This week is huge. We've got Netflix on Tuesday, Tesla and Meta on Wednesday, and like 70 S&P companies reporting overall. This is the stuff that's gonna decide where the market goes for the rest of the year. If big tech shows up, the AI trade is back. If not... good luck. And Bitcoin's just sitting around $81K after everything. I keep seeing people call $250K by end of year. Wild, but honestly this thing has done crazier. What are you expecting this week โ do earnings save us or sink us? And where do you actually see Bitcoin ending the year?
$VXUS holds 8,790 stocks.. Thatโs EIGHT THOUSAND, SEVEN HUNDRED and NINETYโฆ.. To some, that sounds like diversification on steroids, over killโฆ HOWEVER, those 8,790 stocks are actually equivalent to owning only about 239 equally weighted stocks. Thatโs its effective number of stocks.ย It's a lot more than the S&P 500... but not as much as I personally thought! And thatโs just ONE of the things I found digging into VXUS, Vanguards Total International Stock Index ETF.ย I also found some pretty surprising differences between VXUS and the S&P 500 ($VOO / $VFV ) that made me rethink what โinternational diversificationโ means to your portfolio.ย I broke down the performance, valuation, holdings, sectors, countries and risk in my latest VXUS deep dive. Iโd love to know your perspective on this! https://youtu.be/NcafSSVfMXs Itโs definitely more complicated than the โUS is expensive, international is cheapโ .... Would you include international stocks in one ETF as part of your portfolio? Why or why not? Let's get this conversation going guys!!! read more
Whatโs the most important thing you look for when researching a stock and finding a winner? What are the things that a stock must have in order for you to own it? Let me know below, iโm super curious!
While the AI chips were falling apart this week, down 13.5%, one sector quietly did the opposite. Healthcare was the only one of the three big groups I track that closed green, up 3.5%, while software fell 7.3%. The money that left the AI trade did not leave the market. It went defensive. And it went to quality. The three healthcare names leading my board all closed above their weekly central line, with relative strength at the top of the board: AbbVie at 285.4, UnitedHealth at 401.4, and Eli Lilly at 1,257.0. After eight weeks of going nowhere, healthcare turned into the leader in the exact week the chips broke. This is the rotation hiding under the headlines. The levels I watch on each of these, and the point where the read is wrong, will be in my newsletter tomorrow. Not investment advice ๐
Today, Iโm taking a moment to appreciate how far God has brought me. This car means a lot to me because I know the work, patience, and sacrifices that go into building the life you want. It hasnโt always been easy, but Iโve learned to keep going, trust God, and stay focused on my goals. Iโve also learned that you canโt please everybody. Some people will celebrate your progress, while others will question your decisions. Thatโs life. At the end of the day, you know what youโve worked for and what it took to get here. Iโm grateful for how far Iโve come, and I pray God continues to give me the wisdom to keep growing. Never forget where you started, and donโt be afraid to appreciate how far youโve made it. โค๏ธ๐ All thanks and glory to God for this blessing, and special thanks to $SPCX for last weekโs trade with my trading community. Iโm grateful for the opportunities, the lessons, and everyone whoโs been part of the journey. ๐ ECCLESIASTES 3:12โ13 โI know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life. And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.โ To me, this verse is a reminder that itโs okay to enjoy what you work hard for. Sometimes weโre so busy chasing the next goal that we forget to appreciate what God has already blessed us with. Not everybody will understand your choices, and thatโs okay. Iโm just thankful for what God has allowed me to accomplish. All glory belongs to Him. ๐ ๐ MY PRAYER FOR EVERYONE READING THIS โค๏ธ Heavenly Father, I pray for everyone reading this post. You know what each person is going through, even the things they donโt share with anybody. You know their worries, their struggles, and the things theyโve been praying for. Lord, please give them strength when life gets hard, peace when their minds are troubled, and hope when things donโt go as planned. Bless their families, provide for their needs, and open doors of opportunity for them. For those who have been working hard and waiting for their prayers to be answered, please give them the patience to keep going and the faith to trust in You. Father, guide their steps, protect their homes, and surround them with people who genuinely want to see them do well. Remind them not to give up just because things are taking longer than they expected. Help them appreciate the little blessings along the way and give You thanks through both the good days and the difficult ones. My prayer is that everyone reading this finds a reason to smile, receives good news, and sees better days ahead. May God bless you and your family, provide for your needs, and give you the strength to keep moving forward. In Jesusโ mighty name, AMEN! ๐โค๏ธ read more
This might be one of the craziest $AMZN charts Iโve seen in a whileโฆ Amazonโs remaining performance obligations, primarily tied to AWS, have exploded to $496 BILLION. That was just $164B in Q3 2024. In less than two years, the contracted revenue sitting ahead of the business has roughly tripled!!
