Category Monthly Dividend

The economy is changing how Americans are eating.

Diners are moving meals from sit-down restaurants to fast-casual joints, according to executives at a range of a businesses, and taking more trips to value supermarkets. Data released this week by Bank of America, indicates that a rising cost of living is prompting Americans, especially lower-income consumers, to dine out less and look harder for grocery deals.

Discretionary spending, such as vacations and restaurant visits, has been down for about two years, Bank of America said. And sales at restaurants and bars fell 1.5% from January to February, according to Census Bureau data released this week.

Restaurants have noticed, executives said on recent earnings calls. Darden Restaurants (DRI), the company behind Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, said its casual concepts are serving fewer households making less than $50,000 a year. Diners are ordering fewer appetizers, beverages and desserts, according to Michael Spanos, CEO of Bloomin Brands (BLMN), parent company of Outback Steakhouse and Carrabba’s Italian Grill.

“We’re seeing some check management with, especially, those households [earning] under about $100,000,” Spanos said on an earnings call last month, according to a transcript from AlphaSense. 

Fast-Casual Spots and Gas Stations See Food Sales Rise

The push to save is benefiting Cava (CAVA), a fast-casual Mediterranean chain that believes it is drawing customers who are curtailing visits to casual dining spots, CEO Brett Schulman said on an earnings conference call last month.

Cava gets “folks trading down from a legacy casual dining experience and sharing a meal in our dining room,” as well as “trading up from traditional [quick-service restaurants] for $1 or $2 more,” Schulman said.

Casey’s General Store (CASY), which sells gas, snacks and prepared foods like pizza, stands to gain as shoppers look to spend less on meals, CEO Darren Rebelez said on an earnings call this month. Once in Casey’s, shoppers are eschewing candy, where prices are “very high,” in favor of baked goods, he said.

The change “is a little more affordable and still allows people to get that sweet indulgence that they’re looking for,” Rebelez said.

Changing Habits in the Grocery Aisle

Grocery shopping patterns have also evolved. Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM), where shoppers skew higher-income, expects customers to respond to economic pressure by eating out less and coming into its stores more, CFO Curtis Valentine said at a conference this month.

Many families are relying more on value supermarkets, according to Bank of America. Household spending at discount grocers grew 1.2% from February 2024 to 2025, while falling 1.4% at premium supermarkets, the bank said.

Shoppers are more frequently reaching for smaller package sizes, said Kenneth Casey Keller CEO of B&G Foods (BGS), the group behind Crisco, Green Giant and Cream of Wheat.

“We will look at: the smaller size in our portfolio, how do we emphasize those for consumers that might be looking to trade down?” he said on an earnings call last month.

Major U.S. equities indexes ticked higher on the final day of the trading week, snapping their weekly losing streaks.

The S&P 500 and Dow eked out a gain of 0.1% Friday, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended 0.5% higher. All three posted gains for the week, with the Dow adding 1.2%, the S&P 500 advancing 0.5%, and the Nasdaq edging up 0.2%.

Super Micro Computer (SMCI) shares gained the most of any S&P 500 constituent on Friday, surging 7.8% after JPMorgan upgraded the stock to “neutral” from “underweight.” The analysts suggested Supermicro could be poised to benefit from strong demand for AI infrastructure and its servers that incorporate Nvidia’s (NVDA) Blackwell platform.

Tesla (TSLA) shares also rose, adding 5.3%. CEO Elon Musk held an all-hands meeting with employees Thursday evening in which he told staff to “hang on” to their stock in an effort to shore up confidence following a rough stretch that has seen the stock shed half its value in the past few months.

Boeing (BA) shares advanced 3.1% after President Trump awarded the aircraft manufacturer with a contract to build the F-47, the U.S. Air Force’s next-generation fighter jet. While financial details were not disclosed, The Wall Street Journal estimated that research, development, and acquisition costs could exceed $50 billion. Shares of defense contractor Lockheed Martin (LMT), which lost out to its rival, slipped 5.8%.

Micron Technology (MU) shares tumbled 8%, posting the weakest daily performance in the S&P 500. The memory and storage chipmaker posted better-than-expected sales and profits for its fiscal second quarter, but worries about its gross margin trajectory raised concerns, prompting analysts at Citi to trim their price target on the stock.

