Boeing (NYSE: BA) received some positive commentary over a critical issue for its future. At a recent International Air Transport Association (IATA) summit, the president of Emirates airline, Tim Clark, made positive comments on the new widebody 777X, which should reassure investors that Boeing is on the right track under CEO Kelly Ortberg. Here's why.

Emirates airline is a big deal

According to a Reuters article, Clark stated that Emirates had been informed it would receive its first 777X in the second half of 2026 or the first quarter of 2027. In addition, he declared himself "cautiously optimistic" over the turnaround at Boeing and noted progress at the aerospace giant.

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These are just comments. However, they matter, and particularly so when they come from the head of one of the largest international airlines in the world, Emirates. In addition, while Lufthansa is set to receive the first 777X in 2026, Emirates is, by some distance, the largest customer for the 777X at present. The airline has 205 unfilled orders for the 777X, followed by 97 unfilled orders from Qatar Airways, with Singapore Airlines a distant third with 31.

The 777X is also pivotal to Boeing's future. The new widebody is larger and has a more extended range than Boeing's 787 Dreamliner and will service the high-demand long-haul international travel market. Generally, Airbus is considered the leader in the narrowbody market, while Boeing holds the lead in the widebody market. That said, Airbus has surpassed Boeing in the widebody market in recent years, partly due to quality control issues with the 787 and ongoing, costly delays on the Boeing 777X.

Image source: Getty Images.

Why the 777X matters to investors

Simply put, Boeing needs to keep the 777X on track, not least because airlines are likely to be more hesitant in placing orders when they see continued delivery delays. Furthermore, the delays are extremely costly, in terms of charges, and tying up capital in inventory that won't be utilized until deliveries take place.

The 777X was initially intended to have its first delivery in 2020, and the subsequent delays to that timeline have proved embarrassing and costly for Boeing. In its fourth-quarter 2020 earnings report, Boeing recorded a $6.5 billion pre-tax charge on the program and informed investors that the first 777X delivery would occur in late 2023.

Last October, Boeing announced a $2.6 billion charge, followed by a further $900 million charge in January.

These charges total at least $10 billion. Furthermore, Boeing has inventory tied up in the program, and it's incurring increased research and development costs, with an increase of $525 million in 2023 and $435 million in 2024.

Stemming the flow of these charges and losses would be a significant plus; that's why keeping to the revised 2026 target for first delivery is so important.

It also counts because it discourages airlines from canceling orders and encourages them to place new orders. Suppose Boeing can demonstrate that it can deliver the first 777X in 2026 and effectively ramp up production thereafter. In that case, airlines can begin to build capacity assumptions based on having 777Xs in service at a given time.

Image source: Getty Images.

What's next for Boeing?

As previously discussed, the three key things investors need to see from Boeing are a satisfactory ramp-up in production on the 737 MAX (to an initial 38 a month), a return to profitability for Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS), and keeping the 777X on track.

With Boeing making tangible progress on the 737 MAX (management expects to reach a 38-month rate soon), and BDS returning to profitability in the first quarter, the positive commentary on the 777X suggests Ortberg is achieving Boeing's three biggest aims in 2025.

That's something likely to support the stock price as it moves through the year.

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

Before you buy stock in Boeing, 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 Boeing 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!*

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Lee Samaha 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.

The interesting thing about this list is that the two buys, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Pool Corp. (NASDAQ: POOL), have markedly higher valuations than the sell, Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ: KHC). The rationale behind the investment case for the first two lies in their long-term growth prospects -- something not shared by Kraft Heinz. Here's why.

Kraft Heinz is a challenged business

The consumer staples company generates 44% of its sales from condiments, sauces, dressings, and spreads, with 18% coming from easy-to-prepare meals. None of its other food categories (snacks, desserts, hydration products, coffee, cheese, and meats) contributes more than 10% of its sales.

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Image source: Getty Images.

It's a fast-changing industry subject to changes in consumer preferences, with substantial competition from retailers with their own branded or private-label products. This increasing competition has pressured Kraft's ability to generate revenue growth or margin expansion over the last decade.

As such, the company's return on capital employed (ROCE) lags that of its peer group. ROCE measures how much profit the company generates from its debt and equity. A consistently low ROCE implies that the company can do little to improve profitability by raising equity or issuing debt.

In short, based on current trends, it's a mature low-growth company facing ROCE challenges with a management hamstrung to initiate substantive changes by paying 61% of expected earnings in dividends.

KHC Return on Capital Employed data by YCharts.

Pool Corp., maintaining swimming pools

Continuing the theme of looking at operational metrics like profit margins, revenue growth, and ROCE, a cursory look at the medium-term trends for Pool Corp., a distributor of swimming pool supplies and equipment, suggests problems similar to those of Kraft Heinz.

That said, context counts for a lot, and investors need to recall that companies like Pool Corp. enjoyed an artificial boom during the pandemic lockdown.

Image source: Getty images.

The lockdowns encouraged spending on stay-at-home activities and drove investment in new swimming pools. For example, around 96,000 new pools were built in the U.S. in 2020, jumping to about 120,000 in 2021, and then 98,000 in 2022. By 2024, that figure was down to 60,000, and management expects a similar figure this year.

But no matter the amount, every one of those new pools will help add to the installed base that the company can sell into. Considering that it generates almost two-thirds of its sales from the maintenance and minor repair of swimming pools, this creates a significant long-term growth opportunity once the natural correction from the pandemic boom is over.

POOL Operating Margin (TTM) data by YCharts; TTM = trailing 12 months.