I've been really MIA on Blossom since the passing of my sister... It's given me a lot of time to reflect on things. I still enjoy everything about finance and check my portfolio often, but I really want to stress the importance of realizing why we are doing this. What is the end goal of all of this? Seeing a loved one go in their early 30s is difficult, and it's made me realize that the time we have on this planet is really, really short. I have come to the realization that staring at numbers and watching them grow isn't as important as spending some of that time with loved ones. I want to start taking the kiddos on more vacations, buy the van that the wife wants, and try to see my parents more. The key for me will still be to be responsible with my finances, but instead of waiting for that next portfolio goal, waiting for the kids to grow older, or waiting to retire... why not live now? The whole point of becoming wealthy is to USE THE WEALTH, not to stash more and more so we can become so rich that we never actually enjoy the short time we are given on Earth. When the drunk driver went head on with her Uber vehicle, I truly believe she had no clue, could've just been chilling on her phone in the back then dead the next second...goes to show our life could end at any second and we might not even realize it. This post isn't saying we shouldn't be financially responsible, but that we should also enjoy life today... Tell your loved ones you love them, and use your finances to better your life. Willread more
Personally, growing up, life wasnโt so easy for me. There were zero handouts. There was an ugly divorce between my parents that shattered us further financially. And by no means would there ever be a trust fund. But hereโs the deal, I am forever grateful for all of it. Why? It built me into a machine. By 31, I hit coast FIRE and now I spend most of the year traveling and living what I call my rich life. Iโm sharing this with you all because it wasnโt ever and will never be about the money. Yesterday evening, I walked into a restaurant here in Montenegro overlooking the sunset. The waiter asked me what I wanted upon entering the restaurant as he held a menu up. My reply: โgive me your best, no menu needed.โ I had fresh sea bass paired with a tasty Greek salad and a glass of local wine. Investors, please do yourself a favor and stop living for money. Live life and experience it all. Money is merely a tool to allow you to experience. Now Iโm here to just document my journey to $1M and share how I will be 100% work optional by 35: https://www.instagram.com/ari.gutman?xtok=MTZlYW1ldjNqaHM2bA%3D%3D&utm_source=qrread more
This stock is down major in the past five years, but I recently bought them at $19!! This company controls the largest amount of private timberland in the USA (10M acres). Itโs been operating since 1900 and in Q1 2026 they mentioned in their official investors presentation that theyโve been selling and leasing Timberland property to large-scale data centers. The average price target is 30 7 out of 12 analysts rate it as a strong by with zero sell ratings These are obviously not set in stone, and the stock is not guaranteed to go up, it also gets impacted heavily with increased interest rates because mortgage rates are affected by higher interest rates, which means less houses, which means less demand for their product. Iโm still bullish because their FCF is expected to jump from 780 million to 819 million in 2027. I feel like itโs in major over-sold territory. The PE looks really high at first glance, but itโs also a cyclical stock which distorts PE because macroeconomic factors can spike it artificially high. The Shiller PE is 13.37! With the Fed possibly increasing rates further, I wouldnโt be surprised if it dipped down but I would increase my position if it did. This might be a swing trade for me, but it also does diversify my portfolio out of tech which is sooo needed lol. Not financial advice, just my research! read more
TOP 8 STOCKS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS DRAWDOWN: 1. $NBIS Nebius Group 2. $ASTS AST SpaceMobile 3. $RKLB Rocket Lab Corp 3. $AEHR Aehr Test Systems 4. $AVGO Broadcom 5. $GOOGL Alphabet 6. $VRT Vertiv Holdings 7. $CRDO Credo Technology 8. $NVDA Nvidia Corp Anything else a must add?read more
One of the best parts about the Blossom community is how open everyone is sharing knowledge and experiences. To make things easier for anyone just starting their investing journey, hereโs a simple glossary to help understand and simplify various terms. Common Terms: Dividend: A share of a companyโs profits paid to shareholders, usually quarterly. Ex-Dividend Date: The cutoff date by which you must own a stock to receive its next dividend. ETF (Exchange-Traded Fund): A fund that holds multiple stocks or bonds, traded like a single stock. Covered Call ETF: An ETF that owns stocks and sells call options to generate extra income (higher yield, limited / capped upside). Earnings Report: A companyโs quarterly financial performance summary. EPS (Earnings Per Share): A companyโs profit divided by its number of shares. Market Cap: A companyโs total value (share price ร number of shares). ACB: The total amount youโve paid for an investment, including the purchase price plus any fees or commissions. Book Value: The value of a company according to its financial statements (assets minus liabilities). Yield: Annual dividend as a percentage of the stock/ETF price. Liquidity: How easily an asset can be bought or sold without impacting its price. Volatility: The degree of price fluctuations in a stock or market. Index: A benchmark of stocks (e.g., S&P 500, Nasdaq, TSX). Bull Market: A period of rising stock prices and optimism. Bear Market: A period of declining stock prices and pessimism. False Breakout: When a stockโs price moves above (or below) a key level, making it look like a new trend is starting, but then quickly reverses back. P/E Ratio: Price-to-earnings ratio (stock price รท EPS), used to assess valuation. Blue Chip: Well-established, financially strong