Shares of Texas Pacific Land (TPL), which owns major acreage in the oil-rich Permian Basin, fell 7.2% following reports that several company insiders sold off significant positions in the company. Executives recently offloading shares included the company’s CFO as well as its senior vice president and general counsel. Investors often interpret selling by top executives as a lack of confidence in a company’s prospects.

FedEx (FDX) missed quarterly profit estimates and cut its full-year outlook, citing economic uncertainty. Analysts from UBS and Bank of America lowered their price targets on FedEx stock, and shares of the package delivery giant dropped 6.5% on Friday.

Steelmaker Nucor (NUE) provided a lower-than-expected profit forecast for the first quarter of 2025, and its shares slipped 5.8%. The company said soft steel pricing is pressuring its average selling prices, forecasting a sequential earnings decline from its steel products segment.

If you’re one of the 43 million Americans with student loans, you could soon be making payments to the Small Business Administration rather than the Department of Education, as part of President Donald Trump’s latest shakeup of the federal government.

Trump said Friday that the SBA, an agency that supports small businesses with loans and other programs, would handle the country’s $1.6 trillion portfolio of student loan debt as part of his dismantling of the Department of Education. Currently, the DOE manages the loans, relying on several private servicing companies to handle payments and customer service.

“We have a portfolio that’s very large, lots of loans, tens of thousands of loans—pretty complicated deal. And that’s coming out of the Department of Education immediately,” Trump said in the Oval Office Friday. “It’ll be serviced much better than it has in the past. It’s been a mess.”

The same day, SBA director Kelly Loeffler said the new home of the loan portfolio was cutting its staff by 43%.

“As the government’s largest guarantor of business loans, the SBA stands ready to deploy its resources and expertise on behalf of America’s taxpayers and students,” Loeffler posted on X.

In recent months, student loan borrowers have faced disruptions, and in some cases, dramatically higher monthly payments on income-driven repayment plans amid court battles over a the fate of the SAVE repayment plan created by former president Joe Biden’s administration.

The move drew criticism from at least one group that advocates for student loan borrowers.

“Moving the student loan program to the SBA is illegal, unserious, and a clear attempt to distract the public from the fact that Trump has broken the student loan system and is actively cheating millions of borrowers out of their rights,” Mike Pierce, executive director of the Student Borrower Protection Center, said in a statement.

Updated on March 21st, 2025 by Bob Ciura

Air Products & Chemicals (APD) may not be the most well-known company. It is primarily a business-to-business manufacturer and distributor of industrial gases.

However, Air Products & Chemicals is an elite dividend stock as a member of the Dividend Aristocrats, a group of reliable dividend stocks with 25+ years of consecutive dividend increases.

We believe the Dividend Aristocrats are among the best dividend growth stocks to buy for the long run.

With that in mind, we created a list of all 69 Dividend Aristocrats, along with important metrics like price-to-earnings and dividend yields.

You can download a copy of our Dividend Aristocrats list by clicking on the link below:

 

Disclaimer: Sure Dividend is not affiliated with S&P Global in any way. S&P Global owns and maintains The Dividend Aristocrats Index. The information in this article and downloadable spreadsheet is based on Sure Dividend’s own review, summary, and analysis of the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF (NOBL) and other sources, and is meant to help individual investors better understand this ETF and the index upon which it is based. None of the information in this article or spreadsheet is official data from S&P Global. Consult S&P Global for official information.

Air Products & Chemicals’ dividend history – 43 years of consecutive dividend increases – indicates that the company is a model of consistency.

The company has reinvented itself in recent years. A spinoff and a separate significant divestiture were implemented with the goal of streamlining the company’s business model and focusing on its core industrial gas operations.

Air Products & Chemicals appears poised to continue raising its dividend for many years to come.

Business Overview

Air Products & Chemicals is one of the largest producers and distributors of atmospheric and process gasses in the world. Its customers include other businesses in the industrial, technology, energy, and materials sectors.

Air Products & Chemicals was founded in 1940 and has a current market capitalization of ~$65 billion.