Apple and service growth

Apple is on a growth trajectory, focusing on increasing sales of its high-margin services. Like Pool Corp., investors can think of Apple's various devices -- including iPhones, iPads, Macs, wearables, and myriad other devices -- as an installed base for it to sell services into.

It's a growth opportunity in revenue, margins, and cash flow. As you can see below, strong services growth has increased its share of overall revenue. And given services' higher margin profile (currently above 75% compared to almost 36% for products), it's pulling up Apple's overall profit margin.

Data source: Apple. Chart by author.

That increase in profitability is likely to continue improving as services growth continues at a double-digit pace. In fact, Apple now has over a billion paid subscriptions. This will generate ongoing recurring revenue, which will drop down into improved cash flow generation.

Moreover, if you are wondering, here's what Apple's ROCE looks like.

AAPL Return on Capital Employed data by YCharts

Wall Street analysts expect Apple's free cash flow (FCF) to grow from $109 billion in 2025 to $126 billion in 2026 and $139 billion in 2039, implying double-digit increases. Trading at 27 times estimated FCF in 2025, it is not a conventionally cheap stock, and many investors may want to wait for a better entry point. Still, its long-term prospects remain excellent, and it's likely to grow into its valuation in the coming years.

Stocks to buy and sell

The key point is that Pool Corp. and Apple have a pathway to growth via expansion of the installed base of swimming pools and Apple devices, while Kraft Heinz does not have such prospects. The difference shows up in their operating metrics and long-term growth prospects.

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 $635,275!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $826,385!*

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Lee Samaha has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple. The Motley Fool recommends Campbell's and Kraft Heinz. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

In this podcast, Motley Fool analyst Jason Moser and host Dylan Lewis discuss:

• The U.S. and China's short-term trade truce, and why there's some hope that a more permanent deal will be struck.
• Fox's next step into streaming with Fox One, its existing Tubi footprint, and success in video advertising.

GoDaddy is known for its commercials, less known for its capital allocation strategy. GoDaddy CFO Mark McCaffrey walks Motley Fool host Ricky Mulvey through the company's philosophy on share buybacks.

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To catch full episodes of all The Motley Fool's free podcasts, check out our podcast center. When you're ready to invest, check out this top 10 list of stocks to buy.

A full transcript is below.

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

Before you buy stock in GoDaddy, 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 GoDaddy 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 $635,275!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $826,385!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 967% — 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 May 12, 2025

This podcast was recorded on May 11, 2025

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Dylan Lewis: Set the time machine for a few weeks back. Motley Fool Money starts now. I'm Dylan Lewis and I'm joined over the airwaves by Motley Fool analyst Jason Moser. Jason, thanks for joining me.

Jason Moser: Happy to be here, Dylan. Thanks for having me.

Dylan Lewis: On this bright and sunny day for the market. S&P 500 up a little over 2%, Nasdaq up, the Dow Jones up, everybody up on reports of the US-China trade deal. I've seen this called tariff cuts, Jason. I've also seen it called temporary trade truce. The market's excited about it. What are you calling it?

Jason Moser: I definitely understand the excitement. Yes, bright and sunny day in the market. It's bright and sunny day here in Northern Virginia, and hey, happy belated Mother's Day to all of the mothers out there. What a tremendous Sunday. We had a great time here, and I hope everyone else did too.

We woke up to a great headline, of course, the market responding obviously very positively to it. I think that goes back to what we have been talking about for the last couple of months, is just day by day, you just don't know really what is going to happen. This is a very headline-driven market, and for as bad as things may seem one day, you just don't know the next day they could turn on a dime, and it seems like today we hit that turn on dime status. I think it's worth remembering, this is a temporary solution. This is not something that is locked in in a full-on deal, but it does seem at least like there is some progress in diplomacy and talks. Perhaps the UK deal that was announced late last week, is a bit of a catalyst here. Maybe that's a sign of good things to come. We will have to wait and see.

But I think a lot of what we've been discussing in regard to tariffs and trade talks, most of this is really centered around ultimately China. China is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, as they would say. This is where we really need to figure this deal out because when you talk about trade deficits, and there are positives and negatives that come with all of that. But in regard to China, specifically, we've become very dependent on China through the years. When you think about the relationship we've had with China through the years, going all the way back to the 1970s when we really started diplomatically working together, over time, we've seen this trade deficit, where we're importing more than we're exporting. This trade deficit has just continued to grow.

You look at the 2000s. Around 2000, that trade deficit had reached around $85 billion. From there, it just continued to grow. It hit a peak of close to $420 billion in 2018. Today, it's closer to around $300 billion. But the goal, I think, here, is to try to balance that relationship out. Hopefully, this is a sign of good things to come. Again, it's one headline. We don't know a lot. There are not a lot of specifics, but it does seem like progress is at least being made.

Dylan Lewis: If you're like me, you've probably had a hard time following where we are relative to where we've started with a lot of these escalations. From the reading and from some of the reporting out there, it seems like this essentially resets to where we were with the US and China relations in late March. Initial tariffs announced by the Trump administration, retaliations on both sides. You were on the show last week with our colleague Ricky Mulvey, talking about how the S&P 500 had essentially retraced the Liberation Day losses. In terms of macro mentality, are we basically looking at 90-day amnesia here, where we lost some time, but we wound up back in the same place?

Jason Moser: When we look at the numbers, it's just been such a boring year. The market is essentially flat. Ho-hum, who cares? This has just been a really bumpy ride, going back to, you remember how this all started? This was what? The late February, early March, where the conversation really centered around Canada and China in certain trade negotiations there, but also fentanyl stuff and border stuff. Then it expanded very quickly to it seemed like virtually every country on the face of the planet, which is, I know, something like 180, 190 countries. It does feel like we are back to where we started. It's nice to see at least some progress being made. Go back to that UK trade deal. Hopefully, that is a sign of things to come.

