Tuesday Edition: Mastercard goes ex-dividend this Thursday — Wednesday is the last day to qualify for the $0.87 payment

I flagged this ex-date in my notes last week and did not want you to miss it — MA has grown its payout 14% a year for five years, and owning by close tomorrow locks it in.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Read online 💰 Dividend Dispatch Income is everywhere. I find it. Tuesday, July 07, 2026·6 min read     Explore Now: Exxon and Chevron Have an Unlikely New Competitor     Today's Theme 56 years of raises. 15% annual growth. Both in one issue. I was going through the Aristocrats list this morning — all 69 of them, each with at least 25 consecutive years of dividend increases — and two names jumped out. Aflac (AFL) has raised for 43 straight years and is only paying out a third of what it earns. Sysco (SYY) has been at it for 56 straight years. On the growth side, I've got Visa (V) compounding its dividend at 15.4% per year and Waste Management (WM) with a fresh 14.5% raise. Today's yields range from 0.75% to 2.6%, but every one of these names raised in 2026. Let me show you why each one matters.     Grand Canyon Discovery: 140x Earth's Power For a century, America fought wars over energy buried six thousand miles away. The largest energy source on Earth was under our own feet the whole time - much of it beneath the desert near the Grand Canyon. How big? 50,000 times every oil and gas reserve on the planet. Combined. The center of the Earth runs as hot as the sun's surface. Tapping a sliver of it could power civilization for two million years. The size was never the problem. The reach was - until a drilling crew hit the DOE's 2035 targets twelve years early, and costs fell 50% in 18 months. Google signed. Gates invested. The Pentagon made it a priority. One company has quietly built this for sixty years. See the company sitting on the biggest energy source on Earth     👑 Dividend Aristocrats The blue-chip legacy payers AFLAflac Just Hit 43 Straight Years of Raises — and It's Only Paying Out a Third of What It Earns Aflac sells supplemental insurance — the kind that pays you cash directly if you get sick, hurt, or hospitalized, on top of whatever your regular health coverage provides. You know the duck. But the real business is in Japan, where Aflac is the largest supplemental insurer in the country. The 5.2% raise they announced in November 2025 brought the quarterly payment to $0.61 — that's $2.44 a year. Forty-three consecutive annual increases. But here's the number that gets me excited: the payout ratio is just 33%. I want to explain why that matters. The payout ratio tells you what percentage of a company's earnings goes out the door as dividends. At 33%, Aflac earns roughly $3 for every $1 it pays you. Think of it like your paycheck — if you're only spending a third of your income, you've got a massive cushion. Even if earnings dip, there's plenty of room to keep raising. A payout ratio above 80% makes me nervous. At 33%, this dividend has years of runway ahead of it. Now the risk: about 51% of Aflac's revenue comes from Japan. When the yen weakens against the dollar, those Japanese earnings translate into fewer American dollars. If you own AFL, you're making a bet on Japan's insurance market staying strong. Yield: 2.1% $10K invested = $210/yr Paid: Quarterly     This Goes Back To $29.97     SYYSysco Has Raised Its Dividend 56 Straight Years — and It Just Bumped Again Sysco is the largest foodservice distributor in America. They deliver food, kitchen supplies, and equipment to restaurants, hospitals, schools, and hotels — basically anywhere people eat outside their homes. Not the tech company Cisco. This is the food truck. Fifty-six consecutive annual dividend increases. Let that sink in. That makes Sysco a Dividend King — and I want to explain that term because I get asked about it a lot. You've heard of Dividend Aristocrats — those are S&P 500 companies with at least 25 straight years of increases. There are 69 of them right now. A Dividend King goes further: 50 or more consecutive years. Only about 57 companies in the entire market qualify. To keep that streak alive through recessions, financial crises, a pandemic, and inflation spikes — that's a different level of commitment. Sysco just raised from $0.54 to $0.55 per quarter, and the next payment lands July 24. That's $2.20 a year. The payout ratio sits around 47% — comfortable. Here's the risk: restaurants are Sysco's biggest customer group. When people eat out less during a downturn, Sysco sells less food. Margins in food distribution run thin — around 2% net profit. This is a steady name, not a growth rocket. You own SYY for the reliability. Yield: 2.6% $10K invested = $260/yr Paid: Quarterly 🚀 Dividend Growth Stars Fast-rising income builders VVisa