Archives 2025

After Netflix (NFLX) delivered first-quarter earnings that topped Wall Street’s expectations, several analysts lauded the company’s ability to thrive amid economic uncertainty. 

Bank of America analysts said the streaming giant has shown “sustainable growth drivers” that could make the stock a strong defensive choice for investors. On the company’s earnings call, co-CEO Greg Peters said Netflix “has been generally quite resilient” during tougher economic times.

Netflix attributed its better-than-expected results in part to higher subscription and ad revenues, and Peters said the company expects to double its advertising revenue this year, as the company rolls out its ad tech suite. Jefferies analysts said Netflix “remains a top pick as the ad tier scales, price hikes flow through, and expectations remain achievable.”

Ahead of Thursday’s earnings report, Netflix executives reportedly said their goal is to double the company’s $39 billion in revenue last year by 2030. However, co-CEO Ted Sarandos cautioned analysts not to take it as an official forecast. 

BofA and Jefferies maintained bullish ratings and price targets of $1,175 and $1,200, respectively. KeyBanc analysts kept a target of $1,000, and Needham reiterated $1,126. Those estimates imply as much as 23% upside from Thursday’s closing price. (U.S. markets are closed Friday in observance of Good Friday).

Pets are cherished members of many families, and in some cases, they go beyond companionship to play an essential role in daily life. However, pet ownership can quickly become expensive, with costs accumulating for the many necessities that ensure their well-being.

Fortunately, there are certain situations where pet-related expenses may earn you a tax deduction. Understanding when and how to take these deductions can make a significant difference in managing the financial responsibilities of pet ownership.

Tax Deductions for Pet-Related Expenses

The cost of owning a pet can be high, but pet owners may be eligible to claim tax deductions in certain situations. Here’s when you might be able to claim deductions:

Business Use: If your pet is a working animal that generates an income, you may be eligible to deduct their care as a business expense. This includes food, grooming, medical care, and pet insurance.

“If your pet is generating income, like going viral on social media, being featured in paid content, or some other kind of show/competition animal, its expenses, such as vet bills, food, and even outfits, could be considered business expenses. In that case, you may be able to deduct them just like any other business-related costs,” said Jose A. Cruz, CPA and founder of Cruz Tax Advisory.

Service Animal: A service animal is a dog specifically trained to assist individuals with disabilities, performing tasks that help navigate daily life. Examples include guiding the visually impaired, alerting individuals to sounds, retrieving items, and reminding someone to take their medication. Because service animals are considered medically necessary for the individual’s well-being, related expenses such as food and veterinary care are tax-deductible.

Pet Fostering: Fostering pets for an animal shelter, typically a non-profit organization, provides an opportunity to claim a charitable contribution tax deduction. Limits apply, but pet-related expenses can be considered charitable donations, making them tax-deductible.

“If you foster pets for a registered nonprofit, you can deduct costs like food, supplies, vet care, and even part of your utilities if you use your home for fostering. These deductions count as charitable contributions,” Cruz said.

When Pet-Related Expenses Are Non-Deductible

There are common scenarios where pet owners cannot claim tax deductions, even if their pet plays a significant role in their lives. For example, if the pet is simply a companion, routine veterinary bills, food, grooming, and supplies are considered personal expenses and are not tax-deductible.

“Many people mistakenly think pet expenses like food, grooming, and vet visits are tax-deductible, but they’re considered personal costs and don’t qualify,” Cruz stated.

There may also be confusion around emotional support animals (ESAs), which people often assume are the same as service animals.

“The IRS doesn’t recognize ESAs the same way as service animals. Even if a pet provides emotional support, that alone doesn’t make its expenses deductible unless it meets the IRS criteria for a service animal under medical deductions,” Cruz explained.

This is in line with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which acknowledges that emotional support pets offer comfort and companionship, often to those with anxiety or depression, but does not consider them a medical necessity in the same way as a service animal.

This is because, unlike service animals, ESAs are not trained to perform specific tasks related to a person’s medical condition and only provide general emotional comfort.

The Bottom Line

Tax deductions for pets are generally limited to situations where the pet plays a functional role in certain activities. In these cases, expenses related to the pet’s care and maintenance may qualify for deductions. Tax deductions are not available for expenses related to pets that are simply for companionship.

As always, consult with a tax professional to ensure you make accurate claims and follow IRS guidelines.

UnitedHealth Group’s (UNH) outlook cut Thursday has raised concerns about its insurance peers, with several set to report earnings in the coming weeks.

The company on Thursday reported first-quarter results that missed estimates, and cut its profit forecast for 2025, pointing to higher-than-expected medical costs for people enrolled in Medicare plans.