We know that countries are coming to the table and want to negotiate. But again, given our relationship with China, and to an extent, our reliance on China, I think China is really seen as the most important of all of these deals. Again, time will tell there. Again, this is not a permanent solution. This is just something that it's extending the timeline. It's indicating that, hey, conversations are being had, because if you think about it, this tit for tat just doesn't work. Hey, I say 175% tariffs. Well, hey, I'll say 185%. Well, I'm going to go 195. It can just go up and up and up and nobody ends up benefiting. We certainly know that China's economy is suffering from this. But we also know that our economy will suffer from this as well. Particularly as we get closer to the holiday season, if you start seeing supply dwindle and consumers aren't able to get what they want, there are going to be real problems. There will be political ramifications that come from that, as well. It's good to see progress being made. I certainly would not look at this as a solution, but it seems like at least a step in the right direction.

Dylan Lewis: Your dogs seem to agree there, Jason.

Jason Moser: They do. They're big fans of diplomacy, Dylan.

Dylan Lewis: As we noted, good day for the market. Even better day for companies that are in the business of buying and selling, and really, anybody in retail, anybody with international supply chains. As you noted, this is a reset, but a reprieve as well. Not a full solution. Any wise words for investors seeing some major moves with their stocks today?

Jason Moser: I think it's great. We always love to see our portfolios in the green or the black, however you want to put it. But it's always nice to see positive as opposed to negative. I think it's really interesting to see the companies that are reacting most strongly to these results. Look at some of these companies that stand out, Wayfair, for example, have better than 20%, totally understandable. They really depend on the supply chain centered around China. Shopify, again, we've talked about that before, plenty of small and medium-sized businesses that do not fare well during these heavy tariff times, all the way down the line there. Amazon doing well, Nike doing well. I think it's nice to see those companies at least starting to recover a little bit from these lows. Again, I think this reiterates why we invest the way we do here. It is so if you tried to time your way in and out of this stuff, I can't imagine that many people would have been very successful. Continuing to invest regularly, staying invested, that is something we just need to reiterate to people because that is really, truly, that's the solution to long-term wealth creation.

Dylan Lewis: We may get some more commentary on the big picture here when we see Walmart and some of the Chinese companies like Alibaba report later in the week, fairly big earnings week, and Fox got started. They're out with earnings this week, and they also had an announcement that their upcoming streaming service, Fox One, will be launching before the upcoming football season, which I can't imagine is an accident. I imagine that's quite intentional. This is something we've been looking forward to for a while, Jason. There's a history of legacy media companies getting streaming services right. There's a history of legacy media companies getting streaming services wrong. I think CNN+ lasted for about a month. What are you thinking about as you see Fox stepping up to the competition here?

Jason Moser: I think it's noteworthy to acknowledge that Fox is looking at this streaming service as something where they want to attract the cord cutter. There's two sides of the coin here, in that we've got folks who are still very happy cable subscribers, and we were looking at it countrywide. There's still plenty of cable subscribers out there. Now, we know the trend is toward cord-cutting, but Fox wants to make sure to offer something for everyone. If, for example, you are a cable subscriber and you get your Fox channels, well, then it sounds like you're going to get access to this Fox One streaming service as well. If you're a cord cutter and you don't really want to participate in the cable network, well, then you have the opportunity to go ahead and subscribe to this Fox streaming service. It's important to note, I think this Fox streaming service is going to be all of the properties. It's not just Fox News. It's the stand-alone Fox channel. It's all of the Fox Sports channel. It's everything that comes within that Fox portfolio.

Let's be clear. It's a very popular portfolio. It garners a lot of viewers, and I think that really matters. You referred back to that NFL relationship there, and that is obviously a very big driver come August when we start talking about preseason and getting into September with the regular season games. NFL is just big business. We know that, and Fox benefits greatly from that. I think we don't really know exactly what pricing is going to look like for this service yet, but it does sound like at least they are not looking for some type of discount or low cost price point, something like, think about Disney when they introduced Disney Plus, for example, and I think they started that out at 599 or 699 per month. I don't think that's what this is going to be. It's going to be something that's a little bit more reflective of the value that they feel like they're returning to all of their viewers. But all things considered, I think this makes sense. It's going to be something that I think helps expand their viewership and gives everybody a chance to participate in that Fox portfolio, how they want, whether they're cable subscribers or whether they are cord cutters that really just want to find access to the best content.

Dylan Lewis: One thing that might bolster some market confidence here in what Fox is able to do, this is not their first horse in the streaming race. They already own Tubi, which is a free ad-supported streaming service. A sleeper in the streaming space in a lot of ways, but at a critical mass. I think with what they saw for Super Bowl editions, they are probably over 100 million monthly active users at this point. It's not a profitable operation for them yet, but they've done over a billion dollars in trailing 12-month revenue. There is some track record of success here, and I think crucially, Jason, there's success in connecting with advertisers and working that ad-supported model. That really seems to be the future of where a lot of this industry is going.