Yields 0.75% — and I Think It's One of the Best Dividend Growth Stocks You Can Own Visa runs the largest electronic payment network on the planet. They don't lend money — that's the banks. Visa processes the transactions. Every time you tap or swipe a card, they take a tiny fee. In over 200 countries. OK so the yield is 0.75%. I know. But stay with me. Since Visa went public in 2008, they've raised their dividend every single year — 17 consecutive years. The five-year dividend growth rate is 15.4% per year. They bumped it 14% last October to $0.67 per quarter — $2.68 a year. Here's the thing, and I love explaining this because it changes how people think about dividends. There's a concept called yield on cost — it's the dividend you're collecting today divided by the price you originally paid. If you buy Visa at $360 and collect $2.68 a year, that's 0.75%. But if that dividend keeps growing at 15% a year — and with a payout ratio around 21%, there's enormous room for it — your yield on your original $360 hits roughly 1.5% in five years. Over 3% in ten years. Over 6% in fifteen. Your $75 a year on a $10K position could grow past $300 in a decade without you adding a single dollar. The risk: this is not an income stock for right now. If you need cash today, Visa won't help. And there's regulatory risk — lawmakers regularly discuss capping the interchange fees that are Visa's primary revenue source. Any legislation there would hit the growth story. Yield: 0.75% $10K invested = $75/yr Paid: Quarterly WMWaste Management Just Raised 14.5% — Because Everyone Needs Their Garbage Picked Up WM is the largest trash and recycling company in America. They pick up garbage, operate landfills, and increasingly convert waste to energy. If it goes in a bin or a dumpster, WM probably handles it. The board approved a 14.5% dividend increase for 2026, bringing the quarterly payout to $0.945 — that's $3.78 a year. This is their 23rd consecutive annual raise. At around $228 per share, the yield comes in at about 1.7%. Here's why I love WM for a dividend growth position: garbage collection is about as recession-proof as a business gets. You can cancel your gym membership and skip your vacation, but you're not going to stop putting your bins out on Tuesday morning. That gives WM pricing power. When inflation runs hot, they raise prices. When the economy slows, people still produce trash. Twenty-three years of consecutive raises through every kind of market tells that story. The risk: WM reports Q2 earnings on July 28 — three weeks from today — which could bring short-term volatility. The stock is also trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of about 33, which means you're paying a premium for the quality. And the waste-to-energy business requires heavy capital investment. This is a long-term compounder, not a bargain right now. Yield: 1.7% $10K invested = $170/yr Paid: Quarterly 📋 The Extra Yield This week's calendars, screens & answers Don't miss this ex-date: Mastercard (MA) goes ex-dividend this Thursday, July 9. If you want the $0.87 quarterly payment, you need to own shares by end of day tomorrow — Wednesday, July 8. The yield is only 0.65%, but MA has grown its dividend at 14% per year for the past five years. I ran a screen this morning: Filtered for stocks with at least 10% annual dividend growth over the past five years. Visa (V) at 15.4% passed, and so did Mastercard (MA) at 14%. Waste Management (WM) came in around 9% on a five-year basis — just shy of the cutoff — but that fresh 14.5% raise this year caught my eye. Two payment companies and a trash company on the same list. I love it. Someone asked me: "What's the difference between a Dividend Aristocrat and a Dividend King?" An Aristocrat must be in the S&P 500 with 25+ consecutive years of increases — 69 companies qualify right now. A King needs 50+ years — only about 57 companies in the entire market. Sysco (SYY) is both. The Dispatch Today was about two ways to build income. Aflac (AFL) and Sysco (SYY) represent decades of reliability — 43 and 56 straight years of raises, respectively. Visa (V) and Waste Management (WM) show you where the growth is — 14% to 15% annual raises that compound into serious money over time. And don't forget: Mastercard (MA) goes ex-dividend Thursday, so act by tomorrow if you want that $0.87. Wednesday I'm switching gears to The Weird Yield and The High Yield — I've already got one strange pick that's going to make you do a double take. — Charlie 💰 Dividend Dispatch The High Yield · Aristocrats · Growth Stars · The Weird Yield · Safety   Update your email preferences or unsubscribe here © 2026 Dividend Dispatch by Media Miami LLC 1712 Pioneer Avenue Suite 500 Cheyenne, WY 82001, United States Terms of Service

Trump Just Executed a Bloodless Coup. Nobody Noticed.

