Key Points

• Lemonade reported excellent second-quarter earnings that handily beat expectations.

• Not only is growth accelerating, but Lemonade's loss ratio continues to improve.

• If management can keep executing on the growth strategy, a $100 price tag isn't out of the question.

• 10 stocks we like better than Lemonade ›

Lemonade (NYSE: LMND) recently popped by about 25% after reporting its second-quarter results. The insurance disruptor reported better-than-expected revenue and earnings, raised its guidance, and is doing a great job of becoming more profitable. It is doing an excellent job of underwriting, and to put it mildly, the relatively new car insurance product is gaining serious traction.

However, with the stock close to a multiyear high, could Lemonade keep climbing? Here's a rundown of how the business is doing and why I think there's a realistic possibility the stock could double to $100 in the not-too-distant future.

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Image source: Getty Images.

Lemonade's excellent growth

A glance at Lemonade's second-quarter results shows why the stock jumped higher. In-force premium increased by 29% year over year to $1.08 billion and represented the seventh consecutive quarter of accelerating growth. The insurance company now has nearly 2.7 million customers, 24% more than a year ago.

Profitability is clearly moving in the right direction. Lemonade produced a $6 million positive operating cash flow compared with a $12 million loss a year ago. Both revenue and earnings per share came in better than analysts had expected, and gross profit more than doubled on a year-over-year basis.

The company's most exciting future growth vertical (Lemonade Car) is showing impressive progress, with in-force premium up by 12% sequentially and a 13-percentage-point improvement in loss ratio compared with a year ago. Plus, Lemonade's European business has emerged as a high-potential growth engine, with in-force premium roughly tripling year over year.

Starting to look like a great insurance company

My biggest complaint about Lemonade throughout most of its publicly traded history had been that the company wasn't doing a great job of underwriting. Loss ratios weren't anywhere near management's stated 75% target for a long time, and it seemed that every time a natural disaster happened, it completely derailed any progress that had been made.

However, over the past two years, the company has made tremendous progress in this area. Of course, there is some seasonality that is to be expected in the insurance business (certain disasters tend to happen in certain seasons), but on a trailing-12-month basis, the trend is clear. In fact, over the past four quarters, Lemonade's gross loss ratio is significantly below where management hoped to get it.

Data source: Lemonade.

Could Lemonade stock reach $100?

As of this writing, Lemonade trades for right around $50 per share, which is just below a three-year high. The last time the stock had a price tag this high was in late 2021 when interest rates were still at near-zero levels.

To be perfectly clear, even though Lemonade is well below its all-time high (which was about $188 in early 2021), it is a much stronger business today. And the recent gains are well deserved.

For Lemonade to reach $100 per share implies a market cap of about $7.3 billion. While I don't necessarily think it will happen right away, if Lemonade can keep its growth going, produce strong underwriting numbers (even when natural disasters happen), and keep overall profitability heading in the right direction, it's certainly possible. After all, the market opportunity is simply massive (especially in auto insurance), and strong momentum could lead to strong stock performance.

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

Before you buy stock in Lemonade, 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 Lemonade 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 $636,563!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,108,033!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,047% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 181% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of August 4, 2025

Matt Frankel has positions in Lemonade. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Lemonade. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Key Points

• V2X was formed from the merger of Vectrus and Vertex Aerospace in 2022.

• The defense stock has racked up some impressive multibillion-dollar contract wins over the last couple of years -- including one just last week.

• Analysts forecast surprisingly strong earnings growth from V2X, although it hasn't happened just yet.

• 10 stocks we like better than V2X ›

Raise your hand if you've ever heard of V2X (NYSE: VVX), the small-cap defense company formed from the merger of defense contractors Vectrus and Vertex Aerospace in 2022?

Yep. That's about what I expected. Even among investors, V2X is the farthest thing from a household name. But it's a name defense investors in particular might want to start paying attention to. Because on July 31, V2X scored a new Pentagon defense contract worth $4.3 billion -- and V2X itself costs only $1.8 billion.

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Image source: Getty Images.

Introducing V2X

I admit, the first time this company caught my eye was on July 31, when the company's name (or rather, one of its component companies, Vertex) appeared at the very top of the list of the most valuable contracts awarded by the U.S. Department of Defense that day.

"Vertex Aerospace LLC, Madison, Mississippi, was awarded a maximum $4,322,844,989 value, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the contractor operated and maintained supply service contract for the T-6 [training jet] aircraft," read the announcement, before going on to explain that V2X beat out two other bidders to win the contract, and that the $4.3 billion will be doled out over the course of the next 10 years (ending on July 31, 2034).

Further digging revealed that this isn't the only gigantic contract on V2X's plate, however. In fact, just last year, my fellow Fool Eric Volkman spotlighted a similarly significant win by V2X, when the company landed a $3.7 billion, five-year contract to provide "readiness capabilities" to the U.S. Army, by supporting the operation of training devices, simulators, and simulations.

In fact, averaging out to $740 million per year, that contract is arguably even more significant than last week's $4.3 billion win, which will be worth "only" $430 million per year over its decade duration.

"A billion here, a billion there -- pretty soon you're talking real money"

So... $4.3 billion here, and $3.7 billion there. It seems to me we're already talking about "real money" that V2X is earning off the Pentagon -- $8 billion total, won via just two contracts, over the course of just two years.

But if V2X is rolling in so much Defense Department dough, one wonders, why is it that the stock looks so seemingly cheap at a market capitalization of just $1.8 billion?

Is V2X stock cheap?

Well, let's start with sales. V2X took in $4.3 billion in revenue last year, up 9% from 2023 -- a respectable growth rate for a defense contractor, if perhaps a bit on the slow side for a small-cap defense contractor. What's more, V2X earned less than $35 million in profit on those sales.

That's a net profit margin of less than 1%. Which is to say, pretty slim.

If we apply this margin, then, to the extra $430 million a year V2X will be bringing in from its latest multibillion-dollar contract win, therefore, it's likely to boost V2X's annual earnings by less than $10 million. That's not a lot of money with which to move the needle on a $1.8 billion market capitalization.

Is V2X stock a buy?

Now, the good news is that V2X seems to be getting more profitable as its merger matures, and cost synergies between the two merged businesses, Vectrus and Vertex, work their way through the company. Over the last six months, for example, V2X earned $30.5 million, which is to say nearly as much as it earned in all of 2024. As profitability improves, analysts polled by S&P Global Market Intelligence estimate V2X might earn as much as $73 million this year, and generate $135 million in positive free cash flow.

Assuming the analysts are right, this would value V2X stock at 24 times current-year earnings, but only about 13 times current year free cash flow. That doesn't sound like a lot, but with profits only growing 9% a year, and V2X paying no dividend, it's not necessarily cheap enough to tempt me to buy the stock right now.

The big question for investors is whether V2X can continue improving its profit margin, and perhaps accelerate its earnings growth into the double digits. Many analysts believe the company can accomplish this, forecasting that per-share profits, for example, might double over the next three years -- and that free cash flow might nearly double in two.

I don't know enough about the company right now to say how likely this is, but now that I'm alerted to V2X's existence -- and impressed by its last two massive contract wins -- I'm certainly interested enough to keep following the story, and learning if V2X can deliver on these lofty predictions.

And as soon as I know the answer to that... I'll let you know, too.

Should you invest $1,000 in V2X right now?

Before you buy stock in V2X, 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 V2X 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 $636,563!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,108,033!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,047% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 181% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of August 4, 2025

Rich Smith 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.

Key Points

• AMD turned in mixed results, hurt by the Chinese export ban.

• With the ban expected to be lifted, this should be a temporary headwind.

• The company still has a huge opportunity in the inference market.

• 10 stocks we like better than Advanced Micro Devices ›

After being a laggard to start the year, Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) has rallied strongly during the summer. However, its shares took a dip following the announcement of its second-quarter results, after earnings came in a bit light.

The stock now finds itself up about 30% year to date after the pullback, as of this writing.

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Let's take a closer look to see if this decline is an opportunity to buy the stock.

Image source: Getty Images.

Data center in focus

AMD's data center segment has been its biggest growth driver in recent quarters, but revenue rose just 14% in Q2 to $3.2 billion. The slowdown in growth largely stemmed from the company no longer being allowed to sell its MI308 graphics processing units (GPUs) in China during the quarter. This led to a year-over-year revenue decline in its artificial intelligence (AI) business. However, sales are expected to resume in the future once the U.S. government approves its export license to China.

Outside of China, the company said it saw solid progress with its MI300 and MI325 GPUs, with increasing adoption. Seven out of 10 of the top model builders and AI companies now use its GPUs. Meanwhile, AMD claimed with the launch of its MI355 GPU that it matches or exceeds the performance of Nvidia's (NASDAQ: NVDA) top B200 chip for both training and inference.

At the same time, AMD's central processing units (CPUs) continue to gain market share in the server space. Growth is also being driven by increasing demand for cloud and on-premises compute, and the investments being made in AI infrastructure.

