It was fairly quiet on the economic data side today, so
investors' focus was on a wide number of earnings reports released
from several major companies.
The bright spots on the earnings side today were shares of
Polaris Industries (
PII
), Seagate Technology (
STX
), and Halliburton (
HAL
), following those companies' better-than-expected earnings
results. On the flipside, BlackRock (
BLK
), Intel Corp (
INTC
), and IBM Corp (
IBM
) ended lower despite coming in ahead of earnings expectations.
Meanwhile, Wall Street analyst upgrades helped Starbucks (
SBUX
) and Walter Energy (
WLT
) buck the overall downtrend today.
Here's a breakdown of some of the major earnings stories we've
covered on the site today:
Rare "Sell" Call Issued
We removed one of our best dividend stocks from our recommended
list today and told subscribers we recommend trimming the shares
from their portfolio. Find out which one of the stocks we removed
and why
here
.
Pivoting is Harder Than It Sounds
I read a recent article in the New York Times that talked about
how companies of yesteryear (Polaroid, Kodak) missed out on
opportunities to remain relevant in modern times. The hardest of
the equation was having to let go of the revenue model mix the
companies had been used to. In a sense, they remained hostage to a
strategy whose window was about to close. Blockbuster is another
company that had a chance to remain relevant. If they're just
bought Netflix (
NFLX
) before the company really took off, management probably could
have salvaged the company.
When it comes to our own career/business choices, we also need
to be aware of the longevity cycle of our trade. In the last
decade, we've seen numerous industries flipped all around,
resulting in many jobs lost and leaving those with an outmoded set
of skills on the outside looking in. For anyone who is in the midst
of their greatest earnings window, it pays to take a regular
check-up of how well-positioned you are for the evolving set of
skills necessary in today's business environment. Failing to do so
could result in some lean years ahead. Like on Wall Street, looking
ahead is the only direction you should ever be concerned with.
The Art of Listening
When it comes to looking for quality companies for us to put on
our
Best Dividend Stocks List
, we at Dividend.com try to really listen to what the market is
telling us through the day-to-day price action in the approximately
1,600 dividend names we cover. Truly "listening" and absorbing the
message of the markets can often mean the difference between
building a portfolio of winning names or owning a compilation of
hits and misses.
As always, you can expect our
Dividend.com Premium
service to understand this market dynamic each and every day we dig
deep into the numbers. My team and I understand what an amazing
privilege it is to be able to share our work with the many who have
been reading and subscribing to our service from the early years to
the present.
For you newer investors out there, take the time to learn as
much as you can about the markets, but don't veer away from the
investing opportunities that have made many savvy people wealthy
for decades.
An Important Note Regarding the Best Dividend Stocks List
We want to make sure everyone understands that the stocks on our
Best Dividend Stocks List
are the names we currently like for new investor capital,
regardless of what date the stock was first recommended on. If and
when a stock is removed from the list, we will clearly state
whether the stock should be sold (which is rare but occasionally
will happen), or simply held in one's account until we see a better
entry point or catalyst.
And here's one last thing to remember about what we do here at
Dividend.com: it's not just the names that we recommend that can
help you build wealth, but also the things we try to steer you away
from that are just as important. Forget about speculative or penny
stocks, chasing unprofitable IPOs, and listening to the manic
talking heads in the business media!
Our
Beat The Markets with Dividend Stocks
eBook Has Arrived!
We just debuted our brand new 275-page eBook, exclusively on
Dividend.com! In this digital-only book, we look ahead to 2012 and
the main factors that could affect dividend investors. A $39.95
value, the eBook is a
free download
for paid
Dividend.com Premium
subscribers.
Beat The Markets with Dividend Stocks
contains a full economic forecast for 2012, including in-depth
analysis on 65 of the biggest dividend stocks out there. It's a
great way to get prepared for your investing next year! So head
over to the
Dividend.com Premium homepage
now to download your copy.
A Dividend Capture Strategy for Active Investors
We now offer complete U.S. dividend data for all
Dividend.com Premium
members, so anyone that focuses on "Dividend Capture" trading
strategies should have plenty of good stuff to research each day.
Just check our enhanced
Ex-Dividend Calendar
, which is the best in the business, to search for upcoming
payouts.
Speaking of dividend capture, Dividend.com Premium members can
also access a 9-page report we published on the essential elements
to any successful dividend capture strategy. Be sure to check it
out here on the
Premium homepage
.
Dividend.com's Very Own National TV Commercial Has Debuted
Our first-ever television commercial! has started running on
CNBC and the feedback has been wonderful. If you haven't seen the
link yet,
you can check out our commercial here
.
Thanks for reading everybody. I'll see you tomorrow!
Be sure to visit our complete recommended list of the
Best Dividend Stocks
, as well as a detailed explanation of
our ratings system here
.