Easy Peasy #50: 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.
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Intro
Another tariff twist and earnings boost send stocks flying
The Dow jumped +507.85 points (+1.14%) to 45,010, the S&P 500 added +49.34 (+0.78%) to hit 6,358, and the Nasdaq rose +127.33 (+0.61%) to close at 21,020, while the Russell 2000 surged +34.38 (+1.53%) to finish at 2,283 — its highest level in 5 months. Stocks ripped higher after news broke of a finalized US–Japan trade deal slashing auto tariffs to 15% (from a 25% threat) and Japan pledging $550B in US investment.
That lit up global autos and gave US stocks a boost right at the open. Midday, a Financial Times report added fuel, saying the US and EU were close to a 15% mutual tariff agreement, covering planes, spirits, and medical devices — helping avoid a hike to 30% threatened for August.
Earnings also helped: utilities, power, and consumer meme stocks saw wild swings. Small caps led again, and with the S&P notching its 12th record close this year, the bull keeps charging despite valuation warnings and a sleepy VIX.
📊 Economic Data
June Existing Home Sales3.93M vs. 4.00M est – fell -2.7% MoM, lowest since May 2024; median home price $435,300, new record high
Inventory1.53M units, 4.7 months supply; first-time buyers = 30%, investors = 14%, all-cash = 29%, distressed sales = 3%
🔩 Autos
TM jumped after Japan–US deal slashed tariffs on car exports to 15%, with Japan shipping 1.4M vehicles to the US in 2024
NSANY surged on same trade catalyst; automakers welcome relief from higher import taxes
HMC rose as tariffs ease and Japan commits billions in US investment across auto and tech sectors
🛒 Retail, Consumer Staples & Restaurants
GPRO spiked on meme momentum, no news — short squeeze vibes
LVLU joined meme rally, rebounding from lows on high volume
BYND surged as retail traders piled into underperformers
DNUT up with meme peers — classic short-interest target
RKT caught in meme crossfire — big jump with no catalyst
HAS raised FY outlook; sees mid-single-digit rev growth, adj EBITDA $1.17B–$1.20B vs. prior $1.1B–$1.15B
🎰 Leisure, Gaming & Lodging
HLT Q2 EPS $2.20 (vs. est. $2.04), adj EBITDA $1.01B (vs. $962.9M) but FY guide trimmed
VIK target hiked to $70 from $51 by BofA — premium cruise growth intact
CCL target raised to $38 from $31, demand strong across EU sailings
RCL held at Neutral by BofA — less upside than VIK/CCL peers
⚡ Energy, Industrials & Materials
MTDR beat on Q2 and nudged FY guide higher, midstream unit strong
BKR beat EBITDA, raised FY guide, strong margins
WFRD rose on earnings beat, helping OIH bounce
EQT, CNX, AR fell as natgas dipped another 5.38%
VLO down on Reuters report of sale talks for Benicia refinery
🏦 Banks & 💳 FinTech
NTRS beat Q2 EPS, CEO says no plans to sell — stock held steady
FI cut FY rev growth view to ~10% (from 10–12%) on soft Clover volume
MCO beat EPS $3.56 (vs. est. $3.39), raised FY guide to $13.50–$14
CHUBB EPS $6.14 beat; stronger underlying combined ratio (82%), higher catastrophe losses
CSGP topped Q2 rev/EBITDA, raised FY guide, Q3 EBITDA guide slightly under Street
🏥 Healthcare
BSX Q2 organic growth +17.4%, EPS $0.75, raised FY guide
ISRG beat on EPS $1.81 (vs. $1.55), strong US dV5 placements
TMO rev $10.85B (vs. est. $10.7B), raised FY EPS to $22.22–$22.84
🧪 Biotech & Life Sciences
ABVX exploded +500% after strong Phase III UC trial for obefazimod
ARWR warned SRPT may miss $100M–$200M milestone payments
DTIL got FDA orphan tag for Duchenne drug PBGENE-DMD
🚂 Transports
CNI missed Q2 revs C$4.27B (vs. C$4.34B est), cut 2025 EPS guide, pulled long-term outlook — double downgrade
OTIS Q2 rev miss $3.6B vs. est. $3.706B, guided lower
LII beat Q2 EPS $7.82, raised FY EPS to $23.25–$24.25
PCAR upgraded at UBS to Neutral, tgt to $100
🚁 Aerospace & Defense
GD beat Q2 EPS/revs on strength in marine and biz jets; aerospace rev +4.1% YoY, marine systems +22.2%
📰 Internet, Media & Telecom
AT beat top/bottom line, postpaid subs strong
CHTR, CMCSA signed exclusive deal with TMUS for mobile network sharing
RBLX downgraded to Outperform (from Strong Buy) at Raymond James, tgt to $130 from $81
🔌 Semiconductors, Hardware & Software
TXN slid despite strong Q2; Q3 guide soft, EPS weak, cited pull-ins from tariffs and shallow auto recovery
NXPI beat Q2 and guided up on cyclical auto/industrial strength
ON, ADI, STM dropped in sympathy with TXN
AMD CEO said Arizona TSM chips cost +5–20% more, per Bloomberg
🧠 What’s Next?
Big night for tech — earnings from GOOGL, TSLA, IBM after the bell.
With only 124 S&P companies reporting so far, beat rate is sky-high: EPS beats = 85% (vs. avg. 66%), revenue beats = 77% (vs. avg. 63%).
Average stock gain on earnings day? +0.72%.
Momentum’s hot, sentiment strong — now it’s up to Big Tech to keep it rolling.
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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 #50: Pre-Selected Dividend Growth Stock Sets
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