it all up, and Berkshire has plenty of levers to pull to generate value and reward patient investors.

This company is helping keep America safe

Lee Samaha (Allegion): This doors-and-locks security company's stock is up 8.6% in 2025, compared to a slight decline for the S&P 500. This move highlights the business' underlying attractiveness and potential for long-term growth. Allegion's long-term development has several key drivers, including the opportunity to grow sales via the convergence of electronic and mechanical security products, the growing importance of safety and security (notably in the institutional sector), and the opportunity to continue consolidating a highly fragmented industry.

The increasing use of web-enabled electronics and services in locks and doors creates substantially more value for building owners because it allows them to monitor and control who has access to which areas, provides valuable data on workflows, and improves convenience.

The need for such features will only increase as urbanization trends create greater population density in cities, a statistic often linked to increased crime. As for industry consolidation, its key rival, Sweden's Assa Abloy, is a serial acquirer, and Allegion itself expects mergers and acquisitions to contribute 3% of its total long-term growth rate of above 7%.

Management expects the revenue growth rate to drop to double-digit growth in earnings. Wall Street analysts expect $8.42 in earnings per share in 2026 with $675 million in free cash flow (FCF), putting Allegion on 16.7 times earnings and 18 times FCF -- excellent valuations for a company with double-digit earnings growth prospects.

Plug American Electric Power into your portfolio and watch the passive income surge

Scott Levine (American Electric Power): While the S&P 500 has struggled to stay in positive territory, utility stock American Electric Power has charged considerably higher since the start of the year. As of this writing, shares have climbed more than 11% while the S&P 500 is down 1.3%. Despite its climb, the stock still sports an inexpensive valuation, appealing to those looking for a bargain. Besides value investors, those seeking passive income will also find their interests amped up with the prospect of owning the stock and its 3.7% forward-yielding dividend.

From its 4% year-to-date rise in February to the 17% year-to-date plunge in April, the S&P 500 has been on a roller coaster. During this turmoil, investors have sought the safety of rock-solid investments that represent minimal risk -- stocks like American Electric Power.

Because the company primarily operates as a regulated utility, it doesn't enjoy the freedom of raising rates when it wants. However, it guarantees certain rates of return. This low-risk business model may not spark joy in growth investors, but for those seeking conservative investments, it works just fine. Moreover, it lends credibility to management's target of providing an annual 10% to 12% total shareholder return, based on earnings-per-share growth of 6% to 8% and a dividend that yields about 4%.

With a lack of clarity regarding President Donald Trump's trade policy and geopolitical tensions continuing to run high, market volatility seems likely to continue to rattle the market's nerves for the foreseeable future, leading investors to the safety of utility stocks like American Electric Power.

With its stock trading at 8.8 times operating cash flow -- a discount to its five-year average cash flow multiple of 9.2 -- now looks like a good time to click the buy button on American Electric Power.

Should you invest $1,000 in Berkshire Hathaway right now?

Before you buy stock in Berkshire Hathaway, 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 Berkshire Hathaway 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 $651,049!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $828,224!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 979% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 171% 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 June 2, 2025

American Express is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Bank of America is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Daniel Foelber has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Lee Samaha has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Scott Levine has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple, Bank of America, Berkshire Hathaway, and Chevron. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Sunny days and summertime festivities are on the horizon for June. But there's no guarantee the clouds overhanging the broader market will dissipate.

Instead of trying to guess what the stock market will do in the short term, a better approach is to invest in companies with strong underlying investment theses that have the staying power to endure economic cycles.

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 »

Here's why these Fool.com contributors see Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Shopify (NASDAQ: SHOP), Cava Group (NYSE: CAVA), ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM), and Energy Transfer (NYSE: ET) as five top stocks to buy in June.

Apple's pricing power will be put to the test

Daniel Foelber (Apple): There are 30 components in the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI), and the worst-performing year to date is health insurance giant UnitedHealth (NYSE: UNH) -- which crashed due to cost pressures, regulatory scrutiny, suspended guidance, and another major leadership change. However, it's the second-worst performing Dow stock that is piquing my interest in June -- Apple.

Apple is down 22% year to date at the time of this writing -- making it the worst-performing "Magnificent Seven" stock. I think the sell-off is an excellent opportunity for long-term investors.

The simplest reason to buy Apple is if you think it can pass along a decent amount of tariff-related cost pressures. The latest update at the time of this writing is a 25% tariff on smartphones made outside the U.S. And since Apple assembles the vast majority of iPhones in China, the tariff could directly impact its bottom line.

Given higher labor costs and manufacturing challenges, moving production to the U.S. isn't a viable option. So, the million-dollar questions are how long tariffs will last and if Apple can pass along some of its higher costs to consumers.

A major catalyst that could drive iPhone demand even if prices go up is the upgrade cycle. Apple releases new iPhones every September. Most consumers aren't upgrading every year, but rather, waiting until they need to upgrade or the features appeal to them.

The upcoming iPhone 17 could have far more artificial intelligence (AI) features than the iPhone 16 -- which could attract buyers even with a higher price tag. Investors will learn more about Apple's technological advancements at its Worldwide Developers Conference from June 9 to 13.

