Easy Peasy #37: Build Your Dividend Portfolio & Live Off Dividends with Pre-Selected Stock Sets

Dividend Growing Stock Sets – Start with $300, $500, or $1,000 Weekly

MaxDividends Mission: Helping & Supporting Everyone in Building a Growing Passive Income, Retiring Early, and Living Off Dividends.

In this section, we share ready-made sets of promising dividend growth stocks with strong future dividend potential.

We also track performance and provide portfolio links for each set, so you can monitor past results and real-time updates.

⭐️ Premium content for paid subscribers

---

Intro

Turnaround: Trade Hopes Lift Wall Street

Tariff Chill Meets Earnings Heat

Markets roared back with a vengeance on Tuesday, snapping four-day losing streaks across the board. The Dow soared 1,016.57 points (+2.66%) to 39,186, the S&P 500 surged 129.56 (+2.51%) to 5,287, the Nasdaq leapt 429.52 (+2.71%) to 16,300, and the Russell 2000 climbed 49.96 (+2.71%) to 1,890.

The rally picked up steam after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reportedly told investors the U.S.-China tariff standoff is “unsustainable”, hinting at potential de-escalation. Meanwhile, the White House said it’s making "a lot of progress" in negotiations, reviewing 18 trade proposals and holding talks with 34 countries this week. Sure, final deals might take months, but Wall Street loves a good headline.

Earnings added fuel to the fire, with solid numbers from GE, MMM, DGX, and a rebound in solar stocks after steep tariffs were finalized on Southeast Asian panels. Meanwhile, Tesla loomed large post-close. On the flip side, VZ, KMB, and defense contractors like RTX and NOC disappointed.

Gold faded after tagging all-time highs, but Bitcoin broke out above $91,600, and yields slipped at the long end. Oh, and LizAnn Sonders reminded us: the S&P’s had 19 -1% days already this year — same as all of 2024. Buckle up.

📊 Economic Data

• Richmond Fed Composite Index (Apr):-13 vs -4 prior

• Manufacturing Shipments:-17 (vs -7 prior)

• Services Revenues:-7 (vs -4 prior)

Commodities, Currencies & Treasuries

• Gold: Fell $5.90 (-0.17%) to $3,419.40, after hitting record intraday highs of $3,509.90.

• WTI Crude: Rose $1.23 (+1.95%) to $64.31

• Brent Crude: Gained $1.18 (+1.78%) to $67.44

• Bitcoin: Popped over $91,600, up 3.8% on the day

• 10Y Treasury Yield: Slipped 1.8bps to 4.387%

• 2Y Yield: Rose 5.4bps to 3.806%

• Dollar Index: Rebounded to 98.85, up 0.55%

🔧 Consumer

• KMB beat with Q1 EPS $1.93 (vs est. $1.89) but sales missed at $4.8B (vs est. $4.89B) and organic sales slid -1.6%. Shares dropped on a soft outlook.

• KHC was downgraded to Market Perform at Bernstein on share losses across key U.S. brands. Jefferies warned weight-loss drugs like LLY’s GLP-1 may hurt snack names PEP, CPB, MDLZ, while helping BRBR, SMPL, KO.

• OXM said China exposure will drop below 35% in FY25 and 10% in FY26.

• Goldman Sachs downgraded M and CURV on weak macro and softlines, but remains bullish on TJX, BURL, and brand leaders like TPR, AS, and RL.

🚗 Autos, 🏨 Leisure & 🎰 Gaming

• TSLA earnings loomed post-close. GPC beat on Q1 EPS and revs, held FY guide, but Q2 came in light.

• Stifel previewed Q1 for gaming: sees a beat for AGS, a miss for LNW, inline for IGT (top pick). Trimmed estimates on DKNG and FLUT after rough March outcomes.

• SRAD double-upgraded to Buy at BofA on stronger visibility and AI upside.

⚡ Energy

• DVN unveiled a business optimization plan targeting $1B in pre-tax FCF improvements.

• HAL missed with Q1 adj EPS $0.60 (est. $0.62), revs fell to $5.4B from $5.8B y/y.

• Solar stocks surged: FSLR, ENPH, SEDG jumped as U.S. finalized tariffs up to 3,500% on Southeast Asian cells.

• Barclays previewed Utilities Q1: downgraded LNT, upgraded CNP, initiated AWK at Underweight. Sees weather-related beats from ATO, EXC, ETR; possible misses from AES, CMS, EVRG.