AMD's client and gaming segment, which provides CPUs for computers and GPUs for gaming devices, saw revenue surge 69% in the quarter to $3.6 billion. The company saw strong CPU share gains during the quarter and was helped by strong sell-through for AMD-powered commercial notebooks. Meanwhile, it saw strong demand for its newly launched gaming GPUs, as well as an uptick in semi-custom chip revenue.

AMD's embedded segment, meanwhile, saw a 4% decline in revenue to $824 million. It expects sequential growth in the second half as demand improves across several key markets.

Overall, the company's revenue climbed by 32% to $7.69 billion. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS), however, plunged 30% to $0.48. Analysts were looking for EPS of $0.49 on sales of $7.42 billion, as compiled by LSEG. Note that its EPS was hurt by its $800 million inventory write-down related to Chinese export controls.

Looking ahead, AMD projected Q3 revenue to grow by 28% to $8.7 billion, plus or minus $300 million. The guidance does not include any potential revenue from MI308 shipments to China.

Should investors buy the dip?

The export restrictions on China impacted AMD's Q2 results, although given the comments from President Donald Trump, this headwind should go away in the future. With shipments to China not currently in Q3 guidance, there could be some upside if the company is allowed to begin shipping its GPUs to the country before quarter end.

Excluding China, which the company previously said would have a negative $700 million impact in Q2, its data center revenue would have grown about 39% by my calculations. That's solid, although a slowdown from Q1.

Still, AMD should have a big opportunity in the future as inference -- where it has a solid niche -- becomes a bigger part of the market. The company is also on track to introduce its M400 chip, which it is looking to compete with Nvidia's next-generation Rubin chip.

Turning to valuation, AMD stock trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of 27.5 times 2026 analyst estimates. That's up significantly from where the stock traded at earlier this year, but if the company can become a meaningful player in the AI inference market, the stock could have a lot of upside in front of it.

As such, I think investors can dip a toe into the stock on its pullback.

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

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

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

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $636,563!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,108,033!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,047% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 181% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of August 4, 2025

Geoffrey Seiler has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Key Points

• Exchange-traded funds can be appealing options for income investors as they offer great diversification.

• The Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF and iShares Core High Dividend ETF both pay a dividend yield of over 3%.

• Both funds have dozens of stocks in their portfolios and their expense ratios are less than 0.1%.

• 10 stocks we like better than Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF ›

Generating recurring income for your portfolio can be a great way to grow its value and provide you with a way to generate cash flow without having to sell stocks. You can then use that money to pay bills, pad your savings, or even have it reinvested back into stocks.

What's important when investing in income-generating investments is picking ones that you can safely rely on. Chasing high yields can lead to trouble later on if those payouts don't prove to be sustainable. In some cases, it's just bad luck where a dividend stock you've invested in ran into challenges that it couldn't get itself out of, and it had no choice but to reduce its payout.

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Some risk is unavoidable when you're investing in individual stocks. And that's why, if your goal is to generate safe recurring income, you may want to consider investing in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that can provide you with an easy way to diversify. Two ETFs that can be ideal options in this case are the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (NYSEMKT: SCHD) and iShares Core High Dividend ETF (NYSEMKT: HDV). They both pay above-average dividends and can be excellent investments to hang onto for years.

Image source: Getty Images.

Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF

The Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF promises investors a straightforward investing strategy that prioritizes things such as low costs, fundamental strength, and quality and safety when it comes to dividends. Those are essential items to consider when investing in dividend stocks. And at 0.06%, its expense ratio does indeed make it a low-cost fund, which makes it suitable for long-term investing; its fees won't put a big dent in your overall returns, even over several years.

With 103 holdings as of Aug. 5, the fund isn't overly diversified, and there are much larger ETFs. But what makes the Schwab fund ideal for income investors is its focus on quality stocks with good fundamentals. It isn't simply investing in a wide range of dividend stocks; the ETF carefully selects safe stocks, with many of them being high-yielding investments that pay more than the S&P 500 average of 1.2%.

Big-name stocks such as Merck, Verizon Communications, and PepsiCo are among its top holdings. By focusing on such high-yielding stocks, the ETF is able to average an overall yield of around 3.9%. That's exceptional, given the diversification you're getting with the fund.

In the past 12 months, the ETF is down over 1% but when including its dividend, its total return is positive and above 2%. And in five years, its total returns are north of 70%.

iShares Core High Dividend ETF

Another solid ETF to add to your portfolio can be the iShares Core High Dividend ETF. This fund is even more selective in its portfolio as it focuses on 75 of the best high-dividend stocks.

There will be some overlap with the Schwab fund, but one key difference is that in the Schwab ETF, the largest holding accounted for approximately 4.3% of the portfolio's weight, whereas in the iShares Core High Dividend fund, there are multiple stocks above that threshold. The top three stocks in this ETF -- ExxonMobil (8.5%), Johnson & Johnson (6.7%), and AbbVie (5.8%) -- account for a combined 21%.

So you get a bit less diversification with the fund and more of a position in its largest holdings, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's just important to be aware of the stocks you have the most exposure to, to ensure that you're comfortable with them.

The fund's expense ratio is 0.08%, which is comparable to the other fund on this list. Its yield of 3.5% is a bit smaller, but it's still a high payout overall. The bulk of its portfolio is allocated to sectors that have a great deal of long-term stability: healthcare, energy, and consumer staples. Collectively, those sectors represent 64% of all the stocks within the ETF.

This year, as investors have been seeking out safe stocks, the iShares ETF has rallied 6% in value, and with its dividend, the total return is nearly 8%.

Should you invest $1,000 in Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF right now?

Before you buy stock in Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity 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 Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity 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 $636,563!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,108,033!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,047% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 181% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of August 4, 2025

David Jagielski has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends AbbVie and Merck. The Motley Fool recommends Johnson & Johnson and Verizon Communications. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Key Points

• Palantir's valuation has risen much higher than Nvidia's.

• ASML and AMD just have to continue being themselves to be larger than Palantir if a correction comes.

• 10 stocks we like better than Palantir Technologies ›

Palantir (NASDAQ: PLTR) is one of the hottest stocks in the market. It has delivered explosive returns for shareholders this year and is rapidly growing from a business standpoint, too.

There's nothing to dislike about Palantir's business from an investing standpoint (you may have qualms about what its software is used for in government, but that's beside the point), but there is a lot to dislike about the stock.

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Alongside Palantir's rapid rise has been a massive expansion in valuation, and it has become the most expensive stock on the market. I think that this is unsustainable and could lead to some lackluster stock performance over the next few years.

Although Palantir has a market cap of over $425 billion, I think ASML (NASDAQ: ASML) and AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) could surpass it over the next three years, despite each being worth around $275 billion.

Image source: Getty Images.

The case against Palantir

As mentioned above, Palantir's business is phenomenal. Its software is becoming the building blocks for deploying AI in business and government, and it has the growth to show for it. In the second quarter, Palantir's revenue rose 48% year over year to more than $1 billion. That blew away expectations and showcases the unstoppable demand Palantir is experiencing.

The problem is that the growth rate is already baked into the stock.

One of the premier AI stocks over the past few years has been Nvidia. Nvidia posted growth rates of more than 200% during its run, yet never traded for more than 46 times sales or 51 times forward earnings. Palantir has far exceeded those levels despite much slower growth.

PLTR PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts

Let's break down what growth it would take for Palantir to trade at a reasonable level. If Palantir can sustain a 50% revenue growth rate over the next three years, it would increase its revenue from today's $3.44 billion total to $11.6 billion. If we give Palantir a 30% profit margin (its profit margin was 22% over the past 12 months), that would indicate Palantir would generate $3.5 billion in profits.

At today's $425 billion market cap, that would still price Palantir's stock at 122 times three-year forward earnings. This showcases how expensive Palantir's stock is, and indicates it could be ripe for a pullback.

As a result, I think it's possible that ASML and AMD could be larger than Palantir in three years by doing nothing different.

ASML and AMD don't have to do anything special to be worth more than Palantir

Both ASML and AMD are reasonably priced for their current business, and each is expected to put up respectable growth figures over the next few years, although still far slower than Palantir.

Using Nvidia's max valuation of about 50 times forward earnings as the high point for Palantir's earnings in three years ($3.5 billion), that would indicate the stock should be worth around $175 billion. As mentioned before, Palantir trades at around a $425 billion market cap right now, so this would indicate a substantial drop.

Both ASML and AMD are valued at around $275 billion, so Palantir's potential drop would cause these two to be worth more.

Palantir is an incredibly overvalued stock, but it has a strong and devoted following, and it may continue to defy traditional valuation metrics, similar to Tesla. Investors are more than capable of holding onto Palantir stock at elevated prices, so the correction to its price may never come, despite all factors indicating that it should.

I still think AMD and ASML will (and should) be valued higher than Palantir's stock, but investors will have to wait and find out if that turns out to be true.

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

Before you buy stock in Palantir Technologies, consider this:

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

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $636,563!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,108,033!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,047% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 181% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of August 4, 2025

Keithen Drury has positions in ASML, Nvidia, and Tesla. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends ASML, Advanced Micro Devices, Nvidia, Palantir Technologies, and Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Key Points

• The Vanguard Value ETF has a much lower valuation than the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF.