UnitedHealth expected claims in its Medicare Advantage business to rise at a similar rate to 2024, but CEO Andrew Witty said in Thursday’s earnings call that “indications suggest care activity increased at twice that rate,” according to a transcript from AlphaSense.

Jefferies analysts said Thursday that UnitedHealth’s “peers are in trouble” if the bellwether‘s issues are applicable to insurance rivals. However, the analysts said it’s also possible UnitedHealth’s “expectations were materially more aggressive than peers.”

UnitedHealth shares lost over a fifth of their value on Thursday, in their worst day in decades. Other health insurance stocks were dragged down with it, as Humana (HUM) sank more than 7%, Elevance Health (ELV) fell 2.4%, and CVS Health (CVS) slid 1.8%.

Elevance is set to report earnings next Tuesday. Humana is scheduled to release its results the following Wednesday, with CVS’s report due a day later.

The full article continues below these offers from our partners.

A Cash Reserve Is Appealing Right Now—So Be Sure to Earn a Solid Return

Given the stock market rollercoaster unleashed by President Trump’s announcement two weeks ago of across-the-globe tariffs, fortifying your cash reserves seems wise. But whether you’re holding savings in the bank or shifting funds from stocks into cash vehicles, it’s important to consider how much you can earn from different strategies.

For an attractive interest rate that involves virtually no risk, the options for safe cash investment come in three main flavors:

1. Bank and credit union products: Savings accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit (CDs)
2. Brokerage and robo-advisor products: Money market funds and cash management accounts
3. U.S. Treasury products: T-bills, notes, and bonds, in addition to I bonds

You can choose just one of these or mix and match products for different buckets of funds and timelines. In any case, you’ll want to understand what each product pays. Below, we lay out today’s top rates in every category, indicating the change from a week ago.

Today’s Best Rates on Cash – Apr. 18, 2025

Right now you can earn the highest rate with a high-yield savings account, with two options paying 5.00%. But those two leaders have some special requirements that might not suit your needs, with 4.60% being the top high-yield savings rate with “no strings attached”.

Savings and money market account rates can drop at any time, however. To ensure you earn today’s rates for months or even years into the future, consider a CD instead. The top rate there is also 4.60%, for terms from 6 to 10 months. Or you can lock in a slightly lower APY that will be guaranteed for longer.

Rates on brokerage money market funds and cash management accounts showed little change this week, while rates on Treasurys held mostly steady in the shorter durations but declined somewhat among longer bonds.

Bank and Credit Union Rates

The rates below are the top nationally available APYs from federally insured banks and credit unions, based on our daily rate research of more than 200 institutions that offer nationwide products.

Brokerage and Robo-Advisor Rates

The yield on money market funds fluctuates daily, while rates on cash management accounts are more fixed, but can change at any time.

U.S. Treasury Rates

Treasury securities pay their rate through maturity and can be bought directly from TreasuryDirect, or can be bought and sold on the secondary market via a bank or brokerage. I bonds must be bought from TreasuryDirect and can be held for up to 30 years, with rates adjusted every six months.

Summary Table: All Cash Options by Rate

Here’s a different look at all of the cash vehicles above, sorted by rate. Note that the rates shown are the highest qualifying rate for each product type.

Understanding Your Different Cash Options

Bank and Credit Union Products

Savings Accounts

The most basic place to stash cash is a bank or credit union savings account—sometimes called a high-yield savings account—that lets you add and withdraw money as you please. But don’t assume your primary bank pays a competitive rate. Some banks pay virtually zero interest.

Fortunately, we make shopping for a high rate easy. Our daily ranking of the best high-yield savings accounts gives you 15 options paying 4.40% to 5.00% APY. Note, however, that savings account rates can change at any time.

Money Market Accounts

A money market account is a savings account that lets you write paper checks. If this is a useful feature to you, shop our list of the best money market accounts.

If you don’t need paper check-writing, choose whichever account type—money market or savings—pays the better rate. The top money market account rate is currently 4.40% APY. Again, be aware that money market rates are variable, so they can be lowered without warning.

Certificates of Deposit

A certificate of deposit (CD) is a bank or credit union product with a fixed interest rate that promises a guaranteed return for a set period of time. Generally ranging from 3 months to 5 years, CDs offer a predictable return with a rate that cannot be changed for the duration of the term.

But be aware that it’s a commitment with teeth: If you cash in before maturity, your earnings will be dinged with an early withdrawal penalty. Our daily ranking of the best nationwide CDs currently includes options paying up to 4.60% APY.

Brokerage and Robo-Advisor Products

Money Market Funds

Unlike a money market account at a bank, money market funds are mutual funds invested in cash and offered by brokerage and robo-advisor firms. Their yields can fluctuate daily but currently range from 3.97% to 4.22% at the three biggest brokerages.