It also has a significant international presence. Roughly 40% of the company’s annual sales are generated in the U.S. and Canada, with the remainder spread across Latin America, Europe, and Asia.

Air Products & Chemicals reported financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2025 in February. Revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, declined 2.3% year-over-year, missing the analyst consensus estimate by $10 million.

Source: Investor Presentation

The company’s costs declined even more than revenues, which still allowed for some earnings growth compared to the previous year’s quarter.

Air Products & Chemicals was able to generate earnings-per-share of $2.86 during the first quarter, which was up 1% compared to the previous year’s period. EBITDA was up 1% as well during the period.

Following a record year in 2024, Air Products & Chemicals is guiding for another record profit in fiscal 2025, with earnings-per-share seen at $12.70 to $13.00. The guidance implies an earnings-per-share growth rate of around 3% this year.

Growth Prospects

The streamlining initiatives undertaken by Air Products & Chemicals in the past several years have led to significant profitability improvements for the industrial gas giant. The company’s EBITDA margin trend over the last several years can be seen below:

Air Products & Chemicals has expanded its adjusted EBITDA margin by ~1400 basis points since the second quarter of 2014 – a significant improvement, which has combined with growing adjusted EBITDA to drive higher earnings-per-share and dividends.

It will also grow due to international expansion, as the company’s Gases Asia business has delivered the highest growth rate in the recent past, although its American business remains the largest segment.

Air Products & Chemicals has a number of growth projects either recently completed or scheduled to be completed in the coming months.

Source: Investor Presentation

Investments in NEOM will drive its green energy exposure and expand its presence in Saudi Arabia, while Air Products & Chemicals is also is expanding its hydrogen footprint in several markets, investing heavily in recent years and for the foreseeable future in this industry in order to benefit from the expected market growth in the coming years.

These investments, coupled with margin growth initiatives, should lead to meaningful earnings growth for the company over the coming years. We expect 6% annualized EPS growth over the next five years.

Competitive Advantages & Recession Performance

Air Products & Chemicals has a number of competitive advantages. The first and primary advantage the company has is its size and market share.

Moreover, the industrial gas distribution business benefits from high switching costs. These costs may not necessarily be financial – instead, customers are unlikely to switch once their gas needs are being met by a particular supplier because it would be difficult to find a competitor that offers identical services in a particular geographic region.

To that end, Air Products & Chemicals’ size also benefits the company.

The company’s recent divestitures and asset sales have given it an infusion of cash, bolstering its corporate finances in a way that should help it endure any upcoming economic downturns. Moreover, Air Products & Chemicals has a track record of performing reasonably well during past recessions.

Consider the company’s performance during the 2007-2009 financial crisis for evidence of this:

• 2007 adjusted earnings-per-share: $4.40
• 2008 adjusted earnings-per-share: $4.97 (13% increase)
• 2009 adjusted earnings-per-share: $4.06 (18.3% decline)
• 2010 adjusted earnings-per-share: $5.02 (23.6% increase)

Air Products & Chemicals experienced an 18.3% decline in adjusted earnings-per-share in 2009 during the financial crisis, but the company’s bottom line surged to a new high by 2010.

The company also remained highly profitable in 2020, a difficult year for the global economy due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The U.S. economy entered a recession as a result of the pandemic, but Air Products & Chemicals experienced only a mild dip in earnings, which allowed it to continue raising its dividend.

Valuation & Expected Total Returns

With a 6% expected EPS growth rate, in addition to a 2.4% dividend yield, one might anticipate high single-digit annual returns from the security.

However, it is imperative to consider how valuation can impact future returns.

Using $12.85 as the expected fiscal 2025 adjusted earnings-per-share, and a share price of $291, the security is currently trading hands at 22.6 times expected earnings.

For context, the stock has traded at an average earnings multiple closer to 19 over the last 10 years.

We believe that 20 times earnings is a fair valuation estimate for Air Products & Chemicals, meaning shares are slightly overvalued. Mean reversion to a price-to-earnings ratio of 20 could lower annualized returns by -2.4% over a 5-year time horizon.