• The Value ETF is a wealth compounder first and a passive income tool second.

• The ETF can be an effective tool for investors who don’t want to amplify their exposure to mega-cap growth stocks.

• 10 stocks we like better than Vanguard Index Funds - Vanguard Value ETF ›

The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) has historically been a fantastic way to compound wealth -- generating annualized total returns of 9% to 10%. The proliferation of low-cost index funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) has made it easier than ever to invest in the S&P 500 without racking up high fees.

The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO) -- one of the largest S&P 500 index funds by net assets -- has an expense ratio of just 0.03% -- or 3 cents for every $100 invested. When I first began investing, it was normal to see flat fees per stock trade of around $5 to $10. So fees and expense ratios are no longer a major drag on returns for investors who regularly pour their savings into equities.

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One issue with buying the S&P 500 is that it doesn't have a high yield. Today's top S&P 500 companies are growth stocks that have yields well below 1% or don't pay dividends at all -- a stark contrast to the days when the most valuable companies were oil and gas giants, industrials, or consumer staples behemoths with high yields.

As a result, the yield of the S&P 500 has fallen to just 1.2%. What's more, the valuation of the S&P 500 has gotten more expensive as stock prices have outpaced earnings growth.

Here's why investors looking to use passive income as a key way to achieve their financial goals may want to consider buying the Vanguard Value ETF (NYSEMKT: VTV) over the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF.

Image source: Getty Images.

A lower yield at a better valuation

The Vanguard Value ETF sports an expense ratio of 0.04%, so it has just one cent more in annual fees per $100 invested than the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF. It also offers a full percentage point higher in 30-day SEC yield at 2.2% compared to 1.2% for the S&P 500 ETF.

In addition to having a higher yield, the Value ETF sports a 19.6 price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio (as of June 30) and holds 335 stocks compared to a 27.2 P/E ratio (also as of June 30) and 505 holdings for the S&P 500 ETF.

The Value ETF's higher yield and significantly lower valuation may appeal to investors looking to avoid paying a premium for the top stocks that are leading the S&P 500.

A different cast of characters

The Value ETF's higher yield and lower valuation result from its composition.

Data source: Vanguard.

Aside from Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase, there are no other companies that overlap the top 10 holdings in the Value ETF and S&P 500 ETF.

You'll also notice that the S&P 500 is much more top-heavy -- meaning that just a handful of names can move the index. Whereas the Value ETF is more balanced and not as dominated by just 10 companies.

Far more than a passive income vehicle

Over the last decade, the Value ETF has gone up 111.5% and has a total return of 173.5%. Meaning that capital gains have made up a much higher percentage of the total return than dividend income. The investment thesis centers around the companies it holds rather than being all about yield, a stark contrast to ETFs that prioritize passive income over upside potential.

The JP Morgan Nasdaq Equity Premium ETF (NASDAQ: JEPQ) sells covered call options on the Nasdaq-100 as a way to generate income -- which provides a sizable stream of monthly payouts while capping the upside potential of the Nasdaq-100 moving higher. The fund sports an 11.2% 30-day SEC yield (as of June 30), so it could be a great way for investors who are primarily focused on passive income. However, the Value ETF offers a way to get a higher yield than the S&P 500 without having any cap on upside potential.

The Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (NYSEMKT: SCHD) doesn't use call options to achieve its high 3.9% yield. But many of its holdings are arguably lesser quality companies than what you'll find in the Value ETF.

The Vanguard Value ETF remains a top fund to buy now

The Value ETF is a good buy if you already own many of the top growth stocks in the S&P 500 and are looking to diversify your portfolio into different companies and boost your passive income.

It's also a good option for investors who want to participate in the broader market and collect more passive income than the S&P 500.

While there are plenty of ETFs that offer higher yields than the Value ETF, I would argue that the quality of companies in the ETF makes it one of the best ways to consistently collect more passive income than the index.

Should you invest $1,000 in Vanguard Index Funds - Vanguard Value ETF right now?

Before you buy stock in Vanguard Index Funds - Vanguard Value ETF, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Vanguard Index Funds - Vanguard Value 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 $636,563!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,108,033!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,047% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 181% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of August 4, 2025

Bank of America is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Daniel Foelber has positions in Nvidia and Procter & Gamble. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends AbbVie, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Berkshire Hathaway, Home Depot, JPMorgan Chase, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, Oracle, Tesla, Vanguard Index Funds-Vanguard Value ETF, Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, and Walmart. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom and Johnson & Johnson and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Key Points

• The leisure cruise industry is faring far better than it seems like it should be, and an unlikely Carnival is leading the way.

• Although Iovance Biotherapeutics shares have never been lower, the company's never been more promising than it is right now.

• Shopify is capitalizing on a shift in the e-commerce business with all the right technological tools.

• 10 stocks we like better than Carnival Corp. ›

Experienced investors understand that being in the stock market requires a long-term, multiyear mindset. For truly patient people though, the reward is well worth the wait; you'd be hard-pressed to find better returns on your money than the market's average annual gain of about 10%.

Still, sometimes you get the itch for a bit more gain reaped in a little less time. And every now and then the market obliges with the right prospects.

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

If you can stomach their above-average risk, there are stocks that have the potential to quintuple your money within the next five years. Even half of that, of course, would still be worth your while.

Carnival Corp.

Anyone who knows anything about Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL) knows the leisure cruise company took on a ton of debt during and because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It needed the cash just to survive. As of May the $40 billion company was sitting on nearly $26 billion worth of long-term obligations costing it roughly $1.4 billion worth of interest payments per year. That's a pretty big bite out of its annualized top line of almost $16 billion, paring its yearly net income back to something in the ballpark of $3 billion. That's why shares are still down on the order of 30% from their price right before the pandemic took hold, and less than half of their 2018 peak price -- investors are simply worried its balance sheet is untenable.

The thing is, this profitable company is managing to continue paying down its debt while also still growing its business. At its early 2023 peak, for perspective, Carnival's long-term debt stood at nearly $33 billion.

While there's obviously plenty of more work to be done before the company is back to its pre-pandemic condition, the demand it requires to do so is most definitely in place. Last quarter's record-breaking revenue of $6.3 billion was turned into record-breaking operating income of over $900 million, extending an ongoing streak of growth for both measures. Look for more of the same, too. See, also as of the end of last quarter the company's total customer deposits toward future trips reached a record-breaking $8.5 billion.

What gives? As it turns out, consumers are still seeking out affordable luxury experiences even if money is tight. The Cruise Lines International Association believes the industry will serve 37.7 million passengers this year, breaking last year's record of 34.6 million en route to 41.9 million in 2028. Carnival is well positioned to capture at least its fair share of this growth.

Just don't tarry if you're interested. More and more investors are seeing this dynamic, given how shares are well up from their 2022 low and still climbing.

Iovance Biotherapeutics

There's a good chance you've never heard of Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ: IOVA). Its billion-dollar market cap just doesn't turn many heads, and for those who do find it, the unprofitable biopharma outfit with only one expensive therapy in its portfolio seems like anything but a sure thing.

If there was ever a one-trick pony to take a shot on though, this one may be it.

It's called Amtagvi. Only approved early last year, this drug is the first Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved cellular therapy (tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, specifically) to treat certain kinds of melanoma. The underlying science, however, is promising on far more fronts. Amtagvi -- generically called lifileucel -- is also being tested in a dozen other clinical trials, while similarly made treatments are in the midst of eight more testing regimens. And some of these trials are in their latter stages, like the use of lifileucel as a treatment for certain sorts of non-responsive lung cancer.

Image source: Getty Images.

There is a challenge. That is, Amtagvi is complicated to administer, and expensive. Each patient's one-time treatment is custom-made in a lab for their particular tumor at a cost of around $500,000 apiece. Some insurers are balking, particularly given that it's still a relatively new medicine, and not a more proven "front line" therapy that's also often much cheaper. Anyone who's been watching this company for a while also knows this stock's performed poorly since its 2010 initial public offering (IPO), and even since its 2020 rally when Amtagvi's approval first became imminent.

The fact is, however, Iovance Biotherapeutics' future has never been brighter than it is right now, yet the stock's never been cheaper. The company's also never been closer to profitability than it is at this time. Analysts are expecting bottom-line progress that puts it on a trajectory for a swing to profitability sometime around or even before 2030, when research from Global Data suggests sales of Amtagvi could exceed $1 billion en route to as much as $2 billion per year. This prospect alone is enough to turn up the heat on Iovance stock in the meantime.

Shopify

Finally, add Shopify (NASDAQ: SHOP) to your list of stocks that could turn $1,000 into $5,000 by 2030. The analyst community expects its top line to grow to the tune of 20% per year for the next several years, pumping up its profits at an even faster rate.

It's possible you've used the company's technology without even realizing it. In contrast with Amazon's business model, Shopify helps brands and merchants build their own online stores. This allows for far more customization of the e-commerce experience, ultimately building a stronger -- and more direct -- relationship with consumers as they become customers. Although the company no longer discloses the figure, estimates of the number of online stores put the figure somewhere around 5 million.