companies with a track record of stability. Diversification: Spreading investments across assets to reduce risk. Broker: A platform or firm that facilitates buying and selling investments. Limit Order: An order to buy/sell a stock at a specific price or better. Market Order: An order to buy/sell a stock immediately at the current market price. Bid/Ask Spread: The difference between the highest price buyers offer and the lowest price sellers accept. Dollar-Cost Averaging (DCA): Investing a fixed amount regularly to reduce the impact of market swings. Capital Gain/Loss: Profit or loss from selling an investment for more/less than its purchase price. IPO: When a company first sells shares to the public. Index Fund: A fund designed to mirror the performance of a market index. Short Selling: Selling borrowed shares, hoping to buy them back cheaper. Margin: Borrowing money from a broker to buy investments, which amplifies gains and losses. Margin Requirement: The minimum amount of your own money (equity) you must maintain in a margin account to open or keep a leveraged investment position. Margin Call: A demand from your broker to deposit more funds or sell assets because your account equity has fallen below the required margin level. Time Horizon: The length of time you plan to hold an investment before needing the money. Short horizons = more risk-sensitive, long horizons = more room to ride out volatility. Stock Split / Reverse Split: A split increases the number of shares (e.g., 2-for-1) while lowering the price per share. A reverse split reduces the number of shares (e.g., 1-for-10) while raising the price per share. Your overall value doesnโt change just the math. Long (Being Long): Buying a stock or asset because you expect the price to go up. Short (Being Short): Selling a stock you donโt own because you expect the price to go down, so you can buy it back cheaper later. TER: The total yearly cost of owning a fund, including the management fee plus other costs like administration, audits, and legal fees. MER: The annual cost that a fund charges for management (includes any leverage costs if used). Management Fee: A portion of the MER that goes directly to the fund managers for running the fund. Withholding Tax: A tax deducted on dividends/distributions from foreign investments (e.g., U.S. dividends to Canadian investors face a 15% withholding in TFSA/Non-Registered accounts). Total Returns: The full picture of an investmentโs performance, including both price gains and dividends/distributions. CAGR: The average yearly growth of an investment over time. NAV: The price of one share of a fund (stock or etf) NAV Depreciation: When the fundโs share price goes down over time. Mutual Fund: A pool of money from many investors used to buy a mix of stocks, bonds, or other assets. Bond: A loan you give to a company or government, and they pay you back with interest. Asset: Anything valuable you own that can generate money. Portfolio: Your collection of investments. Option: A contract that gives you the right (but not the obligation) to buy or sell a stock at a set price. Future: A contract to buy or sell something at a set price on a future date. REIT: A company that owns real estate and pays investors income from rent. Alpha: A measure of how much better (or worse) an investment did compared to the market. Beta: A measure of how much an investment moves compared to the market. Sharpe Ratio: A way to see if returns are worth the risk taken. Hedging: Protecting your investments from risk. Rebalancing: Adjusting your portfolio back to your target mix of assets. FCF: Free Cash Flow Understanding these terms makes investing far less intimidating. If anyone feels other terms should be included, please share in the comments. Iโll update this post so we can build a complete beginner-friendly resource together! *Sorry tagged a few etfs for reach ๐ซฃread more
๐ $NBIS 170P โ +1000% ๐ฅ $NOW Puts โ +100% ๐ $CRWD Puts โ +100% ๐ข $SKHY Puts โ +65%+ $NBIS went from $0.60 โ $6.70 ๐คฏ Partials were taken along the way while letting the runner work. The big takeaway for me wasnโt just the returns it was managing the trades properly, taking profits, and letting the strongest setups play out. Options can move fast in both directions, so risk management is always part of the process. What would you have done with a position like $NBIS after it hit +100% take most of it off or let a runner continue? ๐read more
I'm a pretty frugal guy. I slept on the same mattress from eighth grade until my mid-twenties, and my car is pushing 300,000 miles. But looking back, there are some things I actually REGRET not spending money on sooner. Turns out, sometimes being cheap ends up costing you more... So, I put together 10 purchases I think are genuinely worth the money, including a few that have saved me thousands. Watch here: https://youtu.be/WPZ64mW615c What's one purchase you wish you'd made sooner? #PersonalFinance #SavingMoney #FrugalLiving #MoneyTips #BuildingWealthread more
Hi to all investors out there. specially beginners. i just happen to come across this great REIT / ETF. (Ticket # ARI ) APOLLO COMMERCIAL REAL STATE FINANCE ( $6.40 ) DIVIDENDS: Yield: Dividend per Share: 15.67% $4.10