As such, we expect total annual returns to consist of the following:

• 6% earnings-per-share growth
• 2.4% dividend yield
• -2.4% P/E multiple compression

We expect total annual returns of 6.0% per year through 2029.

Final Thoughts

Air Products & Chemicals is a strong dividend growth stock, having raised its dividend each year for the past 43 years.

The company has de-risked its business model and that business transformation allows it to focus on its core business of industrial gases.

Moreover, it has a large slate of new projects to help stay on track for growth in the coming years. This should benefit shareholders in the form of continued dividend increases on an annual basis.

With expected annual returns of 6%, we rate the stock as a hold right now.

If you are interested in finding more high-quality dividend growth stocks suitable for long-term investment, the following Sure Dividend databases will be useful:

The major domestic stock market indices are another solid resource for finding investment ideas. Sure Dividend compiles the following stock market databases and updates them monthly:

Klarna, which helped popularize buy now, pay later plans, filed a prospectus to hold an initial public offering earlier this month, offering details about its growth over the past two decades.

The company’s buy now, pay later plans caught on with Swedish consumers, who could take home their purchases, while paying a portion of their bill and agreeing to have further installments deducted from their account in the coming weeks.

Klarna has since expanded to 25 other countries, partnered with 675,000 merchants and taken payments from 93 million consumers. The company said it handled an average of 2.9 million transactions daily in 2024, with underwriting decisions on short-term loans made in seconds using a “fully automated process.”

The filing didn’t include details about how many shares Klarna intends to sell, or at what price. Here’s a look at what the company did have to say.

US Growth Has Squeezed Profits Lately

Klarna made money for its first 14 years, but said its profits came under pressure when it launched in the US in 2019.

It calls 2023 an inflection point because that’s when it achieved the scale needed in America to generate positive margins. Klarna reported a $21 million profit in 2024 after two years of losses. Klarna’s revenue has grown nearly 48% over the past three years, from $1.9 billion in 2022 to $2.8 billion in 2024.

Klarna Has Several Revenue Streams

Nearly 64% of revenue last year came from merchants. Klarna charges retailers transaction fees when their consumers pay using the service, and several big names offer Klarna at checkout, including Uber (UBER), Apple (AAPL), Macy’s (M) and Wayfair (W). (Klarna recently signed on Walmart (WMT) and DoorDash (DASH) the company said.)

Merchants also pay to advertise on Klarna’s website and app, and to have their products prominently displayed in users’ search results.

Another 12% of revenue last year involved consumer payments, such as “reminder” fees for late payments, the company said. Consumer payments also includes money from Klarna Plus, a roughly $8-a-month subscription plan that comes with deals and waived service fees, the company said.

The remaining 24% related to interest—both interest paid by borrowers and interest Klarna earned on investments.

Basic Payment Processing Is Playing a Smaller Role at Klarna

Klarna handles three types of transactions, including basic payment processing, where funds are immediately transferred.

About 26% of gross merchandise value—or the total cost of items sold via Klarna—in 2022 were paid for outright, but that fell to 16% in 2024, the company said. During that period, Klarna’s “Pay Later” product, where consumers delay or divide a payment into installments, went from 70% of GMV in 2022 to 79% in 2024, Klarna said.

The share of GMV paid for with short-term loans, which can carry interest, ticked up slightly during these three years.

Swedes Use Klarna for a Range of Purchases

In its filing, the company compared the scope of its operations in Sweden and the U.S., showing the role it can play in a mature market.

About 82% of adults in Sweden used Klarna last year, and they had an average of 32 transactions each, the company said. Their spending was fairly evenly distributed across categories including apparel and accessories, health and beauty, home and electronics, food and beverage and leisure.

In the US, nearly 10% of adults paid with Klarna in 2024—about five years after the company launched in the States. Americans had an average of more than five purchases that year, and 69% of their spending was concentrated in apparel and accessories, the company said.

Klarna Says it Has Room to Grow

Klarna envisions growing by working with more merchants, operating in new regions and drawing in additional consumers.

The company wants to build up two revenue streams. Klarna, which has a banking license from Sweden, wants to boost its retail banking business, which held $9.5 billion in deposits for consumers at the end of 2024.

