|
It's 'Round To It' Time ~
Tuesday, September 29, 2026
🐤 3 Dividend Stocks Investors May Be Missing in 2026
AI needs more of everything
| Unsubscribe |
AI is not just a software story.
It is an infrastructure story.
Data centers need chips, power, cooling, networking, electrical systems, nuclear energy, and real estate.
That is why we created a free StockEarnings briefing on 9 public stocks tied to the data-center boom.
The report shows which companies may be positioned near the biggest bottlenecks — and what investors should watch before the story gets more crowded.
No hype.
No penny stocks.
Just a clear framework for understanding the companies powering AI infrastructure.
Here is the free copy.
(**By clicking this link you agree to receive emails from StockEarnings and our affiliates. You can opt out at any time. Privacy Policy. **)
AMD Chips Away at NVIDIA's AI Throne
Submitted by Jeffrey Neal Johnson. Article Published: 9/22/2026.
Key Points
- AMD shares surpassed $620 and pushed the company's market valuation above $1 trillion, marking a significant multi-year turnaround for the chipmaker.
- Major commercial commitments, including an OpenAI deal for up to six gigawatts of compute and Oracle's order of 50,000 Instinct MI450 accelerators, demonstrate strong enterprise demand.
- AMD posted second-quarter revenue of $11.54 billion and data center revenue growth exceeding 100% year over year, while planning a roughly 10% price increase on select chips.
- Special Report: Why This Clean Energy Well Escaped the Solar and Wind Cuts.
When a chipmaker surpasses a $1 trillion valuation, investors naturally question whether the underlying rally can develop into a durable threat to incumbent leaders. Crossing this historic market-capitalization threshold places the company among the elite hardware designers. For institutional investors analyzing high-performance computing, the central question is whether this milestone signals long-term market-share gains or merely a temporary shift in sentiment.
When a business reaches a 13-figure valuation, the market is usually pricing in a permanent structural change. That dynamic is unfolding across the data center market today. Big tech buyers are no longer relying on a single silicon provider to build their infrastructure. By examining commercial contracts, pricing power and balance sheet strength, investors can see why this milestone represents an enduring shift in the computing landscape.
Crashing the Trillion-Dollar Party
The only 5 stocks that matter (Ad)
SpaceX's IPO reportedly minted 4,400 new millionaires, and OpenAI is said to be eyeing a 1 trillion dollar IPO as soon as this fall.
TradeSmith CEO Keith Kaplan says chasing the next hot IPO isn't necessary. His AI-driven system, built on a platform pioneered by Google, ranks every stock in the S&P 500 and narrows the list to just five names to hold each month.
Backtests show the Top Five Stocks outperformed the S&P 500 by 4x in August alone.
See the five stocks the AI system is tracking nowAdvanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) shares recently reached record territory above $620, pushing the company's total valuation past $1 trillion. That move caps a remarkable multiyear turnaround. Five years ago, Advanced Micro Devices traded near $104, with a market value of roughly $127 billion. Today, the chipmaker stands alongside the world's most valuable hardware designers.
This re-rating reflects a basic economic principle: Enterprise customers prefer not to rely on a single supplier. If one company dominates high-performance computing, cloud providers face the risk of allocation bottlenecks or higher capital expenses. To protect operating margins, major hyperscalers have actively cultivated a second pillar for advanced accelerators.
The valuation milestone confirms that AMD's Instinct accelerators and EPYC server chips are no longer viewed as an experimental backup plan. Tier-one cloud providers are designing multiyear data center roadmaps around AMD's products. That shift raises the ceiling for the entire sector, showing that expanding cloud budgets can sustain two profitable market leaders at once.
Big Tech Hands AMD the Keys
The clearest evidence of this market-share gain comes from commercial commitments. OpenAI reached an agreement involving up to six gigawatts of AMD compute systems. For perspective, powering an AI cluster at that scale requires electricity comparable to the consumption of millions of homes, demonstrating strong customer confidence in the underlying architecture.
At the same time, Oracle Corporation (NYSE: ORCL) ordered 50,000 next-generation Instinct MI450 accelerators for Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. These customer wins help explain why management expects to potentially double data center segment revenue by 2027.