Cash Management Accounts

For uninvested cash held at a brokerage or robo-advisor, you can have the funds “swept” into a cash management account where it will earn a return. Unlike money market funds, cash management accounts offer a specific interest rate that the brokerage or robo-advisor can adjust whenever it likes. Currently, several popular brokers are paying 3.83% to 4.00% APY on their cash accounts.

U.S. Treasury Products

Treasury Bills, Notes, and Bonds

The U.S. Treasury offers a wide array of short- and long-term bond instruments. Treasury bills have the shortest duration, ranging from 4 to 52 weeks, while Treasury notes have a maturity of 2 to 5 years. The longest-term option is a Treasury bond, which has a 20- to 30-year maturity. Today’s rates on the various Treasury products range from 3.81% to 4.82%.

You can buy T-bills, notes, and bonds directly from TreasuryDirect or buy and sell them on the secondary market at brokerages and banks. Selling a Treasury product allows you to exit before the bond matures. However, you may pay a fee or commission for secondary market purchases and sales, while buying and redeeming at TreasuryDirect—the U.S. Treasury’s online platform for buying federal government securities—has no fees.

You can also buy Treasury ETFs, which trade on the market like a stock. Treasury ETFs have advantages and limitations, which you can read about here.

I Bonds

U.S. Treasury I bonds have a rate that’s adjusted every six months to align with inflation trends. You can redeem an I bond anytime after one year or hold it for as long as 30 years. Every six months you own the bond, your rate will change.

How We Find the Best Savings and CD Rates

Every business day, Investopedia tracks the rate data of more than 200 banks and credit unions that offer CDs and savings accounts to customers nationwide and determines daily rankings of the top-paying accounts. To qualify for our lists, the institution must be federally insured (FDIC for banks, NCUA for credit unions), and the account’s minimum initial deposit must not exceed $25,000. It also cannot specify a maximum deposit amount that’s below $5,000.

Banks must be available in at least 40 states to qualify as nationally available. And while some credit unions require you to donate to a specific charity or association to become a member if you don’t meet other eligibility criteria (e.g., you don’t live in a certain area or work in a certain kind of job), we exclude credit unions whose donation requirement is $40 or more. For more about how we choose the best rates, read our full methodology.

Editor’s Note: Today, I want to take a little break from all the talk about tariffs and market volatility. Instead, I want to share a two-part series from Senior Market Analyst Brian Hunt that I think you’ll find incredibly valuable.

Drawing on the upcoming Easter holiday, Hunt will explain how picking stocks can be like an Easter egg hunt… and how if you want to make big returns, you need to make sure you are in the right one. I’ll let Brian explain it from here.

Many American consumers have struggled to catch up after the COVID-19 pandemic and the stubborn inflation that followed, and experts say tariffs could add to their financial troubles.

President Donald Trump has imposed a global 10% tariff on all imports into the U.S. and additional tariffs on some of the country’s closest trading partners. Economists widely believe the tariffs will increase costs for American consumers and will drag down economic growth. Consumers seem to agree.

In a recent consumer-based survey from J.D. Power, a data analytics and consumer intelligence company, almost 6 in 10 American consumers say they are somewhat stressed about their overall financial situation, and 53% said their stress has gone up in the past month.

About half said they will buy fewer non-essential items and major purchases over the next year. Additionally, the majority of Americans said the U.S. is already or is very likely to experience a recession in 2025, and that tariffs will increase inflation.

Investopedia talked to Jim Miller, vice president and general manager of financial services at J.D. Power, about consumers’ attitudes and how they can adjust their budgets to prepare for tariffs. The interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

INVESTOPEDIA: What is the general attitude of consumers about the current economy?

JIM MILLER: There’s a high level of anxiety. I would say consumers are very concerned about prices still, and the number one concern is about the price of food and everyday items. So I guess that’s all the talk about eggs and such. So, just heightened sensitivity after recent inflation, they’re expecting that inflation will increase from where it’s at.

INVESTOPEDIA: How are they preparing for potential tariff-related economic turmoil?

MILLER: We asked about what they will do during the so-called ‘pause,’ or while tariffs are being figured out. The number one was 41% said they’re going to start cutting back on spending until there’s more clarity.

Now, the flip side of that is 27% said that they would stock up on everyday items before the price goes up. So it’s kind of similar in cutting back on spending, but maybe a little bit of that is offset by a short-term surge in buying those things that you expect to go up in price.

INVESTOPEDIA: What are your recommendations on how consumers can prepare for increased prices from tariffs?

MILLER: We’ve been going through five-plus years of challenges between the pandemic and then inflation, so this is another shock to consumers. One of the things we see is that roughly half of consumers are living paycheck to paycheck or falling behind… Generally, about 45% of consumers are financially healthy. That kind of varies a little bit, and that’s similar to what we saw here. 