Klarna also wants to scale its advertising business, which brought in $180 million, or more than 6% of all revenue last year.

The U.S.-listed shares of Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio (NIO) fell Friday morning after its fourth-quarter sales fell short of analysts’ expectations.

The EV maker said Friday it lost an adjusted 3.17 Chinese yuan ($0.44) per share, wider than the 2.49 yuan ($0.34) per share loss that analysts expected. The loss came on $2.7 billion in revenue, nearly half a billion dollars short of the analyst consensus compiled by Visible Alpha.

Nio delivered 72,689 vehicles in the final quarter of 2024, also short of the 73,144 vehicles that analysts had forecast.

The company said it expects to deliver 41,000 to 43,000 vehicles in the first quarter, generating $1.69 billion to $1.76 billion. Nio’s forecasts are well below the current analyst consensus of 62,240 deliveries and $2.36 billion in revenue.

The EV maker also missed estimates last quarter, and said again in this quarter that lower average selling prices negatively impacted revenue as a number of Chinese competitors have cut prices to gain market share.

Nio’s U.S.-listed shares were down around 4% premarket Friday following an 8% drop Thursday. They entered the day down nearly 8% over the last 12 months.

London’s Heathrow Airport, one of the world’s busiest, closed for the day Friday following a fire at a nearby substation that caused what it called a “significant” power outage.

The airport operator said that the hub would remain closed until 11:59 p.m. local time (07:59 p.m. ET) on Friday. The closure has caused widespread disruption, with more than 1,350 flights canceled today, according to FlightRadar24.

“Due to a fire at an electrical substation supplying the airport, Heathrow is experiencing a significant power outage,” Heathrow said, adding that passengers shouldn’t travel to the airport.

British Airways said that the outage will “clearly have a significant impact on our operation and our customers and we’re working as quickly as possible to update them on their travel options for the next 24 hours and beyond.”  Shares of British Airways parent International Consolidated Airlines Group were down 2% in London trading. 

According to data provider OAG, Heathrow is the world’s second-busiest international airport by capacity this month, with just over 4 million seats, and fifth-busiest airport at about 4.3 million seats if you include domestic flights. The airport handled a record 83.9 million passengers in 2024, Heathrow said in January.

Micron Technology (MU) shares moved higher in extended trading Thursday after the chipmaker posted better-than-expected results and issued a strong outlook, bolstered by surging demand for AI.

The memory chip maker and Nvidia (NVDA) partner saw its data center revenue triple in the fiscal second quarter from a year earlier amid strong demand for its high-bandwidth memory chips used in systems that develop and run AI software.

Micron shares have gained 22% since the start of the year as of Thursday’s close, though trade just 7% higher over the past 12 months as surging demand for the company’s AI offerings has been partially offset by modest demand for its chips used in smartphone and PCs. The stock rose 1% to $104 in after-hours trading Thursday.

Below, we break down the technicals on Micron’s weekly chart and point out key price levels worth watching out for.

Potential Symmetrical Triangle Breakout

Micron shares have traded within a symmetrical triangle since September last year, potentially forming a continuation pattern ahead of another move higher.

More recently, the stock found buying interest near the triangle’s lower trendline and could break out above the pattern in Friday’s trading session after the company’s upbeat results.

Let’s apply technical analysis to Micron’s chart to identify three key overhead areas that investors will likely be watching and also locate a crucial support level worth monitoring during pullbacks in the chipmaker’s stock.

Key Overhead Areas to Watch

Earnings-driven buying above the symmetrical triangle could see the shares initially make a move up to the $107 level. This area provides overhead resistance near the 50-week moving average and a horizontal line that connects a series of price points on the chart stretching back to April 2024.

A move above this area could spark a rally to around $130. Investors who have accumulated shares at lower levels may look for exit points in this region near last year’s April peak, which also closely aligns with a range of closing prices positioned just below the stock’s all-time high (ATH) set in June last year.

To forecast a potential upside target above the ATH, investors can use bars pattern analysis. To apply this technique, we take the price bars that make up the stock’s uptrend from October 2023 to June last year and overlay them from this month’s low. The analysis projects a target of around $200, nearly double Micron’s Thursday closing price.