These arenโt rules, facts or anything definitive; just some of the many opinions Iโve built over nearly 30yrs of stock investing. Take em' or leave em', it's all good to me because they're accurate. ๐คทโโ๏ธ Here goes, in no particular order. Far too many investorsโฆ โฆ have a gambling mentality when it comes to investing. ... focus on where a stock once traded to determine 'fair valueโ. ... think their pain threshold for unrealized losses is far higher than reality. ... risk far too much for a potentially very small win. ... create a lot of bad habits during bull markets. ... fail to acknowledge mistakes, so they fail to learn from them. ... under-estimate how can be lost going all-in on high or no P/E growth. ... rely on 'wishful thinking' over an actual 'investment thesis'. ... ignore anything negative about their stocks due to confirmation bias. ... will jump into day trading and/or margin usage at worst possible times. ... make blindly 'buying the dip' they're primary investing strategy. ... consider bullish "what-ifs" , while ignoring bearish "what-ifs". โฆ equate every bit of news as a catalyst, while it's just โbusiness as usualโ. .*. spend too much time on small positions & not enough on large positions. .*. fall prey to "how much lower can it go" thinking, and later learn A LOT! ... underestimate 'company specific risk' and invest too much in one stock. ... worry about how they rank against others instead of focusing on self. โฆ donโt understand what โthe market is forward lookingโ truly means. ... fail to factor 'we don't know what we don't know' in investment thesis. ... confuse getting lucky with having a sound investment thesis. ... will eventually get kicked in the throat by an unexpected margin call. .*. own too many individual stocks complicating things for no reason. โฆ donโt spend enough time trying to break their bullish investment thesis. โฆ scream "manipulation", when wrong about their favorite stock. ... spend too much time on social media telling others their stocks are best. ... think 'time in the market' guarantees profits, which isn't true for stocks. ... fall for recency bias when projecting future returns. โฆ think they know more about a stock/company, than they actually do. ... sell their winners early and hold their losers indefinitely. ... willingly pay high expenses on ETFs that don't deliver. .*. happily DCA to lower cost basis, but won't do it to raise cost basis. ... turn a blind eye to dilution from rampant share issuance. ... ignore importance of long-term diversification. ... assume any ETF or mutual fund is safer than a stock. .*. get caught up believing the hype of a highly speculative stock. ... don't bother researching balance sheet & other key metrics.. ... under-estimate what's needed to retire 'comfortably', incl. fire/coast fire. .*. over-estimate what's needed to retire 'comfortably' (opposite of above). ... are far too quick to give advice while being ill-equipped to do so. ... over-estimate their true returns by failing to offset deposits. ... get cocky during bear markets & ultimately lose years of gains because of it. I think I've shared something similar to this in the past, so if I'm being honest, not really sure why I'm sharing... As with most of my posts, it's likely driven by what I'm seeing in my Blossom feed. And full disclosure, I've been guilty of a few of these (.*.) myself. Maybe you're guilty of some too. ** Wanted or not, I'll add to this list as more come to mind. **read more
Midlife Changes Everything โค๏ธ In my 30s and early 40s, I put everyone else first. I prioritized my familyโs needs, often at the expense of my own financial security. I thought being a good mother, partner, and person meant making sure everyone else was okay, even if I wasnโt building a secure future for myself. Eventually, I realized something had to change. I couldnโt keep neglecting my own needs and expect to create the life I wanted. So I started investing in myself, financially $XEQT, physically ๐ช๐ป, mentally ๐ง , and emotionally โค๏ธโ๐ฉน. But hereโs what I didnโt anticipate: when youโve spent years putting everyone else first, the people closest to you may struggle when you start putting yourself on the list. Boundaries change. Expectations are challenged. Sometimes, the shift brings resistance from people who were comfortable with the old you. Itโs hard, but midlife has a way of making you question what truly matters. Our bodies change. Our recovery, sleep, and health require more attention. Our children grow up, our parents age, careers evolve, and we become increasingly aware that our time is finite. Meanwhile, society has spent decades telling us what success should look like: a career, a home, possessions, and a retirement date. But we rarely talk about the cost of pursuing those things while neglecting our health, relationships, peace of mind, or financial independence. And money matters. Financial insecurity can limit our choices and weigh on our mental and physical well-being. Not everyone has the same opportunities, but where we can, building financial resilience gives us greater control over our future. So perhaps midlife is our invitation to reassess. โค๏ธ Financially: Build security and options, one decision at a time. ๐ช Physically: Protect our strength, nutrition, sleep, and long-term health. ๐ง Mentally: Challenge old expectations, set boundaries, and stop measuring ourselves against everyone else. ๐ค Relationally: Nurture the people who bring meaning to our lives, without losing ourselves in the process. And remember to enjoy the present while preparing for the future. Because the goal isnโt to spend our entire lives accumulating wealth only to discover weโve neglected the very things that make life worth living. Financial independence isnโt just about having money. Itโs about having choices. The freedom to decide how we spend our days. The health to enjoy them. The relationships that give them meaning. And the peace of mind that comes from knowing weโre taking care of ourselves, too. Iโm learning that choosing yourself isnโt selfish. You can love people deeply, support those you care about, and still protect your own future. You donโt have to wait until retirement to start living intentionally. And itโs never too late to change direction. Weโre not just building wealth. Weโre building a life we donโt need to escape from, with the freedom to enjoy it while weโre healthy enough to do so. โค๏ธ What has midlife taught you about what truly matters? read more
Just arrived home from a quick trip to London - it was my first time visiting. What a cool city. Full of friendly people. And so much character! Found it super interesting to learn that thereโs still very much a โsavingโ mentality in the UK. But that seems to be changing. Shoutout to Max for delivering an incredible speech (as usual) about Blossom. He presented our platform and mission in a great way and it was very well received by the Brits!
