Author Archive: Brett Owens

Small-cap stocks have finally started to wake up lately, which could be a bullish sign as we head into 2026. Let’s remember that a smaller market capitalization does not necessarily mean a diminutive dividend—today we’ll discuss four small caps that yield between 7.1% and 13.3%.

It’s been a “lost decade” for small caps, which have lagged their larger brethren. 2020’s COVID reopening rally in small caps was intense but short-lived—rising interest rates, renewed interest in safer mega-cap stocks after two bear markets in three years, and a rush into predominantly large-cap AI stocks have left small caps on the outs going into this year.… Read more

Let’s get our 2026 dividend shopping finished ahead of time, shall we?

Come January, we’ll have plenty of company from vanilla investors, rushing to “figure out the new year.” Trends. Predictions. Buy this!

But there’s no reason to wait. We already know some of the key dimensions of 2026. Interest rates, for one, are on their way down. Fed Chair Jay Powell has delivered two rate cuts to end the year, with more to follow.

Whether or not Powell personally delivers them doesn’t matter to us. Powell is on his way out. But the Fed show will go on, with a ringmaster ready to roll.… Read more

The spreadsheet jockeys on Wall Street have it all wrong—and their blunder is dragging down the average investor’s returns (and income!).

Their mistake? Looking at “old school” measures, like the recent spate of soft jobs reports, and jumping to the conclusion that the economy is hitting the skids.

Trouble is, this take is totally disconnected from reality, especially when it comes to the nation’s small businesses. Because these mom-and-pop shops are still upbeat—and many of them are looking to grow.

The proof is in the numbers. First up, even though small biz optimism did tail off a bit in October, according to the NFIB Small Business Survey, it’s still above its historical average, where it’s been for the past six months.… Read more

Monthly bills are no problem for careful contrarian readers banking 9.1% yields in monthly divvies. Let’s discuss this rare but excellent dividend breed, the company or fund that pays monthly instead of quarterly.

Only 6% of dividend payers dish monthly. The rest are quarterly or annually, which will likely not be in time to cover your upcoming cell phone bill.

My monthly email from carrier Verizon arrives in a day or two. Another $267.26 will be debited from my account automatically on the 20th.

Fortunately, Verizon notes that there is “nothing I need to do” thanks to AutoPay. As if the automatic payment implies it costs any less money!… Read more

Drug development will never be the same! AI is compressing time-to-market and extending the sales calendar for pharma. More profits from new medications. More new medications, too.

Many pharma and biotech stocks will boom as we enter the “sci-fi” stage of research and development. And this elite 8.8% dividend will directly benefit.

It typically takes 10 to 15 years to develop a new drug. Every month matters because patents last only 20 years. The faster a company gets a drug to market, the more months and years it enjoys with monopoly pricing power.

When patents expire, the generic versions hit the market.… Read more

Our favorite dividends are now on sale—but we still need to make sure we’re buying this dip the right way.

That means zeroing in on rich payers that not only throw off big divvies, but cushion our downside, too.

I’ve got two closed-end funds (CEFs) for you that do just that—and throw off rich 7%+ yields, too. And they avoid the deadly mistake most investors are making now.

Index Funds Pay Little, “Bargain” Techs Even Less

That mistake? Most investors are looking to beaten-down tech stocks (which pay zilch—or close to it!) or they’re grabbing a “plain vanilla” index fund, like the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY)—current yield: 1.1%

One-point-one-percent!… Read more

We contrarians follow Wall Street analysts because we like to fade their opinions!

When most say Buy, we are cautious. There is nobody left to upgrade these shares.

When they slap a Sell label, we are intrigued. So you’re saying the next rating change will be an upgrade?

These slippery suits rate most stocks Buys because, well, that’s the business. As we speak, 400 of the S&P 500 (!) is rated a Buy!

Even at All-Time Highs, Analysts Say 80% of the Market Is a Buy!

Source: S&P Global Market Intelligence

So let’s sift through the Holds and the Sells. Today we’ll sort through a four-pack yielding between 7.9% and 20.6%.… Read more

Jerome Powell is preparing a wonderful holiday income dish for us.

The economy is running hot and he’s cutting rates anyway. Oh baby! “Lame Duck Jerry” is finally starting to cook.

But vanilla investors aren’t having it. They’re sprinting from the table! Recession fears dominate the headlines, even though the data scream otherwise.

The Atlanta Fed’s thermometer has GDP at a sizzling 4%. Four percent! In today’s AI-fueled, efficiency-obsessed economy, the old recession playbook simply doesn’t apply.

AI is eating traditional white-collar work. Business models from 2019 no longer apply in 2025. Some sectors are struggling while others hit new strides.… Read more

What a time to be a contrarian!

The economy is en fuego as AI boosts productivity (even if, yes, it’s cooling payrolls). Yet the mainstream crowd is hunkered down, terrified of an AI bubble.

That sets up some very attractive deals in 8%-paying closed-end funds (CEFs), many of which have gone on sale in the last few weeks.

2 “North Stars” Show Us What to Do Now

To get a feel for the setup in front of us, all we need to do is look at two things.

First, the Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow indicator, the most current economic “barometer” we have.… Read more

Will the stock market finish the year higher or lower?

Who cares?!

Paying attention to “the market” is a hopeless effort in 2025. The explosion of AI implementation plus the policies from Trump 2.0 are creating winners and losers in the economy.

So why buy a basket when we can cherry pick the undervalued front runners?

Even better? Some are cheap! As I write, four big dividend payers (dishing divvies between 5% and 6%) are trading at bargain-basement valuations. Let’s start with the most established of the four-pack, trading for less than its annual sales…

Sonoco Products (SON)
Dividend Yield: 5.2%

Sonoco Products (SON) is a packaging dinosaur turned value play.… Read more