If you’re not financially healthy already, this is just another challenge that you have to overcome. So I mean, a lot of it is the basics: having a budget, following a budget, making sure that you’re putting money aside for an unexpected expense.

Trying to create that financial buffer in your life, which I know is not easy, but that becomes really more critical as we go through these periods of turmoil.

INVESTOPEDIA: How can consumers build up that financial buffer quicker?

MILLER: If you do have some money already put aside, where you have it is very important. Many of the large banks, with savings accounts, are still fairly close to zero. You can find more than 3% in some cases, 4%, elsewhere, if you shop around. So, looking for that high-rate, high-yield savings account is a good move if you have money. 

The other thing is to use budget tools. So many banks and financial institutions offer those to their clients. We still see relatively low adoption of those tools, but we do see that when consumers start using budgeting tools, it helps their personal financial situation. They become more satisfied with their bank as well.

INVESTOPEDIA: What are your recommendations on how consumers who are still in a financially healthy place can stay there amidst tariff turmoil?

MILLER: One is making sure that you’re staying in that category, and it seems that many of them are already putting off major purchases. Drive your car a little bit longer until things settle down. Depending on where they are within that, they may have money in the market, and it’s a challenging time. The best time to have made a change would have been two or three months ago, and we’ve all felt the pain since that point.

One thing is to just minimize the stress. Don’t look at your 401(k) every day to see if it’s really in there for your retirement — unless you’re close to retirement. Keep with your … strategy going in. The market has always rebounded. It just depends on how long it takes. So, stay the course.

In honor of Easter Weekend, today, we kick off a two-part series by Senior Market Analyst Brian Hunt with one of the most jaw-dropping “what-if” investment stories ever told.

Imagine turning $5,000 into $2.87 million – and that’s not a typo…

The early days of Netflix offer a gripping glimpse into what happens when the world laughs off a visionary idea. But this isn’t just a tale of Blockbuster’s blunder, it’s a launchpad into a hidden truth about markets that few investors truly understand.

In the essay below by Brian, we dive into why the biggest fortunes aren’t made with the largest stocks – and how to find the kind of opportunities everyone else is too proud, slow, or uninformed to notice.

Ready to rethink where you’re hunting for the big winners?

Here’s Brian with Part I of “What Kind of Easter Egg Hunt Are You In?”

Have a good evening,

Jeff Remsburg

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In the spring of 2000, a man named Reed Hastings traveled to Dallas with a big business idea.

Hastings approached the management of movie rental giant Blockbuster with a proposal. He wanted Blockbuster to buy his small business for $50 million.

At the time, Hastings’ company – called Netflix – had a promising business model. It allowed people to rent movies through the mail. Netflix was also small and struggling to turn a profit.

Hastings believed a Blockbuster purchase of Netflix would be a win-win deal for both parties. Blockbuster’s managers did not. They didn’t think Netflix’s business model made sense for them. A Netflix executive later said that Blockbuster essentially laughed Hastings out of the room.

You probably know the rest of the story.

Netflix secured investment from other sources and built a hugely popular mail-order DVD rental business.

Around 2007, it made a brilliant move and began transitioning into America’s No. 1 movie and television streaming service. This innovation crushed traditional brick-and-mortar rental companies like Blockbuster.

In 2002, Netflix had less than 3 million subscribers. By 2022, it had reached 222 million subscribers and climbed to a market valuation of $129 billion.

Blockbuster’s market valuation in 2018?

Zip.

It went bankrupt a long time ago… and its “pass” on Netflix is widely regarded as one of the worst decisions in modern corporate history.

To give you an idea of how an investor would have done with an early Netflix stake, consider that Netflix stock fell to a split-adjusted low of $0.35 per share in 2002.

Assume you did not buy the bottom, but instead invested $5,000 at $0.50 per share, picking up 10,000 shares of Netflix.

In 2022, that $5,000 investment would have been worth $2.87 million… a 574-fold return.

Netflix’s story is one of my favorite examples of one of the most powerful concepts in the world of finance and investing.

The concept?

If you want to make giant returns in stocks, you must be in the right Easter egg hunt.

Below, I explain why…

How to Find Stocks That Can Return 100-Fold Hide

On Wall Street, companies are often grouped and labeled according to their size.

Investors typically place a company in one of three size categories: large-caps, mid-caps, and small-caps.

“Cap” is short for “market capitalization.” This is the term used to describe the value of a public company. To figure out a company’s market cap, all you have to do is multiply the total number of shares the company has in the market times the market price of a single share.

The group names are common sense. Large-caps are large. Small-caps are small. Mid-caps are in between.

For example, the popular software company Microsoft is a large-cap. In November 2022, its market cap was around $1.79 trillion.

Or, take iPhone maker Apple. It’s also a large-cap. In November 2022, its market cap was around $2.4 trillion .