These commitments are already appearing in current financial results. In its second-quarter earnings report, AMD delivered revenue of $11.54 billion, up 50.1% year over year (YOY) and above consensus estimates of $11.31 billion. Diluted earnings per share reached $1.66, topping consensus expectations by 4 cents. Data center revenue grew more than 100% YOY, demonstrating that enterprise buyers are committing significant capital to the company's hardware ecosystem.
Turning Chip Shortages Into Cash Flow
Top-line expansion creates lasting shareholder value only if revenue converts into operating earnings. AMD plans to implement an approximately 10% price increase on select high-performance computing chips. Raising prices during an industry buildout signals strong customer demand and genuine pricing power.
This price adjustment should help offset higher manufacturing costs from semiconductor foundries. Because the increase flows directly through to AMD's income statement, it could expand operating margins and support EBITDA. Over time, stronger cash generation could help compress elevated valuation multiples, including a forward price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) near 96 and a trailing P/E of about 159.
Underneath those numbers lies a conservative balance sheet. AMD carries a debt-to-equity ratio of just 0.03, along with a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.91. This liquidity allows the business to fund complex chip tape-outs and packaging designs without taking on expensive debt. It also provides room to return capital through an active $6 billion share repurchase program.
Pairing EPYC Server Brains With Instinct Brawn
A common assumption on Wall Street is that the AI buildout belongs solely to graphics processors. Real-world data center workloads tell a different story. When Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) launched its Muse AI agent, the deployment highlighted the need for balanced computing clusters. Modern agent-driven software models rely heavily on host CPUs to direct traffic, manage inputs and feed data into GPUs.
This dual demand plays directly to AMD's hardware portfolio. While NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) is pushing proprietary processors into the server space, AMD already has an established footprint in high-performance server CPUs through its EPYC family. By pairing EPYC processors with Instinct accelerators, the chipmaker offers a complete enterprise computing stack.
Software barriers are also declining. Industry adoption of open-source frameworks such as PyTorch and OpenAI Triton means developers are less tied to proprietary programming standards such as CUDA. Enterprise software tools such as AMD Inference Microservices make it easier for engineers to move workloads between hardware vendors, reducing friction for new chip adoption.
Calculating Value in a $1 Trillion Market
Every high-performing business comes with trade-offs that cautious investors should weigh. AMD's current price-to-earnings ratio is elevated, while a beta of 2.48 suggests that the shares will fluctuate more than the broader market. Recent regulatory disclosures also show that insiders, including CEO Lisa Su, have trimmed portions of their personal holdings during the recent advance.
Wall Street price targets reflect this divide. The average 12-month analyst target is around $565, suggesting a modest pullback from recent peaks. Bullish analysts see room for further expansion, with target prices reaching as high as $1,250 as multigigawatt orders ramp up over the coming quarters.
Rather than viewing the semiconductor market as a winner-take-all environment, the data suggests that rising enterprise demand is expanding the total addressable market for both market leaders. Investors may want to watch how upcoming quarterly reports reflect MI450 shipment timelines and data center operating margins. Cautious investors seeking semiconductor exposure may prefer to wait for temporary pullbacks toward the 50-day moving average near $494 before establishing or expanding positions.
Blue-Chip Stocks Are Looking Anything But Boring With Dividends and Big 2026 Gains
Submitted by Chris Markoch. Article Published: 9/14/2026.
Key Points
- Coca-Cola has outperformed the broader market in 2026 while extending its dividend-growth streak to 64 consecutive years.
- Chevron has benefited from strong energy markets, record production, and the integration of Hess while continuing to raise its dividend.
- Merck has rallied sharply as Keytruda remains a powerful earnings driver and its oncology pipeline offers potential growth beyond the drug’s approaching patent cliff.
- Special Report: Why This Clean Energy Well Escaped the Solar and Wind Cuts.
Investors who believe that blue-chip stocks mean boring haven’t been paying close attention in 2026. This year, several stocks that have often lagged the S&P 500 are having stellar years, rewarding buy-and-hold investors.
To be fair, growth-hungry investors often overlook blue-chip stocks for practical reasons. These are older companies at a mature stage in their business cycles, with solid balance sheets that provide predictable gains for investors. However, predictability can also limit the kind of upside growth investors typically chase.
Only 120 days until a major catalyst hits critical mineral markets (Ad)
On January 1, 2027, new Pentagon rules tighten sourcing restrictions on critical minerals tied to foreign adversaries. China controls more than 90% of global rare earth processing capacity, while the U.S. imports 100% of its titanium sponge.