Jason Moser: Well, we've talked about this a lot in regard to ad-supported video-on-demand. This is a massive market opportunity worldwide. I think when you get outside of the US and you get to economies that are a little bit more cost-sensitive, it makes even more sense. But when you look at revenue in the advertising video-on-demand supported market right there, worldwide, it's projected to reach around $55 billion in 2025. That's only going to continue to grow. For me, it makes a lot of sense that they continue to pursue this. It's just interesting that, I don't know about you, it's not top of mind for me. I'm not the biggest Tubi user. I know we have the app on our TV, and I guess we use it every once in a while if we're searching for content. But again, you mentioned this massive base of user, closing in on 100 million monthly active users. They saw in the quarter, their total revenue is up 27%. Fox's total revenue is up 27% for the quarter. Advertising revenue increased 65%, and that primarily was due to the impact of Tubi. They saw tremendous benefit there from the Super Bowl. I think that's something that is slated to continue. For me, it makes sense that they continue to invest in this business because not only do they benefit from this portfolio of central Fox offerings that they have, but then they've got these other little ancillary properties that they just continue to invest in and they fly under the radar.

But obviously, it's working out very well for the company. I think it's worth noting, you look at Amazon, for example, Amazon making a lot of investments in their Freevee offering, which is something essentially, you're going to get Amazon Freevee if you just have Amazon at all, if you're a Prime member. However your relationship is with Amazon, you're going to have access to Freevee. Amazon clearly sees an opportunity there as well. Again, I think, going back to those growth numbers in the AVOD market there, it's nice to see that Fox continues to invest in this business because it's obviously working out for them.

Dylan Lewis: Fox is not a name that we talk about all that often and to our detriment. Shares up almost 60% over the last 12 months. I was glad that we had the opportunity to check in on it because it's one that not a lot of folks have been paying attention to. Stock basically set new all time highs earlier this year, not too far off those levels now. It seems like advertising is a big part of the recent run. If this is getting onto people's radar at all, anything else you pay attention to?

Jason Moser: I think just continue to pay attention to the overall advertising revenue. The ratings that Fox brings in, I think we all know. Fox does pretty well with all of its properties. I think they really benefited tremendously from this most recent election cycle. They noted in the call from last call that on election night, they saw over 13-and-half million viewers tuning in, and then I think they said Fox News Channel had grown. It become the most watched cable network in total day and prime time in that space, growing total day audience by nearly 40%, and then their prime time audience by 45% year over year. It's not just Fox News. We go back to the NFL relationship in all of the different ways they can really win. It's not just Fox News. It's Fox Sports. It's Fox News. It's the stand-alone Fox offering there. They do have a lot of different ways they can win with their media properties. At the end of the day, it does boil down to ratings and as it stands right now, Fox continues to bring in strong ratings across all of its properties. That would be a very encouraging thing for investors looking to maybe get some exposure to the entertainment space.

Dylan Lewis: Jason Moser, thanks for joining me today.

Jason Moser: Thank you.

Dylan Lewis: Hey, Fools, we're taking a quick break for a word from our sponsor for today's episode.

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Listeners, coming up on the show, you may know GoDaddy for its commercials, but you probably don't know its capital allocation story. One that's made the stock a market beater. My colleague Ricky Mulvey caught up with GoDaddy's CFO, Mark McCaffrey, for an interview about the company's growth engine and philosophy on share buybacks.

Ricky Mulvey: A lot of our listeners may know GoDaddy as a domain registration business. They may not know GoDaddy as a long-term market outperformer, which I want to get into. We'll focus on the quarterly results, though, because right now, the growth engine and about a third of your revenue is coming from this applications in commerce business. This is not just registering websites. That's where you're getting 17% sales growth. For our listeners who just know GoDaddy is a spot where you're buying websites, what should they understand about the applications in commerce business?

Mark McCaffrey: Absolutely. It's a great question. We've become so much more than just being a domain company over the years. We just hit our 10-year anniversary of being a public company. We've been around 28 years. We've become a one-stop shop for micro businesses that provide them the IT services for them to be effective, them to be efficient, them to compete on a much broader scale. We're talking the mom and pop shops. I always refer to them the underdogs. They are doing what they love. They are passionate about what they do. They want to do it broader. They want to connect to more customers. They may not be IT savvy. We provide them, I sometimes refer to it as the operating systems for the micro businesses. That's what our application and commerce segment represents. Our core platform was the traditional domain part of our business, but this is the software that gets attached.

It's more often than not a website or an email or commerce capabilities. But it represents a second and third and fourth product attached that makes our customers successful. Because it's proprietary software and some third-party software, but proprietary software, it comes at a much higher profit margin for us and therefore has been our growth engine. It has become a bigger and bigger part of the business.

Ricky Mulvey: We've been talking on the show about how very large companies are using artificial intelligence, Microsoft building up with OpenAI. Palantir getting inserted into every government and any company they can find. You're at a micro level with very small businesses in helping them use AI to build and grow their businesses. At a very broad level, how do you see AI impacting small business creation in the US right now?

Mark McCaffrey: When you think about it, and again, when we say micro businesses, we're probably smaller than the small businesses others refer to. They don't think about AI as to, oh, my God, I want to use AI, but they want to have help. They don't want to hire necessarily more employees. But yet, for example, they have to respond across multiple different social media platforms to inbounds, and our tools do that automatically. They write in their voice. They allow them to be in multiple places at multiple times. I was just meeting with, I call them the pizza guys, but they're two guys who run a mobile pizza oven, and between putting a pizza in for 90 seconds, they're on our conversations tool just clicking Send to make sure that they're setting up their next gig. That's the type of customer we want. They don't sit there and think about, oh, my God, I'm using AI. They're sitting there going, oh, my God, this just works better. That is the customer we want. That's what our product does, Airo, A-I-R-O, just for the record. It allows our customers using AI to respond more effectively and more efficiently within their customer base to grow. It works because we have so much data around it.

