Author Archive: Brett Owens

Let’s talk about energy dividends because, well, you know why. But let’s not chase the headlines.

Let’s focus on energy “toll collectors” that will make money regardless of tomorrow’s geopolitical landscape. Steady cash flows support these 4.2% to 9.5% yields.

This runs counter to the outlook for exploration and production companies, as well as equipment and service providers, which have profits that are tightly bound to the price of energy commodities. These stock prices follow crude oil movements too closely.

Energy infrastructure companies are calmer plays. Companies that own and operate pipelines, processing plants and storage facilities aren’t nearly as reliant on energy prices—they just take a cut whenever oil, natural gas, nat-gas liquids, etc.,… Read more

We’ve been dividend-hungry lately. Our Wednesday missives brought ten income ideas since the end of April!

It’s a busy week for our brood! If you bought these payers, you have five ex-dividend dates (the dates when the stock trades at a price minus—“ex”—the dividend per share) on deck this week. Plus a payday for our “Goldilocks” tariff play, Corteva Agriscience (CTVA).

This neat weekly view comes to us courtesy of Income Calendar, our homegrown dividend tracker. We developed IC for serious income investors like yourself. The tool projects every dividend payment with accuracy that is unmatched in the industry.… Read more

Still wondering if AI will replace human workers? Well, you can stop. Because it’s already happening—and boosting corporate profits as it does.

That’s tough news for workers, of course. But there’s a silver lining for those of us investing for dividends. Because the “growth-without-hiring” trend AI has touched off is setting up one of the strongest income opportunities I’ve seen in years. (I’ll name three AI plays yielding up to 8.5% below.)

Wait, AI is setting the stage for big dividends?

I know. AI is known for a lot of things—many of which have been, er, less than helpful, such as infringing on copyrights and forcing McNuggets on pleading McDonald’s (MCD) drive-thru customers.… Read more

Let’s invest like private equity pros without needing seven figures. Yes, that’s right—PE-style starting for as little as $8.

Plus, yields up to nearly 13%.

No special access or options trades needed. Just a few clicks through our brokerage accounts buying regular ol’ tickers.

The sneaky dividend-dishing subjects? Meet business development companies (BDCs), publicly-traded firms that lend to small businesses.

BDCs were invented by Congress years ago to create a new type of lender to small businesses. They were also given the same mandate as real estate investment trusts (REITs): Return at least 90% of taxable income back to shareholders in the form of dividends.… Read more

$500K can be enough money to retire on. Even as early as age 50!

The trick is to convert the pile of cash into cash flow that can pay the bills. I’m talking about $42,353.38 per year in dividend income on that nest egg, thanks to 8%+ average yields.

These are passive payouts that show up every quarter or, better yet, every month. Meanwhile, we keep that $500K nest egg intact. Or, better yet, grind that principal higher steadily and safely.

Got more in your retirement account? Cool—more monthly dividend income for you!

We’ll talk specific stocks, funds and yields in a moment.… Read more

BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, is turning its back on long-term Treasuries—and that’s rattling the bond market.

That, in turn, has the mainstream crowd turning its back on ALL bonds.

Mainstream crowd turning its back? That’s all we need to hear! In a second, I’ll reveal a 9% “contrarians only” dividend that’s tailor-made for this critical time in Bond-land.

First, let’s break down what the global investment titan is telling us here: In its weekly commentary, released June 2, BlackRock laid things out in stark terms (or at least as stark as a stuffy financial institution gets!):

“Our strongest conviction [bolding mine] has been staying underweight long-term US Treasuries.”… Read more

Small-cap stocks haven’t been this cheap in decades. This valuation advantage gets interesting when we add big fat dividends and today, we’ll discuss five cheap small stocks yielding between 8.3% and 17.1%. (That’s no typo by the way—we only talk serious dividends here at Contrarian Outlook!)

The Apples, Google and Microsofts of the world are priced like luxury goods. Smaller stocks, meanwhile, have been left at the discount rack. Let’s shop:

• S&P 500: 21.2 times earnings (pricey!)
• S&P MidCap 400: 15.4 times (better…)
• S&P SmallCap 600: 14.7 times (bingo!)

The valuation spread between the S&P 500 and S&P 600 hasn’t been this wide since Bill Clinton was wondering whether dot-com was one word or two.… Read more

Big companies are about to make even more money. They have discovered they no longer need armies of new hires to grow—extremely bullish news for shareholders because human employees are expensive.

Good ones can also be notoriously elusive. For example, I’m the longest-standing member of my kids’ school marketing committee, and we’re always scrambling for volunteers (what non-profit isn’t?).

Until now, that is.

Over the weekend, we welcomed the most talented marketer I’ve ever worked with to our team: ChatGPT 4.5. “GPT” graciously accepted our volunteer position, and we’re already actively boosting online referrals for the school. I’m learning cutting-edge “AI referral” techniques straight from the entity that invented them.… Read more

Gold prices have taken a breather—and we’re getting a rare opportunity to snag two shimmering dividend plays paying up to 8.3%.

Here’s why this setup is on the table: While recession worries are still valid, they’re overblown. Plus, the doomsayers are missing critical details set to kick gold higher. Let’s break all of this down, then get into the 8.3% (and growing) payouts the archaic metal is poised to deliver.

The “No-Landing” Economy: Alive, Well—and Bullish for Gold

Last fall, we talked about a “no-landing” economy in the US, where growth ticks along, but inflation sticks around, too. Fast-forward to today, and that’s pretty much how things have played out.… Read more