Easy Peasy #54: 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 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.

⭐️ Premium Content

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Intro

Nasdaq logs 5-day losing streak as AI fears spook tech bulls

U.S. stocks opened flat but quickly dropped, with the Nasdaq underperforming — falling -142.10 points (-0.67%) to 21,172 — as AI tech names extended losses from yesterday. At the day’s worst, the Nasdaq was down as much as -1.8%, hitting a 2-week intraday low.

The S&P 500 lost -15.58 points (-0.24%) to 6,395, while the Russell 2000 slipped -7.23 points (-0.32%) to 2,269. The Dow Jones bucked the trend, eking out a gain of +16.04 points (+0.04%) to 44,938, thanks to strength in defensives and real estate. Tech sentiment was rattled by an MIT report showing 95% of companies saw no ROI from AI investments, triggering sharp selling in large-cap momentum names.

Also weighing on the mood: Sam Altman’s recent “AI bubble” comments and a Bloomberg piece highlighting a spike in disaster hedging via puts. Traders are also cautious ahead of Fed Chair Powell’s Friday speech in Jackson Hole.

📊 Economic Data

• Existing Home Sales fell to 4.07M units vs. est. 4.10M, down from 4.15M in June — weakness blamed on rising mortgage rates

• Weekly Crude Oil Inventories fell -6.5M barrels vs. est. draw of -3.2M, helping lift oil prices

• 20-Year Treasury Auction tailed slightly at 4.876%, with strong indirect demand at 60.64%

💰 Commodities, Currencies & Treasuries

• WTI Crude jumped +0.94 to 62.71, rebounding on tighter inventory data

• Brent Crude rose +1.05 to 66.84, reversing recent losses

• Gold gained +29.80 to 3,388.50, as traders seek safety ahead of Jackson Hole

• EUR/USD moved up +0.0014 to 1.166, euro rebounds slightly after 2-day slide

• JPY/USD dipped -0.57 to 147.09, as the yen weakens despite mild risk-off

• 10Y Yield ticked down -0.013 to 4.289%, holding steady after bond auction

🔩 Autos

• HTZ climbed after launching used-car sales through Amazon in 4 major cities

• CAR dropped after BofA downgraded to Underperform, citing weak macro and pricing pressure

• CTOS was downgraded at JPM to Underweight, citing softening vocational truck demand

• GT fell on HSBC downgrade to Hold, citing underwhelming restructuring benefits

🛒 Retail, Consumer Staples & Restaurants

• TGT slipped despite Q2 beat ($2.05/$25.21B vs. $2.03/$24.93B); CEO transition underwhelmed Street

• GES soared on $1.4B go-private deal with Authentic Brands at $16.75/share

• GPS was downgraded by Citi on balanced risk/reward amid tariff uncertainty

• URBN downgraded at Citi after +86% rally; sees Q2 beat but less upside

• ANF downgraded on valuation concerns, trading near price target

• SN maintained Buy at BofA, citing strong Q3-to-date POS data from Nielsen

• TJX jumped on Q2 beat and raised FY26 EPS outlook to $4.52–$4.57

• EL guided FY26 adj EPS $1.90–$2.10 vs. est. $2.22; tariff headwinds weigh

• COCO upgraded to Overweight at Piper on valuation rebound opportunity

• MKC upgraded by JPM to Overweight with $83 PT, sees upside in food producers

⚡ Energy, Industrials & Materials

• OKLO, SMR, NNE, TLN, VST, CEG pulled back with AI-related utility plays cooling off

• NBR rallied after agreeing to sell Quail Tools to Superior Energy for $600M+

• Trump halted all new wind and solar project approvals on Truth Social

• DY dropped on mixed Q2: $3.33 EPS beat but revenue missed; Q3 guide light

• CCJ, UEC, UUUU slipped after Kazakh JV KATKO announced uranium ramp-up to 4K tons/year

• PLTR fell for 6th straight day after Citron reiterated short view; still up +108% YTD

• TDG surged after declaring $90 special dividend and completing debt deal

• LUV lagged as TSA data showed -0.9% screening exposure; UAL, JBLU gained on positive trends

🏦 Banks & 💳 FinTech

• OZK upgraded to Overweight at Stephens

• NU double-upgraded to Buy at Citi on improved growth outlook

• JPM, MUFG in talks to underwrite $22B loan for Texas data campus

• AHL spiked on Sompo buyout rumor per Insurance Insider

• DAY confirmed $11B buyout talks with Thoma Bravo at $70/share

• UPST upgraded at JPM as top fintech pick on favorable macro and risk/reward

• CMPO downgraded on post-earnings rally and uneven growth

• RSKD downgraded on weak revenue vs. e-comm peers after client loss

• China considering yuan-backed stablecoins for global adoption push

🏥 Healthcare

• ALC slipped after Q2 miss and cut FY top-line outlook by $150M

• AGL downgraded at Bernstein on 2024/2025 margin pressure

• DOC downgraded at Deutsche Bank on continued sluggish life sciences REIT demand

🧪 Biotech & Life Sciences

• CLDX dropped after ending barzolvolimab program in eosinophilic esophagitis

• MDGL jumped after EU granted conditional Rezdiffra approval for MASH

• NVAX downgraded at BofA on unclear outlook and recent rally

• RKT rallied after FDA lifted hold on RP-A501 trial for Danon disease

• SLNO initiated at Overweight by Wells Fargo with $123 PT; says recent selloff overdone

🚁 Aerospace & Defense

• HON and partners exploring $10B valuation for Quantinuum quantum spinoff

📰 Internet, Media & Telecom

• BIDU slipped on 15% drop in Q2 ad revenue, despite EPS beat of 13.58 yuan

• SNOW upgraded to Buy at BofA, citing strength in Cortex AI and Snowpark tools

• SONY raised PS5 U.S. prices to $549.99; cites global cost pressures

• VRT, DELL, SMCI, ETN fell on valuation concerns post-MIT AI study

• VRT initiated Neutral at Redburn on balanced risk/reward despite AI capex upside

🔌 Semiconductors, Hardware & Software

• ADI beat Q3 EPS ($2.05 vs. $1.95 est) and guided Q4 above consensus

• MU fell after Jefferies said Samsung passed NVDA’s HBM4 tests ahead of schedule

• AMAT downgraded at Daiwa; lowered PT to $170 on weak report and delayed rebound

• CRUS, GFS expand U.S. investment in mixed-signal chip manufacturing

• INTC dropped after CNBC reported discounted equity infusion talks

🧠 What’s Next?

Thursday kicks off the Jackson Hole Symposium, but all eyes are on Friday morning when Fed Chair Powell takes the stage. After a choppy week of mixed macro and AI drama, the market’s looking for any signal on the September rate cut odds. Powell’s tone could shift the entire rate narrative—or confirm what futures are already pricing in: a 25bps cut.

Earnings on deck: NVIDIA (NVDA) reports after the bell—arguably the most pivotal print of the season. Given the AI hype rollercoaster this week, expect fireworks if they miss (or guide soft). Also reporting: BABA, WMT, DELL, and CRM.

Watch for more rotation—growth names are still rich, defensives are seeing inflows, and any hawkish surprise could accelerate that move. Tech’s due for a breather unless NVDA blows the roof off.

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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 💪.

Easy Peasy #54: Pre-Selected Dividend Growth Stock Sets