🚀 Easy Peasy #57: Plug-and-Play Dividend Income — No Guesswork Needed

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

MaxDividends Mission: Helping people build growing passive income, retire early, and live 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

ORCL rally, soft PPI, and Fed cut hopes shape quiet but mixed day

• Dow: -220.42 (-0.48%) → 45,490

• S&P 500: +19.44 (+0.30%) → 6,532

• Nasdaq: +6.57 (+0.03%) → 21,886

• Russell 2000: -3.80 (-0.16%) → 2,378

Stocks opened strong after Oracle’s blowout earnings and a surprise drop in wholesale inflation fueled hopes of Fed easing, but momentum faded into the close. Core PPI fell -0.1% m/m, missing expectations for +0.3%, marking only the second monthly decline since March 2024. That pulled December 2025 implied rates down to 3.631%, while 2026 fell to 2.847%, as futures priced in deeper cuts.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq managed a gain thanks to ORCL’s surge, but the Dow slid as value names lost steam. Utilities (+1.73%), Tech (+1.50%), and Energy (+1.50%) outperformed, while Health Care (-1.00%) and Staples (-0.81%) dragged. Barclays hiked its S&P 500 target to 6,450, citing earnings momentum. Fear & Greed Index stuck at Neutral (54). All eyes now on tomorrow’s CPI.

📊 Economic Data

• PPI m/m: -0.1% vs. est. +0.3% – weaker producer pricing supports dovish Fed view

• PPI y/y: +2.6% vs. est. +3.3% – inflation trend continues cooling

• Core PPI m/m: -0.1% vs. est. +0.3%, prior +0.9% – sharpest slowdown since early 2024

• Core PPI y/y: +2.8% vs. est. +3.5%, prior +3.7% – helps justify rate cut optimism

• July wholesale inventories: +0.1% vs. prior +0.2% – steady

• July wholesale sales: +1.4% vs. est. +0.2% – strong rebound boosts Q3 GDP hopes

💰 Commodities, Currencies & Treasuries

• WTI Crude: +1.04 → $63.67 – gained on weaker dollar and Saudi reaffirmed cuts

• Brent: +1.10 → $67.49 – tracking U.S. inflation relief, OPEC unity

• Gold: -0.20 → $3,682.00 – pulled back after record run, capped by calm Fed bets

• EUR/USD: -0.0008 → 1.1698 – dipped as U.S. rate cut bets rise faster than ECB

• JPY/USD: -0.02 → 147.40 – little change as yen stays pressured

• 10Y Yield: -0.03 → 4.043% – eased after weak PPI backs Fed pause narrative

🔩 Autos

• TM to start making two battery-powered SUVs in Kentucky while ending Lexus model production at the plant

• NIO slipped after announcing ~182M Class A share offering to fund R&D, battery infrastructure, and corporate use

• LEA downgraded to Neutral at BofA – valuation fair, little room to re-rate amid industry headwinds

• BWA cut to Neutral at BofA – contract wins won't boost numbers until 2027+, investors want nearer-term momentum

🛒 Retail, Consumer Staples & Restaurants

• NKE upgraded to Buy at TD Cowen – sees turnaround, margin recovery, and long-term EPS/FCF potential

• CHWY dropped despite 8.6% y/y Q2 revenue beat – net income slipped, Q3/FY guide above consensus not enough

• GME jumped after Q2 results topped estimates

• COTY downgraded to Hold at Bernberg – retailer destocking and Consumer Beauty recalibration delay growth

• PBPB to be acquired by RaceTrac for ~$566M in all-cash deal, 32% premium to Tuesday close

⚡ Energy, Industrials & Materials

• BW rallied on deal with Denham Capital to convert coal-fired plants in US/EU to natural gas for data centers

• NEM upgraded to Outperform at RBC – lifted gold forecast to $3,267/oz (2025), $3,931/oz (2026)