🏛 BONUS: Why One Fund Tripled Its Newmont Stake in Q1 💰  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

July 06, 2026 The all-new 10 Best Stocks to Own in the Second Half of 2026 list is built for balance - and upside. Inside, you’ll find dividend powerhouses capable of multi-thousand-dollar payouts… Plus high-growth names with the kind of chart patterns that have delivered triple-digit returns before. You don’t have to choose between income and growth: Your guide to having both is right here - get access while it’s still free. See the Free Ticker! 🏛️ BONUS: Why One Fund Tripled Its Newmont Stake in Q1 💰 A hedge fund tripled its Newmont position in the first quarter. Six weeks later, gold hit records and the Fed turned into a real fight. The filing came first. Quick Take Qube Research & Technologies added 2.16 million Newmont shares in its Q1 13F, a 243% increase worth roughly $233.6 million. Gold has topped $5,300 an ounce this year, and the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX) is up 62% over the past twelve months. (the ticker sitting quietly behind the fight over who actually controls the Fed) Forget what gold did this afternoon. The story that matters happened months ago, in a filing. In the first quarter, Qube Research & Technologies added 2,158,396 shares of Newmont, the world's largest gold miner, a 243% increase in its position, worth an estimated $233.6 million at the time. That 13F went public weeks before most of Wall Street was talking seriously about a Federal Reserve credibility crisis. By the time the headlines caught up, the position was already built. That's the pattern with institutional money: it shows up in the filings before it shows up in the price. Here's the structural read. Newmont has spent the last several weeks defending the $95 level, even as gold itself pushed to fresh records above $5,300 an ounce. That's the line worth watching, not today's tick, but whether $95 keeps holding as a floor on any pullback. Hold $95 and the miner stays in the same accumulation range the Q1 filings were built around. Lose it on volume and the structural story weakens, even if gold itself stays firm. The VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX), the broader vehicle institutions use for this trade, is up 62% over the past year, a number that reflects sustained buying, not a single squeeze. The filing lines up with a real catalyst, not a vague one. Kevin Warsh was confirmed as Fed chair back in May, but Jerome Powell has stayed on the Board of Governors, under an active Justice Department investigation tied to Fed renovation costs. Just this week, the Supreme Court blocked an attempt to remove Governor Lisa Cook, meaning the fight over who actually controls the Fed isn't settled, it's escalating. That's the kind of institutional-credibility question gold has priced for a year. It's why funds were building this position before the fight got loud. Positioning shows up in the filings before it shows up in the price. By the time it's a headline, the smart money's already months in. Smart money is already there. The retail version of this trade, chasing gold after the next headline about Fed independence, is the version that buys the top of a move that started with a 13F, not a news cycle. The Q1 filing didn't need a headline to make the case; the structural argument, a Fed credibility fight with no clean resolution, had been building for months. What changes now is whether the position gets bigger. A fund that added 243% in one quarter usually isn't finished. Sponsored The Fed Fight Nobody in Washington Wants to Explain A sitting president has never had this much influence over the Federal Reserve, and the political fight over it is just getting started. One analyst has identified a small group of stocks that could see outsized moves as this plays out over the next several weeks. Get the free ticker symbol and the full story on what's driving this setup, before the mainstream financial press catches up. See the Free Ticker → The Date That Actually Tests This The next real test isn't a headline, it's a calendar date. The FOMC meets July 28-29, with the rate decision landing Wednesday, July 29 at 2:00 p.m. ET, followed by a press conference at 2:30. Any signal on the makeup of the board, or on how much political pressure is actually shaping the vote, moves both the dollar and gold's structural bid. That's the date institutional desks are already positioned around, not because they can predict the vote, but because they've been building the position ahead of a binary event for months. Newmont's own numbers back the structural case: UBS trimmed its price target to $120 from $140 while keeping a Buy rating, which reads less like a bearish call and more like a valuation reset after a run that already priced in a lot of good news. The stock's 52-week range, $55.37 to $134.88, shows how much room this trade has already covered, and how much conviction it takes to add into it in this size. What to watch: The $95 level in Newmont holding through any pullback, and the FOMC decision on July 29 at 2:00 p.m. ET. Watch for any signal on Fed board composition, not just the rate call itself. — Cal Torres, Markets Editor The ticker quietly sitting behind the fight over who actually controls the Fed. Tomorrow's Fed headlines will be old news to our SMS list by the time your alert hits. Free, two to three texts a week, opt out anytime. Get tomorrow's number tonight. This email may contain paid advertisements and affiliate links. Guardian Financial Publishing may receive compensation if you click a link or make a purchase. 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The Greatest 'Trump Trade' of All Time