The company does, however, still disclose how much business its platform is facilitating. Last year, Shopify's e-commerce technology handled $292.3 billion worth of business on behalf of its customers, generating $8.9 billion worth of revenue for itself. Those numbers were up 24% and 26% (respectively) year over year, extending growth trends that are expected to persist for a long while more.

The key to this growth is the way e-commerce is evolving in the wake of Amazon's heavy-handed dominance of the business.

In its early days Amazon.com was the premier platform for connecting with consumers. As time has marched on, however, Amazon is decreasingly a partner with its sellers, and increasingly a competitor to them. Not only does the e-commerce giant now sell its own merchandise, but it offers third-party sellers the option of paying the company to more prominently feature their goods at the site. Smaller sellers without much of a marketing budget often just can't compete. The issue of fake product reviews also remains a nuisance. All of this dynamic ultimately helps Shopify, of course, by prompting sellers to look for sales platforms where they have more cost-effective control.

Then there's the more philosophical aspect of e-commerce's ongoing evolution. As the industry changes it's increasingly moving toward greater authenticity and more personal connections with consumers. This of course favors Shopify's customizable offerings, and is one of the reasons IMARC Group believes the world's direct-to-consumer market that Shopify serves will grow at an average annualized pace of more than 17% through 2033. Shopify is well positioned to win more than its fair share of this growth.

Should you invest $1,000 in Carnival Corp. right now?

Before you buy stock in Carnival Corp., 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 Carnival Corp. 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 $636,563!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,108,033!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,047% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 181% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of August 4, 2025

James Brumley has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Iovance Biotherapeutics, and Shopify. The Motley Fool recommends Carnival Corp. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Key Points

• Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is catching up to Nvidia in the coveted market for artificial intelligence (AI) data center chips.

• AMD plans to launch a powerful new lineup of GPUs in 2026 called the MI400 series, which could obliterate the competition.

• Wall Street anticipates significant earnings growth for AMD next year, making its stock look very attractive at the current price.

• 10 stocks we like better than Advanced Micro Devices ›

Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) is one of the world's largest suppliers of semiconductors. Its chips can be found in popular consumer products like Sony's PlayStation 5, Microsoft's Xbox, and even the infotainment systems inside Tesla's electric vehicles.

However, AMD's biggest opportunity right now is in the data center. The company is planning to launch a new lineup of graphics processing units (GPUs) for AI development in 2026, which could blow the competition -- including Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) -- out of the water.

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 »

AMD stock is up 34% in 2025 already, but it's still below its all-time high just north of $200, which was set last year. Should investors scoop it up while it's still trading at a discount? Read on to find out.

Image source: Advanced Micro Devices.

AMD is catching up to Nvidia in the data center space

AMD launched its flagship MI300X data center GPU at the end of 2023, more than a year after Nvidia's industry-leading H100 GPU hit the market. Despite being behind, AMD still managed to attract some of Nvidia's largest customers, including Microsoft, Oracle, and Meta Platforms.

While Nvidia continues to leap ahead of the competition with new GPU architectures like Blackwell and Blackwell Ultra, AMD is quickly closing the gap. It just started shipping its MI350 series GPUs, which are based on a new architecture the company calls Compute DNA (CDNA) 4. These new chips offer 35 times more performance than CDNA 3 versions like the original MI300X, placing them on par with Nvidia's Blackwell lineup.

In fact, the latest MI355 offers comparable performance to Nvidia's Blackwell GB200 GPU, and it delivers up to 40% more tokens (words, symbols, and punctuation) in AI inference workloads for the same cost. In other words, it's much cheaper to run over the long term without sacrificing any processing power, which is why it's attracting hyperscalers and even leading AI start-ups like OpenAI.

But customers' attention is already turning to 2026, when AMD plans to release its MI400 series. These new chips will be combined with specialized software and hardware systems to create a fully integrated AI data center rack called Helios, which will supercharge their performance. AMD CEO Lisa Su believes these MI400-based Helios systems will be the most powerful in the world when they launch, offering a staggering 10 times more performance over the MI350 series.

Simply put, 2026 could be the year that AMD overtakes Nvidia in the AI data center space, at least in terms of technological capability.

AMD's AI data center revenue hit a speed bump in Q2

AMD generated a record $7.7 billion in total revenue during the second quarter of 2025, which was a 32% increase from the year-ago period. The data center segment was responsible for $3.2 billion of that revenue on its own, but it only mustered 14% growth, which was somewhat disappointing given the competitive, high-stakes nature of the GPU market.

Export restrictions were recently imposed by the U.S. government, and they wiped out AMD's AI GPU sales to China, which was the main reason for the underperformance in its data center segment. However, the company says it has applied for licenses to resume sales, and they are currently under review by the Trump administration.

But there was great news in other areas of AMD's business, like its client segment, where revenue soared 67% year over year to $2.5 billion. This is where the company accounts for sales of its Ryzen AI chips for personal computers, which come with a built-in GPU, central processing unit (CPU), and neural processing unit (NPU). They are installed in a growing number of computers from leading brands like Dell, HP, Acer, and Asus.

AMD's gaming business also roared back to life in Q2, with revenue surging by 73% to $1.1 billion. Revenue declined in this segment last year, and also during the first quarter of 2025, but demand for some of the company's core products is starting to rebound. Console manufacturers are increasing their inventories in preparation for the holiday season, and AMD said demand for its new Radeon 9000 series desktop GPUs is exceeding supply.

Should you buy AMD stock while it's under $200?

Despite the temporary regulatory headwind in AMD's data center business, Lisa Su is as optimistic as ever about its potential. She believes the company's AI revenue will scale into the tens of billions of dollars per year over the long term, driven by the MI400 GPU, which is already experiencing strong customer interest even though it won't hit the market until next year.

On that note, is AMD stock a buy while it's still below its record high? The company generated $3.45 in non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings per share (EPS) over the last four quarters, placing its stock at a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 46.8. That means it's notably cheaper than Nvidia stock, which is sitting at a P/E ratio of 55.7.

Moreover, Wall Street's consensus estimate (provided by Yahoo! Finance) suggests AMD could deliver $5.97 in EPS during 2026, placing its stock at a forward P/E ratio of just 27.1. That leaves room for significant upside, because the stock would have to soar by 73% over the next 18 months just to maintain its current P/E ratio of 46.8.

It's possible AMD stock will perform even better if the MI400 series blows the competition out of the water next year, like Su expects, so it could be a great addition to any diversified portfolio right now.

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

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

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

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $636,563!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,108,033!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,047% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 181% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of August 4, 2025

Anthony Di Pizio has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, HP, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, Oracle, and Tesla. 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.

James Lovell, a member of humanity's first trip to the moon and commander of NASA's ill-fated Apollo 13 mission, has died at the age of 97.

Lovell's death on Thursday was announced by the space agency.

"NASA sends its condolences to the family of Capt. Jim Lovell, whose life and work inspired millions of people across the decades," said acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy in a statement on Friday. "Jim's character and steadfast courage helped our nation reach the moon and turned a potential tragedy into a success from which we learned an enormous amount. We mourn his passing even as we celebrate his achievements."

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The Ford Motor Company is adjusting its electric vehicle strategy. The automaker will prioritize smaller and more affordable EVs ahead of the replacement for the F-150 Lightning fullsize pickup truck and e-Transit van. The Lightning replacement, codenamed T3, should now appear later in 2027, with the van a year behind.

Here in 2025, EV adoption isn't exactly going the way everyone thought—or rather hoped—it would. The hype surrounding EVs worked fast, and the glinting dollar signs in people's eyes as they saw Tesla's share price soar higher and higher convinced even people who don't care about decarbonization that going all-in on EVs was the way to go.

But it takes longer to develop a new vehicle than it takes to excite an investor. And it takes longer even than that to build out the charging infrastructure necessary to transform EV motoring from something for early adopters and the eco-conscious into a viable alternative for a largely incurious and change-averse general public. Which is a long-winded way of saying the industry got out over its skis.

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President Donald Trump said Friday that he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin next Friday in Alaska to discuss ending the war in Ukraine, a potential major milestone after expressing weeks of frustration that more was not being done to quell the fighting.

Speaking to reporters at the White House after announcing a framework aimed at ending decades of conflict elsewhere in the world — between Armenia and Azerbaijan — Trump refused to say exactly when or where he would meet with Putin, but that he planned to announce a location soon. Later on social media, he announced what he called “the highly anticipated meeting” would happen Aug. 15 in Alaska. He said more details would follow. The Kremlin has not yet confirmed the details.

He suggested earlier Friday that his meeting with the Russian leader could come before any sit-down discussion involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“We’re going to have a meeting with Russia, start off with Russia. And we’ll announce a location. I think the location will be a very popular one,” Trump said.

He added: “It would have been sooner, but I guess there’s security arrangements that unfortunately people have to make. Otherwise I’d do it much quicker. He would, too. He’d like to meet as soon as possible. I agree with it. But we’ll be announcing that very shortly.”

