Market Bytes

American Express just announced strong Q3 earnings and the stock dropped by over 5%, what is going on? In this episode we break down American Express’ performance, how it matches up against their 2023 forecast and talk about what might actually be holding the stock and other bank stocks back.  00:00-American Express crushed Q3 earnings 07:07-Why most people misunderstand American Express’ business...

Vanguard’s VTI, VOO, and VGT are 3 of the most popular and talked about ETFs out there. But a lot of people are making a very basic and common mistake with them. In this episode we break down the problem and dive into all 3 ETFs so you know how to fix it.  00:00-A common mistake people are making with these Vanguard funds 01:43-Understanding fund overlap 05:16-VTI or VOO, which one is best? 09:13-...

If you’re depending on the headlines to understand your stocks, you’re going to be disappointed. News articles aren’t providing the full picture and truth that we need to really know what’s going on with the companies we own. In this episode, we dive into a detailed example of Starbucks, to show how the news headlines you see are misleading, and what we can do instead to get a clear picture on how...

Popular food stocks are down big over the last month and according to the news it’s because of the rising popularity of Ozempic and other weight loss drugs. In this episode we talk about what they are and what impact they are having on the most recent market downturn. 00:00-What is Ozempic and how could it impact stocks? 02:36-Why is this a big story? 05:38-What’s really going on with stocks? 08:3...

Paul Tudor Jones was on CNBC yesterday talking about his thoughts on the stock market and why he thinks it’s a challenging environment for equity investors right now. In this episode we break down his comments, what we should be thinking about as investors, and ultimately what we can do about any of it. 00:00-Paul Tudor Jones is not a fan of stocks right now 01:38-Stock headwind 1 - Global conflic...

Hershey’s is one of the largest and most recognizable chocolate manufacturers in the world. Hershey’s stock has almost doubled the performance of the S&P 500 over the past 30 years, but is down 30% from its high in May 2023. In this episode we walk through Hershey’s business and do a stock analysis to see if HSY is worth buying. 00:00-Hershey’s - Decadent Dividend Growth 02:13-Who are they and...

In this episode we walk through my entire dividend growth portfolio to reveal how much dividend income I made over the last month, what my annual dividends are on a $222,000 account, what stocks I bought and sold, and the overall performance using Schwab portfolio tools. 00:00-Portfolio recap for September 2023 01:50-How Schwab calculates returns 03:55-Dividend income 06:09-Stocks I bought and sol...

All over the financial news and media we’re hearing about a potential recession. What it might mean for the economy, what it might mean for investors, but why are there so many different points of view on it? And what, if anything should we be doing about it? In this episode we break down what it means to be in a recession, what impact it has on stocks, and how we should approach it going forward....

If you buy dividend paying stocks, you have probably come across people on the internet who are quick to question your ability to do simple math. The question of dividend stocks vs growth stocks is one that people are really passionate about, but like most things the answer isn’t as easy as it seems. In this episode we break down the misconceptions about dividend stocks and how they compare to gro...

Dollar General is the largest retailer in the U.S. by number of stores with over 19,000. It’s stock has also been an awesome growth story more than 3x the S&P 500 in Total Return by end of 2022. But in 2023 Dollar General has lost over 56% of it’s value.  In this episode we walk through Dollar General’s business and do a stock analysis to see if DG is a buy now. 00:00-Dollar General - Dividend...

The Federal Reserve decided to keep rates unchanged at the latest FOMC meeting but provided guidance that more rate increases might be on the way. What does this mean for stocks? In this episode we break down what Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s comments mean, the impact they are likely to have on stocks, and what we should do about it as investors. 00:00-The latest FOMC meeting kept rates unchanged 02:...

A question that every investor struggles with is knowing how many stocks you should own in your portfolio. In this episode we listen to 2 of the greatest investors of all time (Warren Buffett and Peter Lynch) and break down the different scenarios so you’ll have a better idea of what the answer is for you. 00:00-What you’ve heard about diversification is wrong 01:32-Warren Buffett’s thoughts on Di...

Believe it or not, Crocs aren’t just the quirky shoes your daughter and all of her friends wear to school. They’re a $5 billion business that has some of the most popular celebrity endorsers in the world, and a stock that has outpaced the S&P 500 by over 4X in the past 5 years. In this episode we walk through Crocs’ business and do a stock analysis to see if CROX is a buy now. 00:00-Comfy, Cas...