We selected this prior trend as it followed an earlier symmetrical triangle on the chart, providing insight as to how a future move higher in the stock may play out..

Crucial Support Level to Monitor

During pullbacks in Micron shares, investors should keep tabs on the $85 level. The stock would likely find support in this area near a range of lows extending back to August last year and a consolidation period that formed on the chart in December 2023 and January 2024.

The comments, opinions, and analyses expressed on Investopedia are for informational purposes only. Read our warranty and liability disclaimer for more info.

As of the date this article was written, the author does not own any of the above securities.

Intel (INTC) shares fell slightly Thursday after a steep downturn the previous session that snapped a five-day winning streak for the embattled chipmaker.

The stock surged about 30% during the week-long run, which came as Intel named Lip-Bu Tan as its new CEO and amid fresh reports that the company could sell parts of its business. The stock fell 7% on Wednesday as reports emerged that threw cold water on some of the latest deal speculation.

Despite the recent rally, Intel shares are down 43% over the past 12 months amid the company’s inability to make inroads into the booming AI chip market and months of restructuring and deal rumors. The stock fell 0.7% to around $24 on Thursday.

Below, we take a closer look at Intel’s weekly chart and use technical analysis to identify key price levels worth watching.

Potential Rectangle Bottom

Since Intel’s steep drop in early August last year, the price has oscillated within an orderly trading range, potentially carving out a rectangle bottom similar to a rangebound period that preceded a trending move in the stock between February and December 2023.

More recently, the shares have tested the respected 50-week moving average over the past five weeks but have met selling pressure on each occasion.

In a win for the bulls, the relative strength index (RSI) has reclaimed the 50 threshold, indicating improving price momentum. Trading volume has also increased in recent weeks, suggesting growing investor interest in the stock.

Let’s identify three key overhead areas on Intel’s chart that investors may be watching and also point out an important support level that would likely attract interest during potential retracements.

Key Overhead Areas to Watch

The first overhead area to watch sits around $26. This level finds a confluence of resistance from the 50-week moving average and a horizontal line that connects the lower and upper ranges of the two rectangle patterns on Intel’s chart.

A decisive breakout above this level could trigger a move to the key $30 area. Investors may look to lock in profits in this region near the psychological round number and a series of peaks and troughs that formed on the chart between November 2022 and June last year.

Follow-through buying may see the shares climb to around $36, a location where they could run into selling pressure near the downward sloping 200-week moving average, which closely aligns with a range of price action on the chart stretching back to June 2022.

This area also roughly corresponds with a projected bars pattern price target that extracts the stock’s trending move from February to December 2023 and repositions it from last month’s low, predicting what a move higher might look like if price history rhymes.

Important Support Level to Monitor

Finally, during retracements in Intel shares, investors should keep a close eye on the $19 level. Investors may view this area as a trading floor near the low of the rectangle pattern.

The comments, opinions, and analyses expressed on Investopedia are for informational purposes only. Read our warranty and liability disclaimer for more info.

As of the date this article was written, the author does not own any of the above securities.

Carvana (CVNA) shares gained Thursday as analysts at Piper Sandler advised buying the dip in the online used car retailer’s stock after a recent selloff.

Carvana’s stock has lost roughly a third of its value since the company reported quarterly results in February. Piper Sandler analysts told clients they would “accumulate” shares, and reiterated a $225 price target, implying more than 20% upside from Thursday’s close. The consensus of analysts tracked by Visible Alpha is even higher, at about $287.

The company currently has a roughly 1% share of the used car market, Piper Sander said, but the analysts expect that could eventually grow to more than 10%. They said Carvana could go from 416,000 vehicles sold last year to over 3 million in the long term. 

Piper Sander also suggested Carvana could be particularly well insulated from the impact of new tariffs. That’s in part because used cars are primarily sold domestically, the analysts said, but also because Carvana could have room to grow its sales even if the broader used car market struggles. 

Shares of Carvana added over 5% Thursday to close at $185.42. Even with the recent selloff, its shares have more than doubled in value over the past 12 months.