🏦 Banks & 💳 FinTech

• BOKF missed on lower fees. CADE beat on PPNR. DCOM topped with NIM at 2.95%. WAL beat as credit costs fell. ZION dipped after a mixed print.

• MCO crushed with Q1 EPS $3.83 (est. $3.54), revs $1.9B. EFX beat with EPS $1.53, unveiled a $3B buyback.

• Citigroup upgraded PAGS and STNE to Buy. SYF held its annual guide, announced a $2.5B buyback through mid-2026.

🏥 Healthcare

• RHHBY pledged $50B in U.S. investments over the next 5 years to expand manufacturing, creating 12K jobs — a clear bet on domestic biopharma infrastructure.

• BHC surged after Carl Icahn revealed 34% economic exposure, including a 9.4% stake and additional swap agreements.

• DGX delivered a beat with Q1 EPS $2.21 (est. $2.15) and revs $2.65B, rebounding from early quarter weather disruptions.

• DHR climbed after Q1 strength in Biotech offset flat core revenue, reaffirming FY growth outlook.

• ELV beat with Q1 EPS $11.97 (est. $11.48) and revs $48.8B, reaffirmed FY25 EPS guidance, and posted a better-than-expected benefit expense ratio.

• MEDP raised its full-year guidance but missed net bookings, sparking some concern despite strong profitability.

🛠️ Industrials & 🧱 Materials

• GE topped expectations with Q1 EPS $1.49 (est. $1.27) and $9B in sales. Orders jumped to $12.3B, showing robust demand across aviation and energy units.

• MMM rallied after Q1 EPS $1.88 (est. $1.77) beat, boosted its buyback plan to $2B, but flagged a $0.20–$0.40 EPS hit from tariffs.

• PNR delivered EPS $1.11 (est. $1.01) on revs $1.01B (est. $988.9M) and raised guidance on aftermarket pool equipment strength.

• GOLD exited Alaska’s Donlin mine in a $1.1B deal, selling its stake to John Paulson and NovaGold, freeing up capital for other high-return projects.

✈️ Aerospace & Defense

• BA offloaded Jeppesen and other digital units to Thoma Bravo for $10.55B, streamlining its software business.

• LMT impressed with Q1 EPS $7.28 (vs $6.39 y/y), reaffirmed guidance, and boasted a $172.97B backlog.

• NOC missed on revs $9.47B and slashed FY EPS forecast to $24.95–$25.35 (prior $27.85–$28.25) amid margin pressure.

• RTX posted strong Q1 driven by $7.37B in Pratt & Whitney sales, but midpoint FY guidance trailed expectations.

• HXL disappointed, missing on Q1 and cutting FY EPS view to $1.85–$2.05, blaming ongoing supply chain challenges.

💻 Technology

• VZ topped Q1 estimates but lost 289K postpaid subscribers, more than expected, due to pricing changes.

• EBAY was downgraded at Bernstein on weakening eCommerce trends and tariff risks.

• TTD, MGNI, and CRTO soared after Google extended third-party cookie support in Chrome.

• CRWV began trading post-IPO with a flurry of bullish initiations from major brokers.

• CALX beat Q1 EPS $0.19 (est. $0.13) on revs $220.2M (est. $206.9M), hiked Q2 guidance, and launched a $100M buyback.

• AWS calmed nerves around data center capacity, saying demand remains strong despite colo deal noise.

🎯 What’s Next?

Markets punched back hard Tuesday, but don’t let the green fool you — trade drama and Fed friction are still in the air. Earnings season is heating up with TSLA just hitting after-hours, and GOOGL, META, and MSFT on deck.

1️⃣ Trade Talks: Progress, but no deals yet. Any whiff of delay could reset the tape.

2️⃣ Powell Pressure: Trump’s targeting the Fed, markets are watching for policy signals.

3️⃣ Tariff Fallout: Solar popped, industrials braced — more ripple effects to come.

4️⃣ Data Dump Ahead: GDP, PCE, and more macro to test the bulls.

5️⃣ Earnings Heat: Mega-cap tech is next — time for results to justify the run.

--

But none of this news really matters to MaxDividends members. We're focused on growing the cash flow that lands in your pocket every month—not stressing over price swings or stock market noise.

At MaxDividends, we focus on a dividend growth strategy, perfect for investors seeking capital appreciation, solid safety, and a steadily growing income.

A rising dividend is a strong sign that a company is thriving—and wants its shareholders to thrive with it.

---

This week, we’ve rolled out a fresh batch of ready-to-go Stock Sets 💪.

Easy Peasy #37: Pre-Selected Dividend Growth Stock Sets