Also, in Apple's favor, its pricing has stayed consistent for years. The base price of a new iPhone hasn't changed since 2017 as the company has preferred to keep prices low to get consumers involved in its ecosystem to support growth in its services segment. Apple's product growth has been weak in recent years, but the services segment has flourished, led by Apple TV+, Apple Music, Apple Pay, iCloud, and more.

Given tariff woes, it's easy to be sour on Apple stock right now. But the glass-half-full outlook on the company is that if tariffs do persist, at least they are coming during a time when Apple is expected to make by far its most innovative iPhone ever.

All told, long-term investors looking for an industry-leading company to buy in June should consider scooping up shares of Apple.

A growing e-commerce platform giant

Demitri Kalogeropoulos (Shopify): Shopify stock returns are roughly flat so far in 2025, but there are brighter days ahead for owners of this e-commerce services giant. The company just wrapped up a stellar Q1 period, as sales growth landed at 27%. Sure, that was a modest slowdown from the prior period's 31% increase, but it still marked the eighth consecutive quarter of growth of at least 25%.

Merchants are finding plenty of value in Shopify's expanding suite of services, even through the latest disruptive tariff-fueled trade disruptions. Merchant solutions revenue jumped 29%, helping lift sales growth above the company's 23% increase in gross sales volumes. "We built Shopify for times like these," company president Harvey Finklestien said in a press release. "We handle the complexity so merchants can focus on their customers."

Shopify is having no trouble converting those market share gains into rising profits, either. Operating income more than doubled to $203 million, and the company achieved a 15% free cash flow margin, up from 12% a year ago.

Concerns over more trade disruptions have likely kept a lid on the stock price following that positive Q1 earnings report in early May. But the company still expects 2025 growth to be in the mid-20s percentage range year over year. Shopify affirmed its initial aggressive outlook for free cash flow, too, although management sees a slightly slower profit increase (in the low-teens percentage rate) ahead for the year.

Investors can look past that minor profit downgrade and focus on Shopify's broader growth story that involves more merchants signing up for more services and booking more transactions on its platform. Success here should make the stock a great one to add to your portfolio in June, with the aim of holding it for the long term.

A Mediterranean feast for growth investors

Anders Bylund (Cava Group): Shares of Cava Group are down more than 40% in the last six months. That doesn't exactly make it a cheap stock, since Cava trades at 69 times earnings and 9.2 times sales even now.

But the Mediterranean fast-casual restaurant chain is growing quickly while reporting profits, and also widening its profit margins over time. That's a lucrative combo that deserves a premium stock price.

Cava's success hasn't gone unnoticed, despite the plunging stock chart. Two-thirds of analysts who follow this stock have issued a "buy" or "overweight" rating, and Wall Street's average target price is 44% above Thursday's closing price.

The company has a habit of absolutely crushing each quarter's analyst estimates across the board, including a huge surprise in May's first-quarter report. The average analyst expected earnings of just $0.02 per share on revenues in the neighborhood of $281 million. Instead, Cava reported earnings of $0.22 per share and $332 million in top-line sales.

A report like that would normally boost Cava's stock, but the market reaction was negative. Management noted that same-store sales growth could slow down in the second half of 2025, since the unpredictable economy is weighing down consumer spending. Cava's healthy salad bowls and pita wraps are on the pricey side, making the chain a vendor of everyday luxuries. This strategy could make Cava vulnerable to shifts in consumer confidence, especially when paired with the stock's lofty valuation.

So you won't find the stock in Wall Street's bargain basement today, but it did move down from the high-end valuation penthouse it inhabited a few months ago. If you like your investments fresh and flavorful, Cava's combination of healthy growth and expanding profits could be a recipe for long-term portfolio success.

42 dividend raises, with more coming up

Neha Chamaria (ExxonMobil): With renewables on the rise, people often believe the oil and gas industry isn't where to bet on anymore. While the global demand for energy overall is only expected to grow, driven by developing countries, ExxonMobil is in a sweet spot. It is working hard to bring down its break-even oil price significantly to stay relevant in the long run. At the same time, it is developing new low-carbon products and solutions.

It believes these new businesses could have potential addressable markets worth $400 billion by 2030 and over $2.3 trillion by 2050. Biofuels, carbon capture and storage, and low-carbon hydrogen are just some of the new products ExxonMobil is focused on.

Overall, ExxonMobil wants to produce "more profitable barrels and more profitable products" and is also cutting costs aggressively. The oil and gas giant believes a better product mix and its cost-reduction efforts combined could add nearly $20 billion in incremental earnings and $30 billion in operating cash flows by 2030.

In short, ExxonMobil is already charting a growth path to 2030 without compromising on capital discipline. It wants to generate big cash flows and maintain a strong balance sheet even through oil market down cycles, and ensure it can continue to reward shareholders with a sustainable and growing dividend on top of opportunistic share buybacks.

ExxonMobil has already proven its mettle when it comes to shareholder returns. It has increased its dividend each year for the past 42 consecutive years. Even without dividends, the stock has more than doubled shareholder returns in the past five years. With ExxonMobil stock now trading almost 20% off its all-time highs, it is one of the top S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) stocks to buy now and hold.