If it happens, the meeting would be the first U.S.-Russia summit since 2021, when former President Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva. It could mean a breakthrough in Trump’s effort to end the war, although there’s no guarantee it would stop the fighting since Moscow and Kyiv remain far apart on their conditions for peace.

Still, Trump said, “President Putin, I believe, wants to see peace, and Zelenskyy wants to see peace.” He said that, “In all fairness to President Zelenskyy, he’s getting everything he needs to, assuming we get something done.”

Trump also said that a peace deal would likely mean “there will be some swapping of territories” between Ukraine and Russia but didn’t provide further details.

Trump said of territory generally “we’re looking to get some back and some swapping. It’s complicated.”

“Nothing easy,” the president said. “But we’re gonna get some back. We’re gonna get some switched. There’ll be some swapping of territories, to the betterment of both.”

Analysts, including some close to the Kremlin, have suggested that Russia could offer to give up territory it controls outside of the four regions it claims to have annexed.

Pressed on if this was the last chance to make a major peace deal, Trump said, “I don’t like using the term last chance,” and said that, “When those guns start going off, it’s awfully tough to get ’em to stop.”

Exasperated that Putin did not heed his calls to stop bombing Ukrainian cities, Trump almost two weeks ago moved up his ultimatum to impose additional sanctions on Russia and introduce secondary tariffs targeting countries that buy Russian oil if the Kremlin did not move toward a settlement. The deadline was Friday.

Prior to his announcing the meeting with Putin, Trump’s efforts to pressure Russia into stopping the fighting have so far delivered no progress. The Kremlin’s bigger army is slowly advancing deeper into Ukraine at great cost in troops and armor while it relentlessly bombards Ukrainian cities. Russia and Ukraine are far apart on their terms for peace.

Ukrainian troops say they are ready to keep fighting

Ukrainian forces are locked in intense battles along the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line that snakes from northeast to southeast Ukraine. The Pokrovsk area of the eastern Donetsk region is taking the brunt of punishment as Russia seeks to break out into the neighboring Dnipropetrovsk region. Ukraine has significant manpower shortages.

Intense fighting is also taking place in Ukraine’s northern Sumy border region, where Ukrainian forces are engaging Russian soldiers to prevent reinforcements being sent from there to Donetsk.

In the Pokrovsk area of Donetsk, a commander said he believes Moscow isn’t interested in peace.

“It is impossible to negotiate with them. The only option is to defeat them,” Buda, a commander of a drone unit in the Spartan Brigade, told The Associated Press. He used only his call sign, in keeping with the rules of the Ukrainian military.

“I would like them to agree and for all this to stop, but Russia will not agree to that. It does not want to negotiate. So the only option is to defeat them,” he said.

In the southern Zaporizhzhia region, a howitzer commander using the call sign Warsaw, said troops are determined to thwart Russia’s invasion.

“We are on our land, we have no way out,” he said. “So we stand our ground, we have no choice.”

Putin makes a flurry of phone calls

The Kremlin said Friday that Putin had a phone call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, during which the Russian leader informed Xi about the results of his meeting earlier this week with Trump envoy Steve Witkoff. Kremlin officials said Xi “expressed support for the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis on a long-term basis.”

Putin is due to visit China next month. China, along with North Korea and Iran, have provided military support for Russia’s war effort, the U.S. says.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on X that he also had a call with Putin to speak about the latest Ukraine developments. Trump signed an executive order Wednesday to place an additional 25% tariff on India for its purchases of Russian oil, which the American president says is helping to finance Russia’s war.

Putin’s calls followed his phone conversations with the leaders of South Africa, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Belarus, the Kremlin said.

The calls suggested to at least one analyst that Putin perhaps wanted to brief Russia’s most important allies about a potential settlement that could be reached at a summit with Trump.

“It means that some sort of real peace agreement has been reached for the first time,” said Sergei Markov, a pro-Kremlin Moscow-based analyst.

Analysts say Putin is aiming to outlast the West

Trump’s Friday comments came after he said he would meet with Putin even if the Russian leader will not meet with Zelenskyy. That stoked fears in Europe that Ukraine could be sidelined in efforts to stop the continent’s biggest conflict since World War II.

Putin said in a previous statement that he hoped to meet with Trump as early as next week, possibly in the United Arab Emirates.

The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank, said in an assessment Thursday that “Putin remains uninterested in ending his war and is attempting to extract bilateral concessions from the United States without meaningfully engaging in a peace process.”

“Putin continues to believe that time is on Russia’s side and that Russia can outlast Ukraine and the West,” it said.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

No product launch excites me more than the release of a new Tamagotchi. So when it comes time to review one, I like to first give myself a little while to just live with the device — to feel that initial delight and let it die down before I try to look at it critically. That way, I can more fairly assess whether we've actually got a toy that's worth the price tag and will hold a person's attention once the novelty wears off. 

But Tamagotchi Paradise arrived a few days ago, and while a proper review will be coming down the line, there's one thing we need to address right off the bat: This thing's fucking huge. 

It is slightly larger overall than the previous reigning beast of the Tamagotchi family, the Tamagotchi Pix (but a hair thinner). Tamagotchi Paradise is so big, it makes me want to resurrect out-of-fashion internet terms to describe it: absolute unit; "oh lawd, he comin'"; etc., etc. Leading up to the device's release, there were a lot of questions about how big it really is, so for anyone who hasn't yet had a chance to get their hands on one, here you go, I'm going to do my best to illustrate it for you.

Here's how Tamagotchi Paradise compares in size to:

Now, don't get me wrong, Tamagotchi Paradise's comically large build isn't necessarily a bad thing. Actually, I'm kind of into it. It's certainly harder to juggle this device with anything else I might be holding, like my phone or a drink, but it does have a nice heft to it and it feels pretty good in the hand. And thanks to its sheer bulkiness, I'm probably less likely to misplace it around the house, as I've been known to do with smaller models that easily slip between couch cushions. 

Will I be running two of these at the same time? Probably not, beyond the brief moments when I want to use the Connection features. My bag only has so much room. But is Tamagotchi Paradise so cumbersome that I won't be bringing one everywhere with me for the foreseeable future? I think we all know the answer to that. 

If you’ve held on to an aging Windows laptop for too long, it’s now a great time to upgrade. With all the hype around AI PCs, computer makers are rushing to release new designs featuring efficient new chips from Intel and AMD. And thanks to Microsoft’s Copilot+ initiative, which launched last year, we’re finally seeing decent notebooks powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips, which are leading to better battery life and lighter designs.

Whether you need a premium ultraportable, a powerful gaming rig or a versatile mobile workstation, our current list of the best Windows laptops highlights our favorites that have been rigorously tested by our team. You may even find a Windows laptop that suits you better than an Apple MacBook if you’re looking to make the switch. For those on a budget, check out our list of the best cheap Windows laptops to find great options that won't break the bank.

Best Windows laptops for 2025

What to look for in a Windows laptop

Performance

How much power do you actually need? That’s the main question you need to ask yourself when choosing a Windows laptop (or any computing device, to be honest). It’s easy to overspend and get far more computer than you actually need, or skimp too much and find yourself with an under-powered processor and too little memory. We’ve broken down our recommendations into a variety of product categories below, but generally you’re looking to get a laptop with at least 16GB of RAM and a modern Intel Core Ultra or AMD Ryzen processor. If you’re a gamer, you’ll also want to make sure you get a decent graphics card. (That’s all explained in our guide for best gaming notebooks.)

What are AI PCs, Copilot+ and Arm-based laptops?

Any computer that includes an NPU (neural processing unit) is an “AI PC,” since that chip can offload some tasks from the CPU and GPU. And since every chipmaker has rushed to join the AI bandwagon, most systems released today count as AI PCs. The exceptions are some higher-powered workstation and gaming laptops, which may have NPU-free chips, or extremely cheap notebooks running low-end chips.

To make it easier to find premium AI PCs, Microsoft unveiled its Copilot+ program last year. It calls for notebooks with NPUs that support at least 40 TOPS of AI processing power, 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. The first batch of Copilot+ systems included the new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop.

To make things even more confusing, Copilot+ systems include PCs powered by Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon Arm-based CPUs, which can run modern Windows apps but may have trouble with older software and drivers.

Display and webcams

Regardless of whether a notebook has a touchscreen or a more traditional panel, we look for bright displays (300 nits or more) that are easy to use outdoors or in sunny rooms, with accurate colors and wide viewing angles. Screens with high refresh rates are great for competitive gamers (or anyone who wants smoother document scrolling), while those with wider color gamuts are important for content creation and video editing. And even if you don’t plan on spending a ton of time on video calls, every laptop needs a decent webcam — 1080p or higher is preferred.

Ports and connectivity

Even with advancements in cellular modems and Wi-Fi, dedicated ports for transferring data or connecting peripherals can make or break a laptop. Ideally, all but the thinnest and lightest systems come with three USB-C ports, while things like built-in SD card readers can be extremely handy when trying to import media from a camera. And if a notebook is saddled with a slow or outdated Wi-Fi modem (we’re looking for Wi-Fi 6 or later), that’s basically an immediate disqualification.