Mid-caps are smaller than large-caps. Typically, investors consider companies with market caps in between $2 billion and $10 billion to be mid-caps.

The difference between a large-cap and a mid-cap can be huge. A mid-cap company worth $5 billion is less than 0.2% of the size of giant Microsoft.

Finally, we have small-caps.

These are companies with market caps under $2 billion.

While the difference between a mid-cap and a large-cap can be huge, the difference between a small-cap and a large-cap can be incredible.

For example, take a small-cap with a market value of $500 million.

This is just 10% of a mid-cap with a market value of $5 billon… which means it is less than one tenth of one percent the size of a large-cap like Microsoft.

Large-caps can be good investments. They are typically stable, established, profitable companies. They often pay dividends. Large-caps can be great investments for conservative investors.

But if you’re interested in making 10, 20, or even 50 times your money (or 574 times your money like with Netflix) in a single investment, you’d be smart to look at small-cap stocks.

Small-cap companies have much greater potential to produce giant returns for their shareholders in a short time than any other kind of company.

The reason is simple…

It’s much, much easier for a young, $500 million small-cap to grow 10-fold than it is for a mature $500-billion giant to grow 10-fold.

That’s just basic math.

If your daughter sold 10 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies around the neighborhood on her own, you could probably help grow her results 10-times (selling 100 boxes) by driving her around, putting a little pressure on your friends, neighbors, and coworkers to buy some boxes.

But what if your daughter was a natural saleswoman and had sold 100 boxes on her own?

To enjoy 10-times growth under that scenario, she’d have to sell 1,000 boxes. Not so easy anymore. That’s the mathematical challenge behind enjoying giant growth when a company is already doing giant sales.

Or, think about these situations…

• When a small $300 million market-cap beverage company creates a hit product that generates an additional $1 billion in sales, it’s a huge deal that can make the company’s stock rise by hundreds or thousands of percent.

However, if beverage giant Coca-Cola creates a way to generate an additional $1 billion in sales, it barely registers on its massive income statement.

• When a small $200 million restaurant company with 40 locations expands to 200 more locations, its market value can soar. But if mega-chain Starbucks adds 200 new locations to its already massive 14,000+ locations, it’s a blip on the company’s balance sheet.
• When a small $600 million software company creates an amazing new way to collect, manage, and analyze healthcare data, financial data, or marketing data, it can increase revenue by over $1 billion… and its stock can soar 10-fold.

However, if giant Microsoft adds $1 billion to its $100 billion+ annual revenue, it’s a drop in the bucket that won’t even make the news.

Now, all this DOES NOT mean a large company is automatically a bad investment. It just means that it’s not an ideal investment for someone looking to make big returns in a relatively short period of time.

Remember, a $500 million small-cap is just one-tenth of one percent of a $500 billion large-cap.

That’s why a search for stocks with huge growth potential should start in the small-cap stock world.

This is where companies with the potential to grow 10, 20, 50… even 574 times larger live and hide out.

But it gets even better for small-cap investors.

There’s another tremendous benefit they enjoy that large-cap investors do not.

I believe this benefit is best explained with the story of an Easter egg hunt.

The Story of the Easter Egg Hunt

Picture this…

It’s Easter and you’re ready for the neighborhood Easter egg hunt.

Over 100 eggs have been hidden in a small local park. Each egg has a treat inside it. You’re told that one special egg even has a cash prize in it.

If you’re in this hunt, which of the two following scenarios would you rather be in?

1. In addition to you hunting for eggs in the park, there are 1,000 other people hunting for eggs. It’s a madhouse.
2. In addition to you hunting for eggs in the park, there are just 10 other people hunting for eggs.

If you’re like most reasonable people, you picked B.

You’d rather have this:

Than this:

You’d rather have just 10 people in competition with you… instead of 1,000 other people picking over the park like a swarm of locusts.

What does this have to do with investing?

Well, this same dynamic is at work in the stock market every day.

The financial markets are where millions of people go to pick through opportunities in stocks, commodities, currencies, options, bonds, and real estate.

In this big market, everyone is looking to buy assets for less than what they are worth and looking to sell assets for more than what they are worth.

Essentially, everyone is trying to outsmart everyone else.

Everyone is looking for eggs.

The financial markets price most assets correctly most of the time.

However, it’s not a perfect system. Windows of opportunity – where you can buy assets for less than what they are worth or sell assets for more than what they are worth – appear from time to time.

In the investing world, these windows are called “market inefficiencies.”

These are the opportunities that can make us big money.

However, the more people that are studying, monitoring, and picking over a market and its opportunities, the more competition you have in that market… and the less likely you’ll be able to find market inefficiencies.