Ready to rebound

Keith Speights (Energy Transfer): I'm not worried in the least that Energy Transfer LP's unit price is down year to date. This pullback presents a great opportunity to buy the midstream energy stock in June.

Energy Transfer's business continues to rock along. The limited partnership (LP) set a new record for interstate natural gas transportation volume in the first quarter of 2025. Its crude oil transportation volume jumped 10% year over year in Q1. Natural gas liquid (NGL) transportation volumes rose 4%, with NGL exports increasing 5%.

The LP's growth prospects remain solid. Energy Transfer commissioned the first of eight natural gas-powered electric generation facilities in Texas earlier this year. It plans to partner with MidOcean Energy to build a new LNG facility in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a new growth driver, with Energy Transfer agreeing to provide natural gas to Cloudburst Data Centers' AI data centers.

The Trump administration's tariffs shouldn't affect Energy Transfer much. All of the company's 130,000-plus miles of pipeline are in the U.S. Energy Transfer has already secured most of the steel to be used in phase 1 of its Hugh Brinson pipeline project. Co-CEO Marshall "Mackie" McCrea said in the Q1 earnings call that management doesn't "expect to see any major challenges, if any challenges at all, selling out our terminal every month, the rest of this year."

Even if Energy Transfer's unit price doesn't move much, investors will still make money thanks to the LP's generous distributions. The midstream leader's forward distribution yield currently tops 7.3%. Energy Transfer plans to increase its distribution by 3% to 5% each year.

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

Before you buy stock in Apple, 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 Apple 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 $651,049!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $828,224!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 979% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 171% 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 June 2, 2025

Anders Bylund has positions in UnitedHealth Group. Daniel Foelber has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Demitri Kalogeropoulos has positions in Apple and Shopify. Keith Speights has positions in Apple, Energy Transfer, and ExxonMobil. Neha Chamaria has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple and Shopify. The Motley Fool recommends Cava Group and UnitedHealth Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

"Dirt cheap" and artificial intelligence (AI) aren't typically mentioned in the same sentence. There's a preconceived notion that many of the AI stocks in the market are quite expensive, which is, for the most part, a fair assessment.

However, there are still plenty of dirt cheap stocks that look like screaming buys in the AI space. Two of them are Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) and Adobe (NASDAQ: ADBE), and each looks like an incredible buy right now.

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 »

Why are these two dirt cheap?

I consider both of these stocks cheap because they meet two criteria. First, both stocks are cheaper than the broader market, as measured by the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC). The S&P 500 has a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 22.1, and both stocks are currently cheaper than that mark.

GOOGL PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts. PE Ratio = price-to-earnings ratio.

Furthermore, both stocks have rarely been this cheap, which is another sign for investors that now may be an excellent time to scoop up shares.

My second factor for determining whether a stock is dirt cheap is its ability to grow earnings per share (EPS) faster than the market. If a stock is cheaper than the broader market, yet growing more slowly, there is a good reason why it's priced below the market. Both companies are projected to post strong earnings growth over the next two years, exceeding the S&P 500's usual 10% growth rate.

Company	2025 EPS Growth Projections	2026 EPS Growth Projections
Alphabet	19%	6%
Adobe	11%	12%

Data source: Yahoo! Finance. EPS = earnings per share.

However, I believe these analyst projections are flawed, as they don't account for both companies having massive stock buyback plans. With both companies having record-low stock prices, don't be surprised if they increase their share buyback amounts. A cheaper stock makes these buybacks more effective and can cause the share count to fall quickly, which boosts EPS.

Both stocks look cheap, yet they have growth that should make them premium to the market. So, why is the market valuing them in this way?

The market assumes both companies are victims of the AI trend

Both Alphabet and Adobe's primary businesses are at risk of being disrupted by AI. Alphabet's primary business is Google Search, and there has been no shortage of predictions about replacing traditional search with AI. However, Google has already introduced AI search overviews and released an AI search mode. Both options may bridge the gap and keep Alphabet in the leadership position. Furthermore, generative AI has been around for nearly three years, and Google Search's revenue still rose by 10% in the previous quarter. So, clearly, it isn't dead yet.

Adobe is in a similar boat. Its suite of graphic design products has become the industry standard and is used worldwide. However, investors are worried that generative AI image generation could make Adobe's software obsolete.

While this may produce some headwinds, Adobe has already launched its incredibly popular Firefly AI, which allows its users to generate images and easily modify existing designs. Furthermore, generative AI tools don't offer the same level of control that Adobe's software provides, and graphic designers aren't willing to give up full creative control to a randomly generated image.

While both companies will encounter some headwinds popping up from time to time as a result of generative AI, these are mostly headline-induced worries. The actual businesses are doing just fine. Their consistent execution, combined with a cheap stock price, gives me confidence in their long-term ability to provide market-beating returns, which is why I think these two are excellent buys now.

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

Before you buy stock in Alphabet, 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 Alphabet 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 $651,049!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $828,224!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 979% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 171% 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 June 2, 2025

Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Keithen Drury has positions in Adobe and Alphabet. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Adobe and Alphabet. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.