Making Cents Sense

Whenever someone asks me where to start with dividend investing, one fund seems to appear in almost every conversation: SCHD. At this point, it has become the index fund equivalent of that dependable friend who always shows up on time, never borrows money, and somehow still manages to look good after years of doing the same thing. It isn't flashy. It isn't trying to become the next artificial intelligence darling or ride the latest market craze. Instead, it quietly focuses on owning profitable businesses that have a history of rewarding shareholders. The real question is whether that strategy still deserves a place in today's market, or if SCHD has become a victim of its own popularity. I've owned dividend investments for years, and one lesson I've learned is that investors often mistake excitement for performance. The companies making headlines every day aren't always the ones quietly building long-term wealth. Sometimes the businesses that spend the least amou...

There are certain stocks that investors treat like comfort food. They don't necessarily make your pulse race, but they make you feel like everything is going to be okay. Walmart has become one of those stocks for me to watch. Whenever markets get nervous, inflation spikes, consumer confidence wobbles, or headlines begin sounding like the opening chapter of a disaster novel, investors seem to sprint toward Walmart as if it's the financial equivalent of a reinforced concrete bunker. I completely understand why. At the same time, I can't help wondering whether everyone else understands why they're buying it—or whether they're simply buying it because everyone else is buying it. That's the uncomfortable question I keep asking myself whenever I look at Walmart today. The Company Doesn't Need to Prove Anything One thing I appreciate about Walmart is that it doesn't have to convince anyone it belongs. Plenty of companies spend years promising that someday they...

There are companies that participate in the economy, and then there's Amazon. At this point, I half expect Amazon to announce it's getting into weather. Not forecasting it—selling it. Prime members would get sunshine delivered two days early while everyone else waits in line behind a thunderstorm. I've followed Amazon for years, and what fascinates me most isn't that it's become enormous. Plenty of companies get big. What amazes me is that Amazon somehow keeps convincing investors that it still has room to grow like an ambitious startup. Most corporations hit a certain size and spend the rest of their existence defending what they've built. Amazon looks at its empire, shrugs, and asks, "What trillion-dollar industry haven't we disrupted yet?" That attitude is exactly why I continue to believe Amazon remains one of the most compelling long-term investments in the market. The funny thing is that many people still think of Amazon primarily as the p...

For years, owning Apple stock felt almost unfair. Every earnings report seemed to deliver another reason to believe the company had discovered a cheat code for capitalism. The iPhone kept selling. Services kept growing. Cash piled up faster than most countries could count it. Every time critics claimed Apple had reached its peak, the company politely reminded Wall Street that it had another few hundred billion dollars' worth of ideas left. Now the conversation has changed. The question isn't whether Apple is a great company. I think that debate ended years ago. The real question investors should be asking today is much more interesting: can iPhone growth still meaningfully drive Apple's stock higher, or has the world's most successful smartphone become too mature to move the needle the way it once did? That's a far more difficult question than simply asking whether people like iPhones. They obviously do. Walk into any airport, coffee shop, corporate office, college ...

There are very few companies that can spend tens of billions of dollars on artificial intelligence, unsettle investors for a quarter or two, and then casually remind everyone that they're still printing mountains of cash. Meta has become one of those rare businesses. Every earnings report seems to follow the same emotional cycle. Investors panic over soaring capital expenditures, analysts debate whether Mark Zuckerberg has finally gone too far, and then another quarter arrives showing advertising revenue climbing, margins remaining surprisingly healthy, and billions more flowing onto the balance sheet. I've learned not to underestimate businesses that dominate their core market while simultaneously investing heavily in the next one. Meta isn't simply running Facebook anymore. It's operating one of the largest digital advertising platforms on Earth while trying to become a leader in artificial intelligence, messaging, creator tools, wearables, and whatever comes after th...

I've always found it fascinating that one of the most technologically advanced companies in the restaurant industry also happens to sell pizza. Domino's isn't just competing with the restaurant down the street anymore. It's competing with grocery delivery, meal kits, food delivery apps, and practically every company that promises dinner will magically appear at your front door. Somewhere along the way, Domino's stopped being "the pizza place" and quietly became a logistics company that happens to cover everything in mozzarella. That's why I think so many investors underestimate this business. People hear "pizza" and immediately picture a mature company with limited growth potential. After all, there are only so many pizzas people can eat before someone starts questioning their life choices. But Domino's has spent years proving that the real product isn't dough and pepperoni. It's convenience. Convenience has become one of the most...