๐คฏ **Elon Musk: $11.2 MILLION per hour?!** That's the staggering figure in this graphic comparing the world's wealthiest individuals. But here's what makes it interestingโฆ These aren't actual hourly earnings. They're estimates based on total net worth divided by the number of hours in a year. ๐ก **The real takeaway?** The world's greatest fortunes weren't built by earning a salary. They were built through **OWNERSHIP**. Tesla. Amazon. Meta. NVIDIA. Berkshire Hathaway. These billionaires accumulated wealth by owning businesses that created enormous shareholder value. read more
Here are my top 9 most favorite books on the topics of money, investing, and the psychology related to it. ๐ I have also shared my short takeaways from each of these books: โ Reboot Your Portfolio (Dan Bortolotti): By simply "owning the market" through globally diversified index funds, you will almost certainly enjoy better performance than the vast majority of investors who buy actively managed funds or try to pick their own stocks. Over the long term, index funds offer the highest probability of achieving your investment goals. โ Atomic Habits (James Clear): If you can get 1% better each day for one year, youโll end up thirty-seven times better by the time youโre done. Focus on making tiny adjustments to your behavior, as small changes lead to lasting improvements. โ Die with Zero (Bill Perkins): Maximize meaningful and memorable experiences in your lifetime when you are healthy and have the capacity to do so. Invest in experiences that yield long-lasting memories and pay you regular "memory dividends". โ The Simple Path to Wealth (JL Collins): Build a financial cushion (F-You Money) to give you a choice, and invest through low cost, broad-market, diversified index funds. โ Rich Dad, Poor Dad (Robert Kiyosaki): Use your money to acquire assets instead of liabilities. โ Choose FI (Chris Mamula, Brad Barrett, Jonathan Mendonsa): Achieving Financial Independence requires a plan, much like building a house, but it is not a one-size-fits-all approach and you can tailor it based on your own journey. โ Quit Like A Millionaire (Kristy Shen, Bryce Leung, JL Collins): Spend your money on experiences that last a lifetime that on material stuff and consumer debt. โ The Psychology of Money (Morgan Housel): Managing your emotional impulses and learning how to behave in face of challenging money decisions, play a crucial role in your financial success. โ I will teach you to be rich (Ramit Sethi): Develop a "Conscious Spending Plan" that aligns with your values and financial goals. ๐ Learn More: https://youtu.be/KIXOYvKgtnw โก๏ธ What are your favorite money/investing/self-development book recommendations?read more
Recent reporting suggests $ACN has capped AI budget at $29 per month per employee as some employees were spending upwards of $1000. This adds another wrinkle to the AI story. As earnings expectations rise and companies are trying every possible way to reign in costs, how much are they willing to spend on AI on a continuous basis? $NVDA$AMD$AVGO$MU might be saying their is insatiable demand for AI tools but there's other side of story where companies are unable to afford token costs and are capping/cutting on AI expenses. If AI costs which companies are willing to take on are capped, will the frontier model companies be able to grow their revenues at a rate which investors are expecting? And then that leads to questions further down the chain? If usage slows, how much of the buildout in progress and projected is truly needed? That is exactly the question which $IT was asking last week. That is one of the reasons why $CRWV bond yields spiked last week !! Again urge all investors caution before buying every dip. โ๏ธโ๏ธ read more
$QQQ The breach of the lower Bollinger band suggests a relief bounce is imminent. The question is: Will it vanish like the recent bounces highlighted, or are all-time highs coming back? The ley level to validate a bouncr is in my latest newsletter. Link in bio.
$MU: Weekend activity is showing a print at $818. If that materializes on Monday morning, be careful chasing the selloff with shorts, a reversal would be imminent with such a gap below the lower Bollinger band. With a P/E ratio of 11, this stock is not expensive.
Bonds are the quiet half of investing: you lend money to a government or a company, they pay you interest, and at the end they hand your money back. A US Treasury bond is the classic example โ boring by design. The twist: bond prices move opposite to interest rates. When rates climb, new bonds pay more, so existing ones lose value. That is one reason a 10-year Treasury yield near 5.3% has rattled stocks all month. Many investors blend bonds with stock ETFs like $VOO or $SPY to smooth the ride. Less excitement, fewer gut punches. Not financial advice.