• Iluka Resources fell overseas – suspending production at key Australia sites due to weak demand for mineral sands

🏦 Banks & 💳 FinTech

• FITB to take $170M–$200M impairment charge in Q3 on fraudulent activity linked to commercial borrower

• KLAR IPO priced at $40.00, above range – raised $1.37B

• UPST dropped on 3rd party research showing ~20% QTD loan volume drop

• RKT upgraded to Buy at BofA – sees strong upside from rate cuts, Mr. Cooper deal a near-term catalyst

• RDDT tgt raised to $300 at Jefferies – sees 35%+ upside to FY27 revenue

• CNS preliminary AUM at $90.4B as of Aug 31, up from $88.6B in July

🏥 Healthcare

• HIMS to launch men’s testosterone offerings – expands sexual health focus amid weight-loss drug slowdown

• ACHC downgraded to Neutral at BofA – Medicaid program cuts seen as bigger headwind than previously expected

🧪 Biotech & Life Sciences

• BMY, ABBV, PFE, MRK, LLY in focus – Trump signs memo pushing FDA to enforce stricter ad rules and disclosure

• AMLX secondary offering priced: 17.5M shares at $10.00

• DNTH secondary offering: 6.49M shares at $33.00

• RAPP secondary offering: 9.62M shares at $26.00

• GOSS upgraded to Buy at UBS, tgt raised to $9 – sees strong risk/reward ahead of Phase 3 PAH data

• GLSI breast cancer drug gets FDA fast track – targeted for HER2+ patients with HLA-A*02 genotype

• JNJ gets FDA approval for new bladder cancer drug delivery system

• NVO to cut 11.5% of workforce – targets $1.25B annual savings amid competition from LLY, generics

• TVTX rose after FDA removed advisory committee requirement for rare kidney disorder treatment

🚂 Transports

• CMI, PCAR warned by FTR – Class 8 truck demand still weak, no catalyst in sight

• MTRX dropped after Q4 EPS miss (-$0.28), revenue +14% y/y to $216.4M missed est. $232.3M; FY26 rev guide below consensus

• SAIA upgraded to Positive at Susquehanna, tgt raised to $360 – Q2 seen snapping back after weak Q1

🚁 Aerospace & Defense

• AVAV beat on Q1 rev and EBITDA (3% and 7% above), bookings near $400M, backlog at $1.1B

• JOBY, UBER team up – blade flights (helicopters, seaplanes) coming to Uber app by 2026

• BA reaches tentative labor deal with striking defense workers

📰 Internet, Media & Telecom

VMEO to be acquired by Bending Spoons for $1.38B, shareholders get $7.85/share in cash

🔌 Semiconductors, Hardware & Software

• ORCL soared – forecasted OCI rev to hit $18B in FY26 and $144B by FY30, ~70% CAGR; signed $455B in RPO, sees >$500B soon

• SNPS plunged after Q3 miss, flagged 3 IP headwinds: China delays, customer tech shift, internal resource reallocation

• CDNS dropped in sympathy with SNPS

• RBRK beat Q2 ARR by $27M, EBIT +$54M, FCF +$61M; FY26 ARR & FCF guidance raised

• HPQ downgraded to In Line at Evercore – stock near target, no near-term EPS/FCF catalysts

• TSM Aug sales +33.8% y/y, +3.9% m/m – strong vs. 5Y seasonal comps; chip stocks (AVGO, AMD) rose post-ORCL cloud news

• NBIS to raise $2B via convertible notes, $1B via Class A shares – follows 49% MSFT-driven rally

• CRWV extended gains after ORCL rally; other AI names also hot

• AAPL event recap: iPhone 17, Watches, AirPods launched; semi supplier impact mixed – +CRUS, QRVO; –AVGO, QCOM

🧠 What’s Next?

All eyes on CPI tomorrow – after today’s PPI surprise, any inflation miss or beat could jolt Fed expectations again.

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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.

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