Ricky Mulvey: This is a zone where Shopify also plays. We talk about Shopify a lot on the show. What's the differentiation of Airo? If I'm a micro business, if I'm starting my own pizza business with my brother, why would I do it on GoDaddy's platform instead of Shopify?

Mark McCaffrey: Number 1, it's a seamless experience for us. You come to one place and you're able to get all the functionality. Number 2, the cost effectiveness of it. We do it at such a good price point for the value our customers are getting. It allows them to start up, be more successful, and quite frankly, manage across one application. When you think about it, we're the only company in the world that has the technology stack all the way from the domain to the transaction. Because we can combine that into one seamless experience with them, they don't have to manage eight apps. They manage one app, and when they need help, they go to our care organization, and our care organization is designed to work with this customer base, work with the micro business. This is what they do best and why they're so effective. Between the technology itself and our ability to guide them through all of this, I always say, you can be up and running with a business in 15 minutes. I get corrected by my internal people to say, no, actually, we can do it in three minutes. Can you stop saying it takes so long. But you can get everything you need almost instantaneously bundled together as a great price, be up and running with website, transactions, professional email, and a domain, and you can be getting all your traffic across multiple social media platforms. That's what we offer. It's simple. It's easy. It's easy to use, and it's easy to maintain.

Ricky Mulvey: One of the reasons I'm happy to have you on the show is that GoDaddy has a very interesting capital allocation story. There's a long-term outperformance for your stock since GoDaddy IPOed. But 2023 is when a lot of that performance came, and that's in line with when you started a stock repurchase authorization program. Since 2022, GoDaddy bought back four billion dollars worth of stock. I don't want to dismiss the growth in the actual business, but there's a capital allocation story here that's important for shareholders. As CFO, you've really focused on share buybacks. You've got another three billion dollar authorization plan moving forward for the next few years. But just conceptually you've got a lot of options at your disposal. You can buy back stock. You can pay a regular dividend. You can pay a special dividend. Why stick with the buyback so much?

Mark McCaffrey: I'll start with the underlying premise that we think investing in our own stock is one of the most attractive returns we have out there. We've shown that we've been able to execute on this buyback strategy very effectively. Thank you for pointing out. We've done it over four years, four billion dollars. Not many companies have reduced their fully diluted share account by 25% over a period of time such as this. We're very proud of that, and we're very proud to not only share the success we've had, obviously, we generate a lot of free cash flow that allows us to have these options, but also return that value back to our shareholders and do it in a manner that we continue to, I would say, create this great model. I'll even take it a step further, how many companies out there today are growing 6-8%, have expanded their normalized EBITDA margins by 900 basis points in five years, and then bought back 25% of their fully diluted shares over a similar period of time and still are able to compound to free cash flow per share on a CAGR of 20%. That whole model works together for us fantastically. It's durable. It's resilient, and we continue to put it forward because it works, and our investors keep giving us the feedback. They really like the program. They really like how we do this, and they want us to continue doing this.

Ricky Mulvey: Since GoDaddy's IPO 10 years ago, I mentioned this at the top, it's been a quiet market beater, and a lot of that performance has come within the past few years, so I don't want to dismiss that. But when you look at the overall results, the S&P 500 compound annual growth rate of about 12%, the Nasdaq about 16%, and GoDaddy at 25%, smashing the return of the S&P 500. When you look back on 10 years as a public company, any reflections on the outperformance or maybe what's been the recipe for that at GoDaddy?

Mark McCaffrey: The recipe is focusing on what we call our North Star and making sure that everything we do is in honor of that North Star. We call our North Star free cash flow per share. We generate free cash flow, whether it's growth, whether it's profitability. We're always looking to do that in a way to maximize that equation, understanding that our model is durable, it's predictable, and we can use the levers to make sure we continue to compound into that equation and drive that value. As we've done that, as we've grown as a company, as we've hit this milestone, because we are a very large tech company, we know that hey, 90% of our revenue starts with our existing customer base. We know we have great products and innovation that bring people into our funnel. We know this model compounds on itself year after year as our customer retention rates get stronger. That compounding free cash flow is what creates the value within the business itself, and that's the same value we can use to return to our shareholders.

I would say the model works. Our execution of our strategy works. Our model works behind it, and it's about the compounding effect of layering on every year just to be a little bit better and to grow based on these metrics that just continue to generate cash flow. I would also say, three years ago, we took an effort to really simplify our infrastructure so that our operating leverage just supported this going forward. We're growing revenue at over two times. We're growing our operating expenses right now. That allows us to be so efficient in how we do things. When we're efficient, we can do what we do best, which is focus on our customers. Again, it all holds together, but it all compounds on each other. The balance sheet gets stronger. We're able to generate free cash flow. We're able to look at the options for capital allocation, and it puts us in a great spot going forward.

Ricky Mulvey: Good place, send it. Mark McCaffrey. That is the chief financial officer of GoDaddy. Appreciate your time and your insight. Thanks for joining us on Motley Fool Money.

Mark McCaffrey: Thanks, Ricky. Thanks for having me.

Dylan Lewis: As always, people in the program may have interests in the stocks they talk about, and Motley Fool may have formal recommendations for or against, so don't buy sell anything based solely on what you hear. All personal finance content follows Motley Fool editorial standards. It's not approved by advertisers. Advertisements are sponsored content provided for informational purposes only. To see our full advertising disclosure. Please check out our show notes. For the Motley Fool Money team, I'm Dylan Lewis. We'll be back tomorrow.