Battery life

It doesn’t matter how powerful a laptop is if it conks out when you need it the most. Typically we look for runtimes of at least ten hours on a charge, but when it comes to good battery life, longer is always better. That said, on gaming machines with thirsty graphics cards, you may have to settle for a bit less. And on bigger machines, it’s also important to consider if the system can charge via USB-C or if it needs a larger, proprietary power brick.

Windows laptop FAQs

What's the difference between a Windows laptop and a Chromebook?

The main difference between a Windows laptop and a Chromebook lies in their operating systems. Windows laptops run on Microsoft’s Windows OS, whereas Chromebooks use Google’s Chrome OS.

Aside from using different operating systems, performance is one of the major differences between a Windows laptop and a Chromebook. Windows laptops can be equipped with powerful processors and discrete graphics, making them suitable for demanding tasks like gaming or video editing. Chromebooks, on the other hand, are generally optimized for speed and simplicity, focusing on lighter tasks like word processing and web browsing.

In terms of software, Windows laptops support a range of desktop programs, whereas Chromebooks primarily use web apps or Android apps from the Google Play Store. Because of their differences, Chromebooks tend to be more affordable since they are primarily designed for basic, everyday tasks. Windows laptops can range in price from budget to premium, with the latter suitable for gaming, professionals or creatives. 

What's the difference between macOS and Windows?

When it comes to macOS and Windows, they’re basically two different worlds in the realm of computers, each with its own personality. MacOS is sleek, minimal and feels pretty intuitive, especially if you like things that just “work” out of the box. Apple designs macOS to work in tandem with its hardware, so if you have an iOS device like an iPhone or an iPad, the whole ecosystem syncs up seamlessly. 

Windows is more like the jack-of-all-trades. It's known for being super flexible and customizable. Whether you want to tweak how things look or run a wide variety of software, Windows gives you that freedom. It's also more widely used in business settings, mainly because it's been around longer and is compatible with tons of different programs and hardware.

Recent updates

August 2025: Updated our top picks to include the Dell 14 Premium.

March 2025: Updated one of our top picks and added new information about AI PCs.

September 2024: Added an FAQ section.

July 2024: We updated our top picks to include the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition.

• Warning: Major spoilers ahead for the movie "Weapons."
• The movie's ending is disturbing and ultra-violent.
• "Weapons" is now playing in theaters.

In Zach Cregger's latest horror movie "Weapons," the writer-director delivers another twisted tale that's as jaw-droppingly bloody as his 2022 sleeper hit "Barbarian."

The film takes place in a sleepy Pennsylvania town where, one night, 17 children all suddenly rise from their beds at 2:17 am, go out their front doors, and run away into the night. No one has seen them since.

With the town on edge, elementary school teacher Justine (Julia Garner) realizes something all the kids who vanished have in common: they were all in her class. Only one child, Alex (Cary Christopher), didn't disappear.

Archer (Josh Brolin), one parent whose child has vanished, demands answers and believes Justine has them. When he's not following her around town and painting "Witch" on her car, he's studying Ring doorbell camera footage from the houses of the kids who ran off in an attempt to triangulate a path they might have taken.

In one scene, as Archer confronts Justine at a gas station, Andrew (Benedict Wong), the principal at Justine's school, appears out of nowhere covered in blood and sprints toward her, attacking her. Archer is able to fight him off of Justine, and she runs away. Andrew later gets hit by a car while chasing Justine. Archer realizes the way Andrew ran was exactly like the way the children ran when he saw them in the doorbell footage.

Archer tells Justine his theory that all the kids were running to the same area of town, and shows her their path on a map. Justine realizes that their route leads to Alex's house.

Now things get really bizarre

"Weapons" is told in small vignettes focused on the main characters: Justine, Archer, Alex, Andrew, and Paul (Alden Ehrenreich), a cop who has a fling with Justine.

Through these, we learn of Alex's aunt Gladys (Amy Madigan), an elderly woman who wears a red wig, colorful clothes, and too much red lipstick. She comes to Alex's house with a small tree that looks like it has dead branches. It's revealed near the end of the movie that it's some kind of voodoo tree: when Gladys puts some of her blood on a branch and wraps somebody's belongings or hair around it, that person goes under her spell once she breaks the branch and rings a small bell.

After putting Alex's parents under her spell, she tells Alex to send her the belongings of all 17 of his classmates. She is the one responsible for the kids' disappearance. Gladys, who tells Alex she's ill, believes the children will make her better. They have all been in Alex's basement ever since.

Justine and Archer come to Alex's house hoping to find answers. They are welcomed by Paul, who also stumbled upon what Gladys was doing from a tip from a drug addict. Both Paul and the addict are now under her spell.

The bloody ending all goes down at Alex's house

Once Justine and Archer are in the house, Paul and the addict attack them. Upstairs, Alex's parents chase after him. Justine kills Paul with his own gun and then shoots the addict. Archer discovers the children in the basement, but then is put under Gladys' spell. She makes him go after Justine.

During all the chaos, Alex takes Gladys' voodoo tree, locks himself in the bathroom, and uses a branch to make up his own spell. He has the 17 kids in the basement go after Gladys.

Gladys realizes what's happening and runs out of the house; the 17 kids burst through the front door and windows after her. Gladys runs through neighboring houses and yards, and the kids ram through doors and windows chasing her. They finally catch up to her in a front yard and tear her apart, limb from limb. Gladys screams in anguish until her jaw is ripped from her face.

With Gladys dead, the spell Archer was under is broken. He goes to find his son among the kids surrounding Gladys' remains.

Justine goes upstairs to find Alex hugging his parents. Though they are no longer under Gladys' spell, they are not themselves. Archer's son is also in a glazed-over state.

The movie ends with a child's voiceover explaining that though the 17 kids are back with their families, most of them haven't returned to their normal selves.

• The Trade Desk's shares plummeted nearly 40% and analysts blamed a growing rivalry with Amazon.
• Amazon has expanded its ad business with a Roku deal and live sports on Prime Video.
• Analysts expressed concern over The Trade Desk's prospects amid a competitive TV ad landscape.

The Trade Desk's shares cratered nearly 40% on Friday, its worst decline on record, and analysts say competition from Amazon may be to blame.

The Trade Desk, which helps companies target people across the web with ads, beat expectations in its earnings — but that wasn't enough to quell Wall Street's concerns. In commentary, analysts also cited the departure of the adtech company's CFO, but largely focused on the Amazon factor in explaining the stock drop.

The Trade Desk CEO Jeff Green responded to analysts' questions, saying his company would continue to serve an important role because it's a neutral seller of advertising, unlike Amazon, which also sells its own ads on Prime Video. He also argued The Trade Desk only competes with a small part of Amazon and suggested Amazon might one day allow companies like his own to sell ads on Prime Video.

"Amazon is not a competitor, and Google really isn't much of a competitor anymore either," Green said on the company's earnings call. "We're trying to buy the open internet, leveraging technology that values media objectively. We don't have any media. And we don't grade our own homework."

Analysts were skeptical of Green's optimistic stance, pointing to an increasingly competitive connected TV ad landscape. Amazon, Netflix, and Disney+ have all entered the market in recent years. Amazon's ad business, in particular, is on pace to grow fast with an upcoming deal to let advertisers buy ads on Roku devices through Amazon, and the NBA adding to Amazon's live sports programming on Prime Video.

Meanwhile, The Trade Desk is limited in its growth potential because it depends on its ability to access the ad inventory of other players like Netflix.

LightShed analysts had the harshest words, writing that "Green is either in a serious state of denial, or he is living in an alternate reality."

"The Amazon shadow over this stock is now front and center ... and harder to deny," MoffettNathanson's Michael Nathanson said, cutting his rating to sell from neutral.

Others were more sanguine. Evercore maintained an outperform rating, citing The Trade Desk's growing partnerships to sell Netflix, Roku, and Spotify advertising, and its expansion in retail media and international markets.

Amazon has become an ad titan

The bull case for Amazon's ad business has been gaining steam since the company barrelled into the TV ad market a year ago by making ads the default on Prime Video.

Gripes about the ad rates notwithstanding, advertisers like Amazon's massive scale, ability to target people based on their shopping preferences, and growing live sports offering on Prime Video.

Ad industry insiders recently told Business Insider that Amazon's entrance into TV advertising had made it harder for all but the top TV players, like Disney and Comcast's NBCUniversal, to compete.

A Morgan Stanley report in July said Amazon's Prime Video was on pace to dominate the advertising market on US-based smart TVs, knocking YouTube off its perch as the market leader in 2027. Later that month, Amazon reported its second-quarter earnings, showing its overall ads business growing 22% to $15.7 billion. That beat analyst expectations.

Amazon has also been striking deals with rival streamers like HBO Max and Apple TV+ to make itself the default destination for TV watching.

All this could be OK for rivals if the pie were ever-increasing. But the bigger worry is that CTV advertising won't be the growth engine it once was — leading media companies to fight for pieces of a smaller pie.

Nathanson pointed to slowing growth in recent quarters and intensifying competition from Amazon and Google.

He said he saw "a broader deceleration" in the US CTV ad market that should concern Trade Desk bulls.