The more people picking over a market, the smaller its pricing inefficiencies will be and the shorter its windows of opportunities will be open.

In the financial markets, the biggest competitors are “institutional investors.”

Institutional investors are the elephants of the financial markets. This group includes mutual funds, pension funds, large hedge funds, and insurance funds. It also includes sovereign wealth funds, which manage the savings of entire nations.

A single large institutional investor can manage over $10 billion in assets.

So, even a wealthy individual with $5 million in assets is a mouse compared to this elephant (in this case, the elephant is 2,000 times larger).

Some institutional investors manage much more than $10 billion.

The sovereign wealth fund of Norway – which has been fattened by oil revenue for years – was worth more than $1 trillion in 2017.

This is 100 times bigger than the large institution with $10 billion to invest.

The large institutional investors of the world have ridiculously giant amounts of money to invest in stocks, bonds, and other assets.

These large institutional investors typically employ armies of analysts who spend hundreds of thousands of hours every year scouring the world for opportunities.

These analysts perform a lot of old fashioned “financial detective” work by visiting public companies and interviewing industry experts.

They also use the world’s most advanced computer algorithms and “Big Data” analytical programs to comb through market data.

The programs run 24 hours a day, seven days a week… sifting all of the world’s financial data a thousand different ways at warp speed… hunting for pricing inefficiencies, small and large.

Picture those Easter egg hunts again… and realize that the stock market is a brutally competitive Easter egg hunt.

That’s the bad news.

The good news is the financial market is a big, diverse place.

And there are Easter egg hunts the big guys can’t participate in.

We’ll leave it here today, and pick back up tomorrow.

Regards,

Brian Hunt
Senior Analyst, InvestorPlace

P.S. – Want help in this “Easter Egg Hunt”?

Perhaps artificial intelligence can help.

For years, Wall Street has experimented with using AI to help target the most lucrative investments on the market. But in the past few years, they’ve gone “all in.” Now, they’re spending hundreds of millions to develop this technology. 

For everyday investors far from Wall Street, that’s where TradeSmith’s breakthrough AI algorithm – called An-E – comes in. It can forecast the share price on thousands of stocks, funds, and ETFs one month into the future.  

On Wednesday, TradeSmith CEO Keith Kaplan covered the full details behind this remarkable new system and demonstrated how you can apply it to your investment strategy.

If you missed it, you can catch a free replay of Keith’s AI Predictive Power Event right here.

Below you’ll find featured rates available from our partners, followed by details from our ranking of the best CDs available nationwide.

Rates of 4.50% to 4.60% You Can Guarantee as Long as 2026

The nation’s leading CD rate dropped from 4.65% to 4.60% earlier this week. Fortunately, you can still lock in a 4.60% return with either T Bank, for a 6-month term, or Abound Credit Union, for a 10-month duration, stretching your rate guarantee into early 2026.

A total of 18 CDs pay at least 4.50%, with the longest term among these being 18 months. That CD is available from XCEL Federal Credit Union, and it will lock in a 4.50% rate until October of next year.

All Federally Insured Institutions Are Equally Protected

Your deposits at any FDIC bank or NCUA credit union are federally insured, meaning you’re protected by the U.S. government in the unlikely case that the institution fails. Not only that, but the coverage is identical—deposits are insured up to $250,000 per person and per institution—no matter the size of the bank or credit union.

Consider Longer-Term CDs To Guarantee Your Rate Further Into the Future

For a rate lock you can enjoy into 2027, Lafayette Federal Credit Union is paying 4.28% APY for a full 24 months. Meanwhile, Genisys Credit Union leads the 3-year term, offering 4.32% for 30 months.

CD shoppers who want an even longer guarantee might like the leading 4-year or 5-year certificates. Though the 4-year rate dropped yesterday from 4.40%, you can still lock in a 4.28% rate for 4 years from Lafayette Federal Credit Union. In fact, Lafayette promises the same 4.28% APY on all its certificates from 7 months through 5 years, letting you secure that rate as far as 2030.

Multiyear CDs are likely smart right now, given the possibility of Fed rate cuts in 2025 and perhaps 2026. The central bank has so far lowered the federal funds rate by a full percentage point, and this year could see additional cuts. While any interest-rate reductions from the Fed will push bank APYs lower, a CD rate you secure now will be yours to enjoy until it matures.

Today’s Best CDs Still Pay Historically High Returns

It’s true that CD rates are no longer at their peak. But despite the pullback, the best CDs still offer a stellar return. October 2023 saw the best CD rates push above 6%, while the leading rate is currently down to 4.60%. Compare that to early 2022, before the Federal Reserve embarked on its fast-and-furious rate-hike campaign. The most you could earn from the very best CDs in the country then ranged from just 0.50% to 1.70% APY, depending on the term.