John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Dylan Lewis has positions in Shopify. Jason Moser has positions in Amazon, Shopify, and Wayfair. Ricky Mulvey has positions in Shopify. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Microsoft, Palantir Technologies, Shopify, and Walmart. The Motley Fool recommends Alibaba Group, GoDaddy, and Wayfair and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Few stocks have sizzled as much as Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR) over the last 12 months. Shares of the data analytics software provider more than quadrupled during the period. Palantir stock is up more than 40% year to date.

However, Palantir isn't anywhere near the top of the list of stocks I think will be the biggest winners for investors over the long run. And some of those stocks could outperform through the rest of this decade, too. I predict three stocks will be worth more than Palantir five years from now.

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1. Intuitive Surgical

Intuitive Surgical's (NASDAQ: ISRG) market cap is roughly $70 billion smaller than Palantir's right now. But I suspect the tables could be turned in the not-too-distant future.

Granted, Palantir is growing more rapidly. However, Intuitive Surgical continues to deliver impressive growth, too. The robotic systems pioneer's revenue jumped 19% year over year in the first quarter of 2025. Procedure volume for Intuitive's da Vinci robotic systems should increase by 15% to 17% this year.

Importantly, Intuitive Surgical looks like a bargain compared to Palantir. Sure, Intuitive's shares trade at a sky-high forward price-to-earnings ratio of 68. That seems almost cheap, though, when stacked up against Palantir's nosebleed forward earnings multiple of 196.

What I like most about Intuitive Surgical is the high probability of strong future growth. Around 2.7 million procedures were performed using da Vinci last year. Intuitive estimates roughly 8 million procedures are done annually for which it already has products and clearances. The company is targeting approximately 22 million soft-tissue procedures with products and clearances under development.

Image source: Intuitive Surgical.

2. Alibaba Group

Alibaba Group (NYSE: BABA) is already somewhat larger than Palantir. Based on the two companies' recent revenue growth, though, some might think this dynamic could change relatively soon. I predict, though, that Alibaba will widen its market cap gap over Palantir over the next five years.

Valuation plays a big factor in my projection. We've already seen how mind-blowingly high Palantir's forward earnings multiple is. Meanwhile, Alibaba's shares trade at only 12.5 times forward earnings. The company's growth prospects make its valuation look even more attractive: Alibaba's price-to-earnings-to-growth (PEG) ratio based on analysts' five-year earnings projections is a low 0.71.

Artificial intelligence (AI) demand could serve as a bigger tailwind for Alibaba than it will for Palantir. Alibaba's AI-related product revenue has grown by triple-digit percentages for six consecutive quarters. Its cloud business is also directly benefiting from AI.

Could my prediction about Alibaba be wrong? Maybe. If it is, the most likely culprit that limits the company's growth could be the Chinese government. However, assuming Alibaba is allowed to meet customers' needs relatively unfettered, it should remain bigger than Palantir by the end of the decade.

3. Alphabet

You might wonder why Google parent Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) is on the list. After all, the tech giant is over 7x bigger than Palantir right now. It seems to be a no-brainer that Alphabet will still be larger in five years.

However, I included Alphabet because there's rampant pessimism about the company. Some have proclaimed that generative AI presents an "existential threat" to Google Search. Google has lost two major antitrust lawsuits. One potential outcome is that the business could be broken up.

I don't buy into the gloom and doom surrounding Alphabet, though. I'm confident that it will continue to thrive despite these challenges.

AI, including generative AI, is helping Google a lot more than it's hurting. Google Cloud's business is booming as customers develop generative AI apps in the cloud. AI Overviews in Google Search have increased search usage and customer satisfaction. I expect Alphabet's revenue will grow as it rolls out more agentic AI capabilities.

What about the antitrust rulings? Admittedly, they could present problems for Alphabet. However, it will almost certainly take years for a final resolution. Alphabet could ultimately prevail. Even if not, the remedies the company is forced to make might not be too terribly bad.

Regardless, I'd rather own shares of Alphabet over the next five years than I would Palantir.

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Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Keith Speights has positions in Alphabet and Intuitive Surgical. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Intuitive Surgical, and Palantir Technologies. The Motley Fool recommends Alibaba Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

From exclusive items to portion sizes, we wanted to find all the differences between Kung Fu Tea and Bubbleology. This is "Food Wars."

Airbus (OTC: EADSY) is getting a lift from two stock analyst names this morning, as first Barclays lowered its price target on the stock to 185 euros (but maintains an "overweight" rating on the stock, according to StreetInsider.com), while Paris shop Kepler Cheuvreux upgraded the European aerospace giant to "buy" with a 170-euro price target.

Airbus shares are responding with a move 2.8% higher through 10:45 a.m. ET.

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What analysts say about Airbus

Airbus stock is down about 8% over the past month as investors punish the stock for "higher macroeconomic risk" on recession concerns, as The Fly points out today. The stock has already bounced off its lows, however, gaining about 10% over the past three weeks. Kepler, however, believes there are even more gains to be found here and agrees with Barclays that Airbus stock is a buy.

So is Airbus stock a buy?

Are these analysts right about Airbus? Well, it's worth pointing out that rival Boeing (NYSE: BA) just got an upgrade to "outperform" this morning from Bernstein SocGen (part of AllianceBernstein), which sees Boeing's fortunes reviving as it works through problems with its 737 MAX airplane program and begins ramping production up to perhaps 38 planes per month by July, and 42 by the end of this year.