• I've visited 30 tropical islands around the world, but five stand out from the rest.
• Bora Bora and Curaçao's beautiful beaches make them the perfect places for a relaxing vacation.
• Barbados has many activities, like touring a rum distillery and visiting Rihanna's childhood home.

As a travel writer specializing in tropical destinations, I've been lucky enough to have visited 30 islands around the world. Because of my extensive travels, people often ask me which islands I'd return to.

Each island I've been to has been idyllic and unique, but a few lingered in my salt-spray-tinged memories long after my tan faded.

Here are the five islands I always recommend to other travelers.

I couldn't get enough of Bora Bora's beauty and great cuisine.

This South Pacific haven screams "paradise." Although getting there was a long journey — I had to take a 16-hour flight from New York to Tahiti, followed by an hourlong flight to Bora Bora — the island was absolutely otherworldly.

Formed by an extinct volcano, Bora Bora is surrounded by a calm turquoise lagoon that's basically a huge wading pool. I remember marveling at rows of romantic bungalows with thatched roofs and glass floors overlooking the water.

The local cuisine combines French and Polynesian cultures. I enjoyed meals like poisson cru, a ceviche-like dish made with coconut milk, tomatoes, and cucumber. It was truly heaven on earth.

I loved the luxurious vibes in St. Barts.

St. Barts is full of fancy spots, with a yacht-filled harbor, designer shops along the pristine streets of Gustavia (the island's capital), and luxurious hotels.

I found a lively day-drinking scene at Nikki Beach, a destination that's attracted celebrity guests like Mariah Carey, and restaurants with menus and wine lists to rival any Parisian hot spot.

However, you don't have to be a multimillionaire to soak in the island's beguiling swankiness. During my visit, I spent an afternoon on a catamaran ride and did some window shopping.

Visitors can also find elevated cuisine at various price points — I had tuna poke and chilled rosé from Ti' Corail on a laid-back beach, and it was one of my favorite meals.

I was blown away by the many local beaches, such as the sandy Gouverneur Beach and the secluded Colombier Beach, a spot accessible only after a steep (but worth it) hike.

If you're a Francophile who adores fabulous food and an upscale feel, I highly recommend St. Barts.

St. Martin is the perfect destination for shopping and plane enthusiasts.

St. Martin is split into two distinct French and Dutch sides. During my visit, I thought the French side had a quiet, relaxed vibe.

I enjoyed lying on the beach at Orient Bay (referred to as the Saint-Tropez of the Caribbean) and shopping at the luxury boutiques in Marigot, the capital of the French collectivity on St. Martin.

I found the Dutch side much livelier as I clubbed at the Soggy Dollar Bar in Simpson Bay and sipped rum cocktails while watching the sunset at The Rusty Parrot.

The island is also the ultimate destination for aviation geeks, as the Princess Juliana International Airport is steps away from Maho Beach. I spent hours watching planes fly directly above me.

Visitors can also island hop to nearby St. Barts and Anguilla, which are easily accessible by ferry or plane.

I was blown away by Curaçao's beautiful beaches and scenery.

Curaçao is known for having more than 35 beaches, so every sun-worshipper can find their perfect spot.

During my visit, it seemed that some beaches, like Playa Piskadó, were mainly frequented by locals, so they were uncrowded and relaxed. Others, such as Grote Knip and Playa Kalki, in quiet coves, were also very tranquil.

During my stay, I sipped my way through the gin and tonic menu at Zest Restaurant & Beach Cafe on the lively Jan Thiel Beach and, of course, tried the island's namesake bright blue liqueur in a cocktail.

Handelskade, a row of brightly colored Dutch colonial buildings lining the water in Willemstad (the island's capital), was the perfect photo op.

As an added bonus, Curaçao is part of the ABC islands (the other two being Aruba and Bonaire), which are unlikely to be severely affected by hurricanes.

I enjoyed Barbados' lively events and rum distillery.

The Caribbean is synonymous with rum, but in my opinion, no island offers as authentic an experience as this destination.

Based in Barbados, the iconic rum producer Mount Gay has been selling the spirit since 1703. Touring and tasting at the company's distillery is a must-do for any fan of the sugarcane-based spirit.

Visitors can also make their way through Barbados' flavorful cocktails (and cuisine) at lively bars and restaurants. I loved the potent rum punch and local fish cakes at Oasis Beach Bar, as well as the seared jerk tuna and butter beans at Calma Beach Club.

The island was perpetually vibrant — it seemed like a party, festival, or concert was always happening. The snorkeling in Carlisle Bay was also amazing, as I saw parrotfish, hawksbill turtles, and seahorses.

Plus, Rihanna fans can snap a selfie in front of the Barbadian native's colorful childhood home, where her name adorns the doormat.

This story was originally published on August 9, 2024, and most recently updated on August 8, 2025.

• Maxwell Lee is leaving Jain Global after less than a year as portfolio manager.
• Lee was a rising star at Bank of America, promoted to director at age 27.
• Commodities strategies have struggled in 2025, per PivotalPath data.

A rising star commodities hire at Jain Global is out after less than a year.

Former Bank of America commodities trader Maxwell Lee joined Bobby Jain's monster hedge fund launch last November as a portfolio manager, but he recently left the firm, according to people familiar with the matter.

Lee was a rising star at Bank of America, where he was promoted to director at age 27, the youngest director in the bank's commodities unit according to his Forbes 30 Under 30 bio from 2023. He held the title head of commodity and FX systematic strategy trading and was later promoted to managing director before leaving for Jain Global.

Lee did not respond to requests for comment. A Jain Global spokesperson declined to comment.

Jain Global launched to great fanfare in 2024 and had an up-and-down first year.

Commodities, run by former Macquarie exec David Hochberg, is one of Jain's seven primary business units, accounting for about 13% of its capital allocation in July, Business Insider previously reported.

The hedge fund is up 2.4% in 2025 after gaining 0.2% in July. It's not clear how Jain's commodities unit has performed.

According to industry data provider PivotalPath, commodities has been among the worst-performing hedge fund strategies globally in 2025 and over the last 12 months.

• This post originally appeared in Business Insider's Tech Memo newsletter.
• Sign up for the weekly BI Tech Memo newsletter here.

Is it just me, or does this summer feel super busy? New AI models are launching all the time. M&A dealmaking is unusually active. Funding rounds are getting done. How's your summer going? Let me know (if you have time!).

Agenda

• Apple is also getting busy, trying to catch up in AI. Which startups could it buy?

• This is one of the fastest ways to get a job offer from Meta.

• How to use a fascinating new version of ChatGPT.

Central story unit

Who's on Apple's AI shopping list?

If you're a Big Tech CEO, what's the worst way to spend a summer day? Attending a White House event as President Donald Trump rants about Jeffrey Epstein coverage while you stand there, waiting. That's gotta be up there.

I'm guessing Tim Cook had better things to do than go through this ordeal on Wednesday. He was there to stop Trump from crushing the iPhone with bigly tariffs. Much higher on his to-do list: getting Apple back in the AI game. An AI update to Siri is delayed, and the company has lost AI talent to rivals.

What happens when a huge, cash-rich company has its back against the wall? One common outcome is a flashy, strategic acquisition. These deals make a statement, and (if they work) they can catapult a company into new sectors or technologies by quickly amassing talent and intellectual property, along with new users and customers.

On a recent call with analysts, Cook dropped a major hint that this is what Apple might do in AI. "We're very open to M&A that accelerates our road map. We are not stuck on a certain size company," he said.

Apple's biggest acquisition was $3 billion, so I took Cook's "size" comment as a particularly strong hint that the company could go large here.

So, which AI startups could be on Apple's shopping list? Ben Bergman, Rebecca Torrence, and I spent this week asking bankers, venture capitalists, and analysts which M&A targets might make sense. Check out the full list below, but one that came up several times was Thinking Machines Lab, a startup run by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati.

"It would be game-changing for Apple to partner with an independent, leading AI lab like Thinking Machines," said Sarah Guo, a leading venture capitalist who's backed many startups in the field, including Murati's company. "They have massive threats and opportunities across the Apple experience."

Radically improving Siri experiences with Apple's mobile data, using memory and personalization, is a huge opportunity, even if Siri has failed to keep up with the breakneck pace of AI capabilities to date, Guo noted, while stressing that Apple should partner with Thinking Machines, rather than buy the startup.

You know what they say in Silicon Valley, though. Partnerships can be a prelude to a deal.

READ MORE

News++

Other BI tech stories that caught my eye:

• Exclusive: Sorry, Microsoft employees: Your WFH days are numbered.
• The only CEO who seems to care about the internet's future.
• Exclusive: xAI has hired 14 Meta employees this year as the AI talent war rages on
• OpenAI launched GPT-5 on Thursday. Here's what it can do.
• How to get a job at Meta: Post about getting an offer from OpenAI.
• Why Silicon Valley went nuts after Lina Khan's victory lap over Figma's IPO.

Eval time

My take on who's up and down, including updates on tech jobs and compensation.