Jumbo CDs Top Regular CDs in 4 Terms

Jumbo CDs require much larger deposits and sometimes pay premium rates—but not always. In fact, the best jumbo CD rates right now are equal to or lower than the best standard CD rates in half the terms we track.

Among 18-month CDs, both the top standard and top jumbo CDs pay the same rate of 4.50% APY. Meanwhile, institutions are offering higher jumbo rates in the following terms:

• 2 years: Lafayette Federal Credit Union offers 4.33% for a 2-year jumbo CD vs. 4.28% for the highest standard rate.
• 3 years: Hughes Federal Credit Union offers 4.34% for a 3-year jumbo CD vs. 4.32% for the highest standard rate.
• 4 years: Lafayette Federal Credit Union offers 4.33% for a 4-year jumbo CD vs. 4.28% for the highest standard rate.
• 5 years: Both GTE Financial and Lafayette Federal Credit Union offer 4.33% for jumbo 5-year CDs vs. 4.28% for the highest standard rate.

That makes it smart to always check both types of offerings when CD shopping. If your best rate option is a standard CD, simply open it with a jumbo-sized deposit.

Where Are CD Rates Headed in 2025?

In December, the Federal Reserve announced a third rate cut to the federal funds rate in as many meetings, reducing it a full percentage point since September. But in January and March, the central bankers declined to make further cuts to the benchmark rate.

The Fed’s three 2024 rate cuts represented a pivot from the central bank’s historic 2022–2023 rate-hike campaign, in which the committee aggressively raised interest rates to combat decades-high inflation. At its 2023 peak, the federal funds rate climbed to its highest level since 2001—and remained there for nearly 14 months.

Fed rate moves are significant to savers, as reductions to the fed funds rate push down the rates banks and credit unions are willing to pay consumers for their deposits. Both CD rates and savings account rates reflect changes to the fed funds rate.

Time will tell what exactly will happen to the federal funds rate in 2025 and 2026—and tariff activity from the Trump administration has the potential to alter the Fed’s course. But with more Fed rate cuts possibly arriving this year, today’s CD rates could be the best you’ll see for some time—making now a smart time to lock in the best rate that suits your personal timeline.

Daily Rankings of the Best CDs and Savings Accounts

We update these rankings every business day to give you the best deposit rates available:

Important

Note that the “top rates” quoted here are the highest nationally available rates Investopedia has identified in its daily rate research on hundreds of banks and credit unions. This is much different than the national average, which includes all banks offering a CD with that term, including many large banks that pay a pittance in interest. Thus, the national averages are always quite low, while the top rates you can unearth by shopping around are often five, 10, or even 15 times higher.

How We Find the Best CD Rates

Every business day, Investopedia tracks the rate data of more than 200 banks and credit unions that offer CDs to customers nationwide and determines daily rankings of the top-paying certificates in every major term. To qualify for our lists, the institution must be federally insured (FDIC for banks, NCUA for credit unions), the CD’s minimum initial deposit must not exceed $25,000, and any specified maximum deposit cannot be under $5,000.

Banks must be available in at least 40 states. And while some credit unions require you to donate to a specific charity or association to become a member if you don’t meet other eligibility criteria (e.g., you don’t live in a certain area or work in a certain kind of job), we exclude credit unions whose donation requirement is $40 or more. For more about how we choose the best rates, read our full methodology.

The United States Mint produced just over 1.88 billion coins for circulation in the first three months of this year, reflecting an uptick from last year’s first-quarter pace, which marked the slowest start since 2010.

In March, U.S. coin production rose to a five-month high, marking the second-highest monthly total over the past year, according to newly released U.S. Mint manufacturing data. Still, output remained below the 1-billion mark for a 19th consecutive month – a sharp contrast to earlier periods when surpassing that level was almost routine, including a stretch of eight straight months above it just before the current trend began.

The U.S. Mint struck 670.42 million coins for circulation in March, including cents, nickels, dimes, quarters, and half dollars, reflecting a 15.3% increase from February and just over twice the amount produced in March 2024 (up 101.5%).

Here’s how March’s production compares to previous months over the past year:

March 2024 to March 2025 Circulating Coin Production

 

The U.S. Mint’s primary mission is to manufacture coins in response to public demand. It produces, sells, and delivers circulating coins to Federal Reserve Banks and their coin terminals, ensuring commercial banks and other financial institutions have the necessary supply.

Despite costing the Mint 3.69 cents to produce and distribute each penny, the Federal Reserve consistently orders more of them than any other denomination. In March, the Mint struck 328 million Lincoln cents, accounting for 48.9% of all circulating-quality coins produced for the month.

The future of the penny, however, is increasingly uncertain. On Feb. 9, President Trump ordered an end to its production, calling the move a step toward reducing “wasteful” government spending.