And not meaning to knock Boeing, but when you compare the two stocks side by side, Airbus really does look like the stronger operation right now. Airbus earned $4.4 billion in profit last year, versus Boeing's $11.5 billion loss. Airbus is forecast to grow its earnings to $5.8 billion this year, whereas Boeing will be lucky to earn anything at all. And while Boeing should be on firmer footing by 2026, when it's expected to earn $4 billion, Airbus profits in 2026 could be nearly twice as big -- $7.3 billion!

Listen, at 26 times earnings, even I won't try to make the case that Airbus stock is a bargain. But relative to Boeing, it's clearly the stronger performer. So if Boeing deserves an upgrade, then... why not Airbus?

Should you invest $1,000 in Airbus SE right now?

Before you buy stock in Airbus SE, 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 Airbus SE 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 $594,046!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $680,390!*

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*Stock Advisor returns as of April 28, 2025

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

• Tech giants are known for their challenging interviews.
• Google, Meta, and Nvidia top the list of rigorous interviews with multiple rounds and assessments.
• But tough questions show up across industries, according to employee reports on Glassdoor.

It's tough to break into high-paying companies.

Google is notorious for having a demanding interview process. Aside from putting job candidates through assessments, preliminary phone calls, and asking them to complete projects, the company also screens candidates through multiple rounds of interviews.

Typical interview questions range from open-ended behavioral ones like "tell me about a time that you went against the status quo" or "what does being 'Googley' mean to you?" to more technical ones.

At Nvidia, the chipmaking darling of the AI boom, candidates must also pass through rigorous rounds of assessments and interviews. "How would you describe __ technology to a non-technical person?" was a question a candidate interviewing for a job as a senior solutions architect shared on the career site Glassdoor last month. The candidate noted that they didn't receive an offer.

Tech giants top Glassdoor's list of the hardest companies to interview with. But tough questions show up across industries — from luxury carmakers like Rolls-Royce, where a candidate said they were asked to define "a single crystal," to Bacardi, where a market manager who cited a difficult interview, and no offer, recalled being asked, "If you were a cocktail what would you be and why?"

The digital PR agency Reboot Online analyzed Glassdoor data to determine which companies have the most challenging job interviews. They focused on "reputable companies" listed in the top 100 of Forbes' World's Best Employers list and examined 313,000 employee reviews on Glassdoor. For each company, they looked at the average interview difficulty rating as reported on Glassdoor.

Here's a list of the top 90 companies that put candidates through the ringer for a job, according to self-reported reviews on Glassdoor.

Boeing (NYSE: BA) stock rose by as much as 8.7% in trading before 10 a.m. today. By 12:10 p.m. ET, the stock was up 5.5%. The move comes as investors cheered the company's first-quarter earnings report, which was released earlier. Frankly, the market had reason to be optimistic.

Boeing delivers

The aerospace and defense giant is one of the most fascinating stocks. Yes, it has plenty of near-term headwinds and exposure to risk around tariffs and the economy's overall direction. On the other hand, its well-regarded CEO, Kelly Ortberg, has a huge opportunity to engineer a turnaround at the company simply by executing well.

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As such, Boeing is almost a "self-help" story, and the good news from this earnings report is that the company seems to be starting to help itself. Boeing and Ortberg need to improve the delivery rate on their commercial airplanes, notably the narrow-body 737 MAX, and the profit margin at the Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS) business, notably on its troublesome fixed-price development programs.

First, management confirmed that the 737 and the wide-body 787 programs were on track. It expects to reach a monthly delivery rate of 38 and seven, respectively, by the end of the year. That confirms what Boeing supplier Hexcel's CEO, Tom Gentile, said recently, "Boeing is doing very well on their production. They're getting up in rate."

Second, the following chart speaks for itself. BDS generated a 2.5% operating profit margin in the quarter, and management plans to return to high single-digit margins over time.

Data source: Boeing presentations. Chart by the author.

Where next for Boeing

The company still faces risks, not least from tariff conflicts. Still, Boeing's demonstration of operational progress in the first quarter is a significant plus and gives confidence that Ortberg will turn the company around.

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

Before you buy stock in Boeing, 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 Boeing 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 $561,046!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $606,106!*

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*Stock Advisor returns as of April 21, 2025

Lee Samaha has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Hexcel. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Boeing, a leading aerospace manufacturer renowned for its commercial airplane production, released its Q1 2025 earnings on April 23, 2025. The earnings report showcased results that beat analyst expectations, reflecting ongoing efforts to stabilize its operations. Revenue for Q1 2025 reached $19.5 billion (GAAP), surpassing the analyst estimate of $19.38 billion, driven primarily by increased commercial airplane deliveries. The company's Non-GAAP earnings per share (EPS) improved to a loss of $0.49 in Q1 2025, better than the anticipated $1.18 loss, showing a positive shift in its operational execution. The quarter was marked as a promising start with signs of recovery, although challenges in defense operations and supply chain management remain.

Source: Analyst estimates for Q1 2025 provided by FactSet.

Boeing's Business Overview and Strategic Focus

Boeing is an iconic name in aerospace, primarily known for its development and marketing of commercial jet aircraft globally. Its key product lines include the 737, 767, 777, and 787 models. Recently, Boeing has been focusing on enhancing its production capabilities and stabilizing its supply chain, crucial for meeting the growing global demand for its aircraft, as reported in Q1 2025. The Commercial Airplanes segment remains central to Boeing's financial health, contributing significantly to its revenue streams. Ongoing development of innovative aircraft like the 777X and derivatives ensures Boeing remains competitive against industry giants like Airbus.