SAGA Metals has drilled more than 23,000 meters at its Radar project, with all 92 drill holes intersecting mineralization. A maiden mineral resource estimate is expected in Q4 2026, alongside ongoing drilling at the Wolverine heavy rare earth project.
See what's next for SAGA Metals before the deadline hitsWhy has the script flipped for several blue-chip stocks in 2026? Some of it is sector rotation, as investors look for gains outside of the artificial intelligence (AI) trade. Energy and biotechnology have been among the sectors attracting investor attention. But even some consumer-facing stocks are performing well.
Stock-price returns are only one part of the story. Each of these stocks offers an attractive and growing dividend. Together, those dividends and share-price gains can support long-term compounding.
Coca-Cola Stock Delivers Strong Returns and a Growing Dividend
The Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) is a blue-chip stock that’s been made iconic by legendary investor Warren Buffett, who is famously associated with the company and has often spoken about drinking Coca-Cola. Buffett appears to like the product almost as much as he likes the company. Coca-Cola has been a staple in the portfolio of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.B) for decades.
The attributes that attracted Buffett to KO remain in place today. The company has a strong brand; it delivers consistent growth and a growing dividend.
Over the last 10 years, KO has delivered a total return of around 177%, including reinvested dividends. In 2026, the stock has also outperformed the S&P 500, with shares up about 25% through early September before dividends.
Coca-Cola is a Dividend King, having increased its dividend for 64 consecutive years. Its dividend currently yields 2.41%, with a payout of $2.12 per share annually.
Coca-Cola has a more diversified portfolio in 2026 than it did when Berkshire first bought the stock. That’s one reason the company raised its full-year outlook despite lingering concerns about the health of lower-income consumers and the impact of GLP-1 drugs on the company’s core soft-drink business.
Chevron Stock Rides Energy Tailwinds and a Growing Dividend
Many energy stocks, particularly those in the oil and gas industry, have been outperforming the S&P 500 in 2026. One of the best examples is Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX). The integrated oil company has tailwinds from its existing portfolio, which is heavily concentrated in the Permian Basin, along with the benefits of integrating its completed merger with Hess.
The company also has an established presence in Venezuela, where it recently expanded its position and outlined plans for additional investment and production growth.
Critics may argue that Chevron, like many oil stocks, is enjoying a cyclical tailwind fueled by geopolitical events. But that’s only part of the story. The current infrastructure buildout in the United States will span the rest of this decade and likely beyond. And while renewables may be the future, oil is still very much part of the present.
Like Coca-Cola, Chevron is part of the Berkshire Hathaway portfolio. One reason is the company’s growing dividend and commitment to share buybacks. The company is a Dividend Aristocrat, having increased its dividend for 38 consecutive years. In addition to an attractive 3.34% yield, Chevron pays $7.12 per share annually.
CVX is up nearly 40% in 2026, more than three times the S&P 500’s gain through early September. Including dividends, the stock’s total return is even stronger.
Merck Stock Benefits From Oncology Growth and a Strong Pipeline
Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK) rounds out this group of blue-chip stocks that have outperformed the S&P 500 in 2026. The company is best known for its blockbuster oncology drug, Keytruda.
It’s hard to minimize the impact of Keytruda on Merck’s financials. The drug, which is approved for several types of cancer across 44 indications and 19 tumor types, accounts for over 55% of the company’s pharmaceutical sales.
That's why investors are eyeing the company’s strategy for managing the patent cliff for Keytruda, which begins for some indications in 2028. One reason for optimism is the company’s deep pipeline.
That includes the drug it’s developing with Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA), which delivered positive top-line data in a Phase 3 study in August. This will help position Merck in the emerging field of personalized medicine, particularly in oncology.
MRK is up over 40% in 2026, with dividends pushing its total return above that level to over 43%. The company’s dividend yields 2.35% and pays $3.40 per share annually. Merck has increased that dividend for 14 consecutive years.
This email message is a paid sponsorship from StockEarnings, a third-party advertiser of DividendStocks.com and MarketBeat.
If you have questions about your account, feel free to contact MarketBeat's U.S. based support team at contact@marketbeat.com.
If you no longer wish to receive email from DividendStocks.com, you can unsubscribe.
© 2006-2026 MarketBeat Media, LLC. All rights reserved.
345 N Reid Pl., Suite 620, Sioux Falls, S.D. 57103-7078. United States of America..