“For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. “This is so wasteful! I have instructed my Secretary of the US Treasury to stop producing new pennies. Let’s rip the waste out of our great nations budget, even if it’s a penny at a time,” Trump wrote.

In the first quarter, the Mint produced 923.4 million Lincoln cents, down from more than 1.01 billion in the same period of 2024.

Month-Over-Month

In month-over-month comparisons for coins commonly used by Americans, March production saw:

• 7.1% fewer Lincoln cents,
• 1% more Jefferson nickels,
• 16.3% fewer Roosevelt dimes, and
• 371.5% more quarters.

Mintages of Native American Dollars and Kennedy Halves

The U.S. Mint also produces other coins in circulating quality, including half dollars and dollars. While Native American $1 coins are no longer ordered by the Federal Reserve, they continue to be minted in circulating quality for collectors. The same applied to Kennedy half dollars until recent years – specifically in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 – when they were released into circulation.

In many years, the U.S. Mint strikes both denominations in January to meet the expected demand for the entire year. However, that has not been the case for Kennedy half dollars over the past four years, as the Federal Reserve unexpectedly ordered millions more for circulation – approximately 12 million in 2021, 7 million in 2022, 18 million in 2023, and 52 million in 2024 (fiscal, not calendar years).

It remains unclear whether any 2025 Kennedy half dollars will be released into general circulation. As of January, production figures showed 3.6 million struck at the Denver Mint and 5.8 million at the Philadelphia Mint, for a total of 9.4 million coins. February data added 2 million more from Denver, while March figures reflected another 2.4 million from Philadelphia. The new year-to-date total stands at 13.8 million coins, split between 5.6 million from Denver and 8.2 million from Philadelphia. By comparison, 2024 production reached 21.9 million from Denver and 15.7 million from Philadelphia, for a combined 37.6 million coins.

Mintage levels for 2025 Native American dollars were initially expected to remain mostly unchanged after January, when 1.12 million were struck in Denver and 1.26 million in Philadelphia, for a combined total of 2.38 million coins – slightly above the 2024 total of 2.24 million, which had equal splits of 1.12 million from each facility. However, February data showed an increase to 3.08 million coins following the addition of 700,000 more from the Philadelphia Mint. March figures revealed another 700,000 struck at each facility, bringing the cumulative total to 4.48 million.

Mintage levels for 2025 Native American dollars were initially expected to remain unchanged after January, when 1.12 million were struck in Denver and 1.26 million in Philadelphia, for a combined total of 2.38 million coins, a bit more than their 2025 million total of 2.24 million with equal splits of 1.12 million between plants. However, February data showed an increase to 3.08 million coins following the addition of 700,000 more from the Philadelphia Mint. March figures revealed another 700,000 struck at each facility, bringing the cumulative totals to 4.48 million, with new splits of 1.82 million from Denver and 2.66 million from Philadelphia.

On Jan. 28, the U.S. Mint began selling rolls, bags, and boxes of 2025 Native American dollars. Collectors can expect rolls and bags of circulating 2025 Kennedy half dollars to become available on May 6.

The following table details 2025 circulating coin mintages in March by production facility, denomination, and design.

U.S. Mint Circulating Coin Production in March 2025

 

In total March production, the Denver Mint struck 368.72 million coins, while the Philadelphia Mint produced 301.7 million, bringing the combined output to 670.42 million coins.

First Quarter 2025

During the first quarter of this year, the Denver Mint has struck 920.58 million coins, and the Philadelphia Mint has made 965.01 million coins, bringing the total to 1,885,590,000 coins. This is 8.8% more than the 1,733,540,000 coins manufactured during the first first quarter of 2024, which marked the lowest quarterly level since the first quarter of 2010.

This next table lists coin production totals by denomination and by U.S. Mint facility:

YTD 2025 Circulating Coin Production by Denomination

 

If the current production pace continues through December, the 2025 annual mintage would top 7.5 billion coins. For comparison, the U.S. Mint produced just over 5.6 billion coins for circulation in 2024, marking the lowest output since 2009.

Lastly, Mint data shows that 166.2 million quarters were struck in March, with 2.2 million more featuring Ida B. Wells and 164 million more honoring Juliette Gordon Low. The Wells and Low quarters are the 16th and 17th releases in the Mint’s 20-coin American Women Quarters™ series.

After factoring in March’s figures, quarters honoring Wells now total 99.5 million from Denver and 106.35 million from Philadelphia, for a combined 205.85 million. Quarters honoring Low stand at 86.2 million from Denver and 82.2 million from Philadelphia, totaling 168.4 million. The Mint began selling Ida B. Wells quarters in early February, with Juliette Gordon Low quarters released in late March. This year’s third of five designs, celebrating Dr. Vera Rubin, is scheduled for release this summer.