TSLY is the YieldMax Options Income ETF based around Tesla (TSLA) stock. With their extremely high dividend yields and online popularity, YieldMax ETFs like TSLY have seen a huge influx in money going into the funds. In this video we’re going to do a deep dive on TSLY, how it works, and what kind of investor it makes sense for. 00:00-YieldMax ETFs like TSLY are growing like crazy 02:44-TSLY ETF Ap...

SCHD is underperforming in 2023, both against the S&P 500 and against other Dividend ETFs. In this episode we break down why SCHDs performance hasn’t matched previous years and what it means going forward. 00:00-The SCHD is underperforming its peers 01:30-Comparing to other Dividend ETFs performance 03:13-How interest rates affect dividend stocks 06:10-Comparing criteria of each Dividend ETF v...

Nike is an iconic brand that has made sneakers into big business. Over the past 20 years they have just about tripled the return of the S&P 500. In this episode we walk through Nike’s business and do a stock analysis to see if NKE is a buy now. 00:00-Nike - Turning sneakers into big business 01:56-What’s going on in their business? 08:48-What are some risks to their business? 11:20-NKE valuati...

In this episode we walk through my entire dividend growth portfolio to reveal how much dividend income I made over the last month, what my annual dividends are on a $224,000 account, what stocks I bought and sold, and the overall performance using Schwab portfolio tools. 00:00-Introducing monthly portfolio recaps 02:23-Dividend income 05:10-Stocks I bought and sold this month 07:35-Best and worst...

JEPI is JP Morgan’s Equity Premium Income ETF. It’s one of the most popular ETFs that has seen a ton of money flow into it. It also has a devoted online following that sings it’s praises. In this video we’re going to do a deep dive on JEPI and I’ll show you why I think it’s wrong for most investors. 00:00-JEPI is one of the most popular ETFs out there 02:53-JEPI’s ETF Approach and Criteria explain...

I just added Visa and Starbucks to my portfolio. Sometimes as investors we try to get too clever with it and start looking at stocks nobody is talking about, or trying to find companies at insane valuations. It’s just human nature - we want to feel like we have an edge that others aren’t seeing. But sometimes the best investments are the most obvious ones, we just have to get out of our own way. O...

I bought Apple at the top before Q3 earnings and since then AAPL stock has dropped 10% and people have had fun dunking on me in the comments. But how did Apple actually perform last quarter and has anything really changed in my Apple investment thesis? In this episode of the Build Invest Live podcast, we’ll revisit my investment in Apple, talk about their Q3 performance, as well as why I’m glad I...

Should you invest in index funds or individual stocks? If you’re confused about this, I don’t blame you. On this episode of the Build Invest Live podcast we break down the pros and cons of investing in index funds vs individual stocks and talk through the things you need to consider to determine what makes the most sense for you. (00:00)-Index funds or stocks, why is it so confusing? (01:09)-Profe...

In this episode I reveal my $227,000 Dividend Growth portfolio, including all my different holdings, the actual strategy that I’m using to pick stocks, the dividend income I’m earning, and the different account types and tools I’m using now that I’ve mostly transitioned everything to Schwab. 00:00-Transparency matters 01:32-What’s my portfolio strategy? 03:22-Schwab account summary 05:18-Portfolio...

Apple was one of those companies that I never bought because I’m always waiting for it to come down in price and meet my value criteria. With big tech being overvalued right now, it definitely wasn’t a time for me to finally buy, was it? Well, it was. On this episode of the build invest live podcast we’re going to walk through my thought process on buying Apple at the top and why I think the bigge...

Forever I’ve told people new to investing to simply buy an S&P 500 index fund and focus on increasing their income and investment. It’s easy and it works. But after reading all the comments from the previous SCHD video I started looking into the past performance of a 2 ETF portfolio that absolutely crushes the S&P 500. In this episode of the Build Invest Live podcast we’re going to go over...

SCHD is the Schwab Dividend ETF that is extremely popular and has performed very well over the past 10 years - but it has a secret to its success that pretty much nobody ever talks about and I’m not sure they even know about it. In this episode of the Build Invest Live podcast we’re going to break down the secret to what makes SCHD different from other dividend ETFs, show you how a little bit of e...