๐ From a Struggling Chipmaker to an AI Computing Powerhouse! Can strong leadership transform a struggling company into a global technology leader? Dr. Lisa Su has spent 12 years proving it can. ๐ October 2026 marks 12 years since she became AMD's CEO in 2014. Here's what investors can learn. ๐ 1๏ธโฃ THE GREAT AMD TURNAROUND ๐ When Su became CEO, AMD faced financial difficulties and fierce competition. She refocused the company on high-performance computing, engineering innovation and disciplined execution. AMD rebuilt its competitive position against Intel and NVIDIA. 2๏ธโฃ INNOVATION CHANGED EVERYTHING ๐ป Su helped drive AMD's transformation through: ๐ Ryzen: Revitalized PC processors. ๐ข EPYC: Expanded data-center computing. ๐ค Instinct: Entered the AI accelerator market. These products helped establish AMD as a major competitor in advanced computing. 3๏ธโฃ STRATEGIC ACQUISITIONS ๐ค Three important deals expanded AMD's capabilities: ๐น Xilinx (2022): ~$49B acquisition strengthening adaptive computing. ๐น Pensando (2022): Expanded data-center networking. ๐น ZT Systems (2025): Strengthened AI systems expertise. Together, these moves positioned AMD beyond traditional processors. 4๏ธโฃ AMD BY THE NUMBERS ๐ FY2025 (USD) ๐ฐ Revenue: $34.6B (+34%) ๐ค Data Center Revenue: $16.6B ๐ต GAAP Net Income: $4.3B ๐ Gross Margin: 50% Q2 2026 ๐ Revenue: $11.5B ๐ฐ Gross Margin: 54% AMD's annual revenue grew from approximately $5.5B in 2014 to $34.6B in 2025. 5๏ธโฃ CHALLENGES & RISKS โ ๏ธ Despite its success, AMD faces: โ ๏ธ Intense competition from NVIDIA and Intel. โ ๏ธ Dependence on external chip manufacturers. โ ๏ธ AI spending cycles and export restrictions. โ ๏ธ High innovation costs and rapid technological change. 6๏ธโฃ THE NEXT CHAPTER: AI ๐ค Lisa Su remains AMD's Chair and CEO. Her next challenge is expanding AMD's position in AI infrastructure through Instinct accelerators, EPYC processors and advanced data-center systems. Can AMD turn growing AI demand into sustainable profits and shareholder value? ๐ THE INVESTOR LESSON โ Strong leadership and execution can revive a struggling business. โ Innovation and strategic acquisitions can build competitive advantages. โ Long-term growth must translate into sustainable profitability and cash flow. ๐ก THE REAL UNCLE SAM TAKEAWAY Lisa Su transformed AMD by combining technical expertise, strategic focus and consistent execution. Her legacy demonstrates that rebuilding a company's competitive strength can create opportunities for long-term growth. ๐ญ LET'S TALK, BLOSSOM COMMUNITY! ๐ฑ What best defines Lisa Su's legacy? ๐ AMD's turnaround ๐ป Ryzen and EPYC innovation ๐ค Strategic acquisitions ๐ค Expansion into AI ๐ Which achievement will matter most for AMD's future? The Real Uncle Sam Making Financial Education Simple. Learn. Invest. Build Wealth. ๐ SOURCES โข AMD FY2025 Financial Results โข AMD Q2 2026 Financial Results โข AMD Annual Reports and Corporate History โ ๏ธ Educational purposes only. This content is not intended as financial or investment advice.read more
Here are ๐ฉ3 big flags๐ฉthat signal a company might not be a good investment, and I'll walk you through how to check for each one. (Free Stock Checklist at the end) --- 1๏ธโฃ Declining Revenue or Earnings๐ ๐ Why itโs a red flag:A company with falling revenue or earnings may be losing market share, dealing rising costs, or the overall industry is shrinking. โ How to Check for This: A) Look at the Income Statement๐ - Find the companyโs total revenue and net income in its latest financial report. Top-line & bottom-line, respectively. - Compare revenue and net income across multiple quarters/years. 3 years or 12 quarters is more than enough to indicate a trend - If both are consistently declining, itโs a warning sign. B) Check Earnings Reports๐๏ธ - Look at the companyโs quarterly earnings reports to see if theyโve missed expectations multiple times. C) Compare to Competitors๐ - Is the entire industry struggling, or just this company? ๐Website for financial reports: https://www.marketwatch.com/ --- 2๏ธโฃ High Debt Levels ๐ Why itโs a red flag:Companies with a capital structure heavily debt-reliant are more vulnerable in economic downturns and might struggle to repay obligations. โ How to Check for This: A) Find the Debt-to-Equity Ratio (D/E)๐ - Go to the companyโs Balance Sheetin its latest report. - Find Total Debt and Total Equityand calculate: Debt-to-Equity Ratio = Total Debt รท Total Equity** - A D/E ratio above 2.0 (varies by industry) is usually risky. B) Check Interest Coverage Ratio๐ - Look at the Income Statement for EBIT (Earnings Before Interest & Taxes). - Find Interest Expense and calculate:Interest Coverage Ratio = EBIT รท Interest Expense - If this ratio is below 1.5, the company may struggle to pay interest. ๐ Resources: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/debtratio.asp#:~:text=Key%20Takeaways&text=A%20company's%20debt%20ratio%20can,has%20more%20assets%20than%20debt --- 3๏ธโฃ Poor Cash Flow ๐ Why itโs a red flag:A company can be profitable on paper but still run out of cash to fund operations. โ How to Check for This: A) Find the Cash Flow Statement๐ - Look at Operating Cash FlowOCF). - If OCF is negative for multiple quarters, the company may be in trouble. B) Check Free Cash Flow (FCF)๐ฐ - Free Cash Flow = Operating Cash Flow - Capital Expenditures - A company with negative FCF canโt reinvest in growth without taking on debt. ๐ Read more about Cash flow: https://www.investopedia.com/articles/stocks/07/easycashflow.asp ___________________________________________ Thanks for reading, I am open to engage in friendly conversations so I encourage you to leave a comment!๐ฌ Access my free stock checklist at the link belowโฌ๏ธ https://investingwithcole.gumroad.com/l/stockchecklist read more
ETFs vs stocks: the tradeoff in one sentence. One stock is a bet on a single business; an ETF is a basket of many. With a stock like $NVDA, you capture the full upside when the company wins โ and the full pain when it stumbles. An ETF like $SPY spreads you across hundreds of companies, so one bad earnings report barely moves the needle. But you also give up the shot at a ten-bagger. Neither choice is "right." The real question is how much risk you can live with โ and how much research you want to do. Not financial advice.