UP: You know who really knows how to take a victory lap? Palantir CEO Alex Karp. Shares of the defense tech company surged this week after it smashed through Wall Street expectations. The stock is up almost 600% in the past year.

DOWN: Airbnb slumped this week after issuing guidance that disappointed Wall Street. This stock has lost at least 15% since Brian Chesky took the company public in late 2020. So much for "Founder Mode."

TECH JOB UPDATE:

In BCG's 2025 "AI at Work" survey, employees and managers showed a significant divide in how generative AI is integrated into their work. While 85% of leaders and 78% of managers use GenAI regularly, only 51% of frontline employees reported similar use.

Concerns about job displacement due to AI remain high. However, this also differs depending on seniority. Forty-three percent of managers and leaders in BCG's survey expect their jobs will certainly or probably disappear in the next decade. For frontline workers, that number was notably lower at 36%, BCG found.

From the group chat

Other Big Tech stories I found on the interwebs:

• OpenAI just gave out juicy bonuses to fend off recruiters (The Information)
• OpenAI can probably afford it. The startup could be worth $500 billion in the secondary market (Bloomberg)
• AI labs use everyone else's data without permission, but they get grumpy when it happens to them (Wired)
• Uber under-reported sexual assault and misconduct complaints (The New York Times)
• Elon's big, new pay day (NYT)

AI playground

This is the space where I try an AI tool, or sometimes feature reader experiences. What should I do, or use, next week? Let me know.

This week, I chatted to BI reporter Katherine Li, who's been trying out Study Mode, a new version of ChatGPT for education.

Q: What were the main differences between Study Mode and the main ChatGPT tool?

Study Mode felt more proactive and conversational. When I asked if I should buy a car and briefly described my life, it introduced the concept of "being car poor" without me asking. Regular ChatGPT doesn't do that. Study Mode also gave concise bullet points instead of big paragraphs, which made things clearer and left less room for error. It also asked how I felt about the topic, not just practical things like budget or commute. For example, it asked if I'd feel anxious without a car or if I'd miss my family. When I mentioned my Uber and grocery spending, it offered a "budgeting exercise," like a thought experiment. Traditional ChatGPT would just crunch numbers if you gave it a figure.

Q: What tasks is Study Mode good for, versus the main ChatGPT?

Regular ChatGPT is fine for tasks like summarizing transcripts or proofreading a cover letter. But Study Mode shines when you want a complicated subject explained clearly, with relevant new concepts, pros and cons, and exploratory thinking. It doesn't give you a final product; it helps you create your own.

Q: Is Study Mode better for student learning?

Definitely. It explains concepts deeply and visually. Some charts reminded me of my old IB economics textbook. It balances ideal advice (like saving 20% of income) with realistic data (most Americans save 8% or less). It also has features like quizzes I haven't tried yet, which could be great for learning Spanish or exam prep. But it's no substitute for a human teacher's emotional connection.

Q: Any tips for Tech Memo readers using Study Mode?

Be open-ended. Don't just ask for facts — ask why something works, what alternatives exist, or how designs function. Like a good classroom, it's about curiosity.

User feedback

I love hearing from readers. What do you want to see more of, or less of?

Specifically, though: This week, I want to hear back about how work has interrupted your summer chillin' plans. The most gruesome stories = the best. Let me know: [email protected]

Sign up for BI's Tech Memo newsletter here. Reach out to me via email at [email protected].

When Charity Kreher's husband was offered a job in Puerto Rico, the couple mulled over the opportunity before coming to the same conclusion: "Why not?"

Kreher had never stepped foot on the island before she left Tulsa, Oklahoma, with her husband and two young children to start their new life in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in November 2024. But she was excited to take the leap.

"It was like, if we don't do it, would we be kicking ourselves for not getting out of our comfort zone?" Kreher, 34, told Business Insider.

So far, life on the island has been wonderful. The Krehers have become more active as a family thanks to Puerto Rico's temperate climate and scores of scenic beaches and trails, and they've quickly built a support system in their kind and welcoming community. Maybe their kids will even end up being bilingual.

"Some things are different, but you're not left wanting, like maybe some folks would imagine," Kreher said.

With its white sand beaches, lively culture, and relatively fast flight time from the East Coast, Americans often see Puerto Rico as an easy tropical getaway that doesn't require digging up a passport. Travelers are increasingly flocking to the island: Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport, in the capital municipality of San Juan, received 6.6 million passenger arrivals in 2024 — an 8% increase from the previous year, according to Discover Puerto Rico, which called the stat "record growth."

But Puerto Rico isn't satisfied with quick trips anymore. They want you to stay longer — like, forever — and are introducing favorable tax incentives and new infrastructure to make your everyday life feel like a vacation.

Room for a rebrand

Compared to the mainland states, Puerto Rico is fairly small. Its entire area — all 3,515 square miles — could fit inside Connecticut. Its estimated population, about 3.1 million people according to the 2023 US Census, is roughly comparable to the population of Iowa.

In 2022 and 2023 combined, 50,577 Americans moved to Puerto Rico. While that's not a particularly impressive statistic — the island only captured more American movers than one state, Wyoming, in 2023 — Puerto Rico has plans to better accommodate more long-term residents in the future.

An influx of Americans will require updated infrastructure to make them happy. Though cities on the northern part of the island, like Condado, Old San Juan, and Dorado, have a healthy number of Americans living in them and are generally better equipped with things like generators and cisterns, other parts of Puerto Rico are still lacking. In 2019, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) gave Puerto Rico a "D-" grade in infrastructure, citing issues like poor roadway conditions and inadequate energy infrastructure.

For Kreher, who lives with her family in a three-bedroom apartment in Condado, it's not a major problem. She chose their building not just for its location directly on the ocean, but because it has a backup generator, a non-negotiable for her setup as a remote worker who requires a reliable connection.

Still, the Krehers haven't been entirely immune to Puerto Rico's infrastructure issues.

"The last time we were at church, the power went out halfway through the sermon, and they didn't have a generator," Kreher said. But when these things happen, everyone takes it in stride: "You wouldn't believe how frequently the stoplights go out and how we all just know how to handle it," she added.

In 2019, Puerto Rico passed the Puerto Rico Energy Public Policy Act, which set a goal to reach 100% of the island's electricity needs with renewable energy by 2050. In December 2022, Congress approved $1 billion to upgrade the resilience of Puerto Rico's electric grid.

It's enough of an issue that Puerto Rico is trying to change the narrative and expand comfortable living to other parts of the island. Moncayo, a resort-style luxury development, is scheduled to open in 2027 on Puerto Rico's eastern shoreline.

Carter Redd, the developer and president of Moncayo, told Business Insider that the development was designed intentionally with a primary residential community — not vacationers — in mind. The amenities you'd expect to see at a tropical residence like golf, pickleball, and a wellness facility are all still there, but Moncayo is also enticing full-time residents with a farm, a PPK-12 international school, and a medical center.

"There are more and more people who are looking to Puerto Rico not as a weekend getaway or as a second or third home, but as a primary home community and destination," Redd said.

Moncayo isn't the only luxury development coming to the island. Four Seasons Resort and Residences Puerto Rico is set to open in late 2025 just thirty minutes from Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport, and the Mandarin Oriental Esencia, a residential project on 2,000 acres of the island's southwestern coast, is scheduled to open in 2028.

Taxes that aren't taxing

For some, the cost of living is an important factor in leaving the US. Though Puerto Rico isn't necessarily any cheaper than the mainland, there are some incentives that can sweeten the deal for foreigners.

Michael McCready, a 56-year-old lawyer, moved from Chicago to San Juan in January. He pays more for rent in San Juan than he did in Chicago, but his take-home pay is a lot larger thanks to Act 60, a tax incentive put in place in 2020 to lure Americans and foreigners to Puerto Rico in hopes of boosting the economy.

Act 60 gives residents a 4% income tax rate, a 75% discount on property tax, and a 100% exemption from capital gains accrued while in Puerto Rico.

Carlos Fontan, the former director at the Office of Incentives for Businesses in Puerto Rico, said Act 60 is not dissimilar to the ways different states play with tax provisions to attract residents.

"We want people in Puerto Rico who can invest in different sectors of the island, create jobs, and create opportunities," Fontan said. "It's a win-win situation for our socioeconomic framework on the island."

Fontan and Humberto Mercader, former deputy secretary of the Puerto Rico Department of Economic Development and Commerce, believe Act 60 will help change misconceptions about Puerto Rico as a vacation-only destination. According to the Foundation for Puerto Rico's Economy, tourism only accounted for 2% of Puerto Rico's GDP in 2022, while manufacturing accounted for 43%.

"Puerto Rico has a very strong industrial base and an entrepreneurial ecosystem that is sometimes overlooked because of the tourism," Mercader told Business Insider. "But when you think about attracting long-term residents, you're talking about bringing people who will bring their businesses here."

For movers like McCready, Puerto Rico's lifestyle advantages are what sold him. The tax incentives were the cherry on top.

"I joke to my wife and say I would live at the North Pole for these taxes," he said. "But it just happens to be an absolutely amazing place to live. Even without the tax benefits, I would still be happy here."