Boeing's operational success heavily depends on managing supply chain complexities and regulatory compliance. Supply chain efficiency is critical, as delays or quality issues could hurt financial results and erode customer trust. Recent successes in capital infusion have reinforced its financial stability, a positive development amid persistent industry challenges.

Quarterly Highlights and Analysis

Q1 2025 marked a turning point for Boeing's Commercial Airplanes segment as it reported significant growth in aircraft deliveries, with a 57% increase from 83 to 130 airplanes. The 737 program saw a production ramp-up, with plans to boost production to 38 planes per month within the year. However, operating margins (non-GAAP) remained negative at (6.6)% in Q1 2025, underscoring the need for further stabilization.

In contrast, Boeing's Defense, Space & Security segment saw a 9% decline in revenue to $6.3 billion in Q1 2025. This segment showed a slight improvement in operating margins to 2.5% but continued to face challenges, including pre-tax charges related to fixed-price contracts. A contract for next-generation fighter jets has been secured, though it is yet to appear in the backlog, signaling potential revenue ahead.

Margins within the Global Services segment rose marginally to 18.6% in Q1 2025, as Boeing celebrated milestones like the delivery of the 100th 767-300 Boeing Converted Freighter. The services segment's consistent performance affirms its role as a reliable revenue stream, tapping into the aircraft lifecycle management potential.

Free cash flow (non-GAAP) remained negative at $2.3 billion in Q1 2025. Cash and securities stood at $23.7 billion, indicating a slight decrease from $26.3 billion, primarily driven by the free cash flow usage in the quarter. Debt was reduced to $53.6 billion in the first quarter, reflecting the paydown of maturing debt and early repayment of a bond.

Boeing's Future Outlook

Boeing's future outlook emphasizes increased commercial aircraft production, aiming to further stabilize rates and enhance supply chain resilience, with plans to reach a production rate of 38 per month this year. The company is planning to expand the 737 production and anticipates the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) continued approval for ramping up production rates.

Management forward guidance focuses on navigating regulatory frameworks and managing defense contracts to de-risk and align with customer specifications. While uncertainties remain, particularly around the defense sector, robust demand for commercial airplanes provides optimism. Investors should monitor Boeing's progress in clearing backlogs, managing contracts, and sustaining capital improvements, key indicators of its recovery trajectory.

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

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When our analyst team has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, Stock Advisor’s total average return is 811%* — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 153% for the S&P 500.

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

Investors have spent the past couple of years acquainting themselves with artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing. These emerging technologies could represent the most significant leaps forward for humankind since the internet decades ago.

Of course, such groundbreaking technologies can be lucrative investment opportunities. The Defiance Quantum ETF (NASDAQ: QTUM) could be a smart way to add exposure to artificial intelligence and quantum computing to your portfolio.

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The exchange-traded fund has plunged nearly 20% from its high amid the market's recent volatility, one of its steepest declines since it began trading in 2018.

Here are three reasons to buy this AI quantum computing stock on the dip.

1. Quantum computing and AI have significant growth potential

It's impossible to predict what AI and quantum computers could make possible over the coming decades. You might see things you only thought were possible in science fiction. Humanoid robotics is already on the way, which reminds me of a famous action movie from the 1980s featuring a particular cyborg sent from the future.

Plus, AI and quantum computing could eventually be worth trillions of dollars. Research from McKinsey estimates AI could generate $23 trillion in annual economic value by 2040. Meanwhile, quantum computing could start slowly. Technology experts have speculated that practical quantum computers could still be several years away.

However, they could be a game changer once they get here. Boston Consulting Group's report on quantum computing forecasts that quantum computers will create $5 billion to $10 billion in annual economic value by 2030, but projects this to increase to $450 billion to $850 billion by 2040. Time will tell how accurate such estimates and timelines are, but the financial and real-world potential is exciting, to put it mildly.

2. An ETF means you don't have to pick winners

AI and quantum computing present quite a challenge for investors. Most individuals, let alone professional investors, aren't experts in these complex fields.

Therefore, picking individual winners could prove extremely challenging. That's a great reason to invest in a diversified instrument such as the Defiance Quantum ETF. It represents a global basket of 70 companies involved with AI and quantum computing -- someone else did the hard work of picking high-quality stocks in these advanced technology industries.

The fund's top holdings include:

Data source: Defiance ETFs.

Since AI and quantum computing have immense potential but are still so unpredictable, casting a wide net is a wise strategy. It could be a case of the 80-20 rule, where a select few companies produce a majority of the value in AI and quantum computing.

The ETF's construction spans various companies, industries, and countries, reducing risk by limiting the top holding to just 3.31% of the fund's total assets. Additionally, the expense ratio (0.4%) appears reasonable, considering the simplicity and diversification you gain in return.

3. The Defiance Quantum ETF has outperformed the market

Many quantum computing stocks have been highly volatile, and investors who bought at the wrong time have endured steep losses.

The Defiance Quantum ETF has been around since 2018, and has outperformed the Nasdaq Composite, a prominent technology-leaning U.S. stock market index, since about 2021:

QTUM Total Return Level data by YCharts

Past performance does not guarantee future results, but it demonstrates the effectiveness of a diverse approach to speculative industries like AI and quantum computing. I don't see why the Defiance Quantum ETF can't continue to perform well as these technologies mature.

Should you invest $1,000 in ETF Series Solutions - Defiance Quantum ETF right now?

Before you buy stock in ETF Series Solutions - Defiance Quantum ETF, consider this:

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

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $561,046!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $606,106!*

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See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of April 21, 2025

Justin Pope has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Palantir Technologies. The Motley Fool recommends Alibaba Group and RTX. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.