๐ Investors rotated out of AI and into value as another hot inflation print landed. The Dow jumped 1.08%, the S&P 500 added 0.33% and the Nasdaq edged up 0.08% after being down 1.4% at its low. September PPI rose 1.3% on the month and 6.3% on the year, the biggest gains since 2022. ๐ค Anthropicโs third quarter revenue grew to $16.8 billion from $11.6 billion in the second, sources told CNBC, a slower sequential climb than the jump from $4.7 billion in Q1. Some traders read it as too slow to justify the run in chipmakers, though the Financial Times reported the company turned cash flow positive in the quarter. โ๏ธ CoreWeave ($CRWV) rebounded 5.94% to $69.69 after sinking as much as 9.5% in the morning. Deutsche Bankโs Brad Zelnick called Wednesdayโs 15% drop a buying opportunity, arguing the company is scaling responsibly with near-term liquidity in decent shape. ๐ Crocs ($CROX) spiked 6.15% to $124.77 after Barclays upgraded it to overweight and lifted its target 18% to $139. Analyst Adrienne Yih pointed to direct-to-consumer strength, promotional discipline and growth coming from newer franchises rather than the Classic Clog. ๐ฆ Bank of America ($BAC) got an upgrade to outperform from Baird, which kept its $62 target for 21% upside. The firm called Wednesdayโs selloff overdone and likes the 2027 net interest income outlook, despite yesterdayโs earnings miss and higher expenses. ๐พ Chip stocks fell for an eighth straight session, the longest slide for the iShares Semiconductor ETF since 2015, down more than 15% over the stretch. Seagate ($STX), Western Digital ($WDC) and SK Hynix extended losses on memory glut fears, with Elon Musk posting that China will be making a lot of RAM in 2028. ๐ The Russell 2000 fell into correction Wednesday, ending 11% below its August 14 record close. Breadth improved elsewhere though, with more than half of S&P 500 names back above their 200-day moving averages, up from about 40% in late September. ๐จ๐ปโ๐ป Researched and written daily by @timeminoread more
How does a 16-year-old build a six-figure stock portfolio? In this episode of the Retail Rundown Podcast, 16-year-old Charan from New Jersey shares how he went from a 7th grade stock market competition to running a six-figure portfolio, while building 240K+ followers on Instagram and a 30,000-member Discord community along the way. That journey has included some huge swings, including a nearly $100K win on $PENG options and a $60K options loss on $AAOI that completely changed how he sizes trades, takes profits, and cuts losses. Charan explains how he researches stocks using AI and social media, why heโs bullish on memory stocks like $SNDK and $MU, why he bought $NBIS after Michael Burry went short, and why he thinks dropping out of high school to day trade is a mistake https://youtu.be/ZZ_PetTNbBo?si=QSEmMhrjwRYQ9Alw
Is it okay to pause investing when life gets expensive? And how much does having kids really change your family budget? Welcome back to Episode 24 of Financial KarMoe! This time, @karyungtom and I talked about the financial realities of raising a family. We share our experiences with slowing down investments, the impact of parental leave on household income, preparing for major home repairs, and why paying down your mortgage can also be part of building your net worth. We also discuss whether it's worth continuing to invest small amounts when you need to focus on other financial priorities. ๐ We get into covered-call ETFs, investment fees, and why comparing portfolio returns isn't always as straightforward as it looks. Kar explains why it's important to distinguish between comparing investment strategies and trying to isolate the impact of fees. We also touch on why covered-call ETFs may lag during a rapid Bitcoin rally. ๐งธ And because we're both dads, we talk about the expenses that come with raising kids, from daycare and extracurricular activities to toys, family vacations, and airfare. We even share some thoughts on buying secondhand to save money and the challenges of finding time for a date night when you have little ones at home. Shoutout to @matt.41, @cjs033, @noviceadvisor whose questions/comments we featured. ๐ฌ We'd love to hear from you: What's the biggest expense that has increased since you had kids? Let us know in the comments! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1MRpfzzoxQread more
๐ Hot inflation data and an AI selloff pulled stocks lower. The Nasdaq fell 1.88%, the S&P 500 dropped 1.11% and the Dow slipped 0.09%. September CPI rose 0.6% on the month and 3.7% on the year, above the 3.6% expected, with core at 0.3% and 2.6%, both a tick hot. โ๏ธ CoreWeave ($CRWV) nosedived 15.46% to $65.78 as worries mounted about how much debt tech companies outside the Magnificent Seven are taking on for the AI buildout. Its bonds got hit too, with the 2032 notes yielding 14.8%. Oracle ($ORCL) fell almost 9%. ๐ฆ Bank of America ($BAC) declined almost 5% after third quarter revenue missed. Regulators also hit the bank with more than $1.2 billion in federal penalties for failing to report over $5 billion in suspicious transactions. Morgan Stanley ($MS) beat expectations but still closed nearly 3% lower. ๐ฅ Bending Spoons ($BSP) ripped 41.20% to $53.46 after filings showed Berkshire Hathaway put another $330 million into the Italian serial acquirer, taking its stake to 4%. That follows $600 million invested during Julyโs Nasdaq IPO. ๐ฅ Morgan Stanley sees gold reaching $5,000 an ounce by the second quarter of 2027, keeping it as the bankโs top commodity pick. Strategist Amy Gower says central bank buying and ETF inflows have pushed prices above $4,000 even though the old relationship with real yields would put gold under $3,000. ๐ข๏ธ U.S. oil majors hit record intraday highs as crude climbed on Saudi-Houthi fighting and Iranian attacks on Hormuz shipping. Exxon reached $177.36, Chevron $222.20 and ConocoPhillips $142.50. WTI settled up 1.01% at $95.09, with gasoline averaging $4.33 a gallon against $3.08 a year ago. ๐จ๐ปโ๐ป Researched and written daily by @timemino read more