Forget MAGA stocks. Forget tariff plays. It's about one material...  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Dear Reader, Forget MAGA stocks. Forget tariff plays. The greatest "Trump Trade" of all time has nothing to do with politics. It's about one material — buried in a small North Carolina town— that controls the future of AI, semiconductors, and every piece of advanced technology on Earth. America holds over 80% of the world's supply. And Trump is about to weaponize it. When he does, Morgan Stanley estimates it could trigger a $10 trillion reshoring boom — the biggest wave of U.S. manufacturing in history. Apple, NVIDIA, and Amazon have already committed over $2 trillion in new American facilities because they see what's coming. One former hedge fund manager has identified the best positioned companies to profit from Trump's strategic masterstroke. This isn't about red or blue. It's about the greatest wealth transfer of our lifetime. And you have the rare opportunity to get in on the ground floor. To continue reading, click here… Regards, Sarah Williams Associate Editorial Manager, Banyan Hill Publishing Today’s editorial pick for you Alphabet, Microsoft, and Meta Face Key AI Test This Earnings Season Posted On Jul 01, 2026 by Ian Cooper As we jump into third quarter earnings, Wall Street will pay close attention to the tech sector where artificial intelligence continues to drive sky-high earnings expectations. Table of Contents Why This Earnings Season Matters for AI Investors Alphabet: Can Google Cloud Justify AI Spending? Microsoft: Azure Growth Takes Center Stage Meta: AI Must Deliver Better Advertising Returns What Investors Should Watch This Earnings Season Late July will see quarterly earnings from Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META), with artificial intelligence expected to dominate nearly every investor discussion. Market Move Predicted: Is this WORSE than a crash? A new form of AI could double your portfolio by foreseeing the future prices of 2,334 different stocks, to the penny, with 73% backtested accuracy. It's opened one of the most lucrative new ways to trade in our firm's 20-year history, which has crushed the market by an average of 5-fold in our studies. You can even chat with it!  Click here to try it now, free of charge. SPONSORED Why This Earnings Season Matters for AI Investors Over the past two years, companies have committed tens of billions of dollars to expanding data centers, building AI infrastructure, purchasing advanced chips, and developing next-generation artificial intelligence models. Investors are now looking for evidence that those rising capital expenditures are translating into stronger cloud growth, improved advertising performance, and sustainable long-term profits. For Alphabet, the spotlight will be on Google Cloud and the company’s artificial intelligence strategy. Microsoft faces high expectations for Azure cloud growth and enterprise artificial intelligence adoption, while Meta will be under pressure to show that its AI investments are improving. All will help show investors just how much momentum is left in the AI trade. Alphabet: Can Google Cloud Justify AI Spending? Alphabet is expected to report its quarterly earnings in late July, with investors focusing heavily on the performance of Google Cloud and the company’s expanding artificial intelligence initiatives. Google Cloud has become one of Alphabet’s most important growth engines, steadily gaining market share while improving profitability. Analysts will be looking for continued acceleration in cloud revenue as businesses increase demand for AI-powered services and cloud infrastructure. Strong cloud results would reinforce confidence that Alphabet’s AI strategy is driving meaningful customer adoption. At the same time, investors are paying close attention to Alphabet’s capex. The company has invested tens of billions of dollars toward expanding data centers, developing custom AI chips, and supporting increasingly complex AI models.  Management’s commentary on artificial intelligence, infrastructure, and demand could prove just as important as the financial results themselves. Any updates on Gemini AI adoption, cloud customer growth, or AI-driven advertising improvementsmay influence investor sentiment. Microsoft: Azure Growth Takes Center Stage Microsoft is also expected to release earnings in late July, with Azure cloud growth likely to be the headline metric investors will scrutinize. Azure has become one of Microsoft’s most valuable businesses, benefiting from enterprise demand for cloud computing and AI services. As organizations increasingly deploy generative artificial intelligence applications, Azure has positioned itself as a preferred platform thanks to Microsoft’s deep partnership with OpenAI and its expanding portfolio of artificial intelligence tools. In addition, Microsoft continues investing aggressively in data centers, graphics processing units (GPUs), networking equipment, and custom infrastructure needed to support AI workloads. Capital expenditures have risen substantially over the past year, leading investors to question if and when those investments will pay off.  Meta: AI Must Deliver Better Advertising Returns Artificial intelligence has become a critical component of Meta’s advertising business, helping deliver more personalized content recommendations and improving advertising efficiency across Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms. Continued strength in ad revenue would suggest these AI investments are producing measurable financial benefits. At the same time, Meta continues spending aggressively on AI infrastructure. The company is investing heavily in advanced chips, massive data centers, and large language models while pursuing its broader vision for AI-powered consumer experiences. What Investors Should Watch This Earnings Season With AI continuing to dominate the conversation on Wall Street, these upcoming earnings reports could provide an important reality check for investors. While strong revenue growth remains essential, the bigger question is whether the billions being poured into AI infrastructure are beginning to deliver meaningful returns. For Alphabet, Microsoft, and Meta, investors will be looking beyond the headline numbers for updates on cloud demand, advertising strength, and how quickly AI investments are turning into profitable growth. If management teams can show that their spending is creating long-term value, confidence in the AI trade is likely to remain strong. But if costs continue to climb without clear signs of payoff, investors may become more cautious. © 2026 The Backdoor Bull 33 Southeast 4th Street Boca Raton, FL 33432, United States Unsubscribe Terms of Service