After nearly 21 years of picking individual dividend growth stocks, I finally reached a point where I had to ask myself the big question.... Do I want to spend the next 40 or 50 YEARS doing this???? When I started investing, I LOVED stock picking. I enjoyed reading quarterly reports, going through investor presentations, comparing valuations and trying to figure out which company in my portfolio was the best place to put my next dollar. And .... I still enjoy it!!! However, after nearly 21 years of doing it, I started looking at the amount of time I was spending versus what I was actually getting in return.... There is a pretty important distinction between being good at researching companies and actually being able to consistently OURPERFORM a broad market index AFTER fees, taxes, mistakes and all the other things that come with trying to beat the market AND add in the time you spent that could have been spent elsewhere, like at my day job. And the empirical data wasn't exactly making me feel better about my odds... it had been glaringly obvious for years.ย So I did something I never thought I would do as a lifelong stock picker..... I sold EVERY. SINGLE. STOCK. in my TFSA. And then I moved into 7 broad market ETFs 3 of which factor tilt.ย I still kept some factor tilting because apparently I wasn't quite ready to give up my active investing addiction entirely ๐คช The biggest change for me wasn't actually my portfolio.....It was my LIFE. I was spending easily 10 plus hours a week researching, monitoring and thinking about my investments. And even when I wasn't sitting at my computer, there was always that little part of my brain wondering whether I should be doing something differently. Now?.... My portfolio requires a fraction of the time. I've gained back more than 10 hours a week that I can spend with my wife, working on the things I actually care about or frankly just existing without thinking about whether some company I own is going to miss its earnings estimate by 3 cents and start to crash.. You can put any of the billion scenarios into that sentence and I was thinking of it (ADHD brain). The reduction in stress has been even more valuable than the time. I didn't even REALIZE I was carrying that market stress around... but my wife sure noticed! I'm no longer constantly asking myself whether I picked the right stock, whether I should sell something, whether I'm missing an opportunity or whether I'm doing enough to outperform the market. The funniest thing is.... well not really funny, kind of sad, after almost 21 years of trying to become a better stock picker, I ended up realizing that maybe the better decision was to stop trying so hard to be one. There was still one question I couldn't answer until enough time had passed.... Did I actually make the right decision? It's now been 10 months since I made the change. It's still a very short period of time... but enough to short out my feelings on things. I've just finished my latest portfolio update, where I go through all 7 ETFs, exactly how I've structured the portfolio, how I'm using factor tilts, and most importantly... What actually happened over those 10 months.... and how did the portfolio perform compared to my benchmark and the S&P 500. https://youtu.be/3khfZJ7SY0g I'm not going to spoil the results here..... watch to see whether I regret walking away from over two decades of stock picking.read more
I am currently 47 years old. Unfortunately in that time frame I have lost a lot of family members. Some (most) were accidents, some to age, some to cancer, and one to suicide. Thatโs 11 deaths total. Only 1 person out of 11 had a will. When you are grieving the last thing you want to do is close an estate up. Itโs even harder if nothing has been prepared in advance. After the initial shock of the death settles (the phase where everyone is usually nice), greed comes through in a most alarming manner. Iโve watched people turn into monsters. Make sure you have a will!!!! or people will fight. I know most people hate thinking about their death or their spouses death but honestly itโs just a fact of life. Iโve personally been the executor of 2 estates now. This is my advice: 1. If your young get life insurance. If youโre retired itโs not worth it. 2. Make sure you have a will. 3. Make sure you have a personal directive. 4. Make sure you have a power of attorney set up. 5. If your married make your spouse the beneficiary of your TFSA and RRSP(has to be done through the account not the will), they will roll into the spouses account without taxation. 6. If youโre married, and you own a house, make sure both names are on the title, joint tenant, NOT tenant in common. This activates right of survivorship on property and doesnโt have to go through the estate. 7. If youโre married, both people should have their name on all the vehicles, joint, otherwise itโs a headache after death. 8. Buy a file folding system. I have a plastic one that has a clasp and handle. 9. Put EVERYTHING in this file folder that would be needed if you died tomorrow. a) all land titles B) information on house insurance so it can either be eventually canceled or name changed over. C) your will (or the location of your will), power of attorney, and personal directive D) the information for your car, car insurance, and registration on vehicles. E) information on life insurance. F) all current year papers needed for filing your taxes. Because the survivor will have to do it and will need that information. G) where your household bills are. ALL OF THEM, electricity, gas, Netflix, magazine, subscriptions everything you can think of that is in their name. Because you are going to have to cancel them. H) their credit card information where to contact to cancel the cards I) birth certificate, SIN numbers, marriage, license, etc. J) information on all your investments accounts, bank accounts, etc. K) anything else you can think of for your situation If youโre married, Iโd have one box per person. When you die, the funeral home will issue many death certificates. And your lawyer will give you copies of the will. These will be needed to change over any accounts. Everything else goes through the estate which is taxed and the lawyers take their fees so Iโd avoid this as much as possible especially if youโre married. This is why having property in both peopleโs names is so important because it doesnโt have to go through probate. I am widowed now and I have my black file folder and my two remaining children know if something happens to me, all they have to do is grab the folder. Everything they need to take care of my estate will be located in this folder. At the beginning of every year, I open this file up and go through everything to make sure itโs up-to-date. If you are young and do not own much or canโt afford a will, you can draft one up but it must be handwritten to be classified as a legal document. You cannot type it out!! If youโre not worth much, everything will most likely be sold to pay your bills and cover your funeral expenses. But you can state who your executor will be in your handwritten will. Disclaimer Iโm not a lawyer or an accountant and this is not legal advice. Talk to a lawyer and talk to an accountant. Make sure everything is set up for you and your situation. These are situations that I personally ran into. Good luck Also Iโll add in. IF you have a lot of assets make an appointment with your accountant first. They will tell you how to properly set things up. Then take that information to your lawyer. read more
